Lone Star Magic

by Karen Whiddon

  “I don’t know. I’ve managed to avoid ever being bitten by one.”

  “That you know of. Do you have your medicine kit?”

  She lifted up a small, white plastic box with a red cross on the front. “Here.”

  Outside, Kayo began to bark; loud and frantic.

  “Alrick!” Carly moved away. “That’s Kayo’s warning bark.”

  “Whatever’s out there can’t be any worse than what’s in here. We’ve got to get out of here.”

  “Now.” The spiders were closing in. Every available surface was covered with moving shapes, like before when the Warlord had sent the ants. “Go now.”

  “How?” Her eyes were huge, terrified.

  “Through them, over them. Step on as many as you can, as hard as you can.”

  She shot him a look of mingled fear and disbelief. “You don’t have a better idea?”

  The first wave of arachnids was five feet from them. More had begun dropping off the ceiling. “No. Let’s go!”

  Still, she hesitated.

  “They’re falling in your hair,” he pointed out.

  She took off running, flailing and kicking and screaming and shaking out her hair.

  Cursing, he followed.

  Spiders dropped on her as she ran, dozens of them at once, and Carly couldn’t help but scream. Or start to, until she realized if she opened her mouth, the spiders could get in there too.

  Still… blech.

  One hand clutched her medicine kit, and she used the other to sweep off spiders. The damn things kept coming, like they were unkillable. For every two she killed, four more appeared to take their place.

  Some stung when they bit. Others never fought back.

  Apparently, she wasn’t allergic to spider bites.

  Once outside, in the dim light of the half-moon, she shook her head like a crazed woman, frantically brushing at her arms and shoulders, trying to reach her back. Oh, and her neck, and the collar of her shirt – oh geez.

  She stomped as many as she could, watching the other scurry off in various directions. Head upside down, she combed through her hair, trying not to gag as more spiders fell to the ground.

  This was worse than snakes. Maybe. At least just as bad. Revolting.

  Frantic, she peeled off her shirt and shook it, did the same with her shorts, gave herself another good brush with her hands, and prayed she’d gotten rid of them all.

  Beside her, Alrick danced his own, frenzied dance. Now that she’d settled down enough to notice, she realized he seemed as panicked as she. Hopping up and down, slapping at himself, he would have looked comical if she wasn’t so intimately familiar with how he felt.

  “I hate spiders.”

  “Yes,” he snarled.

  Oddly enough, this too helped to calm her. “You don’t like them either, huh?”

  The look he gave her spoke volumes. Stomping his feet, he ripped off his tunic and shook it out. She had a second to admire his rippling muscles and washboard stomach. Then he peeled off his leggings.

  Carly’s mouth fell open. All he wore for underwear was some kind of leather cup.

  She couldn’t help but stare. Luckily, he was too involved with squashing spiders to notice.

  Kayo dashed up, panting. Belatedly, Carly realized she’d completely forgotten about his warning barks. Glancing at the round pen, where both horses stood peacefully, she heaved a sigh. “I don’t know why Kayo was barking. The horses seem all right.”

  “Maybe he saw the spiders.” Alrick pointed at the house. Carly squinted through the darkness, trying to see. “They’re all over the outside as well.”

  “Ughh.” She shuddered and brushed at her arms again.

  “Are you all right?”

  She glanced over, once again amazed by how casual he seemed about his nakedness. Realizing what he was doing, she blinked and tore her gaze away, back to his face. “I think so. You?”

  “Fine. Spiders bite. Did you get bitten?”

  Self-conscious now, glad at least her tangerine bra and panties matched for once in her life, Carly gave her hair another quick finger comb and shook her head. “Some. I guess I’m not allergic. Nothing’s happened. And if anything does, I brought my kit.”

  Alrick watched her for a moment then bent at the waist and flipped his long, sable hair in front of him, dragging his fingers through it. When he straightened, he slapped at his back and grimaced. He flicked at his arm and stomped on the ground, hard. “Cursed buggers.”

