StrategicLust (7 page)

Kate snorted softly. “You and Melissa were friendly, but
perhaps ‘banter’ would be a better word than ‘flirting’,” Kate conceded. “I’d
watch out for Daniel, though. He didn’t appear threatened, but you have a
charisma that’s hard to deny. I can’t see Daniel being the sort of wizard to
make threats. He struck me more as a maim first, ask questions later sort of
man.”

Josh snickered, the exact reaction Kate had been aiming for.
Her lover tilted his head so she cupped his cheek. Kate let her thumb caress him,
stroking over his smooth skin.

“You weren’t upset, were you?” Josh asked, a perplexed frown
marring his handsome face. Kate felt a moment’s confusion.

“Upset about what?” she queried. A light laugh escaped her
lips as she connected the dots. “About you and Melissa joking and laughing
together? Flirting? Stars above, no. The two of you were being playful and
friendly, not trying to sound each other out or jump each other’s bones.”

“Good, because that wasn’t flirting,” Josh replied with a
wicked twinkle in his amber eyes. He shifted onto his side and leaned up on one
elbow. His head was level with Kate’s breast as he lifted a hand to cup her
jaw.

One long, slim finger stroked down her cheek in an intimate
gesture that was oddly tender from such a playful wizard. Josh caressed her a
second and then a third time, his finger tracing the same path over and over
across her cheekbone. Kate’s breath came faster as he continued to touch her.

Josh leaned forward, taking his weight on his elbow. Kate
opened her mouth, about to protest him moving so suddenly, but the slight sound
she managed was choked off as Josh opened his mouth and sucked the shirt-clad
tip of her breast.

Warmth encapsulated her nipple, even through the thin
material of her shirt. Josh sucked on her and a strangled cry fell from her
lips. Kate’s heart beat a quick, hard staccato against her ribcage and it took
everything she had to not grab his head and drag him closer.

“Josh,” Kate panted, caught somewhere between wanting to
chastise him and needing him to continue. Her panties grew damp as moisture
pooled in her pussy, her labia slick with need and desire.

Instead of backing off—what possessed her to even entertain
the notion he might, Kate had no idea—Josh nipped at her nipple. The tip
peaked, the sensitive bud scratching lightly against the lace of her bra. Kate
moaned again, unable to articulate words to express the riot of emotion and
sensations bombarding her.

“Give in, Kate,” Josh whispered huskily when he pulled his
mouth back a scant inch.

Kate looked down, snared by the lust burning in Josh’s
bright, amber gaze. With a small groan of capitulation, she lifted herself and
climbed onto the small cot. Straddling Josh’s waist, she breathed heavily as
her fingers quickly plucked at the buttons holding her shirt together.

Her shoes and socks were already neatly lined up on the
floor by the door. It only took a moment for Kate to shed her shirt and unclasp
her lacy, brightly colored scrap of a bra. While she did, Josh pushed back the
covers, a frustrated look crossing his face as he realized Kate’s weight held
them firm around his waist.

“Not so fast this time,” she teased him with a grin. Josh
snorted and tugged his shirt over his head and tossed it unceremoniously onto
the floor.

“Last time wasn’t fast,” he growled hungrily. “But if you
don’t stop wriggling in the manner you currently are, this time might be.”

Kate laughed, a light, joyous sound that both thrilled and
shocked her. She couldn’t remember the last time she’d sounded so carefree.

“I thought you were showing me what
real
flirting
is?” she teased him and continued to grind her pelvis over his crotch.

“That was real flirting,” Josh replied promptly. “And
this
is where it leads you when you play with fire, minx.”

Kate lifted and thrust herself over Josh, riding him hard in
an erotic mockery of heated sex. Josh wriggled, and after a playful tussle Kate
paused when her body was lifted and allowed him to shove the covers
unceremoniously down to his knees.

