by Lisa Edmonds
“Each of you take hold of the amulet on the side with the other person’s name. Hold it for one minute to put your own energy into it, and then when I tell you to do so, break it in half.”
Sean and I held the amulet between us. His eyes glowed softly as we looked at each other.
“Break it,” Carly said finally.
I didn’t think I’d be strong enough to break something made of stone, but we each gave our halves a twist and it broke down the middle with a little puff of magic.
Carly handed me a chain. “Put your half of the amulet on this chain and put it around Sean’s neck so it hangs at the level of his heart.” She winked at Sean. “Don’t worry—there’s no silver in the chain.”
I strung the amulet onto the chain and fastened it. Sean ducked his head so I could put it on over his head. I tucked it inside his shirt. I placed my palm over it and looked up at him, worry in my eyes.
He kissed my forehead gently and put his half of the amulet around my neck. It nestled between my breasts, over my heart. I smelled parchment and sensed the warm feeling I now associated with Carly’s magic, along with a trace of golden shifter magic.
“And how do we use it?” Sean asked.
“Just touch it in your time of need and it will lead them to you or you to them.” Her expression was grave. “You won’t be able to avoid the danger that’s coming, but you won’t face it alone.”
I supposed it said something about the mess that was my life that those ominous words were much more of a comfort than they had any right to be.
When we got back to Sean’s house, Nan gave each of us a long hug and reminded Malcolm that he’d promised to look after me.
The old Alice would have bristled at the idea that anyone was supposed to look after me, not to mention the hug, but I’d started to understand that being looked after wasn’t a sign of weakness or an indication people thought I wasn’t capable of protecting myself. It took more than five years of being out of the cabal and a lot of failed friendships and relationships for me to figure that out.
Once Nan headed home, Sean, Malcolm, and I went inside. I was so tired I could barely do more than put one foot in front of the other, but I had some questions that couldn’t wait.
“Can you give us a minute?” I asked Sean.
“Sure. I’ll go up. Don’t be too long or you’ll fall asleep on your feet.” He gave me a quick kiss and went to the back door to let Rogue in. After the dog greeted me, they both went upstairs. I heard the door to the bedroom close.
Malcolm sighed. “Thanks. I figured you probably wouldn’t mind Sean hearing any of this, but I’ll let you tell him when you’re ready.”
“Fair enough.” I hesitated. “Can I ask why you were afraid of the archangels?”
He floated back and forth. “Remember when I first showed up in your office in nightmare form?”
I grinned. “With three heads and beetles all over you? You expected me to really freak out.”
“Yeah, and you basically just yawned like I wasn’t even in the top three weirdest things you’d seen that day.” He smiled at the memory. “Anyway, I was originally sent to torment you, which is why I showed up looking like something H. P. Lovecraft cooked up in a fever dream. But then we became friends and I haven’t really been doing much tormenting.”
“Except for that phase you went through where you kept singing Olivia Newton-John songs, no, you really haven’t.” Realization dawned. “Did you think you might be in hot water for not tormenting me?”
“Yeah, big time,” he confessed. “I honestly thought I might get smited, regardless of what Carly said about Suriel not being there to pass judgment. I thought about jumping back to the house, but then I thought, what would Alice do? She’d stay and face the music, so I did.”
I blinked. “Wow. So, what did Suriel say when he talked to you?”
“He told me everything I’d done was exactly what I was supposed to do. He said angels don’t send ghosts to torment the living, but sometimes they send spirits to provide care, comfort, and protection. He said you would never have allowed me to stick around if I’d introduced myself as your protector, but you were just odd enough to find a friend in someone who showed up with three heads and threatened to make your life a living hell. I’m paraphrasing,” he added.
I frowned. “When you put it like that, I sound like kind of a weirdo.” I was irrationally annoyed that Suriel, or whoever had sent Malcolm to me, knew me that well. Part of me felt like I’d been manipulated, but Malcolm had become such an important part of my life that I couldn’t stay mad about it for very long. “So he basically said you’re doing a good job and that was it?”
