Guardian of My Soul (13 page)

The feel of having her partner and love this fully embedded
within her was indescribable. It was like being complete, fulfilled and utterly
at peace all simultaneously. Magic arched powerfully between them and the
change in their position did not detract from the knife-edged tension of sexual
desire that had grown in the atmosphere over the course of their foreplay.

“You fit so deeply inside me,” Sally moaned as she lifted
her hips to help him slide to the very root. She could feel his warm, damp
balls press against the skin of her body.

“You’re perfect in every way,” Kyle replied huskily. “As if
you were made just for me and nobody else.”

They kissed passionately and their emotions exploded. Hot,
fiery passion filled Sally’s body and she bucked wildly under him as Kyle
thrust harder and deeply into her pussy. Their skin slapped together in the
growing night and the silence was punctuated only by their gasps, moans and the
sound of their magic crackling on the air as the intensity of their power
sought release.

They came together in an elemental way Sally would not have
believed had anyone tried to explain it to her earlier. The world closed down
and narrowed so her only focus was the bed on which they lay and the man who
penetrated her body with a passion that rocked her world. Nothing else
mattered. Not their mission, not her darkness, not her doubts and certainly not
what the future might bring for either or both of them.

Only Kyle, her rock and partner in every sense of the world
entered her mind and stole her heart and soul into his keeping. Never had she
opened herself like this and no one did she trust or love more.

Kyle lifted her legs higher and as his cock gazed over her
inner nerves she felt her whole body contract tightly. Her eyes fluttered shut
of their own volition as her head pressed back into the pillow. A scream from
the depths of her soul ripped its way out of her mouth. Kyle’s hoarse roar
followed only a heartbeat later and magic pulsed electric and fiery between
them.

A part of Sally later would be astounded they hadn’t
exploded the cabin or burned it down around themselves.

Kyle erupted inside her body, his seed filling her scorching
hot and branding her his in every way that could possibly matter. Over and over
he thrust into her body, claiming her, marking her and filling her until they
both came down and collapsed together in a sweating, tangled heap.

Sally shifted slightly so she could wrap a limp arm around
Kyle’s waist, both of them lying on their sides facing each other. Her gaze
roamed over Kyle’s face, soaking in every detail possible. Many times she had
stared at him, memorizing him, drawing him into her heart and soul. Yet this
was one way she had never seen him before. Replete, sated, satisfied to his
bones.

They silently stared at each other, enjoying the intimacy of
the moment and the tiny sparks of magical energy that still sizzled around them
in the aftermath. Sally reached out her fingers and lightly brushed the spiky
edges of Kyle’s fringe from his eyes. They appeared almost violet, so deeply
blue they had turned in his passion.

“I love you,” she whispered, not wanting to break the
intimacy of this moment but the words would not be retained. Kyle smiled and
Sally felt as if clouds had moved and she now basked in the sunshine.

“I love you too,” he replied with such a tenderness and
depth she could never have thought he merely parroted such important words.
Kyle drew her closer to his body and Sally happily rested her head on his
shoulder, soaking in the moment, knowing while there were many more such times
to come, they would be interspersed with danger, violence and uncertainty.

She took this moment in time and grabbed it with both her
hands, clinging to it ferociously, unwilling to relinquish it until life forced
her to.

Sally had never felt so happy, so at peace. It was as if her
world were now perfectly aligned.

* * * * *

Kyle was loath to break the special moment he shared with
Sally. The way she nestled her head in the crook of his shoulder, the perfect
alignment of their bodies, the sated, glowing feel of this particular time was
like a soap bubble. Sheer, perfect and gorgeous. Reality, however, beat at the
corners of his mind. Even though he knew they had time before the traitor would
turn up, he hated the thought of either of them being unprepared for it.

Naked, sweaty and replete as they both currently were, they
were venerable. Never did he want to be responsible for Sally being in such an
tenuous position as she currently was.

“We need to clean up, get our gear in order,” he reluctantly
spoke. Sally sighed, but nodded in understanding.

