A Member of the Council (5 page)

“She kept you locked up?”

“No. I didn’t mean that. She didn’t want me to leave her side. I guess she’s superstitious.” Parris watched the farm land change to business developments as the car sped toward town. “She homeschooled me for a year. After I went back to school, I became Parris McCall. New start, new name my Gran said.”

“What was your old name?” Ty’s voice sounded casual, uninterested.

Parris frowned. Her name had been on the tip of her tongue. Now, she couldn’t remember it for the life of her. “That’s funny.”

Ty watched her. “What’s wrong?”

“I can’t remember. Totally slipped my memory.” Parris shook her head. “It’ll come to me. Probably come to me right before I fall asleep.”

“Maybe I should tuck you in tonight then.” Ty growled, his voice deep, husky.

“Hey, you walked away last night.” Parris ran her hand up his thigh, the silk suit tingling her fingers. “A girl can only handle so much rejection.”

Ty groaned. “Keep playing and we’ll be getting a motel rather than going to the courthouse.”

Parris smiled brightly. “In your dreams, big guy. I’m not paying you your fat hourly fee to bed me.”

“How do you know what fee I charge?” Ty kept his eyes focused on the road.

“Seriously? Your suit feels like it cost more than my car. We are riding in a vehicle priced more than a house in a good, bordering great neighborhood.” Parris shook her head. “Now tell me you only make an average wage.”

“Maybe I come from money.” Ty answered, a slight grin on his face. “A trust fund baby.”

“You probably are. Your law practice couldn’t pay the rent on your swanky office if you did very much pro-bono work.” Parris decided not to take the bait. She just had to accept that everything she’d said or even thought last night, Ty knew. Even though reading minds was impossible. “I hope I won’t have to get a loan on the bar building to save the house.”

“I’m not taking your money.” Ty answered.

Parris turned to watch him, leaning against the car door. The moment Ty’d entered the bar last night she’d wanted him in her bed, straddled across him, running her fingernails down his sculptured chest. She’d experienced her share of lovers over the years. One night stands satisfying her body, not her soul. This man she wanted to drink in, to consume.

“Then why are you helping me?” Parris hoped the answer would be sex. She’d enjoy the exchange. In fact, she’d have to make a payment plan schedule. Her body tightened at the thought. No, one time with this Greek god would not be nearly enough.

“Maybe I’m a nice guy.” Ty parked the Mercedes in a rock-star space in front of the courthouse. “Ready for battle?”

Parris pushed away thoughts of ripping his clothes off, dragging him into the back seat and humping like rabbits. A quickie? What was the matter with her? Gran’s house was at stake here. She had to be serious. She straightened in the leather seat, adjusting the skirt of her dress. “Let’s hope it doesn’t come to that.”

Ty flashed her a brilliant smile. “Honey, every discussion is a battle one way or another. The only difference is how long it takes to demolish the enemy.”

Parris watched Ty leave the car. As he moved around the vehicle on his way to open her door, she whispered, “That’s the difference. With me everything is a negotiation.”

Even if she did enjoy him during a few encounters, days, or even months. Ty Wallace wasn’t the one. Her mind was sure about that fact. Now she needed to convince her body.

* * * *

Ty enjoyed watching Parris squirm during the drive. Her body sent waves of attraction. An attraction she wasn’t used to or totally comfortable with. Yet. He smiled. Parris McCall wanted him bad. For once, he wasn’t thinking how to use her desire to his advantage. The realization pulled him up short. He needed to keep his head on straight at least until he heard what Derek found out. Until he knew if he would have to turn her into The Council.

The idea turned his stomach. He looked at her through the glass in the car door. Putting her in front of the testers now would break her. He saw her look questioning at him as he paused at the door. He put on a game face, pulling open the car door and reaching out his hand.

Her touch jolted him. Sexual desire flowed through her fingers up his body, like a river of heat. Looking into her eyes, he realized she felt the connection too. Pulling her closer to him, he smelled her. Still vanilla, mint, sulfur, and now, a touch of orange from her grandmother’s tea. Add a new layer–sex. Musky desire filled his head. He breathed deeply wanting to keep this moment frozen in time forever.

