by K. F. Breene
That said, I didn’t need the kids realizing any of this. Not until I figured out how to tell them what I’d decided.
Daisy’s hard stare beat into my head as I nodded and turned. Soft padding crunched the brittle, mostly dead grass as Mordecai approached me.
“He saved my life. I have to at least say thank you,” I said, hurrying away.
A small growl rumbled from Mordecai’s throat.
“Yeah,” Daisy said. “I agree. This is bad news, and not because I am now talking to an overgrown dog.”
Mordecai growled again.
I grabbed my handbag and thought about changing into nicer clothes. But that would make it obvious that I had lost my mind where it concerned Kieran. Somewhere along the way, it had become less about helping others by taking Valens down, and more about helping him. About speaking to him, and spending time with him.
“This is bad,” I said, trying to ignore my excitement at seeing him again.
As expected, there was nothing to finding him. Nothing at all. I looked internally, felt his solid presence connecting to my middle, and followed the shimmering path to his soul. The handsy souls in the ghost neighborhood had given me the heebie-jeebies, but when Kieran’s soul reached for me, I didn’t want to shake him off. I wanted to pull him closer.
The train of terrible ideas was screaming down the tracks, and I didn’t want to jump. I wanted to ride it all the way in.
Such bad news.
I smiled when I reached the little outlet, engulfed in swirling gray fog, and found his bright red Ferrari parked beside the road. It was the same place I’d met him to talk about the job. Sure enough, I followed the trail beside the magical zone barrier, through the windswept trees, and emerged in a clearing high on the cliff.
Kieran sat on the lonely bench overlooking the vast blue ocean. His T-shirt stretched across his large shoulders, and a muscular arm was thrown over the back of the bench.
Heart thumping and stomach flipping, I silently made my way to his side.
“You found me.” His deep voice rumbled in his chest. He looked up, and those stormy blue eyes opened up all the way down to his soul. To the place I’d latched on to.
“Yes.” I sat on the far end of the bench, leaving space between us.
His focus stayed on my face, absolute.
“You disobeyed me the other week,” he started, though if he’d meant his tone to be severe, he wasn’t doing a great job.
I clasped my hands. “I didn’t want to leave the job half finished. I know I signed on to help your mom, but I promised myself I’d help those other souls, too. I know you said you’d find the guys responsible, but—”
“The solution had been staring me in the face the whole time,” he interrupted. “Since before we met. I knew about that air draping spell. Knew about it, and discounted it to the point that when you spoke about a spirit trap on the building, I didn’t even think of it. My mother as well. I’d been in my father’s room. I’d seen that picture. I’d seen the fountain.” He shook his head, his eyes sparkling. “I hadn’t made the connection.”
I shrugged. “You didn’t have the benefit of seeing your mother in her younger form. It was a lot easier to compare her spirit to that fountain.”
He stayed silent for a beat, his stare beating into me. “I don’t agree. You have a knack for reading people. You have a pure soul that lets your magic shine. I know for a fact—I can feel it. It’s so light. So lovely. Like you.”
My face heated and my heart lurched. I shrugged again, not knowing what to say. Scared of the strength of what I felt.
“My father will notice the absence of his employees soon,” Kieran went on. “He’ll know what it means, even if he doesn’t know it was me. Yet.” He paused. “He’ll know some serious power was behind this. Power in the spirit realm.”
I controlled my breathing, and tried to control my face. I knew what would come next. He didn’t disappoint me.
“It’s time for me to get you out of town, Alexis.”
A weight settled on my chest and squeezed my heart. I refrained from commenting, not trusting my voice.
“It wasn’t fair of me to try and cut you off before you finished the job,” he went on. “I should’ve known you’d want to keep going until those spirits were released. I should’ve guessed you wouldn’t leave it alone. But it’s done now. I’ve visited every site. I’ve spoken to the spirits. Then I’ve let them go.”
