THE COLLECTOR 1 - Magical Chances

by Mechele Armstrong

  How on earth had he ever let her walk away?

  This time she wouldn’t. He was going to break promises he’d made to his Dad when he’d first found out about his magic and then reiterated before his father had passed away. It was tradition. Every man in his family made the promises to keep the family secret. That was why he’d kept silent all those years.

  Fuck tradition.

  He wasn’t going to lose her again. And if that meant revealing something he’d never told another person, well, he’d do it.

  On tiptoe, she stretched a little too far. He saw what was going to happen next and acted, snapping out of his thoughts. Stepping forward, he caught her in his arms as she slipped off the stepstool. As she pitched forward, her momentum propelled him downwards. He landed with a soft “oomph” on the hardwood floor. At the same time as her gasp, Chloe’s curves pressed up tight against him.

  “You know, if you want to be on top, all you have to do is ask.” He wiggled underneath her as they both caught their breath. His cock strained against her. She had to feel it between them.

  “You’re incorrigible.” She shook her head, bristling down at him. Her voice softened. “Thank you for catching me, though.”

  “It was nothing.” He gently pushed her wayward curls back from her face. She had a scattering of freckles across her cheeks, resting below long lashes that fluttered down to cover her expressive eyes. He traced the angular line of her face before he placed a hand at the nape of her neck, stroking with his thumb. Her warm skin was like satin. He found a pressure point at the top of her spine, and he swirled his finger around the knob.

  “Uhhhh.” The throaty sound was involuntary. Her eyes shot open, wide with panic. She pushed against him with both hands. “Let me up.”

  “Chloe.” He didn’t remove his hands, nor did he give. “Enjoy my touch. I won’t go any further than you want me to.”

  Her laugh sounded hysterical. “I can’t.” She broke free of him and bustled to the kitchen, rambling about finishing cleaning up and fixing dinner.

  Closing his eyes, he lay there a second. He whispered, “You can.” And somehow he’d see to it that she did.

  * * * * *

  Dinner was some chicken they reheated in the microwave, and a tossed salad. Chloe picked at hers, stealing furtive looks at Drake. He kept looking like he had something to say, but never got it out, whatever it was.

  They’d stayed away from each other after she fell. She’d fixed dinner, he’d fiddled with the fire.

  Her stomach sparked as much as his fire did, as she thought about the hard erection that had pressed into her belly. Yeah, he’d been aroused, up close and personal like that. And she’d come close to giving in and riding him like a bucking bronco at a country western bar. Her resolve had meant nothing. He’d looked like he’d been about to kiss her. And once those masterful warm lips touched hers, she’d have been gone.

  Maybe she should give in. Give in and fuck him all weekend like she’d thought in the car. Come Monday, she’d gather the artifact and skip the hell out of Dodge. Maybe that would get him out of her system. How many times had she thought about him the last four years? Fantasized about him with her vibrator in hand? Too damn many to count.

  But she couldn’t separate her heart. The night she’d left him, she’d flat out told him the secrets were not anything she could put up with. She’d asked him to tell her everything. He’d told her, “I can’t.”

  “You’re thinking about the night you left me.” Drake took a bite of chicken, tossing the statement out as casually as she’d tossed the salad.

  “How did you know that?”

  “You scrunched up your nose like something smelled bad. You always do that when you’re upset.”

  She leaned back in her chair. “That doesn’t explain how you know. How did you know what I was thinking about?”

  He shrugged. “I know you.”

  He did. Too damn well sometimes. “You saved that girl.”

  There had been so many extraordinary events the last year they’d been together. He’d done magic acts no one thought possible. She’d always laughed when people asked how he’d done them, saying he wouldn’t even tell her. They’d get amused, but it was true. It had started to wear at her. Why wouldn’t he share that part of himself with the woman he professed to love? They’d had lots of arguments.

