Protecting His Witch (Entangled Covet) (Keeper Of The Veil series Book 1) (15 page)

Bryce swore. He rolled his eyes upward. “I was desperate to get her here. Jason’s story…I had hoped he was the one. But not because I thought him strong enough to protect her, or even worthy of her. I could train him. I just wanted her here.”

Matt sighed. The two of them sat in silence. Unable to focus on anything other than his fury at Bryce, he scooted forward on his chair. “I would’ve happily died trying to help Quinn.”

Bryce’s eyelids drifted closed and he blew out a long exhale. “Yes, you would’ve. I have no doubt. But that wasn’t what he wanted. We’re not doing this again, Matt. It’s in the past. Arguing won’t get us anywhere right now. Someday, you might have a child and you will understand.”

“Don’t patronize me.”

“Get over it. You must go to Ireland if we expect Katherine to go willingly.” He pointed a finger at Matt. “Now don’t be thinking I’m anywhere near okay with you and she being together. That’s just…damn.” He trailed off, running a hand over his face.

“It’s Kat. She goes by Kat. She will go with you.”

Bryce shielded his face with his hand and shook his head. He whipped his hand away. “You just don’t get it yet, do you? If you and she are really destined, then you have to be together for this thing in Ireland.”

“There’s no proof on us being destined.”

“Here I thought
I
was having issues accepting this.” He rolled his eyes and looked heavenward. “Do the gods need to strike you over the head to get this? You’ve been bouncing into each other’s lives for a very long time. You marked her. She dimension hopped with you. Twice. That in itself is a miracle, but apparently with a destined it’s easier. If you are bound to be together…if you’ve bonded and you desert her, or God forbid, you die doing something stupid, then she will want to follow you into whatever level of afterlife you’ve earned. That’s how it works. But she can’t be departing this life. Not yet. You know what kind of hell will be unleashed if she or her daughter is missing when the veil lowers on Samhain? For once you need to do what’s right. Move beyond your shit with me.”

He hated that Bryce might be right. “Who was your source that said she might bump into me at some point?”

“What?” Bryce’s face scrunched up in confusion.

“You said you had a source when you cornered me at that benefit the other day.”

Bryce pinched the bridge of his nose. “Quinn. When he was dying he said you were the key to her being in this dimension.”

“How did he know that?”

“I’ve got no clue. Did you and he have a chat about one of her jumps or something?”

His chest clamped tight and he fell back into the chair. “I’ll be damned. I never put it together about her being here, or jumping here that is, but Quinn must’ve.”

“What happened?”

“That first time she appeared in my life she materialized right in front of me as if out of thin air. She was wet and half dead. She passed out almost immediately. I freaked and called Quinn, figuring he could fix her if she was hurt.”

Bryce cursed softly. “He never said anything to me. Did he heal her?”

“Yes. And then she disappeared, but Quinn told me she’d gone home. And that I shouldn’t worry. I didn’t think that she’d really and truly disappeared to her other dimension. I’d assumed he figured out where she belonged and took her home.”

“That’s another reason Quinn knew you needed to survive on that god-awful day he died. He suspected you and she were…connected. He was as committed to the vow of Pleiades’ protection as any of us.”

“I know.” He could accept that as a reason Quinn requested Bryce drag him away and not allow him to burn what he could of his healing power to heal him. He understood Quinn’s soul-deep commitment to the Pleiades.

Bryce worked his jaw back-and-forth for a few seconds and then produced an annoying half smile. “You know, Matt, for someone so against us druids, you’ve acquired quite a few fans. Eli is an arrogant ass toward most of us, but defends you at every turn. I know he’s hiding something about what happened during that car-chase fiasco. I tried to get it out of him three times, but the fucker’s tight-lipped. Yeah, I know you two don’t hate each other. That boy would do anything for you, guilt aside over him having the better childhood. So, you might fight this, but when you choose to walk this path, you’ve got friends who have your back.”

