by E. M. Moore
“Yeah, well, that’s what happens when the owner of a magical whore house calls you in the middle of the night.”
Norah made a face. “He’s so skeevy.” It fell just as fast as it came though. “I supposed he did help me out this time. He could’ve blown me in, but he didn’t.”
She stopped just in front of us, throwing the keys down on the counter. Then, she stared at us one after the other. “You guys are mad?”
I looked at Travis and he looked back at me. He gave in first. “I have to admit, I was just freaked out. I woke up on the couch and you weren’t there.”
I closed my eyes, remembering how Gabe and I saw them on the couch together, all cuddled into one another’s arms. I couldn’t imagine waking up and having her not be there.
“So, I searched your room, then the house, then the garage, then the yard. You weren’t anywhere.”
She bit her lip. “I took the Jeep.”
“That’s when I realized the Jeep was gone and called you.”
“I’m not going to apologize,” she said, sticking her cute nose up in the air. She was so fucking stubborn. I loved that part of her. Loved that she just saw things and went for them. She knew her own mind, and that was damn hot.
“I’m not asking you to,” Travis said, answering a question she didn’t even ask, but we knew she wanted to.
She peeked at me. “Are you?”
“If I said yes, would I be the dick now?”
She nodded. “Yes, actually.”
I moved forward and grabbed her hands. “Can you just leave a fucking note next time? Or better yet, don’t get caught. Ren calling me in the middle of the night is not my fucking idea of a good time. You know what I mean?”
She chuckled. “I didn’t plan on getting caught. Owen, the guard, said the family was out of town at some rich people party. He was the only guard on duty and he catcalled me. I had an in. If I didn’t think it was safe, I wouldn’t have done it. I found the door to his secret stash of magic shit, but it was locked. Not human locked either, magically locked. I did everything I could think of, but still couldn’t get the damn thing open.”
Her face pinched, and she looked at her feet. Liam being gone was affecting her just as much as it was us. It was like a piece of me was missing.
“Those kinds of locks are tricky,” Travis said. “It won’t just open with regular magic. It depends on how well he wanted it concealed whether you can get it open or not. He might have only limited it to himself, or people with his DNA. Who knows? Think of it kind of like the magic that runs through us as Enforcers. No other magical person can just come across the Order headquarters in the woods. They might be able to tell there’s something magical about it, but they won’t be shown the way in unless they were called to it. And, in order to be called to it, they need to be one of us.”
Norah blew out a breath. “I don’t know what we’re going to do then. Granny told me the familiar is taking over Liam and she can’t find him either.”
“Wait,” I said, letting what she’d just said sink in. “Granny came to you?”
“Yep,” she said, popping the p. “She couldn’t find him. Has no idea where he could be. She can’t get a grip of his ‘essence’ because the familiar is on him and that thing is trying to take over.”
Well, that made sense why she woke up and decided she needed to try to find the book in the middle of the night. She was worried about Liam.
There were three big problems on our hands. Finding Liam was my major concern, but there was also the Order business and getting a lockdown on who was draining these witches. The other was trying to find the damn book so we could help Liam when we did get him back.
I didn’t even bother telling her I thought Liam was going to be fine. The heaviness that draped around all our shoulders was enough to handle. I didn’t need to throw out promises I wasn’t sure I was going to be able to keep. The only thing I wished right now was that he wasn’t the one draining the other witches. Even if we did get him back and kicked the damn familiar off him, the chances of him recovering were slim if he’d allowed the familiar to control his body into taking those witches’ magic. He’d never be able to forgive himself for hurting another witch, whether he was under the influence of black magic or not.
I craned my neck toward the stairs. “Let’s get up there and get some sleep. We’ll tackle this all again in the morning.”
“Seconded,” Travis said, stretching his hands high above his head.
“Thirded,” she mused, already turning toward the stairs with her head hanging low.
