The ornate pear-shaped locket was large in Wendy’s hand. With trembling figures, she fidgeted and opened it by pressing an almost invisible side latch. Inside were two pictures, both of women. Both had fine features and large eyes that seemed to gaze back at the observer. Wendy placed it down on the velvet and pushed it closer to Kieran so that he could study it.
At first, he didn’t notice anything unusual about the locket other than its obvious great worth and antiquity. When he studied the back of it, a symbol caught his attention. He’d seen it before. But where?
With a pen, he sketched it on paper and studied it closer; the symbols were ancient writing. Then, taking great care, using tweezers, he removed the photographs.
There were similar ancient symbols etched behind each picture. Now, there was no question. If what he suspected about the symbols behind each of the pictures was right, it had to be the key.
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
Oh. My. God. Oh. My. God. I have the key the demons want. Wendy repeated the statement over and over in her head, rubbing the locket that now hung around her neck as they headed to Fallon’s house to meet with the Grand Poobpah Protector, otherwise known as Julian.
Shifting toward Kieran, Wendy stared at him, she needed explanations. Needed to know what it all meant. Why did her grandmother give her this locket? Had she been aware of what it was?
Kieran continued staring straight ahead, ignoring her. It amazed her. Just a few hours ago, they’d been intimate, and the man still seemed just as distant as ever. If she didn’t know any better, she’d swear he’d forgotten all about it.
Wendy pushed at his shoulder. “Please stop ignoring me and answer my questions. What does the key mean? What is Julian going to do to me? Am I…going to die?”
Finally, when he glanced at her, the concern in his eyes surprised her. He actually looked worried. His brows pinched together for a second before he looked back to the road. “I don’t know the answers to your questions. When I called Julian and described the symbols on the locket, he insisted that I bring it there right away. He also insisted that I bring you along.”
“What about my last question?” Wendy whispered, leaning toward him just to see what his reaction would be to her proximity. His eyes shifted to her, and he visibly tensed. The thick walls were back.
“You’re not going to die. I won’t allow it.”
She released a breath she wasn’t even aware she’d been holding. “Okay. One more question. Can you tell me why you’re pretending we never slept together? I mean, if that’s how you normally act after sex, then fine, whatever, but it’s kinda strange.” She sat back running out of words, not sure why she’d even asked. “You know what? Don’t bother answering.” Warmth heated her face. Why did I have to bring that up?
“I don’t know what you expect. It was a mistake. I shouldn’t have taken advantage of your being under my protection,” he replied, not looking at her. “I apologize for my lack of control.”
Anger surged through her. “I am learning not to expect much when it comes to you, Kieran. And you didn’t take advantage of the situation. I wanted it just as much as you did. It’s just that, well, I like you. I have liked you since you saved me from the demon attack….Forget it. Never mind.” Blinking back tears, she stared out the passenger window. Okay, now she was making a fool out of herself.
She was scared out of her mind, and there wasn’t anyone to tell her everything was going to be okay. That’s all right, I can be strong.
To add to her mortification, she let out a shaky sob.
Kieran pulled the truck over instantly. His hands actually ached from gripping the steering wheel tightly for so long and not reaching out for Wendy. At the sound of her quiet sob, he couldn’t take it anymore. She was terrified. Why hadn’t he realized that her bravery was just a front?
As soon as he parked the car on side of the quiet country road and turned toward her, she flew into his arms. “I’m sorry. I don’t know why I’m crying….I’m so scared.” Her small frame shook, and she pushed her face into his neck, her fingers clinging to his shirt.
Kieran wasn’t prepared for the assault and strength of the emotions that flooded over him. He wouldn’t allow anyone to hurt Wendy. She was his to protect. Thinking that anyone, whether a demon or even Julian, would try to hurt her sent fury through him so hard and swift that his incisors fell and a low snarl exploded from his throat.
“No one will hurt you. You have my word,” Kieran’s voice sounded husky even to his own ears. She’d stopped crying but didn’t move away, and he couldn’t push her away now, even if his life depended on it.
She fit perfectly against him, slipping into his arms, her legs curled up on the long seat of the truck.
