A Little Street Magic

by Gayla Drummond

  “Chain of evidence.” Damian moved closer, fiddling with his phone. “And it’ll prevent Cordi from having to appear in court as much.”

  I actually didn’t go to court often, but kept my mouth shut. By the time a police case was closed, there was usually enough evidence that having a psychic appear was overkill.

  “I see.” And Thorandryll didn’t like it, judging by his scowl. I wondered why, since the jerk hadn’t had a problem parading me before cameras not quite two weeks prior.

  “Okay, I’m ready.” Damian held up his phone. “If you would?”

  “Discord Jones, natural mage.” I didn’t miss the prince’s tiny startle. “I’m going to use psychometry on this sword and a bow. One, two, three.”

  Placing my hand on the sword, I received a quick response. A thrill of rage clenched my teeth, drawing my lips back into a silent snarl. The elf teen’s eyes widened, white showing all the way around his irises. I jerked my hand back. “Whoa. It’s mad. Really, really mad.”

  “The emotion is Jeharin’s, yes?” Thorandryll edged into my personal bubble.

  “Well, yeah. Inanimate objects don’t have emotions. They’re like batteries.” I needed to touch the sword again, and hoped it would offer something less rage-fueled, and more useful. “I’m going to try again.”

  My second attempt wasn’t exactly productive either. A feeling of surprise, darkness becoming light, and nothing else. “They surprised him, but we already knew that.”

  About to lift my hand, I paused when an image of me appeared. Not the me currently touching the sword, but a me standing next to a huge black tiger, surrounded by snow. Voices whispered, but I couldn’t make out the words.

  Strange. Why would we make such an impression on Jeharin that he retained that memory and passed it into his sword?

  “Anything else?” Damian asked, and I shook my head while moving my hand.

  “Nothing relevant to the case. Just a memory of snow.”

  He stopped recording. “Do you think it’s necessary to try the bow?”

  Not really, since it appeared the sword had been Jeharin’s weapon of choice when the intruders appeared. Yet, I was curious what his bow might show me. “Let’s be thorough.”

  “Right.”

  The other servant brought the bow, and kneeling beside the teen, and did the head duck while offering the weapon. “Your Highness, Lady Discord.”

  “Thank you. Ready, Damian?”

  He lifted his phone again. “Go ahead.”

  Since I’d already mentioned the bow, I didn’t reintroduce myself. Counting down, I placed my hand on the smooth, reddish wood.

  Past Me, rising from the celebratory banquet and bumping Logan. Logan disappearing into my room in the pavilion. Me, going into the same room.

  Jeharin had certainly kept his eye on us. Why?

  Nothing else showed. I shrugged, and dropped my hand. “No go.”

  “Damn, all right.” Damian put his phone away. “I guess that’s it then.”

  We could go, woohoo. “Any idea if you’ll need us tomorrow?”

  “Not unless something comes up. I’ll let you know, or you let me know. Thanks, Cordi.”

  “You’re welcome.” I took a step away from them, toward Logan, and froze as a tracking thread unfurled. “I have a trail.”

  “Let’s move.”

  The thread was multicolored, but what worried me more was the way it was pulsing. “I don’t think it’s going to last long.”

  I took off at a run, not waiting to see if they followed. Down the intersecting corridor, up the stairs, back through the too long hallway, and out into the great hall. From their positon at the front door, Edrel and the other two guards spun around, bows rising. They instantly dipped again. I threw them a wave, following the thread that had turned into another doorway.

  It was the ballroom, and I tripped going down the first few steps. Catching my balance, I made it down the rest without trouble. The thread went straight to the double doors leading outside. I broke a nail opening them, being in such a hurry. “Ouch, damn it.”

  It wasn’t bleeding, and I charged outside, shaking away the sting. The others were following, maybe twenty feet behind. The thread kept going, through and out the garden, across the lawn, and into the trees. I had to slow down to avoid low hanging branches and stealth twigs determined to put my eyes out.

  The thread’s pulsing began to slow, and with each, the thread grew less visible. “Crap.”

