Spell Bound (Darkly Enchanted) (37 page)

Did he look at Shea like that?

Vaffanculo
. He hoped he wasn’t that transparent.

Leo’s second yawn cut through the tension as Shea gave a shaky laugh.

“Come on, bud.” She held out her hand to the boy. “Let’s get some sleep.”

Leo hopped off his chair but stopped at Gabriel’s side, wide eyes looking straight into his. “Will you come, too?”

He didn’t even have to think about his answer. “Sure, kid.”

But he paused before he got up as his gaze caught Shea’s. He saw warmth there and something he couldn’t interpret. Didn’t she want him to come? Hell, she’d just have to get used to him being around because…Oh, hell, he couldn’t even finish the thought.

Idiot. You’re such an idiot.

He stood, watching Shea’s expression. When she smiled, the knot in his stomach loosened.

After a quick glance at Quinn, staring at the table, and his mom, staring into the sink, he took Leo’s hand and walked him and Shea back to their room.

The kid was fading fast, and Shea looked like she needed a break. Hell, they all needed a break. He knew he needed to get back to the kitchen before Serena and Quinn started in on each other and said things they couldn’t take back.

Leo went straight to the bed, kicking off his shoes and jeans before pulling down the covers and crawling beneath. Shea toed off her shoes, leaving her clothes in place, then lay on top on the comforter, drawing the kid into the curve of her body.

Gabriel wanted to lie behind her, wrap his arms around both of them and ignore the rest of the world for a while.

Since the deaths of his dad and brother, his need to shed Dario’s blood had buried any tender feelings he might have had for anyone. He’d let anger and despair dictate his life. Shea and Leo made him realize what he’d been missing.

His feet moved, taking him closer to the bed. His knees bent and he sat on the edge.

Shea’s hair lay like dark silk on the pale blue comforter and he sank one hand into its softness, weaving his fingers through the strands.

Those shattered-glass eyes caught and held his. Heat pooled in his groin, making his cock thicken in anticipation.

Did Shea want him just as much?

He refused to examine her aura, afraid he wouldn’t see her answering desire for him.

Instead, he forced himself to look at the kid, staring up at him, as well.

“You okay, Leo?”

The kid nodded, his eyes already half closed. “Don’t leave, ’kay?”

Gabriel’s heart contracted. “I’ll be in the house the whole time, Leo. I’m not going anywhere.” Not yet, anyway.

“’kay.”

Leo’s eyes closed, and Gabriel swore the kid was asleep already.

His gaze returned to Shea’s, watching him closely. “You up for talking to Serena or you want some time?”

She didn’t answer him right away, her hand rubbing Leo’s back in small circles. “I think your mom’s probably anxious to talk, don’t you?”

“She’s waited five-hundred years, Shea. Another few hours aren’t gonna matter.”

Nodding, Shea’s lips lifted in a slight smile. That smile lit his libido like a match to a firecracker. Time to get out of here. Still…

He leaned over and laid his lips on his hers. He didn’t linger and it wasn’t sweet. There was no tongue and he didn’t touch her anywhere else. But he needed that connection, no matter how brief.

Their eyes met and held for a brief second before hers closed, and he felt her lips soften, conform. Yield.

Lust roared up but he shut it down in heartbeat. This wasn’t the time.

But later…

When he straightened, she looked a little less pale.

“Come out when you’re ready,” he said. “Take all the time you need.”

Then he headed back to the kitchen to put out the fire there.

* * *

As soon as Gabriel left the room with Shea and Leo, Quinn started to apologize.

“Jesus, Serena, I’m an idiot. I’m so sorry for acting like an ass.”

He’d been so caught up in his own drama that he’d failed to realize the memories Leo would trigger in Serena. Christ, the kid looked so much Nino with his dark hair and eyes.

Serena stood at the sink, her back to him. “There’s nothing to be sorry for.” She turned on the water and started washing dishes. “Are you finished?”

He stood and walked to her side, dishes in hand. He wanted her to turn to him for comfort, wanted to wrap his arms around her and ease the loss he saw in her eyes. “Yeah, I’m finished. You never talk about him. Maybe you should.”