Kate scooted her body down, bending over so her face was
level with Josh’s flat, hard abs. Her fingers worked to remove his pants and as
the material came free, Josh’s hands cupped each side of her jaw and gently
drew her up.

He pressed his lips against her cheek, scattering a litany
of kisses down along her jaw and skimming teasingly around her lips.

“Josh,” she panted needily, the sound a small puff of air
against his skin as she urged him to taste her exactly as she had been longing
for. Her body had caught on fire, her lips slick with need and cream, her
nipples tingling in silent appeal for more of his fingers and lips.

Josh continued to taste her. His tongue flicked out to
stroke along the tender underside of her jaw. Kate giggled at the ticklish
sensation and shimmied enticingly. Her hands splayed out over his warm chest, traced
an erotic path over his smooth muscles until she reached his nipples and gently
toyed with the hard nubbins.

“You should be resting,” she whispered breathlessly, not
meaning the comment in the literal sense. Josh caught her gaze, his amber eyes
filled with lust, laughter and a wicked intent that further aroused her.

“Of course I should,” he agreed readily. “But whereas many
say laughter is the best medicine, I have always been more partial to other
forms of female ministrations. Work your magic on me, Kate. I’m steadily
becoming addicted to it.”

“Well I wouldn’t want you to feel faint from lack of a fix,”
she replied playfully.

Part of Kate could hardly believe the new person Josh
appeared to bring out in her. She was almost never flirty, playful or giggly,
as she appeared to be right now. Maybe Aubury was right—perhaps she and Josh
could bring out the other side of each other.

Kate lowered her head so her lips could capture Josh’s. Heat
and electric energy zinged through her entire body, magnifying every iota of
pleasure already singing through her veins. Their tongues plunged against one
another and they tangled intimately together in a parrying duel only both could
win together.

Josh thrust his hips up as best as he could, tied up in the
sheets as he was. Kate tried to laugh but the sound was cut off as her tongue
warred with Josh’s. Josh’s warm hands circled her shoulders and Kate’s short,
blunt nails dug slightly into the tender skin at Josh’s waist as she held on
for dear life. Even through his boxer-briefs the heat of his erection seared
against her thigh.

Thick, hard and long, his shaft proved how very serious
Josh’s lust for her was. In some areas, at least, the wizard was not being at
all playful or flirty.

Josh’s hands began to pull her slacks down and Kate assisted
him as best she could without releasing their intimate embrace with each other.
After a moment her panties and slacks were tangled around her ankles and Kate
was forced to lift herself enough to shed the annoying articles of clothing.

Kate gently tugged the boxer-briefs down to free Josh’s
shaft. His length was already thoroughly coated with his own excitement. Kate
stroked her hand up and down, fisting his cock and causing Josh to groan his
pleasure at her touch.

“I won’t last long,” he warned her. Kate merely smiled.
Bending down again, she let her tongue trace a decadent, wet line along his
length. The musky, salty taste of him enticed her.

With a quick, smooth motion, Kate sat up, lifted her body
and penetrated herself upon him. They both cried out in abandon, pleasure
rocking through Kate’s body at the thick, deep possession. Josh’s hands rose to
grasp her shoulders, tugging her down harder and urging her to go on.

Kate lifted herself slightly, then thrust down heavily
again, fucking herself upon her lover. By now they were both breathing heavily
with gasping pants and sweating lightly at the erotic exertion their lust
caused.

“Circe, but you are stunning,” Josh cried. Kate caught his
gaze, struck by the passion and depth of his amber eyes. Her heart turned over
and for a moment she faltered, caught up in the moment and the fierce,
passionate love that swept through her chest for this handsome wizard.

For a blinding moment this was not just sex or adrenaline.
Her feelings deepened and matured, a genuine link that threatened to shatter
her heart if it was broken. Joshua was not some flighty playboy, not some
decadent serial dater. He was a passionate man who defended those who needed it
without thought for his own safety.

