The Banshee's Desire (6 page)

Toby ran a finger down the side of her face, bringing a smile to Jacqueline's lips. Acting on instinct, he moved to kiss her, feeling his body igniting with the slow heat she always brought out in him. Her hands moved up his back as she pressed herself closer, the action spurring the purely male part of him forward.

Every inch of her body was exquisite softness, and greedily he rolled her over to explore more. He moved his kisses down her neck, loving the small shivers he could feel running through her. Her nipples went rigid as his tongue roamed over them, nibbling and sucking, while his hands dipped lower. She gasped as one of his fingers slipped inside her, stirring the dampness already building there. 

But he wanted to give her more.

As a wizard, he knew he could.

He whispered words against her skin, willing his desires into fruition. As he moved lower, allowing his tongue to replace his finger, he heard her moan as his magic took effect. An invisible mouth gently suckled on each nipple as he pleasured her. Unseen hands stroked her sides with feather light caresses.

"Oh god," she whispered. "That feels so good."

With a smile, Toby kept up slow, tortuous erotic assault on her body that left her breathless and crying out in ecstasy. He could feel her muscles tightening as her orgasm drew near, but he wasn't ready to let her have release just yet. Backing off a little, he kissed the inside of her thighs, loving the soft sighs she gave.

He closed his eyes and whispered another incantation which made the fantasy mouths and hands disappear. Toby moved slowly back up her body, marveling at the porcelain skin and the small blush of pink decorating her chest from excitement. When his lips found hers, he kissed her long and deep, his tongue plunging gently against hers, a promise of more to come.

He eased back so he could look into her eyes.

They were deep pools of desire, reflecting a need so strong that he was tempted to end all the love play and satisfy them both.

But Jacqueline was not a woman meant for quick pleasures.

"What are you doing?" she asked.

"I'm going to watch you," he said. "Just relax."

Toby flicked his fingers in the air and a soft shimmer of lights appeared above them. Soft and warm, they illuminated the room just enough so that he could look his fill at the beautiful woman lying in his bed. She stared at the light as if transfixed, but her eyes shut as he began to once again summon the invisible hands and mouths to give her more pleasure.

She twisted in the bed, breasts thrust forward, nipples hard as her arms spread out, held captive by unseen forces. Toby had only to imagine what he wanted to see happen to her body and it did. Her hips bucked and he could feel his own hardness, knowing that to plunge deep inside her would mean the end of this wicked torment. His own breathing grew ragged as she moaned and thrashed on the bed, an unseen lover of Toby's making having his way with her.

God, but she was sexy like this.

Toby couldn't stand it anymore. 

Her skin burned beneath him as he slipped inside her, the heat and wetness warring with his self-control. Jacqueline's legs wrapped around his waist as she thrust her hips up to take all of him. Toby kept his thrusts slow, savoring the feel of her, loving the way her nails scratched down his back.

"Please," she whispered. "More."

Kissing her, taking every breath with her, Toby deepened his movements, quickening the pace until once again her muscles contracted, squeezing him, drawing from him the most incredible orgasm he'd ever experienced. They climaxed together, breathing hard in the tangle of bed sheets wrapped around their bodies.

"That was…," she panted, struggling to catch her breath. "Amazing."

"I like my women to be satisfied," Toby teased, trying to control his own breathing.

"Another satisfied customer is right here." Jacqueline propped herself up on an elbow in order to see him better. "I think we should have middle of the night sex more often."

"I don't know, sweetie. We have middle of the day sex, right before bedtime sex, and sometimes a quickie in the backroom of the bar sex," Toby said. "Any more and I might not be able to keep up."

"You're insatiable." Jacqueline kissed his chest. "And I love it."

He wrapped his arms around her, pulling her close.

They said nothing more and after a few minutes, he heard the deep steady breathing that let him know she'd fallen back asleep. Good. She needed rest. The last few days had brought little of that for her. Though Toby hadn't said anything, he'd heard her crying in the bathroom a few times, and knew that her dreams were restless.

Toby's heart tightened at the reason why.

Jacob Fortensky. The man who'd tried to sexually assault and murder Angela. The man whom his son, Gabe, had brought to heel. The man who'd mysteriously ended up dead before his ride to the police station ended.

What did he make of that?

Was it possible that…

Toby tightened his grip on Jacqueline and tried to banish the thought that threatened his trust in her. She couldn't have done anything to Fortensky. He'd been right there. He would have known, would have sensed something.

No. Jacob Fortensky had suffered a heart attack on the way to the police station. It was probably brought on by the stress and guilt of knowing that this time he wouldn't be posting bail. This time he would be punished for his crimes.

Jacqueline's restless nights were due to concern about her friend. She cried because she cared so much. Her dreams were about the horror Angela had suffered, not because she might feel guilty over something.

Jacqueline had nothing to do with Jacob Fortensky's death.

Nothing.

Toby clung to the thought as sleep finally overtook him.

"How is Angela?"

Jacqueline looked up from the book she'd been reading and couldn't help but stiffen. Gabe stood next to her with his usual scowl of disapproval on his face. For a moment, she almost didn't believe the words had come from him.

"She's alright. Not talking very much," Jacqueline said. "The doctor told me she is suffering from depression."

"Her ribs were broken?"

"Yeah, a few of them. And her arm, too."

Gabe's face darkened with anger.

"I should have got there quicker."

"What do you mean? It's not like you knew what was happening."