  She looked down. Big mistake. On the dry, cracked earth at their feet, hundreds of them scurried. Never had she seen so many spiders at once, and so many different varieties together.

  “Spiders suck.” Her skin crawled. Resisting the urge to scratch until her skin turned red, Carly joined him in stomping several more.

  “Spiders do not suck,” Alrick corrected. “They spin and bite, but have no tube with which to drink your blood. Nor do they want to.”

  “That was just an expression.” She stomped as many as she could, but backed away when they swarmed her flip-flop. “Meaning I don’t like them.” Wanting to get away from the oncoming second wave of arachnids, she started towards the pen. “Let’s check on the horses.”

  Barking agreement, Kayo ran circles around the pen, careful to stay out of reach of the crawling bugs.

  “Carly?”

  Distracted and trying to dodge a particularly large and nasty looking tarantula, she nearly tripped. “What?”

  “What about your clothing?”

  Earlier she’d changed out of the silvery dress into her regular, summer clothes. But no way was she touching that stuff. It was most likely full of spiders. “What about it?”

  “Don’t you think you should get it?”

  She looked down at herself. The night air felt warm. “Hey, my bra and panties cover more than most swimsuits.”

  He’d scooped up his own clothing and carried it in his arms. “You might need it.”

  With her index finger and thumb, she retrieved her tank top and shorts. “I hate it when you’re right. But I’m not putting it back on. Not until I’m one hundred percent positive there are no spiders in my clothes. It’s too dark out here to tell for sure.” She pointed at the light pole across the yard, near where the barn had once stood. “I’ve got a light over here. Come stand under it. I’ll check you if you’ll check me.”

  Also, the advancing spiders would have to cross a lot of ground to reach them.

  Still, he hesitated, clothes held out before him.

  Modesty? Or what? She crossed to the pole. “Come on, let me check you for spiders. Don’t worry, I’m so not gonna jump your bones.”

  He didn’t move. She couldn’t make out his expression in the shadows. “Alrick?”

  “Jump my… woman, half the time I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

  It figured. “Never mind.” She flipped on the switch, illuminating not only where she stood, but the round pen and the horses. Resting their heads on the top rail, they watched her with much more interest than Alrick.

  She shuddered to think what they’d do if the spiders got on them. Which they would eventually if they kept coming this way. They’d have to move them.

  But first, she wanted to make sure there were no more spiders crawling on her. Turning her back to him, she lifted up her heavy hair. “Come on, we don’t have too long before they reach us. We’re going to need to move the horses. Right now I need you to check me out for spiders.”

  Contrived? Maybe. But she didn’t care. She wanted to make sure she was spider-free. The feel of his hands on her skin would be an added bonus. One she would not let him know she enjoyed. She’d had more than enough rejection from him.

  She waited. He didn’t move.

  “Fine.” Turning, she motioned to him. “I’ll search you first.”

  No reaction.

  “What if you missed some? You might still have spiders crawling on you? Like in your hair.”

  He muttered somet
hing and strode over, carrying his clothes out in front of him like a shield. She muffled her smile. Big, bad, warrior Prince. He really must hate spiders as bad or worse than she.

  “Stand over here, under the light. Turn your back.”

  He did, and she realized his leather pouch thingee was only a thong in the back. “Oh, cripes.”

  “What?” he growled, clutching his clothing in one hand and flipping his long hair over his shoulder with the other.

  “Nothing.” Damn. She looked away, but she couldn’t catch her breath. She’d known he was good-looking, but nearly naked Alrick was male perfection – tight buttocks, narrow waist, and muscular legs. She might be a widow, and they’d definitely agreed he was off-limits, but she was human. No female could glimpse a man who looked as good as this and not feel… intrigued.

  “Well?” The impatience in his voice brought her back to the task at hand. “Are there any more spiders?”

  “I’m looking, I’m looking.” God help her, she was. Heart thumping loudly in her chest, she started at his ankles, inspected both of his calves, then moved up to his thighs. “No spiders.”

