9781631054099GracefulAcceptanceBeck (2 page)

“We’re simply taking
our natural abilities to another level,” Davina explained.

“That’s our other
concern. You’ve brought Gracie into this. She’s grown quiet lately. We think
she’s
frustrated by not finding her mate yet. She
feels the stress of the prophecy weighing on her as the last to be claimed.
Playing with these spells can’t be helping.”

Davina shook her head,
a deep furrow in her brow. “They definitely aren’t hurting her. I wo
uldn’t hurt her. She’s my best friend. We do the spells
together to create the power we need,” Davina explained, appearing to shrug off
their concern.

Paige shook her head
in disbelief. “I cannot believe this.”

Davina stepped away
and was busy helping cust
omers again. Since she’d
added on a café and was holding a Grand Opening, her shop was full of
customers. He waved in greeting when Davina looked his way and then sat back to
wait for Layla and Paige. Trevor played on his phone while the girls chatted, Dav
ina convincing them to take some extras back to their
sisters. That’s when Juliana’s screeching had them hauling ass back out and,
thank the Goddess, finally back to the Sinster sisters’ house.

It had started snowing
lightly during the afternoon, but a few
flakes didn’t
stop them in their custom designed Land Rovers. Trevor checked the forecast
though, and when he saw it was predicting a major snowfall, he sent a text off
to
Madden
so he knew where his mate was before he
ducked out. Stefan and Tomas were no
w on duty at the
house and would watch over all the women inside.

Trevor made tracks
back to Davina’s shop to offer her a ride home since it was snowing. He was
heading back to the compound where her house was located anyway. He would claim
innocent intent
ions if anyone asked, but, what the
hell, he knew there were some secondary motivations. He was single. He was
young. It could be years until he found his mate. There was no harm in a little
fun.

* * * *

The knock on her
shop’s front door startled Davina
. It had been a long
day with the opening of the new cafe. She’d just locked up and was getting
bundled up to make her way out in the storm. What could someone want this late
at night that had them knocking on her door? Carefully, using the caution they’d
all cloaked themselves in lately, Davina made her way
to the door and peeled back the shade.

There stood Trevor,
the cute young TEU agent who’d been in today with Layla. She hadn’t talked with
him since she’d been in a heated conversation with Layla and Pa
ige, but she’d looked at him plenty. Trevor was a
magnificent male. Davina unlocked the door and opened it to a cold burst of
wind.

“Come in. It’s
freezing out there.” Davina motioned Trevor inside and closed the door quickly
behind him. It was most defini
tely not supposed to be
this cold, even in northern California. “What can I do for you?”

“Actually, I wondered
the same thing. I came to escort you home. The roads are getting slick.”

“My brothers send
you?”

“Nope.”
Trevor ducked his head, shaking his
unru
ly curls into his face. “Actually, they have no
idea I’m here and it might just be best we keep it that way.”

Davina was delighted
to see the light blush on his cheeks. That would’ve made him appear innocent if
it weren’t accompanied by the wicked gleam in
his
green eyes and that devilish grin he was now giving her. Trevor was flirting
with her. None of her brother’s men had ever given her this kind of attention.
In fact, she was fairly certain it was in the TEU rule book— hands off Davina.

“I think you
might be right,” she agreed, smiling.

“Only
if you want to preserve my life.”
Trevor gave a tight laugh and shook his head. “We might
live long lives but there are most definitely ways to end it prematurely, ways
I’m sure your brothers would consider worth
y of the
infraction.”

“The
infraction being talking to their little sister?”
Davina moved closer to Trevor, close
enough to take in his masculine scent, woody and rugged.

“Talking, sharing a
drink.” Trevor shrugged, “Whatever you’d like,
I’m
your man.”

“Ye
s, you are. Aren’t you?” Davina pulled his coat from his
shoulders and hung the wet garment on the rack behind the door.

Trevor never once took
his eyes off her as she crossed to the coffee bar. She pulled two beer bottles
from the mini fridge and lifted h
er eyebrows.
“Thought this would be better than coffee.”

“You read my mind.”
Trevor grinned. He pulled himself onto one of the barstools across from her,
used his telekinesis to pop the top of his beer off into the garbage basket,
and then took a pull.

“Wo
uldn’t that be a dangerous thing?” Davina teased. She could
only imagine what was going through his mind.

