Magic After Dark: A Collection of Urban Fantasy and Paranormal Romance Novels

by Margo Bond Collins

  “Believe it or not, it was one of my only selfless acts. I wanted to give you the chance to be your own person, to grow up with the ability to have choices. You had just lost your parents—”

  “And that was when the visions of you started,” I interrupted.

  “That was all you. I can’t stop your gifts. Those have always been yours, but the dream sharing we did, that’s what I locked away, gave you a fresh start, time to heal.”

  What if I had needed him to heal? What if not knowing who he was to me only made what I went through harder? Or maybe I’d always known. Conner might have blocked memories of him, but in my visions, I’d known there was something special about Conner, special enough to make me risk my own life to save him at whatever the cost.

  I should have been pissed, through the roof angry, but I couldn’t muster up the energy. I was depleted inside. From the romp in the circle to the magick I didn’t know I could do. “I didn’t know I had that kind of power.”

  “You definitely do, Mirela. You just needed a push to unlock it.”

  “Well, that was one helluva push.”

  He grinned. “We could always do it again, practice of course. It’s the only way you’ll learn to control it.”

  I snorted. “By having sex with you?”

  His lips curled.

  Warmth settled into me like a sip of whiskey on a cold night, comforting and relaxing. “I should be mad at you. I should be giving you the silent treatment. I should be kicking you out of my house. But instead, you’re sitting on my couch looking smug.”

  “Admit it. You like having me here. With you.” Idly toying with my hair, he studied my face.

  How had he suddenly gotten so close? Not that I was complaining. I did like having him here. Far too much. “Do you honestly need me to tell you that? I’m guessing you can feel what I want.”

  He twined a curl around his finger and gave a soft tug. “But hearing you say it does wonders for my ego.”

  I tugged back, releasing my hair from his clutches. “Please. Your ego doesn’t need my help.”

  “I’m a selfish man. I proved so tonight. I couldn’t stay away from you, regardless of knowing the danger. If you’re hurt because of what I am—”

  I leaned over and pressed my lips to his, silencing him. “This was my choice as well. I don’t regret being with you.”

  He kept me close. “Stay with me tonight and wake with me tomorrow.” His voice had grown thick and sleepy.

  How could I resist? I didn’t point out that we were at my house, and it was him staying with me. Little details didn’t seem to matter. As I settled down beside him, his lips curved. “You smell like the woods and home,” he said, curling an arm around my waist.

  It didn’t take long for his chest to rise and fall in even breaths. We slept near the fire with moonlight blanketing us, his chest pressed to my back. I had a perfectly fine bed upstairs, but I was content to lie on the couch with Conner. I closed my eyes, laid my hand on his heart and drifted off.

  The vision came on strong and forceful, giving me no forewarning. One second I’d been staring into the flickering hearth, and the next, I was gazing at the wolf.

  Thick fog curtained the air, and with it came a bitter cold. I drew in a sharp breath, braced for the wolf’s attack.

  But it never came. His focus wasn’t on me, but on the circle of stones—on Conner, his amber eyes glowing and fangs exposed.

  I screamed. “Conner!”

  Conner’s eyes darted over the woods, searching for the sound of the voice, and the wolf laughed, a dark and sinister sound.

  He’s mine.

  And in one cruel sweep, I was lurched out of the vision that left me shaking from head to toe. My eyes snapped open, the scream lodged in my throat. Pulse pounding rapidly, I swallowed the bubble of fear.

  In the dark, with the vision still fresh in my mind, I reached for Conner. I didn’t want this to end. We had just found each other, and already I could feel him slipping away.

  I cut a piece of cake for breakfast and licked the icing from my finger. It was that kind of day. After the night I had, I deserved a treat and decided to spoil myself with gobs of sugar.

  I took a healthy bite of cake. What had I done?

  The exact opposite of what I promised myself …got tangled up with Conner emotionally and physically. Feelings were already involved. I’d cared for him before, and now those emotions were on a new level—an epic level.

