by Jami Gray
“Without leaving any signs?” Rampant disbelief saturated Will’s question.
“Never forget that Magi work with natural elements,” Cheveyo said softly. “Erasing scents or physical signs of a trail would be nothing to one who could craft the magic at a level to direct an element like fire. And believe me, it was directed. This was no random act.”
Toby’s jaw flexed, his voice emerged in a near growl, “And both witches have such capabilities?”
Tala gave a slow nod. “Don’t underestimate either of them. Some of the most dangerous Magi are the ones you least expect. If we consider Cheveyo’s theory that one, or both, may be working with a Council member, we need to be prepared for anything.” Because Leo had centuries to perfect his magic, it was what made him such a formidable Magi.
A solemn quiet slipped around the table, and she broke it with, “You’re certain they’re both at home now?” Because, damn, she wanted a couple of hours to regroup before confronting either woman.
Toby canted his head, his gaze unfocused as he touched base with his wolves, one of the perks of taking the alpha position.
Tala fleetingly wished she could do the same, it would make figuring this out a hell of a lot easier.
After a few moments, Toby answered, “According to those on watch, there’s been no movement since both settled in for the night.” He looked between her and Cheveyo before adding, “Of course, based on what you just shared, I’m not sure how much stock we can put into that.”
“At this point, I think we’re good for the night.” Cheveyo drummed his fingers against the table, a small frown creasing his forehead. “Between the mirror spell and the fire, whoever it is, has to be wiped. I sincerely doubt we’ll need to fend off another attack tonight.” He eyed the darkness lurking outside the patio door and grimaced. “Correction, this morning.”
“Then—” Tala was caught unawares by a yawn then offered a polite, “Sorry. Then we’ll plan on making some house calls first thing in the morning. Just be sure to let your wolves know not to let either one leave their homes and stay alert.”
“Works for me.” Toby shook himself and pushed back his chair. “Since there’s not much more we can do now, Will and I will head out.”
Will rose, and Cheveyo followed suite. Tala went to push her chair back, but Toby pressed a gentle hand against her shoulder, holding her in place. “Stay, Tala, and get some rest. Your protector here—” He jerked a thumb in Cheveyo’s direction. “—can see us out. We’ll leave the sweats with him.”
She patted his hand. “Be safe, Toby, and let me know if anything changes.”
He squeezed her shoulder briefly and nodded before heading out on to the deck.
Once all three men were outside, Tala slumped over the table and laid her head against her arms. Gods, she was tired and blessedly numb. Her eyes burned, gritty from exhaustion, and the longer she sat there the harder it became to keep them open. She must have fallen asleep, because the next thing she knew was the feel of Cheveyo’s arms lifting her from the chair and the heat emanating from his bare chest.
It was too hard to open her eyes, but she did manage to mumble, “What about the mirror spell?”
“It’s contained and can wait till morning.”
With her head against his chest, the rumble of his deep voice triggered a cascade of chills that had nothing to do with temperature and everything to do with his proximity. As he carried her down the hall, he shifted his hold. She countered by looping her arm over his shoulder and burrowing closer. The tempting scent of sea and storms that defined him wrapped around her. Unable to resist, she pressed a soft, delicate kiss to base of his throat.
His arms tightened. “You’re playing a dangerous game, awéé.” There was an intriguing rasp to his low warning.
“Not playing games,” she murmured just before another yawn stretched her jaw wide. Her lashes lifted as he paused, turned sideways, and nudged open her bedroom door.
He set her carefully on the rumpled bed. When he went to straighten, she latched onto his shoulders, holding him in place.
The hall light barely penetrated the shadows, but it was enough to see his face when he was only inches away. “Don’t leave.”
His gaze drifted over her face, and this close she didn’t miss the hunger he kept ruthlessly in check. Still, his voice remained gentle, giving no sign of the battle she could see in his eyes. “You need sleep.”
