Luca's Magic Embrace

by Grosso, Kym

  “Okay, sounds good. I’m anxious to get this over with,” she said, using both her hands to apply the conditioner through her long mane. As she leaned back into the spray, her firm breasts pushed out toward Luca, beckoning him into the shower.

  Luca raked his fingers through his hair. “You’re killing me. You know, I’m finding it hard to resist you, let alone wet and naked.”

  She shot him a wry grin. “Then why don’t you join me?” She turned her face into the drizzle, wiggling her behind at him.

  Luca adjusted himself as he blew out a breath. They’d never get anything done, making love all day. “Later, temptress. I’ve got brunch out here for you, courtesy of Sydney. Now come on and hurry up. We’ve got work to do.”

  Samantha squeaked as she felt a firm spank on her butt cheek. She laughed and complied, turning off the water. She was hungry, and Luca was right. They needed to do research and get information out of Ilsbeth. She was tired of being a victim. Whoever was doing this had sorely underestimated her ability to fight back.

  Eating a wonderful array of fresh fruit, beignets and bacon, Samantha listened to Luca tell her about the writing at the cabin.

  “Hematilly Periapt? What’s that?” she asked.

  “A periapt is an amulet. They’re usually made by someone of magic, like a witch, warlock or mage. So for example, if it was blessed with white magic, it would be used for something good, like protection. But I’m guessing that it has been created by someone using black magic, and has a nefarious purpose like hexing or perhaps a curse. To be honest, I’ve got no idea what it does or why someone would want it. But it must be pretty important to someone, given they followed you to Pennsylvania and burned down a building to try to get it.”

  “But why would anyone think I have it? I mean, I don’t remember much of what happened to me, but I can tell you that I don’t have it. This is the first I’ve heard of it. I swear. I don’t even know what it looks like or what it does.”

  “I’m not sure. But this has got to do with Asgear. He probably has something to do with this, or should I say, had something to do with it.”

  “Can’t we just search his house? What about that warehouse Sydney told me about?”

  “No. Kade and Sydney searched all his properties after the crypt was destroyed. He owned the warehouse in the business district, which has since been demolished, thanks to Kade. They also ran a search to see if he owned any other properties and came up empty. Now he may have owned or rented other properties under an alias, but so far there’s no evidence of their existence. The periapt could literally be anywhere in or out of this city,” Luca speculated.

  “Well, I can’t just sit around doing nothing until we go see Ilsbeth. If this thing is real, maybe there’s something about it online. I know that the witches were in the process of converting some of their books over to digital versions, in case of flood or fire. Of course, I wasn’t allowed access to anything when I was at the coven, but I heard them talking about it.”

  “We can ask Ilsbeth to let us see the books when we go there tonight,” Luca suggested.

  “No offense, Luca, but the witches aren’t going to let a vampire look at their books. The one thing I learned in my week there is that they are very secretive. And since I didn’t agree to join their sisterhood, I wasn’t allowed in the library either. We can ask Ilsbeth, but I know she’ll say no. Don’t get me wrong, she can be very kind. But she also can be a tough as nails bitch. She does not bend rules, period. Besides, I think we should try a backdoor approach at the same time we’re playing nice.”

  “What do you mean, backdoor?” He smiled at her, knowing she had something up her sleeve.

  “Well, if they are putting all the books into a database, then we just take a peek,” she proposed. “You know, hack in and look at the files and then sneak out. I can do this, Luca.”

  “Very impressive, tell me more.”

  “I’m considered a ‘white hat’ hacker. That means I purposefully spend time trying to hack into systems to expose their weaknesses, so that I can help clients and our company. There are some folks out there who are considered ‘black hat’ hackers. They do the same thing, but they’re not doing it to help anyone. They might be stealing or just trying to cause trouble. There are other titles in the hacking world too, like ‘grey hats’ who break in and then offer to fix systems for a fee. Regardless, I’ve had to learn all kinds of hacking techniques when I’m testing. The only caveat is that hacking isn’t always as quick as they make it seem in the movies. If I can’t find a gaping hole in their system, I may need to try a few other tactics that might take longer,” she explained.