She moped up the steps, and I pushed Travis forward. Not that I also didn’t want the time alone with her, but I couldn’t imagine how he must have felt when he woke up and couldn’t find her anywhere. He probably needed this moment a hell of a lot more than I did.
18
I woke up in Travis’s arms in my bed. I thought—briefly—about waking him the way I had last night, but my mind immediately flooded with everything we had to do today. I peeked down at him, still loving the fact that his face was so serene while he slept, and that at least while he slept, there was no way for me to get pissed off at anything coming out of his mouth.
An almost silent knock came on the door, and it immediately pushed open, revealing my blond British hunk. I waved him forward. His face looked pensive, thoughtful. I turned in Travis’s grip and waited as Gabe came around the side of the bed and knelt in front of me.
He frowned. “I hear you went out for a joyride last night.”
Oh. I’d almost forgotten he didn’t know about that. I propped myself up on my elbow. “Randy’s got a big mouth.”
Gabe stifled a laugh and looked over my shoulder at sleeping Travis. “He was just bringing me up-to-date with everything. I don’t like the idea of this guard person he told me about catcalling you.”
I grinned, kind of loving the fact he at least played at being a little jealous. There was no way any of them had anything to worry about. We were all one as far as I was concerned. Now more than ever as I remembered who owned the body heat at my back. I shrugged, playing into his teasing. “His name is Owen. I think I might have to marry him in order to get this book.”
“Well, that’s going to be a problem there, baby, because the way I see it, you are full up on boyfriends.”
“Well, yeah, but this one would be my husband. I mean, that’s what he said, anyway.”
He arched an eyebrow at me as I grinned from ear-to-ear. He crept closer. “Boyfriends, husbands, they’re practically the same thing.”
I missed Gabe’s easygoing nature. Not that he wasn’t serious about what was going on, but he just felt more carefree than the others. “I don’t know. I heard husbands will wake their wives up with a certain something.”
A teasing smile filled his face. “A certain something?” He looked over my shoulder to Travis and then met my gaze again. “Like…?”
I inched forward, halving the distance between Gabe and I. “Use your imagination.”
“I’ve definitely got one of those. Will Travis mind?”
I peeked over my shoulder. “He won’t if he’s committed to this as much as I am.”
I rose to my knees and inched my tanktop up over my head, watching Gabe’s intense gaze as I did so. I dropped it on the floor and then ran my hands down the front of my chest until I found my flimsy shorts, working them down as I went.
He laid a hand on my chest and gently pushed me over so he could remove them for me. Afterward, he crawled into the bed next to me. His boxers were already bulging, and I reached out to touch him. Before I did though, I pulled my hand back. “You’re not mad at me, are you?”
His eyebrows rose. “Why would I be mad at you? You just got naked for me.”
I bit my lip and pushed him down on the bed until I straddled his hips. “I mean about where I went last night. Are you mad about that?”
“You’re safe, aren’t you?”
I nodded.
H
e nodded to match mine, his gaze searing straight through me. “I’d love it next time if you told me. I’d rather be right by your side making sure you’re okay than asleep in bed, not having a clue to what’s going on.”
That made sense. I guessed. “Would you have come with me though?” I asked, pulling his shirt up and freeing his arms from it.
“If you were intent on going, yes.”
I reached down, my hands roaming over his athletic body. “Do you have practice today?”
“Yes, but we have better things to do. The team will just have to deal.”
“Better things to do?” I asked, just playing with him. “Are you talking about me?”
“No, you’re the best thing to do,” he said, his eyes glazing over.
“Such a suck up,” I teased.
A grin peeled his lips apart. He glanced over at Travis. “So, I see we got together with Mr. Attitude. Was it as explosive as I said it was going to be?”
Heat strained toward my cheeks as I thought about the several times we came together last night. We hadn’t been able to keep our hands off each other. That’s what happened when things stayed pent up inside and you held it in.
“I see that look,” he said. He moved his hands to my hips and pulled down as he rolled his upward. With nothing but the thin boxer material before us, I could make out the hard ridges of his cock already.