Maybe, but she also needed him to fill in the ragged holes the night’s events had wrought. Something in her face must have given her away, because he shook his head. “Sleep, bił hinishnáanii. Otherwise, I’ll go bunk in the other room.”
She arched a brow. “Do you think I’m going to wake up and change my mind?”
His smile was rueful. “I wouldn’t dare presume, but I do know it’s been a hell of a long night, filled with a ton of shit neither one of us has had a chance to deal with. The last thing I want is you to come to me and then decide it was a mistake.” His smile drifted away and what replaced it stunned her, a naked vulnerability she never saw before. “I meant what I said, Tala. I love you, and this time, I have every intention of following this relationship through. If you’re just looking to dull the ache or scratch an itch, I’m not the man for you.”
Stymied, she dropped her arms and lay back against the pillow. With no other place to put them, she laced her fingers over her stomach as she studied him. Even though he was in the dominant position, his arms on either side of her as he loomed above her, she got the disconcerting feeling all the power rested with her.
Since his honesty deserved no less from her, she said, “I love you, too, but if you’re asking for a life-time commitment right this second, I’m not sure I can answer.” When his expression began to close down, and he pulled back, she rushed on, “What I can tell you is that I need you with me tonight.” Now it was her turn to smile ruefully. “Just to hold me, Cheveyo. I need help keeping the pain at bay. Just for tonight,” she finished in a husky whisper.
She waited, braced for his decision.
It wasn’t long in coming. “That I can do.”
Her breath left in a shuddering wave as she shifted to her side, making room for him to lie next to her. Within minutes, he was curled around her back, and his arm draped over her waist.
She wove their fingers together and brought his hand to her chest. With each passing minute, her muscles uncoiled, and his steady breathing eventually deepened into sleep. Only then did she dare risk pressing a quick kiss to his knuckles and whisper, “Thank you.”
She lay in his arms and relished the comfort she found. She hadn’t lied, she loved him beyond reason, which scared her to death. With their positions, losing him was a constant cloud of worry. Considering how much Aponi’s death wrecked her, she couldn’t even begin to imagine what she would become if she lost Cheveyo.
He asked earlier if she would ever forgive him. What she couldn’t find the courage to say was she already had. Years ago. Admitting that was difficult, mainly because it meant owning the fact he was, and always had been, her biggest weakness. Weak spots became death knells for Kyn leaders. A fact she blithely ignored when she took her position, but one hammered home time and time again as the years passed. Tomás was just the latest example.
Cheveyo’s decision to leave and give her room to grow into her position left her hurt and angry. It hadn’t helped that their situation had been riddled with insecurities and debilitating assumptions, on both sides. Unfortunately, she honed her initial anger into a thick shield, one that not only kept him away, but everyone else as well. All because she knew when she saw him again, she’d be tempted to reach for the possibility of them.
It worked too, at least until last year. It stunned her that one phone call was all it took to bring him back. His response made her reexamine her heart. He hadn’t hesitated to stand at her side, despite their powerful positions. It was only when faced with losing him that the final barriers on her side had fallen. The thr
eat of his death, stripped away all pretenses, leaving her heart raw and exposed. When he went back to Portland, she was left to struggle with the twins of guilt and shame over the secret of their child. It was a trap of her own making, but she’d been trying to determine how to tell him without losing him for good.
Now that the last of her secrets was out, there was nothing left to hold between the two of them but her own stubborn pride. She couldn’t fight the glaring truth—she wanted Cheveyo however she could get him and regardless of the cost. Yes, their positions would make a relationship challenging, but then again their worlds were a study in the impossible.
Danger would always be a part of their world, more so with what was coming. His strength and integrity drew her as much as his heart. Even this momentary peace she felt lying in his arms was precious. He was a man who understood the strengths of a partner, and she didn’t doubt that once she committed to him, he’d stand beside her.