  We were connected by a magickal bond.

  Oh geez. What next?

  It was as if a switch inside me had been flipped. I couldn’t explain, didn’t understand it myself, but I needed to figure it out soon. Very soon, or I was going to spend the rest of my time on Earth without my soul mate.

  The black wolf had made that pointedly clear last night.

  I was halfway through my second piece of cake when Conner strolled into the kitchen looking rumpled, sexy―and damn if he didn’t look better than the cake.

  I was second thinking this cake for breakfast. Conner might be tastier.

  “You always eat that much sugar in the morning?” His voice was husky, only adding to his overall edibleness.

  “I couldn’t sleep.” I forked another bite, trying to keep my mind off his body.

  “So you thought a bucket of sugar would help?” He swooped a fingertip through the icing on my cake and sucked it off.

  My eyes darkened, desire hitting me. Damn, that had been hot. “Get your own.”

  “Yours tastes better.”

  Dear God.

  “What did you see?” he asked, leaning a hip against the table.

  Was it that obvious it was a vision that kept my mind from being able to rest? “Nothing new. Just your death.”

  He picked a fork off the table and took a hunk directly from the pan. “Hell of a rush.”

  “I suppose, if you’re into dying.” There was actually nothing funny about his death, but I was too tired to give him the verbal bashing he deserved.

  His eyes sharpened as he stared deep into my eyes. “Life rarely plays out as we want.”

  I dropped the fork and stared at the pretty, piped-icing flowers. “What happened? What did we do?”

  Conner had strolled into Kenmare and claimed my heart before I had a chance to process the depth of what he meant to me.

  “Do you need me to explain it to you? I thought it was pretty obvious.”

  I rolled my eyes. “That’s not what I’m talking about, not completely. I feel you in my blood.”

  “Oh, that.”

  “Yes, that.” I remembered our conversation last night, being linked, the magick we’d conjured together. “What happens if the wolf succeeds? What happens to the link we’ve solidified?”

  He didn’t say anything for a minute. “I don’t know. Our circumstances are unique.”

  Oh God. What have I done? I was bound to a man who was destined to die. I didn’t know when precisely, but I knew how, and judging by the age of Conner in my dream, it would be soon.

  Chapter 13

  My phone buzzed, flashing Kitty Cat’s name across the screen. She loathed and loved the nickname all at the same time.

  The shop was having a quiet moment. Translation, it was lunch. I’d been moving through the day in a haze and contemplating breaking out the crystal ball. For what, I didn’t know. I didn’t think it could tell me anything I new or useful. Conner was going to die.

  “Hey, Kitty Cat. What’s up?” I said, propping the phone between my ear and shoulder.

  “Mirela, why didn’t you call me?” Cat immediately asked.

  “Why was I supposed to call you? We’re we supposed to meet up and I forgot?”

  “You had sex. With Conner. No dream-sexing.”

  I leaned against the counter, brows sliding together. “How the hell do you know this? Are you spying on me?” I was the one with the premonitions.

  “You wish. That said, your life is a heck lot more interesting than mine right
about now.”

  “You have no idea,” I grumbled into the phone.

  “Ms. Agnes saw you and Conner go into your house late last night. Don’t ask me what that woman is doing peering out the windows at such an hour. And then in the early part of the morning she noticed Conner leaving. In the same clothes as last night, if you can believe it.” I could hear the smile in her tone. She thought this whole thing was hilarious.

  “Remind me to move.”

  “So?” she asked, waiting for details.

  Any other subject I would have gladly dished the goods, but for some reason, what happened between Conner and me was too intimate to share. It was more than sex. So much more. “So what?” I echoed, knowing I was going to drive her crazy.

  “Was it as marvelous as the dream sex?”

  I sighed, a wistful sound into the phone, overdramatizing the effect for Cat’s benefit. “Are you sitting down?”

  “Shit. I’ll be right over.”

