by C. R. Jane
And finally … happy reading! We hope you enjoy Forbidden Hex!
T.J. & Montana xoxo
CHAPTER ONE
Bishop rolled his neck on his shoulders, sighing in satisfaction when he heard the loud crack his cervical vertebrae released. He woke up with a stiff neck more mornings than not now. Not that he was complaining. With four people in one bed, sharing pillows and covers - and orgasms - it made for some interesting nights filled with twisted sheets and tangled limbs. He quickly yanked his shirt on, hastily doing up buttons before securing his shoulder harness. He just needed to grab his service weapon from its lockbox, find his keys and he'd hardly be late to work at all, he promised himself. Another worthwhile side effect of all those orgasms was a recent bout of tardiness. With no intention of keeping the three loves of his life a dirty little secret, he felt no shame admitting to his co-workers that they were the cause of his rushed drives into work. He didn't mind the catcalls or wolf whistles and could handle the teasing banter like a pro, but the pursed lips and disapproving frowns from his partner were a different matter. Not that Sam had a problem with his ménage relationship. No, he simply had a problem with doing the extra paperwork. Sam was one of the only people in the world who could make him feel like a naughty toddler and he had promised his partner and mentor that he would be on time that day.
All thoughts of time management fled from his mind the second he entered the living room, however. It wasn't the astounding beauty of the woman at the centre of their little harem that had his feet stopping in their tracks. No, it was the thing sitting next to her. "What the fuck is that?!"
"What is what?" Maeve asked, blue eyes blinking innocently at him, dark hair shining in the early morning light.
Bishop narrowed his eyes, "Don't even, woman. You know exactly what I'm referring to. The life-sized skeleton sitting next to you on the lounge."
Maeve looked to her left and jumped comically, her slender hand going to her chest as she gasped, "Oh my! How did that get there?"
Bishop lowered his head, taking a deep breath, telling himself to ignore the sniggering from a certain paramedic now standing next to him. "Maeve …" he warned.
Maeve rolled her eyes, her fake innocence falling away to be replaced by a look of determination. "What? Bish, it's Halloween in nine days and we still haven't put up any decorations."
"And we're not going to," he assured her. He hated Halloween. All the crazies came out on Halloween and his job as a detective became exponentially harder. Not to mention the fact that as a werewolf he had to put up with idiots running around dressed like poor imitations of the real thing, howling their fool heads off and pretending to bite people. And what was worse? The real werewolves going around biting people. Then there was the stupid decorations and the annoying brats knocking on his door demanding his candy! Nope, Halloween was not for him.
Maeve pouted, crossing her arms over her chest and plumping her breasts up enough to distract him. He saw the smirk on her face and he raised an eyebrow at her; her wily, womanly ways were not going to work. "Why do you want to join the masses in their idiocy? You hate Halloween too," he pointed out. "It's one of the things I like most about you."
Maeve laughed, the musical sound filling him with happiness and lighting him with love. He crossed his arms over his chest defensively, sincerely glad Lucian was already at work at the firehouse and not around to read his mind. Even to himself he sounded like a corny moron.
Maeve uncurled her legs and stood up, the move showcasing her bare legs beneath the old shirt she wore. He sniffed, recognising the scent as Gabe's and felt his features soften. Ever since her first morning with them when she had been forced to wear Lucian's clothes for a time, she had become somewhat of a t-shirt thief. Most of the time when she was at home she preferred to wear one of their shirts - and nothing else. None of them minded. The fact that Maeve was always covered in their scents appealed greatly to their primal natures.
"I used to hate Halloween. Past tense," Maeve corrected him. "I hated it because I had to go on lockdown every year. The supernaturals always come out in droves at Halloween and I didn't fancy making myself an all you can eat buffet. But now that I'm one of them myself and now that I have you guys, I think Halloween could be fun." Maeve shrugged, peering at him through her lashes as her head dipped.
