by Casey Lane
A warm hand landed on her shoulder and urged her forward. “Lie down, lass,” Leith said. “Just rest for a little while. Matthew and I will be here, and I’ll help mute your magic until we land.”
More than a little stunned, because honestly, how rich were these people, Sunny allowed herself to be pushed gently down onto the mattress. Leith even drew the blankets up to her chin and smoothed back her hair as if she was a small child.
She lifted her head a few inches off the pillow, in time to see Matthew sit down at the desk and shuffle his papers around. “I didn’t want to disturb you,” he said to Leith.
“You shouldn’t be so silly, lad,” Leith replied. “We’ve worked together at this desk plenty of times.”
Matthew muttered some response she couldn’t quite make out, but she was much more interested in Leith at the moment. The way he talked fascinated her. One second, he sounded like an ancient Scottish warrior, and the next, he sounded like he’d lived all his life rocking the twenty-first century.
She supposed he’d gotten used to changing the way he spoke as language evolved. He probably only reverted back to the Old English with the exceedingly heavy brogue when he was stressed or in some highly emotional state.
Her fatigue was far too intense for her to dwell on his changing accent much, however, and she floated on the edge of consciousness, aware of the occasional muttering from the desk but not actually awake enough to add to their conversation.
Still, what she heard was fairly illuminating. And eventually interesting enough to wake her up when the talk turned to clan business.
She was about to join this MacAlister clan thing whether she wanted to or not, so she figured she had a right to know what was going on.
“What are you working on?” Leith asked after they’d been in the back room for about ten minutes.
“It’s a contract for the new start-up company he’s interested in investing in,” Matthew replied.
Through half-closed eyes, Sunny saw Leith’s head kick up. “He’s never invested in something so risky before.”
“Mmm, you’re right,” Matthew agreed. “It’s about time he did. He’s not investing everything he has, not even close. Besides, he has lots of time to recover if it goes belly up. He’s only one hundred and fifty years old and the technology he’s looking at investing in has proved to be pretty stable so far.”
Leith picked up his coffee cup and took a sip. “That’s true. Are the contracts to your liking?”
Matthew shrugged. “It’s pretty standard. There are some things I’m going to insist be changed and other things I’m going to ask for which I don’t think they’ll give me.”
“You’re a shark,” Leith said.
Matthew gestured to Leith’s papers. “What about you? We’ve found Sunny, so you’re free, right? Well, until Raven decides to send me somewhere. Then you get to play chaperon.”
Sunny wondered if Matthew resented the need for someone to accompany him but she was far too interested in what they were discussing to interrupt. Besides, they seemed to have forgotten she was in the room. Or at least, they thought she was sleeping.
Leith put his cup down and pointed at his own papers. “Tracking the dragons.”
“The dragons? I thought you told Raven you couldn’t sense them?”
“I can’t sense them or seek for them in the traditional way of a seeker. But I can make some deductions based on where they were last seen.” The giant sounded amused.
Leith reached forward and unfurled a huge roll of paper. Sunny could tell he was using his pen to point out certain locations. “The last known whereabouts of the dragon queen was here,” he jabbed at what Sunny supposed was a map.
“Prince Gareth was spotted ten years ago here,” he pointed to another spot. “And the humans have been reporting sightings of winged creatures here, here and here, all within the last few years.”
Matthew got up and stood next to him as Leith picked up his coffee cup again. “You know, all of these locations are within easy commuting distance to the cliffs here. Do you think they could be holed up there in dragon form?”
Sunny shifted around in the bed, trying to get a better view of what was going on. Neither of the men noticed her moving around but she wasn’t surprised. The amount of sexual energy flickering between them made for better entertainment than the best romance novel. She wriggled around until she could clearly see what was going on.
Matthew leaned forward and pointed to the map. His arm brushed against Leith’s on the way, causing the other man to spill his coffee down the front of his shirt.
“Oh, shit,” Matthew exclaimed. He grabbed a couple of tissues and tried to mop the mess up. “I’m so sorry.”
