Bound by Magick 4-in-1 Box Set (Pentacles of Magick) (7 page)

Her hips jerked forward at his command as she slowly slid
one hand down her torso to the patch of damp curls guarding her pussy. Her
fingertip grazed her clit, halting her movements as a zing of delicious
sensation pulsed through her.

“No, not there, not yet. Keep going.”

Following his instructions, she guided her finger slowly,
inch by inch, inside. The sensitive tissues vibrated inside her as inner
muscles grasped around her.

“Very good, Rena, now harder.” Adding more force to her
stroke, she did as she was told.

Graelen's hands alternately caressed her scalp and tightened
their grip on the hair, creating an erotic fusion of pain and pleasure. Her own
moans of pleasure vibrated against his taut skin as his body shuddered against
her.

“That's it, Rena, suck it harder.”

She increased the pressure on his already heavy cock as his
hips pumped him in and out of her mouth. With every reaction from Graelen she
received an equal if not stronger response from Cash. His body was on fire and
she felt the fever through Graelen.

The heat building in her mouth coincided with the pulsing
need of her own body. She dared a glance up at his face to find his features
contorted in pleasure. Her fingers sought out and found his scrotum and lightly
scraped the area with her nails, digging a little deeper when she reached his
inner thighs.

“Oh hell, Rena, you're fucking killing me.” His desperate
moans were strained as she felt the head of his cock swell deep in her mouth.
She suckled him harder, scraping the velvety skin with her teeth.

“Now, Rena, now! Come for us. Rub your clit and come for
us.” This time she heard both men plead with her. Cash's voice still edged with
darkness and need where Graelen's graveled voice carried a softer emotion. But,
clear from them both was the need. They needed her to come with them. She
strummed her thumb across her sensitive nub of flesh once, then twice before
ecstasy ripped through her forcing a scream from her lungs that vibrated across
the cock in her mouth muffling the sound.

“Oh, Goddess, yes!” Graelen's control was gone. “Fuck!” His
breath came fast and hard as she relentlessly caressed him with her mouth and
hand. She wanted his come. She needed him to know that she was more than just
his empath. She was his woman. She belonged to him.

He released his connection with Cash, unwilling to share the
moment he bonded with anyone.

Her sex squeezed again when the first blast of semen erupted
into her mouth. His wild cries tore through the room as he came long and hard
giving her every last drop. She didn't stop when it ended. She continued to
lick and suck until he pulled back from her releasing his still hard cock from
her mouth.

“You're mine now, Rena.” In the throes of a passion induced
euphoria, Rena let down the rest of her mental guards to give Graelen a gift.
The gift of her total submission.

Expecting a soft flow of emotion, she instead was blindsided
with a white-hot searing pain roaring through her body. Her blood-curdling
scream reverberated around the room, she gripped her belly and collapsed
forward onto Graelen.

“Rena.” Graelen pulled her into his arms tight. “What is it?
What the fuck? What’s wrong?”

Her body, racked with a pain she couldn't bear, shook
violently in his arms. “It's Cash again. Cash is hurting me.”

Chapter Six

Graelen rushed down the corridor to find his brother to do
the only thing he could to save her. Find his brother and force him from their
home, right after he kicked his ass. That traitorous thought sent a slice of
bitter coldness through his body. For his entire life all of his focus had been
to find a way to keep his family together. Yet now, when his brother fought the
darkness more than ever, he would be forced to choose between his twin and his
woman. He'd hoped that allowing Cash to share Rena through a mind link would
bond them, if tenuously. But Cash was even darker than he'd first thought. His
emotions were out of control. Graelen had to face the facts that his brother
was addicted and dangerous.

Why now? Why here? A warning voice whispered in his head.
Was he missing something? Something important that would affect their lives. What
the hell good did it do him to have this fucking power if it couldn't help him
at times like these?

Graelen opened the door to his study to find Cash pacing the
room like a caged tiger. He didn't even need magick to feel the angry emotions
swirling around him.

“What the hell is going on here? Whatever you’re doing knock
it the fuck off write now.”

Cash swiveled around at the sound of his voice. Black eyes
as dark as coal met his own, sending a shiver down his spine. “It's the woman,
Grae. She has spelled you and you can't see the truth. Now she is trying to get
to me.”

Graelen took a deep breath before responding. His brother
was wound so tight he couldn't even see what was happening to himself. “You can
still say that after the gift she just gave you?” He had to accept how far his
brother was gone. “No, Cash, that's the darkness talking. You're giving in,
getting too close, too often. You've lost control.”

Cash's features distorted into a snarl. “She is stealing
your power. I tasted it back there.”

Graelen shook his head, unsure how to explain what was
happening with Rena. Frustration from them both filled the room. With emotions
this high there wasn't much left he could do. Except…

“Let me show you. Let me share the experience with you.”

Cash took a step back. Graelen wasn't above tackling his
brother and forcing him if he had to.

“I don't believe this, Graelen. I don't believe the answer
for us lies simply in a sexy submissive empath.”