Bishop sighed. The look she gave him was shy and filled with hope and although she was a devious woman, he knew she wasn't faking it to get her own way. He knew how hard life had been for her, not understanding why werewolves and vampires alike were so attracted to her. They constantly sought her out, and more times than not, weren't able to control their baser urges around her. It had meant she was constantly being accosted, bullied, and even bitten. In defence and desperation, Maeve had become somewhat of a recluse with her only real friend being Violet. Although Violet was a vampire, she had never been afflicted with the same need to feed from Maeve as nearly every other vamp out there. Maeve was a computer genius and ran her own successful online security company. She was also a hacker - a fact that he expressly ignored in light of his profession. Although it was true, she needed to spend hours in front of a screen, he had no doubt she would never have been such a hermit had her life not depended on it. So who was he now to deny her something she had missed out on?
Bishop grunted, knowing he was going to give in. He'd do anything for her. Even live with ghastly, tacky decorations at the front of their home. "Where did you get a damn skeleton from anyway?" he quickly changed the subject.
Maeve smiled adoringly at Gabe, who had remained suspiciously quiet. "Gabe got it for me."
Bishop scowled at him but Gabe didn't even have the good grace to look apologetic. "What my lady wants, she shall receive," he stated, before grabbing Maeve by the waist and proceeding to lay pillage to her mouth.
Bishop was forced to reach down and rearrange his junk to a more comfortable position. Seeing two of his lovers together never failed to make him horny. But given he was now running late to get to the precinct and was unable to do anything about it, the horniness was fast changing to grumpiness. He cleared his throat loudly and Gabe finally released Maeve, grinning at him over her shoulder and waggling his eyebrows. Despite his annoyance, he felt his lips twitch. Gabe really was gorgeous; over six feet of muscled, dark skin - thanks to his African American heritage - with a shaved head and dark chocolate eyes. Maeve's creamy, porcelain skin contrasted beautifully against the dark tones, her full lips incredibly potent.
"I'm leaving. If I come home and it looks like a pumpkin threw up on our house, you'll both be sorry," he warned, the threat empty. Maeve and Gabriel apparently knew that, for all they did was laugh and hold onto each other tighter.
"Ingrates," Bishop muttered, slamming the door on their giggles.
CHAPTER TWO
Maeve couldn't believe how much fun she was having. Bishop had been right when he'd said she'd hated Halloween. The supernatural holiday used to make her shudder and batten down her doors for the week preceding All Hallows' Eve - not to mention the quite literal hiding beneath her blankies on the big night. But then, she had hated pretty much all social situations until very recently. If it hadn't been for her bestie, Violet, dragging her sad, lonely butt out every once and while, Maeve knew there would have been nothing but cats and old episodes of NCIS in her future. And that would have been sad, Maeve mused. Because the show just hadn't been the same since Tony left.
Sighing a little morosely, Maeve shook off the lingering hurt from DiNozzo's untimely departure and instead focused on her current activity - ensuring her home looked like a pumpkin exploded on it. Maeve snickered when she remembered Bishop's parting words. The growly werewolf acted all gruff and grumpy
but deep down, Maeve knew he was … well … gruff and grumpy, she admitted. But there was a whole lot of honour, bravery, compassion, and love in there too. And Maeve was lucky enough to be one of the recipients of all those contradictions.
One of … repeating those words caused her to flush from head to foot. Somehow, some way, she had fallen into the middle of a foursome - and had also miraculously become the foundation that held her three men together. They were all so different, with Lucian's perpetual playfulness and Gabe's steady manner, but they all fit together like pieces of the same puzzle. A very sexy puzzle, Maeve acknowledged, forcibly directing her thoughts away from the masculine smorgasbord that she now lived with and on to hanging the last of the fake spiders in their entryway. She really wanted to be finished decorating by the time the guys returned from work.