“I’ll take first shower,” she whispered against his skin,
although she didn’t move. Kyle pulled her in closer, tightened his arms around
her. Silently he willed her to understand he didn’t
want
her to move,
but it was necessary.

Sally moved, straddled him and bent to kiss his lips
chastely.

“I know,” she replied, as if reading his mind. “We need to
be ready. Next time. I promise next time we will laze about in bed all day and
not move unless we need food or water.”

Kyle grinned as Sally lightly jumped onto her feet and
crossed over to the miniscule bathroom. Only a tiny shower, toilet and basin
fit into the room, with hardly any room to move. Two people would not
physically fit into the cubicle.

Watching until she shut the door behind her, Kyle sighed as
he stood and pulled on his boxer briefs and tshirt once again. The sweet scent
of violets clung both to the bed sheets as well as his skin. Kyle liked the
scent of Sally upon him, it made him feel as if even when they were apart he
carried her with him.

Kyle crossed over to the large window. Night had almost
fallen and even though they had not yet turned on any of the few lamps within
the cabin Kyle worried they might be visible from the outside. Kyle took one
last long, thorough look while he could.

Probing his magic out to the mirrors and scanning the
surroundings around the cabin as best he could, Kyle could find no sentient
life anywhere near their vicinity. With a deep breath he closed the curtains
and switched on the lamps.

A large part of him struggled with the knowledge he and
Sally in many ways were setting the trap not only with the bait of the ritual,
but also with themselves. He hated putting Sally in danger like this. She was
the most capable witch he had ever encountered. Not for a single second did he
doubt her ability to protect herself and even him should he fall and need her
to Guard him and kill the enemy.

That didn’t make knowing he willingly allowed her to enter
into a highly dangerous situation any easier or better. He did not worry in the
least about the darkness within her soul. His love had proven time and time
again she could bear the weight of her past, conquer her demons continually and
not slide back into temptation. It angered him incredibly when others glanced
askance at her, or treated her as if she were inferior. Kyle was not blind.
Sally could be twitchy, she could appear at least outwardly random and not
fully in control of all her faculties. But she had never let him down, shed had
never been responsible for losing a client and she had never been anything but
a consummate professional on top of her game in his eyes.

To Kyle’s mind, anyone who thought someone who acted
minutely different was bad, wrong or unstable deserved to get the second-class
level of professionalism their using someone other than Sally would gain them.

Before Kyle could start to pace restlessly—which his skin
crawled and itched for him to do—Sally opened the door and a large cloud of
steam puffed into the room ahead of her. Wrapped in a towel, her long blonde hair
curling slightly from its washing, Sally nearly bounced on the balls of her
feet as she came into the main cabin room.

Kyle’s mouth watered as her pale skin gleamed with peachy
colored good health from her shower, Sally’s excitement of the sting operation
clearly visible to him.

“You’d better have a quick one,” she cautioned him. “I know
we still have time but we will have to discuss our strategy.”

“Are you positive you don’t want to go out into the
wetlands?” Kyle asked for the dozenth time since they had climbed into the car
and headed out here. Sally snorted and crossed over to where Kyle stood. She
wrapped her hands around his neck and squeezed him tightly.

Being honest, Kyle couldn’t tell if she wanted to wring his
neck or comfort him. Possibly a mixture of both emotions ran deeply inside her
in this moment.

“I know you just want to protect me,” she started with the
reassurance, “but I am going to kill you if you don’t stop being
overprotective. I know our relationship has changed, and I love each and every
aspect of your character, Kyle. I’m not spinning cart-wheels over you putting
yourself directly in the line of fire either. But think about it. What if I
were insisting you to sit in a corner with a big bad wizard Guarding
your
ass? That would drive you crazy. So I keep my worries inside my heart and plot
the excruciating vengeance I will wreak upon anyone who so much as singes one
of the hairs upon your head. I can live with standing Trial for murder if
anyone ever hurt you. I’m sure you feel rather similar.”