  I picked up the pace again, holding my arms up and out, to protect my face. Ten steps later, I ran into something and was knocked on my ass. “Oof.”

  The thread disappeared, and I thought I heard a feminine giggle just before everyone caught up. Logan dropped to his knee beside me, his hand going to my back. “What happened? Are you okay?”

  “Yeah.” I stared at the space before me, my hands and forearms stinging, wondering what the hell I’d run into. There was nothing there, between the two trees. “And I don’t know. My trail’s gone.”

  SEVENTEEN

  Teeth brushed, face washed, and PJs on, I left the bathroom still puzzling over the invisible barrier I’d struck. It was gone when we checked, but the men had been close enough to witness me running into it.

  Well, those with excellent night vision had, which meant Logan, Stone, and the royal twins. Damian and the uniformed officer he’d tagged to go hadn’t.

  And no one else had heard the giggle.

  Logan was in the kitchen, watching coffee brew. I paused in the doorway, because he’d changed into a pair of blue and green plaid sleep pants. The view was really nice.

  “I like your new kitchen.” I walked in, sliding a finger over the closest dark green and white marble countertop. Smatterings of brown and flecks of gold were present in the marble too. The cabinets were a smoky, golden wood. “It’s bigger than my kitchen.”

  He grinned. “I had you in mind when designing it.”

  “Oh?”

  “Figured a big, pretty kitchen might result in being offered cooking lessons.”

  “Uh huh.” I patted the countertop, ticking off the kitchen’s features in my mind. The appliances were black: a double oven stove, dishwasher, and a nice, French door fridge. Plenty of prep space available. The double sink was some dark green material, and deep. “When did you want to start those lessons?”

  “How about in the morning?” Logan opened a top cabinet and pulled out two mugs.

  “Sure.” I crossed to stand closer while he poured the coffee. My hands were itching to explore his back. Not like they hadn’t earlier, but we’d been interrupted.

  He moved, retrieving a carton of half and half from the fridge. “You’re staring.”

  “I am. There’s a sexy, half-dressed man making me coffee in a beautiful kitchen.”

  Lips quirked, he asked, “Which is the bigger draw, the kitchen or me?”

  “Ooh, tough call.” I held my hand up, thumb and forefinger slightly apart. “You win by this much.”

  Logan laughed, and added sugar to one mug before handing it to me. “I apparently did too good of a job on this kitchen.”

  After a sip, I said, “You did a great job on my coffee too. Thanks.”

  “Welcome.” He put the half and half away, coming back to pick up his mug. “Wondering something.”

  “What?”

  “What were you thinking when you and Thorandryll were having that stare off?” He leaned his hip against the counter. I rested mine too, on the other side of the sink from him.

  “I was wondering something too: Whether or not I could kick his ass, if we ever have a throw down.”

  “Physical, no. I might be able to, if I surprised him and got the upper hand quickly.” Logan hesitated. “You have good reflexes and can think fast under pressure.”

  “There’s a but coming up, isn’t there?” I didn’t mind, too busy watching his face, particularly the way his lips moved as he talked.

  “Well, yeah, and I hope it doesn’t
piss you off.” He took a drink of coffee, waiting for me to respond.

  “You two grew up in the same world. I grew up in this one. Tell me the but.”

  “Okay. But, he’s over two thousand years old. That means he’s had a lot of time to build magical muscle memory.”

  I nodded. “You’re right.”

  “Whew.” Logan mimed wiping sweat off his forehead and grinned. Did I react that badly to people offering constructive criticism? “You can build magical muscle memory too. But you’ll need to practice a lot, do some technique refining.”

  “Yeah, and find a private place to practice, where there’s no danger to anyone or anything if I mess up.”

  He threw out his free arm. “You’re standing in it.”

  “Your kitchen?”

  “No, silly woman. We live in a pocket realm, remember?”

  “Yeah, but...”

  Logan dropped his arm. “There’s a meadow a mile and half or so north of here. It’s roughly two acres, and a nearly perfect oval. We can put a thick, high stone wall around it, and ta-dah! You’ll have a safe, private practice arena.”