She knew Trevor was
interested in more than this drink, more than a conversation, and maybe she was
too…but not yet. The pieces were beginning to fall
into place and she suspected he might be one of those pieces, but there was one
other piece that needed to happen. There was still a prophecy that she alone
needed to see fulfilled. Then she’d help her mate fulfill her prophecy.

“I’m pretty much an
open b
ook,” Trevor assured her.
“Nothing hiding up here that’s too dangerous.”
Grinning, he knocked his knuckle
against the side of his head.

“So, open book, why
TEU?

“It’s all I ever
wanted to do.”
Another shrug.
“I couldn’t imagine staying in our
village in It
aly, surrounded by other Breeds and
living a life of routine.”

“Family?”

“Just
my mamma and papa.”

“What do they do?”

“Papa builds
furniture. Mamma takes care of papa.”

“Ah,
the tradition of it all.”
Davina nodded. “You don’t strike me as the
traditionalist. In fact I’m betting you like lots of
excitement.” Davina reached across and ran her fingernail along his arm.

Trevor shuddered at
her touch, his green eyes flaring yellow for just a moment before he pulled his
control forward. He eyed her f
rom under those unruly
curls springing down onto his forehead. Licking his lips, he inched closer to
Davina. One little kiss couldn’t hurt, just to sample, to see if the chemistry
she expected was there.

Davina leaned in and
met Trevor halfway as their lip
s touched, gentle at
first as they tested each other. Then Davina nipped at his plump bottom lip and
when he opened, she licked his upper lip, found his tongue, and swirled their
essences together. The mix was an aphrodisiac. There was that elusive taste s
he understood only belonged to two people with the right
genes. If she didn’t get out of here, she might throw her plan out. That would
do no one any good. She had a responsibility to their race.

Pulling away, Davina
sighed. “Damn, that was nice.”

She open
ed her eyes to see Trevor watching her, the hunger in his
eyes screaming for more. She shook her head at him and he nodded back at her.
Using only his mind, he cleared the bar top so he could lean back into her.
When he was so close Davina thought she’d al
low just
one more kiss, she closed her eyes and said a prayer to the Goddess. Placing
her hands on his chest, she stopped Trevor’s advance.

“Time
to go.
You’re driving me home, right?” She skirted the edge of the bar and quickly
grabbed her coat and purse.
Within seconds, she was
standing at the front door, waiting for him to catch up to her.

“Right.
So that?”
Trevor looked between her and the
coffee bar where they’d just been.

“Yea,
about that.
Not good right now.” Davina shook her head.

“Oh, it was good.”
Trevor’s voice dropped a few octaves, deep and rough. He
raised his eyebrows and again gave her that irresistible grin.

She had to get out of
here. He might not realize it, but he was throwing off the mating pheromone and
she felt like a cat in heat. Air,
she needed air.
Pulling the door open as Trevor reached for his coat, Davina stepped out into
the snow. The sooner she got to the safety of her home—the one shared with her
parents—the better for everyone.

Chapter
Two

Grace woke before the
sun the
next morning. The glare of the sun off the
newly fallen snow wasn’t what woke her. No, it was her dreams. The same dream
she’d been having for months, the one that grew more vivid each time she sank
into its comfort. She knew it wouldn’t be much longer tha
t she could outrun her destiny, and she needed to see her
best friend.

She also needed more
of that mocha. Grace would ask Davina what she used to make it. She’d never
tasted anything so divine, and she was a confessed espresso addict. Still
nothing had ev
er tempted her so much—she couldn’t
think of another thing—that she would indulge as she’d done last night.

Davina’s shop was
located in Old Towne, their small downtown area where businesses were set in
old buildings and one had to walk about since cars we
ren’t
permitted on the cobblestone street. It was quaint in a world that was growing
increasingly more industrial. Grace often sat on benches in Old Towne and
sketched the buildings, casting reflections on their intricate stone patterns.

If Grace could onl
y find it inside herself to put her pieces on display, or
perhaps sell some. That took a courage Grace didn’t have. She resigned herself
to drawing for her own happiness.

Grace found herself at
the book store before she realized how far she’d walked. The f
ragrances that burst from the shop as another customer
opened the door were magnificent. She staggered back a bit at the sudden surge
in her stomach, a deep desire for more unlike any craving she’d ever felt, an
overwhelming need to be satiated. Her mouth
watered
at the memory of last night’s indulgence.

