Magical Seclusion

by Jaliza A. Burwell

  Tears fell as I processed that. He was gone. I couldn’t do anything. “Ami?”

  “She’s helping with the clean-up.”

  I looked around the room, realizing we were in the apartment I’d been staying at in BMS.

  “She shouldn’t.”

  “She wanted to,” Dwight spoke up. “She’s not ready yet.”

  I thought about that and nodded. I understood that. When I didn’t want to deal, I became a workaholic too.

  “How many?” My throat fought to keep the other word down. I couldn’t bring myself to say it.

  Dwight knew what I was asking though. “Seven of ours. Ten of theirs. Two got away.”

  “They were ready. Once they knew we meant to capture them, they killed themselves,” Alijah said. “Reese and that older man got away.”

  “Padraig,” Shanton said. “Lombardi showed me some video. That is definitely Padraig. He has a community out west full of followers. Think cult.”

  “Dr. Porter, can you tell us what happened to you?” Chez asked.

  “He was trying to steal the information,” I said slowly, still struggling a little to hold onto the words. “I had destroyed the… uh…”

  “Your prototype?”

  I nodded. “I managed to destroy my prototype so he decided going into my head was the best way to get the information. He was so strong. I tried everything but he was getting the information.”

  “So you attacked yourself?”

  I nodded and smiled. “And won.”

  “He didn’t get the information?” Dwight asked.

  “Not all of it. Not the important information.”

  Dwight smiled. “Good job.”

  I sat up straighter under his praise. “I won.”

  “You definitely did.”

  “What exactly do they know?” Alijah asked.

  “My intentions.” I frowned, trying to get the information I needed to answer the question. “The supplies. Not the cylinder or how to make it work. They have a basic blueprint on how to build half of it, but not all the sigils needed to carve into it or how to prevent some of the problems I had.”

  “Do you think they’ll be able to replicate it with minimum information?” Dwight stepped closer to me, eyes on my expression as he waited for a response.

  I thought about it. “I hope not.”

  “Laila, it’s not your fault,” he said, picking up on my guilt. “Frankly, I thought they were going to go for Dr. Bertini’s project.”

  “But they don’t need it if Padraig can do what he can,” I said.

  “Exactly.” Dwight rubbed his face. “For now, Rhett, take her to your home. She’ll be safe there. I still don’t trust her going back to her apartment yet, and I need to stay here to clean everything up.” Dwight looked hesitant when he stared at me.

  “I’ll be fine,” I said, not sure if I believed my words, but Dwight needed to hear them.

  He snorted. “Shanton, if you will, I’d like your help with this mess.”

  “Laila, keep your connection with your magic. Your body and mind went through a huge trauma and need help to heal. If you do that, you’ll be fine in a few weeks.”

  I nodded and frowned, trying to find the right response to him. He patted my head.

  “You’re welcome. And don’t worry. Don’t force yourself.”

  “Come on,” Rhett said, coming to my side. “I’m taking you back to my place.”

  “You don’t live in a coffin?”

  His laugh was strained. “No, not a coffin. Come on.”

  I let him lead me out.

  Nothing really stood out about the drive to his apartment. Before I knew it, the sun was almost completely down and we were driving into a gated community.

  “Where are we?” I asked.

  “Welcome to Vireland.”

  “Vampire land?”

  “Yes. Anyone who doesn’t work directly for the queen stays here. Security is top notch, and only idiots are willing to sneak into a vampire community. They respect me here and won’t let anyone sneak in. I’ve already sent word to keep strangers out. No one is getting you here. You’re safe.”

  I didn’t say anything, just stared at the houses that loomed on both sides of the street. They were like mini-mansions with long driveways so they sat back from the road. Each house had a variation to it, but the style was the same.

  My mind was able to draw up a map of the city, and then I narrowed in on the north, off to the corner of the city, where Vireland was located. I’d never been here before, thinking it best to stay away from their community. I never went poking into a being’s territory. Vampires had their spot here to the north, witches had their own spot to the west, shifters to the south, and mages had an academy to the east.