They stood inches apart, yet he felt her heat. He imagined the firmness of her breasts, the curve of her waist, the wetness between her legs. His eyes grew dark. Finally trusting his voice, he said, “Maybe we should have stopped to take care of this issue.”

Parris groaned making him want to cover her mouth with his. “I’m not sure we’d be able to stop.” She chewed on her bottom lip.

Ty stood there, frozen. Trying to regain control. Trying to stamp down this desire threatening to overtake him.

Damn it, it was just sex, he chided himself.

Even his mind knew the statement was a lie. Whatever this attraction between them, he knew the feeling was far from merely sex. He’d never even come close to losing control, even with Rowena, his so-called soul mate. Slowly he stepped away from the source, immediately starting to feel normal again. “Well, we better take care of your grandmother’s problem.”

He softly shut the car door. He turned back to find Parris standing on the sidewalk, waiting. Time to be the white knight he pretended and come to her rescue.

“Let’s do this.” Together they walked up the courthouse steps, not touching.

After walking though a metal detector, nodding to the bored security guard who barely registered the newcomers, the couple headed to the information desk. Ty pushed Matilda’s final letter from the city’s Department of Lands and Water toward the young blond woman sitting at the desk. She had a bright, fake smile on her face and a black headpiece wrapped around her head. The effect made her look more like Madonna than a switchboard operator.

Not breaking eye contact with Ty, she took the paper. “How can I help you today?”

“We need to talk to whoever’s in charge there.” Ty tapped the letter.

Slowly she glanced down. The smile left her face. Clearly, she’d sent other angry residents down the hall to this office. Ty was always amazed at how much a person’s reactions to a question, a letter, or even a look, told the story before the person even open their mouths. He’d caught many a witness in the duplicity of their look versus their words. Instantly, he knew how to play this woman.

“Look, I know we don’t have an appointment. The women who owns this parcel of land is getting older. My wife and I recently found problems with her bills.” He pulled Parris closer. “Her grandmother hasn’t been paying any thing. Not for weeks. We have several stops after this.”

He felt Parris beside him, her body hot. Her next words surprised him.

“I blame myself for not realizing something was wrong after I called last Sunday. She sounded fine.” Parris choked on the words. “I guess I wanted everything to be the same.”

The woman glanced up at Parris, a look of understanding and compassion filling her face. “Dear, my granny was on her third round of chemo before she mentioned she might need a ride to the hospital the next week. Old people get stubborn.”

Parris nodded, wiping at her eyes. “I appreciate your kindness.”

The woman was good. Really good. “So, we have to get moving here. We’re only in town a week.”

“I completely understand.” The receptionist handed the paper back to Ty. “Third floor, ask to talk to Mr. Stone. Ray Stone. He’s the new department head.”

Again her words bellied an unspoken truth. Mr. Ray Stone may be the department chair, but he wasn’t much liked by long-time staff members like this woman.

“Thank you.” Ty shot the woman a smile usually saved for juries, either before closing or at the end. What good was having magical powers if he didn’t use them to ease the path? He’d won many a court case by shooting positive energy through his words to the unsuspecting human jury. He put his hand on the small of Parris’ back, gently leading her to the bank of elevators. “Honey, this way.”

Only after the elevator doors closed did she take a step away from him. “You’re quite the actor for a lawyer.”

Ty grinned, looking at her through the polished silver on the elevator doors. “Your most successful lawyers are classically trained actors. You’re amazing at improv for a bar owner.”

“Quick thinking comes in handy,” she admitted, smiling back. “You should see my sobbing widow routine.”

“Keep the waterworks at ready we still might need them.” Ty held the elevator door open for Parris. Stamping down a wave of desire to sweep a loose hair off her shoulder. Damn, he had to get his emotions under control. He wanted to take care of the woman standing in front of him, waiting for his exit, a bemused smile on her lips.

