Remnants of Magic (21 page)

The man who greeted her was no one she’d ever seen before. No way she could have forgotten a man like that. Her eyes lifted, and lifted higher still, as he stood well over six and a half feet. Possibly even seven. His dress shirt hung untucked and open, revealing a handsomely smooth and muscled chest. Fresh bite marks marred the perfection of his pecs and on both sides of his strong neck, though not over the veins, but rather upon the muscled slope joining his neck and his shoulder. His stylishly cut, blond hair was mussed in a just-got-laid way, which didn’t hide the elven points to his ears.

The man was Sidhe.

In her shock, London didn’t notice that she dropped the tray, but the Sidhe gracefully recovered it before the drinks spilled. After handing the goblet of blood to Selena and then taking the orange juice for himself, he placed the tray on a side table. Smiling softly at her, the Sidhe half-leaned, half-sat on the vanity. The pose, in those designer black slacks and the opened shirt, seemed insanely GQ to London. Like the image should be on the cover of a magazine and not something seen in real life. His amused, blue eyes sparkled as he drank the juice, watching her for some sign of recovering her senses.

Every Sidhe that London had ever met had attacked her. Most with the intent to kill. Although she craved their Touch, and needed it to live, the Sidhe themselves were as merciless as feral werewolves. That was the fact. Under all the haze of enchantment it was easy to be mystified into forgetting the deadly truth. Even though this sexy Sidhe affected a laidback manner, London didn’t trust it for a second. Rico had been just as relaxed when Selena had introduced her to him, too. Right up until he’d attacked, cursing her with this addiction to the Touch for which there was no cure. This Sidhe before her now had the drop-dead good looks that could hypnotize like a cobra’s stare, and London couldn’t fight the inner fear that he’d strike just as wickedly if she risked even the slightest move.

Selena broke the silence. “London, my dear friend, I believe I have found you a client.” The sense of déjà vu was nightmare ferocious, only she wasn’t dreaming. The vampire had said almost the same words when she’d introduced London to Rico. Selena didn’t seem to notice, but instead tilted a small vile in her hand, which gave off a light of its own. Giving her attention to the Sidhe, she asked, “Have you a number where I can reach you if I find anything useful?”

Seemingly nonplussed at London’s reaction, the Sidhe spoke. “I have not. If you discover anything, send an emissary to Sneem and give word to the one called Jonathan and your message will find me.” His smooth and resonant voice washed over London’s senses, so much so that she didn’t want him to stop speaking, as if her ears yearned for more. The notion would be insane, if the speaker had been other than Sidhe. Their aura of magic and beauty possessed ten times the lure of a vampire. The addiction of her enchantment made it that much more impossible to resist.

“If your quest is as dire as all that, then you can’t rely on such antiquated methods,” Selena teased him. “If all I have been told of the Mounds is true, then you’ll require an aide to help you navigate the necessary technologies and make arrangements for you.”

Although Selena affected a more formal style of speech when talking with the Sidhe, when she spoke to London she returned to a more direct, modern cadence. “Set him up with a cell phone. He’ll also need your investigative talents to find a number of items of interest.”

For a moment, London thought the Sidhe might protest, but Selena rose from the bed and crossed to him in a gliding vampire move that London rarely witnessed. The effect was nearly as if Selena had traversed the room without her feet touching the ground. It was one of those little, vampire tricks that added to their mystique and found its way into legend. Rarely did the vampire mistress bother with such efforts to impress, which in itself clued London into the fact that this was no ordinary Sidhe. She entreated him, “Do this for me. Allow London to assist you. Pay the price she must exact. She is well worth it, I assure you.”

Selena leaned into his embrace like a lover and the man accepted her as if they were. She said, “And as for the final item of our agreement, if you promise to protect her from them, she will lead you to the Unseelie.”

Oh, crap. London’s gaze flicked from Selena to the Sidhe. Donovan already wanted her head on a platter. And now they wanted to send her back to his doorstep?

Chapter Four

“I am far too Seelie to depart from a negotiation without disclosure, in full, of the terms to which I am agreeing.” Even though his arms circled Selena, the way his gaze hit so solidly upon London sent a shiver of vulnerability through her. He could crush her; she felt that in the very moment his full attention slammed into her. Physically, for sure, but more than just that. This was no young Sidhe without a clue. This man had the same direct stare as Donovan, one that heralded a power beyond anything she could imagine. This was the power that convinced her ancestors that the Sidhe were nothing less than gods. Even if he’d not been so tall and insanely handsome, just the force of his gaze alone held the strength to overwhelm her. “Know you the whereabouts of those Sidhe called the earthborns?”