  Rhett pulled into his garage and waited for the door to go down before getting out and coming to my side. He didn’t even ask, he just picked me up and carried me inside. I didn’t complain. My entire body was sore, and my thigh still hurt. I wanted sleep. Desperately.

  “If you go to sleep, you won’t sleep for days, right?” he asked, worried.

  “I think I’ll be okay.”

  I wasn’t sure though. I could feel my body tugging at me to shut down. I’d done too much, went beyond my capabilities, and I was about to pay the price.

  “I’ll try not to,” I amended, knowing how much they’d hated when it had happened a few days before, and I’d only been out for less than a day then. I’d been forced into a sleep for three days once, a couple years ago.

  Rhett brought me upstairs to a large bedroom with a massive bed that probably needed a footstool to get on. He sat me down on the edge, the silk sheets threatening to send me sliding to the ground.

  “I didn’t take you as a silk sheets kind of guy,” I said.

  “I like sleeping in comfort. Here.” He tossed me a shirt. “Change and crawl into bed. I’ll be right back.” He disappeared out the door before I could say anything. I frowned. I needed a shower and didn’t want to get blood on his bed.

  I took off my dirty shirt, my nose scrunching as I dropped it to the floor. I carefully pulled on the t-shirt he gave me. He came back while I was contemplating how to get my jeans off. They were torn and bloody, practically glued to my body.

  Rhett ended up helping me, and I couldn’t even get up the energy to feel shy about it. He helped me into black boxers.

  Holding up a first aid kit, he said, “To change the wound before putting you to bed.”

  “I should take a shower.”

  “You need sleep more. You can shower in the morning.”

  “Your bedding.”

  “Don’t care.”

  I nodded and let him. He was so careful with every movement. Once he was done wrapping the wound, he leaned over and kissed it. The skin on my thigh grew warm, but not uncomfortable. It was as if my healing process got a boost because of his innocent kiss.

  “Now get into bed.”

  I didn’t move.

  “Laila?”

  “I’m scared. I’m not ready.”

  He didn’t say anything as his eyes gazed at my expression. “Go to sleep, Laila. I’ll be here, and when you’re ready, I’ll make sure nothing happens when you fall apart. Then after you’re done, I’ll hold you until you’re back together again. For now, sleep. No healing will happen until you get some.”

  I nodded and slid back far enough to slip under the silk bedding. He tucked the blanket around me before crawling in on the other side. After turning toward me, he propped his head up with his hand.

  For a moment, he gazed at me before reaching over and tucking a strand of my hair behind my ear. “Sleep, Laila.”

  “I will.” My voice was drowsy when I answered him. I didn’t like the distance between us. I needed someone pressed against me, to remind me I wasn’t alone.

  He saw my need and wrapped me in his arms, pulling me into his chest.

  “Sleep.”

  Chapter Twenty-Three

  Days pa
ssed, and I stayed with Rhett the entire time. The guys came by to check on me, but they were kept busy enough with the aftermath. Each night, I stayed busy cleaning and reorganizing Rhett’s house.

  He didn’t care. I asked.

  I barely spoke, too annoyed when words escaped me. At night, I fought against nightmares. I kept seeing Henzie’s death, trying to piece together how it happened. I kept seeing Ami’s anguish. I’d only had one phone call with her, but she’d been avoiding everyone. And I kept feeling Padraig’s touch in my mind. Those were the worst nightmares.

  So I was up again before the sun, staring at the window while Rhett slept behind me. His body was curled around mine, and I gripped his forearms, using them as an anchor to stay awake. My mind kept feeling the scrape of that man’s touch, the way he easily broke through any barriers I created, how he used my own mind against me.

  When I exhaled, it came out shaky as the memories bombarded me.

  “You’re okay,” Rhett whispered, his lips near my ear.

  “No.” My thick voice, the brokenness in that one word did me in.

  I broke, I shattered. I cried.