  The last night, he’d saved a girl from getting hit by a car. No one had seen it besides her. He’d asked her to lie, say he pushed the child out of the way. She’d done it, but didn’t understand why because he’d been nowhere near the girl. There wouldn’t have been trick wires or anything else in that street. No way anyone could have anticipated what happened. The child had described being picked up by arms. So her story had clicked with their stories, their lies.

  Afterwards, she’d asked him what had happened. He’d blown her off, refused to tell her. It had been the final straw. She’d asked him so many times what he kept from her. And still he wouldn’t talk. He’d gotten angry, her temper had flared, and next thing she’d known, she’d marched out.

  “I did save her.”

  He’d never admitted it that night, only asked her to lie and never told her why. That comment threw her. So she went further. “How?”

  “It’s a long story.” He leaned back in his chair. “Join me in the hot tub, and I’ll tell you about it.” He got up, grasping her hand in his.

  “You’ll tell me? This isn’t some lure to get me in the hot tub so you can seduce me?” She slowly rose to her feet. This better not be something just to get her on her back. He said you could be on top. Her face tightened. No, this better be for real. Or she’d give up the weekend and totem.

  “I’ll tell you. Keep an open mind. And follow me.”

  Chapter Six

  Drake hesitated only a moment before shucking off his clothes and stepping into the hot tub. He heard her gasps of indignation. He tossed back over his shoulder, “I forgot my suit.”

  “Yeah, right.”

  “I did.” He turned to face her. “Come on in.”

  “Drake.”

  “I promise we’ll talk.”

  She shook her head, flouncing back inside the cabin. “I didn’t forget my suit.” He leaned his head back as he waited, looking at the blue sky and puffy white clouds floating across it.

  Strutting back out, looking too pleased with herself, Chloe brought two fluffy white towels and sported a black one-piece. It wasn’t cut high or low in the right spots. He let out a deep sigh. He’d have to discuss her choice in swimwear with her later. Her legs stretched out from under it causing his mouth to water. Maybe he’d enjoy getting her out of it more than seeing her in it.

  “So talk.” She pulled up on the side of the hot tub before sliding into the water. “Ahhhhhh.” A look of pleasure drifted across her face. God, he’d loved the way her face looked when she was about to come. It scrunched up. And honest Chloe, her face always showed whatever emotion she felt intensely.

  “I kept secrets from you during our marriage.” So he could understate, too, just like her.

  “That you sure did.” She ran a hand over the surface of the water, skimming it. Her fingers curled around to cup some water. His cock twitched, seeking some attention.

  “What I’m going to tell you will sound ludicrous. But it’s the truth.” He looked her in the eyes, making sure he didn’t look away. “I need you to listen with an open mind.” She wouldn’t believe him at first. But after his evidence, she’d have to believe.

  “O.K.”

  “I have no magical talent.”

  “Drake. I know that’s a lie. I’ve seen you perform.” She pushed to get up. “If that’s all you’re going to tell me ...”

  “Stop. That’s not all.”

  She slowly settled back down.

  “I have no talent. What I do have is ability. I have magical ability.” Since he’d never told anyone about his being able to do magic, he had no idea how to express it, so startin
g simple seemed the best plan.

  Her eyes narrowed. “What do you mean?”

  “I can do magic, Chloe. I don’t do tricks. I do actual magic.”

  Her eyes narrowed down to slits. “You’re telling me you can do magic. Real magic.”

  He nodded. “That’s what I’m telling you.”

  “You’re crazy.” She shook her head. He saw the tears form in her eyes. “I thought you were going to open up. To actually tell me something. Instead, you ... you come up with this bullshit.” A tear broke free and ran down her cheek. “I never should have come here.”

  It would have to come down to this. “Chloe. Watch.” He put his hand above the water and slowly raised the water, funneling it upward to his fingers. “See.”

  “No. No. That’s not possible.” Her hand came up to cover her mouth.

