Josef was smiling now and Gabe smiled back. It was always nice to see his friend smile, he did it so infrequently that when he did, it always made Gabe happy.
“Was that her? I heard a noise, even though I had my headphones on, but didn’t know what it was.” Gabe was more than a little surprised, when he had heard a loud noise, a kind of whooshing, then a sound as if something had crashed into the ground. He had looked out the front, but couldn’t see anything, and had returned to his music, wondering what it had been.
Now he knew, it was their little Witch learning her craft.
“Yes, it was her, but it has taken a lot out of her, on top of her physical exertions this morning. I think we will forego the riding lesson today. Some food then bed, I think.” Josef spoke with his eyebrow raised in Gabe’s direction.
Gabe frowned, shit, he meant no sex later! Bugger, he had been looking forward to the three of them having some fun.
“No, Gabe, I mean it, she needs to rest and you, Wolf, will just have to find some kind of restraint!” Josef was now frowning in his direction and Gabe nodded.
“Okay, Jo, it’s just hard, ya know? I want her all the time. My Wolf wants her all the time, but I’ll be good, I promise.” Gabe watched as Peri murmured and cuddled closer to Josef.
“Okay, my friend, I know it is hard, but she is still not at full strength and the training, both physically and magically, are taking a toll. We have to care for her, Gabe, and if that means restraint on our parts, then so be it.”
Josef looked down at Peri and Gabe nodded again, more to himself than his friend. Jo was right, they had to make sure their mate grew strong, in every way. After all, there was a battle coming and it was their job, as her mates, to make sure she was ready for it.
Gabe said, “I’ll go get Margaret to organize the meal, say a half hour? Oh and remember we need to talk to her about that other situation, it needs to be done.”
His friend only nodded his head, not taking his eyes from Peri.
Chapter 16
Peri woke as Josef stood up from his seated position in the Jacuzzi, her body feeling a bit better. “How long have I been sleeping?” she asked through a yawn.
“Only about half an hour, dinner is ready, so we better get you inside.” Her Vampire moved them out of the water and once again, sat her on the side. Retrieving a towel, he gently rubbed her dry, and then got one of the robes and placed it around her before drying himself and putting another of the robes on.
Peri stood up and laughed at her Vampire’s frown. “I can walk, Josef. Come on, I’m starving,” she said, as she took hold of one of his hands and walked towards the rear door to the house.
As soon as they entered, her mouth started watering at the glorious smell of cooked food. Her stomach rumbled, and she knew she was going to eat everything Margaret gave her.
In the dining area, she saw Gabe at his seat and Liam a couple of chairs down. The Witch seemed nervous and kept glancing at her and Josef, as they moved to their own places.
Gabe was already tucking into his food and Peri’s plate was full, more than she would normally eat, but boy, was she hungry. She sat down and started to eat the lovely meal Margaret had prepared, as her Vampire sat at her side and poured himself a glass of wine.
“I’m sorry,” Liam said, and Josef gave him a very cold look.
“You are here to help Peri, train her, not have her to the point of exhaustion!” Josef barked out, and even though his words were not aimed at her, Peri’s stomach clenched.
“Josef, don’t blame Liam. He asked me if I wanted to try it, and I said yes. It was me that kept harnessing the power, I could’ve stopped before it got so immense, but I didn’t. I wanted to see what I was capable of.” Peri didn’t want Liam getting any backlash for her actions, she was the one that pushed herself to the limit.
Josef looked at her, and she saw his hard stare soften, just a little. She also saw that his eyes were full of worry, for her. It brought a lump to her throat. Never before had anyone worried about her, given a damn how she felt, or even just cared about her well-being, apart from Daiki. To see that worry in the face of her Vampire made her realize just how far she had come and that thought brought a revelation.
She now knew that with her men beside her, she was stronger than she had ever been. Strong enough to maybe take on her father. She moved a hand and placed it on top of Josef’s on the table, gave it a squeeze. “I’m okay, really,” she said, and he inclined his head slightly.