  “Wow.” I couldn’t believe he’d offer me something like that.

  His grin reappeared. “Good idea, huh?”

  “It’s a fantastic idea, but would doing it upset anyone?”

  “A few deer, but they can be directed to another meadow,” He assured me. “We can go take a look tomorrow.”

  I hesitated, but knew I really needed such a place. “Okay.”

  “Oh, and at some point, we need to make an appointment with Kiffle.”

  “Who?”

  Logan lifted his mug in an abbreviated salute. “I promised you armor. He’s the best armorer I know.”

  Oh, he’d remembered. How sweet! “I was kidding, Logan. You don’t have to,” I stopped when he lifted his hand.

  “Considering some of the places we’ve been to, having armor isn’t a bad idea.”

  “Maybe, but I can’t exactly carry it around all the time.”

  “No, but you can teleport it to you, or have Leglin fetch it. In fact, he needs some too.”

  I put my mug down. “That sounds really expensive.”

  “Several years back, one of his children wandered off. I found her, and he gave me a lifetime discount.” He took a drink of his coffee, watching me.

  Even with a discount, custom made armor had to be super expensive. Too expensive for a gift, especially after the practice arena offer I’d already accepted. It wasn’t as though we’d progressed to living together, or were planning a wedding. “I don’t know.”

  “Okay, but please think about it. I’d like to keep the promise I made, but it’s your decision.” His grin was gone, but he didn’t look mad.

  “I will.” Time to change the subject. “I saw something while touching Jeharin’s weapons. His memories of seeing you and me together in the Unseelie realm.”

  “Is that odd?”

  “I think so, yeah. He was paying a lot of attention to us, if those memories ended up stored in his weapons.”

  “Maybe,” Logan put his mug down, and reached out to take my hand. “He thought you were gorgeous, and couldn’t keep his eyes off you.”

  I laughed. “Yeah, right. You’ve seen the elf ladies. They are the definition of gorgeous.”

  “Not to me.” He gave a little tug, and I stepped closer. Both of his hands went to my hips. “But you are.”

  “Ooh, tell me more.” I slid my hands up his chest and over his shoulders.

  “Is it too early to cash in that rain check?” He made a face. “Never mind, forget I asked. Seeing dead...”

  “Shh.” I went to my tiptoes to kiss him. “Let’s pretend that part of the night didn’t happen.”

  “I can do that.” Logan lowered his head, chasing mine as I dropped back to stand flat-footed. Our lips met and parted, tongues starting a slow dance. I buried one hand in the back of his hair, reveling in the mix of hot coffee and him.

  His taste was familiar, a swirl of pine, something nutty, and a slight sweetness. I had yet to remember where I’d tasted it, before we’d ever shared a kiss.

  A thump on the back door made me pull back. “What was that?”

  “I let the dogs out.” Logan sighed. “Guess they’re ready to come in.”

  “Oh.” Damn it, I was getting tired of being interrupted. “Well, let’s get them in and put to bed.”

  I was panting and shaking, aftershocks of hot pleasure rippling through my body. “Oh, my God.”

  Logan kissed his way up until he was on all fours above me, his hands planted on either side of my shoulders. “Does that translate to an A for my efforts?”

  “A-plus and two gold stars.” Now, I was beginning to feel like jelly inside, all soft and jiggly. I’d hit the freaking jackpot, because the man was an oral wizard. One who’d informed me that “his queen’s” pleasure would always come first.

  “May I advance to the next level?”

  “Yes, please.” I managed to move, sliding my hands around his sides. He came down lips first, adjusting backward, and I shivered at the feel of his skin slipping along mine. He paused, his forehead against mine, our noses touching. That wasn’t the only part of him resting against me.

  “I don’t want to ruin the mood, but are you sure about the no condom thing?”

  “Yes.” I moved one hand.

  “Okay, just wanted to, oh hey there.” Logan lifted his head, his eyes a touch wider as my hand curled around his erection. “Make sure that you were sure, and obviously, you are.”

  “Definitely.” I made a few minor adjustments to our positions. His eyes slowly began to change colors, a smile spreading across his face.