  Prior to her abduction, Samantha had worked as a high level computer engineer for a large government contractor and was known to be one of the best ‘white hat’ hackers in her division; she regularly attempted to hack their own computer systems as part of quality assurance. If the Hematilly Periapt existed and its information had been recorded digitally, she could find it.

  A business call interrupted them, and Luca took it in his office, leaving Samantha to work. Borrowing Luca’s laptop, she ran a search on ‘Hematilly Periapt’, suspecting that initial searches would turn up nothing. She had a hunch that this item was only known in supernatural circles and wouldn’t show up on poser sites. People who knew about the amulet were not wannabe witches or vampires. And whoever was threatening her and looking for this item knew that it held seriously potent power; they’d been willing to kill for it.

  Samantha knew the coven had a huge physical library that she hadn’t been given access to yet. Ilsbeth had told her that she’d be given the key once she’d completed her training and had sworn allegiance to the coven. Rowan, a young but powerful witch who worked as the librarian, had befriended Samantha. Although she was kind during Samantha’s training, she had gone out of her way to tell Samantha to stay away from the mystical athenaeum. At the time, Samantha hadn’t thought twice to ask about the room, why she couldn’t go in there or what kinds of archives were stored within. She just knew that she wasn’t allowed to go in the library, and that there would be serious consequences for breaking coven rules. But now she wanted very badly to see what was hidden behind those doors.

  The one thing that Rowan had let slip during tea one day was that the witches had started moving information to online storage, as it could be safely backed up. Critical data could be kept safe from all kinds of natural disasters and recovered easily. If for some reason their wards failed to protect the coven house, a fire could take out their library within minutes.

  Contemplating where to search next, Samantha typed in the name of the coven, Cercle de lumière Vieux Carre, and waited. A single site popped up in her Google search and she clicked. A blank screen flashed onto her computer with two blank spots for identification and password. Knowing she wouldn’t have the identification, she’d need to obtain another witch’s security information, or find a weakness in their system. Samantha switched windows, and logged into her home server, so she’d be able to pull over the software she needed to hack in.

  Within minutes, she ran a vulnerability scanner on the coven’s site. She was hoping easy in, but it didn’t show any cracks. Damn. “I’ll find your secrets,” she muttered to herself. “It may take a while, but I’ll get in.”

  Picking up her cell phone, she moved forward with a typical ‘black hat’ hacker approach and called the hosting system administrator’s number that she’d been able to search out. Unfortunately for Samantha, they’d been well trained and had not given up the security information despite her name-dropping and helpful attitude. She had to give them credit for not falling for her tactics.

  Being one never to give up, she decided to resort to her most reliable but time-consuming method for breaking into computer systems. She accessed both Rowan and Ilsbeth’s email addresses and sent them an email letting them know about the cabin burning and that she was looking forward to seeing them tonight. The email looked innocuous enough, but
in reality she’d attached a worm to it. When opened, the worm would infiltrate their systems and attach a key-logging application with a Trojan horse to keep it hidden. The second Ilsbeth or Rowan accessed the online site, their keystrokes would be recorded and sent via messaging to Samantha’s iPhone. They’d never be any the wiser, and eventually Samantha would get the passwords.

  She felt a little badly for taking advantage of their kindness, but she knew they’d never simply agree to give her access. It had been made clear that unless she was a fully-fledged member, she would not get access, online or otherwise. Knowing that having information on the Hematilly Periapt was a matter of life or death justified the hacking, in Samantha’s mind. She would ask Ilsbeth in person tonight again for access, and if granted, she’d remove the software. But until that happened, she’d wait for the passwords to pop up on her hack.

  Samantha shut the laptop and decided to go upstairs to look around Luca’s mini-museum. It was almost five in the afternoon, and they needed to leave soon. She peeked into Luca’s office and told him she was going upstairs to look around. He was on the phone, clearly listening, but yet he gave her the okay sign when she told him where she’d be.

