The Beast Within (21 page)

He grabbed the edge of the bar.
No. He couldn’t.

“Oh, it’s here! On the chair. A rose quartz. For love, healing and power. It blends the heart and solar plexus.”

Gage turned away from the bar and his dark thoughts. He strode across the room with his preternatural speed. There, sitting on the leather chair that dominated the dais, was a small pink stone with just a hint of white marbling.

Mira lifted the stone in her fingers. “Here, put it with the other two.” She dropped it into his palm.

The cool feel of it seem to shoot through him, stirring his magic. Then he dropped it into his pocket. There was a soft
clink
as it hit the other two stones.

Mira stared at him. “Now what?”

He wanted her out of this room. He wanted to finish what they’d started, but not in here. Mira was special. She deserved better than being one in a string of women.

“Let’s go down to the club.” He took her arm and hustled her out, not looking back at his old life.

M
ira walked out of the room with Gage holding her hand and was slammed with the beat of pounding music and pulsing colored lights. The air was thick with sweat, perfume and a strange desperation. There was a balcony area with a few tables and chairs that overlooked the dance floor. From this height, they had to be three floors up. Across the room, there was a second-story balcony and what looked like four doors to more VIP rooms. They took a glass elevator down to the first floor.

The doors slid open. People writhed and shimmied on the two dance floors, or lounged at the bars or private booths. The pulsing lights made it hard to see details, but she noticed that the sound of voices talking over the music began to fall off. It started closest to them and moved in a wave through the bottom floor.

All heads turned.

Mira grew hot and prickly under the stares. Then she heard the whispers.

Wizard. Remington. It’s him. Who’s she?

Gage’s hand tightened on hers, but when she turned, his face was hard, his blue eyes unreadable.

Bret, the club’s owner strode up. “Mr. Remington. Welcome to Raven’s Claw. I didn’t know you were here or I would have greeted you sooner.”

Bret barely looked at her. She wasn’t worth his attention, not now when he had the Wizard of Raven Mist gracing his club. Annoyed she said, “Hello Bret.”

He glanced her way and nodded. “Mira.” Then he added, “Get Mr. Remington whatever he’d like to drink. On the house, of course. Get something for yourself too.”

And just like that he dismissed her as an invisible servant. The unfairness of it tasted like indigestion. “Bite me, Bret,” she said in a voice that thundered over the music.

The silence rained down. Everyone in the entire club turned to look at her. At magic-blind Mira Tate. Bret’s chiseled jaw dropped.

Mira wouldn’t back down. She had had it. “I’m not your servant, nor am I the gofer of the great and mysterious Wizard Remington. If he wants a drink, he can walk over to the bar and get it himself.” Her blood raced so fast that it sounded like the roar of the ocean in her ears. But that little rant had felt pretty damned good.

Bret’s hazel gaze burned with fury. “Then you don’t need to be here at all, do you?” He lifted his hand and snapped his fingers.

Two tanks in suits slipped up to him.

“This lady is leaving.”

Now she’d done it. She needed Gage to find Gram! But no way was she going to—

The music stopped suddenly and Gage’s voice boomed through the club, magnified either by the speakers or magic. “She’s with me. No one touches her. No one.” He turned his gaze to Bret. “Get Mira a glass of wine. She likes pinot grigio.”

Bret backed up a step, his tanned skin turning red. “Of course.” He turned to the security. “See what the fuck is wrong with the music and get it playing!” And he stormed off.

The music burst through the club again.

Mira frantically looked for a dark booth. She’d made her big stand; now she needed an exit.

Gage still had ahold of her hand and he pulled her to the center dance floor. She hadn’t danced in a couple of years. Not since college when she’d occasionally go out with girlfriends. Before she knew it, Gage turned her back to his front, put his hands on her waist, then leaned down and said, “Those are some claws, wildcat. Are you going to claw my back when I’m pounding into you until we both come?”

Heat roared through her body and with it, a sense of power. A feeling of exhilaration flooded her that the man with his hands resting just above her hips wanted her, admired her, liked her just the way she was. He even stood up for her in front of all these people. Was it possible that a real relationship was building between them? She began to sway to the dance beat, letting herself go and just feeling the music.

And Gage. He kept his hands on her, turning her to face him, his gaze only on her as they danced.

When the song changed, Mira took a look around and noticed the dance floor had filled. There were a lot of couples, but there were a few knots of women moving closer and closer. They were drawn to Gage, their gazes shifting to him every half minute.

