Mystical Seduction: full-length sensual paranormal romance (The Protectors) (11 page)

“Sip it slowly.” Jake, the owner of The Oblique Café pushed
a cup of piping hot chocolate into Faith’s hands. If not for his tight grip on
her shoulders, Horace guessed Faith would have bolted out the door and had run
halfway back to campus by now. He could feel her muscles trembling underneath
his fingers.

No matter how brave Faith appeared on the surface, Horace
could understand why she’d be skittish around Jake. With his gray goatee and
long face, he looked rather goat-like with some demon thrown in for good
measure. The battered old T-shirt, with “The Oblique Café” printed across the
chest didn’t make the best impression, either.

But Faith didn’t seem to be interested in Jake or the rest
of
the Protectors
crowded in the rather narrow brick walled café. Her
wide-eyed gaze remained glued on the rich cup of hot chocolate.

Hot chocolate, the drink Jake served all the New Ones, the
foundlings who are just coming into their powers, had soothed many jittery
nerves throughout the years. But Faith wasn’t a New One, which probably made
the shock of discovering The Oblique Café all the more sharp. She clutched the
white ceramic cup as if it were a lifeline.

“Go ahead and take a sip,” Horace said gently. “Jake uses
the best chocolates imported from the far corners of the world. I guarantee
you’ve never tasted anything this rich before.”

She slowly raised the cup to her lips. And after breathing
in the rich aromas that even made his mouth water, she took a tentative sip.
And then, another.

“Hmmm…” Her voice wavered. “This-this is good. Like a rich
dark chocolate bar. I’ve never tasted anything like this before. Thank you.”

Jake gave her a toothy grin. “Glad to hear it. You’re the
first human to ever taste it. I wasn’t sure if it would suit your palate or
not.”

“What is a human doing here?” Kara had shouted that
question. Her short brown hair bounced with agitation. “The rules explicitly
state that no human know about us.”

Kara had once set her sights on Brendan, but that had been
before Dallas had come into the picture. Ever since Brendan and Dallas’s wedding,
Kara had been dropping not-so-subtle hints that she now wanted to hook up with
Horace. Even if he’d been tempted, which he wasn’t, his pride would have never
accepted being someone’s second choice.

“Meet
the Protectors
,” Horace said, figuring it best to
ignore Kara. “We’re…we’re…”

How should he explain what he didn’t understand himself?

Faith glanced uneasily up at him. “V-vampires?”

That made him chuckle. “No, sweet. Not vampires.”

“I-I just thought…You’ve been biting me!”

Brendan, with a devilish sparkle in his eyes, snuggled up to
Faith. “I bet he has been.” He pried one of Faith’s hands from the mug she clutched
and caressed her knuckles. “I’m Brendan Cromerty. And Horace’s best friend.”

“And married,” Horace quickly added. He snatched Faith’s
hand away from Brendan’s caressing fingers.

“So…” Faith drew out the word. She took another sip of her
drink. Horace had to give Jake credit for giving her the hot chocolate. The
soothing flavors did seem to bolster her courage. “If not vampires, what are
you?
The Protectors
? That makes you sound if as you should be gathering
at the Hall of Justice with the other superheroes.”

“I like her spunk,” Brendan said with a bright grin.

Faith smiled back, sending a spurt of jealousy roiling
through Horace’s chest.
Damn
. She wasn’t his to be jealous over.

All the same, Brendan
was
married. He shouldn’t be
flirting with anyone. Horace glanced around, searching for Dallas. She stood
nearby. And she didn’t look concerned or jealous at all.

“I’ve been telling them all along that they need to make a
handbook for moments like this. With lots of visuals. Stone won’t listen to me,”
Dallas said with a huff. “We’re not quite human. And we have special powers.
I’m sure you’ve already figured that out, though.”

Faith nodded, and then took another sip of her hot
chocolate. She no longer clutched the cup so tightly.

“Other than that, there’s no good explanation of what we
are.” Dallas slid a dirty look in Stone’s direction as if she blamed him. “None
of us have families, so there really was no one to teach us about who or what
we are. We all have our own specific powers. And we help the humans.”

