Romance with a Bite

by Tamsin Baker

  I hesitated, wanting to seek the comfort and warmth of Davon’s embrace, but still uncertain of doing so in front of the others.

  Xander waved a casual hand. “Rest, Ella. You’re still recovering. We’ll just sit here and keep you company. Won’t we, Cassius?”

  Cassius had taken a step in my direction, but at Xander’s words, backed up and slumped into one of the winged-back chairs, hooking a long leg over the armrest. “Of course we will.”

  I stifled a smile at his petulant tone. “It’s okay. I’m awake now.”

  “Come, Ella. Lay back down and relax. Tell us news of the town,” Davon said.

  “Conway?” What could I tell them, other than the fact it was ruled by a corrupt, good old boys network? But they’d know that. “Surely you would have gone into town for supplies.”

  I imagined they’d have to go in sometime for food and such, but I frowned at not having seen them before. I knew everyone and even when strangers walked into town, everyone spoke about them. Men like these would have everyone’s tongues wagging, but I hadn’t heard a word.

  “It’s been…a while since we’ve been into town. I’d like to hear it from your point of view. Tell us of the people,” Xander said, sitting in the chair next to Cassius, by the fire.

  At a press of Davon’s fingertips, I slowly nestled back against his chest. It was strange. This position was intimate, and yet with the three of them there it was natural. Apart from my discomfort, they didn’t give it any mind at all.

  Besides, it had been such a long time since I’d allowed myself to draw comfort from anyone, let alone a man, or men, in this case. Three times the comfort. Three times the trouble. And yet, it was a temptation I couldn’t resist. To just lay there with someone’s arms about me, offering me comfort.

  I did wonder why they cared for me to this extent. I didn’t quite buy that they were being truly altruistic, but then again, maybe I was just far too jaded. The truth was, I didn’t know any more and I was too exhausted to fight the worry about it.

  They weren’t hurting me. They weren’t forcing themselves on me. Maybe I should just take things at face value. There didn’t seem to be much in the way of outside communication. Maybe they were just trying to make a country hick like myself feel comfortable and fill in a bit of time before we all could go home.

  Besides, Davon’s body heat was welcome, as was the generosity of his time and caring. I’d never know anyone quite like him. Like none of them, really. There was a timelessness about them. While everyone ran helter-skelter through life, going from one thing to the next, trying to fit everything in, they just… observed. I stretched out beside him. He drew his arm about me. The tension slowly eased out of me as my limbs relaxed. I folded my hand on top of his chest, watching it rise and fall with his breathing.

  “What do you want to know?” There really wasn’t much to tell. The days blended into a homogenous mix in a small town. I mentally winced, knowing I was going to sound so cocooned. To live all of my life in such a small town when there was a whole world out there to discover.

  “What do you do there?” Davon’s chest vibrated with his deep voice.

  I sighed, trying to ignore the worry about the farm we depended on for our survival and Mom, hoping she wasn’t getting worse, “I breed Rambouillet sheep for their wool. It seems I have a bit of a knack for producing the best quality wool in the area.”

  “They produce very high quality wool,” Xander said.

  I blinked. Most people eye’s glazed over when they asked me what I did. “Yes. How did you know that?”

  “At one stage, I worked on a farm. A long time ago. Almost too long ago to remember,” Xander said.

  “My herd of sheep are descended from the originals from this region,” I said.

  “I remember when we first introduced them,” Xander said.

  I frowned, glancing at him, “The originals? That was almost three hundred years ago.”

  “Yes. That’s right. I…must have read that. Is that what you’ve always wanted to do?”

  I had the feeling he was being evasive, but for the life of me I didn’t see how sheep farming came into it. It was a harmless enough subject. “Me? There aren’t many career options in Conway. Not unless you’re a follower of the Holy Trinity.” How could I tell them my plans had never been to stay in Conway? I’d studied online, earned my degree in marketing. I’d wanted a big career in a big city. It was a pity life had other plans for me.