  I let go, and he lowered his head, brushing his lips across mine as he pushed inside me. A soft growl escaped him, and my breath caught as his eyes fully lightened. Logan nibbled at my lips, beginning to move, growl trailing off and becoming a low purr. The sound vibrated his chest, causing his chest hair to tickle my breasts, and I laughed.

  His lips curved, and he moved to press our cheeks together, allowing him to whisper in my ear. “I love your laugh.”

  Good, he didn’t think I’d laughed at him. Hugging him, I closed my eyes to listen to his purr and the blood rushing in my ears. My awareness of the world beyond the bed receded with each gentle kiss and slow thrust. No rush; he was taking his sweet time and I was totally okay with that.

  Nothing to think about but the feel of him in and on me, and the way our bodies moved together. Logan wasn’t talking anymore, his lips moving from mine, to my neck, my shoulder, and then back again. We had our own little world, and it was a place I wanted to visit as often as possible.

  Everything was slow and sweet and hot for I didn’t know how long, but eventually, he began to move faster, his purr deepening, and stopped kissing to press his cheek to mine. He came, a tidal wave of ecstasy pouring out of him to slam into the walls of my mental maze, and spill over their tops.

  I wasn’t prepared for that, or the results: my body tripping gleefully into another orgasm. “Oh!”

  “Mm.” Logan stilled, his face buried in my hair and the pillow. I blinked at the ceiling, my hands flat across his back, and wondered Did that just happen?

  “Mmhm.” He relaxed fully for a few seconds, resting his weight on me, and then suddenly raised up to look at me. “You didn’t say that, did you?”

  “Nope.” I was beginning to freak out a smidge. “Um...”

  “Do you want me to move?”

  I locked my arms around him in answer, still trying to process.

  “Cordi?”

  Focusing on his eyes, I said, “Yes?”

  “Calm down.” Logan kissed me. “Everything’s okay.”

  He was partially right. It wasn’t as though I were in danger. On the other hand, I’d just...psychically vampired him. Fed off his pleasure. That was what happened. Wasn’t it? “I didn’t do that on purpose.”

  “You know, having a
n orgasm isn’t the end of the world.”

  I wanted to laugh, because he was trying to lighten the mood, but couldn’t. “But I wasn’t going to then you did, and I did, and...” I stopped, catching my breath, aware of another, smaller issue. “I don’t really understand what just happened. Also, I didn’t realize that um...”

  Logan chuckled. “Yes, it’s a little messier sans condom. Let’s take care of that, and after, we can snuggle and talk. Okay?”

  “Okay.” I lifted my head to kiss him, feeling guilty as hell.

  “I guess it was a heat of the moment slip up?”

  “Probably, and that’s okay as far as I’m concerned.” Logan stroked my arm and kissed the top of my head. “What’s important is you being okay with it.”

  “What if it happens again?”

  “Then it does.”

  “But,” I levered myself up to look at him. “It’s like, I don’t know, cheating or something.”

  He shook his head. “How about we look at it as sharing? There’s no need for you to shoulder blame here.”

  “But I’m the psychic.” I sat completely up, intending to cross my arms, and ended up hugging myself. He moved, sitting up so he could see my face. I felt my eyes begin to water. “I’m ruining it, aren’t I?”

  “No, sweetheart.” He didn’t tell me not to cry, but brushed away the tear that fell. “I understand, or think I do, why you’re upset. You feel like you did something wrong, violated me in some fashion. Right?”

  Shame had me dropping my eyes from his. “I feel like I stole something extremely personal from you.”

  “No. We care about each a lot, and were having an intimate moment together. Maybe it was just us unconsciously connecting because we were so focused on each other.”

  Could he be right? I chewed on my bottom lip before looking up. “Do you really think so?”

  “I think it’s entirely possible. I know I don’t want the idea that it might happen again to inhibit you in the future, or worse, scare you away.” He stroked my cheek with his fingertips. “We’ve just started.”

  “I know.” Damn it, I’d completely ruined our first time. “I’m sorry.”