“Thank you, I think.” Troy kissed her brow and tucked the hamper under his arm. “How hopeless is she in the garden, really?”
Erica’s expression grew pained. “She’s never been taught anything, or if she has she can’t remember, so she may improve in time.”
“That bad, huh?”
Her red curls bobbed as she nodded. “A swarm of starving gophers might be less destructive, but not by much.”
“I don’t agree.” Aileen came into the kitchen with a basket of freshly-picked herbs, and looked completely unashamed about her obvious eaves-dropping. “Summer is hopeless in the garden because she’s not an herbalist. She has no empathy with growing things, nor any real interest in the green arts. I think her gift with plants is a side effect of some other power.”
Since Aileen was one of the most gifted young herbalists among Wiccans, Troy knew she spoke from experience.
“Do you know what her power could be?”
The young witch gestured for both of them to follow her out into the kitchen garden, and pointed to some rather uneven rows of thriving dandelions.
“She came back at midday when you were working at the loom, Erica. I watched from the window as she replanted them. She didn’t know what she was doing, but look at all the new shoots.”
“When I saw them in the weed basket they were already wilting. They should be dead now,” Erica said. The High Priestess knelt down beside the bed and ran her fingers wonderingly over the plant’s yellow-flowering heads. “They are bigger and greener than they were before she pulled them out.” She stared up at Troy. “This is what she was doing in the park?”
He shrugged, and helped the older woman to her feet.
“She doesn’t just make things grow like I do,” Aileen said. “I think Summer can bring dead plants back to life. Perhaps she can do the same with people.”
“Like a necromancer,” Erica murmured. “But without those horrid spells and sacrifices.”
“Have you ever known a witch to have a natural resurrection ability?” Troy asked. Erica shook her head, and Aileen did the same. “All right. I’ll get in touch with Boston tonight and ask them to search the archives again. There has to be some record of this somewhere.”
“Troy, she’s not evil,” Aileen said suddenly, and touched his arm. “I have felt the goodness in her.”
“We all have,” Erica said. “But to reanimate life is a black magic. If that is her true gift, my dears, then I’m afraid she was born cursed.”
CHAPTER NINE
AFTER TEN MINUTES on the still-scary winding mountain road, Summer saw no sign of any cabins or houses.
“Why did you build this place of yours so far away from the rest of the coven?”
“I didn’t. It’s part of the Atwater family’s original settlement.” He detoured onto a dirt road and skillfully avoided a large pothole. “Hang on, this is where it gets bumpy.”
Summer gripped the sides of her seat as they made their way up a steep portion of the road and then went down again, with thick brush crowding in on both sides.
“Maybe we should have brought a machete.”
“No one comes out here.” He drove around a pile of rocks that had spilled onto the road and then made one last turn into a clearing where most of the grass and brush had turned brown. “There it is.”
About half the size of the pavilion, Troy’s house sat like an enormous horseshoe left on the edge of the clearing. A glass-fronted A-frame loft dominated the center of the structure, and more curved glass panels flowed out in two stacked-level wings. A blend of the modern and primitive, its weathered pine posts and gleaming steel roof supports had a pleasing symmetry that brought a smile to her lips.
“It’s amazing.” She turned to see him staring at it with a brooding frown. “You did a wonderful job with it.”
“My mother actually built most of it. Her ability allowed her control over anything made of wood.”
He climbed out of the Jeep and waited for her to join him before he walked with her up to the center of the house and unlocked the door.
Inside white dust cloths draped the furnishings, and aside from a few spider webs in the corners the walls stood bare. Still, Summer could see how much care had gone into finishing the golden oak floors and walnut roof beams, and how vibrant the amber paint covering the walls still was.
“Did you grow up here?”
“No.” He went over to duck his head into the large fireplace before he stacked some wood in the iron grate. “Would you see if there’s some kindling in the back room there?”
Summer walked in the direction he pointed and found herself in another, larger room. Here the tables and chairs had not been covered, and for a moment she was stunned by the intricately carved woods that had been painstakingly fashioned into the dining set. When she ran her fingertips over the highly-polished surface of the table the wood grain felt as smooth as glass, and saw intricate Celtic knot work had been chiseled into the backs of all of the chairs.
Troy appeared on the other side of the table, and frowned at it before he regarded her.
“More of my mother’s work. She was very gifted with wood.”
“Are you kidding? It looks like she was the Michelangelo of wood,” Summer murmured. “So what’s your ability? Dog herding? Super wood chopping? Homeless witch saving?”
His expression grew remote. “We’ll talk about it later.”
“Okay. Kindling, right, sorry.” She went over to the hearth at the other end of the room, and when she reached down for the open-topped metal box containing bits of fluff and curly wood shavings she felt a faint heat touch her fingers. “Troy, someone built a fire here recently.”
She bent down and blew a breath over the ash in the grate, making the banked coals flare to life.
“Probably Wilson. He used to come here whenever he missed our mother.” He came over and retrieved the kindling box. “If you want to have our picnic in here, we can. The meadow’s pretty much dead.”
