The Accidental Familiar (Accidentally Paranormal Series Book 14) (37 page)

After Adam left, Maddie groaned. She wanted to smack herself. Her reaction to Adam’s revelation about Isis and Carl shamed her. She didn’t want anyone to think she was a bigot. And she really didn’t want Adam to think of her as an outsider.

Maddie took an orange slice from the tray and nibbled the pulp. Why had she dreamed of Cage and Adam? What did it mean that she’d ended up at their carnival?
Love has made them mine.
She had so many questions and very few answers. Tomorrow she would ask. Tonight, she would sleep.

*

Cage had been outside Alana’s trailer when Adam had been in with the girl. Madeline…Maddie, she’d said. His chest rumbled with a low, quiet growl. Why did Adam insist on keeping her? She’d be nothing but trouble if they didn’t get rid of her soon. Besides, she set his teeth on edge.

Something about the newcomer disturbed Cage and pushed his control to the brink. He’d been the one to catch her when she passed out, and having her in his arms had felt…strange. When Adam flirted with her in the trailer, Cage felt a twinge of regret along with a spark of anger.

Clary had only been gone six months. Too soon for Cage to think about courting another woman, even if she stirred him. He’d slapped the backside of the trailer before he’d gone around the front, knowing Adam would pay heed.

“She needs to go,” Cage said quietly when Adam opened the door.

“Brother,” Adam replied as he jumped down the steps. His disapproving glare brought heat to Cage’s cheeks.

Hadn’t the others said the same thing about Cage when Adam first rescued him? He’d been wild—out of control. His first taste of freedom had unleashed his savagery. If it hadn’t been for Adam…

As they walked in silence through the midway, a woman stepped out from the shadows behind one of the game stands. Alice Deckard, the carnival’s contortionist, waved at both men. Cage bit off his disgust. He liked her less than he liked the stranger. Alice had been Adam’s lover, before he’d freed Cage. She’d thought of Cage as a sub-species, not worth her time. It had caused a serious rift between Adam and herself, and she blamed Cage for their break-up nine years ago.

Why didn’t she just move on?

“Alice,” Adam said, his voice warm and welcoming. He kissed her cheek when she neared. Her long blond hair was pulled back in a severe braid giving her green eyes a slight slant. Dark eye-liner emphasized the angle and made her look exotic.

She smiled, keeping her voice light and friendly. “Carl says the back lot is clear. Darren’s finishing up through the tents, and the parking lot is empty. I think we’re good.”

Cage fought the impulse to scoff. Adam had taken Alice in after she’d been shot in her mountain lion form. She’d been hunting deer in the Missouri Ozarks and ended up being the hunted. She’d managed to escape the woods before transforming back to her human self and collapsing in a ditch near 65 Highway. By sheer luck, Adam had spotted her. He, with the help of Alana, saved Alice.

She’d seduced Adam, but their relationship couldn’t withstand her possessive nature. Adam would never be hers alone. He belonged to all under his protection. Under
our
protection, Cage mentally amended.

He couldn’t forgive her for how she’d acted when Adam first brought him to the carnival. Cage’s first year of freedom had been a constant fight against his own angry savagery—something Alice tried to exploit to her advantage. Her actions changed nearly cost him everything. Cage promised to keep her lies a secret if she promised to let Adam go. In nine years, she’d never gone back on her word, so neither had Cage. But she’d put a barrier between him and his adopted brother that not even time had been able to fix.

Clary had fixed it, he reminded himself, albeit temporarily. Bitterness and regret crept into his thoughts. Her death, another tragedy had erected the barrier once again. He missed Clary. Missed how she made him feel. Missed how her love had brought him and Adam closer. Missed how a simple touch from her could calm his restless spirit.

Madeline.
A stab of guilt brought a scowl to his face. He didn’t even know this Madeline, yet how she made him feel was a betrayal to Clary’s memory.

“Brother,” he said to Adam after they’d finished shutting down and made it back to their trailer. “About this girl.” He forced the words from his lips. “Now that she’s awake, I think we should send her on her way in the morning.” Cage’s gut clenched as he once again asked Adam to get rid of the girl. He ached for her in an unnatural way. He hated the idea that his beast side, once again, was trying to take control.

“Let’s not speak of it now.” Adam put his hand on Cage’s shoulder to reassure him. “Tomorrow we’ll talk more.”

