Deceiver's Bond: Book Two of A Clairvoyant's Complicated Life (45 page)

“There is no more time for argument. You will bond with her, now,” she told him, “and then I will act to counter Maeve.”

Kieran began to reply, again in their language, but I interrupted, “Kieran, please. No more Silven. I realize being bound to me is something you’re less than thrilled about. I’m an adult, not some angsty teenager. I get it. You can stop trying to spare my feelings.”

I’d expected to receive a respectful, or, at the very least, a sheepish nod of acceptance from Kieran. Instead, he looked almost stricken.

Kim, who seemed to be just as diverted by my declaration as she was by Kieran’s startled reaction, actually snickered. Her openhanded smack upside his bicep issued a loud
crack
that echoed through my living room. She snorted. “You really are a fool, Kieran,” she declared, rolling her eyes at him. “Only you could manage such misunderstandings.” Shaking her head and chortling to herself, she meandered to the family room couch to sit.

Kieran shifted on his feet, dropping his arms to his sides, and scowled after her. When he didn’t offer any explanation, I approached him, fighting to ignore Brassal’s obvious delight at my pathetic ‘misunderstanding.’

I gritted my teeth. I would not disgrace myself by acting like a wounded, star-struck groupie. “You told me you wanted nothing unspoken between us. But I guess you only meant that to be a one-way thing.”

If I hadn’t known better, I’d have said he looked regretful, an expression I wasn’t accustomed to seeing on his face. In spite of his declarations of amorous intent and being the beneficiary of his heated kisses, his furrowed brows and tensely set eyes made my stomach clench at what I was sure to hear—the truth that I was simply an interesting diversion. Nice for a fling, but not someone he’d bring home to meet the parents. And that was fine, really. I mean, what did I expect? We’d known each other for two freaking days. To presume anything more was patently ridiculous.
I
was ridiculous.

At least I hadn’t done something dumb like sleep with him. Part of me, though, regretted not taking advantage when I had the chance.

I was a mess.

“If I’ve kept things from you, it’s only because I worried about the consequence of voicing them,” he told me.

“And, yet, you’d share these thoughts with Brassal while I stand here and stare at you like an ignorant fool. Thanks a lot.”

“I told him that I’d not see you forced into a union simply because it is the most expedient means to deal with Lorcán. If you bond with me, it should be because you want to share your life with me. Not because you’re forced to.”

“Why hide that from me? I feel the same way.” I took a step closer, turning so that Kieran’s body hid me from Kim and Brassal’s view. “Look … just talk to me, okay? I’m willing to put my cards on the table if you are. No evasion, regardless of the consequences. Can you do that?”

He frowned at me, but after some consideration, he nodded.

I squared my shoulders. “I’d be lying if I said this bonding thing didn’t scare me. It does. We barely know each other. But, it’s clear to me that you’re an honorable man. You’re courageous and intelligent and I’m … obviously attracted to you.”

No, that wasn’t an understatement. Not at all.

“In my ideal world, we’d spend months getting to know each other. We’d date. I’d meet your family. You’d meet my friends, my sister. We’d have the time to find out whether, you know … whether we’re right for each other. But, um, … clearly, this isn’t an ideal world.”

I hesitated, my stomach in knots.

Stop stalling. He kissed you. He said you intrigue him. That has to count for something, doesn’t it?

“For me … I guess it all comes down to whether, uh, whether I’m … someone …”

For the life of me, I couldn’t do it. I couldn’t spit it out.
Am I someone you might grow to love?
How hard was that? I stared into his dark eyes, mouth partially opened, and the words vaporized. I’d done this so often, he must be wondering whether I was part fish.

The two tiny lines between his brows deepened as he studied me. “Someone …?” he prompted.

Okay, not happening. My cheeks heated, and I scrambled to think of something that wouldn’t sound lame. “Am I … I  mean …”

Desperate, I almost sucked in sharp breath when I thought of it. I burst out, “Someone who can block glamour, remember? We should figure that out. Because … if I can resist Lorcán’s glamour, he won’t be able to abduct me. I’ll be able to use my magic to fry his ass. Surely a woman acting in self defense won’t break the Compact. I’m not a half-blood. I’m not a member of Invisius. I’m human.”

You’re also a chickenshit.

