Bound by Magick 4-in-1 Box Set (Pentacles of Magick) (10 page)

Needing a moment to focus on something else, she turned
away. Looking around the kitchen, Selene imagined if she was much of a cook
she’d be in heaven in this place. Tall, oversized stainless steel appliances
filled the room, large countertop workspaces gleamed, and there was even a
beautiful brick oven in the far corner. Not to mention the smooth wood floors
under her feet someone lovingly polished on a regular basis. Curious to know
more, she leaned over the counter and peered through the window over the sink.
Outside she found a lush and manicured small lawn with a tall privacy hedge
wrapped all the way around it, hiding the house from prying eyes as well as
blocking the view from the inside. The owner had created the ultimate private
retreat. A small garage stood in the far corner of the yard, connected to the
house by a covered walkway.

“Cash, whose house is this? And more importantly, where is
it?” She moved from the window and sat down at the scarred wooden table against
the far wall. Running her fingers over the aged wood, she thought the table
should have been out of place in this elegant kitchen, but instead something
about it fit and made the kitchen feel like a home. There were many nooks and
cuts in the wood, indicating this table had seen its fair share of use. She
even found some initials carved in the corner. Her fingertips ran over them.
C.S.

“I see you’ve already found the carvings of a bored teenage
boy.” He set down a plate in front of her with a heaping amount of food on it.
Her mouth watered at the sight of eggs, bacon, toast and plump red
strawberries.

“C.S., is that you?”

“Sure is. Cash Scott, bored teenager and all around
troublemaker.” He grinned down at her.

Selene laughed. She could definitely picture him exactly
that way. All dark and broody, dressed in leather even back then. Probably
drove his parents crazy.

“So this is your house?”

“It's one of our family residences. My brothers and I lived
here for a few years as teens, but for the most part the place stays empty now
except when one of the family passes through town.”

“Only one of your residences?” she asked.

“Well, not mine personally. My family, however, does own
several.”

“Who the hell are you? Should I already know?”

“Not necessarily. We aren’t celebrities or anything. Just
richer than God.”

She rolled her eyes. “Greaaat. I’ve been kidnapped by a
psychopath.”

“A rich psychopath, thank you very much. Although I think
kidnapped is a little strong for picking up an unconscious woman and bringing
her here until she recovers.”

“Where exactly is here?”

“Boston. We're in Boston. Not all that far from where we stopped
yesterday. Maybe forty-five minutes or so. And don’t worry. Your bike is tucked
safely away in the garage around back.”

“How—who—when?”

He laughed. “Slow down. Eat your breakfast and I'll fill you
in on what happened. And then you can answer some of my questions.”

She nodded picking up her fork and digging into the fluffy
eggs. She had more than a few questions for him as well.

“You must have gotten shot in the leg right before I tackled
your stalker guy, 'cause you went down fast after that. Scared the hell out of
me, by the way.” He laughed at the dark look she threw him. “To say I was angry
and scared for you, Selene, is probably a bit of an understatement. I went
ballistic on the freak who tried to hurt you.” Fear settled in her gut when he
turned away. “I thought he was trying to kill you, or at the very worst already
had. He deserved no mercy.”

She gasped, causing him to flinch. “Did you kill him?”

“Does it make a difference?”

Her ensuing silence spoke volumes. She obviously cared for
the asshole who drugged her. Maybe he was an ex boyfriend or something. Pain
lanced through his chest as he imagined the two of them together. That idiot’s
beefy hands caressing her perfect ivory skin, touching her berry red nipples
and fucking—

“Uhm, Cash. Why is the wind blowing in here? There aren't
any windows open. What the hell is going on?”

He twisted to face her again, watching the wind whip her
russet hair around her face as she bent over gripping her stomach, her face
going pale.

“What's wrong, Selene?”

“I'm not sure. I’m all of a sudden sick to my stomach. Damn
it fucking hurts,” she groaned.

