Authors: Rachel Carrington
Skye didn’t acknowledge his words nor did she agree.
Just as she was sure Ingrid wouldn’t.
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
Sabrina closed her eyes, clenched her hands into fists and whispered
the words she
thought she’d never utter again.
“Brother, I need you.”
Nothing.
Not even a go to hell from her all-powerful brother.
Sabrina frowned and tried again.
“Brother, I need you.”
The words
carried more of a bite this time.
Still no response.
Sabrina scrambled to her feet and glared up at the stone ceiling
which she could just make out if she squinted just right.
“Damn you, Falcon.
Where the hell are you?”
A rush of air pushed her backwards, slamming her into the wall.
The breath left her lungs on a whoosh and
Sabrina held her hand up over her eyes as a precautionary measure.
Footsteps clicked on the concrete, slow,
methodical.
Sabrina didn’t want to look.
“Sabrina.”
The voice didn’t
belong to Falcon.
Even better, it didn’t
belong to Unger.
Sabrina breathed a sigh of relief and cracked open her eyes.
“Great,” she muttered.
“Right guild, wrong wizard.
What are you doing here?”
Rane’s smile barely reached his eyes.
“Just consider me Falcon’s emissary.”
Sabrina scanned him up and down, thankful for the blue light the
wizard provided.
“And does Falcon know
he has this . . . emissary?”
Rane opened one hand palm up as if to say it was of little
importance to him.
Sabrina glared at him.
“You
interrupted my call to him.
How did you
do that?”
Rane laughed softly.
“There
are those who underestimate my abilities, Sabrina.
You should not be one of them.”
He strolled toward the opposite end of the
dungeon.
“It is truly a shame what Unger
has done to you.
Locked you away like
some common criminal, stripped you of your magic and now, forced you to resort
to calling the one name you abhor most of all.
Falcon.”
He shook his head and
Sabrina caught the mocking gleam in his eye before he turned away from
her.
“You’ve obviously come here to say something, so out with it.”
Feeling defenseless, Sabrina crossed her arms
over her breasts and affected her very best icy stare.
Rane waggled one finger.
“Not
so fast.
You are not calling the shots
now, Sabrina.
I am and you would be wise
to listen.”
“So this is what happens when they give power to a boy,” she
sneered.
Her words had little effect.
Instead, the wizard continued to smile.
The mere presence of his teeth was beginning to unnerve her.
What did Rane have up his sleeve and did the
other members of the Assembly know about this little visit?
She’d wager Falcon wasn’t in on it.
As much as he might despise her, Falcon would
not deceive her.
“You might want to make yourself comfortable, if one can indeed be
comfortable in surroundings such as these.”
Rane swept a hand toward the wall and a bright light filled the
windowless room.
Rodents scurried and
insects scrambled for cover.
Rane shook
his head sadly.
“Unger really has no
taste.”
Sabrina added Rane Hansen’s name to the list of people to kill on
her first day out of the prison.
“Just
tell me why you’re here.”
“Oh, I intend to, but not before you listen to every word I am going
to say.
You will listen and you will
learn and in the end, you will agree to all the dictates I will set down.
You simply have no choice, Sabrina.”
“And if I say no?”
“Then I will leave you in this concrete dungeon to die a lonely,
miserable death.”
He raised one eyebrow
in that snide manner well-known to all wizards.
Sabrina thought she hated Rane most of all at that particular moment.
“What makes you so sure Unger isn’t coming back for me?”
“Unger got what he wanted from you.”
Rane slid one hand along the wall.
“How is your magic, by the way?”
Her teeth snapped together.
“You’ve done your homework.”
“A third-grader could have done this homework, Sabrina.
Now, shall we talk or shall I leave you alone
to wallow in your self-pity?”
Sabrina refrained from stamping her foot and regally lowered her
head.
“By all means, chat away.”
***
Skye took a long, thirsty swallow of the bottle of ice water and
plunked it down on the edge of the teakwood divider.
