The Accidental Familiar (Accidentally Paranormal Series Book 14) (36 page)

The men from her dream.
The one with the shorter hair was Cage, the other Adam. How was it possible? They were dream lovers, not flesh and blood. As they headed toward her with graceful strides, Maddie had to stop herself from swooning. “Cage and Adam,” she whispered.

“Damn it, miss. I told you to come back tomorrow,” a baritone voice boomed from behind her—the dwarf who’d tried to stop her before.

“It’s alright, Carl,” the pale-blond, Adam, said, waving the bad-tempered man out.

The dwarf snarled and mumbled a barely audible rant as he stormed out of the tent.

The bearded man, Cage, approached her first. Maddie quaked at the mere size of him. He had to stand at least six or seven inches over six feet tall, and his broad shoulders and wide chest cast a long shadow that covered Maddie in darkness. His face was a spectacular array of chiseled lines, a strong Roman nose, and a square jaw—just like in her dream. His eyes shined like mirrors when he tilted his head and caught the light from one of the kerosene lanterns. “Do we know you?” He thinned his wide, masculine lips.

“No,” Maddie squeaked out. She steeled her courage to speak again. “I…Shoot.”

Adam, just as tall, just as broad, but his face—more heart-shaped than square and his lips were narrow, but full—had an open curiosity. “You called us by our given names.”

Maddie gulped. “Maybe I read it on a program or something. You all were in my town a while back.”

“We don’t use our real names, girl,” Cage said. He pointed to a yellow sign near the tent entrance. “The Lion Kings” was spelled out in large, swooping red letters. Maddie could hear the growl reverberating in his every word.

Gooseflesh raised on her skin and she began to shake. In the dream, she’d thought of them as her lion kings…and they had called her
Clary
. A pet name? Some kind of endearment maybe?

She hadn’t seen them when they carnival had come to her town, or at least she didn’t think she’d forget two spectacularly gorgeous men if she saw them. But how else would she know they were called The Lion Kings? It still didn’t explain how she knew their names. She rubbed her arms trying to stop the tremors in her muscles.

“You’re scaring her, brother,” Adam admonished.

“It’s not you,” she said. Suddenly, both men were outlined by a halo of light, and Maddie’s tongue, fingers, and feet began to tingle. Her lungs constricted in her chest as if a large fist held her in its grasp. Her skin began to itch and burn and tighten until she thought it would split. Her legs wobbled. She dropped to her knees, still fighting whatever was taking her over. She could hear voices, too many to make out words. An insectile buzzing filled her head.

“What’s happening?” Cage reached out to steady her.

She had the sense that if they touched her she would be lost. If the man made contact with her skin, she would lose her battle—she would rip apart. “Don’t touch me!” Maddie shouted “Don’t,” she pleaded as the halo grew in size, engulfing the men in its hazy illumination. Adam put his hand on her shoulder while, simultaneously, Cage grabbed her elbow.

Maddie’s eyes rolled back until she plunged into darkness.
I don’t have Cage and Adam’s night vision. While my abilities give me the gift of sight, it doesn’t extend to actual eyesight. The note had said to come on my own. It was a matter of life or death. Marlena and Darren’s shouts cut through the stillness of the evening when I pass by their trailer. Warmth creeps into my cheeks in a slow flush. They aren’t fighting…

“Girl,” Maddie heard as she felt someone shaking her by the shoulders. “Are you okay?”

Dazedly, she found her voice. “Marlena and Darren are at it again.”

“What?” Cage asked sharply. “They’re at what again? And how in the world do you know Marlena and Darren?”

Maddie blinked. “Who?”

“You just said their names.”

“No, I didn’t.” Maddie had a vague recollection—a form of
deja vu
. “Maybe. I don’t know.” She’d had waking dreams before, but nothing so immediate as this one. Not since Madame Divine. Her feet and legs felt boneless, and she gazed at the two men holding her—Cage’s almost orange-brown eyes,
the color of a setting sun
…Adam’s midnight blue eyes with a stripe of gold around the outer edge. Even though she was still a virgin, she remembered what it was like in her dream when Adam had entered her body, when Cage had latched on to her nipple. Her body seemed to shiver from the inside out.

Then everything went black.

