Enigma, Maine, Bundle 1

by Iris Abbott

  Brittany was going to go crazy. She’d been cooped up with the dashing pirate for almost a day and a half. He had stuck to his guns and absolutely refused to let her out of his sight. He wouldn’t give in to her demands to return to Enigma either. Instead, they called a truce and agreed to concentrate on staying alive.

  Brittany used her time wisely. She conjured a workout mat, and they spent most of yesterday sparring with each other. He was much better trained than she was. He took her through her paces in several forms of martial arts.

  It was a long time since she had the chance to practice with someone with such skill. It almost made the torture of coming into contact with every inch of his sweaty, muscle-honed body worthwhile. Almost.

  She got him to explain to her in great detail how his neural implant was supposed to work. She created a spell of her own based on the information he gave her. She didn’t want to travel through time. She just wanted to be able to transport herself from one location to another instantly. That would be a very handy skill to possess.

  Logan walked out of the bathroom. He had one towel loosely wrapped around his hips. He used the second one to dry his rakishly long, black hair. She tried to look like she wasn’t up to something.

  “We’ll go back to Enigma first thing tomorrow morning,” he promised. If the wolf shifters have been looking for us, they must be ready to give up by now. I’ll call Phillip Saint John, the guardian I mentioned, and see if he’s heard about anything going down in the wolf pack.”

  Brittany wasn’t about to throw away the only chance she had at getting news about Selena and Julie. “Make sure you ask about my friends. I’d feel much better if he could tell me they were all right.”

  ****

  Logan gave her a solemn nod. It was the least he could do. “It’s risky using our room phone to contact Saint John, but we’ll worry about that later.” He picked up the phone and pushed several buttons. He didn’t have to wait long. A harried Phillip answered the phone with a clipped greeting.

  “Phillip, this is Logan Justice. How are things in Enigma?” He hoped it sounded like an innocent enough inquiry. Should have known he couldn’t fool a guardian.

  “Not good at all,” Phillip shot back. “I don’t think this is a social call. What’s going on, and what brings you to the twenty-first century?”

  Logan chuckled. Leave it to that cat to get straight to the point. “I was zapped here the night of the Halloween party. I think it has something to do with the mated souls spell cast by three witches. My neural implant has stopped working. You know what that means. It looks like I’m here to stay.”

  A hiss sounded from the other end of the phone. “Selena and Julie are spoken for already. Is Brittany with you?”

  “Yes, I have the red-headed spitfire, and we’re on the run from three rogue wolves. They think we overheard something the night of the party. Our self-defense skills and a well-timed interruption allowed us to make an escape. We’ve been hiding out ever since.”

  “Give me the phone,” Brittany snatched the phone out of Logan’s hand before he could act. “Hello! This is Brittany Sheldon. Do you know anything about my friends Julie Banks and Selena Hunt?”

  There were a few moments of silence while she listened to Phillip. Logan was startled when Brittany let out a startled sob. The phone slipped from her hand and thudded to the floor.

  Logan scooped it up and pulled Brittany to his side. She looked like a good wind would blow her over. “What did you say to her,” he demanded in a fierce pirate’s growl.

  “I don’t have time for this,” was the harsh response. “Julie and Selena are being held captive, probably by the same three wolf shifters that are after you. Mitch Gannon and I are almost there. Just keep Brittany safe and out of the way. Don’t come back to Enigma yet. It’s not safe!” The line went dead.

  Brittany paced back and forth around the small hotel room. “I will not abandon my friends.” She gave Logan a fierce look that didn’t invite any arguments. He knew he wasn’t going to be able to talk her down. “They didn’t desert me after my grandmother died and the coven turned me out, and I refuse to forsake them now.”

  Logan didn’t like the sound of what she was saying. It seems he was going to have a mutiny on his hands after all. “The whole thing could be over by the time we drive to Enigma, or worse we could distract Phillip and put your friends in even more danger.” He tried to reason with her.