Fifteen minutes later, Maeve dusted off her hands and stood back to eye her handy work. It may have been her very first attempt at Halloweening, but she thought she'd done a great job. It was the perfect blend of pretend-scary and tacky. She couldn't wait to hear what the others thought. A quick glance at her watch assured her she wouldn't have to wait long. Gabe was actually off work that day, having done four, twelve-hour night shifts in a row. After having an orgasm-filled shower together that morning, Gabe had left her to her designated Halloween duties and headed off the library to study. He was working hard to complete his transition from paramedic to doctor and would be home any minute. The same for Lucian and Bish. They all strived to have as much family time as possible. It was just another thing to love about them.
Despite Lucian having started his shift four hours earlier than her cop, she knew he and Bishop were due to finish at the same time and Lucian was going to walk the short distance to Bishop's precinct so they could travel home together. They were also supposed to meet for a lunch date - if Bishop hadn't forgotten about it in a fit of surliness. Maeve snorted, remembering the look of abject horror on his face when he had seen the skeleton that morning. She eyed her new bony friend, who was casually reclining on the lawn chair and was just about to mimic him, when she heard the sound of feet on pavement. Her heightened hearing allowed her to recognise who it was before they appeared, and she was already moving, arms open and smile wide, to greet her vampire and werewolf.
"There she is!" Lucian exclaimed, wrapping her in his solid embrace and kissing the common sense right out of her. "I missed you."
"I missed you too," Maeve replied. And it was true, she thought, her eyes mapping Lucian's facial features; his dark eyes, high cheekbones, tanned skin and silky black hair were a testament to his Asian ancestry. Those features were just as beloved to her as the long, shoulder-length caramel hair, short, scruffy beard, and coffee-coloured eyes of the werewolf behind her. Speaking of the werewolf … Maeve stepped back, expecting to be swept up in Bishop's equally muscled arms but was disappointed when she felt nothing but air at her back.
Frowning, she glanced behind her, only to find a very pissed-off looking werewolf. She turned back to Lucian and raised an eyebrow. The laughter on his face was nothing new, nor was the scowl on Bishop's, she admitted. But this time, the fierce frown held a hint of something else and a slither of unease worked its way down her spine. "Guys? Is something wrong?"
"No!" Bishop growled, glowering in Lucian's direction.
Lucian coughed into his palm, his dark eyes holding nothing but merriment despite the angry vibes emanating from their lover. "Yes," he contradicted, "there is something wrong. Our boy here got himself hexed."
Maeve blinked, that was not what she had been expecting to hear. "I'm sorry, what?"
Lucian barked out a laugh, eyes twinkling in their mirth. "Hexed. You know; cursed, jinxed, voodoo-ed …" he waggled his fingers helpfully.
Maeve eyed both men, "I see," she commented, slowly.
Gabriel chose that moment to come whistling up the sidewalk. He grinned when he spied them all, his eyes lighting up when he saw her efforts. "Babe, the place looks great! Good job," he kissed her soundly, slinging an arm around her waist. "Didn't she do a great …" Gabe's voice trailed off when he finally noticed the tension in the air. "Uh, what did I miss?"
Maeve crossed her arms over her chest, "Oh, nothing much. Just Bishop getting hexed."
"Say what now?" Gabe looked as confused as she felt.
"I did not get hexed! You know why? Because there are no such things as hexes!" Bishop exploded.
Lucian burst into unrestrained laughter and Maeve felt herself smile despite her confused state. "Lucian, why don't you pretend like Gabe and I have no idea what you two are talking about and start at the beginning?" She suggested, sardonically.
Her tone seemed to finally snap Bishop out of his introspective anger and he sighed, shoulders slumping. "I'm sorry. The place looks … awesome."
Maeve heard the hesitation in his voice and the quiet horror in his whiskey eyes as they took in the Halloween-themed front yard. She would have giggled but she appreciated his heroic effort to support her. "Thank you," she kissed his rough cheek. "Now, you were saying …" she prompted.
Bishop grunted, "It's nothing. Just some naked lunatic. I told you all the crazies come out this time of year."
"Naked?" Gabe asked.