Josh was a caring, kind wizard with whom Kate decided she
wanted to spend more than a few days or weeks of lusty intercourse.

With a feeling of mingled shock and fear, Kate realized she
was falling in love with Josh.

Her pausing gave Josh the opportunity he had apparently been
waiting for. With a wicked grin he sat up and caged Kate in his arms. Without
separating them by so much as an inch, he embraced her tightly, gathered his
balance and carefully flipped Kate onto her back.

Josh’s arms still caged her, holding her in a passionate,
locked embrace, yet now his body was raised above hers. Josh lifted each of her
legs in turn and thrust them over his shoulders, opening her deeper to his
intimate possession. With a smooth tilting of his hips, Josh withdrew his cock
to the tip of its head, then rammed himself back inside her, hard. Kate’s head
tilted back in incredible pleasure. His penetration was deliciously passionate
and she melted like ice in the sun.

Kate’s brain short-circuited under the intimate assault and
they moved together instinctively in a dance as old as life and death. Short,
gasping cries and erotic moans filled the air as they came together fiercely.
Josh took everything she had to offer and still Kate managed to find more to
give him.

They touched and tasted each other, exploring every inch
until nothing was hidden or left uncaressed. When Josh bent his head and once
again—in an intimate mimicry of his first movement—took Kate’s bare breast into
his mouth and suckled her, the intensity of the sensation had her crying out.
His teeth grazed over her nipple. His mouth sucked hard and enhanced the
sensation.

Fire shot through Kate’s belly and her entire body felt
consumed by the flames. Tingling grew into overwhelming pleasure and Kate knew
she would explode and die if she didn’t come soon. She moved her hands up to
grasp at Josh’s hair, her fingers twining in the silky threads, and she tugged
him slightly harder than had been her intention.

Kate’s back arched enticingly and Josh thrust particularly
hard, their pelvises grinding together and further stimulating her clit. The
erotic assault on her clit, her nipples and her pussy all congregated into one
giant ball of erotic fire and, with a scream from the depths of her soul, Kate
squeezed her eyes shut as she came harder than she could ever recall coming before.

A blinding flash of pleasurable pain swam through her body
and everything except that moment ceased to exist. Only she and Josh were left,
breathing hard as her pussy squeezed down impossibly hard on her lover’s cock.

Milking him for everything he could give her, Kate
instigated his orgasm. With a fierce roar, Josh came hard, hot seed gushing
into her pussy in thick waves. They strained against each other, grinding and
thrusting harder as they rode the mammoth peak of their mutual climax.

After a moment, utterly drained, Josh collapsed onto his
side and damn near fell from the cot. Kate gasped an exhausted half-laugh and
moved onto her side so she could quickly make room for her lover to share the narrowmattress
with her.

Kate wrapped her arms around Josh, who draped a lazy arm
around her slender waist and held her close to him. They faced each other and
caught their breaths. Slowly, Kate recovered, her heart slowing its rapid pulse
within her chest until it reached a more natural rhythm.

As earlier, though, she could still feel the tingling
sensation of Josh’s lips upon hers, her nipples throbbed with the lingering
feel of his mouth’s possession and her pussy clenched hungrily, sated but only
for the moment.

Joshua Delamere, Kate had discovered, was as potent as the
most addictive of narcotics. Blissfully, she relaxed and enjoyed the brief
moment of sated pleasure while they could share it.

Josh lay on his side, his arm encircling Kate’s slender body
as their legs tangled together deliciously in the sheets. Her small breasts
pressed into his torso. While still feeling faintly woozy and with the lightest
of headaches from the remnants of the drug, Josh could not possibly have felt
happier or more satisfied.

He was sweating in bed, Kate replete beside him, and they
had just made passionate love. As soon as his heart settled and they caught
their breaths, he seriously planned to repeat the encounter as many times as he
could get away with it before Kate’s professional Guardian persona reverted
back to the forefront of her mind.