Her answer took him by surprise. The wheels turned in his
head. No it can’t possibly… Could she be empathic as well? Feel his magick
every time he used it? He forced a deep, calming breath into his lungs, willing
the power to rest within him again. How had he not realized what the fuck he
was doing? As peace quietly returned to the room he debated on how much to tell
her. Her face relaxed and she sat upright again. He doubted she was ready to
wrap her mind around the whole witch thing. Very few ever were. But if she
physically felt his magick she would need an explanation.

Implications tore through him as he realized he didn't sense
the constant anger welling just under the surface like he normally did. In the
last twenty-four hours he'd had to use a lot of strong magick. So why didn't he
feel sick and angry? How did he feel? He searched for the right word to
describe what he felt or should say didn't feel.

Calm.
He scrubbed
his face with his hands. No, this can't be. He'd already resigned himself to
his all too soon fate. Meeting Selene now had him indulging in a hell of a lot
of ridiculous wishful thinking. His course could not be changed, he'd taken it
too far.

“Like you, Selene, I too have an ability. You have control
over fire and I have control over air.”

She backed away from the table. “How much do you know about
me? Who are you? How did you find me? What do you want from me?”

“Whoa,” Cash held up his hands to halt her barrage of
questioning, “hold on. I only know what I’ve seen. Considering how we met it's
a little hard to hide the fact that you can control an element. And I told you
who I was.” He pointed to the carvings on the table. “Cash Scott. As in Scott
Enterprises. You've probably heard of my brother Graelen.”

She shook her head, still standing a good distance away from
him.

“So Merc is dead?”

Again with the boyfriend. Fuck. “No, your boyfriend is not
dead. In fact the sp—uh, the ropes I used to bind him with have probably
already been worked loose and I imagine he is already in pursuit again.”

“Then I need to leave. Now. I need to get as far away from
here and as fast as I can.” She tried to dodge by him, but he grabbed her by
the wrist and pulled her to him. He pulled her hips against his own with one
hand and with the other fisted her hair, tugging her head back to look at him.

“What's the hurry, Selene? What are you running from?
Whoever this guy is to you he can’t get to you here. This house is protected.”
Up close her scent drifted over him. He should let her go. His recent use of
magick left him feeling restless and edgy with sexual desire. That, coupled
with her soft, warm body, had him hard and ready in seconds. He needed to fuck,
and she was the one woman he suddenly wanted more than anything else. His
fingers kneaded her buttocks through the thin material of his sweat pants she
wore as his lips crashed down on her mouth. He knew he was being rough but it
couldn't be helped.

He had to stop before it was too late. Her sweet taste
flooded him as her tongue accepted and tangled with his own, driving him wild.
His ability to end this before it got out of control dissolved when her fingers
burrowed in his hair, and when she pulled his scalp, his desire burned out of
control with the painful force. But to his shock and dark delight, instead of
pulling him off of her as he expected, she crushed him to her for a tighter,
rougher kiss. His almost non-existent self-restraint snapped on a groan and he
ground against her, desperate and needy for control.

Letting go of his hair, her hands scratched frantically down
his back to his waist, leaving a trail of pain and certainty that there would
be deep red marks when they were done. Without hesitation she went for his waistband,
deftly unbuttoning his jeans.

No. Too fast
.

Cash jerked away from her. For a few moments they stood
staring at each other, sawing breath in and out of their lungs.

Squaring off for control, he dropped to his knees, yanking
down her pants as he went. The sight of her damp red curls barely covering her
slit pushed him to near madness as his mouth covered her sex, tongue delving
between the moist lips and lapping at her body like a starved man. With the
first swipe over her clit, Selene let loose a cry as her body shuddered around
him. His mouth filled with the heat of her orgasm as he sucked and bit at her
sensitive bud, prolonging the pleasure she endured to a point that he knew from
experience would be near pain.

With no mercy he ate and ate at her, bringing her to orgasm
twice more until her legs collapsed against him. “Please, Cash—please.”

He turned and placed her on her knees and arms in front of
him, stroking the backs of her legs and ass in admiration. “So fucking
beautiful.”