  “The Holy Trinity?” Cassius asked.

  “Surely you’ve heard of them.” You’d have to be under a rock not to hear about Minister Jeremiah Sinclair, Herman White and Ellis Myers. They had quite the reputation.

  I wondered at their blank looks. They must be the only three people in the vicinity not to have heard of The Holy Trinity. I felt as though I was about to destroy their nice views of Conway.

  “They’re the royalty of Conway. They control everything from the laws, to the economy, to the distribution of work. Have for generations. If you want to get anything out of life, you have to bow down to them. If you don’t do as they say, then you’re on the outer fringes. And you don’t want to be on the outer fringes.” It was freeing to be able to talk about them without fear of retribution. It had gotten so bad, that speaking about any of The Trinity, even in private, was paramount to sacrilege. It was exhausting, watching every little thing you said and did.

  “How did they treat you, Ella? Were you on the outer fringes, as you call it?”

  I allowed a small smile to play across my mouth, probably more of a grimace than anything else. “No matter how hard I tried to abide by their stupid rules, I just couldn’t bring myself to be that way.”

  Xander’s deep chuckle melted right through me. “Somehow I thought you’d say something like that.” I liked the sound of it. I also liked seeing his face relax with a smile.

  It was also refreshing not to have people tell me what I should think and do and say. No one had agreed with me for a long, long time. Every day had been one battle after another. My fist clenched over Davon’s heart. “What they’re doing is wrong and I can’t understand why people just stand by and let them rule their lives. Nobody should have that power over someone else. Nobody. It’s wrong.”

  They had overpowered my life and the life of my mother for far too long. They had the power to rule my farm, my financial stability and her health. They just hadn’t stood by and passively let it happen, either. One way or another, over time, little by little, they had whittled down my business and forced me into a corner. I had to wonder if it was absolute power they wanted over all that lived in Conway, or if it was more than that.

  If it was, I had no idea why. Surely I wasn’t important enough to warrant their long-time attention. I’d never thought about it that way before. Probably because being in the middle of everything shortens your perspective about your reality.

  Davon’s strolling digits stilled, his fingers curling around my arm. “Is that why you were halfway up the mountain when we found you? Did they do something to you? Threaten you?”

  That was unsettlingly perceptive. “Let’s just say I was getting out of a bad situation that had suddenly become untenable.”

  There must have been a disturbing look on my face because Xander strode towards me, his features tense and unyielding. “Tell me his name, Ella. Tell me and I’ll make sure he never deigns to come near you again.”

  I tensed, curling into Davon’s side, expecting the slap I knew would fall. I should have known. When things were too good to be true, they always were.

  Chapter Nineteen

  I tensed, curling into Davon’s side. I brought my hand over my head to protect myself. It was an automatic reaction. One I’d honed over time.

  When a blow didn’t fall, I sneaked a look between my fingers. A look of sadness edged into Xander’s eyes. He kneeled on the floor so he was face level with me. He took my hand and held it gently in his. “I’m not angry at you, Ella. Never at you. I�
�d never hit you. Ever.”

  Davon had stilled, his fingers curved around my shoulder. Cassius stood and moved towards me, a frown over his attractive features.

  I gaped, my gaze roaming over all three men. Xander’s anger wasn’t directed at me. It took my brain a moment to catch up with their horrified expressions.

  I hated I’d shown a moment of weakness. Whenever I did that, it never took long for Gary to press his advantage over me. He always preyed on weakness. Logically, I knew I shouldn’t tar them with the same brush, but I’d put up with Gary for a long time. The reaction was ingrained.

  It wasn’t as though I could go and tell anyone what he did. It was always done covertly. A slap here, a push there. Always when nobody was looking, but what would anyone do if they did see? He was protected and I was anything but.

  But I was here with these guys and I didn’t want to think about Gary and his years of abuse.

  “I’m sorry. I overreacted.”

  “You did not overreact. A woman doesn’t cover her head like that without good reason. Tell us what happened, Ella,” Cassius said.