“I won’t work her as hard tomorrow,” Liam said quietly.
“Okay, just remember that, Liam. You train her, teach her, but please try and not exhaust her.” Josef’s voice was no longer as hard, and he kept his eyes on her, as he spoke. She smiled again and went back to her food.
“An early night for you, babe,” Gabe said, as usual between his mouthfuls of food.
“Yeah, I know, I’m whacked. Remember that tomorrow morning, Wolf!” she joked, and saw the shake of his head.
“Nope, uh-uh, that’s why you’re having an early night. So you’re all rested for me to crack the whip tomorrow.” Gabe had finished his food and was drinking what she guessed was his favorite whisky.
“Jeez, you’re a hard taskmaster, Gabe!” she laughed and finished off her food, feeling full and happy, even if she was tired.
“So, are you taking me for my first lesson?” she asked Josef, who shook his head.
“No, tomorrow, you have done too much today, little Witch. You need to rest.” He was staring intently at her, and she wasn’t sure why.
What she did know was that although she had been a little scared of horses and learning to ride, she now felt a little disappointed. She all but pouted her reply. “No, you promised, just a little while, please?”
Gabe laughed out loud. “Bet you can’t say no!” he managed to get out, and she saw her Vampire shake his head.
“I will not take that bet, Wolf,” Josef said, and then he was nodding his head at Peri.
“Okay, a very short lesson. Finbar has picked that mare for you, she is very calm and docile, so you do not need to be scared of her.” Josef stood up, and she jumped up after him.
Tired or not, she was now excited, as she followed him out of the dining room. She almost ran up the stairs and quickly threw some clothes on, as did Josef. Once more, she saw him in jeans and a t-shirt, and she quite liked the look on him. She put on her old army issue combat boots, then followed Josef back downstairs, out of the house, and towards one of the stables, Gabe now right behind them.
As they neared the large open door, she could hear a low rumbling voice coming from within. As they entered, she saw it was Finbar. He was saddling up a piebald horse, and as he did so, he was talking calmly to it. As he finished what he was doing, he clapped the animal and ran his hand down the front of its face.
“Ah yer a good girl,” he said, and his tone was gentle and almost loving, which surprised Peri greatly.
As the large Vampire turned around, he gave a slight nod to Josef. “All ready fer ye.”
Josef moved forward, taking her with him, and stopped beside Finbar, who now spoke directly to her. “This here is Lady, she’s a grand old girl and very calm and won’t gie ye any trouble.”
Peri looked at Finbar, then at the horse, and hoped that was true. Although this horse was a bit smaller than a lot of the others, she was still big and Peri was a little anxious.
“I am going to let Finbar talk you through your first lesson and I will get you outside, when he thinks you are ready.” Josef gave her shoulder a little pat and moved away. Gabe followed, leaving her alone with the horse and Finbar.
She watched as her two men left and wondered why. She had thought Josef was going to teach her how to ride, and now she was stuck in a stable with the rather daunting Finbar. She took a deep breath and turned towards the horse and the large Vampire.
“Okay, miss, we’
ll get started ...”
Finbar started to show her everything she needed to know about the horse, the equipment, how to get on and off the animal, which she had some difficulty with, how to let it know where she wanted it to go and how fast. She was a little surprised at the gentleness he showed towards the animal and even to her, as if he knew she was more than a little scared.
As the time went on, she warmed to this bear of a man and even saw a slight smile between the large beard at times. Finally he said she was all set. “Lady here doesn’t need a lot of coaxing, if there’s another horse, she’ll just stay beside it, so don’t worry. And if Josef’s stallion takes off, she won’t follow, unless you urge her to do so. Just be gentle with her, and she’ll be gentle right back.”
Finbar led the horse out of the stables and Gabe was waiting with a cheeky grin. “All set?” he asked Finbar, who only nodded, then turned and went back inside the stables.