When she raised her face to look at him, he was lost. Her gorgeous dark green eyes were damp; her long lashes were clumped together with tears. She was stunning.
Her parted lips drew him like a lure, and he fell into her. When their lips met, everything ceased to exist. Hearing her soft sigh, he felt his heart expand, beating so hard that it echoed in his ears. Pulling her fully onto his lap, he continued exploring her mouth, their mouths expressing more than words how much they desired and needed each other.
Wendy wrapped her arms around his neck and straddled him, pushing her small, tight body into his. Kieran opened his eyes and scanned the area. It was deserted, but it wasn’t nightfall yet, and he didn’t want to chance someone spotting them. He had to have her again.
And he would be with her again. Nothing could stop him now.
He picked her up and roughly put her down away from him. Not looking at her, he slammed the truck into drive and drove into the crop of trees a few yards away. As soon as the truck stopped, he threw it into park and brought her to him again, immediately seeking her mouth with his. “I want you,” he told her gruffly between kisses, his hands already on her firm butt, pulling her onto his hardness.
“I want you, too,” Wendy gasped, reaching for his fly, her fingers unfastening his pants.
In one fluid motion, Kieran pushed her shirt and bra up, taking her hard peak into his mouth, suckling while pushing her pants down.
“Oh, God,” Wendy cried out when his fingers explored her damp center.
“Tell me what you want, Wendy,” he said, a moan escaping when she pulled his pants open and released him..
“I want you deep inside me. I want us to cum together,” she told him.
His hands circled her hips and helped her lift up so he could impale her on his hardness.
Setting a violent pace, they raced toward oblivion. The sound of her moans and their bodies joining was like a symphony to his ears. When she screamed, her sex tightened around his shaft as she came, a loud groan escaped his lips as he, too, lost control and spilled into her.
Limp, she fell against him, her fingers tangled in his hair, her breasts pushing against his chest. Kieran caressed the soft skin of her back while waiting to catch his breath.
His eyes flew open.
They’d kissed.
The first time he had kissed a woman in over two hundred years.
Wendy pushed back and looked at him, her lips curved into a satisfied smile, her eyes still hazy with fulfillment. Without another thought, he kissed her again and held her to him. “Are you all right?”
“Yes,” she whispered, “but I really need to get my pants on. I’d hate for whoever owns this land to happen upon us.”
They looked at each other for a long moment. The bond between them shook him. He would not care for her. He couldn’t allow it to happen, not again.
The struggle between the need to protect her, to have her near, fought with the knowledge that he had to guard himself from certain heartbreak. Unless Julian changed his mind, Kieran would be marrying someone else soon.
Uncertainty flickered in Wendy’s gaze. “What’s wrong? You’re not going to tell me that this was another mistake, are you?” Looking away, she tried to move off of him, but he held her in place. He wasn’
t ready for them to separate. Not yet.
“Look at me.” She lifted her eyes and met his. “This was not a mistake. We both needed this.”
When her lips curved into a happy smile, his heart skipped a beat, and he frowned. She giggled at his expression and kissed him. The kiss intensified, and he began to harden again.
“We have to stop.”
They didn’t, not until they both had cum again.
Later, when Kieran was able to form a thought, he kissed Wendy and helped her up, feeling strangely empty at no longer being joined with her.
While Wendy squirmed into her clothes, Kieran adjusted his. Then, he waited for a few moments to collect his thoughts. He saw she bit her bottom lip and stared straight ahead, her fear threatening to come back. He held his arm out. “Come here.” He almost smiled at how fast she snuggled under his arm.
The closer he got to Fallon’s house, the more apprehensive Kieran became at Julian’s reaction to the locket, to Wendy, and to what had transpired between them.
# # #
The library in Fallon’s house was quiet. Every eye in the room turned toward them when they entered. Wendy stood slightly behind Kieran, not ready to face his boss. She clung to his arm, not able to control her shaking.
“Please, sit down,” Fallon told her, motioning to a sofa. Reluctantly, she released Kieran’s arm and went to sit, her eyes not meeting anyone’s in the room. Instead, she just looked past the man at the front of the room.
