Bound by Magick 4-in-1 Box Set (Pentacles of Magick) (16 page)

Chapter Two

Jake wandered around the house, thinking. He couldn’t recall
a time when Denn had been quite so aggressive in their sex as he’d been that
morning. Although curious about the change, he couldn’t prevent a shiver of
pleasure from running down his spine. The intensity had definitely brought them
to a whole new level in their relationship, and he was anxious to explore that
some more. Especially the incredible power he’d picked up.

First he needed to check on a hunch.

He glanced around the rooms as he headed for Denn’s office,
admiring once again the striking old world beauty of the townhouse. Having
never been to New Orleans before, when he’d first arrived he’d immediately
fallen in love with the historical city. The Quarter was a perfect place to
live. Lots of people with plenty to do and a lot of tradition. Denn’s
three-story home dated back to the 1700’s, and he refused to allow it to be
renovated. He insisted part of the charm was the patina of the place. He had
told more than one reporter that he didn’t want to fool with it, and that he
really liked the look of peeling paint.

Jake had laughed the first time he heard that, but he had to
admit it worked for Denn. It was old, but not crumbling. It gave the house a
masculine appeal and prevented him from having to hire a decorator. Jake
chuckled at the remembered look of terror on Denn’s face when someone suggested
he needed to fix the place up. No, this architectural gem was perfect as is, no
changes needed. He wasn’t sure he even wanted to leave here when his time came.
Despite his best intentions, he’d grown attached in more ways than one…

Jake shook the sudden melancholy from his mind.

In the meantime, he needed to help figure out what to do
about the beautiful temptress still lying in their guest room.
Raven
. Even with his limited medical
experience, her condition didn’t make sense. She should have recovered by now.
There had to be something magickal at work preventing her from healing.

He’d listened intently to every detail of what Cash told
Denn about the prophecy in their family history. Is it possible? Just how big a
hand did fate really have? Jake headed into the library for Denn’s journal so
he could read through it again. Something about what Cash had said nagged at
him incessantly.

He located the brown, leather bound journal in the bottom
left drawer of the desk just as he’d expected. For a moment, he imagined Denn
sitting here, night after night, writing out his thoughts on various events of
the day, working on new potion recipes as well as spells he could use in his
work. As an earth witch, Denn relied on the personal spells from which he
derived all his power so he was always working on new ones.

Jake turned the book from one side to the other. Based on
the wear and tear showing its age around the edges, he’d guess that Denn had
been writing in this same book since he was just a boy. For a fleeting moment
he wondered if the book would be warded against evil, or any wrongdoing for
that matter. Would some harm come to him if he tried to open it? He really
didn’t want to wake Denn yet with his theories, not until he had a stronger sense
of what was happening around them. His lover had enough on his mind without
worrying him for nothing.

What the hell. Might
as well go for broke.
 

He grabbed the buckle and strap, hastily unfastened it, and
opened the book. He exhaled the breath he didn’t even realize he’d been holding
when nothing happened. No explosions and no flames.

He slowly flipped through the worn pages briefly, skimming
written spells for various physical ailments as well as an occasional one for
physical power Denn could wield against enemies. According to Denn, it was a
hell of a lot easier for his brothers, who could call up their elements at will
and use their energy to defend and protect themselves. Denn, on the other hand,
always had to plan and prepare ahead of time so as not to be caught with his
proverbial pants down. Jake smiled as the image of Denn sans pants flashed
through his brain. Good thing he kept meticulous records.

He got to the next to the last page of written notes and
found what he was looking for. He, Denn, and Cash had a brief conversation
about their family curse before Cash had taken off to find his runaway
firestarter, Selene. From everything he’d heard, it sounded like the two of
them had been through the wringer to become a couple. A mercenary trying to
kill her, and a witch for hire after him. The very witch now lying in a bed
upstairs. In the midst of all their running they’d discovered that Selene was
the woman in the prophecy meant for Cash. Glad it was him and not Denn, that
woman had been a handful.