“Where’s Josef?” she asked, and Gabe pointed to one of the large corralled areas, her eyes followed, and she saw him.
He was on a very large, jet black stallion, which seemed to be very highly strung. Josef was riding him around the area, as if letting the animal know who was boss.
“That’s his stallion, Satan,” Gabe told her, as she stared wide-eyed at the magnificent beast.
“It seems wild,” she said quietly, a little scared of the seemingly manic animal.
“Oh, he is that! Josef’s the only one who can ride him, even Finbar can’t get on his back and that’s saying something.” Gabe was watching with a smirk, and she wondered what he was thinking, then a word or two popped into her head, straight from his.
She let out a little gasp, as she realized the power she had uncovered after the mating was still there. She concentrated harder and then admonished her Wolf. “Gabe! Just why do you think it would be funny for that horse to throw Josef!?”
Her Wolf turned to her with a sheepish grin. “Jo’s always so cool, calm, in control, it’s nice to occasionally hope to see his feathers ruffled.”
“Well, that’s not nice, he could get hurt if that animal threw him!” She couldn’t bear the thought of her Vampire being hurt, no matter how strong he was.
“Nah, he just uses his powers and usually lands on his feet,” Gabe said, with what sounded like annoyance.
“Gabe! What is wrong with you today?” she was a little upset at the direction her Wolf’s thoughts were going.
“Nothing, sorry, Peri, really I am, come on, we’ll go get Josef and go for a ride.” Before he could move she stopped him.
“Where’s your horse?” and she saw the large smile on his face, as he answered.
“Going Wolf,” and at that, he stripped off and changed right before her. This time seemed so much quicker that she couldn’t have picked out the instant he had completely changed. His majestic beast now prowled in front of her horse and towards Josef and Satan.
Peri shivered at the name of the stallion, who on earth would call their animal Satan? With a shrug of her shoulders, she knew Josef would do so. With little urging from her, Lady started to follow the huge Wolf, and she remembered Josef telling her the horses were used to having the Wolf around them. She watched as Josef came towards them, the fence the only thing between them.
She realized quickly that he wasn’t going to the gate, he was coming straight over the fence, and she held her breath, as she watched. The black horse snorted, as it ran towards the fence and Josef sat with confidence on its back, a determined look on his face. Peri wasn’t sure the animal was going to jump, it seemed hell-bent on just running towards them. At the last moment, with some urging from Josef, the animal took off, first the forepaws and then the rear, and sailed over the fence with plenty of room to spare.
It landed a few yards from her, and snorted and stamped one of its front hooves into the hard packed earth before moving nearer. Peri stared at the animal and in particular its eyes. It looked a little angry, in her opinion anyway.
“Okay, we are only going for a very short ride, and then it is an early night for you,” Josef said, as he came alongside her and Lady.
“Fine by me, I’m still scared this horse is going to take off and run wild.” She patted the side of the horse, where Finbar had showed her, and she was sure the animal liked it. She hoped so, she wanted to keep on Lady’s good side.
The large Wolf led the way, loping ahead quickly, and Peri followed slowly, she was too scared to go any faster. However, she clearly saw Josef holding his own mount back, it obviously wanted to go for a gallop, and she felt bad for holding them all back.
“Josef, you go on, let that mad beast have a run.” She laughed, as she looked at the wild look in Satan’s eyes.
“He does want a good run, he has not had a proper one since the last time I was here. It is his own fault, though. He won’t let anyone else ride him. If he did, he would get lots of runs, so it is his own bloody fault!” Josef’s words belied the feeling that he obviously held for the animal.
“Go, really, I’m fine, Lady and I will just meander after you, and you can give him a run and then come back and get me.” She thought she would prefer Satan to go for a run, it kinda scared her.
“Okay, I will not be long.” Josef urged his horse on, and it took off at a gallop. Soon the distance fell away, and she watched as the horse moved quickly with Josef lying low over its neck.