Kieran remained standing. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw four men sitting around. Cyn sat in the chair next to her, across from her sat Roderick, and next to him sat the new Protector, Logan. At the front of the room, behind Fallon’s desk, a last man stood. Julian.
Kieran went to the Roman, and they exchanged a greeting, putting a hand on one another’s shoulder. Kieran spoke to the man in another language, which Wendy guessed to be Italian.
Finally, when Kieran sat next to her, she muscled up the courage to openly study Julian. She almost gasped out loud.
There was no way the man was real. Perfection personified was the only way she could describe him. His blue-black hair was brushed away from his face, showcasing his angelic features. Dark, piercing eyes framed by the longest eyelashes she’d ever seen on a man met hers, and she glanced away.
Fallon stretched into a chair, studying her and Kieran with narrowed eyes.
He knew. There was no doubt by his cocked eyebrow when his eyes met hers that he’d sensed what happened between them as soon as they arrived. Too overwhelmed, she hadn’t even tried to hide her thoughts from him.
If he knew, and Julian was the strongest of them, then….
“May I see the locket Miss O’Sullivan?” Julian’s smooth, Italian-accented voice made her jump.
“Of course,” she pulled it off over her head. In the next instant, he stood in front of her, his hand outstretched and catching her by surprise. She dropped the locket into his palm, her eyes meeting his, almost as if he had willed them to. She couldn’t pull her gaze away. Don’t be afraid. I know your truth. A soothing, invisible veil seemed to fall over her, and she let out a sigh. Finally, she was able to look away from him. Next to her, Kieran’s body tensed.
Julian walked away studying the locket. “Who gave you this?”
Wendy cleared her dry throat. “My grandmother left it to me in her will.” She looked to Kieran, who gave her hand a reassuring squeeze.
“Leave us alone,” Julian told the Protectors, his eyes lingered on Kieran. “All of you. I must speak to Miss O’Sullivan in private.”
The room swayed, and she grabbed at Kieran, but he pushed her hands away. He leaned into her ear, his Scottish lilt reassuring. “I’ll be right outside. Don’t worry.”
Once the Protectors left, eyes locked on her folded hands, she waited for Julian to speak. Under her lashes, she saw that he sat for a long while, continuing to study the locket, holding it under the light of a table lamp. She took advantage of this to study him further. His dark hair curled on the nape of his tanned neck, giving him a softer look from the side. She noticed that his muscled biceps strained under his white shirt. His shoulders were wide but not so much so that he lost the sleek look of a predator. A magnificent predator.
When he finally looked up to meet her gaze, she flushed, wondering if he’d heard her thoughts.
“This locket was left in the care of the Fae hundreds of years ago. It is the Key of Peace. There are several universal keys. Each key was given to a different race of people to protect. Demons were given one, the Fae another. I am not at liberty to say who holds the others.”
“The Fae?” Wendy croaked. “Like in fairies?”
“Yes.”
“What does that mean? How did my grandmother end up with it?” Wendy stood, not able to remain seated, her hand up to her mouth.
Julian didn’t answer. Instead, he asked her another question. “Where are your parents?”
“They moved to Ireland a few years back.”
“How long since you’ve seen them?”
“I don’t know, a year. I planned to go visit soon. What does that have to do with anything?”
A look of impatience crossed his face. “Miss O’Sullivan, are your parents particularity young-looking?”
“My parents…um, well, yes, I suppose they are very youthful. My mom got a face-lift, so she looks younger than she is, at least that's what she told me. ” Wendy babbled, trying to make sense of his questions.
“What is your mother’s name?”
“Maureen.”
“Maureen O’Sullivan?” Julian asked, his eyes piercing hers. “Your father is Rouri O’Sullivan then,” he said, not seeming to need her response.
“Do you know my parents?” Wendy squeaked.
“Miss O’Sullivan, you are going to have to go to Ireland. You must take the key to Ireland, and you must remain there with it,” he stood now, his towering height shrinking the room. “Gwendolyn, you are the keeper of the Key of Peace, like your grandmother was before you.”