Admitting that unfurled the tight knot of hope she nurtured. Maybe it wasn’t just Aponi who needed to fly, maybe it was time for her to stretch her wings, to trust herself to be strong enough to stand beside him. Time to be the woman warrior he believed her to be. Decision made, she closed her eyes, the ragged edges of her soul eroding in the shelter of his arms.
Chapter Twenty-Four
Cheveyo woke to the feel of warm lips sliding over his chest. His hands were tangled in silky strands, and his eyes opened, only to go blind as those lips slipped lower. Lust roared through his body in a white-hot wave. If this was a dream, he didn’t want to wake. Those wicked lips wreaked havoc, leaving behind streaks of fire, but they couldn’t burn away the warnings slowly eating through his rising needs.
When a lash of tongue joined the soft press of kisses against his overheated skin, he groaned and tugged carefully until Tala lifted her head, determined to…do something. When her dark eyes, filled with heat and something more, met his, his brain short-circuited.
“Tala.” Her name was all he could manage.
Shifting until she laying on top of him, every tantalizing curve and dip sinking against his harder planes, she folded her arms over his chest and rested her chin on them. “Morning.”
His hands moved without prompting, cupping her face, his thumb brushing over angled cheeks then moving to her lower lip. When her tongue came out to meet his touch, he couldn’t rein in his visceral reaction.
She didn’t miss it either, considering how fast color rose under her skin adding a dusky hue, and the desire sparking in her eyes, melting into pools of fire-shot whiskey. The temptation proved to be too much, and his hips rolled against hers. Her lips curved with an enticing mix of wicked intent while her nails curled into his chest adding another layer to the desire rising between them.
His chest rose and fell as he tried to suck in air. He fought his way through the need screaming in his head to remember why pursuing this now was not a good idea. “What are you doing, awéé?”
Instead of the expected teasing response, her smile faded, and her solemn gaze drifted over his face. “You asked me a question last night.”
There was an unusual hesitancy in her voice, one that managed to corral his body’s demands quicker than the doubts circling his brain. Unfortunately, he asked her a couple of questions last night, and unsure of which one she now meant, he carefully nodded.
She must have caught his confusion. “You asked if I would ever forgive you.” A wistfulness replaced the more somber shadows in her eyes. She licked her lips, and he forced his attention back to her and not the carnal images her innocent move ignited. “I forgave you a long time ago, Cheveyo.” Color waxed and waned under her honey skin before her gaze dropped away. She turned her head and rested her check on the back of her hands, her shaky breath washing over his bare chest.
Unable to resist the temptation, he ran his fingers through her long strands in slow strokes, offering comfort even as he smoothed the warm tendrils into a decadent blanket.
She took a deep, shuddering breath. “I should’ve told you last night.” Her voice stayed soft as if she feared rousing his ire. “Hell, I should’ve said something last year. It’s just that I’ve been a coward for so long, I couldn’t get out of my own way. I’m tired of being scared.” The last came out in a shamed whisper lacerating his heart.
He rolled until she was on her back under him, his legs tangling with hers, eliminating any possible escape. His abrupt move forced her hands to latch onto his shoulders, her nervousness revealed in the tiny stinging bites of her nails against his sensitive skin. When she continued to hide her eyes, he used a finger to nudge her chin up until she couldn’t evade his gaze. “You’re not a coward.” Certainty deepened his voice into a husky rasp.
She frowned and her mouth opened, her intent to argue clear.
He stopped it by laying his finger against her lush lips. “You’re not. For lack of a better term, love, you’re human.” Thinking through of some of his past decisions, he didn’t flinch from sharing hard won knowledge and pride-scraping wisdom. “It’s easy to look back and judge. But, given the circumstances at the time, you did what you needed to do to survive.” He held her troubled gaze, baring more than bruised ego. “We may be leaders, but we are not infallible. No one ever can be.”
Comprehension fought against guilt, and she whispered, “Doesn’t make it right.”
