Bewitched, Bothered, and Bitten (6 page)

“And how do you expect me to do that?” I asked. When he opened his mouth, I narrowed my eyes. “Think very carefully about what you’re about to say. I could probably set your entire body on fire with very little effort.”

He chuckled. “How about a little kiss to make it better?”

“Stop pushing me, Finn.”

His hands framed my jaw, thumbs tipping my chin up. “I think it was you pushing me a few moments ago.”

I rolled my eyes.

“C’mon, Kerry. Surely, if you’re that unmoved by me, you could kiss me with no problem.”

I scoffed. “What? Are we twelve? Next you’re gonna double dog dare me.”

Finn’s thumbs met under the center of my chin. He leaned forward enough that our lips nearly touched. I could literally feel the heat of his mouth on mine.

“I double dog dare you,” he whispered right before he kissed me.

Damn, but the man could kiss. Any resistance I might have dissolved beneath his lips. Finn’s hands moved from my face, down my back to grip my ass so he could lift me off my feet.

Shocked, I turned my head, panting so heavily I could barely speak. “Finn, put me down. I’m heavy.”

He dragged the tips of his fangs along my collarbone, causing goose bumps to break out on my arms. “No, you’re not. Wrap your legs around me.” Finn moved his hips so the hard ridge of his cock rubbed over my clit.

I moaned and lifted my legs, circling his waist with my thighs and locking my ankles together behind him. He rolled his pelvis, grinding the length of his erection against me over and over again. It was almost ridiculous how quickly he brought me to the edge of orgasm with a kiss and a few thrusts of his hips. I hadn’t been this horny since dry humping was a regular occurrence in the backseat of my first boyfriend’s car.

Dear Goddess, what in the fuck was I doing? Despite what Finn might think, the coven elders would never accept a High Priestess with a vampire lover. They were convinced vampires either wanted to control or turn witches. Then there was the fact that he pushed his way into my dreams constantly, undermining my will to keep my distance. It was manipulative.

Despite the fact that I was one breath away from an orgasm so strong it would incinerate my underpants, I tore my mouth away from Finn’s, dropped my legs, and pushed at his shoulders. I could practically feel his frustration as he released me, but he still let me go.

“There’s your kiss. I need to return to the meeting.” I was glad my voice wasn’t shaking as much as my thighs.

I vaguely heard his low, growling laugh as I hurried down the hall. I still had no clue where I was going, just that I needed to put some space between myself and the sexiest man on the planet, fangs or not.

After a few wrong turns and backtracking, I managed to make my way back to the study. Finn was already there, looking completely unruffled. There was no sign that he had been seconds away from bringing me to orgasm five minutes ago. I wanted to zap him for that alone, especially since I was pretty sure I had no lipstick left and my hair looked as though it had gone a few rounds with a weed whacker.

Conner and Lex exchanged looks after I entered, both of the handsome bastards were smiling smugly. Belinda gave me a questioning glance but I gave a slight shake of my head.

“I’m glad you’re back,” she said. “We were discussing what safety precautions the coven and the pack should take until the Faction is dismantled. Conner and Lachlan suggested that you and I stay with shifters or vampires until a safe house can be arranged.”

Scowling, I asked, “Why would we need a safe house, Belinda? The coven has been protecting itself for centuries without the help of vampires or wolves.”

However, it was Conner that answered my question. “You know we have information that suggests the Faction already has a warlock among their ranks and they are in search of stronger witches. You and Belinda are the strongest in the northern hemisphere.”

“Why would they want us? They can’t compel us.”

Lex’s face was harsh when he chimed in. “No, but they can torture you into submission.”

I felt a stab of fear near my heart. “Belinda and I are perfectly capable of taking care of ourselves,” I argued. I turned to the High Priestess. “Right?” Her face told me all I needed to know. “Seriously? You want to stay with Conner or Lex until they find a place to hide us? If the Faction has a warlock, what’s the use of hiding? They’ll find us eventually.”

Belinda sighed. “Kerry, we have strength in numbers. What intelligence we have of the Faction suggests they are still a relatively small group. They won’t risk coming for us if they think the collateral damage would be too high. The vampires have their own security details and the pack lives together just outside the city. It will be safer for both of us. You and I both know that the knowledge we hold would be coveted by the Faction. Only the High Priestess and her successor have access to certain information.” She left out the fact that we were also two of the most powerful witches in North America and that alone made us valuable.

I bit my lip against further argument, tasting blood when my teeth sank too deeply into the flesh behind my bottom lip. Fucking hell, she was right.

Confident my arguments were done for now, Conner spoke up. “Lachlan has offered Belinda the pack’s protection.”

I nodded. “Okay, so am I staying with you and Donna or Lex and Ivie?”

“No, you’re staying with me.”

I looked over at Finn, saw his triumphant expression, and lost my ability to control my tongue. “No fucking way.”

I
couldn’t stop
the self-satisfied smile that spread across my face as I pulled down the long driveway of my mother’s country home. After the meeting ended, Lachlan had taken Belinda to her home so she could pack a few of her things. Finn insisted on following me to my loft in order to “protect” me. More likely, he wanted to make sure I didn’t give him the slip.

I had anyway.

I managed to lose him in the crazy traffic that was part of everyday life in Dallas. I didn’t bother to go by my apartment because I knew that was the first place he would check. Instead, I pointed my car east and headed out of the city. On my long drive, I called Saundra Abrams, the assistant manager at my store and asked her if she could reschedule the clerks for the next few days because I would be unavailable. Though war was brewing, I needed to be able to pay my bills. She was worried and curious, but I managed to evade most of her questions and calm her fears somewhat.