“Uh, no. He said he would come back for me when it was time for me to go.”
I flinched. He flitted to my side. “It’s okay, Alice. He didn’t say it like it was a threat. It was more like a promise, like he was reassuring me. He said that wouldn’t be for a while yet.”
I knew Malcolm couldn’t stay with me forever, but I tried not to think too much about the fact that someday he would cross the veil and find the peace he deserved. It was selfish of me to wish he could stay with me, and yet I did wish precisely that.
Malcolm interrupted my thoughts. “I asked him if he knew what the condition was that would break our bond.”
Recently we’d discovered the spell binding Malcolm and me together had a condition that, once it was met, would sever our bond and release him. What that condition was, neither of us could tell.
“What did he say?” I asked.
“He said revealing it would mean it would never come to pass. Everything would unfold as it was meant to, he said. And then he disappeared.”
I raised my hands, palm up. “Archangels. What are you gonna do?”
“I know. Strange guys. Lots of bright light and big feathery wings. He did say one other thing, though, about Aden. I debated telling you, but I can’t keep secrets from my big sis.” His grin was back.
“What did he say about Aden?”
“He said you would save him.”
“Well, that’s not exactly breaking news. I’m not sure just yet how I’m going to do it, but I’m going to get him out of there, and Jana too. But why not just tell me that Suriel said I was going to rescue him? You knew I’d never just walk away and leave him in Bell’s hands.”
“Because he said you would save Aden regardless of the cost. I didn’t like the way that sounded.”
Neither did I, but I shrugged. “I’m going to save him. I’d like to think I’m smart enough and rational enough to do it in a way that doesn’t come with a cost I’m not willing to pay.”
“It might be a cost you’re willing to pay, but that doesn’t mean it won’t be a cost that’s too high for others. Remember when you decided to die to release Sean from the cuff? That was a price you thought was reasonable.”
I couldn’t think of anything to say to that. I rubbed my face. “I’m about to fall down, Malcolm. Is there anything else you need to tell me that can’t wait until tomorrow?”
“No. Go to sleep. I’m going to stick around here and keep an eye on things, just in case someone decides to try and bother us.”
“Okay. Good night.” I started for the stairs, then turned back. “I never had a brother, Malcolm. Or a sister, for that matter. I like that you’re kind of my brother, even if you are a ghost and you like Olivia Newton-John.”
“And I like that you’re kind of my sister, even if you are a magnet for trouble and you like Ozzy. Go to bed.”
I climbed the steps slowly, as if I had weights around my ankles. I trudged down the hall and opened the bedroom door.
Sean lay in bed with his back against the pillows, doing something on his phone. Rogue was in his bed by the window, on his back with all four feet in the air, snoring. He opened one eye, chuffed softly at me, and went back to sleep.
Sean put the phone on the nightstand as I walked in. “Is there anything I need to hear about tonight? Any of those
things you mentioned earlier that you need to tell me about, or anything Malcolm said?”
I thought about it and shook my head. “No. Everything can wait until tomorrow.”
“Good.” He smiled. “Then get your butt in bed.”
I went to the bathroom to wash my face and brush my teeth. I dropped my clothes into the hamper, put on my comfiest pair of pajamas, and turned off the bathroom light.
Sean raised the covers and I climbed into bed next to him. He curled around me and drew me close with his arm around my middle. I felt the hard outline of the amulet he wore against my back and raised my hand to touch the one hanging around my neck.
He kissed the back of my neck. “Whatever’s coming, neither of us will face it alone.”
“I know. It’s a comforting thought.” I squeezed his hand.
“I have a confession,” he murmured, his lips against my ear. “I love seeing a wolf amulet around your neck.”
“I have a confession: I love wearing a wolf amulet around my neck. And I love sharing a bed with a wolf.”