She gave the ball another hard smack and it
bounced off the wall, straight into her glove.
Another pop sent the orb soaring higher into the air.
Rane caught the ricochet, effectively halting the game.
Breathing hard, Skye wiped the sweat from her brow with the towel
around her neck.
“Where have you been?”
“To see an old nemesis.”
Skye drank some more water and watched him over the edge of the
bottle.
“More information, please.”
Rane smiled at her and tossed the ball to the floor.
“Sabrina.”
Skye froze.
“You went to see
Sabrina?”
“Had to.
Needed to have a
little talk with her.”
“Does Jaxon know you went to see her?”
Rane took the water from her hand and helped himself to a
drink.
“My brother does not police
everything I do.
His assistance was not
required.”
Skye whistled through her teeth, but didn’t push the issue.
“What did she say?”
“A lot of bitching, even more moaning, before she broke down and
decided to listen to me.”
“Okay, so what did you say then?”
“I told her she was going to help us.”
Skye dabbed her eyes with the edge of the towel and blinked at
him.
“Help us?
How?”
“She knows more about Unger than any of us.
It’s common sense.”
“I doubt the wizards would agree with you.”
Rane shrugged and tilted his head back to help himself to some more
of her water.
“How’s Emily?”
“Not speaking to me.
She
thinks I made the entire thing up and she’s been in her room all morning trying
to get her shoes to come to her from across the room.”
“Ah.
That explains the
violent choice of exercise.”
Skye tossed the towel aside.
“Handball is not violent.”
“I can think of better forms of release.”
She headed toward the door.
“I need a shower.
Meet me in the
kitchen in fifteen minutes.
I want to
hear all the details of your conversation with Sabrina.
She is still a witch you know.”
“I am aware of what she is.”
She tossed him a look over her shoulder.
“Then you should also know she can’t be
trusted to keep her word.”
“I don’t believe she’s that deceptive, Skye.”
“You can’t be serious.”
He winked at her.
“Actually,
I’m not, but it was interesting to see your face.”
Chuckling, he joined her at the door.
“Sabrina will follow through.
Trust me.”
“Apparently, you’re not concerned with the response you’re going to
get from your family.”
Rane’s grin only broadened.
“My family knows me well enough by now.
I don’t always follow the rules.”
“Try never.”
Skye sashayed
out into the hallway.
“You know, I was thinking that I need a shower, too,” Rane murmured
just inches away from her ear.
The blatant desire in his voice warmed her and for a brief moment,
Skye considered asking him to join her, but then common sense kicked in.
They couldn’t spend every waking minute
locked in each other’s arms.
Although,
the idea did have some merit.
“Why don’t you try talking to Emily?”
“Not exactly the response I was hoping for, but,” he lifted his
shoulders in a shrug.
“I’ll give it a
whirl.”
Whistling, he turned and walked
away.
Skye stared after him, wondering why he hadn’t tried harder to talk
her into sex.
Frowning, she started
toward the shower.
It shouldn’t bother
her so much that Rane’s attention could change so easily. After all, he’d told
her he loved her and she believed him.
But Skye couldn’t challenge her own insecurities.
“By the way.”
Rane’s voice
came out of nowhere.
Skye whirled around.
She
didn’t see him.
“Where are you?”
“In the kitchen.”
“Stop doing that,” she ordered, one hand clutching her throat.
“Why?
Scared I might see
something I’m not supposed to see?”
“You can’t see me.”
“Can’t I?”
Husky laughter
reached her ears and Skye shivered.
“What do you want, Rane?”
“You, but since that’s not an option right now, I’ll take whatever
you’re offering.”
Skye stepped inside the opulent bathroom.
“I wasn’t aware I was offering anything.”
Rane appeared in front of her.
Shoving the bathroom door closed with a push of his hand, he leaned one
arm against the gilded tiles.
