Natural Magick (14 page)

After ten minutes of eating and joking around as a tight family would do, they got down to business. Dominic reached over and picked Pete up and sat her on his lap. The squeak from her sent the entire room into giggles.

“
Your family is indeed on their way here, Piccadilly. According to the information I got earlier this morning, they left on Sunday morning, just after you helped to bring my children safely into the world,” Aaron explained after they were seated around the large room.

“
I know that I’ve drawn them here by helping you and your family, Mr. MacManus, and I’ve also told Dominic I will lure them away from your family as soon as possible. They are a dangerous bunch and I won’t have them brought to your family.”

“
You’ve no idea how dangerous a vampire can be when it comes to what is his. So there will be no more nonsense about you leaving. Now, as I was saying, you now have seven brothers, and your ‘mother,’ for lack of a better term, is traveling with them. There was no sign of Sherman when they were seen last. But he could be traveling by other means. The Bartholomew’s might arrive sometime late day after tomorrow—I absolutely refuse to call them your family. However, I’ve arranged a couple of detours and ‘accidents’ to befall them, which should give us a day or two more.”

“
Accidents.” Pete looked at Aaron and grinned. “I’ll just bet you have. What do you have, some sort of vampire smoke signals that you watch? And it alerts you when they are coming closer?”

“
Don’t be impertinent. I have favors owed to me. And that, my dear, is all you are going to know about that.”

For some reason, his statement, though said with a smile, sent chills down her spine. Pete decided that keeping an eye on him might be a good idea. Aaron MacManus was a very terrifying individual.

“
Why don’t you just stop them altogether? Why just slow them down? I don’t understand,” Phillip asked, concern lacing is voice.

“
Because they won’t stop until they have me. One or all of them will keep coming until they get what they want or they’re stopped permanently. There’s something else you should know. I’m not...I can’t...this curse; it won’t stay down shut down now. I’m...I’m barely able to hold it closed as it is. It’s like a beacon and that is what is leading them here. And I can feel the stupid magic getting stronger too,” Pete said.

“
Since when? I mean, when did you start to lose control over it?” James knew a lot about magic, Dominic had told her. Just after he had become mated to Savannah, he’d started keeping a journal of sorts.

He had started out just keeping notes on them, then pictures he had drawn of the beings he’d had contact with or found. He had a journal for each type of being he had learned about. Phillip was thumbing through one now. It was a very plain notebook and the writing in it was with, of all things, a quill and ink.

“
After we, hummm, we had sex, then...when he...I bit him, you see, and well, I bit him hard. I...that is to say, I tasted him, his blood. I bit him and tasted his blood, drank from him.”

Even in her embarrassment, she was defiant. Even she knew it. She looked around the room as if to dare anyone to comment on her behavior. Of course no one did. Dominic, as her true mate, felt her emotions and hugged her body close to his, offering comfort and support through their bond.

“
Show them, love. Let it go and show them your mark. I’m here for you. We are all here for you. Not one person in this room will be offended by it,” Dominic said with an encouraging nod to her.

“
I can show you most of it. But I won’t strip down for you. There are limits to what even I will do in the name of keeping you safe, and baring my ass for the room so isn’t one of them.”

The room full of people laughed as she stood and pulled her shirt up in the back, and Dominic stood in front of her and hid her breasts from view.

“
Could you pull your pants down to your knees, lass? Your under garment would cover your...well, it should cover you well enough, I believe,” Colin suggested mildly.

Dominic’s laughter quickly turned into a hard cough when Pete turned to glare daggers at him. She never stopped glaring as she answered Colin.

“
I’m afraid that’s not possible, Mr. Larimore. My panties, along with my shirt, seem to have been destroyed. It’s a good thing that sort of opportunity will never happen again, isn’t it, Dominic?”

“
Ah, love, that’s not fair! Besides, I’m sure we could buy a few extras just in case it happens again.”

Pete had never wanted to smack someone so badly in her entire life as she did Dominic right then. And how the hell he got his eyebrows to wiggle like that was beyond her. Stupid man.

“
Come with me, Pete. We’ll have a look at my closet. I’m sure I have some things we can cover you with. We’ll be right back.” Sara reached out and the two of them headed for the stairs.

Pete was beginning to think she would never be anything but embarrassed around these people again. Not only was she expected to bare all, but to do so in front of strangers too. She trailed along behind Sara to the upper floors.

Shade came up with them. When Sara opened her closet doors after they had meet in her room, Pete could only stare open-mouthed. “Shit!” she said, then looked at Sara in horror.

“
I agree, actually. I’ve gone overboard with shopping, but it’s so much fun, especially when we all get together. And if you think this is bad, you should see Shade’s closet. I’m not sure mine is even half that one. And believe it or not, Aaron is worse than I am.” Sara stepped into the showroom sized closet and emerged a few minutes later with her hands full of clothes.

“
Here we go. Now, I think I have a shirt that would be large enough for you to lift and cover yourself at the same time.” Pete ended up with a sports bra and a pair of loose trainer pants with a pair of boxer briefs for women.

“
Has Dominic bitten you yet? I mean, your mark, has he bitten your mark yet?”

Shade asked, startling Pete out of her wonderment of all the shoes Sara had. She was thinking,
Why you would anyone need more than one or two pair at a time?

“
I don’t think so. It...we get sort of...sort of, and you know...it’s very overwhelming while we...I don’t think so.”
Sheesh, did these people never get embarrassed?
she thought. She’d had sex for the first time in her life and it seemed everyone wanted some kind of detail about it.

“
When Colin bit into mine, he received my powers. His aren’t as strong as mine yet, but he’s getting really good with them. I just wondered if the same could happen to you. I’m sorry; I didn’t mean to embarrass you. But I know what you mean about it being overwhelming. But, damn isn’t it wonderful!”