I knew my little house in the country would be the next place Finn would look, but I intended to have a few surprises waiting for him. I was sick and tired of the way he used my attraction to him against me. Somehow, over the last three days, I realized I could no longer deny that I wanted him. He’d managed to sneak past my shields. That was why I was so easily angered by his attitude and melted beneath his touch.

However, that didn’t mean I wasn’t going to make him work for it. I had a feeling that women came easily for Finn, in every sense of the word. Maybe it was selfishness or pride, but I wanted to be different from his past lovers. I wanted him to truly see me.

My mother once said, “People appreciate the things they have to work for. If it comes too easily, then it can be just as easy to let it go.” I knew, in this instance, that her advice was spot on.

I climbed out of my car, groaning when I realized that the cooler weather that moved through a few nights ago had been followed by warmer air. The temperature had to be in the mid-sixties. A bank of dark grey clouds was building in the west, probably the leading edge of another cold front. It wouldn’t be long until those clouds built into a storm.

I grabbed my purse, locked my car, and hurried into the house. If I wanted to set up my little
surprises
for Finn, I needed to get it done before the rain began. Since he seemed to enjoy sneaking up on me, I intended to make it impossible for him to do so.

Before she died, my mother amassed quite a collection of spell books and magical texts. Several of them held detailed instructions for setting protection wards and casting perimeter spells. I intended to welcome him with fireworks and fanfare.

I went directly to the small library just off the living room and began choosing my spells and wards. I laughed to myself as I set three perimeter spells and several wards on the house. None of them would damage Finn, though quite a few of the protection wards might give him a little shock.

Within a half hour, I finished casting and made myself a cup of tea. I expected Finn to arrive in the next hour or so. Once he realized I wasn’t going to show at the loft, he would likely come straight here.

He started this little game, but I would damn sure be the one to finish it and on my terms.

The house began to cool down as the sun set, so I started a fire in the living room fireplace. About an hour after I arrived, I heard the first rumbling of thunder and knew the storm building in the west was closing in.

As the clouds moved over head, the sun disappeared behind the horizon, leaving behind an oppressive darkness. I could hear the wind picking up as flashes of lightning burst outside the window.

Rain began to fall, heavy and fast, and the lightning became more frequent, as did the thunder. The wind blowing across the chimney sounded like a banshee’s wail. Something wasn’t right. I felt…unsettled. A chill crept across my neck, lifting the hair at my nape.

Over the cacophony, a resounding boom echoed inside the house and within my head. The first perimeter spell I’d cast had been breached. However, the entity heading toward my home wasn’t Finn. And they definitely weren’t alone.

Red and orange light filled the house as the second of my spells was broken. I snuck to the window and took a peek toward the driveway. The fireworks display my spell created was still exploding against the black clouds, brighter than even the lightning arcing across the sky. While I couldn’t see my enemy, I could feel them.

The invaders were rapidly approaching my third and final perimeter spell. When I cast it earlier, I’d only wanted it to give off a mild electrical shock when breached. Since I was completely certain that Finn was not among the beings coming toward me, I closed my eyes, released my breath, and recited the words of the spell, changing them slightly.

Mere moments before the perimeter was crossed, I completed the spell and felt the snap of a circle completed. Indescribable power hummed beneath my skin. It was rare for me to call on so much of my magic. Aside from Belinda, no one in the coven knew exactly how strong I was. According to the tests my mother and Belinda had administered to me over the years, I was the most powerful witch practicing in North America, perhaps even the Western hemisphere.

It seemed, however, someone outside the coven was aware of my abilities, there was no other explanation as to why they would be here. Knowing it would take my enemies a while to break through the strong electric current generated by my new spell, I focused on the wards I’d placed on the house.

I closed my eyes, forced myself to breathe slowly and deeply, and centered my thoughts on reinforcing the wards. My body jerked when my final perimeter spell fell under the assault, the power I’d released into it flowing back into my body. Still, I didn’t allow the almost painful sensation distract me.

Now that they were closer, I could feel five individual energies. I studied each in my mind’s eye. Four were vampire and the fifth… a warlock. An immensely powerful warlock. I could feel the weight of his magic as he tested each of the wards on my house. A frisson of fear knifed through my chest. I understood it was likely that he was as strong as I.

Knowing what was coming, I began to call up a protection spell more difficult than any I’d ever attempted before. While most protection spells were defensive, this was not. Most witches would never be able to achieve it because it required a vast amount of skill and power. The incantation was meant to deliver a debilitating strike to one’s enemies and destroy as many as possible in one blow. I never would have considered the spell if I were facing humans or other witches because it would almost certainly result in their death.

Vampires and warlocks, however, might be seriously injured but their wounds probably wouldn’t prove fatal.

There was a rather large problem, though. In order to cast this spell, I had to drop the protection wards surrounding the house. I would be a sitting duck if it failed.

I felt the first slam of the warlock’s attack and knew there was no time for doubt. While spoken spells were the strongest, I couldn’t risk the vampires hearing me cast. Even with the tempest raging outside, two of the vampires were close enough to hear me if I used my voice.

Instead I crouched down to the floor, flattening both palms against the hardwood and lowering my head. In preparation for the incantation, I began to gather myself. The storm overhead filled the air with electricity and I could use that to boost the force of my attack.

In order to unleash a strike that would end this, I would have to let loose every bit of power I could muster. Usually, when casting, I needed only a small amount of magic, so, after years of training, I automatically controlled the flow. My mother often likened it to a dam. The amount of water released was based on the need. In this case, I would have to lower all the floodgates of my mental barriers.