Looking
relaxed and casual, he slid his eyes up and down her sweaty body.
Feeling more self-conscious than she should, Skye backed toward the
shower.
“I thought you were going to
talk to Emily.”
He continued to watch her while he answered.
“I tried.
She’s not interested in talking right now.
She’ll come out when she is.
It’s very traumatic for her.”
He straightened and with a predatory gleam in
his eyes, advanced toward her.
Skye held up both of her hands.
“We shouldn’t do this.
Emily
could come out any minute.”
“Not likely,” he responded, dropping one hand to the swell of her
hip.
Her muscles jumped and she reached behind her to rip open the shower
stall.
“Rane, I don’t think…”
“Yes, you do.
Too much,
actually.”
He nuzzled her neck.
“Stop thinking, Skye.”
“It’s apparent you have,” she laughed softly.
“Oh, I’m thinking all right.
I’ve been thinking all day.
About
kissing you.
Touching you.
Here,” he slid his hand to her thigh, “and
here,” his fingers brushed her feminine core and the sensation of the light
caress against the nylon bicycle shorts sent a jolt through her.
“I’ve also been thinking about making love to
you.”
He lifted her in his arms and Skye
locked her legs around his hips.
Skye arched her back.
“In the
shower?”
“And in the gym, the kitchen, the dining room, the…”
“Okay.
I get the point.”
The water began to spill over their clothed bodies and while the
steam coated the mirror, it drenched them inside the stall.
Combined with the heat they were generating,
the temperature reached an almost unbearable level.
“It’s hot,” Skye breathed against his shoulder.
Rane quickly removed their clothes.
“You’ll have to teach me that trick,” she panted.
He cupped her.
“Anytime.”
His fingers began to
curl deliciously against her sex and Skye’s eyes glazed.
She reached for him, closing her fingertips around the velvety soft
tip of his manhood.
She heard his swift
intake of breath and lowered her legs to the shower floor.
Her free hand rubbed the back of his thigh as
her thumb began a slow, steady stroke.
Using her body as a wedge, she pinned him against the tile.
“What are you doing?”
His
voice came out on a guttural groan.
She dropped to her knees.
“Giving you what you want, Mr. Hansen.”
The second her mouth closed around him, Rane let out a long, delicious
moan.
The steam curled over top of their heads, circling in the air before
streaming out from under the door.
Skye
had never taken a longer shower.
Or a
better one.
***
Skye finished toweling her hair dry and tossed the thick terry over
the hanger in the bathroom.
“Rane?”
She came to the doorway of the bathroom to
look out into the bedroom she’d begun sharing with Rane.
He stacked his hands behind his head on the pillow and smiled at
her.
“What, baby?”
“What happens if I get pregnant?”
He shot to a sitting position.
“Why?
Do you think you are?”
She came out of the bathroom, hurrying toward him.
“No, no.
I don’t.
I just, well, I was
curious, that’s all.”
Rane’s heart continued to skip.
“Have we not talked about this already?”
Skye sat down on the bed at his feet.
“We did briefly, yes.
I know about the immortality factor.
When I asked what happens, I meant, would the
child be a wizard?”
He changed the subject.
“Why
don’t you get dressed while I go check on Emily?”
She caught hold of his arm before he could make good on his
escape.
“Emily’s fine.
Tell me why my question made you panic.
I mean, other than for the normal reason a
man would panic when his girlfriend thinks she’s pregnant.”
Rane frowned at her.
He
didn’t like being classed with ordinary men, especially when it came to their
relationship.
“I did not panic,
Skye.”
His voice tightened.
“There are just things I have not told you.”
“Then maybe it’s time you did.”
“I have had no need to tell you.”
Skye thumped his leg.
“Well,
you do now.
So I’m listening.”
Rane swung his legs over the side of the bed and pushed himself to
his feet.
“This is not the best time.”
“I say it is and why are you suddenly talking like that again?”
“Like what?”