Four Cowboys & a Witch

by Cheryl Dragon

  Sam sighed. “I know you love this stuff, but we might just have to kill it.”

  “Damn straight,” Trey said.

  “If we can capture it safely, good. Hand it over to the shifters. We need to make sure they destroy it.” Ben waved at the paramedics as they pulled into the parking lot.

  Dani leaned on Ben. “I don’t want blood on our hands any more than you do, but if he’s going after humans, I can live with it.”

  “Me too.” Ben nodded.

  “I’m in, but if we can show the shifters how dangerous this thing is, maybe it’ll teach them to stay away from the vampires. They have to learn that if a shifter does get turned, they’ve got to be put down immediately.” Sam shrugged. “Shifters know right from wrong. Vampires can avoid killing if they want. The combo is a nasty beast that clearly has no control.”

  “Agreed. Staking might not even work. Cut its head off? Obviously sunlight doesn’t kill it in shifted form.” Trey stopped talking when the paramedics came in.

  “Let’s finish up here. We can regroup at home,” Ben agreed.

  Chapter Seven

  Dani stared at the map and reviewed her notes from the scrying session. The creature wasn’t what she’d expected, but it was a killer.

  “Are you sure you’ve got the right thing? I mean, part of it is human.” Rodney fussed over his computer.

  She smiled. “It’s a shifter who was turned. The vampire shifting creature, I can feel it. The evil of being soulless takes over. While vampires are stronger than humans, the shifter skills make him even more elusive.”

  “It’s hard to kill a new being.” Sam nodded.

  “You kill a vampire who is attacking humans. This is no different. We can warn the shifters. If we can capture the creature without killing it, we can take it to them. They may not fully understand what happened to this member of their pack.” She leaned over and kissed Rod’s cheek. “This is what you’re meant to do: handle the unusual paranormal things that regular society can’t process.”

  “We’re warriors against the evil. We don’t kill innocent things, which is why we started a horse ranch. Dani’s right. This thing is evil.” Ben picked up the map she’d marked.

  “Do we know the ranch it’ll hit tonight?” she asked.

  “Yeah, I’ll make the call. Get the spell stuff ready.” Ben kissed Dani’s forehead.

  “You guys are so cute.” She put away her stuff and looked at the spell with Rodney.

  “Same thing as the first time -- protection with strength.” He smiled nervously.

  “You’re getting stronger every time you try one. I can feel the added power in you since I’ve been here. Not that we need spells to have great group sex, but the added bonus of sharing energy… Our building the relationship makes the spells work better.” She leaned on him.

  Sam lit candles around the room before he moved the coffee table. “You two going to snuggle through this or get naked?”

  Dani laughed. Carefully she dipped into Sam’s brain. He was eager to get connected. She wiggled out of her clothes to join him. “Ready to roll, Sam?”

  “Roll, get rug burn, then catch the bad creature so we can sleep soundly.” Sam stripped naked, grabbed protection, and sat on the floor.

  “So we can screw all day tomorrow without spells or pressure. Round after round of lazy sex.” She wanted it too, but once the case was closed, the pressure to stay would ramp up even more. That scared her more than monsters or group love.

  Ben and Trey entered the room. “The owners are fine with us staking out the property tonight. All good there.” Ben smiled.

  Trey undressed quickly. “The gear is all packed to go. Guess we’re getting used to the sex before a big job.”

  Ben and Rod finally stripped down to nothing before they stretched out on the floor. Hands started to roam among the group. Rodney took a deep breath. As he recited the spell, Dani kissed Sam to quench her thirst.

  She watched Ben kissing Trey. Then Ben licked down Trey’s hard body. Sam went for Ben’s cock. Dani kissed Rodney as soon as he’d finished with the spell.

  “Give in to the energy.” She stroked his cock while nuzzling his neck. “Go for what you want.”

  Rod moved to suck Ben’s cock with Sam. Dani watched as Rod lubed Ben’s ass. The leader turned, kneeling on his hands and knees for Rod. Without wasting any time, Rod filled Ben’s ass, pulling Sam close for a kiss.

  “Fuck me, Sam,” Rod said.