"Toby had asked me to take out the trash. I was being stubborn, taking my own sweet time to do it. If I'd gone out when he told me to, maybe she wouldn't be so banged up," Gabe said.

Jacqueline looked at him for a moment, understanding exactly what he was going through. She had done the same thing countless time in the week since the attack.

"Gabe, if I'd just walked her to the car like a good friend would do, I could have prevented it, too," Jacqueline said.

"He would have just got you."

"Maybe. But I have special skills that Angela doesn’t." She gave him a pointed look. "That creep wouldn't have stood a chance against me and I would have been justified in defending myself."

"You don't think you were justified in what happened later?" Gabe asked, his eyes darting around Merlyn's Bar to make sure Toby was nowhere in sight.

Jacqueline looked away.

"I don't know," she said softly. "Justice was served."'

"Yes, it was," Gabe said. "I think you did the right thing."

Jacqueline wasn't so sure. In the light of day, her action seemed impulsive. Yet, every time she looked at Angela's battered face, every time she thought about the haunting faces of the murdered women, Jacqueline felt she'd done the right thing, though she knew Toby would disagree.

She hadn't mentioned this new talent, the ability to see the murdered souls of a killer. It confused her. If they were souls, shouldn't they want to cross over? The two women had been more intent on the death of their killer.

She found herself looking even closer at Gabe, wondering if the soul of Derek Spark lingered around him.

Or her husband.

"You okay?" Gabe frowned. "You're staring."

"Maybe you should go by and see Angela," Jacqueline ignored his question. "I know she wants to thank you for saving her life."

"It's not necessary." Gabe turned away, but she thought there been a hint of red on his face, as if the thought of being thanked embarrassed him. "I'm sure she'll be back here soon."

"I don't know. She seems pretty bent on staying locked in her apartment. I'm worried she'll never come out again."

Gabe went behind the bar and lifted a few beer boxes.

"Give her time," he said. "She'll be okay."

As he carried the boxes into the back room, Jacqueline stared after him, looking for the same type of gray shadows attached to him that she'd seen with Jacob Fortensky.

There was nothing.

She was distracted from her thoughts as Toby and a Siberian Husky came into the bar. Toby glanced around and seeing only Jacqueline, locked the door.

"Okay, mom. It's safe," he said to the dog.

In an instant, the dog shifted, transforming into the familiar human form of Matilda Williams.

"Hope you enjoyed that," Toby said to his mother. "Because you won't be doing it again for a while. If ever."

"Don’t say that," Matilda frowned. "My hip will be fine after the surgery."

"Your hip is messed up because of shifting."

"I'm a shifter. It's what I do. Can't fight my nature," Matilda hobbled over to the table where Jacqueline sat. "Geez, my son can be a pain in the ass."

"I know," Jacqueline agreed. "But he sure has a cute ass."

"Gets it from his father," Matilda said. "He was a pain in the ass too, but he definitely had a cute tushy."

"Mom, please," Toby said. "You really don't have to share so much information."

"Why not?" Matilda asked. "Jacqueline is practically family now. She has a right to know about these things."

"What time is your surgery tomorrow?" Jacqueline asked before a verbal sparring match between mother and son could begin. "I'm planning to stay with you tomorrow night."

"It's at six thirty in the morning. Too early." Matilda groaned. "Stupid doctor wants me there at five to check in."

"They wanted her to check in tonight," Toby said. "But somebody was too stubborn to spend more than one night in the hospital."

"Somebody better watch it or his mother won't go do the surgery at all," Matilda warned. "Then you can just carry me around from place to place like any good son."

"You're getting the surgery," Toby said, going behind the bar. "I'm tired of hearing you bitch."

Jacqueline listened to the argument between Toby and Matilda with a smile. She knew they weren't really arguing. This was just their way of communicating. True, it was different than the way she and her own mother treated each other, but it seemed to work for Toby and Matilda. Underneath their constant bickering was a deep love that she'd only just begun to recognize. 

"What you looking at?" Matilda asked when Toby went in to the backroom. Without waiting for a response, she pulled the book over. "Irish Folklore and Families. Sounds boring."

"It's not," Jacqueline said. "It's actually interesting stuff."

"Anything about your people in there?"

"A little. I've tried talking to my mother about it, but she hasn't been very helpful with providing details."

"Some mothers don't want their children to know the truth. They're afraid of the consequences."

"I don't think my mom is hiding anything, really. She did tell me that my biological family's name is O' Grady. I think she just feels bad about keeping the fact that I was adopted a secret in the first place."

"Feels bad? Are you sure she doesn't feel guilty?" Matilda pushed the book back to Jacqueline. "Listen, honey, I've been around a long time. I've seen some strange things and known family members to keep crazy secrets. Moms will do anything to protect their babies. Even lie."

She wanted to defend her mother, but in the last four months, she'd come to feel that something wasn't right. Her mother acted strangely whenever the adoption was brought up, telling her only that her mother had been a young Irish girl who'd gotten pregnant too soon and been killed in a car accident.

But Jacqueline knew there was more.

Gabe had once told her that the last time a half banshee had been created, it had destroyed half of
Europe
. She couldn't help but wonder if she was somehow related to the first half banshee.

But did she really want to know?

Sometimes it just seemed easier to float along in the world she and Toby coexisted in and forget about all the unknowns.

"You can't escape the truth," Matilda said, watching her closely. "No matter how much you may want to, it always finds a way to be heard. Keep pushing your mother."

"I will," Jacqueline promised and then changed the subject. "So, is there anything special you want me to bring to you at the hospital tomorrow night?"