Tempest of Vengeance (19 page)

“I’ll call her tomorrow,” I said, feeling
terrible. “I’ll make her an appointment today, right now.”

“Good,” Terian said. “Theo’s messed up over
it, too. He blames himself for not watching her better. And seeing
you with Lash this morning didn’t help.”

“Demon, I’m done warning you,” Lash
hissed.

“But I’m glad you’re together,” Terian said
in a pained whisper.

It was hard to tell who was more surprised,
Lash or me. Both our mouths dropped open.

“Take good care of her,” Terian said, fixing
his eyes on Lash. “Or I’ll be coming to kick
your
ass, Lash.
And there won’t be anything left of you when I’m done but smoke and
ashes.”

Lash blinked, then shut his mouth and nodded.
“Fair enough.”

“I’ll go wait for Theo,” Terian said, walking
out. “He shouldn’t take long. Good-bye Sar.”

“‘
Bye,” I mumbled, wondering at his
change of heart.

Lash came over and hugged me. “Why did he say
that? He’s never liked me.”

“I don’t understand it, either,” I said,
shrugging.

“Are you coming back to finish the movie or
not?” Devlin called from the other room.

We headed back to sit with Devlin. Venus had
joined him on the couch, and she was sitting on his lap. She looked
at Lash and me with a little curiosity, her golden eyes interested
as she scented the air. I picked her up, and settled her down on my
lap as I sat between them.

“Mom, Dad said you are going to live here for
good,” Venus said happily.

“That’s right,” I affirmed, glancing at
Devlin, who resembled the cat who’d eaten the cream.

“I’m glad,” she said, a huge smile breaking
over her face. “I don’t want you not to live here, like you used
to. I’d miss you, if you went to live somewhere else again.”

“So would I,” Lash hissed softly, as he
leaned over and gently kissed my neck.

“And I,” Devlin murmured, his eyes hot. “I
think—”

“Can we play a game, now the movie is over?”
Venus said excitedly.

I almost burst out laughing, from the stymied
look on Devlin’s face. “A short one,” I said with a smile. “Go grab
one, and bring it into the kitchen.”

“I’ll go with you, and help you pick one, V,”
Lash said, picking her up from my lap, and setting her on her feet.
He took her hand, and before long, they were back with the board
game Peanut Butter and Jelly.

Devlin protested feebly, but he was a good
sport. Venus won, of course, though Lash came close to beating her.
Devlin lost the worst, but then his thoughts weren’t on the game at
all.

Before long, I tucked V in, and she gave me a
good night kiss. At that moment, I realized something.
Lash and
Dev are waiting for me, but they can wait a little longer.

“Venus, repeat after me,” I said seriously.
“Please?” She looked at me oddly, but nodded. I recited, “Now I Lay
Me Down to Sleep.” She said the words after me, frowning a little
in concentration.

“Am I going to die like Devon?” she said
softly, when we’d finished. “Are you worried?”

She reminded me so much of Elle in that
moment I had to clear my throat a few times, before I could
speak.

“No,” I assured her. “You’ll live longer than
most weres or humans, V. But it’s way past time you knew about God,
and I learned this prayer, when I was little. I’d like to say it
with you from now on, at night, if you wouldn’t mind.”

“I don’t want anyone to have my soul but me,”
Venus said defiantly. “It’s mine.”

“You’ll have it all your life,” I guaranteed
her. “If you should die, your soul will leave your body, and go to
Heaven. The same thing will happen to Lash, or to your father, if
they should ever die.”
I’m not really lying here, I
hope.

“Or you?”

“Or me.”

“But then who would take care of me?” she
asked, and her voice broke a little. “If you were all gone?”

She was growing up so fast, faster than T
had. It was time I was the mother I had always lamented I wasn’t,
and stopped relying on others for life lessons that were my place
to teach my children.

“Your brother, T, or Titus, or Terian, or
even Theo would, if something happened to the three of us,” I said
in my best reassuring voice. “But nothing is going to happen, V.
Not to us, and not to you. We are going to live here together and
be happy for a long, long time.”

“Are you always going to smell like Lash,
like you sometimes smell like Dad?”

“Yes,” I answered, hugging her. “And if you
need your Dad or me in the night, don’t be surprised to find Lash
in our bedroom, all right?”