  Brittany glared at him, but she sat down on the bed. He let out a deep sigh of relief. Relief that was very short lived. He watched in disbelief as Brittany crossed her fingers. He listened in stunned silence as she spoke the words to a radical spell. He didn’t have any idea if it would work or not, and that was scary.

  Brittany glared at him. “I’m not waiting around for someone else to save my friends. I was only a baby when my parents died. My beloved grandmother’s death was just a little over a year ago. The grief still fresh and weighs me down. I’m not going to lose my sisters too.”

  She crossed her fingers. “Powers of the universe, at the juncture of atomic structure scatter all matter. Be my escort. Don’t sell me short, as this form of travel is my last resort. Take me to Enigma, Maine and the apartment of Julie Banks. I invite you to use my allotment and drop me from the sky in a flash of bright light. I will defy the odds as my sisters and I shatter wickedness thus making it victimless.”

  She rapidly blinked three times and held her arms up and opened them to welcome the powers of the universe she’d just called upon.

  Logan felt a stirring of electric current in the air. He watched in disbelief and horror as Brittany faded right before his eyes. A bright light momentarily blinded him, and in a flash, she was gone. His heart beat erratically against his chest.

  Brittany was independent and stubborn, but he’d grown quite fond of her over the past couple of days. He would not sit back and wait for something dreadful to happen to her. He was going after her. It had been forever since he used a spell.

  Thank goodness he possessed a photographic memory even without the neural implant. He could recite Brittany’s spell word for word. He crossed his fingers and prayed with every fiber of his being that he had enough magic in him to make this work. He felt a surge of power and thanked his lucky stars. There was still life in his neural implant!

  “Hang on Brittany! I’m coming for you!”

  ****

  Brittany felt as if she was floating on the breeze much like a feather. She was surrounded by a warm and cozy white light. She got that queasy feeling a person suffers when they drop too fast in an elevator of a high-rise building. Suddenly the light around her flashed, and she dropped into the living room of Julie’s apartment.

  It worked! Her spell worked! She didn’t have time to celebrate, however. Her friends were in dire need of help.

  A large black wolf with blood-matted fur engaged in a fight to the death with a smaller tawny-furred wolf. Selena and Julie were trying to restrain a second wolf shifter.

  Brittany recognized him right away as one of the men who attacked her and Logan at the Halloween party. She ran to help her friends hold him down. They would need more than just her help if he managed to change. He was distracted by her sudden appearance, however, and her friends were able to take advantage of the situation.

  Selena lunged for the spell-blocking charm the wolf shifter was wearing. She got her fingers around the chain and tugged hard. She tossed it to Julie who took off away from the group as soon as she had the amulet in her hand. Selena crossed her fingers and began a chant.

  “Hear me now all the powers of the universe and make this spell work swifter than this wolf shifter at the speed of light hour! Lift up my magic. Shift the balance of power. Let good conquer evil and stop its intended upheaval.” She blinked three times and held up her arms to embrace the powers of the universe she’d just called upon.

  The wolf shifter beneath the two witches let out a startled whimper. He stopped mid-shift, and all his stre
ngth and canine characteristics faded away. Brittany took advantage. She approached and effortlessly lifted him from the floor by the awkwardly bent arm behind his back.

  Brittany had to take a deep breath to hold back the fury coursing through her body. Instead of causing lasting harm, she settled on giving the traitorous wolf shifter a sharp kick to the shin. “That’s for terrorizing my friends.” She shoved him toward a well-built wolf shifter who was busy wiping the blood from his face. She figured he was Mitch Gannon the alpha of the Enigma wolf pack.

  Gannon was in deep conversation with another breathtakingly gorgeous male who suddenly appeared. Brittany’s ears perked up when she heard the words Saint John. So, this was Logan’s guardian friend? Her eyes watered, and she tried to push back the sadness that filled her when she thought about him helping Logan leave so he could continue his time travel.

  The alpha started talking to Brittany and her friends. She tried to concentrate on what he said. It was hard because Brittany wanted to focus on her friends and their well-being.