  Her breath caught as she entered the great room on the main floor. The tan walls were offset by the cream wainscoting; the entire first floor was richly decorated with both paintings and sculptures. Samantha resisted the temptation to run her fingers across the floral upholstery of a lovely French empire settee. Its mahogany arms were rolled and adorned with acanthus leaf carvings. She’d never seen anything so beautiful or intricately designed.

  Samantha’s eye caught a spectacular oil painting which had been set in a sophisticated gold leaf frame. She studied the landscape, admiring the way the artist appeared to capture the sun’s rays.

  “You like?” Luca came up behind her. Samantha jumped, but calmed under the touch of his fingers on her shoulders. “Paysage vers Canes-sur-Mer by Renoir. Lovely, isn’t it?”

  “Stunning. I can’t believe you have all this stuff. No wonder you have such a serious security system. It’s like the Smithsonian in here.”

  Luca chuckled. “All memories. Keepsakes. But I see nothing here as beautiful as you.” He released her shoulders to move over to the baby grand piano. He’d been accumulating all the art pieces for well over a century. Kade had suggested he needed a hobby, so he’d started collecting, piece by piece. “Some pieces are souvenirs. Others I just wanted for my collection. Kade said I needed to find something constructive to do with my time, immortal as I am, so I started antiquing. I live in New Orleans after all,” he joked.

  “That you do,” Samantha said in amazement as she walked over to look at a marbled bust of a woman that sat on the hearth of the old fireplace. “She’s beautiful.” She touched the cheek of the marble and then quickly withdrew her hand, fearing she’d break something. “She must be a very important lady to command the attention of the room.”

  Luca frowned. “She was…she was my fiancée, Eliza.”

  Samantha’s stomach dropped. He’d been engaged. She had never thought that Luca might have been married. She silently admonished herself for being jealous of a dead woman. “Your fiancée? I’m sorry. I assume she’s passed.”

  “Yes, it was a very long time ago. She was killed before I had the chance to marry her…before I was vampire. I had an Italian artist create this in her memory. Such a long time ago but the memories remain.” Looking out the windows to the gardens, he didn’t want to say any more about Eliza to Samantha. It didn’t seem the right time to tell her all the sordid details of how she met her demise. He felt he’d told Samantha enough of the truth for now. If and when they grew closer, he’d share the story with her.

  Samantha resisted pressing him for details, realizing Luca didn’t want to talk about it. She knew what it was like to experience loss, and understood that there were times in life when you just needed to let things go. When he was ready to talk about it, he would tell her. She was about to tell him not to worry about telling her the details, when a tall gorgeous woman burst into the great room, looking pissed as hell. It took all of two seconds before Samantha realized the angry female was a vampire.

  Glaring at Samantha, the woman bared her fangs and hissed. “You little bitch! I knew you survived Asgear, but I heard you’d left. What the fuck is she doing here, Luca?” she demanded to know. “No, don’t even tell me because I don’t care. I told you I’d get her back for what she did to me and now it’s game on.”

  The livid female vampire raced across the room with preternatural speed, knocking the wind out of Samantha as she grabbed her around the throat and held her against the wall. Samantha’s eyes bulged as she watched Luca snatch the other vampire with one hand and throw her across the room. He growled as Samantha held up a hand to him indicating she was okay.

  “Dominique!” he yelled. He strode across the room, where the woman shot daggers at him, looking like she was ready for round two. “Enough! It’s over. You will apologize now. And if you ever touch her again, I’ll stake you myself.”

  The woman vampire acquiesced and quickly stood up, holding both her hands up in surrender. “Me? Apologize? Luca, how can you take her side? You know what she did! How could you?” she pleaded.

  “She is mine,” Luca declared. “And you will not touch her. You will treat her with respect. She doesn’t even remember what happened to her. Samantha,” he glanced over to her and back. “This is Dominique. Unfortunately, when you were bespelled, you silvered her. And while she did suffer that night, she is no worse for wear as you can see. She most definitely does hold grudges but she will be respectful in your presence. Isn’t that correct, Dominique?”