  He slowly turned colors off and on in the water, making it like a fountain. “It is.” He watched her face slowly grow from disbelief to realization.

  Even so, she still tried to deny what she saw. “You have something out there to do this.”

  He shook his head. “No. No. I don’t. You tell me something to do. I’ll do it. Whatever it is.”

  Her mouth opened quickly. “Levitate that chair.” She looked at him boldly like there was no way he could do it. Like he couldn’t. He’d done stuff like that since he was a child. Lifting the hot tub might have been a challenge because of all the cords. This was nothing.

  He lifted the chair in the air and twirled it for good measure.

  “You could still have it rigged. Braid my hair.”

  “What?”

  “You heard me. It’s the one thing I take with me wherever I go. You couldn’t have rigged it. Braid my hair.”

  He didn’t even watch, simply pushed out his magic. Her breath sucked in with a whistle to let him know she felt her hair braiding behind her.

  “Take it down.” Her voice was strained, hoarse.

  He turned to her, watching as his magic took out the plaits it had put in her hair. “There you go.”

  “Oh, my God. All your ... acts. Your tricks. That girl. You were doing real magic.” Her eyes stared wide open at him.

  He nodded, so glad it was out in the open. Until she tossed water at him, hitting him in the chest. “Why didn’t you ever tell me, you son of a bitch?” Her eyes flashed anger burning hotter than any rocket fuel.

  So much for coming clean with her.

  * * * * *

  Chloe tossed water at him, hitting him in the chest. It was better than hitting him, which she wanted to do. He hadn’t trusted her. All the vows they’d taken, promises they’d made, love they’d shared, and he hadn’t trusted her with such vital information. At first, she hadn’t believed it, but what else could she believe? Her ex-husband could do real magic. “I can’t believe you didn’t tell me.”

  She tried not to think about the body of perfection under the water, which, even as pissed as she was, set her body on fire. She’d been so proud going to get her bathing suit and ignoring his body, while what she wanted to do was take a nip from that rear when he’d gotten into the hot tub in front of her. She could have put her hand on that delectable hard cock and played. But she’d resisted.

  Drake grabbed her hands, presumably so she wouldn’t splash again or hit him. “There was more to it than that.”

  “What do you mean?” What more could there be? Totem or no totem, she was out of here. Her throat ached from trying not to cry. She’d known he kept secrets. But she hadn’t known when he told her, it would hurt so much what he’d kept from her.

  “The gift or genetic component of whatever this is only affects men. And the men decided generations ago never to tell the women in their lives.” He kept hold of her hands, but his hold wasn’t tight. She didn’t resist. Somehow it didn’t seem important. Her stomach did a flip-flop at the way he held her, so gently yet firmly. He wasn’t out to restrain her, just to keep his hands on her.

  “You mean because Great Grand-Daddy decided not to tell his wife, no one has?” She stared at him, incredulous. How unfair.

  Drake murmured an agreement. “And it was a few more “greats” back than that.” She drew out a snort, unconcerned at who the man was who’d started the tradition. All she cared about was Drake and how this had affected them.

  “That’s the dumbest thing I’ve ever heard. Because one stupid male in your family decided to be an ass, the rest of you have to be?”

  He released her hands, his color rising. “The stupid male watched his brother be proclaimed a witch by his so-called wife and put to death. So, I don’t think he was out of line.”

  Ouch. Now that must have put the man off women. But dammit, she’d never have turned Drake into the witch hunters. Her hands clenched under the water as more tears threatened. “But I’d never have done that to you. You couldn’t find it in you to trust me? To tell me something so deep about yourself?” She leaned forward in the little seat, trying not to fall off of it. That was what stung. Drake hadn’t trusted her.

  “I promised my father. And ... it was something he strongly believed was for the good of the Marsters’ line. He made me promise when he told me, when we were married, and again when he died that I’d never tell you.”