Serena shook her head but wouldn’t look up. “There’s nothing to talk about. I have to live with his death. Not you.”

His arms ached to hold her but knew she wouldn’t allow it. And he didn’t think he could stand to be refused again. “I’m still sorry.” As he put his dishes in the sink, he heard Gabriel leave Leo’s room and head toward them. “I’ll leave you and Gabriel alone to talk strategy.”

“Quinn.” Serena finally looked at him. “Please.”

His heart dropped into his stomach then flew back up to his throat. He didn’t know what she was trying to say, didn’t know how to read her expression.

This whole situation was completely screwed up.

“Quinn, I…”

Gabriel walked into the room.

“Hey. Everything okay?”

Quinn could have cheerfully strangled him. But Shea and Leo needed him too much.

Serena released his gaze to turn to her son. “We’re fine. Have you heard from Matt?”

Gabe put his arm around his mother’s shoulders and drew her close. Serena slid her arms around his waist and held on for a few moments before stepping away. It made him feel like an ass for being jealous of his best friend, but Quinn wanted to be the one Serena needed.

“No, not yet. But he’ll call. And when he gets here, Shea and I’ll leave for New Orleans. Right now, I want to make sure we weren’t followed.” Gabe’s gaze locked onto Quinn. “I need you to give me a hand.”

Quinn shook his head, needing to be gone. He’d done enough damage already. “You don’t need me. Let Shea—”

Gabe cut him off. “No. It’ll go faster if we do this together.”

And it would keep him here longer.

“Gabe—”

“Quinn.” Gabe’s voice lowered but took on intensity. “I need you.”

Quinn didn’t say anything. Gabriel was his brother in all ways but blood and the one person Quinn knew he could count on unconditionally.

He took a deep breath and let it out with a muttered, “Fuck.” Then he shook his head and set his jaw. “Fine. Let’s do this.”

Chapter Fifteen

Shea sat on the bed next to Leo, rubbing his back, even though she knew he was asleep.

Poor guy was completely worn out from stress, excitement and fear.

Not a good combination for anyone, much less a six-year-old boy whose parents had been murdered and who could make grown men scream just by touching them.

Staring down at him, she saw her parents in his every feature. The ever-present guilt settled on her chest.

If she hadn’t left, would her parents still be alive? Had she made a mistake, left a trail back to them? Had she… What?

She had no answers to those questions. And she shouldn’t be thinking about that now. Right now, she had to figure out what to do. About Leo. About the curse.

About Gabriel.

Simple answer to that last one. Not a damn thing.

Because if what her grandfather had written in his journal was true, there was no point in starting anything with Gabriel. She wouldn’t be around to finish it. She was pretty damn sure that she wasn’t going to be breathing when the fat lady sang.

She swallowed back a sob, not wanting to wake Leo.

Not fair. So not fair.

Would Serena have any answers?

Please, Great Mother Goddess, let her have some answers.

She bent and pressed a kiss to Leo’s baby-soft hair then left the room after lighting the small lamp in the corner.

In the hall, she headed back the way they’d come. Paintings of landscapes covered the plastered walls, which had mellowed with age to a gorgeous sunset gold that most people paid big bucks to have faux-painted that way. According to Gabriel, his mother had lived here for two centuries.

She’d passed several rooms when she heard chanting—male voices, faint but clear—and followed the sound to a small altar room. She stopped well away from the door so she didn’t disturb Quinn and Gabriel, sitting on the floor in the middle of a ritual circle, heads bent over a moon bowl.

They didn’t notice her. They were too immersed in the spell they were weaving. A powerful spell. She felt it undulate out of the room, washing over her then moving on. They were searching, checking to see if anyone had followed them.

So much power. Most of it coming from one man.

Her gaze lit on Gabriel and stuck. The heat that snuck up on her every time she was with him began to pool low in her stomach. It made her wet, made her want to kiss him and have him put his hands on her.

But it was the ache in her chest that was the real problem.

She’d fallen for the guy.