“Depends on your perspective.” His answer was ruthlessly hard. He dropped his forehead to hers until he couldn’t take a breath without tasting her, and his voice softened. “If you want to rehash what we did or didn’t do, then I should have paid more attention to what was happening around us before I left. And later? I could’ve reached out sooner, not waited until you called.” Regret still shadowed her face so he dipped closer and stole a quick kiss. A delicate caress carrying the promise of more, a heated tease of tongue over damp curves rife with unvoiced apologies.
When he drew back, his weight held by the arms on either side of her, he couldn’t help the burst of satisfaction as he took in her flushed face and dazed gaze. Even more telling, desire began inching out her remorse. Still, she asked, “Why didn’t you?”
Recognizing she needed his unabashed honesty if they were to move beyond their shared history, he stuck to the unvarnished truth. “Hurt pride, bruised heart. Either one is just as culpable.” Seeing her puzzled confusion, he opened the door to his heart and ushered her inside, risking her rejection. “You weren’t the only one who was angry. I hate to break it to you, but the male ego is a fragile thing.”
He looked away and shifted his upper half until he could brace on one arm. It gave her enough room to shift, which she did, so they were facing each other. He refused to let her go completely, keeping their legs tangled. He reached out and caught one long strand of her hair, the unusual mix of black, brown and gold stunning as he slowly drew it through his fingers before letting it curl over the edge of her breast.
He brought his gaze back to hers. “I announced my decision to head back to Portland, and you barely batted a damn eyelash. Then, as the months passed, and you never called, never reached out, I convinced myself that whatever we shared was one-sided.”
Comprehension dawned. She reached up and brushed a soft touch over his face. “It wasn’t.”
He turned into her caress and pressed a kiss to her palm. “Yeah, I get that. Now.”
The last of the shadows pulled away, and a tentative joy peeked out, her lips twitching. “We make quite the pair, don’t we?”
He arched an eyebrow, his tone droll, “That we do.” He searched her face, his humor drifting away. Time to lay it all on the table. His heart hammered in his chest, and he forced himself not to move. “The past is over and done. What’s important now is where you decide we go from here. Do I stay and complicate your life, or do I leave you in peace?”
He didn’t dare blink as she raised her arms and locked her hands behind his neck. “Stay, peaceful is damn boring.”
A shudder of relief rack
ed his body, and he wrapped his arm around her waist pulling her close, his heart and soul expanding, threatening to burst.
Her eyes shone brightly with an inner fire as she pulled him down. “Ayóo-anííníshní, Cheveyo.”
Her declaration of love washed away the last of his doubts, and his voice came out choked, filled with things no words would ever capture. “I love you, too, Tala.”
Her lips brushed his once, twice, and that was all it took. The last of his restraint vanished under the heat of her kiss and what started out as a promise quickly became an inferno.
With one hand tangled in her hair and cradling her head, he rolled her under him. His mouth moved with devastating intent, as the fire of need roared through every nerve ending. This was what haunted his dreams for the last year. Their tongues dueled, the taste of her seeped into his bloodstream until he was addicted.
Her hand tangled in his hair, holding him tight as she met him stroke for stroke, nip for nip. The storm washed over both, taking them under, dragging them deeper into the depth of need and hunger until it was all that was left. Before he could drown in her heat, he tore his mouth from hers, searching for a modicum of control over his greed for her touch.
Tala was having none of it. Her hands ran over his back and clutched his ass, pulling him close as he ran an alternating line of nips and kisses along her neck. When she arced into him with a soft moan, he ground his aching dick into her softness. His groan echoed hers, relishing her heat, even through the annoying barrier of his sleep pants.
He lifted his body from hers until he could stroke his hands over the warm curves of her hips, dragging the thin barrier of her sleep shirt higher. What he uncovered tore another groan from him. A tiny scrap of material covered her, a deep, silky purple held together with ribbon. “You’re a dangerous woman.” He pressed a soft kiss above the edge of the material. Her breath audibly hitched and her hips rose. It was damn difficult, but he managed to lift his head. “Naked, now.”