  “I’m sorry you were put in danger by members of my pack.” The alpha’s apology was delivered in a deep voice that might have caused tingles before she met Logan. “Please accept my apology, and if you ever need anything let me know.” Gannon finished speaking and left.

  Brittany’s thoughts wandered to Logan and whether or not he’d be at the hotel when she returned.

  Selena touched her shoulder. She focused her attention on her friends. They formed a circle of three and embraced each other for several minutes.

  Brittany never thought she’d ever be as scared as she was when her precious and beloved grandmother died. The home they shared exploded because of a gas leak. That was a little over a year ago, but the pain was still raw. She noticed the guardian snuggled up to Selena, offering her silent support and comfort. Suddenly Brittany wanted Logan there with a fierce hunger she didn’t think she’d be able to ignore anymore.

  She was thinking about saying her goodbyes when another blinding light flashed. The four occupants in the room found themselves eye to eye with a very angry pirate. “Whoops,” Brittany stated to everyone gathered in the room. “I’m not supposed to do that by myself yet, but I knew you guys needed me.”

  She shrugged her delicate shoulders. “Logan thought it would be too dangerous, but I used my magic anyway and not a moment too soon either!” She owed her friends more of an explanation, but that would have to wait. She blew them a kiss and promised to be in touch, before disappearing along with Logan behind another blinding flash of light.

  FOUR

  Brittany looked around her apartment and smiled. “Well, I guess your implant is working again. And how’d you know where I live anyway?”

  Logan was furious. He crossed his arms because he was tempted to grab her by the shoulders and shake some sense into her. “You risked life and limb to travel through matter from one space to another,” he accused. His usually strong voice cracked with emotion.

  She started to speak, but he held up a hand to stop her. He still had more to say, and she was going to listen! “And on top of that, you and your friends faced down a wolf shifter. Do you know how lucky you are that he didn’t shift, because as a wolf he would have torn you and your friends to shreds.” His voice was beginning to shake from emotional overload.

  He ran a hand through his hair. “How’d you keep him from shifting anyway?” He swallowed hard at the thought of claws and teeth ripping into her delicate skin.

  Brittany put her hands on her hips and glared. “Oh, I’m allowed to speak now, am I?” She arched a brow and at his nod but continued.

  “Julie and Selena were already struggling with him. My sudden appearance startled him, and thanks to her quick thinking, Selena was able to grab his charm. That left him susceptible to magic, so she cast a spell to keep him from shifting.” She shrugged. “He was easy to handle after that.”

  Brittany smiled a smug smile. “Who’d have thought a wolf shifter would be so soft. That alpha should require physical training for his security staff.”

  Logan glared at her. “Soft and wolf shifter don’t belong in the same sentence.”

  “Maybe not. It’s a good thing he was easy to take down when he couldn’t shift. They rely way too much on their wolf powers, but I’m not complaining.”

  She sat on the edge of the couch. “Let’s talk about you now.” She fumbled her fingers while she waited for him to respond.

  Logan continued to stare at her with narrowed eyes. He held his tongue, not wanting to say something he’d regret.

  “I guess now that your implant works you’ll be taking off for the eighteenth century and some pirate ship, huh?” Her voice trembled.

  He hid a smirk. “If I didn’t know any better, I’d think you weren’t ready for me to leave.” He sat next to her on the couch. “Brittany, I thought I mentioned to you already that time travel is no longer an option for me. My implant will no longer allow me to travel through time. I can, however, move through matter from place to place just as you did.”

  “I didn’t know if you’d be able to follow me. I also don’t know if you’ll be sticking around now that the danger is over.”

  “Oh, I’ll be sticking around all right. You, Brittany Sheldon, are independent and stubborn. You’re also beautiful and resourceful. I want to get to know you, all of you, and the sooner, the better.”

  He scooped her into his arms and started walking. “Which way is your bedroom? It’s time this pirate plundered his ill-gotten gains!” He grinned and winked at her.