Oh Goddess, had
anything ever made her feel this way? It was her one weakness, the sweet nectar
of the Goddesses. Coffee, espresso, mocha, lattes… she loved them all, but
never had she been unable to refuse
more than one.
One was her limit. One was safe. It wasn’t overindulgent. It wasn’t gluttonous.

The customer held the
door as Grace entered and she nodded her thanks. Then she came to an immediate
stop as she spotted her best friend behind the counter. Dav
ina had always been beautiful to Grace. She was her
opposite in every way, her dark to Grace’s light. That’s what drew Grace to
Davina, but it was a pull that Grace could easily ignore.
Until today.
In this moment, Grace could focus on
nothing else aside f
rom the luscious curves Davina
flaunted in her 1950s inspired pin up girl dress. Cinched in at the waist and
carefully crafted to hug her breasts, the dress put all Davina’s assets on
display and caused Grace’s throat to tighten and her mouth to dry. She l
icked her lips and flushed when Davina looked her way and
winked.

Davina was with
another customer so Grace waited by the coffee counter. She swallowed down the
growing feeling of unease, averting her eyes when she felt Davina’s on her. Her
skin prickled w
ith excitement, or maybe apprehension.
Suddenly insecure about the little pleated skirt with tennis shoes she
wore,
Grace fidgeted and kicked herself for
not wearing something that didn’t make her look like a little girl.

Not able to resist a
moment longer
, Grace turned and locked eyes with
Davina. The lapis blue eyes that stared back at her held her rooted. She knew
Davina was looking her over and she knew there was something different in the
exchange, but didn’t know what to do. Remaining still, Grace fel
t the stroke of Davina’s eyes on her body. A chill ran
through her and she shivered, only to hear a deep laugh come from Davina, who
now stood alone.

Grace and Davina
shared a look. Then Davina held out her hands and waited for Gracie to place
her smaller
ones into them. They held onto one
another, their fingers intertwined, and spoke in tones too low for human ears.
Their chanting caused swirls of light to flow around them and a calming
presence overtook Grace. Slowly she relaxed into their circle of two a
nd floated into the words they spoke.

They were alone. The
only other customer had left and Davina flipping the sign to closed. Grace’s
heart thumped loudly in her chest and her clit pulsed in its rhythm. Foreign
sensations in the presence of Davina—sensat
ions with
a strength
she’d not experienced before—nearly
knocked her over. Grace found herself holding onto the counter for balance.

“Grace,” her
curvaceous friend nearly purred her name and extended her hand, “you’re ready.”

“Ready?” she replied
in questi
on, still reaching her hand out to touch
Davina’s. She shivered at the touch, a tingle shooting up her arm.

“You’ve changed.
Something has altered.”

Grace remained silent,
shaking her head from side to side.

Davina moved closer
and kept their fingers locke
d. She stood in Grace’s
space so they were toe to toe. “Paige brought you my new Mocha Madness? You
liked it?”

Grace nodded.

“Would you like to try
a sample of something different?”

Grace shook her head,
trying to clear it from the fog that seemed to settl
e
over her. Davina was simply divine, even more so than she had remembered.
Again, Grace took in Davina’s black and white dress that hugged soft curves and
flowed like waves down her thighs. Grace could imagine diving
in,
sinking deep into a place where wh
at she was feeling could become something real. The dress
left nothing to Grace’s imagination as she tried to look away and failed.

Realizing she hadn’t
yet answered, she stuttered, “No, I mean, yes I would like that very much.” She
smiled at Davina, but
found it difficult to make eye
contact now that they stood so close.

Davina moved around
the bar to make them a drink. Grace snuck peeks as Davina moved effortlessly
between brewing machines to create a decadent treat. Once she poured the liquid
into two
mugs, she topped it with some cream and then
smiling, slid one across to Grace.

“It’s a Carma
Caramel,” Davina explained.
“Similar
to a caramel latte but with my own special twist.
Secret family recipes.”
She winked at Grace, causing her to
blush.

Grace re
turned the smile as she felt Davina touch the hand that
rested on the bar top. Davina squeezed her hand as she drank her latte. Grace
was once again drawn to the heated liquid. Its warmth and sugary sweetness was
absolute perfection.

When they both set the
ir mugs down, Davina pulled Grace’s hand to her chest to
hold it over her heart. “You are her,” she spoke softly, almost reverently. “My
mamma promised there was one for me. It is you.”

