Intoxicating Magic (9 page)

Stale revulsion ate away at my stomach. I’d done it as part of the Void testing and those memories always made me want to vomit. The only reason I’d endured was because David had been there taking care of me. All while Talisen had been infiltrating Asher’s inner circle. “Tell me everything,” I said with conviction. “How did you get hooked up with them and what exactly are you expected to do?”

Tal leaned back into the couch, his legs stretched out in front of him. It wasn’t lost on me that since telling me his secret, he was much more settled. As if everything would be better now that I knew.

I wasn’t so sure about that, but if he’d been keeping all this to himself the past three months, he was probably more than ready to talk it out.

“Hunter. He’s been a Void agent since right after Beau died four years ago. He’s been working on the inside of this particular group for over three years. Three years he’s spent in vampire form.” Talisen visibly shuddered. “Can you imagine?”

I shook my head and wrapped my arms around myself, trying to stop the shiver from his words.

“But he’s finally gained their trust,” Tal continued. “So when he suggested bringing me in as someone who knows you well, they went for it on his word. It’s obvious most of them don’t trust me, but then I’d be shocked if they did.”

Unease was circling in my gut. “How did Hunter prove himself?” I asked, too afraid to ask the same question of Talisen.

He shook his head. “You don’t want to know, Wil. You really don’t.”

“Talisen. Tell me,” I demanded. “If you expect me to trust him, I need to know how far he’s willing to go.”

“Shit.” He glanced at the ceiling but then met my stare head on. “He brings them, uh, Void resources and feeds them information about Allcot’s corporation.”

“Void resources? What does that mean exactly?” Normally I wouldn’t give a second thought about Allcot, but now I was worried. He had Beau Jr. in his care. Did they know that, too?

“Some of the drugs they use on other vampires to control them. A spell here and there. He walks a fine line between feeding them things and info they can use versus anything too sensitive.”

I knew the drill. Phoebe was my partner and roommate, for God’s sake. I’d seen her give up information when she was going after a bigger threat numerous times. But none of the stuff she’d given out had been about me. I was too close to this and was having trouble separating my personal and professional feelings. Maybe Hunter didn’t even know about Beau Jr. But Tal did.

“And what about you?” I asked hesitantly. I wasn’t at all sure I wanted the answer, but I had to ask anyway. “What do you give them?”

He grimaced. “Mostly stuff that’s readily available to anyone who cares to look hard enough. Info on your shop, what you make, your contract with the Void. That sort of thing.”

I got up and paced. He was holding something back. I could tell by the way he kept averting his gaze. “Doesn’t seem like they’d bring you into their inner circle just for that.”

He shrugged. “I don’t tell them anything they couldn’t find on their own.” Then he narrowed his eyes. “Or are you thinking I told them about your nephew?”

I bit my lip.

“God, Willow. You can’t be serious.”

I threw my hands in the air. “Of course I didn’t think you did. But I won’t lie and say it didn’t cross my mind. I can’t help it. Three months ago, I wouldn’t have even considered it. But three months ago you didn’t work for the Void and were never more than a phone call away. Now… Everything’s different. I’m still trying to catch up.” I sat back, exhausted, and blinked away tears. The day had taken too much out of me. Learning about Harrison, coming to Eureka, being kidnapped, and hearing all this stuff I never would’ve thought Tal would be involved with—it all overwhelmed me. And all I wanted to do was bury my head under a pillow until we could leave in the morning.

“Link,” I said as I stood.

He jumped up, his fur matted flat against one side of his face.

I laughed. Doggie bed head. “Let’s go out.”

Talisen jumped up and shoved his feet in his boots. “Let me take him. It’s cold out. Not to mention, if Asher’s minions have found this place and have started watching it, I don’t want you to be spotted.”

“But spotting you and Link is okay?” My tone was skeptical.

“No. Not okay exactly, but I can talk my way out of that scenario. If you’re spotted, it’s over.”