“I know where they are.” London admitted that just by the weight of his expectation for an answer. It popped out of her without even thinking. Balling her hands into fists so the pain from the bite of her fingernails jarred her from her breathless obsession, London cut a glance at Selena, who calmly waited for London to spill the beans. No way was she going to risk betraying the Unseelie to the vampire, even if they did want her dead. Bringing her focus back to the man, she added, “But I won’t tell you if you plan to hurt them. Or if you’ll betray them to Selena or anyone else who’d hunt them.”

“Of this, you can be assured. I am not their Champion for naught.” The man straightened, as if she’d grazed his ego with her mistrust. “What is this payment you must extract, of which Selena spoke?”

Talk about being put on the spot. Just how much should she reveal? She’d figuratively spilled her guts to Donovan, and he tried to literally spill her guts for it. She knew she was a screw-up. What was the statute of limitations on newbie ignorance? Best to keep it short and sweet, and hope that if it came to it Selena could keep the Sidhe from killing her. “I’ve been enchanted.”

So far, so good. The man hadn’t even blinked at that, so she pressed onward. “The one who first Touched me was killed. I need another Sidhe to take me on.”

“Take you on?” Just a short question, and yet even that brief moment of hearing his voice as he spoke directly to her sent a heat burning through her body that made her blush. The reaction was nearly obscene, but that was just the effect the Sidhe had on her and no amount of being around them lessened that even in the slightest.

Rather than allowing her addiction to send her into erotic fantasizing, she needed to focus. This was more than business, or even pleasure. This was about her future and her sanity. If she ‘screwed the pooch’ on this one there was no telling if she’d ever get another chance. “To hire me on a permanent basis, in exchange for the Touch when I need it.”

London panicked when the Sidhe approached her. She dropped back a step, more than half expecting him to attack her. Rico had done as much when he first cursed her. As had Donovan, when she’d confessed her mistakes to him and threw herself on his mercy.

But rather than attacking, the man spoke with infinite kindness. “You were ill-treated?” He showed her his empty hand, and then reached for her with a gentleness that stunned her. With a tender curve of his palm, he cupped her face. His thumb caressed her cheek and London trembled from even so slight an affection.

And then he Touched her.

A warmth like the sun spread over her skin. She’d been Touched by Kieran just two days before, so there was only a slight void within her, but this Sidhe blessed her with a loving light that at once filled her with wonder and joy. All her doubts vanished like vapor. All her fear of him evaporated. He awoke her from the nightmare of her curse that had shrouded her for months into the dawning of a new and glorious reality.

Her breath caught as his mouth lowered to hers. In a kiss as tender as his caress, his lips pressed to hers. Nothing could have prepared her for what she felt. Not the raging sexual attraction that so often accompanied the Touch, but an uplifting and consuming sense of unconditional love.

In this moment… In his Touch… In this kiss…

She loved him.

Loved him as she’d never loved another in the whole of her existence. Loved him with all her heart, all her soul, all her body, and all her will.

And in this moment she desired nothing more than to love him like this forever. Uncomplicated and in totality.

When he broke the simple kiss the magic ceased to flow. His hand remained upon her face though. The warmth of his breath washed over her skin. His blue eyes, as bright and clear as a summer sky, captured her and she couldn’t have looked away from them if she’d tried. “Now, you shall take me to the Sidhe.”

“Yes,” she breathed. For him, she would do anything.

He spoke to her, his voice warm and deep and hypnotic. “If you are loyal, if you are truthful with me in all things, if you are willing to bear my secrets to your grave, then shall I consider becoming your patron. This is no light thing, not for you and not for me. You must prove yourself before I grant such a commitment.”

London thought she might die from the joy of that. Or collapse into weeping at the mercy of his grace. Far, far away in the recesses of her soul something panged with uncertainty, but it was lost almost immediately with the wave of relief and hope.

The Sidhe cast a glance back at Selena. “I shall accept your charge as my companion, as long as she remains faithful to me, and provide her with what protection I am able.”