Gage’s hands tightened on her waist, pulling her into his body. “I’m only looking at you. Know why I picked this shade of blue for you?”

She could almost feel the mantling on his arms and chest reaching out to her, like strokes of warm ribbon sliding over the skin where his hands held her. Looking up, she saw that his raven-dark hair flowed around his wizard-hard face. But it was his eyes that radiated aged power and raw magnetism. “Why?”

He leaned closer until they breathed the same air. “Your electric-blue panties under that drab black skirt. I saw them when I stripped you to wash off the troll blood. I knew then that you might be frigid in magic, but you’re a sensual, passionate woman.” He rubbed his thumbs over her waist. “And you do purr when you come, wildcat.”

“Guess what color panties I have on now?” She had no idea because she hadn’t seen them. He created them so he would know. She was just thankful he’d thought of panties.

He grinned at her, obviously willing to play along. “What color?”

“Wet.”

He pressed her hips to his and brushed his mouth across hers, whispering, “Bad kitty.”

But she didn’t feel bad. She felt safe to be who she was. Drawing her head back, she laughed.

His eyes darkened. “That laugh is doing wicked things to me, kitty cat.”

More warmth filled her chest. “I want to do wicked, bad things to you, wizard. With my hands, my mouth…” She leaned up closer to his ear. “What sound do wizards make when they come?”

A low growl rumbled in his chest. “I’ll show you.” He grabbed her hand and turned, heading toward the back of the club. “I know another private room.”

Thrills shot through her. Mira followed, feeling slightly buzzed, even though she’d only had a glass of wine back in the hotel room. They moved unimpeded through the crowds because everyone parted, leaving a clear path. Staring at Gage’s massive shoulders in that jacket, she wondered if she was becoming a pathetic magic-groupie that—

A massive flash-bang exploded, rocking the club. Gray smoke colored by the pulsing lights billowed around them. Someone grabbed her hair, jerking her back. Her head spun from the smoke and disorientation. She tried to pull free, but they had a vicious hold on her hair and forced her down to her knees.

“Remington!” The voice boomed behind her.

The smoke cleared.

Gage stood four feet in front of her, his jaw clenched and his eyes blazing. “Luther. Something on your mind?”

“You were wrong.”

Gage straightened his arms behind him and slipped off his jacket. “How so? I believe I said you were a magic-born hack who would never amount to more than a party magician.” He casually tossed the jacket away and frowned. “Have you surpassed that? Perhaps gotten your own show in Vegas?”

The hand tightened in her hair as Luther snapped, “I got the drop on you here, took your little piece of ass away from you in front of hundreds of witnesses.”

Gage shook his head. “See, this is one of the many reasons why I refused your application as my apprentice. My laws are absolute. You hurt someone in my town, and the death penalty will be strictly enforced.”

“I’m taking over this town, Remington.”

Mira stared at Gage. He stood perfectly still, his T-shirt stretched across his massive chest barely showing any rise and fall. But the mantling on his arms was darkening to an angry shade of deep red. Yet his voice was barely interested as he said, “Have you achieved the status of master then?”

The hand clenched tighter in her hair. “That’s archaic. A secret club made up by a bunch of old men.”

“Says the magician hiding behind a woman.”

The wizard shoved her hard and another flash-bang exploded.

Fuck a troll to all nine rings of hell and back. Gage was so furious, he wasn’t going to need magic to kill this asshole. Pulling on centuries of physical and mental training, Gage forced himself to ignore Mira and center, allowing his senses to fully emerge, and then held out his hand for his
balisong.
The deadly butterfly knife appeared in his palm, the blade safely ensconced in one of the two handles.

There were three men coming for him. One behind, one in front and another on his left. He’d known the pissant coward wouldn’t take him on alone. To kill him, they had to get close enough to stab him in his triskellion. Gage waited, allowing them to approach until he had them where he wanted them. Moving with master-level speed, he snapped his left elbow into the face of the man on his left. That one flew back several feet.

He flicked the blade out of his butterfly knife and shoved it beneath Luther’s ribs and sliced up to his heart. Maybe two seconds had passed. Shoving Luther off his knife, he spun, deflected the knife in the last man’s hand and cut his throat. Gage jumped back from the blood spurt.

He felt a burning slash across his back and whirled, ignoring the hot flash of pain.

It was the man whose face Gage had smashed with his elbow. That was all he realized before he heard a screech and Mira flew into the guy, slamming him to the ground.

The bastard threw her off and roared, “I’ll kill you, bitch!” He dove for his knife.