“Okay,” she said, somewhat annoyed. “But he
has his own room. Is someone else in his room now? Why do I have to
sleep in my own room if he doesn’t? He’s a man.”

I couldn’t help cracking a smile. “Sometimes
he might be in his room. I—”

“I heard him this morning in your room,
making the noises you and Dad usually make.”

I swallowed some saliva and coughed a little.
I’d forgotten her hearing was so acute. “You’ll hear him and your
father make those sounds probably most every night,” I said, making
myself say the words. “And you may hear me. Don’t be afraid, or
worried, because no one is being hurt, V. And if you need your
father, or Lash, or me, for any reason, just knock on the door. It
doesn’t matter what sounds you hear, if you need me or your dad,
come to us.”

“All right,” she said, nodding and settling
herself down into bed.

“Now get some sleep,” I said. “I love
you.”

“Love you too, Mom.”

I turned off her light, and shut the door
with relief, hoping I was doing the right thing. But Native
Americans had done okay, living in one room and children hearing
everything, and seeing it, too. It was probably still done in
cultures today, just not with any of the people I knew. Besides,
the only alternative would be soundproofing and that might be
dangerous, if she called out in the night needing us and Devlin or
Lash were unable to hear her.

I went into Devlin’s bedroom, and found him
and Lash lying in bed naked, leering smiles on their faces. Or
maybe they were laughing because they had overheard my conversation
with V.

Giving them both an aloof look, I went past
them to the bathroom, shed my clothes, dressed in my robe, and got
ready for bed. Emerging from the bathroom, I stepped to the edge of
the bed. Lash undid my robe, and slipped it off my shoulders.
Grabbing my waist with his hands, he pulled me into the middle of
them. Devlin kissed me roughly, touching my hot skin with his cool
hands. Lash’s warm hands parted my thighs. His tongue caressed my
labia gently, seeking entrance. I moaned loudly as I felt his
tongue tweak my clit once, then slip inside me, and began
stroking.

“Sarelle,” Devlin whispered seductively, his
eyes hot molten gold, almost glowing in the darkness. “I’ve long
wanted to watch you in my arms, as he had you this way.”

I was already beginning to jerk under Lash’s
skillful administrations, unable to restrain soft cries of arousal.
Devlin kissed my neck gently, but he mostly watched me, his own
excitement growing at my aroused cries and shuddering body, as I
grew more frantic and anxious for release. As much as I wanted it
to last, Lash was too good for me to be able to withstand him for
long. I came screaming loudly, my hands in Lash’s hair, his hands
holding my hips tightly, not letting me get away until he had left
me weak and shaking, covered with sweat.

Lash kissed his way up from my thatch to my
throat, as he had done those many months ago. He pushed his hips
tight to mine, driving into me with a possessive hiss. He lasted
only a few seconds before he came, shouting my name. He slipped out
of me, and then Devlin was rolling me onto him, panting hard, and
he drove the full length of himself into me with a savage cry.
Reeling from my first orgasm, I welcomed Dev eagerly, pushing his
rhythm from slow and gentle to fast and hard, wanting the sheer
pleasure of being filled over and over to last even as I clawed my
way to a second release. Too soon he was coming, groaning as he
jetted into me, and I climaxed again, pushing my hips down on his
as I yelled exultantly over and over. I collapsed on him as our
orgasms ebbed and he hugged me to him.

“I love you,” he said softly, looking up at
me affectionately.

“I love you, too,” I said quietly, feeling
very, very self-conscious.

But Lash didn’t seem to mind that I hadn’t
said those three words to him. As I eased off Devlin, he pulled me
to him, and hugged me hard. “I’ve wanted to do that with you
again,” he hissed tenderly, sucking gently on my neck. “I
remembered how much you liked it, and I’ve only ever done it with
other weres before you—”

“Shh,” Devlin said in a very soft tone. “I’m
sure Sar doesn’t want to think about you and other women when we’re
in bed, just as you don’t want to think about her and—”

“Don’t say his name,” Lash hissed in a low
tone, his arms tightening around me. “She’s done with him.”

I kissed him, and he kissed me back, and then
he drew back from me, as if considering something, his dark eyes a
little hesitant. “Sorry, if I offended you. Just lie here with us,
Sar. We’ll sleep.”