  She breezed past his behind, unable to resist brushing at his back – just in case there were smaller arachnids she couldn’t see – and then put her hand on his shoulder to turn him around.

  He turned easily enough.

  She tried to remember to breathe normally. Resolutely, she kept her gaze above his waist. One, two, three quick brushes with her hand at his chest. Such muscles. Damn. “There. All done. All gone.”

  “What about my legs?” His voice sounded gravelly, husky, hoarse. Sexy as hell. She bit her lip to keep from moaning out loud.

  “Your legs – of course. How could I forget?” Nearly babbling, she dropped to her knees in front of him. In her haste to avoid looking there, she nearly bumped him there with her head. Stupid, stupid, stupid. Then she couldn’t help but look.

  Great. His body was as aroused as his voice.

  Her position suddenly struck her. On her knees in front of him, if she lifted her head she could—. No. Not just no. Hell, no.

  Quickly she inspected his feet and his legs.

  “Nothing,” she sang out, as cheerfully as she could. Pushing herself up and away from him, she gave him her back, lifting her heavy hair off her neck. “My turn.”

  He brushed over her shoulders, feather-soft. She shivered. He trailed his fingers down her sides.

  “No spiders, so far.”

  Spiders. Right. That’s what they were doing.

  His hands cupped her breasts. Lightly. Reverently.

  Jerking away, she gasped. “What—!”

  Withdrawing, he drew his hands down her sides. “Hold still. I’m looking for spiders.”

  Trying to hold herself immobile while her heart threatened to burst out of her chest was no easy feat. She broke into a light sweat and concentrated on regulating her breathing.

  Where she had brushed him, he stroked. Down the curve of her spine, over her buttocks, down her legs. Her knees went weak and she wobbled. “Damn it, Alrick. You’re not playing fair.” More than her face was blazing.

  Abruptly, he stepped away from her. She couldn’t help but look, noting the size of his arousal.

  “You’re right. My deepest apologies.” His husky voice sounded anything but apologetic.

  She looked away, biting her lip and thinking about how wet she was, wondering too at the intensity of her desire. For him. A man from another place, another reality, a man who wasn’t even human.

  Still, it had been a long time since she’d felt this way.

  Liam – she forced herself to remember her beloved husband. For the past year, her entire life had been focused on her grief at losing him. She’d existed in a mournful fog, feeling nothing, allowing herself no room for anything but sorrow.

  Alrick made her want more.

  More than sex, more than the simple pleasure of her body joining with his.

  Alrick made her want to live. Made her realize her life could be so much more than mere existence. Sure, she had a purpose now, a reason to escape the warlord – her unborn child – but not once had she thought she’d experience such emotions again.

  Perhaps her life had not completely died with Liam.

  Maybe now was time to acknowledge the reality that her life must go on and it would be her choice how she must live.

  Part of her wanted to ask him to still check her front, but her courage suddenly failed her. Hey, she could look down the length of her body and see there were no spider left crawling on her skin.

  “Carly?”

  She gathered her nerve and inhaled. “I want you, Alrick.”

  “We’ve already covered this.” Alrick sounded miserable, as though his teeth were clenched and he was in physical pain.

  “I know. But I’ve been thinking. Maybe we should just give in to our feelings. We can take precautions against pregnancy. You do have condoms in Rune don’t you?”

  “Now?” He sounded incredulous.

  She couldn’t really blame him. “After we move someplace where those damn spiders can’t follow.”

  Alrick stared, holding his clothing over his leather pouch thing – and what she knew was a raging hard-on.

  Mouth dry, she took a step closer. “Despite our best intentions, we have trouble keeping our hands off each other. If we just go ahead and make love, maybe that’ll get it out of our systems.”

  No doubt one of the stupidest things she’d ever said, but as good an excuse as any.

  If he wanted an excuse.

  “So you think if I make love to you now, this one time will purge our foolish desire for good?” He sounded scornful.