"Lunatic?" Maeve enquired at the same time. She rolled her eyes - of course all Gabe heard was naked.
Bishop ran his hand through already dishevelled locks, "A homeless guy was brought into the station for public indecency today. Apparently he had been causing a ruckus on the streets with his sign and Hammond arrested him."
"Ookaay," Maeve was still unsure what all the fuss was about. "What did his sign say?"
Lucian barked out a laugh, replying, "Trick or Treat."
"Well, it is Halloween …" Gabe offered.
"Yes, but that doesn't mean you can walk around in nothing but a trench coat … and a 'trick or treat' sign hanging off your dick!" Bishop growled. "I wanted neither his tricks or his treats!" Their lover assured them.
Lucian barked out a laugh and Maeve found herself giggling. Gabe was also grinning from ear to ear. "So what happened?" Maeve asked, more than a little intrigued.
"The guy was resisting so I gave Hammond a hand - only to find myself plastered against a naked, sweaty man - that was neither Lucian nor Gabe! - who then proceeded to … lick me."
"Lick you?" Maeve didn't know whether it was funny or disgusting. Lucian clearly didn't have the same problem though, for he responded;
"Yeah. Licked him right on the face. I was there to meet Bish for lunch and saw the whole thing. It was funny as fuck. You should have seen his face when the guy tried to suck his earlobe."
Bishop shoved Lucian none too gently, "You're a jerk!" Lucian simply laughed. "Anyway, I grabbed the imbecile's tongue and told him I'd rip it out if he touched me again. That's when he started … chanting."
"Chanting?" Maeve shuddered now, still on the fence about whether the whole thing was hilarious or horrible.
"Yeah, started talking gibberish and pointing his finger at our boy here," Luci supplied. "Made a few weird signs with his hands and ended by saying Bishop was cursed until he could find the real spirit of Halloween."
"Total fucking bullshit! There's no such thing as curses. Now, if you'll all excuse me, I'm going to go sandpaper my ear."
And with that, Bishop stomped up the stairs, slamming the door behind him. Maeve spun around slowly, eyebrows raised, "Hexes aren't real … are they?"
Lucian gave her a tender smile, kissing her cheek, "No, sweetheart. But there is such a thing as a werewolf who can't take a joke."
CHAPTER THREE
One week later …
Trying with every ounce o
f his fraying self-control not to slam the door, Bishop settled for shutting it … hard.Okay, he'd made it inside the townhouse. Inside was safe, he told himself.
"What happened to you?"
Maeve's head looked up from whatever it was she was chopping in the kitchen and the inflection in her voice informed him that he looked every inch as sticky as he felt. "There was an … incident."
"I'll say."
Apparently noting the grim look on her lover's face, Bishop saw Maeve stifle her laugh. Wiping her hands on a dishrag, she smiled and asked sweetly;
"Want to talk about it?"
"Not particularly." He began the sentence in his typical way before thinking better of it. After all, since they'd let this vixen into their home, their bed, and their hearts, he'd tried a helluva lot harder not to be so closed off. Luci called it mellowing but he preferred to think of it as making room. He was shipping out some of his reservedness and opening himself up to new possibilities - so far, it was going great. Just not today. Sighing loudly, he admitted, "I was called to a possible crime scene this afternoon; an employee at theSugarcone factory found an elderly colleague unresponsive and hunched over at his station."
"Sugarcone, wait is that the ice-cream factory that makes theStrawberry Swirl I like?"
"That's the one." Bishop shouldered out of his jacket and wondered if he should wash it or burn it. He had a sneaking suspicion the smell was going to linger if he didn't send the thing to wherever unicorns and ice-cream went to die. For now, he slung it over a kitchen stool. "Anyway, the ME had just left. Doc Marvel didn't think the circumstances were suspicious and neither did I, but as I was following her out there was an explosion."
Maeve gasped, "An explosion?!"
"Apparently when he lurched forward, our dead guy must have nudged a controller, sending the ice-cream churner into triple-speed mode."