“Whatever you’d like.” Summer could feel how tense he was, and smiled brightly. “Why don’t I go get the hamper?”
“Sure.” He bent down again to place more kindling and wood over the embers.
Sensing Troy needed some time alone, Summer slowly walked out to the Jeep, and then took another moment to look around his property. Across the edge of the meadow facing the house she saw a frost-edged creek that hadn’t completely iced over, and in the trees she spotted a small barn and storage sheds. Several old paths still ran every which way through the meadow, and after she grabbed the hamper she followed one down to the creek. The water appeared crystal clear, and on impulse she bent down to plunge her cupped hand into it for a drink. For a moment the setting sun reflected off the rippling surface, turning it red–
A harsh male voice began jabbering behind her eyes, and his words were a solid stream of ugliness and fear.
Tell them, tell them now, you have to tell them where it is you fucking bitch, or we’re both–
A gunshot blasted in her ears and a wave of thick, warm wetness splashed all over her, making Summer throw herself to the ground and cover her head with her arms.
“No, please, stop. I don’t know. I don’t know–”
Her ears filled with a wet, choking sound, and when she lifted her head, she was standing in a dark parking lot between two cars, their headlights blinding her, her clothes covered in blood and something heavy slumped against her legs. Slowly she glanced down. There was a ragged hole where his eyes and nose should have been.
His thick, wet scarlet lips twitched. Tell them, he mouthed.
Summer screamed, scrambling to her feet and running blindly for the trees, staggering and almost falling before she righted herself. But she immediately took another tumble as her feet slide down the icy bank of the creek. She wheeled her arms wildly as she tried to regain her balance before the water suddenly rose out of the creek and formed into a giant hand that scooped her up and carried her through the ai
r until a pair of hard hands snatched her and dragged her back down to the ground.
A huge curtain of water fell over her, soaking her clothes and plastering her hair over her face, and she screamed again.“No!”
“Summer.” The man holding her as she struggled against him was also wet. He ducked his head when she tried to claw his face. “Summer, it’s me.” He brushed the wet hair back from her face. “It’s all right. I’ve got you.”
“Troy?” She froze, horrified to see her nails so close to his eyes. She jerked her hand away. “What was that? The water just grabbed me.”
“Stand still.”
His eyes took on a blazing blue glow, and suddenly drops of water began rising between them like rain in reverse.
When Summer looked down she saw the drops forming on her clothes and beading on her hair before they lifted into the air. Above their heads the drops stopped and hung in a shimmering cloud, each tiny drop catching the sunlight and splitting it into hundreds of thousands of tiny rainbows.
Troy spread his fingers and pushed them toward the creek. Summer watched the cloud of water fly to the creek and fall into it. He glanced down at her.
“Dry now?”
She touched her clothes and hair, which weren’t even damp.
“That’s your ability?”
“I’m a water elemental. I can control water in any form.” He plucked a small twig from her hair. “Why were you screaming?”
Summer felt her temples beginning to throb and grimaced.
“A big hand made of water scooping me up in the air wasn’t enough reason?”
He shook his head. “Before that, when you were kneeling by the creek.”
“I saw something in the water. Something red.” She squinted up at him. “It brought back a memory. It was dark, and there were two cars. A man was yelling at me to do something. Then there were shots all around us, and blood.” She ducked her head. “Too much blood. All over me.”
Troy’s grip on her arms tightened.
“Summer, what happened to the man? Did he harm you?”
“He was afraid of me. Then his face exploded.” The pain in her head began hammering at her skull, as if it were trying to break out, but she grew distant from it, as if her mind was moving away from her body. Blindly she smiled at Troy. “You’re not afraid of anything. I like that about you. You will make a fine mate.”
“Summer, listen to me carefully,” Troy said, his voice low and soothing now. “What did you do to the man? Were you afraid? Did you defend yourself?”
What he was saying horrified her, but she was drifting away from her feelings, too.
“I couldn’t save him. I wanted to, but it was too late. I had to run away.”
Troy was asking her something else, but she was so far away now she could barely hear him.
“What?”
“How did you kill him?” Troy repeated, louder this time.
“Kill him? No, I couldn’t… I would never.”
She heard a train roaring through her head, and then the world up-ended into blackness.
• • • • •
Warmth and the scent of wood smoke surrounded Summer as she opened her eyes and saw a crackling fire. Beneath her was a sinfully soft down comforter spread over a mattress, although she wasn’t in a bed. She was curled on her side, her back pressed into against a broad, hard chest, and a heavy arm circled her waist.
“This is nice,” she murmured, watching the flames through half-closed eyes. “How did I get here?”
“I carried you,” Troy said softly in her ear. “You fainted in my arms, and I couldn’t let you go.” He paused. “You look beautiful in the firelight.”
Summer shifted onto her back so she could see his face. The fire loved him, too, and streaked his thick black hair with glowing gold.
“Is this the curse talking, or you?”
“Me.” His gaze moved all over her face. “Do you remember anything?”
“Floating. Pain. More pain.” She watched him prop himself up on one elbow. “And weirdly-behaving water. That’s all. Did I say anything this time?”