  I mourned.

  Henzie was dead because of me. Because I threw magic at that shadowsmith and caused that explosion. Because I did too much and yet not enough. He shouldn’t have had to die. It was preventable. And yet, he was gone. The world was without a gifted being and it didn’t even know it. Not yet. Not when the possibilities he held were now gone.

  “Shhh. I’ve got you. I’ve got you. It’s okay,” Rhett said as he pulled me closer to him. I turned in his arms so I faced his chest.

  My body shook as I sobbed into him. He kept telling me it was going to be okay and I desperately wanted to believe him.

  But it wasn’t.

  Henzie was dead. So were six others. Six souls gone because of my project. Because I was an idiot. Because I wanted to do good and it came back and bit me in the ass. Ami was suffering, in mourning, because of me. Because I wasn’t good enough.

  I was never good enough. I was always falling short and Henzie paid the price.

  “Make it stop,” I said.

  “I can’t. Only time will.”

  “You can.” I tilted my head up and kissed underneath his jaw. He went completely still at my touch. “Please,” I said.

  “Laila,” he whispered. “This isn’t a good idea.”

  “It’s the best one I’ve had all week. Please. I need to forget. Please.”

  He groaned. “Not like this. You don’t want to forget like this.”

  “I do,” I sobbed. “I want to forget. Make me forget.”

  “But you won’t. When it’s over, the emotions will just come back.”

  “I’ll at least have the reassurance that I’m not alone. That someone is here with me.”

  “You have that now.”

  I shook my head. “Please. I need this. This is me begging.” I bit back a sob and pounded my head against his chest. “Please. I want to forget, just for a little while, I need to feel something other than this pain. Please.”

  “Oh, Laila.” He pulled me close, and our lips melted. I groaned under the feel of him. His energy seeped into me, reached into my core, and lit me on fire. His kiss was slow and steady. I didn’t want that. I wanted fast, hard, dominant.

  “Please.” I pulled on him and he finally caved, deepening his kiss and giving me exactly what I wanted. His kiss screamed ‘Mine!’ as he controlled it.

  He shifted so I was on top of him. I parted long enough to tug his shirt off and then return to kissing him. My lips went down his jaw and along the edge as I rocked against him, feeling him grow hard underneath his pajama pants.

  He wanted me. Needed me. Just as much I needed him. His hands went to my hips to still me.

  “Please. Please don’t. You promised. You said you’d hold me until I’m whole again. Please.”

  That seemed to do it because he yanked my shirt off, exposing my skin to the cool air. He reached behind me and unclasped my bra, releasing my breasts. My nipples pebbled at the feel of the air, and he cupped them in his hands. I groaned, loving how his energy danced along my skin.

  I pulled away from him, standing up on the bed, my feet on either side of his thighs. Slowly, I lowered the sweats I was wearing, along with my underwear, baring myself to him. His eyes followed the movement, taking in everything as I exposed it all. His eyes were nearly black, and he looked like an angel of death, lying on the bed, his curly brown hair spread out against his dark gray bedding, his pale skin popping. His eyes blazed with emotions as they focused on my naked body. My hair fell over my shoulders and down to my breasts. I went to my knees, almost straddling him. I tugged on his pants, and he lifted his butt so I could pull them down.

  His hardness strained against the briefs he wore, the fabric molding to the shape of him. He was dangerously big. I traced the shape with my finger, and he moaned against the touch and the fabric barely contained the jump his cock made. I slowly pulled down his briefs and licked my lips when he was finally revealed. There was a slight curve to his cock, and I knew exactly what that meant for me. He’d have no trouble finding that intimate space deep within me that would easily send me over the edge.

  He was built for pleasure and tonight, that pleasure was mine.

  “Laila,” he said in a dark warning as I trailed my finger up the vein underneath that pulsed against my touch. When I got to the tip, I swirled around the precum, amazed that this was all because of me. I did this to him. And I wanted to keep doing this to him.