She settled into the saddle and moved on, slowly, and soon realized she was enjoying herself. Gabe’s Wolf was a little way in front and Josef was now almost a speck in the distance. Satan had moved so fast that she was sure the horse would be worn out, when they were finished.
Lady felt comfortable underneath her and she urged her on a little, now going not quite at a snail’s pace. A huge smile was on her face, as she relaxed and started to look all around, taking in the area, while keeping an eye on the large Wolf.
She thought she might get to like this riding malarkey, well, on Lady anyway. Finbar had been right about the horse, though, she should’ve known to trust him. After all, Josef had him as manager of his ranch and in charge of all those expensive animals.
A while later, she turned to look behind her and was quite surprised at how far they had gone from the ranch. She was just thinking she was going to attempt to turn Lady around, when she saw Josef streaking back towards her, Satan still biting at the bit.
He had a look of sheer concentration on his handsome features, as he finally pulled the animal up and fell in beside her. “You looked as if you were enjoying yourself,” she chuckled, and he smiled over at her.
God he was so handsome when he smiled. “I was, I love riding, and riding an animal such as this is always exhilarating.” She thought that exhilarating wasn’t the word she would’ve used – ‘downright terrifying’ was probably more apt in her case.
“Wolf! Time to head in,” he shouted. She saw the large animal turn and run back towards them, overtaking them and heading back to the ranch.
“Just follow me, Lady should know we are going home and just come along,” he said, as he turned his large beast easily.
Luckily Lady moved with them, and she let out a sigh, as she realized that she was now facing the right direction with not a lot of input from her.
They rode back in a companionable silence, as she was trying to concentrate on what she was doing with Lady, and her Vampire seemed quite content to just come along, at her side.
Gabe made it back first, and as they rode in towards the stables, she saw the Wolf change and reach for his clothes, dressing quickly. Once more, her rugged man stood waiting, and as soon as she was close enough, he helped her down. She took the reins and led the horse back towards the stable, where a man she had only glimpsed on occasion, waited. He took Lady from her without a word and took the animal inside.
She saw that Finbar was waiting at the other stables, and it was him that took Satan’s reins from Josef. As
soon as he did, the animal started acting up again, and she wondered at its behavior. Highly strung didn’t even come close in relation to that black horse.
“A nice warm bath and then bed,” Josef said, as he joined them and took her hand, leading her back towards the house.
She thought that was a great idea, her body sore, her mind tired, a bath and bed, just what she needed. She yawned, as she entered the house and Gabe chuckled, picked her up, and carried her upstairs.
He put her down on the edge of the bed, moved to the bathroom, and turned the taps on to fill the huge bath, even putting some bubble stuff in that smelled like fresh flowers.
As he came back into the bedroom, Josef joined them, a slight frown on his face.
She tried to read him, couldn’t, why?
“I have a little block in place, something I can do, you may be able to do it, too, with a little practice,” he told her, and that had her frowning even more.
“Why would you do that?” she asked, wondering at the reason.
“Mainly because we need to talk, discuss something, and I have been trying to figure out how to go about that.” He was starting to take his clothes off and that only distracted her all the more.
Gabe snorted. “Yeah, it’s something we should’ve spoken about before now. Way, way, before now.”
She turned to the Wolf and tried to read him, and she got a picture of a little baby lying in a crib. What the hell? Her face must’ve shown her confusion and Josef chuckled, actually chuckled!
“I assume by the look on your face you saw into his head. God knows what he is thinking, but we do need to discuss something rather delicate. Peri, are you on birth control?” Josef watched for her reaction, both visibly and in her head.
She gasped, shit! She hadn’t even thought on that. Of course she wasn’t, she had no doctor, hadn’t ever had sex. It had never even occurred to her. Until now, that is.
The Witch, The Wolf and The Vampire Series Boxed Set Page 28