Matt reluctantly nodded.

Chapter Twenty-One

Kat’s heart relocated to her gut when Matt stomped past her on his way to Eli’s SUV. So much for the possibility of apologizing. She scooted into the passenger seat of the other SUV, next to her father. No one else got in. A solo ride with her father.
Great.

“Hey,” Bryce tossed her way.

“Is Matt coming with us to Ireland?” She refused to get on a plane without him.

“I’ll make sure he does.”

Crap.
Forcing him to accompany her on this trip would probably escalate his resentment toward her.

Bryce pinched his nose, ran a hand through his dark hair and then blew out a long exhale. This was not the fierce leader she’d seen inside. Softly he said, “I don’t want to fight you. I’m sorry about everything in there. I just…” He leveled his gaze on her. “I lost you so long ago.”

“Yeah.” She pointed at the road where the taillights of the other SUV bobbed in the distance. “You better get going.”

He cranked the car and put it in drive. The car jerked forward, slamming her against the seat. She rushed to buckle the seat belt.

After an interminable period of silence and tricky driving on icy roads, she rested her head on the headrest. “We’re going to have to talk about it. Me and Matt.”

“He and you…” His knuckles lost their color as he gripped the wheel tight. “Did he tell you about the past? About Quinn and walking away from us?”

“Some of it. Sounded like a tough situation.”

“Quinn was my best friend, my right hand. He’d been…shit, the things the OLM did to him was something no son should ever see. Matt went a little crazy. If I thought Matt could’ve saved him, I would’ve let him do anything he could, but he was too inexperienced. I did what I had to in order to get him out of there.” Bryce drove in silence for a while and then lowered his voice to the point Kat had to strain to hear him. “I probably would’ve done the same thing Matt did if I was in his shoes. Walk away from us, I mean.”

“I’m sorry you both lost Quinn, but I’m glad you forced Matt to leave.”

“Does he love you?” Bryce asked.

“I don’t know.” She ran a hand over her hair to smooth it away from her face, even though it was already in place. Her heart beat so hard that her chest hurt. “Maybe we shouldn’t talk about this.”

“But you love him.”

She nodded, swiping at a few stray tears.

“Shit. Please don’t cry. It’ll only make me madder at him.”

“Matt and I had a fight in the middle of all that drama back at his house. A misunderstanding, really. But now I don’t know where we stand. You might just get your wish that we will split up.” Somehow she felt safe telling her father this, even though she knew she shouldn’t. Matt would hate this. But her mind reminded her that he’d left her alone with her father for this drive.

“I’m sorry about what I said. I just want you to be with the right druid. One that can give you what you deserve. I don’t doubt the boy could protect you, but look at what he’s already done to you. You’re a goddamned mess.”

Laughter bubbled up in her. “Charlotte was right. You are just like him. The two of you are stubborn. And controlling.”

“Charlotte…” He shook his head. “She’s a scheming old broad.”

“I screwed it up this time, not him. I said the wrong thing and I don’t know if he’ll forgive me. Just promise me you won’t kill him. Can you also, please, release him from whatever you’re holding over him?”

He granted her a weak smile. “All right. But if he wants to be my son-in-law, he’s going to have to earn it.”

She smiled. Hope blossomed in her chest at the prospect of finally knowing her real father.

He looked over at her. The Scottish accent thickened. “You’re the spitting image of your mother, you know. She’d have been so proud of you.”

“What happened to her? We went to the zoo—”

“The zoo…damn it. That was all my fault. I’d told her for three weeks we’d do the zoo the next day, and finally she got pissed and did it herself. You redheads and your temper, no offense.”

“We were on our way to see the giraffes and then there were these guys. One of them shot her with a dart. That’s about all I remember.”

“She jumped you to your alternate and dumped you before she jumped back. They took her to a facility in Europe. Before we could get to her, they shot her. With a gun. Quinn was with me when we found her…” His voice cracked and he cleared his throat. “She was too far gone for him to help her.” His reddened gaze turned to meet hers. “She loved you so much. I wanted to follow her into the afterlife, but she asked me to stay until you came back.” He maneuvered the car into a hangar at the airport.

