Last week, a high-profile Hollywood celebrity got busted for cheating on his wife with a stripper from this “gentlemen’s club.” And last month, a well-known conservative politician from the states had a heart attack in the backroom during a private lap dance.
A gust of cold air ruffled through her conspiracy’s feathers. As one, the birds puffed out their plumage against the chill and pulled their heads down from the wind.
Kelly moonlighted as a stripper while collecting loss of income wages due to workplace injury benefits.
At least that’s what it looked like. They still needed proof. Raven couldn’t exactly direct the conspiracy into the strip club undetected, and even if she did, her testimony wouldn’t stand up in court.
At least they knew Kelly’s destination.
Oooo. Shiny. One of her birds dove toward Kelly. An image of a shiny silver pendent on a necklace flashed through her collective consciousness.
The other corvids turned their beady eyes toward the target.
No! The bird swooped up at the last second, narrowly missing the large purse swung in its direction.
“Fucking bird!” Kelly scowled at the raven before tugging down her skirt and knocking on the back door.
It swung open in half a heartbeat and a large bouncer with biceps bigger than Raven’s head peered out at Kelly. Thudding music spilled out into the alley from the open door.
Okay, then. No sneaking through that entrance. Raven had no desire to tussle with that guy.
Kelly swiveled her hips past the bouncer. He checked out her ass before slamming the door closed.
Well, at least this signalled the end of Raven’s night. She was done. If she had any hope of surviving another training session with Cole, she needed a good night’s sleep. And a cold shower.
Chapter Nineteen
“I always say shopping is cheaper than a psychiatrist.”
~ Tammy Faye Bakker
Raven stepped away from the heat of Cole’s body and out of his embracing arms to walk into her softly lit basement room. The scythe resting on the plush duvet on her bed glowed in greeting before returning to its innate state. Her head still spun from the portal jump and despite Cole’s specific instructions, she still didn’t know how to form her own. The shadowy magic pulsed inside her, as if taunting her with her own incompetence.
“It will come.” Cole’s deep, gravelly voice spoke somewhere behind her.
Right now, after working in such a close space with the Lord of Shadows and his intoxicating scent, the only type of coming she was thinking of was not what he referred to.
Saturday night and at least part of her wanted to party.
She turned to face Cole, his expression an impenetrable mask.
“And if I don’t get it? What then?” She knew the answer. Impending doom. Some dangerous dark fae from the Other Realms would wipe her out and she could only hope her family wouldn’t be hurt in the process.
“I will protect you.” Cole’s deep voice rumbled and filled the room with his promise. “And your family.”
Raven flopped in one of the armchairs. Her jeans stretched as she crossed one leg over the other. “You can’t guard us my entire life, Cole. Even you have limits.”
In black leather and fighting garb, Cole appeared every inch the assassin he was. Dangerous. Lethal. Mine.
Mine?
Cole snarled. “I will protect you.”
Okay, then. He missed her point entirely, but she dug his macho overprotective act. She rested her arms on the chair and her head on the backrest. “Why?”
His gaze flashed, like lightning streaking through the swirls of shadow. “You know why.”
She shook her head, soft curls brushing her cheek. She could get used to this new hair…when it wasn’t frizzy.
“Are you planning to use me when I become the Corvid Queen?” She had to ask, even if it came across whiney and insecure, but she cringed at her words.
Cole tensed. “Do you think so little of me?”
“No. Not really. This is more about me. I don’t trust my judgment. I’ve made mistakes before.”
“I’m not a mistake.” Cole’s shadows rose up and swirled around her. “You asked for space. I’m trying my best to respect your wishes.”
“But?” Her heart sped up.
“When you look at me like that, you make the task incredibly difficult,” he said.
“And if I no longer wished for space?” She pushed off the chair to stand, a tangible need to move closer to Cole wiping away her exhaustion.
Raven spent too much of their time together dancing away from Cole, but her reasons for distance kept getting weaker and weaker. If she were completely honest with herself, the real reason she hadn’t acted on any of the openings he gave her was simple. She was scared.
He sucked in a breath and stood absolutely still.
“You once told me you wanted me. Has that changed?” She forced air into her lungs. She couldn’t hold her breath now. If she passed out, she’d miss his answer.
He’d certainly learned the extent of her incompetence since his declaration. Ineptitude rarely worked as a turn on.
“Why would it change?” he asked. “Why do you think I’ve gone to such lengths to protect you and your family?” His inhuman gaze flashed with swirls of gray before the entire iris turned black and bled out to cover the whites of his eyes. “It’s all for you.”
If he had other things to tell her, she didn’t hear them. Already close, she rose up on her toes and planted her mouth on his.
Cole groaned and held her in his strong arms. Her thin basic cotton T-shirt provided a negligible barrier to his hard intricately patterned leather armour. The ridges of the design and seams pressed into her breasts and stomach. Everything was hard where she was soft.
The seductive forest scent surrounded her. He tasted of mint and power. The shadows caressed her body and stroked her inner thighs.
Mmmm yes. She moaned into his mouth and he deepened the kiss, pulling her closer.
“Finally! You’re ho—Ahh!” Mike hollered from the doorway.