*

Adam Michaels stared at the young woman who—other than the occasional movement—slept soundly in Alana Gupta’s bunk. Alana, whose stage name was Isis, rarely slept in her trailer, so she grudgingly agreed to let them keep the young woman there. The strange young lady hadn’t had any I.D. on her, so he didn’t know who she was, how old she was, or where she was from. She could have been a runaway, or a curious teenager, but Adam doubted it. He gauged her to be around twenty, maybe twenty-one. Too many years with the carnival, carding kids who tried to get into the after-show, and he’d gotten pretty good at guessing ages.

She’d had light blue eyes, the color of a clear sky—he’d felt almost mesmerized by them when she’d met his gaze. Now, as she slept, her light brown hair was dark around her forehead where perspiration saturated the color. Her cherub lips puckered and her small upturned nose wrinkled occasionally drawing a smile from Adam. He tried, without much success, to avoid staring at her luscious curves. Her rounded hips and full breasts could give any of the dancers in the carnival’s burlesque show a run for their money. She’d only been passed out for a couple of hours, but Adam worried she wouldn’t wake up.

He’d wanted to take her to the hospital. Cage wanted to dump her at the nearest gas station and let someone else deal with her, but Carl didn’t want the trouble that would come with explaining to the local authorities what they were doing with an unconscious girl. Cage used that as another reason they should dump her somewhere. His brother could be merciless at times. They’d compromised by taking the young woman to Alana. She was a trained nurse, and she also practiced holistic remedies—a real asset for the company.

She knew our names.
He and Cage didn’t mix with the townies, so how it was possible? Had she overheard someone use their names? She’d acted surprised. The woman stirred Adam in a way he hadn’t felt in a long time. He thought she did the same for Cage, which was the exact reason his world-weary brother wanted to ditch her as quickly as possible. Cage had suffered a lot of pain in his short life. More than anyone should bear.

When they lost Clary, it took months for Adam to recover—he feared Cage never would. Clary had been the glue holding Cage together. He needed Adam and Clary to anchor him, to keep his rage at bay. Without Clary, Adam constantly worried that Cage might hurt one of town folk who frequented their show. Cage wouldn’t go to prison—he would kill himself, or find a way to get the cops to kill him, before going into another cage. When he was an infant, Cage had been sold into slavery to the Armando Bros. Circus. He’d spent fifteen years either on stage in or a small six-foot by three-foot enclosure. The older of the Armando brothers, Joe, named him Cage, since that’s where he spent ninety-eight percent of his time.

When Adam rescued him ten years ago, and it
was
a rescue, he gave his fellow lion shifter a chance to give himself a new name, but Cage had insisted he didn’t want to be called anything else. He wore his name like a badge of courage. Even though Cage was seven years his junior, his experiences had aged him. He’d never gotten to experience the joy of childhood. Loving Clary was the closest Cage had ever been to happy. As he stared at the young woman, he wondered…

M
addie awoke in a cold sweat. Where was she? The motel? Her unfocused brain couldn’t think straight. She squinted at the wooden paneling on the wall, pulling up the blankets until they covered her ears. The bed—lumpy, but soft and warm—smelled like her parents’ Labrador retriever, not foul, but distinctively dog. She rolled to her back, taking in the colorful swathes of fabric dangling from the low ceiling. A clinking noise startled her and drew her attention.

A woman in a gold and blue silk robe arranged bottles on a shelf. She had sleek raven hair so long the ends reached her cinched waist. “You are in my quarters, child,” she said without looking at Maddie. Her voice held a foreign accent, but Maddie couldn’t derive the woman’s country of origin.

Slowly, the woman turned to face Maddie. Her skin, along with her beauty, was porcelain and flawless, while her eyes, darkened around the lids with a charcoal liner, were the color of fresh grass. Maddie had never seen anyone with that eye color before—so unnaturally green. When the woman moved closer, she dragged her gaze over Maddie from head to toe. “Can you speak?”

Her dry mouth made it hard to force the word, “Yes.”

The door opened. Adam walked in carrying a tray of flat bread, orange slices, and cheese in one hand and a carafe of juice in the other. He wore a black, sleeveless body suit that showed over every muscular bulge. Maddie swallowed hard.
Every bulge
. His gaze held a genuine warmth when he looked at Maddie. “Just checking in on our guest, Isis.”

Maddie curled her knees to her chest. She’d never had a “day walking” incident before and it scared her. Had she done something while she’d been
out
? Did Adam think she was a lunatic now? Did Cage? Why wouldn’t they? God, she hoped she didn’t do anything embarrassing. “Uh, hi,” she muttered, glancing away when Adam’s gaze caught her eyes.