  I laughed as soon as I heard the click of the phone. Knowing Cat, she’d be here in five minutes, running stop signs and breaking every speed limit.

  What was I going to tell her when she got here? That Conner was my soul mate? That we shared magick? That I was in love with a man who was going to die?

  Cat brought the booze.

  Within minutes of walking through the door, she had the wine bottle uncorked and poured generously into two glasses.

  She held up her glass. “Life may throw us punches, and knock us on our ass, real friends are there to ease the pain and somehow make us laugh.” Then we clinked our glasses and took a healthy swig.

  “Is your plan to get me wasted and pump me for details?” The bangle bracelets at on my arm chimed together.

  Cat grinned. “Busted.”

  “It might actually work.”

  “Oh, I’m counting on it, Mirela. You’re the only hope I have left,” she pointed out. “And I have all the time in the world.”

  “Ah, but I don’t.”

  “Do tell. All of it. The before, the after, and what’s troubling you. I want to know it all,” Cat commented.

  With a laugh, I sipped more wine. What the hell? Why not? I gave her the juice she wanted, and upped the hotness by telling her we shared magick under moonlight in the throws of passion. “I can feel him in my blood now.”

  She fanned her face. “We’re going to need another bottle...or two.” Cat was prepared. She got up and refilled her empty glass. “Where can I get a sexy druid? Does he have a brother? A sister? I’d been thinking about swinging for the other team. What about his father? I could totally dig an older dude.”

  I laughed. “Sorry. He’s a dying breed. Truly.”

  “And that worries you. That he is going to die. You just found the man of your dreams, and you know it is only a matter of days or weeks before he is taken from you.”

  “You took the words from my mouth. He won’t let me help him.”

  Cat snorted. “Just like a man. Life sucks, which is why we’re getting trashed tonight.”

  I lifted my glass for the tenth toast. The flute paused at my lips as my eyes flew to the window. “He’s out there,” I muttered, feeling a chill skirt down my spine.

  “Conner?” Cat assumed.

  Damn if his name didn’t make my pulse jump. I shook my head. “No. The black wolf.”

  “The bastard’s here?” She turned in her seat, setting down her glass. Cat could be fierce when she pulled out the claws, and I recognized the glint in her eyes.

  “Do you see the mist around the house, pressing up to the windows? It’s him.”

  “We should do something.”

  This time my nerves jumped as Cat pushed off her seat. “Cat, I won’t put you in danger.”

  “Now who do you sound like?”

  “What we are going to do is finish this bottle of wine, laugh, and dance,” I said calmly. I wouldn’t give him the satisfaction of knowing he got to me. He wasn’t going to ruin my night.

  Cat turned around. “You want to dance?”

  I snapped my fingers and the room suddenly filled with a lively tune. “Yep. And lots of laughter. I want to shove the sound of it right up his hairy ass.”

  Cat threw her head back and laughed. “Mirela, I love the way your mind works. I’m going to teach you a step or two.”

  Two bottles turned into three, and I was drunk before dinner. I couldn’t stop thinking about Conner’s lips.

  The next thing I knew, I was knocking on his door, feeling giddy and determined, not the best combination.

  He opened the door shirtless. “What are you doing here?”

  “No hello, nice to see you, Mirela. I’d even settle for a kiss on the cheek, but the lips would be preferable.” I was rambling. A habit of mine when I over indulged.

  “Are you drunk?” he asked, but leaned down and brushed his lips lightly over mine.

  I closed my eyes and savored. “Maybe. I had a visitor tonight. Someone you might know.”

  He pulled me inside, closing the door behind me. “Did you now? Why did you not call me, instead of walking over here alone.”

  “I hadn’t thought of it. Besides, this is my town. No wolf is going to scare me off.”

  “Glad we cleared that up. Would you like tea? I was just about to make a pot.”

  “Yes, please. You’re awfully polite tonight.”

  His lips curled. “I like it when you’re drunk.”