I nodded and watched as my two favorite men disappeared out the front door. A stinging chill whipped through the cabin, settling into my bones. It was early spring and normal for the temperature to drop several degrees at night. With no hope of lighting a fire, I rummaged around the cabin searching for blankets. In the one and only closet, I found an old quilt and a cotton thermal blanket. Neither were enough for one person. I closed my eyes and sighed. We were going to need body heat if either of us wanted to get any sleep.

An odd mix of excitement and nervousness made my stomach do backflips. The thought of being wrapped in Tal’s arms all night made me ache for his embrace. But this wasn’t the way I wanted it to happen. Out of necessity. Not to mention, I hadn’t forgiven him for leaving me in the first place. Maybe it wouldn’t get that cold.

Goddess, I hoped not.

I pulled the Murphy bed down from the far wall and made it up with the pillows and blankets I’d found in the closet. Then I stood there staring at the bed, my heart fluttering out of control.

The door banged open on a gust of wind. Link bounded in, shaking aggressively. White flakes of snow splattered around him.

“Damn,” I muttered. Snow in the area was rare, but not unheard of.

“It’s coming down pretty hard,” Talisen said, brushing the flakes off his head.

I stood there, stupidly staring at his flushed face and the moisture clinging to his dark blond hair. He was so handsome, rugged with his stubble, and athletic. So alive. Nothing like the vampires I’d been hanging out with. David had a tan now, but he was too perfect. Too sculpted. Not… real. Talisen was a hot-blooded male from head to toe, and I wanted nothing more than to be wrapped in his embrace.

When I didn’t speak, his eyes shifted to the Murphy bed. I watched him, fingering the hem of my sweater.

He let out an audible breath as he blinked a few times. Then his face and body relaxed. He turned to me, transformed into the easygoing Talisen I’d known my entire life. “Right or left?”

“Huh?” My throat was dry and the question came out as more of a croak.

Talisen’s smile widened, and I swear I saw a sparkle of mischief in his emerald eyes. He jerked his head toward the bed. “Which side do you prefer?”

The fact that he didn’t even know seemed so unreal to me. We’d been together for such a short time we hadn’t even learned the most basic things about each other. At least basic intimate things. Though he did know exactly how to touch me to make me shiver. A tingle ran up my spine at the thought.

Stop that!
The last thing I needed was unrealistic fantasies. Tonight definitely was the worst time to be picking at that thread. “The right,” I finally said when the silence became too deafening.

He chuckled and moved to the left side, kicking his shoes off as he went. “Come on, Wil. Lighten up. It’s not like we’ve never shared a bed before.”

I scoffed. Yeah, but the last time he’d held me all night, making me feel safe and loved, had been a few days before he’d left. I didn’t know if I could handle being so close to him with the mile-wide gulf still between us.

His smile vanished. “Willow?”

“Yeah?” I jerked my head up, startled out of my thoughts.

Slowly he walked over to me, holding a hand out.

I didn’t move to take it.

“It’s okay. I promise. I’ll be a perfect gentleman. We both know that without a heat source we’re going to need each other in order to keep warm tonight.”

I stepped back. “I have Link.”

He gave me a wry smile. “True enough.” The smile vanished as his eyes turned serious. “I guess I deserve that. Maybe if Link takes the middle of the bed, that will be enough.”

Disappointment claimed that deep place in my heart, the place that had been hopeful and overjoyed with an excuse to have Tal’s arms around me. I cleared my throat. “Yeah. That sounds like a good idea.”

No. It didn’t. And I would still be cold. Tal’s healing energy had the ability to warm a person from the inside out. But I sure as hell wasn’t going to admit I wanted that sort of intimacy from him. Not tonight. Maybe not ever. My heart was too bruised. Too confused. I understood what he’d said about the Void and needing to maintain his distance. But he never should’ve left the way he did.