I sensed him smiling. “I love sharing a bed with a mage.”
My eyelids drifted closed. “So sleepy.”
“I know.” He kissed my ear. “I will keep you safe. Sleep as long as you like. I took tomorrow off, so I’ll be here.”
“Okay.” I wiggled a little closer and his arm tightened around me.
Just before sleep pulled me under, he whispered, “And for the record, I think your Spider-Man underwear is very, very sexy.”
I managed a ghost of a smile. In the next heartbeat, I was sound asleep.
14
Late Tuesday morning, I woke up to the smell of fresh-brewed coffee and with Sean curled around me.
“Good morning,” he said, his breath warm against my neck. “You slept soundly. There was even a bit of snoring there for a while.”
“Sorry.” I rolled onto my back and stretched lazily. Rogue’s bed by the window was empty; Sean had probably let him into the backyard to enjoy the sunshine.
“Don’t be. You know I think your little snore is adorable.” He kissed my forehead. “You needed every bit of that long rest. How do you feel?”
“Good.” I stretched again. “I forgot what it feels like to have a full night’s sleep. My brain feels so clear!”
He chuckled. “How you manage to function so well on such little sleep is amazing to me, but I suppose you’re used to it.”
“It’s not as easy these days as it used to be to stay up for several days in a row with only a couple hours of sleep,” I admitted with a sigh. “By the time we got home last night, I was barely able to hold a coherent conversation.”
“Sixty very eventful hours on five hours of sleep, Alice,” Sean admonished me. “Most people wouldn’t be functional at all at that point.” He started to get up. “Let me go make you some breakfast.”
I rolled on top of him and sat up, straddling his hips. “I am starving, but not for food.”
His eyes glowed. “I’m pretty hungry myself and you’re looking particularly tasty right now.”
I rolled my eyes. “Sure, with bedhead and puffy eyes and—”
He flipped us so fast that I yelped. His mouth covered mine as his hand slid under my pajama top and over my ribs to my breast. I gasped and arched up against him.
He raised his head to look into my eyes. “You are never more beautiful than first thing in the morning in my bed.” He pulled his T-shirt off over his head, treating me to a view of a perfect chest that never ceased to make me shiver with desire.
I started to pull off my pajama top but he brushed my hands aside and reached for the top button. “I’m taking my time with you this morning,” he told me. “Everything that’s happened in these last couple of days makes me want to savor every moment.”
I groaned. “That’s torture.”
“The best kind,” he agreed.
He worked his way down the buttons with maddening slowness. When the top was open all the way, he pulled the sides away a centimeter at a time, baring my chest and letting the fabric brush over my breasts slowly until I thought I would scream with a combination of arousal and frustration. My hands clutched at the sheets as I fought the urge to move.
When the top was off, he moved the amulet I wore and placed it between my breasts, over my heart. He closed his eyes for a moment. When they opened again, they were bright gold. I saw a shadow moving behind them, as I had when he was waiting to find out if the hex had broken. The wolf was looking out through Sean’s eyes. Golden magic rose. The wolf liked what he saw.
So did Sean. He lowered his head and kissed his way along my breastbone. His mouth moved to my right breast.
I cried out and tried to move but he pinned my hands to the bed as he sucked gently and flicked the delicate skin with the tip of his tongue. When his teeth grazed me, I almost came up off the bed. “Oh, God. Sean, please.”
He smiled wickedly. “I’m only just getting started.”
True to his word, he tortured my left breast just as long, keeping me on the edge between pleasure and torment for what seemed like hours. No amount of pleading got me any mercy at all.
When Sean’s hands went to the waistband of my pants, I raised my hips to make it easier for him to remove them. He nudged me down and licked across my stomach slowly with the tip of his tongue.
“Your magic sizzles like I’m licking a battery,” he told me.
“Why would you lick a battery?” I asked breathlessly.
“Guys do stupid things on a dare.”