  I stepped forward, winding my arms around his neck and pressing into him. “Hmm. Me too. You smell good. I can’t stop thinking about your lips.”

  He backed us up into the kitchen, boxing me in between the cabinet and his body. “That’s not a bad problem to have from where I stand. Did you come here for tea, Mirela, or something more?” he asked, eyes roaming over my lips.

  My tongue darted out, wetting my lips. His crooning voice made my nipples hard, and I tilted my head back, inviting him to take more than my lips.

  Thank God he obliged.

  He was absolutely right. This was what I had come for. To see if he was as perfect as I remembered. To see if he could make my blood sing, make me lose myself, make my magick tremble.

  Conner didn’t just taste, but he feasted with more hunger and demand than I’d been prepared for. It could have been the wine. My body was flooded with a need only Conner could create.

  I shuddered as his hands roamed up my torso and over my firm breasts. The moan was caught in my throat, and I pressed into his hands.

  My rambling got in the way. I couldn’t seem to make my mind up between kissing him and telling him what an amazing kisser he was.

  Tomorrow, I was going to regret making a fool of myself, fawning over Conner like a lovesick dimwit.

  “You can’t die,” I informed him in between breaths of air. “I won’t let you leave me.” More kisses. “I think I’m in love with you.”

  If a pin dropped, I would have been able to hear it. He took a step back, his hands settling on my hips. Not where I wanted them. “Nothing has changed, Mirela.”

  “You mean you’re still going to die and do nothing about it.”

  He let a heavy sigh, raking a hand through his wheat-colored hair. “It’s far more complex than that. No matter my feelings for you, there are things I cannot change.”

  “Can’t or won’t? Forget the tea. I’m no longer thirsty.” I shoved off the counter and spun around to stumble my way home.

  Conner was right behind me as his hand slid under my elbow.

  “What are you doing?” I muttered, my words fuzzy. I jerked out of his grasp and lost my balance.

  Conner was there to catch me. “Making sure you get home safe.”

  “I don’t need your help,” I snapped.

  “Uh-huh.” He continued to guide me through the house.

  I was hurt. Angry. Emotional. “Why would you do this?” I asked after he stuffed me into his car. “Why come here? Why seduce me? Why seal our destiny together only to leave me? You don’t fin
d that cruel?”

  With a quick roar, Conner had the engine of his car running. “I had no choice. It was my destiny to return to Kenmare.”

  “Am I also part of your destiny?” The words spit from my mouth in a temper I no longer controlled.

  The car lurched forward, sailing down the road. “You already know the answer.”

  We rode in silence, and with each passing minute, I stewed in the unfairness. By the time the car pulled up to my cottage, I no longer knew who my anger was directed at. Me? Conner? Fate? The universe?

  It didn’t matter. Conner had made up his mind, and I didn’t have to waste my time trying to save someone who didn’t love me. Without a word, I got out of the car and slammed the door in his face.

  The nerve of him. Damn Conner Delany straight to hell.

  That night, even in a wine stupor, the vision came.

  I didn’t want it. Was tired of seeing Conner die over and over again, but it was my burden to bear.

  A howl ripped through the night, shivering over the treetops. I threw off the covers and padded across the room to the window. The black wolf was pacing the edge of my house with impatient paws. There was no sight of Conner, but the wolf was restless for a reason. Why?

  Me?

  He made no move to threaten me or acknowledged my presence. I did nothing. Only watched. In the cool blue light, shadows shifted, parted for the wolf.

  His head tipped, meeting my gaze through the window, glowing amber eyes, fiery with power. The air trembled. Then the wolf bounded toward the woods, white smoke swirling at his feet, and became a man.

  I pressed my nose to the glass.

  Not just any man.

  My mouth dropped open, and a low vibration trickled along my spine, a frisson of power. It couldn’t be. I nearly pitched forward in the vision, losing my control.

  Conner?

  How could that be? How could Conner be the black wolf, be the wolf that kills him? How could Conner be the wolf that marked me? Hunted me? Taunted me?