“I’m not sure we should be telling her any of this,” Kara
grumbled. She crossed her arms over her chest and turned away from them.

“She has a right to know,” Dallas shot back. Her expression
then softened. “How are you holding up, Horace?”

“I’m okay,” he lied. “Just the routine human-saving and
all.”

Dallas didn’t look convinced. Neither did Brendan nor Stone.

“
The Protectors
,” Faith whispered, as her gaze swept
over the crowded café. “Nothing simple like fairies, bogeymen or a sexy
vampire. I feel sort of disappointed. Are you sure you’re not from outer
space?”

“Your guess is as good as ours.” Horace felt his shoulders
relax. He hadn’t realized how nervous he’d been for her. But her teasing tone
chased many of his concerns away. She had the backbone to handle this.

“Perhaps we should all sit down and discuss what has been
happening,” Stone said.

“I’d like to finish my hot chocolate, if you don’t mind.” She
took another long sip. A smile spread across her adorable lips. “I know what
you’re telling me is very important, and probably vital to figuring out why
that creature was shooting at us. But this is really very tasty.”

Once she finished the hot drink and had handed the empty cup
back to Jake, Stone directed Faith to sit with him at a small table in the
middle of the café. Horace insisted on sitting beside her. Brendan took the
seat on the other side of her. And Dallas pulled up a chair and sat next to
Brendan.

Kara tried to squeeze in between Stone and Horace, but there
simply wasn’t enough room. She ended up sitting directly behind Horace. The
others in the café pulled up chairs next to hers, until two complete rows
encircled the five sitting at the small, round table.

Jake squeezed by and slid a plate with a fat, chocolate
croissant hanging off the edges in front of Faith.

“Don’t I get one?” Dallas asked with an edge of panic in her
voice.

“Of course, dove,” Jake said and produced a second croissant
out of thin air.

“Oh!” Faith breathed. “That could be useful.”

“And dangerous,” Dallas said right before she bit into the
flaky croissant. “I’m thankful I don’t have the ability to do that. I’d weigh a
ton if I did. No self-control, you know.”

“Not when it comes to enjoying the sensual pleasures.” Brendan
took the croissant from Dallas’s hand and brought her chocolate-covered fingers
to his lips. He took his time sucking each slender finger clean. Dallas’s eyes
rolled heavenward and she blew out a trembling sigh.

Faith watched with what looked like a sense of awe. Horace
often felt that way, too. Only a handful of foundlings had ever found success
in love. But this year, they’d celebrated two weddings. Hadrian and Holly, the
other married couple, had gone to Club West to deal with the police Faith had
called. Hadrian had started bringing Holly along with him when he went to work
with the police. They seemed to make a good team. Almost as good a team as
Brendan and Dallas.

Horace rubbed his hands over his eyes. Seeing how happy
Brendan had been lately had made him want that kind of relationship for
himself. But he could never hope for that kind of happiness. Not even if he
could safely pursue Faith, it wouldn’t be the same as what Brendan had with
Dallas.

Faith was human.

He wasn’t.

He would have to let her lick her own chocolate-covered
fingers clean. It would be better that way.

While Faith nibbled on her chocolate croissant, Horace and
Stone described to the others what had happened at the club both last night and
this afternoon.

No matter how hard they tried, none of them could give a
good description of the gunman.

“He was clearly magical,” Stone explained.

“But he was using a gun?” Brendan asked. “Why?”

A good question. And one no one could answer. But that
didn’t mean the others remained silent.
The Protectors
all started
talking at once, speculating about what could be happening. And why.

Had this been an attack against Horace in particular? Or did
the creature plan to eventually come after all of them? It must have been
preternaturally strong to have withstood Stone’s banishment spell for so long.
And what about the human? How is she involved?
Was she human
? How could
a
human
convince Stone to reveal the location of their secret café?

Horace grimaced as the nervous whispers grew louder. It was
becoming clear that many of his friends harbored strong suspicions against
Faith. Thank goodness Brendan had shown his support for Faith by accepting her
first at the door and then by sitting next to her. Brendan and Dallas’s support
would help keep the others from panicking and doing something that might hurt
Faith.