Raven broke away from Cole so fast she stumbled back. Flailing her arms like a hatchling on its first flight, she staggered a few steps before regaining her balance. She spun and glared at her brother.
He stood in the doorway, shielding his eyes with his hands. The smell of the spaghetti Mom had cooked earlier rushed in from upstairs.
Her stomach growled.
“Dude, knock!” she said.
“Dude, put a sock on the door handle,” Mike shouted back. “Like normal people.”
Raven snorted. She was a lot of things, but normal wasn’t one of them.
“You can stop covering your eyes. You’ve only been temporarily blinded, and the danger has passed,” Cole said, dryly.
Mike dropped his hands and scowled at Cole. “Thank you, oh Gracious Lord of Shadows.”
Cole’s gaze narrowed and his shadows pooled around him. Mike didn’t seem intimidated with who he scolded, and he should be. If he had any common sense, he wouldn’t make a peep. Cole’s constant presence didn’t make him any less dangerous or volatile, it only acclimatized her family to his company and normalized his behaviour. They still needed to learn more about him. She needed to learn.
Raven stepped between the two men. “What’s up, Mike?”
In his everyday attire, jeans and a T-shirt, Mike stood at the door with one foot in and one foot out, wearing a scowl and a whole lot of judgment on his face. “Our other job stepped out again tonight.”
“Did you follow her?”
Mike’s mouth twisted down. “Yeah and lost her. I cut ahead to the strip club, but she never turned up.”
“How long did you hang out in the titty bar and wait?” Raven asked, already knowing the answer.
Cole chuckled softly behind her.
Mike’s frown disappeared. “I’m very thorough with my job, Raven.”
“I bet.”
“Anyway. She ne
ver turned up. We could’ve used you. If I’d known you were off necking with the Lord of Evil over here, I would’ve cursed your name more.”
“Liar,” Raven said. Mike wasn’t nearly as put out about this entire situation as he pretended.
Mike cast Cole another dark look and slipped out of the room. The door clicked shut behind him.
“He knows he’s your baby brother, right?” Cole stepped forward to stand beside her.
Raven turned to find a thoughtful expression on Cole’s face, not one plotting her brother’s demise. Maybe she was wrong to fear he’d retaliate for minor slights.
Or maybe she should fear him more. If Mike hadn’t interrupted them… She shook her head. “Would you rather Bear give you the gears?”
Shadows swarmed around Cole and his face darkened. Guess that was a no.
“Don’t worry, I’ll get my revenge when Mike finally brings home a girl.” Raven smiled.
“You’re a patient woman.”
Hah! He had Mike’s number. “That’s twice in a short timeframe I’ve been called something I’m most definitely am not.”
Cole’s dark brows rose. “What was the first?”
“Normal.”
Cole’s full lips split to reveal his perfect white teeth.
Being abnormal had never been a good thing growing up, but right now, the way Cole looked at her like she was the last strip of bacon on his plate sent all sorts of warm tingling sensations through her body.
“What am I, then?” she asked.
Cole hesitated. He started to say something and stopped. He took a deep breath and pulled a dark velvety jewelry case from an inside pocket.
Her heart skipped a beat.
Cool it, Crawford. He’s not proposing.
And why would she think a proposal was a possibility? They hardly knew each other. Even though her heart had latched onto Cole like a kid with a lollipop, an edge of mistrust still lingered on the periphery of her feelings for the dark fae lord.
“You are so much more than you give yourself credit for,” he said. “I hope you don’t mind, but I had your gem mounted so you could wear it.” He flipped open the lid to the case. Nestled in the middle of black velvet sat her light absorbing black spinel. A beautiful silver chain and setting contrasted sharply with the austere stone.
Oooo. Shiny.
“You stole my rock,” she whispered. Her fingers itched to reach out and touch the stone. Her raven essence perked up, beady eyes watchful.
“Technically, Rourke stole your rock.”
She glanced at him. When and how had he done that? Sneaky bastard. She’d placed it in a jewellery box on her dresser. Then again, she hadn’t stared dreamily at it for a number of days, almost as if someone had placed some sort of aversion spell on it. “Rourke snuck into my bedroom armed with spells and stole my stone on his own?”
“At my command,” he conceded.
She probably should be upset at the invasion of privacy, but the shiny silver chain and light absorbing gem swung in front of her and stole her breath away. “It’s beautiful.”
“May I put it on you?”
Right now, she’d agree to anything he wanted to put on her. Not trusting her voice, she gathered her long black hair and pulled it out of the way while she turned around.
Cole stepped close, his scent and heat caressing her skin. He slipped the chain around her neck, the cool links slid along her skin. The black spinel nestled between her breasts. Its weight pressed against her breastbone, heavy, and not at all cold like she expected. No longer cool to the touch, the stone didn’t burn like an ember, either, but it rested against her skin with a perfect temperature, almost as if it heated up on its own to be there and be a part of her.
The clasp clicked and Cole leaned in, his breath fanning her hair. “Saol fada agus breac-shláinte chugat.”
“What does that mean?”
“It’s an Underworld expression for good luck.”
Raven turned around to find an odd expression on his face.
“What?” he said.