“She is fine, as you can see.” Isis took off her robe. Under she wore nothing but a crystal bikini that barely held her perky, full breasts in place, and certainly didn’t do much to cover her bottom. “I’m late. Can you get the latch?”

Maddie noticed then that the back of Isis’s gown had two straps dangling.

Adam hooked them, then gave the exotic beauty a dismissive nod. Once Isis left, he turned his attention back to Maddie.

A knife of jealousy slashed through Maddie as the dark-haired beauty departed. She’d never had boys after her, but not because she was homely. However, next to Isis, she paled in comparison. “She…I…What…” Being in the same room with Adam addled Maddie’s brain. It was as if she’d forgotten how to complete sentences. Finally she settled on, “She’s very pretty.”

“Yes, she is,” Adam said. Maddie heart sunk as his voice dropped an octave, breathy and sexy. “Just like the serpent in the Garden of Eden, Isis is designed to tempt.”

Heat crept into her cheeks again. “What?”

His cheeks dimpled when he smiled. “That’s how she’s introduced. Isis is a snake dancer.”

“She dances with snakes?” Maddie couldn’t keep the incredulity out of her voice.

“Among other things.”

Maddie wasn’t certain she wanted to know what
other
things. “Isis is the headliner in our after-show. It’s adults only and costs extra. She’s very good at what she does.”

Maddie didn’t want to talk about Isis anymore—didn’t want to draw attention to a woman who didn’t need any help in that area. She changed the subject. “Have I been out all day?”

“Almost two days,” Adam said. “Like Sleeping Beauty. We were all drawing straws to see who would wake you up with true love’s kiss.”

Maddie snorted a laugh. “You’re a funny man, Adam.”

He narrowed his gaze. “You seem to know my name. I think it’s only fair that I know yours.”

“Madeline.” Suddenly, under his watchful gaze, she felt nervously shy. “Maddie.”

He smirked then rubbed his chin in a thoughtful manner. “Madeline.”

Self-consciously, she brushed her fingers through her sleep ratted hair, working hard to smooth the edges. Adam probably thought she was nuts.
Mad Maddie.
Anyone around her long enough would think it. “I might look crazy, but I’m not.”

“I believe you.” His direct gaze unnerved Maddie and made her lower parts draw tight with desire. He raised one brow, his expression appraising.

A light thump against the backside of the trailer drew his attention away. He turned to look out a small rectangular window. God, his physique from the side view was just as good as the front and back, and the tights he wore left very little—or big, as was the case—to the imagination.

An abrupt knock on the trailer’s door startled Maddie. A brusque voice said, “Adam.” Her heart beat wildly. The voice belonged to
Cage
. “Need some help wrangling the lot lice?”

Maddie scratched at her head. She’d never heard of lot lice, but they sounded awful. “Is it contagious?”

“Lot lice isn’t a condition. The boys need help clearing off the town folk from the midway. The after-show is wrapping up, and we can’t shut it all down until we get all the rubes out of here.”

“Am I a…rube?”

“I’m not sure what you are.” He winked. “I’ll let you know when I make up my mind.”

“Until then, can I come with you? I’d like to stretch my legs.”

Adam shook his head. “Maybe you should take it easy tonight. Rest. You can see everything tomorrow.”

“What about Isis? Won’t she want her bed back?”

“Oh, she never sleeps in here.”

Maddie felt another stabbing pang of jealousy. She averted her eyes, so Adam couldn’t read her expression.

“She’s Carl’s woman.”

“Carl?” Maddie shook her head, unable to hide her disbelief. “The little man?”

“He prefers dwarf, but yes.”

Maddie saw the look of disappointment on Adam’s face and inwardly flinched. She’d been called strange or weird by people who thought of her as different, and she didn’t want Adam to think she was that kind of person. “I’m sorry.” She pulled the blankets around her shoulders as she sat up. “I didn’t mean anything by that, except she’s just so beautiful. She could have any man she wants.”

“Yes,” Adam agreed. “And she wants Carl.”

“We’re used to being judged by outsiders.” He set the tray and juice on the stand next to the small bed. “Eat something. You need to keep up your strength. Then try to get some rest. I’ll see you in the morning for breakfast.”