Still, Horace could feel the other’s fear thick in the air.

“Worrying about what Faith does and doesn’t know about us
isn’t going to help us stop Ballou,” he said, feeling more discouraged than
before.

“You still haven’t explained why you brought a
human
to
the café in the first place?” Kara added with a sneer.

“She’s one of us now.” Dallas’s softly spoken statement
stunned the café into silence. Dallas had some amazing powers, and just about
everyone respected and feared her powers of intuition.

“Impossible!” Kara blurted. “Horace claims she has a
family.”

Could it be possible? Could Faith be a New One? What if her
parents had adopted her? Perhaps then, things could be different. Perhaps then,
Horace
could
have a future with her.

He loved her smart, spunky attitude and even could see
himself growing to enjoy her adorably stubborn streak. He wouldn’t mind having
her around for a while. He’d enjoy the company. And perhaps, in time, they
could become partners, like Dallas had become Brendan’s partner.

If she was a New One, he could teach her about how to tap
into and direct the powers that are a part of everything in the universe.

“Your parents?” Horace asked Faith, trying to put it gently.
“They are your natural parents?”

Faith had just taken a big bite of chocolate croissant, so
she nodded her answer.

“How was her childhood?” Jake asked. “All of ours were
horrible.”

Faith chewed and quickly swallowed. “I didn’t have a normal
childhood, but it was wonderful.”

No one could doubt the pleasure shining in her eyes, as she
seemed to reflect on her past. Jealousy stabbed Horace squarely in the chest.
His childhood had been anything but happy. His ability to trust had been beaten
out of him, time and again.

And his past served as a good reminder. No matter how
tempting a relationship with Faith might seem, Horace knew better.
Relationships in his life had always failed.

They always ended with tears and pain.

Always.

In order to protect himself, he had to remain alone.

“She could be adopted,” Brendan offered.

“If you saw my parents you’d believe me. I’m their child.”

“She’s one of us.” Dallas refused to change her mind on that
point.

“What do you mean?” Stone asked.

“She shares Horace’s power.” No one had told Dallas that,
but still she knew. The skin on Horace’s arm prickled.

“They are mated,” she added as if it meant more than just
sex.

“Mated?” Faith asked before Horace had a chance.

Dallas smiled that enigmatic smile of hers and shrugged.
“The two of you are sharing an aura. I have no idea what it might mean.”

“It means she’s a danger to us and herself,” Derrick said,
from the back of the room. At Horace’s glare, he quickly added, “She doesn’t
have the training or capacity to control your power. She’s not one of us.”

But Dallas shook her head.

Thinking of Faith as one of them, as not-quite-human, thanks
to their having mated—whatever the hell that meant—turned Horace’s mood even
blacker. Dallas’s point only proved why Horace and Faith shouldn’t have had
slept together.

Before yesterday, Faith had been an innocent. A
human
innocent. And now…

Shit
.

“I know you don’t want to hear this, Horace,” Stone said.
“But what’s happening now must be somehow linked back to that time when you
disappeared.” He paused. “We need to know what happened during those missing
two years of yours. It’s time for you to remember.”

Horace shook his head. “I can’t.”

“It’s time for you to remember,” Stone repeated, his voice
deeper, heavier. But the mental push didn’t work. Horace’s memories remained
too well protected. The walls that had been built around that difficult time
couldn’t simply be pushed away.

“I don’t mean to be stubborn about this. I truly can’t
remember anything that happened when I disappeared. I’ve tried. Beyond getting
vague visions and dire warnings—like not to have sex with feisty
women—nothing.”

“Let me try,” Brendan said. He had the ability to rifle
around in Horace’s thoughts, and perhaps even knock down that wall hiding his
secrets.

Horace wanted to say no. The thought of finding out what had
happened scared the hell out of him. There had to be a reason he didn’t
remember. And the snatches that he did get were always laced with pain.

But the danger had now touched more than just his life.
Ballou had said Faith’s and his life were a package deal. Could that be because
they now shared an aura?

No, there had to be another reason…