  I didn’t want to. It didn’t pay to open your mouth about the Trinity or any of their progeny, but they didn’t know about the town, or the people, or Minister Jerimiah or Gary. And it had felt good to be able to talk about it to people prepared to listen. Really listen.

  I sighed. “Do you really want to hear about this?” It had been so nice just curling up and talking, without Conway intruding. Without Conway controlling me.

  “You don’t have to do anything you don’t want to do, Ella, but if you live as long as I have, you know it’s always best to get it off your chest. Maybe we can help,” Davon said.

  “Lived as long as you?” I gave him an incredulous look. They didn’t look older than thirty. If that.

  “Sometimes we feel positively ancient,” Cassius said. “That’s what he meant. Wasn’t it, Davon?”

  “Yes. That’s exactly what I meant. And as we don’t have television here, we’re always ready to listen to stories. Even stories full of woe.” His white teeth were dazzling against his mocha skin.

  “Well, as long as I’m good for entertainment purposes, I’ll tell you anything,” I snickered.

  “We mean it, Ella. Will you tell us? Please?”

  Xander’s expression was my undoing. It was so sincere. I’d never seen a guy quite with that expression before. It was one of true feeling, not just put on because he wanted to get into my pants – although it was pretty obvious they all did.

  What did it matter if I did tell them, in any case? When the storm cleared, I might be gone tomorrow. The chances I’d see them again were slim to none. I ignored the little twinge of my heart. It was nothing more than wishful thinking and the flattery of being the center of attention of three very sexy men. It was every girl’s fantasy, but I didn’t want to let it get to my head. Or my heart. Hope was a poisoned arrow.

  Maybe I should take up their offer to unburden myself. It was the conversation I couldn’t have with anyone else, except my mother of course, and hearing a male’s perspective on the situation might also prove to be fruitful.

  I played with a thread of Davon’s shirt. It wasn’t lost on me that he kept his arms firmly about me, as though to anchor me to the spot. I concentrated on the thread while I spoke. “Gary is the mayor’s son and Ellis Myers runs Conway with an iron fist. Between him, the Minister Jerimiah who runs the church, and Herman White, the bank manager, they have the town locked up tight.”

  I took a deep breath, my gaze bouncing between them to see if they were still interested. Their eyes hadn’t wandered, so I continued. “For some reason, Gary’s had his eyes on me since I was a girl, but…”

  “Go on, Ella.” Davon began to gently stroke my arm again. It helped settle nerves that wanted to jump out of my skin.

  “But I’ve never liked him. Not in that way or in any other way either. He’s cruel and he’s always used being the mayor’s son like a right of entitlement.” A rise of anger made me clench my teeth. I’d lost count of the times he’d accosted me in the school hallway, which then became the aisles of the hardware store, the back table at the coffee shop, the quiet shelves of the library.

  God, now I’d started, it all came pouring out. Maybe I’d kept things bottled up for too long and like a broken dam, it all began flowing out. I didn’t stop to think, I just spoke, the words piling on top of each other.

  “I would never know when he’d turn up and proposition me. Instead of listening to me—I mean, who’d want someone who didn’t want them back—he took it as a challenge. Every time I turned him down, he got angrier.” And angrier. Until he lashed out and then that became the new normal.

  “I got used to hiding from him. I managed to evade him for months, which was some mean feat, given how small Conway is, until I came back that night after dropping Mom off at a friend’s house and saw him on my front porch.” With my Grimoire clutched in his meaty hands. “He’d been inside. Going through my things.”

  I hadn’t stopped to really let that settle in. I shuddered, feeing the full force of his invasion. There was no knowing what he went through. My computer. My clothes. My underwear. “What a pervert,” I muttered. I really did wish I’d kneed him in the balls.

  “If he ever comes here, he will not be able to walk again for a year,” Cassius said.