  I leaned forward, wrapped my lips over the tip and his hips bucked underneath me. I wrapped my hand around the base of him to control how much went into my mouth and sucked down, allowing my tongue to wrap around him and get him wet. He groaned.

  “I’m supposed to be the one to make you feel good,” he said.

  I released him and smiled at the man, loving that I had complete control over him. “This makes me feel very good,” I said. I pulled him into my mouth again and bobbed my head, amazed at how long he was. My hand pumped him at the base as my mouth brought him to the brink of release.

  “Condom. Nightstand,” he said.

  I nodded when I released him and leaned over to find one. His hands went to my hips and held on tight. I was on birth control and I knew vampires couldn’t catch anything, but that was a conversation for another time. Right now, I desperately needed him inside of me. I needed to feel him, to feel alive and whole again.

  Once I got the condom, I carefully rolled it over him and then lined us up. He didn’t force me down, he let me do what I wanted. My body was ready for him. Had been since he’d agreed to have sex with me. Once he was exactly where I wanted him, his tip just at my entrance, I slammed down hard on him and groaned as he completely filled me up, with a bit of pain, considering there wasn’t much preparation. I reveled in the pain, needing it. My insides squeezed at the sudden intrusion, and Rhett grunted. I waited a moment, letting my body adjust. Once I was ready, I moved, lifting myself up and then going back down.

  I bit back a moan as his cock did exactly what I’d expected it to do, finding that spot inside of me that drove me crazy. My pace picked up as our bodies coated with sweat, the air around us filling with our magic and energy. They danced together the same way we did, and I couldn’t contain it in anymore. I moaned as it all built up inside of me, going up and up, ready for the last thing to push me over.

  As if sensing what I needed, Rhett reached up and grabbed my breasts, giving my nipples a little tweak. I fell forward, and he wrapped his arms around me, taking over and moving his hips so he moved deep inside of me.

  “Rhett,” I panted.

  “I have you,” he said. And I believed him. I finally believed him. My body finally gave up, hotness surging through me as I went over. Pleasure built until I reached my breaking point, and had no choice but to ride the waves that took over my body. I screamed into his shoulder and bit down on him as I squeezed him tight. He g
roaned and thrust one last time before he came too. I kissed him and his tongue slid into my mouth. The taste of him had me wanting another round. His touch was so gentle as he rubbed my back and we lay there in post-coital bliss, sharing slow kisses.

  All possessiveness was gone, and while I wanted more out of it, he forced me to bask in the gentleness of a slow kiss. I pulled away from his lips and buried my face into his slick shoulder, loving how my scent wrapped with his, and we smelled of sex.

  “We can’t stay here,” Rhett groaned. “I’d love nothing more than to stay here with you but it’s today.”

  I sighed and closed my eyes.

  “I know.”

  “We have to get ready.”

  I turned my head to see the sun peeking through the curtains. I hated mornings. I really did. I wanted to bask longer in the darkness.

  “I know.”

  He rubbed my back slowly, going low, nearly to my ass and then all the way up to my neck. He gave the best back rubs.

  “Laila?”

  “Hmm.” If he wasn’t going to move, then neither was I.

  He didn’t respond, and I rested my chin on my hand on his chest. He was looking down at me with a contemplative expression.

  “Rhett?” I asked.

  He shuddered and closed his eyes. “You scared me. I’ve not been so scared in a long time, not since…”

  Realization dawned on me.

  “Not since your family,” I whispered.

  He nodded. “You were so close, and yet I couldn’t get to you. I hated being so powerless.”

  “I’m alive,” I said.

  “But you’re not fine.”

  Silence fell between us, and I didn’t say anything for the longest time. He was right and there was nothing to say. I wasn’t fine, and he knew it. Any other response would just have been a lie.

  Closing my eyes, I let reality fall back around us. “We need to get ready.” I pulled away from him, hating that I had to.

  “You can take the shower first. I’m going to go get an update from the guys,” Rhett said.

  I nodded.

  We had a memorial service to attend.

  ~*~