Jake focused on Denn’s notes and read through the first part
of the prophecy:

Two sets of male twins born with a dark curse. Unlimited
power bequeathed to the four when used together. A seductive power that over
time will destroy their souls. To fight the prophecy they must separate.

Denn’s fate worried him. Most days Denn was a good witch,
helping people in need, pooling his resources with some of the other Bayou
clans when a boost of power was needed to combat some form of evil in one way
or another. But he’d seen days where Denn was different. Darker, edgier, even a
little scary. He tried to hide it, but Jake had noticed it more than once.
Those days were coming more often now…

Pushing those thoughts aside, he moved to the new piece of
the puzzle that Cash had contacted Denn about. While the eldest brother
Graelen’s mate, Rena, had actually figured out the meaning behind the first
part through her job as a Tarot historian, a psychic had actually revealed the
missing piece of the prophecy to Selene that put what was happening now in
perspective.

Looking downward, he read through the passage:

Four women born at the same time on the same day. Empathic
powers bequeathed to them all, intended to restore the balance between light
and dark, if they can locate their mates.

Could it be possible? What were the odds that the answer for
Denn just dropped in their laps?

He needed evidence, because Denn was far too logical to go
there without proof. So he needed birthdays. He swiveled the chair to face the
credenza behind him and powered up Denn’s laptop. Since Graelen didn’t know
about he and Denn living together he’d have preferred to call Cash for help.
But he had no idea how to get a hold of him. So, he had to e-mail Graelen, and
pretend to be Denn. He sure hoped his hunch was right or he was going to be
dealing with one pissed-off witch. Maybe two.

He typed out a message, asking for Rena’s birth date. He
told Graelen he had a lead on someone but he needed more information before he
could be sure. He kept the message brief and to the point. No point in getting
himself in any deeper than he had to. Hitting the send key, he leaned back in
the butter soft leather chair to wait.

One of these days all his hard work was going to blow up in
his face, and for some strange reason he dreaded that day. What had seemed like
a simple plan had turned into a complex situation. He never thought he’d have a
relationship like this with a man. He’d spent the better part of his adult life
avoiding any relationships and the complications that came with them.

“What are you doing, Jake?”

Jake’s elbow slipped from the edge of the desk at the sound
of Denn’s voice behind him. He straightened in the chair, turned and looked up
to see his lover hovering in the door, watching him with droopy eyes and sleep
tussled hair. Jake’s cock jerked against his lower abdomen. That look warmed
his blood and threatened to send him into a full boil.

“I needed to do some research online, hope you don’t mind?”
Now that he had some time to kill his mind wandered to other less troubling
things. Like Denn’s cock in his mouth.

“No, I don’t. What are you researching?” He crossed to the
leather chair in front of the desk and sank down, swinging his legs so his bare
feet rested on the edge of the desk.

Jake reluctantly let go of the fantasies he’d begun to
imagine. “Our little resident witch, as a matter of fact.”

Denn’s eyes narrowed, becoming more alert. “What exactly are
you looking for?”

“Answers, plain and simple. There has to be a reason why she
isn’t healing properly. You’ve said it yourself, she should be awake by
now.
 
It’s as if something is
draining her just as she starts to get better.” Jake stood from his chair and
paced in front of the computer, watching for a response to arrive.

“So what have you come up with? Anything?”

“Yeah I think so. I’m just waiting on confirmation.” Jake
turned away from Denn, avoiding his knowing gaze. He really didn’t want to get
into this yet. Not until he heard back from Grae.

“Why am I getting the impression that I’m not going to like
your theory, Jake?”

With a sigh Jake turned and looked at him. How did he tell
the man he had growing feelings for, that the woman lying in the bed upstairs
might be his empathic mate? He scrubbed his hands over his face in dread. An
emotion he dared not name stabbed through his chest. He wasn’t sure he was too
thrilled about it either.