  I started a little. I’d been caught up with my bitter feelings. I hated living in Conway for so many reasons. I managed a chuckle that wasn’t born of lightness. “You’re the last in a long line, believe me. You’ll just need to get past his father, the bank manager and the minister.”

  “Is that why you were running in the middle of the wilderness? In the middle of a storm? In the middle of the night?” Davon asked, his voice rumbling in my ear.

  “If they’d have caught me with the Grimoire, I don’t know what would have happened to me. Will still happen to me.” Gary knew it existed. Even if I did hide it, he still knew. I couldn’t lie. His father would take his word against mine.

  Hiding the Grimoire. Hiding here. It would change nothing. The longer I hid, the bigger the retribution would be when I returned to Conway.

  And I didn’t know what the hell I was going to do.

  Chapter Twenty

  “How much of a problem is it?” Davon asked.

  I relaxed into his body. It might very well be the last chance I had to do it, so I made the most of the opportunity. “A huge problem. The town is run by Minister Jeremiah and anything that’s not in the bible is considered heresy. Let’s just say there will be enormous consequences when they find out I have this Grimore.” I shuddered. Minister Jeremiah was becoming more and more unstable. His sermons preached eternal damnation. There had always been a little mad glint in his eyes, but lately it was more than a glint. It was a floodlight.

  “What are the consequences?’ Xander’s voice was steel. I glanced at him, and his eyes were frosted with a pain I couldn’t quite identify.

  “Archaic consequences.” I licked my dry lips, distraught in my thoughts that I could be caught up in the middle of something like this. That he was just insane enough to go through with what he’d preached about and the townspeople would stand by and let it happen. “Things that haven’t happened in over three hundred years.”

  It was the original reason Conway had become a Bible town, led by larger-than-life preachers in an attempt to keep the devil away. They saw the devil in anything that wasn’t in the Bible and the last time I looked, the Bible didn’t mention a Grimoire.

  I’d attended a sermon in an attempt to bring me closer to the townspeople. I didn’t realise what a mistake it had been. My grandmother had been marked. Mom was marked, and so I was I. My whole family had been through the ages. “The last sermon I attended, Minister Jeremiah looked me straight in the face and said anyone owning contraband would face eternal damnation and the only way to exorcize those demons was to burn. The next day they erected a huge pole in the
town square. They used to do that type of thing in the town, you know. Minister Jeremiah is intent on bringing it back.”

  If I couldn’t collect Mom and get out of town in time, I really didn’t know what they all would be capable of. People I went to school with, that I drank coffee with, even Mom’s few friends, would all turn on us for fear of their own form of retribution.

  It was, after all, a member of my family who had been burned alive all those centuries ago.

  Xander stood abruptly. He ran rough fingers through his hair and turned to stare out of the darkened window. I sat up, unable to draw comfort even from Davon any more. A chill had settled in my bones. I drew my knees to my chest and wrapped my arms about my legs.

  “How could they still do this type of thing? Haven’t they learned from past mistakes?’ Cassius asked, looking equally as stressed as Xander.

  “It’s why, even though you’ve all been so nice to me, I have to get back to Mom. She’s sick, but more than that, I don’t know how safe she is. They could be doing anything to her and while I’m here, I can’t protect her.”

  I bent my forward to my knees, dread filing me at what she just might be experiencing. We’d both been on the vicious end of Minister Jeremiah and the brunt of the anger of the townspeople. Somehow we’d pulled through, but we’d never been able to leave the town despite everything.

  It sounded simple. Get the hell out of a town that didn’t want you there, but it had also proven equally impossible throughout the ages. For one reason or another, my family, distant grandmothers, had been trapped there because of a history I had no control over.

  “If only I could get away.” The words shuddered out on a breath created more of hopeless desire and desperation than air. The breath left my lungs, leaving me hollow. I was desperate to leave, desperate for a life I’d never been able to reach. It was more than a mere wish. Every cell in my body fought with a frantic need to just go. Leave and never look back. I’d make sure nobody else from my family would ever step foot there, either. That was not difficult, as I was the last of the line.