Leith cleared his throat and grabbed Matthew’s hands. “It’s all right, Matthew.”
Matthew had frozen with both of his hands pressed flat against Leith’s belly. Sunny could practically see the waves of heat rising from the two men and she had to keep her hand tucked under her cheek to stop from fanning herself.
Matthew stepped back and cleared his throat. “Sorry,” he said again, lowering his eyes.
Leith tipped his chin up with two fingers. “Doona worry about it,” he said, his accent back, stronger than ever. “I’ll borrow one of Raven’s shirts.”
The leader kept a stocked closet on a plane? She couldn’t even imagine how much the clan used this plane if they needed to keep fresh clothes on board.
“Okay. I’ll pay for the dry cleaning,” Matthew mumbled.
Leith cleared his throat and started unbuttoning his shirt. “I said not to worry about it.”
Narrowing her eyes, Sunny pretended to sleep as she watched Leith strip the shirt off.
The man was positively ripped. He was simply gorgeous.
Moving her head a fraction of an inch, she glanced at Matthew. The lawyer’s gaze was fastened on the other man, and the slight bulge in the front of his pants hinted at his real thoughts. She wondered, for a second, if Matthew would question Leith about their interaction, but Leith turned around and Matthew’s face fell into a mask of abject misery.
Wondering what had affected Matthew so much, Sunny turned her gaze back to Leith. Winding down the man’s spine was an intricate tattoo spelling a woman’s name in Old English letters.
She was supposed to be sleeping, so she couldn’t ask about the name, but she guessed it was the man’s dead wife.
She swallowed sympathetic tears, only able to guess at how Matthew felt. She felt a sudden need to get out of the bed and wrap her arms around the young man. There seemed to be a connection between her and Matthew and, for the first time in her life, she ached to foster that connection.
Chapter Seven
Good God, when Matthew had said they were going to MacAlister castle, she had pictured a mansion. But this was an honest to goodness castle with arrow slits, towers, and an outer wall with a moat. A moat that had to be crossed by a freaking drawbridge. “You could have warned me,” she muttered to the two men at her side.
“What did you expect, lass? We told you it was a castle.”
Leith had an amazing ability to state the obvious. Still, the man looked down at her with something akin to fondness on his face. She stuck her tongue out at him and turned back to the castle. She had to crane her neck all the way back to see the top of the closest tower. It looked positively medieval. “Please tell me there’s indoor plumbing,” she said.
This time, Leith laughed out loud. “Yes, Sunny. The castle has been completely updated over the years. We have indoor plumbing and electricity. We even have the Internet and cable.”
“Be honest, Leith. We still heat the rooms with fireplaces though. Can you imagine the cost of heating this place with a furnace?” Matthew said reasonably.
He dragged his suitcase behind him with one hand, the other occupied with juggling his briefcase and a set of keys. “Do you think Raven will let me park my car in his garage tonight?” he asked.
“As long a
s you don’t get too close to my Porsche,” a tall man said from the doorway, where he was evidently waiting for them.
Matthew broke out into a genuine smile for the first time since they’d talked about him not having any magic. “Don’t worry, old man. I won’t get anywhere near your precious car.”
Sunny laughed at their banter but couldn’t help but notice that Leith had gotten suspiciously still and silent. “I’ll be leaving,” he said stiffly. “If you should find yourself in need of anything, have Matthew call me.”
He marched off into the castle without a backward glance or even a good-bye.
Raven sighed and approached them, taking Sunny’s bags from her and gesturing for Matthew and her to follow him inside. “I’m sorry, Matthew. Any time I say something to you, he gets a like that. Maybe you have hope after all?”
Sunny stumbled to a halt. Raven knew about Matthew’s crush on Leith?
She scrambled to catch up with them as they stopped and Matthew shook his head. “No. I’m never going to be the one for him. I need to give up and move on.”