I avoided Kieran’s suspicious gaze and tried to hide my embarrassment. Stupid inner voice. Just hours ago, it dredged up the word ‘rebound’ and advised me to protect my heart. Now, it berated me for not spilling my guts.

Just kill me now.

“What makes you think you can’t be glamoured?” Kim, or possibly Brassal, asked from the family room.

I peered around Kieran’s broad shoulders to see that Kim was no longer on the couch. She strode toward us.

“Red thought it might be a possibility,” I replied. “Until recently, Vince didn’t know he was a part-blood. I think he’s been leaking magic and affecting the women around him without knowing it. I’ve seen how women act when they’re close to him, and he told me about having a number of overly possessive girlfriends. But when we first met, we didn’t exactly hit it off. I thought he was a jerk. Later, when we started … dating, I felt normal about it. Never obsessive. Red agrees.”

“Who is this Red?” she asked. “Another part-blood we weren’t told about?”

“No.” I scanned the family room and found him watching me from his recliner. “Red, come meet Kim and Brassal.”

Looking surprised, Kim turned to see who I’d spoken to.

I gestured at Red as he padded toward us. “Kim, Brassal, this is John Redborn. Red’s been my companion since I was four. In his human life, back in the late 1600s, he was a necromancer.” I looked down at my friend. “Red, this is Kim Pratchet, emissary to King Faonaín. Her soul mate is Brassal who’s …” I wagged my hand at a loss for how to describe it and finished, lamely, “You know, along for the ride.”

“It is an honor to meet you both,” Red said.

Kim tipped her head in acknowledgment. “You are familiar with the sidhe?”

“To claim familiarity would be an overstatement. When I was a young man still living in England, my uncle had occasion to be visited by one. His name was Caiside. My limited knowledge of the sidhe comes only from our brief encounters when he visited my uncle’s London home.”

“I see,” Kim said.

At her doubtful expression, I explained, “Our suspicion about my resistance isn’t
just
because of my reaction to Vince. When Maeve showed up and glamoured Daniel, Michael, and me, I snapped out of it. They didn’t.”

No need to tell them that Paimon had been the one to do the snapping. Resistance was resistance, regardless of how I managed to do it.

“Maeve glamoured you?” Kim asked, surprised. “You’re sure?”

I shrugged. “She sang her song. We all went under. Then I woke up on my knees and started fighting her and Kieran. Ask him.” I nodded at Kieran. “He was there.”

Kieran gave her a stiff nod.

Kim examined me, but she wasn’t the only one looking through those blue eyes. Under her and Brassal’s combined scrutiny, it was difficult not to squirm. Finally, she shifted her stony gaze to Kieran. “You have tonight. If she’s not immune, you must bond.” Kim leveled a decisive glare at him and then strode to the door. “I can only hope I don’t live to regret this delay. You know, as well as I, there is more than your two lives at stake.”

Before leaving, she hesitated and glanced over her shoulder. “It was nice meeting you, Red,” she said and quietly closed the door behind her.

Red gazed up at me. “I gather all is not well in the Otherworld.”

“Understatement of the century,” I replied and then told him about Kieran’s status as an outcast and Lorcán’s impending visit.

After contemplating me for a long moment, Red said, “Keep me at your side. If you can resist glamour, my defensive spells will distract any sidhe long enough to allow you to sidestep. But if you are not immune, your only recourse is to remain here, under Maya and Tanu’s protection for the foreseeable future. Even then, those close to you are likely to become pawns. Kieran has proven himself to be honorable. I advise you not to discount Brassal’s solution.”

With that, he walked away.

Had Red just encouraged me to bond with Kieran?
Good Lord.
How could this be happening?

I felt my heartbeat quicken as I considered where this glamour test might lead. Ever since the night Kieran had burst into my bedroom naked, I’d replayed that shadowed glimpse of his sleek, toned body more times than I’d care to admit. It was enough to send a wave of heat pounding through me, right now, probably because I couldn’t keep from imagining all that smooth luminous skin gliding under my fingertips.

This didn’t bode well for my ability to block his glamour. Ten years of zero skin contact and nothing but me and my pink vibrator for over a year wasn’t helping matters. I wouldn’t put it past my subconscious to botch my glamour-blocking efforts, just so I had a good excuse to push Kieran up against the nearest wall.