Gage caught him by the neck, jerked him up and cut straight through to his heart. Yanking his knife out, he cleaned the blade and dropped the body. After closing the blade, he went to Mira. She’d been thrown to her side, and was on her knees, trying to get up. He took hold of her waist and lifted her. “What were you doing attacking him like that!” He ran his hands down her arms looking for any injury.

“That animal cut you! I saw the knife, I saw him…” A wild tremor wracked her.

Her words punched right through his chest to take his breath away. She had tried to protect him. This little magic-blind woman had tried to protect him. Another fierce tremble rocked through her. He recognized the signs of adrenaline overload.

“Holy hell, Remington, you killed those three in less than thirty seconds! It was…I’ve never seen anything like it.” Bret moved up between them, holding out Gage’s coat.

Gage took the jacket and wrapped it around Mira’s bare shoulders.

Bret went on. “My security team will get rid of the bodies. I have a first-aid kit and a bottle of good scotch in my office.”

Gage kept his gaze on Mira, watching her fight down the shakes, willing herself to breathe. She hadn’t hesitated to attack a man to save him. “Where’s your office?”

“Behind the elevator to your VIP room. Come on, we’ll toast your…”

He turned his gaze. The blond man was so hyped up with excitement he was bouncing. “Mira and I will need your office.” He slipped his arm around her and guided her past the glass elevator and through the door. Inside was a massive desk with a large leather chair on the left. Straight across was a cabinet with very expensive liquors, and on the right was a leather couch. Gage shut the door and locked it.

Mira slipped out of his hold. “Take off your shirt. Let me see your back.” Her voice was firm, demanding.

He reassured her. “They have to stab deep into my triskellion to kill me. This little scratch is nothing.”

She threw his jacket on the desk, put her hands on her hips and ordered, “Take it off and turn around.”

Gage set his weapon on the desk, then wrenched off his shirt, handed it to her and turned around. He felt the gentle touches of her cleaning off the blood with his shirt.

Her fingers brushed softly below the cut. “The cut is six inches long!”

“It’ll heal.” He started to turn.

“Wait.”

Turning his head, he watched her dig into his coat pocket. “What are you doing?”

“The gemstones, they have healing properties.” She withdrew her hand from the pocket, clutching the stones. “Gram used to let me hold them when I had night terrors after my parents were killed.”

Gage got a mental picture of Mira as a little girl, huddling in her bed, her little heart shattered at being left an orphan. Tortured by nightmares and the feeling that she was at fault because she’d been born magic-blind. The truth twisted inside him. He’d failed to protect a child.

A child who had grown into a strong, courageous woman. She was much like that ruby they’d found—the most powerful of all gemstones. Mira, to him, was the most powerful of all of them. Her love for her gram gave her more strength and courage than he’d ever seen.

“Gram had a chant too,” she said, her breath blowing softly on his back.

He felt a small, cool stone sliding along the hot edges of the cut. The touch was so full of care. He closed his eyes and absorbed the sensation.

“Body and magic share one heart,” Mira said softly, as she circled the cut.

Her words mixed with the feel of the stone. A low buzz began in his chest and spread outward, almost like a tuning fork.

She picked up another of the gemstones. “Beat now together with healing light.”

The vibrations increased as she circled the cool rock around the wound. It traveled to his solar plexus, gathering and growing.

“Heal this wound with magic and love,” she said in her melodious voice. She reached up with the last stone and said, “Body and magic share one heart.”

Fiery magic bloomed hot and needy in his triskellion, then burst through his mantling and pooled in his groin. His balls and cock throbbed. Mira kept touching his back with her fingers and the stones, each brush firing his lust and need for her. For the very soul of this woman who touched him right to his heart.

“It’s healing.”

Gage whipped around, trapping her against the desk. He saw her more clearly than he’d ever seen anyone in his two-hundred-plus years. Her hair was wild and wavy around her face, her eyes gleaming with a golden light, her full mouth partly open. She was a wildcat with a heart, and so fucking beautiful it stunned him to his soul. He had to have her, to feel the very essence of Mira.

“Gage?”

He swooped down and tasted his name on her lips. He cupped the back of her head and explored her mouth.

She ran her hands over his arms and shoulders. His mantling shivered beneath her touch, sending shafts of pleasure rippling through him. He growled against her lips, reached up and untied her halter, freeing her breasts. He cupped one heavy globe in his palm, loving the weight and shape. Then he thumbed her tight nipple.