After brushing my teeth at the kitchen sink, using a new toothbrush I’d found in a box of supplies, I crawled into my side of the bed. With one pat of my hand, Link jumped onto the bed and over me to settle in the middle. I curled into his back and draped one arm over his lean wolf body. He twisted his head and licked the side of my face in contentment.

“Love you too, Link buddy.” I adjusted my head on the pillow and closed my eyes. My breathing turned to a steady rhythm of a peaceful sleeper, but I was one hundred percent alert. Tal still hadn’t come to bed. I heard him shuffling around the cabin but was too stubborn to open my eyes to see what he was doing.

And just when I thought he’d never join us, the mattress dipped with his weight. I felt him shift closer to Link and was hit with a wave of his light redwood scent. My eyes fluttered open reflexively.

He was sitting up, his shirt discarded as he stared down at me.

I swallowed, my mouth dry at his perfectly sculpted chest. He’d been working out. And oh damn, it wasn’t fair. Not fair at all. Closing my eyes to rid my mind of his naked torso, I licked my lips and asked, “Something wrong?”

“The temperature is dropping.”

“So get in under the covers. It’s cozy in here,” I lied. Cold was seeping in through the blankets. Link kept my right hand and my chest warm, but the rest of me was complaining loudly. Damn early spring storms.

“You can keep lying if you want to, but I can see you shivering from here.”

Crap on toast. Of course he could.

“Well, what would you prefer, for me to lie to myself or bitch about it?”

“Neither.” He reached over and tugged the blankets up, brushing his fingers over my chin. As much as I wanted to ignore it, I couldn’t. His touch sent a bolt of sweet warmth straight to my very toes.

“If you let me hold you, I can make sure you stay warm and comfortable.” His expression was soft, the question clear in his gaze. Did I trust him enough? Or would I prefer to suffer rather than be forced to endure a night in his arms?

The longer the silence dragged on, the cloudier his expression got. But he never said a word. He wasn’t that kind of fae. Always helpful, always stoic. He’d do anything he needed to in order to help. And he’d do it without complaint.
But that didn’t mean he’d be around the next time I needed him.

Tal slid under the covers next to Link. When he was finally comfortable, he glanced over at me. “I got the message. Really. But the offer stands. If you want me, I’m yours.”

Chapter 9

If you want me, I’m yours.
His words hung in the air, taunting me. When had I ever not wanted him? I lay stiff and unmoving. If I relaxed for even a moment, I might throw myself at him. Thank goodness Link was between us.

He’d stayed in wolf form. Even though only Tal and I were in the cabin, the two people he trusted most, he knew there was something more going on, that danger still lurked in the woods. But I was much more worried about what was—or wasn’t—going on in the cabin. I had the covers tucked around me, and Link was providing a little bit of heat to my left side, but he was on top of the blankets, his body heat escaping into the cold room.

I turned onto my side, pressing my back to him and curling into myself. But as the minutes ticked by, I started to shiver. Link jerked his head up and placed his long snout on my shoulder. It was a comforting gesture but did nothing to warm me. My blood was too thin from living in New Orleans for so long. When my teeth started to chatter, I heard Talisen let out a long breath, but he just lay on his side of the bed… waiting.

Dammit. This was ridiculous. The wind was now whistling through the cabin. I rolled over and sat up, bringing the covers with me. “Over here, Link.” I patted the right side of the bed. He moved without hesitation, and I scooted over and slid back down in the bed.

Talisen still hadn’t moved. He was staring at the ceiling, not acknowledging me.

“Does the offer still stand?” I asked quietly. I knew I was being stupid and overdramatic. I could trust Tal. I just didn’t know if my heart could stand being so close to him. To be touched by him.

Without looking at me, he wrapped his arm around my waist and pulled me to him. The chill in my bones thawed the moment he engulfed me into his embrace. I placed my head on his chest, my entire body relaxing against his.

“You can trust me, Wil,” he whispered as one hand trailed through my hair.

“I do,” I forced out as a hot tear slipped down my temple.