  The smile on Sam’s face sent a shiver through Dani. She snuggled with Trey. His fingers were persistent, but she wanted to see how the trio played out first. Sam slid on protection and let a drop of lube hit Rod’s ass before filling him hard.

  “Just how he likes it,” Trey whispered in her ear.

  She nodded, nudging him toward the group.

  “I don’t think Sam needs to be screwed. I’ll throw off the balance.” Trey tried to slide her under Ben’s body to sixty-nine.

  Dani shook her head. “Nope. You suck your man off. I want to ride. You’re tall enough for it to work.”

  The look in Trey’s eyes said she’d get it later. She fully intended to get screwed by all the guys. For the power to work, however, she needed to be able to touch them all. It built her connection. Being at the bottom of the fuck pile wouldn’t work as well.

  Trey took his position. Ben’s groans indicated his cock was getting attention. Dani slid a condom on Trey’s erection and lowered her body onto him. The fullness made her tremble. Her arousal dominated her body. She wanted to ride hard to climax. Opening her eyes, she knew the group was in balance. Dani needed to share.

  “She’s ready to go.” Trey lifted into her.

  “We’re all primed. The sex with spells is getting more intense.” Rodney shook his head.

  “It’s okay. We love each other. That doesn’t mean we can’t act out our fantasies. Lustful urges matter as much as love when the goal is satisfaction. This doesn’t have to be romantic flower time.” She sensed Rod’s fear of getting swept up in the sex. This group wouldn’t use each other, or go too far in a selfish or harmful way. “Trust each other. Let go.”

  “Ladies first.” Sam nodded.

  Her hips took the advice, driving down on Trey’s cock hard. He groaned. It only encouraged her. Dani saw the men humping each other with such pleasure on their faces. The glow of their love and energy pulled her in. She kissed Rod over Ben’s body as she came down faster on Trey.

  The sweet ache inside her made her pause to savor it. Trey lifted, triggering her release. Gasping, she urged them on. She watched her men, and saw Rod achieve orgasm. Sam was deep into fucking his boyfriend. Ben rocked like a machine.

  Fingers rubbed her clit. She didn’t care whose they were. The groans of releases took over. She ground on Trey and bucked to those insistent fingers pinching her clit. She screamed as her second climax hit. Sam’s shouts mingled with hers as Rod shook.

  Then Trey and Ben achieved simultaneous orgasm. Dani’s skin vibrated with the hum of love. If love was the fuel, sex was the spark to free the power. It got their fire going. Sliding off, she kissed Ben as she tried to catch her breath. They had work to do, but later, maybe tomorrow, she’d make sure each guy knew how much she loved them. Maybe that’d help her decide where she belonged. Her future was the only dark spot in her life, but for now she had a mission.

  * * *

  With another stakeout set up at the location Dani had found, Ben paced. He hated waiting for trouble. In the paranormal stuff, he much preferred to go after the evil.

  “He’ll be here,” Dani said. “He’s afraid to hunt animals during the day. Everyone has a gun. It’s Texas.”

  “So bullets work.” Trey nodded.

  “Humans wouldn’t give him enough blood, though. Shifters consume food as humans, raw meat as coyotes. We’ve seen no evidence of eating the meat so he’s feeding on blood. The animals are the only things keeping it alive.” Rodney checked the cage they had in the bed of the truck.
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  “Seems like humans will work in a pinch, though.” Sam shook his head. “At least the maid lived.”

  “He’d need a lot of humans to stay alive.” Rodney hopped down from the truck and hugged Sam from behind. “We’ll get him.”

  Ben smiled. “It does explain why those chupacabras are so rarely seen. They’re fast as hell, with no packs or real social structure. They just need blood. It’s not like they’re reproducing. Weird hybrid thing.”

  “At least we’re not crazy. You guys were totally on the right track. Without seeing it in action, there was no way to determine what it was.” Dani sat on the edge of the flatbed, stun gun in hand.

  She looked so natural there, Texas wind blowing through her hair as the sun set. Ben knew she belonged right here with them. “So what are you doing for work back east?” Ben asked her.

  She shrugged. “I finished up my Master’s. The scholarship and job on campus made it a steal. Then when Auntie died, I was contemplating a PhD. The job market is iffy. I liked the flexibility of university life.”