“I know. I got the pictures. And some of the buggers showed up at my house and milled on the grass.” I’d had to just assume some of the lights and orbs in the pictures were a host of spirits and not just one. They didn’t show up very well on camera, to the dismay of countless Ghost Whisperers who wanted proof they could do their job.
He nodded. “Your task is well and truly finished. I have a house ready for you and the kids in Sydney. They have an excellent dual-society zone there. I’ve already arranged for training for all of you. The shifter packs in the area are led by honorable alphas. The spies who would take on an apprentice are cunning. I have friends there. I will make sure you are all sorted.” His eyes sparked. “Valens doesn’t mess with Sydney. The ruler there, a class-five fire elemental, can’t stand him. She’ll cause a problem if he goes sticking his nose in her territory. And with his home turf…issues, he won’t risk dividing his forces, even to face a lesser power.”
“And Bria?” I asked, my words thick.
“She’ll stay here with me. I need a Necromancer. I have a lot of spirits willing to fight.”
I took a deep breath and made sure my voice was steady before I went on. “I take it you’d like to keep my magic so you can communicate with the spirits?”
He surveyed me silently. “No,” he said, and I paused with my mouth open, because that wasn’t the answer I’d expected. He continued surprising me. “You must know that you’ve had an effect on me. I haven’t been with another woman since I met you. I haven’t had the interest. I can’t stop thinking about you, Lexi. You’re on my mind constantly. I fear for your safety. I lose sleep, pained that harm might come to you. I find joy when you laugh, and get aroused when you tell me no. You’re a peculiar woman, and it turns out, peculiar women are my type.” Our connection throbbed in my chest, and I longed to reach out to him. To sit in his lap. “But I might not have a future, Alexis. My father is extremely powerful, cunning, and has been at this for years. He also watched me closely throughout my childhood. He knows what I’m good at, and he’s documented my weaknesses. When he realizes I mean to oppose him, he’ll cut me at the wick.” The hand that was draped over the bench fisted. “I have no illusions. I know what I’m up against. But I have a duty to my mother. I have a duty to the people of this city. He needs to be held accountable for his choices. I’m the only one who can…who will.”
He shook his head and directed his gaze out across the ocean. I let silence descend, listening to the crash of the waves below. Feeling the pull of the tides and enjoying the wind against my face.
Finally, he spoke again. “So no, I don’t want to keep your magic so that I can communicate with spirits.” He looked back at me. “I want to keep your magic—keep this connection—so I can find you if you get in trouble. So I can be near you even when we’re oceans apart. So I have a piece of you, even in my last moments.”
40
Kieran
Kieran felt emotion rise through him, hot and powerful. He couldn’t tell if it was his or hers. Her eyes sparkled with unshed tears and a soft smile drifted across her beautiful face.
“And here I thought you’d be mad that I…did whatever I did,” she said, and a tear wobbled free, cutting a trail down her cheek.
He held out his hand, inviting her closer. She scooted along the bench immediately, sliding against him. His cock hardened with the contact, and his desire for her burned through his veins.
But he kept it at bay. He was pushing her away. He didn’t want to confuse matters by giving in to his desire.
; “The tickets have been bought,” he whispered, falling into those deep brown eyes. “I can ship whatever you want from your house. The house in Sydney is fully furnished, but I’ve set up accounts so you can change it however you want. The kids will have their own rooms. And new clothes, because Alexis, they look homeless.”
She shuddered with a soggy laugh. “They were at one stage.” She wiped her face with the back of her hand. “So…you’re forcing me away?”
“Yes,” he said, and this time, the burning ache in his heart was all his. The first woman he’d cared for, and he couldn’t keep her. Life had a way of kicking a guy in the balls. “I’m sorry. It’s for the best.”
She nodded, and wiped away another tear. She took a deep breath, and a surge of feeling rose within her. He could feel it. It mirrored his own.
But it wasn’t meant to be.