  She glanced at him. Did a double take and looked again. He’d moved his clothing to his side, no longer hiding anything. Fully aroused, the man was huge. Magnificent. She’d never seen anything like it.

  “See how badly I want you?”

  “Yes.” Licking her lips, she couldn’t tear her eyes away. “Are you normally,” she cleared her throat, “like this? So… big?”

  The look he gave her was arrogant and smoldering. “What do you think?”

  Again she swallowed. “Okaaaay. Well.” She tried to think rationally, but all she could think of was sex. Hot, mindless sex. With him. Inside her. Pounding. Hard and fast and furious.

  Without protection.

  “Oh, damn.” She felt like pinching herself. “I’m betting you don’t have a condom, do you?”

  “No, I don’t.” Still, he advanced towards her.

  She stood her ground, keeping her hands clasped together to keep from reaching out and touching him.

  A loud rumbling seemed to come from the ground.

  Kayo barked.

  “What was that?”

  “The after-effects of the Warlord’s magic. Speaking of which, look.” Cursing, Alrick pointed. “Those damn spiders are getting closer.”

  She started, amazed she’d forgotten all about them.

  They moved fast for such little things.

  As if thinking the same thing, Kayo took off running.

  Shaking out her shorts, Carly stepped into them. She did the same with her t-shirt before pulling it over her head. Beside her, Alrick did the same.

  “They won’t give up.” She shuddered. “We’ve got to get the horses.”

  From his position up on the small knoll that led to her back pasture, Kayo barked, as if to say me, too.

  Carly glanced back towards her house. The wave of nasty, crawly, creepy, spiders surged closer. She looked at Alrick. He nodded. Together they ran to the round pen.

  He opened the gate and went in, with her right behind him. He handed her Merry’s lead. TM snorted, bumping Alrick’s hand with his head.

  “Yes, you’re next,” Alrick crooned. Gaze cool, he inclined his head at Carly. “Are you ready to leave now?

  She hesitated. “It’s night. Dark.”

  “We have the moonlight.”

  The ru
mbling sound came again.

  “Is that…” she swallowed. “The weather? Reacting to the magic?”

  “Probably. Come on, hurry.” Leading the stallion towards Kayo, he pointed. “We don’t have much time.”

  “I don’t know.” Carly felt close to panic. This was even worse than before, when they’d left in her truck. True, she had her allergy injection kit, but she had no food, no water, and her purse and credit cards were all in her bedroom so she had no way to purchase any.

  The rumble sounded louder.

  Coolly, as though there weren’t what had to be a million spiders moving towards them, Alrick regarded her. “I don’t know this area. You do. Where do you want to go?”

  “I don’t know.” She swallowed, looking from him to the spiders, to Kayo, who panted and watched them both. “It seems like he always finds us.”

  “We’ll be more careful this time. Make it more difficult for him to find us.”

  “You don’t even know how he found us last time, but he did.”

  He said nothing, just looked at her, his enormous body silhouetted by moonlight. Her protector.

  “We have no money. No food.”

  He waved at the woods. “I’m Fae. I can find food.”

  She tried again. “We have nowhere to go.”

  “I’ve seen the surrounding area. There are miles of uninhabited forests. A bounty of places in which to hide.”

  She sighed. The Texas Hill Country. To the outsider, the rolling, tree-covered hills would appear wild. And being from another dimension, Alrick might not understand the concept of land ownership. “It only looks that way. All that land belongs to someone else.”

  “Will they know we are there? And if they do, will they care?”

  “Probably not.” But the idea of hiding out in the woods didn’t thrill her. There were too many other creepy-crawly things there for the Warlord to send after them.

  But with no clothes, no money, and no real transportation, they had no other choice.

  This time, when the earth rumbled, the ground shook below their feet.

  “Alrick?”

  A large crack appeared in the dirt between them, separating them. TM reared, eyes wild. Merry reacted too, trying to back away. Carly barely held on.