They both undressed and crawled into bed. Cage curled up, putting his back to Adam’s side. Adam stroked his arm and back. Cage sighed, the tension and anxiety melting at Adam’s touch. To a human, they might have looked like homosexual lovers, but their connection as lions, the pair-bond that had formed between them, went beyond sexual. It was a bond stronger than blood, stronger than love.

Adam’s low purr and his comforting touch eased Cage’s troubled thoughts. Within minutes, he fell fast asleep.

T
he next morning, Maddie dressed in a yellow shift dress Isis had laid out for her and left the safety of the trailer that had been her haven for two days. Her bladder screamed to be emptied, even as her stomach rumbled to get filled. She hoped to hell there was a toilet at this place. No way did she want to pee in the woods.

Carl was the first person she saw. “Excuse me.”

He glared up at Maddie, baring his teeth. “What do you want?”

God. Someone woke up grumpy. “Is there a bathroom?”

He pointed toward to a Job-Johnny she hadn’t seen before.

“Thanks.” Luckily the unit was free, and she stepped inside. At least the portable toilet was clean, even if it didn’t smell like roses.

When she exited, Maddie tripped over a buried root…and into Cage’s arms.

“We have to stop meeting like this,” she said, feeling breathless at his touch. Her nipples hardened as his dark amber gaze found its way to her breasts.

He licked his lips, and she fought back moan. God, he was so gorgeous. She wanted him to rub his beard against her entire body, leaving no inch untouched. Would his face be as rough as it looked, or as soft as she remembered from the dream? He was so tall she had to stretch when she reached up and stroked his cheek.

Soft.

Her lower body tightened with need as she thought about the dream, and how she felt when he’d sucked her nipples while he’d worked two fingers inside her body. He rubbed the corner of his mouth against her palm, his eyes closing as she caressed his face. His strong hand slid up her thigh, and she gave into her desire, melting against him.

Suddenly his whole body stiffened. His eyes widened, and a low growl emanated as he let her go with a slight push. “Don’t touch me, woman.”

Maddie stumbled back, bracing herself on the Job-Johnny. His sudden change in demeanor frightened her. Some women hid when confronted by something that made them afraid, but Maddie had always been the type to react with anger. “Uh, you grabbed me, asshole.” She straightened the dress where Cage had pulled it up over her hip. The way he’d gone from hot to cold put her off-center. “Where’s Adam?”

Cage curled his fingers into fists. “I’m not your goddamned tour guide.” He sharply turned on his heel and stalked off.

She stared at him as he disappeared behind the big top before erupting into a frustrated shout. It took a couple of seconds for her stomach to stop its jittery dance.

“Girl,” she heard a woman call. She turned and saw Isis the snake dancer waving her over.

Maddie cast one last glance where Cage had disappeared and rubbed her arms to ward off the shiver creeping across her skin. “Hey,” Maddie said.

“Adam is looking for you.” She turned, and Maddie knew there was an expectation she would follow.

Isis led Maddie to a small open area on the far end of the carnival, the opposite side of the parking lot. There were tables set up with folding chairs filled with men and woman of different sizes and obvious backgrounds. Her eyes locked on a large woman with a hairy face sitting with a very tall and broad man. His wide jaw and protruding forehead reminded Maddie of early Cro-Magnon man.

The woman laughed and wrapped her arms around his narrow waist. He smiled down at her and kissed the top of her head. Adam was at the head of their table. He laughed as the woman said something Maddie couldn’t hear, slapped the giant on the belly, and then tilted her head at an angle to kiss him solid on his wide mouth.

Adam quickly noticed Maddie, and patted the seat next to him. There was a plate of food already there, and she wondered whose seat she’d be taking. Cage’s? She took the seat down one from the full plate.

The bearded woman raised a brow. “This your new stray, Adam?”

Maddie said, “No,” at the same time that Adam said, “Yes.”

The woman slapped the table and laughed, the rich sound filling the empty space around them. “I like her already.” She wiped a greasy palm on her dress and held her hand out. “I’m Marlena.” She stroked her facial hair with her thumb and forefinger. “The bearded lady, obviously.”

“I’m Maddie Granger.” Maddie took the woman’s thick, chubby hand and gave it a squeeze. “Nice to meet you.”

Marlena assessed Maddie for a moment then gestured to the giant man next to her. “This here’s my man Darren.”