“I’m not sure how you’ll feel—” A familiar chime
sounded behind him, signaling incoming mail. Letting his answer fade away, he
turned back to the computer and opened the e-mail from Denn’s brother.

Hey Bro,

Her birth date is
April 10
^th
.

What’s up?

G

Jake sat back in his chair and let his head fall against the
cool leather.
Well, well, what a
coincidence
. Problem was, he really didn’t believe in coincidences, far too
pat.

Denn watched Jake’s body movements carefully. Whatever he’d
received in the e-mail either wasn’t what he expected or was really bad news.
The way Jake slumped in the chair gave him a bad vibe.

“Jake, you okay?”

Jake slowly turned the chair to face him, his face solemn.
“I’m right and I’m not sure how I feel about that.”

“What the hell are you talking about? What have you done?”
Magick swelled in his body. An automatic defensive mechanism when his instincts
screamed trouble. A bad feeling consumed him and he knew for sure he wasn’t
going to like what Jake had to tell him.

“Relax, Denn, I haven’t done anything. I had a hunch, I
checked it out, and now I know.” He tossed a piece of paper onto the desk at
his feet. Denn picked it and read a message from his big brother Grae. While he
read, Jake tossed down another item. Spying the driver’s license with Raven’s
picture on it, things started to click. Tumblers fell in a pattern through his
mind as if opening a lock.
No. No. No
.

Without looking at the license he lifted his gaze to meet
Jake’s. This was clearly no joke.

“It’s true, Denn. She’s the one.”

“Well, fuck me.”

Jake snorted. “That’s one way to put it. But however you say
it, you are royally screwed, my friend.”

Denn’s feet slid to the floor with a
thunk
. He roughly pushed his hands through his hair, frustrated as
hell. “I can’t deal with this right now. She’s up there lying in bed still
comatose, and I can’t figure out what my brother did to her or why she won't
heal. I have tried every human medicine, as well as every spell and potion in
my arsenal that makes even a fraction of sense. Yet, she lies there better one
minute, worse the next. It’s driving me fucking nuts.”

“You have to think about it, Denn, don’t you see, man? Think
it through. If she is your empath, what is her role in your life? Remember the
prophecy.”

“According to my brothers, she would bring some sort of
balance between my light and dark magick. Which she can’t do, by the way, if
she is dead. I have to figure this out.”

“Come on, Denn, you’re better than this. Quit looking at the
obvious and think. You heard your brother describe what his woman does to him,
how he feels every time she touches him. What happens to you? When you touch
her, what happens?”

His shifted uncomfortably in his chair. He so didn’t want to
go there with his lover. He didn’t want to tell him that the texture of her
smooth skin drove him insane with desire, or how her scent permeated his senses
and clung there for days. He couldn’t admit to Jake that he could not get her
out of his mind.

“Denn, look at me.” He raised his gaze once again and stared
at the chiseled features of Jake’s face. His whiskey colored eyes that always
reminded him of sex and pleasure every time he looked at them. “Do you think I
don’t know? That every time you’re around her you get so hard it must hurt?
Give me some credit, I’m not blind.”

“Stop it, Jake, I don’t want to hurt you. It means nothing.”

“Hurt me?” he laughed. “I’m not that insecure about us. I
may not fully comprehend where we’re headed now that a woman you are destined
to be with has entered the picture, but I still know how I feel and I suspect
your feelings haven’t changed.”

“How can you take this so lightly?”

“You think this is light? Look at me, Denn, I have been
pacing this house for days trying to figure out what to do. Now I can’t help
but wonder if I should leave. Logically, stepping aside and letting nature take
the course it had originally intended would be smart. Not that I’m none for
doing the right thing.”

Denn stood and crossed to Jake in two long-legged strides,
anger surging through him. “Don’t presume to know what I want. I haven’t asked
you to leave and I’m sure as hell not planning to.” Heat leapt between the two
men as Denn’s magick reached out for Jake and enveloped him in a haze of
sensual need. “It took us too long to get used to our situation to throw it
away now, wouldn’t you say?”