She swallowed the lump in her throat.

Bryce blinked his eyes a few times. “She wanted you to know how sorry she was that she couldn’t help you understand everything.”

She nodded, too choked up to speak.

He parked the car and turned toward her. “She’d want you to have this. It belongs to the descendant in her line.” He removed a small ring from a chain around his neck. “It’s a toe ring.”

Her entire hand tingled when she took the ring. It had a depiction of what she suspected was a constellation on its top. Probably Pleiades. “Thank you.”

“I’m here for you, if you need me,” he said gruffly.

She blinked against the moisture in her eyes. She unclicked her belt and lunged toward him, enveloping him in a hug. His strong arms locked her against him.

He whispered, “I’m sorry.”

She pulled out of his embrace. “I think we’ve got a plane to catch. Can you please try to get along with Matt on this flight?”

“We’ll see.”

…

If Kat had been a nail biter, then at least she’d have an outlet for the anxiety of being stuck in this private jet with too many people focused on her. No one talked, and she had nothing to do. Someone could’ve at least loaned her a magazine.

She should sleep since it was the middle of the night. But with Mr. Hotness seated directly across from her, texting nonstop and throwing brief, indecipherable glances her way, sleep was the last thing on her mind. His data plan must be amazing. What she wouldn’t give to have internet access. A little web surfing might help pass the time.

Her father darted a glance her way, glowered at Matt, and then went back to texting, Facebooking or whatever on his iPhone. Four guard-like druids toward the back of the plane stared at her between interest in portable electronics. Their thoughts were a jumble of protective duty and icky sex fantasy. No other Pleiades on board, though. She could’ve used a little girl support. Charlotte told her Bryce had mandated a decade ago that the Pleiades were not allowed to travel together. Something about air attacks that didn’t sound reassuring.

She’d pretended sleep for about an hour to avoid staring at Matt, not that it worked. Her body lit up every time his hot gaze slid her way, however rare that was.

As exhaustion pushed to the forefront of her mind, she gave up on avoidance of what she wanted to stare at most. Her gaze dragged over the muscular planes of Matt’s body, covered by a long-sleeved, dark T-shirt. She drank him in as she scanned down the strong cut of his thighs in those jeans. Oh God. He was turned on. Her gaze snapped to his face. Crap, he wasn’t texting anymore.

His eyebrows hitched upward. An unreadable expression passed over his face. He looked gorgeous, but he didn’t look happy. Regret lodged itself deep in her stomach.

“So, Kat, did Charlotte get you up to date on what’s about to happen in Ireland?” Bryce asked from a few seats over and across.

Her cheeks blazed. How mortifying to have her father catch her doing a body scan. “Sure.”
Not really.

Bryce nodded. “Great. I just want you to be ready.”

“Can you rescind whatever threat you put out on Matt’s sister?” she requested.

Bryce raised his eyebrows. “Okay.” Softly he added, “I’d never intended to follow through. His sister is, uh, delicate.”

“Thanks. It’d be great if we can all call a truce for a little bit. This….” She gestured with her hands to everything around her. “This is overwhelming enough. The minefield the two of you planted is too much for me to negotiate right now.”

“All right.” Bryce’s gaze moved to Matt.

He ignored Bryce and met her stare. Did he feel trapped? Resentful? His expression conveyed a whole lot of latent anger.

He asked Bryce, “How long are you planning to keep me hostage? I’ve got a business about to implode without me.” He glanced down at his phone.

“Let’s just get through the bloody weekend. I’m sure they can do without you for a few days. Then you can get back to your life.”

Clearly, Matt didn’t want to be here. And didn’t want her. Dragging in a hard breath, she looked away, struggling not to cry. She didn’t want to do this world without him. She should go home, but she’d promised Charlotte she’d do whatever it was she had to do in Ireland. Trapped.