“Coming, cowboy?”

Ty followed. He’d follow her into hell. Which was where The Council would send the two of them if he didn’t get control of this desire. Smiling, he stepped toward her.

He felt the change crossing the elevator threshold. Damn, he’d been surprised again. Either The Council hadn’t updated the registration list, or more undocs ran around his part of the country than he ever imagined. Ty’s last assignment from The Council six months ago was tracking a runaway, one of The Council’s concubines. What the hell was The Council doing? His concern grew stronger. Ty pushed the problem away. Determining The Council’s politics weren’t his immediate problem.

He had to find the witch on the third floor.

Chapter 5

“May I help you?” The woman sitting at the gatekeeper desk glared at Parris and Ty. Her words might have been welcoming but her tone told a different story. Parris knew their presence was one more unwelcome interruption in a busy day filled with disgruntled tax payers.

Parris waited for Ty to speak then noticed he scanned the room, distracted. Men. “We need to see Ray Stone.”

The woman looked over her half glasses, strands of her long gray hair falling loose from a wild bun held haphazardly by a clip on the back of her head. Her glance appraised the two visitors for a mere few seconds. Her gaze dropped down to a calendar open in front of her. “I don’t see anyone scheduled on his calendar. Unless you have an appointment, Mr. Stone is busy. You should have called first.”

Feeling unwelcome and dismissed, Parris tried again. “I’m only in town a couple days. I need to help my grandmother solve this issue. I have to speak with Mr. Stone.”

“Miss…” the woman drawled out, questioning the term, “you can’t walk in here demanding to see Mr. Stone. I’ve told you, he’s a busy man.”

Frustrated, tears started to fill Parris’ eyes. She took a step forward leaning over the desk. “Now you listen to me, you paper-pushing bureaucrat. Your precious Mr. Stone is trying to steal my grandmother’s house. He will darn well speak to me before he does.”

Parris felt herself being moved back away from the desk. Ty’s hands felt warm and calming. “You have to excuse my wife. She’s emotional on the subject of her grandmother. The woman raised her.”

“Oh, I understand.” The woman changed from pit bull to kitten with three sentences from Ty. Parris glared at him. Why did everyone listen to him? She’d been nice at the beginning, too. She’d only turned to bitch mode after she’d been completely rebuffed and lectured by a desk troll. Ty’s hand pressed against her back, a gentle warning to keep quiet. “Is there any way Mr. Stone can see us, only a few minutes?” Ty batted his eyelashes at the woman. “We would be grateful.”

The woman blushed, glancing down at the schedule again. “Well, he does have a free half hour before his three PM staff meeting. I’m sure he wouldn’t mind if you snuck into the last office on the right. I must have been on my break when you got off the elevator.”

“We didn’t see anyone at the desk.” Ty winked at the woman. He glanced down at the gold name plate. “Thanks, Harriett. You’re the best.”

Parris waited while Harriet scurried away toward the elevator bank before she whispered to Ty. “I hope you enjoyed yourself.”

Ty kept his head straight, not looking at her, casting his perfect smile at the women sitting at desks lining the room. “I don’t know what you’re talking about. Don’t stop. Pretend like we should be here. No one will even question us.”

Parris jerked her head toward him. “You know why I’m mad. You made me look like a raging lunatic while you played white knight come to save everyone.”

“Sometimes you use what you have to work with.” Ty stopped in front of the last door. He took a big whiff of air before touching the doorway.

Parris sniffed. Fresh wall paint filled her senses. Glancing over at Ty, she watched him slowly open the door. He acted like he expected something to explode.

She peeked around the door, seeing an old wooden desk with two maroon wing chairs. A chestnut brown leather chair was turned away from them toward the wall. She heard a male voice call as they entered the room.

“Ty Wallace. How the heck are you?” The chair spun around, revealing a heavy set man, dressed in a fuchsia, flowered Hawaiian shirt. His bald head shined with sweat. Gold chains hung around his neck. Parris was certain if the man fell overboard, he’d sink right to the bottom of the ocean.