“Sweet Lord.” I looked at Travis who was still asleep. I wished he’d wake up and join us. The two of them? Sexy accent Gabe who liked to try new things, and Travis when we were still on the high of getting together? God, yes. Please.
He inched his boxers off. “Love, can we try something?”
I reached for him, fisting his cock and running down the length of him in easy strokes. “Yes,” I told him, my hips already wanting to be around him.
“Stay here but face the other way.”
I did as he asked, and he pulled my hips back until his cock was right in front, angling toward me. I started stroking him again. “You want it like this, Gabe?”
He pushed my hips forward in answer. I angled myself over him, guiding his cock right into my entrance.
“Holy shit.” He moaned, his hips coming up in the air, as I pushed forward. This was different, but oh so good.
“Fuck, Gabe,” I said, making exploratory movements to find what felt the best. It was definitely hot, I just wished I could see his face.
His hands held firm on my hips as I moved. I let out a low moan, unable to keep quiet. The bed dipped where Travis was. My heart pounded when I glanced his way.
He turned, the sheets still around him, his gaze on fire. “You guys aren’t even trying to keep it down.”
“This is nothing,” Gabe said, his voice tight, heady. “You should’ve heard you two last night. Fuck. I’ve been horny all night just listening to her.”
Travis pushed the comforter down. He appraised the situation, watching me rock back and forth over Gabe’s cock. I arched my back, hoping he would get the hint, and he didn’t disappoint. He moved in front of me, his knees coming to rest on the outside of Gabe’s. His chest was on full display and I ogled it while taking Gabe deep inside. “Oh my God,” I moaned.
Gabe’s hand moved to the small of my back, keeping pressure there as I rolled my hips into him.
Travis moved forward, grabbing my face in his hands before kissing me. He angled my mouth, forcing my lips open as he ravished me with quick strokes. His hands moved down my neck to my shoulders, then to play with my breasts.
I twitched over Gabe and he swore punctuating it with a low moan. “Don’t stop what you’re doing, Travis. Holy fuck. Her whole pussy just spasmed right on me. Christ, as if she wasn’t tight enough.”
Travis smirked, lowering his head to my breasts, taking first one nipple into his hot mouth, then the next. I quickened the pace as Gabe’s fingers sank further into my skin. His hips moved up to catch my forward motion until we were slamming into one another. I didn’t know what to concentrate on, my pussy or my breasts. All of it was overwhelming.
I reached down, gripping Travis’s dick in my fist and stroked him. His face hardened as he watched me. I bent at the hip, changing up the angle at which Gabe entered me and making it easier to stroke Travis.
Gabe swore. “Oh fuck.” He grabbed my hips, pushing me forward as he thrust upward.
I could tell he was about to come. “Yes, Gabe,” I encouraged. “Right inside me while Travis watches. Oh fuck.”
Travis’s green eyes turned steely as he sat back, his gaze intent on the area where Gabe and I joined.
“Norah, mmm,” Gabe said. “Oh, Love. I’m right there.”
I took my cues from him until he jerked inside me and I cried out, loving the fact that at this very moment, he was emptying everything he had, and Travis watched it all.
I moved back. He pulled out, then scrambled from underneath me. Travis pushed me forward, his boxers around his ass now, his dick straining. Gabe didn’t miss a beat. His head bent over, taking my nipple into his mouth as his hand played with my other one.
Travis gripped my hips, but they came off the bed toward him, anyway. Thankfully, he didn’t make me wait. He pushed inside me, and I cried out. “Yes. Fuck me, please.” I held Gabe’s head to my breast, and he licked and teased the way I liked. Gabe’s hand lowered, reaching down past my belly button to my clit, so dangerously close to the cock that pumped in and out of me. His finger played there, massaging it back and forth as my hips came off the bed.
“Shit,” Travis said. “This is fucking hot. She is so fucking aroused right now. Give it to her, Gabe.”
Gabe worked harder, and I was almost coming off the bed in pleasure. The way they played off one another, spoke to each other even.