Raven bumped him with his shoulder. “Do you want me to assign someone else to Leith?”
Matthew shook his head again, this time faster. “No. I can’t give him up completely. We’ll just be co-workers.”
“I hate seeing you in pain,” Raven said.
Sunny backed off, feeling like she was eavesdropping on a conversation she really shouldn’t be hearing. But she was happy she was in a place which had a leader who cared about his people.
If she had to be here, that is. She hadn’t forgotten about the part where she had essentially been kidnapped. Okay, so she’d technically come willingly, but only after someone else had tried to kill her.
It was hard to hold on to her anger for the two men who’d brought her there though.
Maybe she was crazier than all those psychiatrists at the hospital thought.
She used the time to look over the grounds. God, it was beautiful. She wondered why it wasn’t teeming with tourists.
“Sunny?” Matthew called. “Are you coming?”
She rejoined them, happy to see both men were acting normally again. Following them through the door, she stopped and gazed around in awe. If she thought the castle was amazing from the outside, the inside took the cake. It didn’t look at all like a stone castle. There were shining wood floors, rich tapestries on the walls and dozens of portraits scattered around.
“Just leave your bags there, Ms. Kerrigan. I’ve been remiss in my introductions, I’m sorry. My name is Raven MacAlister, the leader of the MacAlister clan.” He held out his hand.
Reaching forward, Sunny took his hand and jerked back when a small shock went zipping through her system. Raven’s eyes widened and he shook his hand as if he’d been burned. “Leith wasn’t kidding when he said you were strong. I’m very glad you decided to come and train with us.”
Sunny couldn’t help the laugh that bubbled up. “You mean I had a choice?”
Raven smiled sympathetically. “Well, no. But it seems Matthew and Leith were able to convince you rather quickly once they found you.”
“Oh, it wasn’t them. It was the maniac with the gun that convinced me. I figured Matthew and Leith were the lesser of the two evils, if you know what I mean?”
Raven’s eyes narrowed. “Guy with a gun?”
“Hunter,” Matthew said with a small smile. “But you should have seen her, Rave. She melted two guns without even batting an eyelash.”
“Ah, yes. Leith did mention something about that,” Raven said.
“Raven?” A woman’s voice called from somewhere deeper in the castle. “Don’t loiter in the foyer. Bring her inside.”
“Of course,” Raven said even as Matthew’s smile grew larger. “Please, come this way.”
The threesome made their way into what seemed to be some sort of library. A woman sitting in one of the overstuffed chairs jumped to her feet when they entered. “Oh, my dear, I’ve been waiting for you for so long.”
The woman rushed to her and enveloped her in a warm hug. Instantly, everything in Sunny was pulled to this woman. She felt a leap in the pressure growing in her, but curiously, she felt like everything was in control.
“Oh,” the woman said, pulling back and holding Sunny by the arms. “I’d forgotten how intense our connection would be. I’m Anna, by the way. Anna Carrow. I’m the air handler.”
Sunny looked at her in wonder. She’d never felt this close to anyone before. The thought of losing this woman sent her into a panic. “Why do I feel like this?”
Anna patted her arm and let go of her, leading her to one of the chairs and urging her to sit down. “Our magic is complementary. Fire needs air to function. Similarly, changing the air’s temperature gives it much more power. It’s natural that we’re drawn together.”
A little more reassured that what she felt was normal, Sunny grinned and sat down. “It’s good to know I match with somebody.”
Anna smiled back and sat down next to her. “I’m so excited to have another woman here. It’s been just me for so long.” She glared at Raven, who reddened slightly and cleared his throat.
Patting her arm again, Anna turned back to her. “Dinner should be served soon. We should make sure to tell the cook what you like to eat so it can be included in our weekly menus. Tonight is roast beef, I believe.”
Sunny placed her hand on her stomach and shook her head. She was far too overwhelmed to eat. “I’m not really hungry.”
“You should eat,” a deep voice said from behind her. “Letting yourself get hungry makes it harder to concentrate on controlling your magic.”