  “There are colleges in Houston.” Sam smiled.

  Rodney laughed. “Who are you kidding? We’re a full time job. Add in all the paranormal stuff popping up, Dani won’t have time for much else.”

  “Don’t get distracted. You guys can convince me to stay later. It’s almost totally dark now.” Dani clicked on a tiny flashlight.

  “Free room and board… All the sex you want… All the hot men you want to watch,” Trey teased.

  Ben laughed. “A chance to work on your skills… You can teach Rodney what you know. Learn on the fly as we figure out stuff together.”

  “These romantic nights are so much fun: the threat of rattlers, the smell of manure, and the evil things running around. Maybe once we catch this one, we can try a quiet night at home with popcorn and a movie. After all the sex, we can fall asleep without having to go fight something. Just once in a while. I love you guys, but it sure makes romance complicated,” she said.

  “We can fix that.” Ben heard the acceptance in her voice.

  She was comfortable here. Texas might not have been good to her as a child, but they’d make damn sure she was a respected woman as an adult. Moving her in would do that. As lady of the house on a wealthy ranch, the other ladies wouldn’t give her grief. All of Houston could talk behind their backs, he didn’t care.

  “Shh!” Dani flicked her flashlight to the left.

  Ben and the rest of the men kept their eyes in that direction. This ranch had hundreds of head of cattle, but the men all trusted Dani to put them in the right spot. Without her, this job would’ve been damn near impossible.

  The grass rustled, and the men move in, Sam and Rodney armed with tranquilizer guns. Trey and Ben had the real deal. Once the animal was out of cover, Rodney took his shot. The dart hit a cow.

  Rodney reloaded and Sam fired. The creature growled as the men closed in, then leaped to claw Ben’s arm. Rodney managed to hit it with a second dart. The animal fell to the ground with a low whine, and went still.

  “Get him in the cage before he wakes up. Who knows how long that’ll last?” Trey grabbed the creature under one arm.

  Rodney took the other. They dragged him up to the enclosure. Before closing the door, Rodney took a bunch of pictures.

  Ben tried to ignore the stinging in his arm. “Rodney, come on. Get out of there. You can take samples through the bars.”

  Trey grabbed the darts off the creature’s body. “Now, Rodney. We need to clean up Ben’s arm.”

  “Right.” Rodney took a skin sample before he backed away.

  When the creature started to move, Sam yanked Rodney out and slammed the door.

  Trey was there with the padlock. Ben added another to be sure.

  “You don’t want to study new creatures?” Rodney asked.

  “Learning in a book is one thing. After what we saw this do, I don’t think it’s something to play with or experiment on. It’s not natural,” she said.

  Rodney wrapped an arm around her and the other around Sam. “Some would say five people together in a relationship isn’t natural, but it works. This thing obviously can’t function in the world now. Vamps aren’t meant to combine with shifters.”

  “Don’t worry. Those shifters are going to get an earful.” Ben shook his head. He tossed the keys to the truck to Trey. “You drive us home. Dani can patch me up. Then take this thing to the shifters. Make sure they kill it. Burn it.”

  “If they don’t?” Trey asked.

  Ben smiled. “Do it for them.”

  “I’m chopped liver.” Rodney smiled at Dani as they climbed in the truck.

  “You’ll be too busy looking at all your research.” Dani grabbed some tissues from the glove box and pressed them to Ben’s arm.

  “You didn’t get a nursing degree by any chance?” Ben chuckled. Her touch alone helped. He needed to wash out the wound. Who knew what sort of crud was under those nails.

  “Sorry, not a nurse, but this won’t require stitches or anything. Don’t be a baby.” She kissed his shoulder.

  Chapter Eight

  When Trey pulled up to the shifter house, half the pack came out. Maybe they smelled their pack member or heard the struggling creature. Trey didn’t want a crowd, but he had one.

  Grady walked up to the back of the truck. “You got him?”

  “Yeah, our psychic witch is good at tracking things, knowing where they’ll be before they even get there. One of your guys got turned by a vampire. Guess that’s what makes a chupacabra. Any cure?” Trey asked.

  Grady shook his head. “We’ve never been able to capture one. They rip us to shreds. We couldn’t kill our own member.”