Cold, potent fury raged through Kyle’s body at the mere
thought of someone hurting Sally. There was nothing he would not do, no lengths
he would not go to including selling his soul and turning fully and completely
to the darkness and most evil of magics should anyone kill his love. No force
on this earth would stop him until he had wreaked absolute and total vengeance
upon everything loved in his nemesis’ life and then followed Sally into death.

Kyle blinked his eyes rapidly and turned away so Sally would
not be able to see the devastation he could and would willingly cause should
something unmentionable occur to her. Some parts of the darkness within him he
was not comfortable with. While he could not hide it from her totally, neither
did he need to broadcast it constantly into her face either.

“I can try not to smother you,” Kyle finally replied. His
voice was thick again from barely suppressed agony and outrage. “While I grab a
quick shower can you please put the kettle on? It’s going to be a long night. I
still also think by two we should take it in turns to have ninety-minute naps.
This could drag on for a day or more. I think we should both stay fresh.”

“Agreed,” Sally replied promptly. Kyle met her gaze again
and grinned. “I’m going to arm wrestle you though. I know you want me to take
first shift and I
know
you won’t wake me until at least two hours after
I have fallen asleep. I’m never making that mistake again. You should take
first shift sleeping.”

“Not going to happen, sweetheart,” Kyle replied with pure
masculine ego. Years ago Sally had pushed herself to the brink of exhaustion.
When they had flipped a coin to determine who would sleep first and who would
take first shift Kyle had used a weighted coin to flip and force Sally into the
first shift to sleep, supposedly for two hours.

Not only had Kyle cheated without guilt to win the toss, he
also had not woken her at all, remaining vigilant and guarding them both and
their temporary camp throughout the entire night. Sally had woken to dawn
cracking over the horizon, the birds chirping and the smell of campfire coffee.
She had never forgiven him for it and brought it up whenever she felt he might
revert back to a similar trick once again.

She also had never let him flip a coin again, unless she had
supplied it and checked to make sure he didn’t use sleight of hand to exchange
it with one of his own choosing. The memory and lesson had become a long-standing
private joke between them. When Sally had learned she could beat him in the
occasional arm wrestle it had become her standard method of choice when she
wanted a fair fight between them.

“I’d better warn you,” Kyle joked as he picked up his fallen
jeans and Sally began to dress herself once again. “I’ve been practicing with
McCarthy and Alloson. I won’t be such an easy target again. Bring it on,
sunshine.”

Sally laughed and Kyle could hear the happiness and joy in
her tone. Satisfied none of her usual demons or darkness lingered—at least for
now—he entered the bathroom and closed the door until only a crack kept it
open. He didn’t trust closed doors when they were so close to an ambush
situation in the end stages of a mission.

Turning on the faucets he quickly heated up the water,
stripped and stepped into the shower stall. Grabbing a squirt of liquid soap
they kept in a bottle Kyle planned to have the quickest shower on record. This
late in the game he didn’t like leaving Sally alone unless it was strictly
necessary.

He heightened his senses and listened as Sally padded over
to the small nook where the “kitchen” was and she plugged in the electric
kettle. Washing himself briefly Kyle cleansed his skin and after rinsing
himself turned off the water. Grabbing a towel he dried himself in quick,
economical movements, shrugged into his clothes and was entering the main cabin
area a few minutes later.

Sally was pouring them both large mugs with teabags in each
of them. The pressure that had been growing inside him deflated as he realized
they now had potentially days worth of waiting ahead of them. Sitting in one of
the two wooden chairs, Kyle tried to keep himself calm and patient.

“This is the part that sucks,” Sally said almost cheerfully.
“I say we play cards for the next couple of hours until we need to wrestle for
who takes first shift. Okay?”

Kyle nodded as Sally pulled out a well-worn deck of cards.
They used this form of passing time on longer, quieter missions when they
needed to remain alert but simply talking or sitting in silence would make
every second drag on and not pass. If one became too idle you lost
concentration, but one couldn’t become too focused on something so you wouldn’t
notice when the situation altered slightly.