Their names were familiar—
Marlena and Darren are at it again…
In her dream, she’d walked past their trailer where they’d been having very noisy sex. Maddie’s cheeks warmed. “I…er…it’s nice to meet you both.”

She felt Adam’s gaze, and she worried he’d think she was judging Marlena and Darren, the way she had with Isis and Carl. She didn’t want him thinking she was a really awful person, so she drew herself up and held out her hand to briefly shake Darren’s.

Adam pushed the plate down in front of her. “Eat up. You must be starving.”

He’d made the plate for her, and for some stupid reason, it made Maddie deliriously happy.

She looked down at the scrambled eggs, more orange slices, and thick white peppered gravy over toast. The combined aroma made her mouth water and her stomach growl. Her hands shook at she picked up the fork next to the plate. “Thank you,” she said to Adam when she finally got the nerve to look at him.

Her heart raced when she saw the easy smile that lit his dark-blue eyes.
The color of midnight…
On impulse, she reached out and covered his hand with her own. The warmth of his skin sent a shock of tingles up her arm. He raised a questioning brow, but didn’t move his hand away. He didn’t have to. Maddie snatched her hand back as if she’d stuck it in a mess of hot coals.

“I’m sorry,” she mumbled, staring down into her plate of eggs, her appetite suddenly abated. “I don’t know what’s gotten into me.” Since she’d been at the carnival, she hadn’t wanted to leave. It was the first time in nearly six months that she didn’t feel the call of the road.

Adam lifted his hand and sniffed the back of it. “Cage,” he said absently. He smiled, ignoring her apology. “Where are you from, Madeline?”

“Maddie,” she corrected.

“Madeline is a very beautiful name. A woman’s name.”

Maddie’s woman parts all took notice of Adam. Her bits throbbed and her nipples perked. She definitely wanted him to see her as a grown-up. “I guess you can call me Madeline.”

He rewarded her with a sweet smile. A smile just for her and her alone. Maddie’s appetite returned. She happily dove into the pleasingly good meal.

*

Cage snarled as he waited for Adam to arrive at the tent to practice their routine. They’d thrown in a few new tricks that needed to be perfected. To kill time he did pull-ups on the lowered trapeze bar until his biceps burned. He let go, dropping the few feet to the center ring. That woman! His frustration grew with every minute Adam allowed her to stay.

He’d marked her palm with his scent! How could he so callously scent another woman who wasn’t Clary? He paced with aggressive energy. He needed a good work out. Something to take the piss and vinegar, as Marlena liked to say, out of him. He began jogging the rings, his mind racing with every step. The woman had felt so good in his arms, so vulnerable and sexy. When she’d stroked his face, his instinct took over as he’d rubbed himself against her hand. Her supple thigh, her curvy body pressed against his, had made his cock jerk to attention. It had also snapped him out of the spell she put him under.

Clary had been human, but she’d been an anomaly, like the rest of Pantheros & Company. She’d been a psychic—a real medium with the ability to foresee the future. His heart sank as he wished he could talk to her again. Hold her just one more time. Her death had left a hole in Cage, and it seemed nothing and no one could fill.

Except when he’d held the irritating woman. Why did he have these feelings for this stranger, this human female, so frail…so much like Clary? Why did Maddie feel so right in his arms? Anger exploded in Cage and he grabbed the nearest item, a small wooden stand. He threw it across the ring, roaring his rage and loss and grief, as it shattered against the hard dirt floor.

Adam ducked inside the tent before Cage could grab the next stand. “Calm yourself, brother.”

Cage sagged to his knees, the rage sputtering until it was no more than an ember in his gut. Adam wasted no time coming to his side. He squatted next to Cage and put his arms around him. “I think she’s meant to be ours, brother.”

“No,” Cage said with hollow denial. She felt like theirs already, but he couldn’t reconcile his new feelings for Maddie with his grief for Clary Sage.

“We shall see,” was all Adam said. “Let’s practice. Or are you too tired?”

“I’m ready.” Cage looked at Adam, holding back the unshed tears.

Adam placed his hand on the back of Cage’s neck, his fingers massaging into the tightly knotted muscles. “I know you are.”

*

Adam hurt for Cage. He could see how conflicted his brother was over Madeline. She’d thrown Adam for a loop in the beginning, but now that he’d had time to think about her, and their connection to her, he understood that a true match rarely came along once in a lifetime. It would be foolish of him and Cage to turn away from a second chance out of loyalty to their lost love.