Turning around, Sunny was met by the sight of the most beautiful man she’d ever seen. He was tall and lean with short black hair and eyes the color of milk chocolate. He was wearing a pair of blue jeans which showcased his thighs and a tight, black, short sleeved shirt.
Raven snorted and rose from the desk he’d been sitting at. “You really shouldn’t talk about anyone else’s eating habits, Sloan. You barely eat enough to survive as it is.”
“Whatever. I take it this is our new fire handler?” the man said with a sneer.
Sunny was shocked. Why was he so cold? She stood and offered him her hand. “Apparently I am. I’m Sunny.”
“Sloan, the water handler,” he responded, taking her hand and shaking it.
Another zap of power rushed through her and she jerked back. Her response to his magic was completely different from her response to Anna’s. What she had come to think of as her fire, pulled back and pushed forward at once, completely at odds with itself. It was a disconcerting feeling and one she wasn’t exactly sure she liked. It was pleasurable and almost painful all at once. It almost felt like she was on the brink of a massive orgasm with no way to achieve the final push into ecstasy.
Something passed over Sloan’s face, maybe surprise, before he stepped back and stared at her. “I’m going up to my room. I’ll see everyone in the morning.”
“What about dinner?” Raven asked with concern in his voice.
Sloan paused and flexed his hands. “Just have someone send something to my room. But don’t send any coffee or chocolate up.”
He left the room without another word and Sunny stared after him. Did he not want the coffee because he was having trouble controlling his magic? If so, what chance did she have for learning control if someone who was as experienced as Sloan seemed to have trouble managing his magic?
And what was with the attitude? What had she done to provoke his ire? “What’s his problem?” Sunny asked.
“Well, if you think about how our magic is complementary and so we feel drawn together, it makes sense you and Sloan would be subconsciously pitted against each other. Fire and water and all that,” Anna said with a warm smile.
Raven sighed and pushed one hand through his hair, causing it to stick up briefly before it settled back down into thick waves. “Don’t worry about Sloan. He’s been going through so
me stuff for the last little while. He wasn’t always such a jerk. But he is right, as a handler, it is good practice to eat something whenever it’s offered, even if it’s something small.”
Matthew smiled at her and slung an arm around her shoulders. “Come on, love. Sit next to me and I’ll keep you entertained.” He guided her out of the library and into a massive dining room.
The table was laden with platters of meat, tureens of buttered peas, serving bowls full of roast potatoes, a gigantic platter of Yorkshire puddings and several boats of gravy. There was so much food for the four of them, Sunny wondered how much these people ate. Even if dinner was saved for or sent to Leith and Sloan, the amount of food was staggering.
Despite the formality of the way the meal was presented, it seemed the occupants of this castle were pretty informal. Everyone served themselves, asking politely for the salt or to pass the butter when needed.
Sunny took a small serving of everything, realizing that even though she was nervous, her stomach was actually quite empty. She stuck with water to drink, taking small sips as she observed the three other people at the table with her. Raven snapped his fingers and the candles in the middle of the table caught fire. Sunny jumped. “I thought I was the fire handler.”
Anna smiled and patted her hand. “You are. All witches can control the elements somewhat. But the MacAlister handlers can do far more than just control the elements. We can manipulate our element to our liking.”
Her confusion must have showed because Anna patted her hand again. “Don’t worry. You’ll understand what I mean when you start training.”
Sunny gave her a tired nod and looked back down at her plate, focusing on the banter flowing around her.
Raven and Matthew were talking about some type of investment Raven seemed interested in making. Anna chimed in every once in a while but mostly stayed quiet. If it had been any other day, Sunny would have struck up a conversation with the other woman, but her day was starting to catch up with her and she was exhausted.
She was almost asleep in her dinner when Anna touched her shoulder gently. Sunny jumped, surprised to find she hadn’t even heard the other woman get up from her seat. “Let me show you to your room,” Anna suggested.