Josh could seriously become addicted to this slender,
beautiful redheaded witch. Already he knew he loved her more passionately than
he could ever have believed possible. If nothing else, his encounter with
Melissa had proved that his roving days were in the past and behind him now.

“This is the home of a Healer friend of mine, Aubury
Mavern and I don’t want to put him in any jeopardy…”

Kate’s earlier words ran in Josh’s ears once again and
despite himself he simply couldn’t seem to let them go. He wouldn’t have
thought the emotion building in his chest was jealousy, but a fiery, fierce
curiosity burned within him.

He needed to know who the hell this Aubury person was and
what the wizard’s connection to Kate was. Josh wasn’t sure he could relax until
he knew for certain, and on a deep, private level that knowledge worried him.

“So is this Healer Aubury a colleague of yours?” Josh asked
in what he hoped sounded like a curious but disinterested tone of voice. He
watched his lover intently as she shifted her head to a more comfortable
position on the bed and her blue-green eyes gazed over his face.

“No, he’s a friend. I’ve known him forever,” she replied
casually. Josh could detect no hidden agenda, no unsettled emotion and no
reason to doubt her words were perfectly honest. His curiosity deepened.

“So he’s a childhood friend?” Josh pressed as lightly as he
dared. A small knot began to twist in his stomach. Was this an ex-lover?
Childhood sweetheart?

He knew the wizard had to be completely trustworthy, someone
Kate felt comfortable turning to in a moment of crisis. Josh was not worried in
the least for himself, but his uncertainty deepened as he realized there was so
much to Kate that he hadn’t even broached so far.

A soft, tender smile blossomed over Kate’s face and Joshua
wondered if he had made a big mistake. Who could make her smile so sweetly?

“Josh, you moron,” she answered chidingly. “Aubury was a
friend of my parents—he helped to guide and raise me when they passed away.
He’s not someone you should be jealous of—or not in a romantic sense at least.”

Josh swallowed and debated for a moment about retorting that
he wasn’t jealous. The immense relief he felt upon learning that the man was
not someone she was interested in, however, had him understanding that he
had
been jealous. Maybe a little.

“Maybe,” he reluctantly admitted before he quickly moved on.
“I just like to know where I stand.”

“I can understand that,” Kate replied. Her gaze roamed over
his face as she seemed to think. “I thought you were eager to get back to your
regular life and your freedom. Has that changed?”

Josh seriously pondered her question and probed his own
feelings.

“I’d certainly like my life to return to normal, but at the
same time I don’t feel emotionally as if you’re tethering me to a stake and
putting a chain around my neck.”

“There
is
something here, between us,” Kate said. A
small gesture with her hand indicated the space between them. “It’s not just my
mind playing tricks on me, is it?”

“I… Well yes, Kate,” Josh admitted cautiously. The few times
his lovers had instigated conversations like this, things had always gone rapidly
downhill. He didn’t want that to occur with himself and Kate.

“I care about you, Josh,” Kate finished calmly. “I’m not
going to manacle your wrists, and nor will I fall into a fit of vapors or cry
if you don’t reciprocate those feeling. But I have them and they are growing
stronger.”

“Does this mean I get to go home?” Josh replied teasingly.

Kate snorted and raised her eyebrow. “I said I care for you
Josh, not that I’ve lost my mind and every vestige of professionalism I ever had,”
she retorted with a smile. “No, I’m still going to be a hard-ass when it comes
to your safety and my Guarding you.”

“Well then,” Josh replied with a grin. “At least I know you
haven’t been possessed by some demented demon spirit.”

Kate sat up and began to collect her clothes. Josh felt a
moment’s dissatisfaction before he realized she hadn’t
needed
him to
return her statement of fondness, nor did she feel as if they should set out
the boundaries of their “relationship” or any number of other issues any other
witch of his acquaintance would have needed to settle.