“You honestly want me to believe Others go around wishing each other good luck.”
His eyes narrowed. “We’re not heartless.”
“Not all of you, anyway.”
He dipped his chin. “You have a lot to learn about the hearts of Others, Einin.”
What in the blazing Underworld did he mean by that?
The shadows rose around Cole and engulfed him before she could question him further.
Gah!
Chapter Twenty
“I believe in looking reality straight in the eye and denying it.”
~ Garrison Keillor
Raven kicked a stone from her path on the sidewalk and rounded her shoulders against the cool fall breeze. Under her shirt, the black spinel thumped against her chest with each step. With a shiver, she pulled up the wide collar of her heavy zip-up sweater to block the wind. Damn it. Almost winter jacket time. Layers only got her so far.
Normally, she greeted Sundays with a conflicting mix of emotions. Sure, the day signalled the death of the weekend and heralded the impending doom for the approaching work week, but Raven didn’t work a standard nine to five, Monday through Friday job, and Sunday dinner always made up for any negativity trying to peck away at her brain.
Not today.
Today, only doom clouded her thoughts. Today, signalled the end of the week Bane granted her to get her shit together before he set upon her with some otherworldly crap she had no skills or experience to handle.
One week and she hadn’t mastered portal forming or using the new shifting shadow energy she gained from killing Lloth. She still cuddled the scythe at night to calm the powers swirling in her body but hadn’t gained any badass combat skills to wield the weapon. She felt more attuned to the hunk of metal and polished wood, but that was about it. She’d grown accustomed to the scythe’s presence, but she’d more likely hack off her own head than successfully defend her life against skilled assassins from the Other Realms.
Maybe the Lord of War would wait for tomorrow? Practice patience and all that jazz?
It was already noon and she’d walked around all day like a tightly coiled spring waiting for him to jump out from every shadow like one of those clowns in a wind-up box. But nope. He hadn’t appeared.
Maybe, he dealt with the situation on his own and no longer required her assistance.
Some of the tension eased from her shoulders. Maybe she’d make it to Sunday dinner after all. She was only a block away from home. The smell of wet dirt, decaying leaves and the taint of ever-present grime carried on the wind as it rustled the bare trees lining the street.
Pepe bleated in the distance.
“We need to talk.” Luke’s deep voice came from behind her.
“Eek!” Raven squeaked and jumped back. Her dark energy rose up as her body transformed into one raven after another. Dark power slammed into her and her birds rose in the air. She turned the conspiracy around.
Bane’s face scrunched up as his attention flicked between the pile of her discarded clothes and her ravens. “This is…”
Her ravens swirled around, faster and faster, forming a protective barrier against the dark fae lord. The shifting energy pulsed and reached out, grabbing onto a familiar power. Raven’s dark magic carried her across the shadowy void between the realms with Bane’s last word.
“…unnecessary.”
Raven materialized in a sunlit room with a framed painting of a raging ocean staring back at her. Oh no. She knew this painting. She’d seen it before. She knew this place and this room. Tension drained from her limbs.
Sheets rustled behind her. Shadows slid from the corners of the room and pooled around her.
“This is an unexpected surprise.” Cole’s deep voice rumbled against her bare skin. “You did it, Einin. I’m proud of you.”
She whirled around. Cole sat at the end of the bed, his large form no less intimidating without a shred of clothing. Corded
muscles rippled as he slid from the bed and stood. The cool-toned bedroom artfully decorated his backdrop like a fantasy come to life. Her fantasy.
“You’re naked,” she said.
His lips twisted up while his gaze drifted down. “So are you.”
Raven squeaked again and wrapped an arm around her breasts and cupped her crotch with her hand. Seductive forest scented air slid over her bare shoulders.
Cole raised an eyebrow.
Her face warmed. He’d seen it all before and savoured every inch. Her whole body thrummed with memories.
His gaze focused on her breasts. “Well, almost naked.”
The now familiar weight of her black spinel necklace pressed against her breastbone, warm and reassuring. At least she hadn’t lost that.
Banshee’s bastard. She could’ve lost the necklace. She hadn’t thought about that. Normally, she never wore valuables or carried important items in the fear she might have to shift. The sig sat in the gun safe for that very reason. She’d debated keeping the jewel at home, too, but couldn’t bear to be apart from it.
Panic streaked through her body. Only she would freak out about possibilities that could’ve happened but didn’t. Ugh.
Another thought pecked at her brain like little tetras in a fish tank. Why did the black spinel stay with her when everything else didn’t?
She took a deep breath, clutched the jewel tightly and let the panic fade. She needed to focus on the current situation. “My powers suck. Showing up naked from a portal will hardly inspire fear among my enemies.”
Cole stepped closer. His body so near, if she leaned in, her nipples would brush his bare chest. Heat radiated off him. His dark gaze traced lines along her skin. “True. But I’m not your enemy.”
“What are you then?” She held still. Could she trust him? She’d already trusted him with her family’s lives, her introduction to the dark arts and her body. But could she trust him with her heart?
He leaned down and whispered into her ear, “Definitely inspired.”
“And here I thought you were just happy to see me.”
Nevermore Page 11