“Don’t waste your heart on me, Alexis,” he said softly, looking out at the ocean. He couldn’t bear to see her tears. It was bad enough that he could feel her pain. “I’m not what you need. There’s a full life waiting for you in Sydney. Live it.”
“What about my father?” she asked, and he jerked his head toward her.
That had come out of left field.
“Uh…” he said stupidly, regrouping. The woman didn’t think in a linear line. “We’ve had to go about determining who your father is under the radar. It’s taking longer than usual.”
“So you still don’t know which one he is?”
“No.” It dawned on him why she was asking. “Even if it is Magnus, he won’t find you. How could he?”
She shrugged. “How did you?”
He opened his mouth, but closed it again before he said “fate.” He didn’t need to pour salt in the wound.
“Thank you for helping me, Alexis. Thank you for…everything.”
She nodded, but didn’t speak.
He wasn’t sure what else to say. “I’m just going to sit here for a while…”
She nodded again, but didn’t get up.
“What makes you think that I’m going to do anything you say?” she said finally.
“This isn’t up for discussion—”
She surged up from the bench and spun toward him, her face flushed and eyes shooting fire.
“I love taking handouts, don’t get me wrong,” she started, and he couldn’t help a smile. “But if you think I’m going to let you walk into danger all by yourself, after everything you’ve done for me and my family, you’ve got a screw loose. I’m in this now, Kieran. I might not know what the hell I’m doing, and I might not be an incredible asset like the others, but I’m really good at plucking souls out of dead bodies. And I’m excellent at banishing souls. And…communicating with them. And that’s something.”
She balled her fists and dug in her heels. “Don’t waste my heart on you? Fine. I won’t. But I also won’t waste my life hiding from a fight because it might not go my way. I’ve lived in that dual-society hellhole all my life. If anyone should fight for the people in the magical government not to be such turds, it’s me. I have a score to settle, too. Someone has to get Valens back for treating spirits badly. For killing fairies and illegal game. I mean, fuck that guy! So screw you. I’m joining this fight. I’m joining the ranks. There’s nothing you can do to stop me. Besides kill me, and I’ll haunt the shit out of you.”
He surged up before he knew what he was doing. He’d wanted to do what his mother had said. To do the right thing. He’d tried. But if the woman wouldn’t go…
He grabbed her neck and reeled her in, crashing his lips to hers and kissing her for all he was worth. She shoved him back, making him butt up against the bench and fall back onto it. Her hands yanked at his pants and his fingers ripped at her jeans buttons. He pushed down the fabric as she stroked his cock, her touch fanning the fire inside him.
She stepped out of her jeans and straddled him on the bench, no hesitation. Passionate and headstrong, like he liked ’em. She lowered and rubbed the tip of his cock down her wet slit, already ready for him. Eager, like he was for her.
He grabbed her shoulders, and when she’d lined them up, pulled down. He groaned as her tight warmth sank down on him, his world bursting into color. Her middle—her soul— throbbed and her touch stroked the very center of him, an incredibly intimate feeling that heightened the sensation of her physical body wrapped around his cock.
She bobbed with abandon and he reached between them, massaging her clit as he thrust, hard and deep. Pleasure tugged on his gut and the sensations wound, tight and hot. Electricity raced through his body and he lost all semblance of control.
He stood, wrapping his arms around her waist and taking her weight. He rocked his hips up, crashing into her. Loving this feeling of her hanging off of him. Of plunging into her wet depths over and over.
His balls tightened and the pleasure dragged him under to a place where only she existed. Only the feel of her body and the connection between their souls.
“Don’t leave,” he commanded. Or maybe he begged. “Stay.”
“I was…always…going to,” she said, then moaned, a low, feminine sound. “I’m not…going…anywhere.”
His world exploded as he climaxed. A delicious, incredible climax. He groaned as he emptied into her depths, soaking up the exquisite sensation. She cried out, and then she was shaking, too, calling his name. He thrust again, riding the intense wave as bliss washed over him. One more time and the strength went out of his body.