“I can’t go to Ireland. I mean, I can, but I don’t want to. Why can’t I express mail it to my parents or something? Or you can take it, I mean, don’t you live in Italy? You can stop by and give it to Mom,” Wendy couldn’t stop babbling. “Oh, shit, wait a minute. Are you saying I’m a fairy?” The last word came out as a shriek.
She sank into the chair, suddenly exhausted. “Why didn’t my parents say anything?”
“Yes, you are Fae. I’m afraid it’s your parents’ responsibility to explain your ancestry to you and why they hid the knowledge from you.”
“No, I don’t accept this,” Wendy jumped up, stalked to him and grabbed the locket from his hand. She automatically draped it over her head, allowing it to hang between her breasts.
“I’m going home, to my apartment here in Atlanta. This is all a long, awful nightmare. Demons, Protectors, and now fairies. What the hell?”
Julian remained still, only a slight tick on the side of his face telling her that he held back some sort of reaction. He looked up at the ceiling and then back to her. Her eyes widened—he was going to strike her down with a lightning bolt or something. She wanted to run, but her feet refused to budge. She let out a yelp when his hand wrapped around her upper arm.
“It’s all true. You know it is.”
The sound of a primitive growl made goose bumps crawl all over her flesh. Her eyes went wider, looking up at Julian, only then realizing he was looking toward the door.
Kieran was in the doorframe. He strained against Roderick and Cyn, who were having a hard time holding him back. Julian raised his hands to show that he no longer touched her.
“Come in, gentlemen,” he said calmly, then locked gazes with Kieran. “Stand down, Scot. Retract your fangs before I lose my temper.”
Wendy’s eyes flew to Kieran, locking on his elongated incisors. He was willing to fight Julian to protect her. She went to him and wrapped her arms around his waist. His large bo
dy vibrated in restrained fury.
Finally, everyone tore their eyes from them and sat, finding the same seats as before. Kieran walked to the loveseat, holding Wendy against him, his eyes never leaving Julian’s.
Julian’s lips thinned with suppressed emotion. Wendy could not figure out if he was mad, exasperated, or annoyed. It was hard to tell.
“That is the Key of Peace, which has been in the care of the Fae for centuries. It seems Miss O’Sullivan has unknowingly been the keeper.”
The Protectors’ eyes locked on her, curiosity evident in each of their gazes.
Julian continued. “The key and its keeper must be kept away from the demons. I am not sure which demon is a keeper, but one of them holds the Key of War. Each key was given to a different race of people to keep, people that will never trust each other enough to share them. Because with each key comes a lot of responsibility and a great deal of power. Gwendolyn must go to Ireland and learn how to protect the key. It is imperative.”
Roderick spoke up. “The festival of Dionysus ends in two days. Until then, none of us can leave. We must remain here to fight the influx of demon activity in the city.”
Cyn agreed. “The demons seem to be too preoccupied with the availability of humans who are perversely affected by the God of Mischief to concentrate on looking for the key. But I have no doubt they will begin the search again in earnest once this week passes. They are obviously aware that you have the key,” he said, motioning to Wendy.
“For now, return with Kieran. Both he and Jake will keep you safe,” Julian told Wendy. Then, he spoke to Kieran. “What happened between the two of you changes nothing. You are still bound.”
What the hell does that mean?
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
The sun was setting as the Protectors dispersed, all except for Kieran. He remained in the library with Julian. Kieran stood and waited for Julian to speak. What came next caught him by surprise.
The Roman’s gaze first fell on him, then to a far wall. A force picked Kieran up and slammed him against the wall so hard that he penetrated the plaster. The force then wrapped around his chest and neck so tight that he fought to breathe. He kicked the wall, trying to dislodge himself, but the invisible steel grip trapped his legs, pinning them against the wall. Gagging and on the brink of blacking out, he glared at Julian, who’s gaze flickered to the floor. Immediately, he collapsed onto it, coughing and struggling not to pass out.
Surrender: Immortal Protectors, Book 2 Page 11