She asked her numb legs to stand, and stumbled toward the bathroom, desperate to get away from all the too-curious gazes. As she pushed into the small stainless-steel room she swiped angrily at a few renegade tears. The pain in her chest pressed like a twisting blade.

The bathroom door clicked behind her. She’d been followed.

…

Matt heard the catch in her voice and knew she suppressed tears. He’d never felt another person’s emotions like he did hers. Her misery twisted something deep in his gut with a need to soothe and protect her.

“Kat,” he said gruffly. He reached for her shoulders and pulled her to face him. And drew her into his body. “You’re killing me.”

She broke into sobs and clung to him.

He wrapped her tight. Yet somehow it wasn’t enough. He wanted to lock her to him, tight enough that neither one of them could escape. He slid his hand up her arm until he reached the back of her neck and cupped her head.

She swept a hand across her face, removing some runaway tears. Her glassy, reddened gaze met his, so filled with pain. He understood that pain. It burned him alive with a want so intense that it panicked him.

“Living in that other world, I always sensed there was something going on, something important, but I wasn’t sure what it was. It was as if I knew those weird world shifts meant something. That they weren’t just random. I sensed something was very wrong about my life. It nearly drove me mad.”

“Mmm-hmm,” he mumbled, wondering where this was headed.

“I think that, and then us, is why my head’s so messed up right now. I’m not sure who to trust. I’m terrified I don’t have enough control over the world-shifting thing to stay here or go there. I’m scared to read another’s thoughts because I might get overwhelmed like what happened at that benefit. I don’t want to go home because the career that I built as a vet has fallen apart due to my absences. Crap, I’m sorry I’m rambling. You don’t need to listen. I know you don’t want to be here.”

He kept her snug against his chest. “I’m here.”

“I’m sorry for what I said. I didn’t mean how that came out back at your house.”

“Yeah.” He was sorry he’d gone off the deep end, but she’d hit a sore spot.

“I know you didn’t mean to hurt me either.” This was said with a lift at the end, the words more of a question than a statement.

“I didn’t,” he said and glanced down. Her lips parted on a ragged inhale. He brushed a finger down her cheek. God, he wanted this woman on every level with a distracting attraction that made it hard for him to keep his mind on talking.

She pushed her chest away from him to make eye contact. “Do you even want to be here? With me and doing this?”

He followed the chain of his dog tags to where it disappeared between her breasts. He liked them there. Perfect. “I’ve never said I didn’t want to be with you. The me-and-you part of all of this I’ve always wanted. I want to give us a chance, but I hate the fact there’s some sort of higher power driving us together. I’ve always lived by making my own way in the world and being in charge of my own decisions. This is way out of our control. I don’t like that. The being here that has to do with druid crap…well, I’ve got to come to terms with that.”

She nodded and moistened her lips.

“You’re flushed.” He trailed his finger over to her soft lips. “Are you thinking about kissing?”

She gasped out, “Yes.” She cupped his cheek. “I really am sorry I hurt you. I didn’t want you being with me to be about you and my father.”

“There’s only the two of us.”

Her tongue darted out to moisten her lips. “Kiss me.”

His lips met hers, flicking over her lower lip until she opened her mouth. He circled his tongue slowly in her mouth as his hands moved down over her body. She trembled and fell into him, moaning.

“Not here,” she whispered.

“Why not? They can speculate out there, but no one here has X-ray vision or super-hearing ability.”

“My father is out there, along with a few extremely horny druids.”

“Horny? If the fuckers even think anything with you, you tell me and I’ll gut ’em.”

She giggled. “Even your mean talk is sexy.”

He grinned. “There’s no time, anyway. I just heard the landing gear drop.” How he wanted a few hours…hell, a lifetime…with her, and no druids within a thousand miles.

Her hand cupped his cheeks and an impish smile curved her lips. “Later, then.”

“Yeah,” he croaked out.