  ****

  Brittany wrapped her arms around his neck and snuggled as close as she could get. “Take a right. It’s the last door at the end of the hallway.”

  She hid a smile using the crook of his neck. Her body tingled. The simmering warmth inside her threatened to consume her if she didn’t do something about it. Since the danger was finally behind them, they could relax and enjoy each other. If he wanted to play at being a pirate, she could go along with it.

  All the air left her lungs in a whoosh when Logan launched them both onto the bed without warning. His weight settled on her, and she accepted it with wild abandon. She closed her eyes and breathed in the musky maleness of his scent.

  His heavy erection settled between her thighs. He ground against her covered mound. Her sex clenched, and she moaned encouragement.

  She cursed the clothes that kept their bodies from joining together. Before she could move, the hinderance faded away, disappearing into thin air. She gasped.

  Logan smirked.

  “You’re gonna have to teach me how to do that,” she insisted.

  “It’s all about the implant. Now that I no longer travel through time I’ve regained my ability to do other things with magic.” He blinked again, and a black silk scarf appeared in his hands. He gently placed it over her eyes and tied it behind her head.

  Brittany’s hands reached for the scarf that blocked her eyesight. “What are you doing?” Being blindfolded required a certain level of trust. She took a deep breath and willed down the panic rising inside before it had a chance to take hold and ruin the special moment.

  Logan gently clasped her wrists with both his hands and offered soothing words. “It’s okay, Brittany. I’ll take off the scarf if you want me to but wearing it will heighten your other senses. It’ll be like nothing you’ve ever experienced before. I promise.”

  Brittany had a feeling that was already going to be the case with or without the blindfold. She wanted their first time together to be unforgettable for both of them. She was willing to experiment. Which said a lot about the bond that developed between the two of them in such a short amount of time.

  She breathed deep and slowly exhaled. She could hear Logan moving around, but of course, with the blindfold, she couldn’t see what he was doing. Brittany wiggled her toes and clenched and unclenched her fists.

  Logan straddled her prone body. His knees came to a snug rest against her hips. He lean
ed close enough for his silky hair to brush her heated skin. She tensed, waiting for the rest of his body to touch hers.

  A warm breeze caressed her right nipple. It pebbled into a diamond-hard point. Her sex clenched, wanting to be filled. She shivered, and the muscles in her body tightened. Every nerve in her body was on edge.

  His upper body shifted and moved away from her. She arched toward him, trying to get closer. He chuckled.

  A faint whizzing sound caught her attention. Brittany held her breath and waited. Finally, when she thought she couldn’t stand one more second of suspense, she felt the whisper of a caress. It floated over her flushed skin, barely touching in places. The touch was light, but it left a tingling path in its wake.

  Logan traced the curves of Brittany’s body with the wispy object. It trailed across her breasts, and she gasped in delight. He slowly moved the mysterious object lower until he was right above the most sensitive spot on her body. Brittany mentally followed the path of what she guessed to be a feather when it came to an abrupt stop.

  She waited. It felt like an eternity but was probably only ten seconds. “Don’t stop, Logan! I’m tingling all over, but I want more!”

  His weight shifted on the bed. He blew a stream of moist warm air across the oversensitive skin of her nether lips. Brittany screamed. A tortured moan was ripped from her throat when the heated air danced across her sex.

  Her back arched, and she tried to move closer. Logan’s strong and capable hands wrapped around her hips, holding her in place. His forceful touch calmed her movement. She relaxed and let him take control. He shifted position and moved up her body and claimed her lips in a searing kiss.

  Brittany welcomed the kiss. Her mouth opened under the subtle pressure exerted by his tongue. She tangled her fingers in his silky black hair and urged him closer. She let out a little cry when he pulled away from her, but he ignored her and continued with his current plan of action.

  He followed the same path as the feather, but this time with his tongue. Brittany shuddered when he circled her nipple and then slowly sucked it into the warm cavern of his mouth. Arousal shot straight from her breasts to her sex. Sensations shot through her body. She jerked.