I snuggled between them, and for the first
time in weeks, I needed no drugs to sleep.

* * * *

That next morning, as we had breakfast, Lash
told me that he would be gone for the day. I knew by the way he
said the words that a “demolition” was in order. In short, someone
was going to die.

“Please be careful,” I said nervously,
hugging him.

“This is a distance job. But I always wear a
vest anyway, if not my armor. I have that same Kevlar that looks
like leather that Devlin has, besides the black armor that you have
a set of yourself. Both will stop most anything, save that blue
fire. Nothing can stop that, at least, not yet, though some
companies are trying new methods—”

I hugged him tightly, cutting off his words.
Lash hugged me back. “I’ll be back tonight. Titus will teleport me,
when it’s done. Rip will be here with you and Dev and V, so you’ll
be safe.”

I moved to kiss him, but he held me at arm’s
length. “What?”

“I’m afraid of you kissing me for good luck,
like last time,” Lash hissed quietly, and I could see he was only
half joking. “I don’t want to end up in jail again.”

“Then I’ll kiss you when you get home,” I
said, hugging his body to me, burying my face in his throat. “And
if you ever get arrested again, I’m teleporting you out of prison,
I’m not leaving you there, not ever again, no matter what anyone
says.”

“Ah, you’re sweet to say you’d rescue me,”
Lash sighed, nuzzling me. “My Sweetness.”

He embraced me once more briefly, then he was
gone, the door closing softly behind him. Shaking off my worry for
him, I got moving with my own stressful itinerary for the day.

First, I called Rosalyn, the therapist. I
expected to leave a message, but got her secretary instead. When a
last minute cancellation for today was offered an hour from then, I
took it, surprised as today was Sunday. Grabbing my novel, I
teleported to Danial’s, where I ended up in the woods instead of
inside the house.

Fucking Theo
. Grimacing, I walked to
the door, and knocked. A second later, Jenny opened the door.

“Hi,” I said, mustering a smile. “I need to
speak to Elle. I got her an appointment in one hour—”

“Please come in,” she said quickly, stepping
aside. “Theo told me.”

I bit my lip.
It’s normal he would tell
her. Now say something!

“He was very upset,” she added quietly. “But
T doesn’t know, or anyone else, other than that someone tried to
kidnap her and she got traumatized as a result.” She paused.
“Elle’s in the shower, and has been for the past hour. But if you
wait here, I’ll tell her that you’re here.”

Fuck that.
“I’ll go right in, thanks,”
I said bluntly, and gently pushed past her. I strode to Elle’s room
and knocked on the door, shooting a sad glance quickly at Devon’s
now empty room. Elle opened it, fully dressed. She hugged me, then
gestured for me to come in.

“I have an appointment for you in a half hour
or so,” I said, closing the door behind us. “A woman named Rosalyn.
She’s a therapist. But we need to leave now, because I can’t
teleport you the first time. Luckily she’s not far from Stephen’s
office.”

I expected her to cry out in protest, to say
she didn’t want to go, but she just nodded, and said, “I’m
ready.”

We walked out to the great room together,
where Jenny was waiting for us apprehensively. I said good-bye to
Jenny as politely as I could, trying my best to be nice to her.
She’s trying, and I should try, too. It’s not her fault Theo is
an ass.
Then I saw her ring finger, saw the huge diamond
sparkling on it, and thought only about making it to the door.

She shut the door behind Elle and me, and we
walked to the garage, where Elle keyed in the password. It had also
been changed. I got into one of the Expeditions, and grabbed the
keys from underneath the visor. I put the key in the ignition but
abruptly stopped before I started it.
When were these last
checked for explosives, or other magical traps? This morning? Or a
month ago?

“What?” Elle said, looking worried.
“Mom?”

Sigh.
I called Theo, and it went to
voice mail. I tried T next, and got the same thing.
Shit, I
don’t have time for this.
I called Titus, and he was there in
the next second outside the truck, before the phone rang twice. I
looked at him in shock, my phone still to my ear.

“Your tracking spell is on you,” he said with
a smile. “And caller ID. What’s up?”

“Thanks,” I said quickly. “Can you check the
SUV, to see if it’s safe? We need to get to an appointment at noon.
It’s at a witch therapist’s office, her name is Rosalyn—”