Not only that—if I failed, Kieran would feel obligated to bond with me. And who was I kidding? At this moment, an eternity of sex with such a gorgeous creature looked an awful lot like heaven. I wanted to press my lips to the pulse at his neck, drag my palms over his washboard abs, lick his …

Oh, God.
Failure was imminent. No way my subconscious would overlook a prospect as phenomenal as that!

Okay—whoa. Just … get a grip.

Ha! A grip. Yeah, I’d like to get a grip of—

I sighed. It was hopeless.

Maybe I should deal with this preemptively. Diffuse the situation by having sex with him, first. Get my pent up lust out of my system and take his test afterward. But how would I go about that? In my life, I’d done the deed with a grand total of two men, Nick, back in my college days, and Glen, a guy who ended up viewing me as a novelty rather than a serious girlfriend. With both of them, I hadn’t needed to make the first move.

I didn’t have a clue how to seduce a man without simply throwing myself at him, never mind a twenty-seven-hundred-year-old, sexier-than-silk sidhe warrior. And, not only
that
—how would I even begin to please him? In two millenniums, he’d probably tangled with God knows how many beautiful, knowledgeable sidhe partners, some of whom no doubt inspired Vatsyayana to write his Kama Sutra.

If I tried to seduce him, I’d end up looking like a sex-crazed Bella Swan without the excuse of being a klutzy high school virgin.

“Are you all right?” Kieran asked. He peered at me in such an inquisitive way and stood so close, I shuddered to think what my expression may have told him.

“No.” It slipped out before I could come up with something a temptress might say.

He considered me a moment before he nodded and backed up a step. The open concern on his face vanished, only to be replaced by his mask of careful neutrality. “You needn’t worry. You’re safe from my magic and no one will force you to do anything. Once Brassal informs the King of Maeve’s order, there’s a good chance he will countermand it. We needn’t do anything more than wait.”

“No, that’s not … I mean I’m not—” I bit my lip to stop myself from issuing a frustrated grunt.

Brilliant.
My performance anxiety and seduction panic had already driven him off. I was so smooth.

I searched his face for a sign, but he’d left me nothing to read other than his own intently studious gaze. For a moment, I stood there, hands clenching into fists, wanting to kick myself. Not ten minutes ago, he had thrust me against the door and kissed me passionately. What more did I need? What was I so afraid of? Yes, I didn’t know whether he’d ever come to love me, but that would be true in any budding romance. Life was about taking risks. And if I didn’t take a chance with him, I knew I’d never forgive myself.

Screw it.

I rushed him, threaded my hands into his hair, and yanked his mouth to mine. My insides pitched as I tentatively flicked my tongue along the seam between his lips, half expecting him to push me away. But I needn’t have worried. He responded to me immediately, opening his mouth on a hungry growl and grasping my hips. Relieved, I fell into the luscious sensations of his questing lips and teasing tongue. He returned my advances, kissing me with obvious relish, but he followed my lead, not taking any more than I gave him.

And I wanted more. More of … everything.

Moist lips, roving hands, hard body, and,
God
, the heavenly, rousing smell of him … it tantalized me, made me light-headed. He smelled of spice and woodland musk, and, underneath it all, something so entirely masculine it dragged a murmur of satisfaction from my throat. I would recognize his scent anywhere, just as I’d know his resonance, his unique tune, whether we stood in this world or the next. Everything about him pulled at me, drew me in, as dangerous as an open flame to a moth’s tender wings and just as hot.

I pressed closer, molding my body against his, the softness of my breasts yielding to the hardness of his chest, and hungrily slid my palms over the contours of his shoulders and biceps. When he issued a deep, carnal groan, maintaining my self-control was almost beyond me. All I could think about was feeling the exquisiteness of his naked body rubbing against mine.

I kissed his neck, where the hinge of his jaw met his earlobe, and worked my hands over the swell of his chest, gliding them downward. I delighted in every hard curve. I didn’t stop until I’d skated my hand hands to his waist and around to settle over his back pockets.
Oh, wow.
Dreams were made of the firm, enticing shape of his derrière. I shamelessly groped him through the denim of his jeans. His responding growl and sudden embrace sent a thrill spiraling through me and ignited a feverish pulse just south of my belly. His obvious erection pressed against my body in the best of ways, and it emboldened me to grind against him for good measure.