“Nothing that made any sense.” He rested his hand on her belly and rubbed his thumb across the dent of her navel. “Except that I would make a fine mate.”
She’d said that? She felt her cheeks flush. But his hand on her belly was moving insistently, and it made her bold.
“You’d make a fine anything,” she said lowly. Warmth flickered to life beneath his broad palm, as she covered his hand with hers. “I know it’s only been a week, but it’s time to find out now, isn’t it? About us, and how it could be.”
“I already know.” He lifted her hand to his mouth, and pressed his lips to her palm. “Let me show you.”
Troy rolled on top of her, bracing himself with his hands to keep the bulk of his weight off her as he settled his lower body between her thighs. As soon as he dipped his head she met his mouth halfway, her lips parting as she accepted his hungry kiss. He used his wicked tongue to stroke hers, and worked an arm under her to lift her up in a sitting position before his hands got busy unbuttoning her blouse and sliding it down her arms.
“Oh.” She broke their kiss with a gasp as he unclipped her bra and covered her bare breasts with his hands. “You’re fast.”
“I’ve been thinking about this every night since we got here. Believe me, this is slow.” As he stroked his fingers over her nipples he watched her eyes. “It’s a good thing that couch can’t talk, either.”
“Really.” She smiled as she pulled his shirt over his head and dropped it before she ran her hands over his tightly-muscled chest. “If it could, what would it say?”
He leaned forward to whisper against her ear.
“Stop rubbing your cock, and go give it to that beautiful lady in the next room.” He drew her hand down to the thick bulge in his crotch. “She’ll know how to play with it.”
“I can’t really remember.” Summer cupped the heavy length of his erection, squeezing it a little before she reached for the button of his jeans. “Maybe I should do a little hands-on research.”
“Now who’s fast?” Troy teased as he took her hand away and lifted her up to stand with him so he could strip off her jeans and panties.
He hissed in a breath when she leaned closer to rub her curves across his ripped abs. He lowered his head to touch his brow to hers as he cradled her breasts and massaged them. She pressed herself against his erection and slowly gyrated. He hissed again.
“You have a hundred years to stop doing that.”
“Wimp,” she said breathlessly as he tugged on her tightly-puckered nipples.
“So beautiful.”
He clamped his hands around her waist and lifted her off the makeshift mattress until he could suck at her breast.
Summer twined her fingers through the heavy, straight mass of his black hair and let her head fall back as the sweet rasp of his mouth sent a burning flush from her breasts to her pelvis, where it tightened into a knot of hot need. His hungry licking and suckling made her curl her legs around him, and she felt his hand tighten on her bottom as the soft curls of her sex whispered over his corrugated abs.
Troy’s strong arms lowered her back to the comforter, and after nuzzling each breast again he moved away from her. Dazed, it took her a moment to search for him. She watched as he took a condom from his pants and proceeded to strip. His body was magnificent––chiseled slabs of muscle rippling under taut skin. But as he pulled his pants down, his erection sprang free. As he sheathed the curving length of it with a condom, wet warmth flooded the apex of her thighs. That he had enough sense to protect them both in this crazy passion made her feel oddly cherished.
“I should have thought of that,” she breathed, as he towered over her. “Thank you.”
He knelt between her legs and ducked his face under her jaw.
“My pleasure,” he whispered against her throat.
He kissed his way down the center of her torso, pushing
her thighs apart to bare her sex to his heated gaze before he placed a delicate kiss to the right of her mound. He looked up at her, his blue eyes blazing now, and then buried his mouth against her.
A cry spilled from Summer’s lips as Troy’s tongue pushed between her folds and laved over her clit, lashing it again and again before he shifted and penetrated her with his tongue. He worked it in and out of her clenching opening, stimulating all her most sensitive nerves there before returning to torment her nub with another wet, passionate stroking. She felt the pleasure gathering inside her and arched her back, shamelessly rolling her hips so that she was working her sex against his tongue as much as he was licking her with it.
“Inside you.” Troy loomed up over her, his big body coiled as he wrapped his fist around his heavy shaft and pressed the slick, straining bulb of his cockhead against her. “Take me inside you, Summer. I need to fuck your sweet pussy before I explode.”
She reached down to guide him, and then moaned as he pushed the broad head inside. When it finally popped in she whimpered a little, and he stared down at her, his eyebrows knit together.
“Gods, you’re as tight as a virgin,” he muttered, his big hand stroking her hair. “Maybe you are. I don’t want to hurt you.” He began to draw back.
She wrapped her arms around him. “Please, don’t leave me like this. I don’t care. I need you.”
“Tell me if you want to stop.”
Troy braced himself over her, looking down at her face as he began to move in short, gentle strokes, giving her more and more of his pulsing thickness.
“Oh gods,” she gasped.
She shivered uncontrollably as her body stretched to accept him. They were a tight fit, but he felt so hard and good inside her.
“Yes, my lady, that’s it,” he said, grunting between the words as his strokes grew longer and slower. “You can take all of me. We were made for this, you and I.”
Rescued (Book One of the Silver Wood Coven Series): A Witch and Warlock Romance Novel Page 7