  “Oh, my God. Had we had a male child, he would have had the power?” She put her hand over her mouth at Drake’s nod. “He’d have kept it from me, too. I’d never have known about him or you.”

  “If we had a male child, he wouldn’t get his powers until long after puberty, usually around eighteen or so. And yes, he would have been told to keep it from any woman in his life.”

  Two men in her life would have kept something so important to them from her. Her head ached now.

  “Don’t you want to know why I’m telling you now?” He shifted around, leaning back his head on the side.

  “Why?” She rubbed her temples with a damp hand.

  “Because I don’t want to lose you again. I don’t want you to walk away.”

  Her heart skipped a beat. Now, that put fluttering butterflies in her stomach. “But you didn’t tell me before when I was walking away.” And God knows, she’d given him ample opportunity to tell her. She’d loved him so much. What had changed, what had upped the ante for him? Who knows? But at least, now, she knew. But what did that mean for them? He had opened up, let her into his world. If only he’d done that so much earlier. Her stomach clenched.

  “I know. But I’m telling you now. Because I want you in my life. Life without you just isn’t worth living. No matter how much I have in my life, it isn’t you, Chloe.” He rubbed a hand through his hair. “And I can’t keep my magic from you if you’re with me. Not anymore.”

  “I don’t know if I can trust you, Drake. This was big, not telling me this.” Trust was never easy; she’d never been more betrayed. She glanced up into the tree to the sky. It seemed so close and yet, like it went on forever. At one time in her younger days, she’d thought their love would be endless like that sky. A part of her wanted it to be.

  “Give it a chance.”

  Could she? Her eyes closed as her mind mulled. She’d never stopped loving him, even when she’d wanted to. And he had told her the big secret he’d been guarding for so long. Her throat closing up, she managed to get out, “I’ll give it a chance. But I’m not guaranteeing anything. Let’s take the rest of the weekend one step at a time.”

  He let out a whoop and pulled her over against him. “That’s all I could hope for.” His hand caressed her back.

  She rested against his naked body. His cock pushed into her like an exclamation point. Her whole body broke out in goosebumps as he stroked her shoulder with careful fingertips. “Chilly?”

  Was he kidding? Her whole body was having a hot flash. Heat seemed to be everywhere and hotter than the dang hot tub. His body against hers did that. “No.”

  “Good.” She almost didn’t hear the word. He repeated, “Good,” as if he knew that. Then his lips swept in to cla
im hers. He quested, testing her reactions and deepening the kiss. Her mouth opened under his warm one. He tasted like cinnamon, the sharp flavor yummy when mixed with that of the man.

  His hand ran up and down her throat, caressing gently, before reaching down to probe into the top of her swimsuit. Now if only she’d worn one of the lower-cut ones, it would be easier for him to get her out of. At the time she’d packed, she hadn’t wanted temptation for her or him. Now she wanted the dang thing off. But he found his way into the top, his fingers lightly dancing over her breast. She arched her chest more into his hand, falling into the sensual spell that was always Drake.

  Her senses jangled with the possibilities. He’d come clean with her, told her what he’d kept from her for so long. Her return kisses became frenzied and frantic. Maybe it could work this time.

  His hand massaged and cupped her breast, pulling out the bathing suit as much as he could to access her breast. She’d remembered his rough hands all too well. They touched gentle and masterful where she wanted it. Needed it. They needed to run down her body all over. Heat engulfed her even more.

  She moaned into his mouth. He captured the sound, not releasing her mouth even a quarter. His tongue danced a quick dance with hers, rolling around it, making hers come to his.

  They were both panting in time with the other when he pulled away with a growl. “Inside. Now.”

  “O.K.” Yes, he needed to be inside her. God, she couldn’t wait. Last time, it had been quick and furious. This time would be that, too, but there’d be more. So much more. She’d wake up beside him. It had been too damn long since that had happened. Her hand reached the top of her swimsuit to bring it the rest of the way down, strip bare before him much like he’d stripped down his life earlier.