Not for the first time, he realized that Kate Williams was
unlike any other witch or female in his world.

And highly unusually, Josh decided that this time
he
wanted those assurances. It was
he
who wanted to set the parameters of
acceptable and unacceptable actions. Josh licked his lips nervously, his mouth
startlingly dry. He pulled on his boxer-briefs as Kate slid into her pants and
began to snap on her bra.

“I really care about you too, Kate,” he stammered out all in
a rush. “Does this mean…erm. Well, are we exclusive now?”

Kate paused in the act of adjusting her bra straps and
turned to look curiously at him. Josh wondered whether any man had ever been
able to read the thoughts rushing through the head of a woman with that
particular look on her face. Josh had given up trying long ago.

“Do you want to be exclusive?” Kate replied after another
moment’s pause.

“Well, like you said,” Josh hedged faintly, “there is
something
between us. We’ve had two bouts of passionate, explosive sex that has blown my
mind. If we’re going to do this, I want to give you everything I’m able to. And
I want the same in return from you.”

“Well, to me that signifies exclusivity,” Kate agreed.

Josh felt that knot in his stomach loosen and his entire
body relaxed. “I’m glad,” he replied. “I want to explore what we have together,
Kate—you’re unlike anyone I’ve ever known.”

Kate grinned impishly at him and winked saucily as she
pulled on her shirt and began to button it up.

“Of course I am,” she insisted. “I’m a Guardian—we’re a
breed apart.”

Gingerly Josh stood up and began to dress. The sound of a
heavy footfall coming down the hallway, as well as what Josh thought might be a
staff or cane, preceded a solidly built older male. Kate walked over to the
wizard as he stood in the doorway and gave him a warm hug.

“Aubury, Josh is awake—can you give him a quick checkup,
please?” Kate requested with an innocent smile. Josh felt mildly embarrassed that
he had been jealous of the man and focused on pulling his shirt back on.

The elderly wizard snorted and eyed Josh before returning
his gaze to Kate.

“Yes, I could hear him ‘waking up’ from in the kitchen. I’ve
made you both some brunch, Kate. Why don’t you give us five minutes and then
bring the tray in? I’m sure you’re both hungry.”

Kate grinned at Josh and shrugged pragmatically before
leaving the room. Josh swallowed hard, hoping this would not be too painful. It
wasn’t the checkup he was worried about either. Meeting older brothers, fathers
or any sort of family role model had rarely been in Josh’s best interests.

Even so, he hoped to make at least somewhat of a good
impression on the wizard. Kate was important to him, and as Aubury was clearly
important to her, he wanted things to be as smooth as possible.

“Thank you for helping me, sir,” Josh started politely.
“Kate told me that you made and administered the antidote for me. I’m
grateful.”

“You treat my girl right and we’ll be even, young man,”
Aubury replied gruffly. “That girl is like family to me and she’s clearly stuck
on you. You break her heart and I will break your neck. We clear?”

“Crystal,” Josh replied with a small twist in his stomach.
Instead of giving further dire warnings about the multitude of ways in which he
could be rendered immobile or unconscious and any other number of nasty,
devious, painful incapacitations, Aubury began to check his vital signs.

After a moment, realizing the Healer had moved on and would
not stress the point, Josh began to relax.

“You’re quite lucky the witch who injected you only meant to
incapacitate you for a short period of time,” Aubury finally said.

“They were going to kidnap me, steal my memories by force
and to hell with whether it left me brain damaged or dead,” Josh replied—rather
calmly, he thought. “As if that wasn’t bad enough, those assholes also had
every intention of killing Kate if she pressed the matter and wouldn’t just
give in and let them take me. I almost hope we run into them again so I can
return the favor sometime.”

“Have you ever killed a person?” Aubury asked curiously as
he felt for Josh’s pulse and timed his heartbeats.

“Well, no,” Josh admitted. “Why? Would it make a difference
if I had?”