Graelen tamped down his own rising anger. Anger wouldn't get
him to listen. “I'm not talking about sex, brother. Bond with me. Let me show
you the truth.”

“No. It's too dangerous,” said Cash.

Graelen shook his head. “No more dangerous than what you’re
doing to yourself right now. Look at you. You're using. And not just a little
when it's necessary. You're using a lot.” He approached his brother cautiously.
He had to get through to him. He held up his arms in front of his brother,
waiting. Several tense minutes later Cash finally gave in grasping Graelen's
forearms and they locked together.

Graelen imagined a whirlpool of energy surrounding them,
traveling in a clockwise motion from their heads down to their feet, then back
up to their heads, and back down. Once the vortex centered around them, Graelen
was ready to merge.

He pictured his twin clearly in his mind. He watched Cash,
empathized with him, felt himself merging within him. He imagined what his
brother felt like at this moment with the darkness swirling uncontrollably
within. He imagined the sights he'd seen, the smells he sensed, the motivations
and ways of thinking he would have. Becoming those thoughts, Graelen merged
with him by dissolving the distinctions that made them separate.

Once merged, he felt all of his brother's anger and pain
over the years of isolation. The bitterness of not being able to use his gifts
for so many years, then the agony of giving in to the allure of the darkness he
could never escape. Staggering, painful thoughts. But more importantly he could
show Cash what happened to him when his anger transferred to Rena. Temporarily
make him feel those same sensations. The balance her light gave to his
darkness. He poured everything he had into him.

 
“Graelen, wake
up.”

As consciousness permeated his tired brain, he realized
someone was shaking him. “What the hell happened to you two?”

“Rena, what are you doing in here?” He sat up, rubbing his
forearms and looking around for Cash. His brother was a few feet away, stirring
awake, rubbing his own arms where they'd locked together.

“When all the emotions died, I rushed in here to see if you
two were still alive. You scared the hell out of me.” She sounded reproachful,
but warm relief glowed from her eyes. “Don’t do that to me again.”

“I had to show Cash the truth. Unfortunately the method in
which I had to do it was a bit extreme.” He smiled at her quizzical expression.
“Long story, my sweet. I'll tell you about it sometime later.”

He turned to his brother. “Cash, you okay now?”

“Yeah, I'm fine.” His voice sounded strong but subdued.
Something was still on his mind.

“What is it?” He knew Cash had something else to say.

“We need to know who sent her here. Some of the pieces to
the puzzle are missing, and I'm certain her benefactor is the key.”

“Nobody sent me here. I came on my own when I couldn't find
the answers I needed in the research.”

“No, Rena, Cash is right. There is more to this whole thing
than just your curiosity.” She frowned at him. “I don't believe in
coincidences.”

“You two are the most paranoid witches I have ever met. What
is it going to take to get you to trust me?”

“Rena, I trust you.” Graelen grazed his fingers across her
cheek, watching her fight the tears welling in her eyes. Sharing herself with
them both during their amazing encounter had to have drained her, although she
probably wouldn't admit that.

“You want us to trust you? Then tell us who your benefactor
is. I'd be willing to bet that a curious woman like you would never rest
knowing her source was anonymous.” Cash's words struck a nerve as she averted
her eyes and fidgeted nervously with a button on her shirt.

“He's right, baby, isn't he? You know who he is.”

“It doesn't matter. Who he is has nothing to do with all of
this.” Her voice raised in agitation. “I know you say the cards were stolen
from your family, but I'm one hundred percent positive that Reverend Cunningham
had nothing to do with that. There has to be another answer.”

Two audible gasps sounded in the room as anger anew flooded
Graelen.

“Reverend Scott Cunningham III?” Graelen looked at her to
answer his question, but the deer in headlights look of shock on her face told
him all he needed to know.

“Well, fuck me. Damn it, Grae, we should have known he was
up to something.”

“Wait, you know him?” She looked thoroughly confused as she
swiveled between the two brothers.

“Oh yeah, we know him all right.” Cash shook his head and
turned toward the fireplace. “The good Reverend you're so sure of is our
uncle.”

She shot him a look of disbelief as Graelen struggled with
his fury. She was part of the prophecy after all, an unwilling participant, but
still a pawn in his uncle's game.

“Wait. How can he be your uncle? I researched your family, I
probably know about them than you do.”

Cash laughed. “Yeah, I doubt that. Good ole uncle Scott
buried his association with this family a long time ago. Guess the old
hypocrite covered his tracks well.”

Grae moved close and clasped her hand. “Rena, I'm afraid
you've been caught up in a family legend my uncle refuses to let die. One he
and his religious cronies have been using for years in an attempt to get rid of
us all.”

“What legend? Are you talking about the story in the cards?”

“Yes. What you call a story of the cards is referred to as
the curse in our family.” He sighed heavily; his heart ached over her
involvement. “Your interpretation was close to the truth but missing an element
we've feared all our lives.”

“Which is?”

“You,” both Cash and Graelen echoed.