“But I am of the seven
sins. I carry the DNA to procreate the Valendit
e
Breed. It is my destiny to mate with a man of that race.” Grace remained
focused on the facts, holding onto them as if they were a life preserver and
she was drowning. Tears bubbled into her eyes.

Wiping the tear that
escaped and ran down Grace’s face, D
avina moved
closer still, leaning further across the coffee bar, and touched the place the
tear had fallen gently with her lips. That near brush of a kiss stroked Grace
with tenderness she had only dreamed.

“Did not anyone ever
tell you? There is the Trife
cti Prophecy of a vampire
born female,” Davina drew their joined hands to her own chest where Grace could
feel the beating of her heart. “
who
will begin a new line of vampires with
a wife by her side. Together, they shall inherit the throne and bring great
change to our world.” Davina’s voice echoed around them,
filling the air with a heavy intoxicating cloud of hope. It had been so long
since Grace had dared hope to fulfill her fantasy, to live as a woman’s wife
and not be forced to take a male mate.

“But
the Prophecy of the Seven?”
Grace was confused and fearful of
harboring too much hope.

Letting go for a
moment, Davina crossed the bar and was once again standing close to Grace. She
grabbed a hold of both Grace’s hands. “Yes, that’s the most perfect part
of it all. You fulfill both. With our Bonding, we will see
both prophecies come to be.”

“Without
a Valendite Breed to free me from my sin?”
Grace couldn’t believe it was this
simple.

Davina shook her head.
“I do not know. That’s where it’s unclear. Since y
ou
fulfill both prophecies and I cannot be anything but certain that you are
indeed mine, there must be some magic that will come about when we are bonded.”

Grace shook her head.
So many questions swirled in her mind. Her family—hell, the Magdalena Circle—
was depending on her. What if she was failing them by
giving into what she desired?

“I have no doubts,
Grace. You belong to me.” The seriousness of Davina’s darkening eyes conveyed
nearly more than her words.

Grace gave no response
but remained in her arms
quietly, luxuriating in the
feel of being held by someone who felt so right. After a long time, after
accepting she was going to allow Davina to lead her down this path they’d
begun, she spoke. “No one knows. I have felt ashamed and didn’t want to burden
even my sisters with my lusts of other women.”

“Silly,
silly girl.”
Davina pulled away and grinned at Grace despite her mocking chastisement. “We
have been
awaiting
your revealing. I have waited years
knowing that you would come to me, knowing that you wer
e meant to be as you are, and that you are perfect for me just as I am
for you.”

Davina wiped more
tears from Grace’s face as she leaned down to take her mouth with her own.
Grace was overwhelmed by the realization that she may be given everything she’d
ev
er longed for.

Closing her eyes,
Grace took in the coffee aromas that swirled around them, heard the safety bolt
move into place on the shop door, and felt the softest kisses being placed on
her heated skin. Davina wasted no time making a path from her lip
s and down her neck, gentling Grace to her touch. With slow
persistence, Davina unbuttoned the front of Grace’s sweater to touch kisses to
her collarbone. Then Davina hovered over the pulse point of Grace’s neck,
devouring the scent of her newfound mate, a
nd causing
Grace to shake with a mix of desire and fear. She never believed she could have
everything she wanted. She never thought she would feel the softness of another
woman’s embrace.

“It’s going to be all
right, my Grace. We will be perfect. Let me sh
ow
you,” Davina spoke into the sensitive place between shoulder and neck.

When Davina took
Grace’s hand in her own and led her to a staircase in the back of the shop,
Grace followed. At the bottom of the stairs was the most luxurious basement
apartment Gra
ce had ever been in, and nothing one
could imagine when visiting the shop above it. Fiery red walls set an elegant
backdrop for the dark leather furniture. Wall sconces illuminated beautiful
portraits of early century
women,
and from the similarities to Da
vina, Grace guessed they were ancestors.

“They are beautiful
women.” Grace couldn’t help but admire the photos.

“They are my aunts,
and this one here,” Davina pointed to the portrait above her fireplace, “is my
mother.”

“Your mother was
stunning.” Gracie k
new Adelina, but hadn’t known her
in her youth. Adelina was now the matriarch of the Santucci family and she
appeared more dominating than serene.

“Yes.
Pappa
says even if she hadn’t been cursed
with her soul sin and bound to him by fate, he would’ve taken
her anyway.”

“She is a witch then,
and your father is a vampire. How did they create children of both genders?”