  “It’s a killer. Almost drained a maid at a cheap motel. If we weren’t more concerned about her, we’d have caught him then. You’ve got to put him down.”

  “Yes, you’re right. How?” Grady asked.

  Trey hit the creature with a stun gun until it passed out. “Let’s get it out of the cage.”

  Grady helped, but Trey could see how nervous he was. Once the creature was on the ground, Trey took a wooden stake and drove it through the creature’s heart. It didn’t turn to dust so Trey grabbed an axe from the truck. With one swing, Trey sliced off the creature’s creepy gray head. “How many more of these do you think are out there?”

  Grady shrugged. “Not many. I’ve only known of two others in my lifetime. Once they realized they couldn’t rejoin our pack, they ran away. This one stayed local.”

  “Burn it.” Trey tossed Grady a pack of matches. “He’s already dead, but I don’t want any weird headless bodies running around Houston. Just in case.”

  Nodding, Grady pointed to three guys. “Dig a hole. We’re going to bury the ashes.”

  The crowd stepped back. One of Grady’s men brought wood to fuel the fire. Grady struck a match, setting fire to the body. Then the howling began.

  Trey looked up. All the shifters turned into coyotes and howled for their lost pack member. Removing his hat, Trey knew it was a shame. A dog didn’t want to turn rabid any more than that shifter wanted to be turned to a vampire. Unfortunately, there was no going back once the deed was done.

  Grady shifted back to human. He handed back the pack of matches as the fire blazed. “Thanks for your help.”

  “Next time ask. Don’t try to hide it or deal with it yourself. If you can’t handle it, we will.” Trey extended a hand.

  Grady shook it. “You guys are getting into a weird trade.”

  Shrugging, Trey put his equipment back in the truck. “Houston needs it. Don’t be afraid to send us stuff, or let us know if you see something. I’d rather get on a problem early.”

  “That pretty lady of yours sticking around? She’s got some mojo.” Grady watched the fire intently as others turned away.

  Trey shook his head. “Not sure yet. She’s stubborn. Texas hasn’t always been so nice to her. We’re trying to keep her, though.”

  “You can
go work on her. This is a done deal.” Grady took a blanket from his mother. Out of respect they covered the fire so the details of the burning corpse were obscured from the crowd.

  Trey waited until the body was mostly charred, then climbed into his truck. He understood the pain. Ben had only been scratched today, but Trey couldn’t deny his overprotective urges. He knew Ben was fine, but the work they did was dangerous. If he lost one of his guys or Dani, if they were turned to a vampire or something that had to be killed, Trey didn’t know if he could do the deed.

  Putting the gear away, Trey took a moment in the garage to thank the goddess for keeping his team safe. Ben was the leader, but Trey had to be the bad guy when Ben couldn’t. The smoky smell clinging to Trey’s clothes was proof of that.

  The group was upstairs cuddling in bed. Ben’s arm was covered in gauze. They all turned when Trey walked in. He felt the rush of loving concern.

  “Did it go okay?” Ben asked.

  “Yeah, I had to stake it and chop off the head. They burned it. Howling send off. I told them to call us first next time. Be straight with us. We’ll get it done faster.” Trey rubbed his neck.

  Dani smiled. “It’s sad they lost a member, but at least it’s done terrorizing Houston.”

  “What about you?” Trey asked Dani.

  “I’m terrorizing Houston?” she asked.

  Ben sighed. “Are you staying?”

  She sat in the center of the bed. “I love you guys, the work you do.”

  “No?” Sam jumped in.

  “Hold on.” Dani rubbed her temples. “I need to go back to be sure. This is great, but it feels like a dream. I have to go back to my apartment and see how it feels. Even if I stay here, I have to go there, get my stuff moved. It’ll take time to give up my place. I have a car and bank accounts out there. There’s no spell in Rodney’s book for moving.”

  “It’s not a dream. It’s real, Dani. We love you. We’re not complete without you.” Rodney’s voice had a little edge to it.

  She nodded. “I don’t blame you guys for being mad. I’ve thrown myself into this. Believe me, I’ve loved every minute. I can’t imagine living alone now, but if I say I’m staying, absolutely yes right now before I go back to see what it feels like where I’ve been living for years, would you believe me?”