“Taking a life leaves a stain upon your soul, son,” Aubury
replied calmly. The elder wizard pretended he was tone-deaf and hadn’t heard
the faint trickle of antagonism that Josh had heard creep into his voice.

“While I applaud your protectiveness of Kate,” Aubury
continued, “and I can well understand how frustrated and angry you must be
feeling at the moment, killing those responsible will only add more weight to
your shoulders and—more importantly in my personal opinion—your soul. There are
rituals that can help, cleansing castings that can help to assuage the burden,
and you can work through the guilt and the knowledge that you are solely
responsible for ending another’s life. But even with all that, I honestly
believe that sort of shit is best left to those who follow the Assassins’
path.”

Josh pressed his lips together and wished the old man didn’t
make so much sense.

“So what am I supposed to do?” Josh asked, feeling rather
prodded and somewhat put-upon. “Just flop around aimlessly? Be protected by
Kate and sit on my hands waiting for the problem to be resolved and go away?
Those people baited us—they were fully prepared to
kill
Kate and
wouldn’t have worried about sullying their souls.”

“If that’s true, then they are already on their own path of
destruction.” Aubury spoke calmly and, seeming satisfied with Josh’s state,
rested his weight on the cane and stood while they finished talking.

“Joshua, I am not here to be your conscience or to talk you
into or out of anything. If you bump into those thugs again and you chose to
try to beat them bloody, then go for it. What I am suggesting—and this is just
a suggestion, mind you—is that instead of working yourself up into a state, you
play to your strengths.”

Josh frowned thoughtfully. Aubury let the idea sink in for a
moment before he continued.

“You seemed to know exactly what they were going to do—how
is that?” Aubury asked curiously. Josh shrugged before replying.

“I’m not exactly sure how it worked, but I’m a Strategist—I
simply opened my magic up when the situation began to unfold and I could just
tell
exactly what was going on and where the group of them intended it to lead.”

“Well then, are you able to apply your talent to this
situation?” Aubury asked with a seeming genuine curiosity. Josh thought for a
moment, then shook his head.

“I might be able to draw up a big plan, but there are so
many pieces missing,” he explained. “When we were in the side street it was
easy—all the pieces were there, all the personal signals, so seeing the picture
was a no-brainer. There seem to be so many forces at work in this situation.”

“What do you mean?” Kate asked, her voice pulling Josh out
of the deep thought he was pursuing. He looked up, distracted. Kate carried a
large tray with two steaming plates of food, three mugs of tea, a pitcher of
water and three glasses.

She placed the tray down on the small, desk-style table over
in one corner of the room and poured them each a glass of water. Realizing that
he had been temporarily included in their spontaneous brainstorming session,
Aubury pulled out a chair and sat himself down comfortably.

After taking a few sips from the glass Kate handed him, Josh
lowered it and toyed with it between his hands before continuing.

“Well for starters, none of those three wizards we ran into
looked even close to the group Hayden and Kiera had confront them the other
day,” Josh pointed out. “While it might be a fair call to say there are yet
more wizards in the employ of this mysterious Elijah, he wasn’t there. Nor did
Hayden and Kiera mention the blonde witch. On the surface at least, it appears we
ran into a completely different crew of people out to get the money and my
memories of that dark ritual.”

After a moment of silent reflection, Kate nodded her
agreement with his initial assessment of the situation.

“So with a minimum of two different groups of people out to
get us, short of the reward money it’s damn near impossible to understand whose
motives are what exactly,” Josh replied with a frustrated sigh. At this Kate
frowned and shook her head, clearly not understanding fully.

“I don’t get it,” she insisted. “Okay, so there might be
many different crews hoping to cash in on the reward offered. And it’s possible
Morgan can track down who is offering such a large amount of money for your,
Hayden and Kiera’s deaths. But what else could possibly be complicating the
situation? You make it sound as if it’s a lot harder than that.”