“Faster, Travis,” I moaned.
He complied, picking up the pace as Gabe’s mouth tortured me. I was so right there. Gabe tweaked my nipple, and it sent me over the edge. I gasped out a breath as it broke over me, then I let out a low moan until Gabe claimed my mouth for his. Travis’s movements turned jerky until he cried out, losing himself inside me just as Gabe had done before him.
Looking up at them both, it only served to remind me that we had so much to fight for. “I know,” Gabe said, kissing my forehead after all our breathing returned to normal. “I can feel it too.”
He slid off the bed as Travis backed away from me. All of us pulled on clothes, getting ready for another day of trying to figure everything out. It would’ve been nice to lay in bed, exploring the both of them like this, but we had more important things to do.
“Randy’s going to be pissed if we don’t get down there,” Gabe said.
“How do you know?” I asked, zipping up my jeans.
He bit his lip to keep from laughing. “He sent me up here to get you guys. I bet he wasn’t expecting that to happen.”
I pulled my tanktop off the ground and snapped it at Gabe’s chest. “I bet not. He’s going to be so pissed.”
He sauntered toward me, his jeans low on his hips. “Don’t tell me you didn’t love every fucking second of that.”
“Oh, I did,” I told him, looking him up and down. How lucky was I to have a body like that to come home to at night? And not just one, but four. Four of the best guys I’d ever known. “Now, you have to go down there and tell Randy we’ll be right down.”
He shrugged like he could give two shits. “Won’t bother me.” He pulled a shirt on over his head and then tucked it into his jeans on his way out the door. He turned to both of us on his way out and winked. “See you down there.”
I grinned at Travis. “Your coven is a freaking mess.”
“Oh, they’re my coven now?”
“Only when they’re behaving badly.”
He chuckled and shook his head. “Then they’re always my coven.”
That sounded pretty accurate, actually.
19
Randy greeted Travis and I at the breakfast bar with piles of cold toast stacked on a
plate.
“He’s only mad because he wasn’t invited,” Gabe called out from the living room.
I waltzed up to him and kissed him square on the mouth. “Who said he wasn’t invited?”
Travis laughed and grabbed a couple pieces of toast before joining Gabe in the living room. I pulled on Randy’s hand and we joined them.
“Well, while you guys were busy,” Randy said, tweaking an eyebrow my way. “I heard from Murphy.”
Travis paused with a slice of toast halfway to his mouth. “Is Anna okay?”
He shook his head. “No. He’s taking her to a mental hospital today. She’s significantly deteriorated since we saw her. She keeps mumbling things; her exterior is getting worse even though the doctors say nothing is wrong with her.”
“It’s got to be magic,” I told them. “She’s being sucked dry, too, but for whatever reason, it didn’t leave the negative taste the others did.”
Randy put his hands on the back of the sofa as I stared at him. “That’s not the only thing though,” he said, his shoulders hunching over. “Liam came to see them yesterday.”
I choked on my cold toast and stared up at him. “He did?”
Nodding, he took a deep breath. “Murphy said he acted perfectly fine. He told him that we, as the Order, wanted to check up on Anna and that’s what he was doing. She had already started to get worse before he got there. It sounds like they were thinking of putting her in a psych unit for the past few days, so…” He looked away. “…I don’t think he’s the reason for her deterioration.”
“Why the hell would he go visit her, though, Mate?” Gabe asked.
Travis shook his head. None of us could figure it out. There were too many variables to be considered. Even though Randy seemed relieved Anna was already in a bad place before Liam got there that still didn’t explain why he went there. None of this added up.
“Did you ask him if they happened to know where he was?”
“I couldn’t really ask too much,” Randy said. “I didn’t want to give anything away, so no, I didn’t get a thing out of them. There was nothing I could say that wouldn’t lead him to think we didn’t know where Liam was or that he wasn’t under our guidance anymore. We can’t risk anyone finding out he has a familiar on him.”