Pete had to agree—wonderful, overwhelming, spectacular, earth-shattering, mind blowing...oh yeah, it was all that and more.

“
I was actually hoping that person from the restaurant, Queenie, could take them away. My curse, that is. I’ve never wanted it and I would like it gone. Maybe if it’s gone, they’ll stop looking for me.” She glanced across the room and felt rather than saw Mel before she was clear and speaking.

“
No, I can’t. And even if I could, I wouldn’t. You are fated to have those powers and I don’t mess with those women, the Fates, I mean. Frankly, they scare the crap out of me.” Mel shimmered in the spot even as Pete watched.

“
They’re not powers, but a curse. I don’t want them. I’ve never wanted them. If you had to live with them, you’d think so too. They’ve done nothing but cause problems, and now look. Because of it, my family is coming here, and will stop at nothing to get me, including destroying every one of you. I’m not going back with them. I’ll die first, I swear it. They’re evil and...and I’m not, damn it.”

Pete felt the vine move against her skin and across her back; the vine around her bicep tightened and pulled hard on her skin. Concentrating on her breathing and slowing her heart rate down, she was also able to slow down the movement of it somewhat. It was getting harder to keep the lid shut on it. The energy was surging now, the waves getting stronger with every breath she took. It was practically pulsing to be released from her hold on it. It was also beginning to scare her a little.

“
And you won’t, not as long as I’m still breathing, and I plan to do that for a very, very long time. Also, I think I can speak for everyone in this household when I assure you no one here thinks you’re the least bit evil. You were there to save my children, Piccadilly. There’s no telling what else the Sisters Three have in store for you, but until we know, you are our family and no one is taking you away from us,” Sara said with conviction.

“
Why? Why would you give two shits about me? Sure, I helped you with your kids, but they’re safe now. I would think that you’d want me to move on and out of your hair. I would.”

“
One time I said the same thing to the big guy downstairs. I went so far as to ask him to end my life as I knew it. He did, though not the way I had hoped or asked him to. Now I have two children and him. And I have a family, one I didn’t know I had. I would also be honored if you’d allow me to call you friend. You need to trust me, trust us.”

Pete didn’t say anything. She couldn’t even if she wanted to. There was a large lump in her throat and she couldn’t seem to get past it.

When they returned to the main level of the mansion, the others had gathered in the huge living room. As soon as Pete stepped over the threshold, Dominic was at her side.

She could see the concern in his eyes and had only meant to give him a quick peck on the cheek. As soon as her mouth touched his skin, need for him slammed into her. The tiny peck became a nip, the nip a bite, the bite a devouring kiss. Heat flared within her in an instant. It wasn’t until someone cleared their throat that she realized where they were.

“
I’m sorry. I...we…” She looked helplessly at Dominic. He just grinned at her, the arrogant ass. Pete wondered how she was going to stand the next five minutes with this man much less the next few years.

“
No need to explain, lass. We’ve all been there. Why, I remember once I thought we’d have to turn away twelve hundred vamps so that Sara and Aaron could...how did you put it Dominic? Ah yeah, fuck like bunnies,” Colin told her with a wink.

“
That’s quite enough out of you. I could tell her a few stories of the two of you as well. Like the time you nearly blew the roof off the house when you came. My ears rang for a month, I think,” Aaron countered with a grin.

“
Okay, gentlemen, moving on. Are you ready, sweetheart?”

Pete looked at Elizabeth and decided she really liked this woman. “I guess I’m as ready as I’ll ever be.” But before she could drop her tedious hold on it, James spoke up.

“
Wait! Take off your glasses, please. I want to see your eyes when you drop your shields. Dominic said that they glowed. It could have some bearing on what you are.”

“
It seems Dominic was a busy, busy boy while I slept, wasn’t he?” But she did as James had asked. “Ready or not, here I come.” And she dropped her hold.

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

The room seemed to expand with the weight of her power; the walls seemed stretch and then recede. Pete’s eyes glowed brightly at first then seemed to dim as her powers dissipated throughout the room. She was power.

“
By all that’s holy!” Phillip exclaimed loudly.

“
Phillip? What is it? What’s going on?” Elizabeth rushed to his side, fear for him evident in her voice.

Instead of answering her, he stood and walked to the young woman.

“
It’s...it’s amazing. You’re beautiful, my dear, absolutely breathtakingly beautiful. Let me see you, all of you, please?” He twirled his finger around, showing her that he wanted her to turn around fully for him.

Pete turned around slowly for him. She was standing there clad only in her borrowed bra and panties, but even she could tell that her mark was not the same as it had been yesterday, not even like it had been just hours ago.

“
It’s different from this morning, it’s bigger, greener. The vines are thicker and there’s...Christ, there are flowers now.” Dominic had come to stand beside Phillip, just behind her.

“
How? Tell me what else is different about it. Every detail you can remember, leave nothing out.”

Pete watched as James pulled out his note pad and began making notes or something on it. I’m going to have to introduce him to the laptop, she thought vaguely. Her mind was not exactly functioning on all cylinders, it seemed.

“
It’s bigger on her back, wider,” Dominic said. “Before it was just up her spine, like it was using it as a trellis. Now...well, now it’s fuller, denser, I guess you could say. There are more flowers and buds as well, and the colors are brighter and sharper in appearance. They were bright before, but they glow now. There was just one vine going across her shoulder here, but now look. It drapes down and covers her entire shoulder down to her elbow.”

“
Dominic?”

She sounded scared even to herself, but she couldn’t seem help it. She was terrified. She had never needed anyone in her life before. Now all she wanted was this man to hold her, to just touch her.

“
I’m here for you, love. I’m not leaving you, not ever.” He must have sensed her need for contact and reached out and took her hand into his, lacing their fingers.