He resumed his explorations, tugging my pants down a little at a time until finally he slid them off all the way. Despite how long we’d been together, the way he studied my body, his eyes taking in every detail as if memorizing it, made me a little self-conscious.
He moved up the bed to look into my eyes. “You are perfect, Alice.”
His hand moved down my stomach and nudged my thighs apart so he could make a first caress between them, as gentle as a feather. I gasped and closed my eyes as he kissed me, his warm fingers moving just right, driving me toward the edge of ecstasy and then over it.
When the starbursts faded and I became aware of my surroundings again, I discovered he’d slid down the bed and replaced his hand with his tongue.
“Sean…” I gasped, my back arching.
He raised his head to meet my gaze with his own golden one. “Again,” he said.
I couldn’t possibly, not again so soon. I shook my head and tried to pull away, but he held me fast with one hand on my hip. “Oh, you will,” he promised, raising me up to get a better angle.
And I did, scant moments later, in a rush no less powerful than the first. I was still shuddering and sobbing out his name when he rose just long enough to take off his pants. He returned to the bed to hold me while the aftershocks faded.
When I could breathe again, I tried to roll him over but he resisted. “This is about you,” he told me.
I pushed harder on his chest. “Yes, it is, so let me have my turn.”
He gave in and rolled onto his back. I rose onto my hands and knees and gave him the same long, admiring stare he’d given me, letting my eyes devour every inch. I let my hair brush over his chest and against his arousal.
He groaned. “Jesus, Alice, that is not fair.”
“Oh, I think it’s very fair. And I’m only just getting started.”
I took my time, kissing and teasing my way down his chest, but I couldn’t be as patient as him. I wanted to taste him and I didn’t want to wait anymore.
My mouth closed around him. He was fierce and strong, my alpha, and he tasted untamable, like barely caged wildness.
His back arched as he fought to stay in control, his fists twisted in the covers. I didn’t want him in control, however. I wanted him uncaged.
I used my hand to form a tight loop around him. I drew him deep into my mouth, then back up, my fingers sliding as I moved. That was all it took.
He came off t
he bed with a wolf’s growl and turned me around to face away from him, his hands gripping my hips hard enough to bruise. I cried out in pleasure at the feel of him as he filled me. He was all power and so impossibly hard and hot. It nearly sent me back over the edge immediately.
“My Alice,” he growled, biting my shoulder just hard enough to leave a mark.
“My Sean.” It was the first time I’d said it.
His arm moved around my middle to hold me as his movements became more deliberate. Magic rose—mine and his.
I screamed, my head falling back onto his shoulder. My magic poured out in a storm of green and white, with traces of black, purple, and red. There was also blue—the traces of water magic left behind by Malcolm sharing his magic with me—and hot golden shifter magic. It swirled around the room like an indoor hurricane.
Sean shuddered and growled, his arm tightening around my middle as he pulsed inside me. We fell over onto the bed as our magic rolled back through us in a wave of pleasure and power.
A few minutes later, once we’d had a chance to catch our breath, he nuzzled my hair. “When I look back now, all of my memories from before I met you are almost in black and white. I used to ask myself if I was making a mistake, waiting for some mythical perfect woman who would be my equal in nearly everything and better than me in the rest. You weren’t mythical after all.”
I craned my neck and kissed his jaw. “You don’t have to pile on the compliments, you know. I’m already in your bed—and happily so, I might add. No further flattery is required.”
“I’m serious, Alice.” He kissed the mark his teeth had left on my shoulder. “Sometimes I think that’s why I like to bite you so much—I’m making sure you’re real.”
I laughed. “I thought you just had an oral fixation.”
“That too.” He smiled, his eyes twinkling. “I don’t know if I’m fixated on it, but I very much enjoy it.”
“Mmm, me too.” I wiggled against him. “Other than catching each other up on some stuff and talking about what I’m going to do about Aden, what plans do we have for the day?”