“Hurry, Cash. Now, please.” His cock bobbed with every
keening cry from her. He felt like begging himself. He roughly pushed two
fingers into her tight but soaking wet pussy, dragging the tips back and forth
over her sweet spot. When her cries indicated she was about to come he withdrew
and circled his slick fingers around the tight rosebud of her ass. He eased one
finger in and she tightened around him.

“Relax, baby. Show me how much you want it.” When he felt
the muscles loosen their grip from his finger, he slid the second one inside.
Grabbing the base of his cock, he pushed the head inside her pussy. His head
spun at the pure sensation of tight heat surrounding him—luring him… Damn
she felt good. So good it was almost too much to bear.

She wiggled against him, trying to bury him deeper, and he
swatted her on the ass in return. “Be still for me, babe.” When she didn't
follow his instructions he delivered three more smacks across her right buttock
until she stilled. When he slowly drew his fingers from her ass she whimpered and
moaned for more. He pushed his cock an inch deeper, stretching and working his
way in, dying to thrust his full length inside. With a slow glide he strained
against her tight flesh, seating his full length inside. On her sharp gasp he
paused to let her body accommodate his size.

“Damn, you are so tight, baby.” His body trembled slightly
as he fought for even a sliver of control. “I'll try not to hurt you. I'll go
nice and slow.”

She shook her head roughly. “No—no, don't want slow.
Please, Cash. Please just fuck me.” She pulled her bottom moving slightly off
him before pushing back against him again with surprising force. He pumped his
hips in rhythm with hers, rubbing against every sensitive nerve ending he could
until she cried out once again in release. Her muscles clamped down on him,
squeezing with a powerful strength that easily broke through his control.

“So hot, I can't—I'm coming, damn it.” He groaned as
his body stiffened against her ass. His release came in long spurts.

Cash draped across her back and propped the bulk of his
weight on his hands while they both fought to catch their breath. “Dear
Goddess, Selene, what have you done to me?” He gently eased from her body
before scooping her up to carry her to his bed.

“Where are we going, Cash?” Her voice sounded satisfied and
sleepy. He chuckled; she had no idea what she was in for now.

“My bed. Rest up because I'll be taking you again in a few
minutes.”

Her eyes widened as she studied him before a shy smile
crossed her face that she quickly hid in his shoulder.

Raven pulled into the gas station just outside of Boston to
fill up on gas and find a city street map. She'd been driving for hours and
needed to pee. She rushed into the store and headed toward the back, looking
for the facilities. Not paying attention to the path in front of her she ran
headlong into a stranger, falling hard on her ass.

“Shit.”

“Sorry about that. I must not have been watching where I was
going.” A hand reached in front of her to help her up. Looking up to see the
idiot who'd gotten in her way, she found herself staring into the face of a
dark angel with mesmerizing green eyes. The smile on his face while he spoke
captivated her for a moment until her boy reminded her of her mission.

Restroom now.

Bypassing the sexy stranger’s hand, she bounced to her feet
and gruffly pushed past him into the ladies' room.

Minutes later when she returned to the main part of the
store, she surveyed the interior of the store to find the customer who'd
knocked her on her ass was long gone.
Good.
She didn't have time for chit chat with a stranger. Especially not a pretty one
like that. Still, for a fleeting moment her thoughts wavered back to the
intensity shining in his eyes, the depth of which would likely haunt her
dreams. There had been something there.

Grabbing a few snacks along the way, she made her way to the
register. “I need forty dollars on pump seven and a detailed street map of
Boston.” She was always abrupt and straight to the point because she didn't
believe in wasting time, and the clerk did as she asked and rang up her
purchases.

Propped against the trunk of the car, Raven spread out the
map before her. After using her strongest locator spells for hours, she'd been
unable to locate even a hint of the witch she sought. That is, until he'd used
an enormous amount of energy out in the open yesterday. What an idiot. With
that lucky break she'd been able to pinpoint his location to an hour outside of
Boston, but when she'd arrived there was nothing there but a strong residue of
dark magick and some unexpected scorch marks. She was curious about those. The
witch she sought was an air witch, not a master of fire, so she couldn't help
but wonder what had happened on that isolated stretch of road the day before.