Could it be? Did he actually agree to take her on? London stared at him, stunned. She barely heard Selena as the vampire told him, “Good. Then if I learn anything that might be worth your blood in trade, I shall contact you through London.”

“I have no doubt that you will.” He hefted a battle axe from the vanity. Somehow it didn’t seem out of place in his hand. The Sidhe opened the door and gave her a flourished bow. “Shall we away, my lady?”

London shot Selena one last look, getting nothing but a cheeky finger wave from the vampire, before she slipped out of the room ahead of the Sidhe.

Chapter Five

It was impossible that she loved this man she’d just met. She didn’t even know his name, for crying out loud. The things that he’d said, and the way he’d made her feel, left her tongue-tied all the way back downstairs. Across from the bottom of the steps, Trent watched them from behind the bar. Or rather, he watched the Sidhe.

London reached for the gun that hung under her blazer before she even thought twice. Vampires moved wicked fast, and she’d probably miss him if he charged. Nonetheless, she drew her weapon. Heedless of the fact that he could kill her with a single well-placed strike, she moved between the vampire and the Sidhe. London stared down Trent, the serious set of her face daring him to test her resolve.

“Don’t need to freak out on me, London lass.” Trent dried a glass with a towel, watching not her, but the Sidhe even now. “No way I’m going to give sunshine there any reason to vaporize my ass.”

Now that was an unprecedented statement. London cut a glance back at the Sidhe, who just grinned pleasantly, not in the least concerned about the predator across the room. Fueled by the adrenaline that hit her bloodstream, she demanded, “Who are you?”

It was Trent that answered her. “That there is a genuine sun god. Haven’t you ever heard of Lugh?”

“Lugh?” Was he kidding? The Sidhe were no gods, though they’d been worshiped as such back in the day. She knew the Sidhe were long lived, but that long? And Lugh, crap, he’d been around since before written history, as far as London could recall from half-remembered humanities class. “The Champion of the Sidhe? Is that right?”

“The very same.” Lugh brushed down her hand, which still brandished her gun. “You have no need of that here, but your concern was indeed noted and appreciated.”

The brush of his skin against hers sent a rush of heat through her body, and not in the sexual way that she anticipated when it came to the Sidhe. Well, not only in the sexual way. The compliment and gentle treatment startled her not quite as much as it had before, but nearly so. With effort, she reminded herself again that she didn’t truly love him. That was the magic of his Touch.

Only, the man impressed the crap out of her. “You’re unlike any other Sidhe I’ve even met.”

“Then I must be the first Seelie you’ve encountered.” Lugh caressed her hair with a single affectionate stroke, and then encouraged her onward with his hand settling to her low back. “Judge us all not by the behavior of my less civilized brethren.”

Lugh followed her out to her car. She nodded toward the axe. “You want to drop that off someplace?”

“In due course.” He tucked it away in the back seat before folding himself into her car. Even when she showed him how to push the seat all the way back, his long legs barely fit inside the Honda.

London settled into the driver’s seat beside him, awkwardly recalling that she’d kidnapped the last Sidhe that rode in her car. Best not to share that tidbit. She’d gone from ‘huntress of the Sidhe’ to probationary ‘companion’ in two days. And that was what she had wanted, wasn’t it? To work for a Sidhe in exchange for the Touch she needed.

Overcoming the twitter of nerves, London risked looking right at Lugh. Too handsome, as were all the Sidhe, just looking upon him made her feel inadequate and plain. He was out of her league, no doubt about it. In looks, in magic, and in experience. The man was a legend, and somehow he didn’t look horribly out of place in his modern dress and in the undersized car. To cover her awkwardness, London joked, “I thought you used a spear, rather than an axe. One of the treasures of the Sidhe or something. The Spear of Lugh.”

He smiled tolerantly. “So I have heard. In truth, I have had a great many spears. As with all weapons, the true power lies with the one who wields it.”

“Makes sense.” She started the engine. “Fair warning… The Unseelie are not going to be all too happy to see me.”

He laughed, and it was a good laugh. Deep and warm. Sexy as hell, too. “Nor I, quite likely.”

“I mean it.” She pulled out into traffic, heading back west toward Kilkenny and the fey-only club she barely escaped from. “They will try to kill me.”

The smile he offered was brilliant. The man was beautiful, and when he smiled he filled her with a sense of wonder that was unnatural. “Yet another thing we have in common.”