“I don't understand.” She hesitated. “I thought you agreed
that I'm meant to help you.” She looked between the two. “I felt the difference
I make with you, I know it's right.”

“Right or wrong, the slimy bastard is using you in an
attempt to get to us,” Graelen said.

“But—But why would he do that?”

Graelen smiled indulgently at her. It would take a while for
her to understand the depth of his uncle's treachery. “Because he believes us
to be truly evil.” Graelen scrubbed his hands over his face as he pondered what
would be his next course of action. “Not all witches are created equally. And,
unfortunately, some of them want to wipe out part of the race.”

“You are not evil. I know that for a fact. I've felt it. Who
and what you are courses through me every time you unleash your emotions,” she
reminded him, her tone commanding.

“You're right, baby.” He pulled her into his arms, seeking
to soothe her hurt pride. “We aren't innately evil, but the power we carry
inside has the capability of manifesting itself into a destructive force. One
that will destroy us.”

“I don't understand.” Her wide-eyed innocence sucker-punched
him right in the gut.

“Of course you don't,” Cash interrupted. “Your bedtime
stories as a child didn't consist of a vicious legend about you and your
siblings foretelling of an inevitable outcome that would lead to their deaths
as well as the destruction of innocent lives.” Graelen cringed at the familiar
pain in his brother's voice. “You weren't reminded every night, at the tender
age of five, that the world would be better off without you and your brothers.
And you didn't grow up hating women because you were told the one that got close
would be responsible for the end.”

“Cash, that's enough!” Without thought Graelen called his
magick, his only way of getting his brother away from his woman. He bound his
brother with a mere thought, but it didn't appease Cash's anger as the dark
rage continued to grow within him.

“Graelen, look at me.”

He raised his head to meet Rena's gaze. She blinked as her
eyes grew wide, no doubt at his appearance. He was lost in the thrall. The
magick was in control. Despite the fear in her eyes, she grabbed hold of his
hands, interlacing her fingers with his. Within moments the magic and anger
winked out of his mind, leaving him to face a weak Rena and a shocked Cash.

Narrowing his gaze on his brother, “You aren't the only one
in this family who suffers, you know.”

Graelen scooped up Rena before she fell down. He needed to
find a better way to control his anger before he ended up hurting her.

“Graelen, you can put me down now, I'm fine.” And it was
true. He looked her over and just that quickly her color had restored and he
couldn't even tell the two of them had just mentally roughed her up.

“How?”

“Honey, I've been dealing with this kind of thing all my
life. Well, okay, maybe not this exactly.” She motioned to the two brothers.
“The magick is new, but the anger and helplessness is not. Have you looked
around lately? The world is full of hate and anger that I defend myself against
on a regular basis. I mean there’s a reason I work in the basement and spend
days on end alone.”

He gingerly placed her back on her feet and she wriggled out
of his arms. “I'll admit the emotions coming from a couple of witches like you
is far stronger than anything I've experienced before, but I learn quickly and
can adapt. You don't need to treat me like a weak kitten. I know how to take care
of myself.”

“She's right about that, brother. I've got the bruises to
prove it.” Graelen's head swung sharply toward his brother. “Whoa, don't look
at me like that. You've got the wrong idea.”

“Enough, you two.” Rena stepped between the two of them. “I think
I need to contact the dear Reverend and let him know that I won't be his pawn
in this mess any longer and that I will not provide him with any more research
services.”

“No!” Both he and Cash vehemently rejected that idea at the
same time.

“I'll be the one to contact Uncle Scott,” Cash stated with
controlled venom. “It's time one of us had a heart to heart chat with him.”
Cash started to gather up his things, preparing to leave.

“Cash, I don't think that’s such a good idea.” Graelen
worried that Cash confronting Scott would end badly. Bloody.

“No, for once, Graelen, you have to listen to me. I can't
stay here and we both know it.” He shrugged into his black leather coat,
sparing a longing glance at Rena. “You have to protect your woman. Let me do
this.”

Graelen struggled with his need to protect them both, and
the anger and frustration built along with the desire to punish his uncle.
Trapped between the warring situations, he reluctantly gave in to Cash's
request. He would let his brother handle the situation for now.

“Take care of yourself, brother. Be cautious when you
confront him. But keep quiet about knowing Rena. I have an idea how to use this
whole thing against him.”

Cash smirked. “I will.” They looked at each other for a few
seconds longer, then Cash strode to the door.

In the meantime, Graelen had a feisty empath to deal with.

Rena headed for the door.

“Where do you think you're going?”

“I think it's time I went back to work as well. I was only
supposed to be gone for a few days, and I imagine the work is getting
backlogged. It's a long flight, so I'm going to try and get some rest.”

Graelen looked at her in disbelief. Did she really think he
would just let her walk away?

“Rena, my uncle is not a man to be trifled with. He is far
more dangerous than you’re aware of. You carry a piece of my power now.
Eventually he will figure that out, and once he does you will be in as much
danger as the rest of us. He’ll kill you if he can.”