He staggered back, trying not to drop her, feeling her shiver again before she relaxed against him. He sat down, hard, onto the wooden seat. His breath came in heavy gasps, hers was ragged.
“Hmm,” she moaned, before lightly trailing her lips against his neck. “I have one request, though.”
“Let me guess…” He leaned back, holding her firm. He didn’t want her getting off of him just yet. That would mean the moment was over, and he would have to face the hard truth of what lay ahead of him. “You don’t want me to tell the kids about any of this.”
She laughed against his skin. “Just until I can break it to them gently. I need to figure out the right angle.”
“And you think that angle exists?”
She didn’t say anything, just lay against him, her middle throbbing happily.
Fear wormed into his gut. Ten minutes ago, the worst thing the future could bring was death. With Alexis safe, and his mother freed, that was a fate he’d been willing to face.
Now, however, it wasn’t just his death on the line. It was hers. And they both knew some things were worse than death. Specifically, what Valens would do to her if he found out what she was.
Success was now infinitely more dire.
41
Alexis
I held my head high as I stepped onto my front steps and stopped outside the door.
“Well you look…refreshed,” Frank said with a smirk. A couple men behind him started laughing and an older woman scowled.
“Shut up,” I whispered, one hand on the door knob. I smoothed my hair with the other, trying not to react.
We hadn’t stopped with just the one lovemaking session. He’d gotten hard again before I could even climb off him, and we’d had another go, the second time slower and more emotional. I’d meant to leave quickly. To hurry home and act like nothing untoward had happened. But I couldn’t bring myself to say the words. Before I knew it, we’d been sitting there for hours, half naked and not worried about it, overlooking the ocean and chatting about everything and nothing.
Don’t waste your heart on me, Alexis.
Maybe he’d meant it in a different way, but he was right. I doubted we’d have a future together. We were from two different worlds, and I wasn’t sure either of us wanted to cross over. Kieran would be a leader someday. I knew that in my heart. He’d sort out the issue with his father and go on to rule a territory, probably a large one. Maybe he’d even take over magical San Francisco and fix it up a little. Kieran was destined for gr
eat things, and while I could joke about being a prince’s wife, sans the duties, I knew where I belonged. I was an outcast. A misfit. The girl who took in strays and lived in the crack of societies. That was all I knew. Maybe it was all I ever wanted to know. I could put my head down and do whatever I wanted. I didn’t have to listen to anyone, and was only responsible for a couple people, while he’d be a pillar of a community.
But man, being with him was a thrill. Sexy and exhilarating and heart-pumping.
Don’t waste your heart on me, Alexis.
“Yeah, yeah, I heard ya,” I muttered, rubbing at the ache in my chest. I might have to remind myself of that from time to time. Like every five minutes or so. Logic was having a hard time winning over how I felt when I was with him. A really hard time.
I took a deep breath. Time to face the kids.
The smell of BBQ wafted at me as I slowly opened the door. My stomach growled and I slipped inside, hearing voices from the kitchen.
The floor creaked under the weight of my foot. I paused. So did the talking.
Two quick steps brought an expressionless Daisy to the edge of the kitchen. She took one look at me, rolled her eyes, and turned.
“You were right, Bria,” she said. “We’re staying.”
“I knew it,” Jack hollered.
The toilet flushed down the hall and Zorn stepped out of the bathroom. His gaze drifted over me. He walked past me without a word, heading into the kitchen with the others.
Mordecai sat on a chair at the dining table, his face excited but fatigued, and his shoulders slumped. Jack stood at the counter, laughing—at me, apparently—and chopping something. Daisy slid into a chair next to Bria and pulled over a cutting board and a pile of green beans.
“We need a bigger house to congregate at,” Bria said, her voice nasally. There were still white bandages over her nose. She hadn’t wanted the Healer to meddle in her affairs, so she said. I had a feeling it was to get the pain meds.