  “Goddamn you Luca. I can smell you all over her. Yes, I will try not to kill your plaything,” Dominique spat through her teeth with a sickening sweet smile that promised retribution. She hated having to follow Luca’s order but would do it for him. He was her superior.

  “Now that we’re done with introductions, I believe you’d best get back to Kade’s to continue working. Dominique is the Director of Public Relations for Issacson Industries. We have a downtown office, but she spends a lot of time here if Kade is working from home. She also helps me with security when needed.” Luca came to stand next to Samantha and put his arm around her shoulder; he wanted it to be clear to Dominique that Samantha was his. “We’re going over to see Ilsbeth. I’ll contact you later if I need your assistance. Goodbye, Dominique.”

  Dominique shot Samantha an icy scowl and nodded at Luca. “Goodbye, Luca. I hope you know what you’re getting into with this one,” she huffed. As Dominique walked out the door, she slammed it in defiance.

  “Are you okay?” he asked, checking Samantha’s neck for injuries.

  “I’m fine, just a bit shaken up is all.”

  “Dominique can be a bit of a handful, but she’s very loyal. I promise that she won’t hurt you now that I’ve talked with her.”

  “I sure as hell hope so. That was one pissed off vampire bitch.” Samantha rubbed her neck. “I don’t even remember her, but I certainly will now.”

  “I’m really sorry about her. She’ll get over it, though. I meant what I said to her, and she knows it,” he assured Samantha.

  “Thanks, Luca. I appreciate you saving me. She’s kinda scary,” she admitted.

  Luca couldn’t resist pulling Samantha against his hard chest. He caressed her back and neck. Her shiny red hair now smelled of peaches, and he smiled, remembering how responsive she’d been the night before. She’d nearly killed him when she took him into her mouth. Growing aroused, he knew it wasn’t the time to start something he couldn’t finish. They needed to go soon and get some answers. He reluctantly released Samantha, putting some needed distance between them.

  “Darlin’, as much as I’d like to play museum curator and show you all my fun toys, we’d better get going over to the coven. I’m barely holding onto control. If we don’t leave within the next five minutes, I mig
ht be tempted to have my way with you yet again,” he teased.

  “And I might like that very much,” she countered. She blushed, thinking about how they’d made love the night before. She’d never met a man who could make her climax during intercourse, let alone make her feel as if she’d gone directly to heaven. It was as if he intimately knew every square inch of her body so well that he could send her into a blinding rapture with just his lips.

  Luca could tell Samantha was silently reminiscing about how incredible last night had been for them both. The mind blowing sex wasn’t something he’d soon forget. He couldn’t remember ever having been with someone who was so vibrant and loving. Envisioning her beneath him, writhing in pleasure, he groaned, willing his erection to subside. He needed to think about something else besides making love to Samantha.

  “So did you have any luck getting into the database?” he asked, grabbing his keys off of a hallway desk.

  “Yeah, about that. I tried breaking into the coven database, while you were on the phone. It was pretty tight, so I have to take a more indirect approach. I sent both Rowan and Ilsbeth emails that have a hidden key stroking tracking worm attached. I’ll be alerted once they go online and then we can nab the password. It might take a little while but the method is tried and true.” Samantha was confident they’d have the passwords within the day. Ilsbeth might not go online that often, but she was sure that Rowan would do so, since she actively worked in the library.

  “Smart and beautiful.” Luca hugged her and brushed a light kiss on her lips. “We’d better go now, before I decide to take you back downstairs and ravish you senseless.” Luca wished he was joking but knew she was quickly becoming an irresistible vice.

  CHAPTER NINE

  Samantha and Luca sat in the parlor waiting on Ilsbeth. Feeling her hands tingle, Samantha wondered if maybe she was feeling her magic. The only other time she’d felt a similar feeling was at the cabin. In an effort to dull the sensation, she closed her eyes, breathed in a deep breath, held it for five seconds and then blew it out. She reasoned that she might know shit about magic but she was pretty good at meditation. Relaxation seeped through her veins as she repeated the exercise.