Bewitched on Bourbon Street (18 page)

“It’s all right, love. I’ll explain later.”

“But—”

He reached out and caressed my cheek. “Honestly. I’m all right. All I need right now is you.”

He pulled me up so I was straddling him and kissed me. Hard. His hands were everywhere, my breasts, my thighs, my ass. “You just feel so damned good. Perfect in every way.”

The roughness in his voice, the way his body pulsed with physical need, and the way he felt wrapped in my arms was enough to push the worry from my mind. He was very much alive and all mine.

My power blossomed again and engulfed both of us as I kissed him, my tongue darting over his. I tightened my arms around him, needing to feel his hard body pressed to mine. It was then he started to tremble, almost unable to contain himself any longer.

I broke our kiss, pushed him down on his back, and, with my eyes locked on his, I slowly inched my way down the bed. Wrapping my hand around his shaft once more, I said, “Tell me what you need.”

“You,” he growled. “Your mouth. Work me until I come so hard, I can barely remember my own name.”

Damn, that was hot. His words fueled the fire already burning within me, and I lowered my head, at first just tasting his swollen tip.

“Yes.” He buried one hand in my hair and gently fisted it while the other clutched at the bed sheet.

Pleased with his response, I moved my hand to the base of his cock and took him deeper, feeling him grow even harder. Magic pulsed around us, his arousal pulling it from me. I gave it up willingly and moved my mouth over him, slowly first, then faster and faster, until his breathing was ragged and my magic pulsed with an almost painful intensity.

I took him even deeper, stroking him at the same time. His body tensed just before his hips unwillingly thrust up, and he spilled into me with a loud groan. I’d barely released him and swallowed when magic tore from my chest, streaming into him with such force we were both immobilized with the intensity of it.

It was terrifying and wondrous at the same time. The power heady, yet dangerous. And neither of us could control it.

Chapter 19

Kane

It was still early, just past seven, but I was wide awake watching my naked wife sleep soundly beside me. I should’ve kept my hands to myself, but I couldn’t resist the urge to caress her porcelain skin. Propped up on my elbow, I lazily trailed my fingers over the soft curve of her hip.

“That’s nice,” she murmured in a sleepy voice.

I pressed a light kiss to her shoulder. A spark of magic tingled where my lips met her flesh, and she laughed.

“Seems you’re recharged,” she said without opening her eyes.

“Thanks to you.”

She sighed and turned her head into the pillow, sleep already pulling her under.

There was little hope of me catching more Zs. Between the magic-induced sleep from the healer and the raw power Jade had transferred to me, I had more energy than I knew what to do with.

I waited until I saw Jade’s chest rise and fall in a steady, rhythmic pattern and then rose and headed for the shower. I spent a long time standing under the spray of water trying to figure out my next move. Head back to the Brotherhood to find my dagger? Contact one of my brothers to look for it or help me secure a new one? If I went myself, I could look up the contract Ezra had shown me. See if the Brotherhood had any details on record of Chessa’s transaction.

That’s what I’d do. If she had dirty dealings with demons, the magical community needed to know about it. Not to mention I wouldn’t hesitate to use anything I found to get Jade and myself out from under the high angel’s thumb. Working for her had become too dangerous. Locking us away in the angel realm had crossed the line.

I was acutely aware there were no guarantees I’d find anything, but I had to check. At the very least there would likely be some background on Wes Lancaster. Maybe some clue as to why Chessandra was associating with him.

When I finally emerged from the bathroom with just a towel wrapped around my hips, the early-morning sun was streaming in the window. The sun splashed over Jade and her perfect naked breasts. Desire flooded back from just the sight of her and, unable to help myself, I crawled onto the bed, leaned over her, and brushed a kiss over her pouty lips.

I felt her smile, and then she kissed me back, her hands pressed against my chest.

“Good morning,” I whispered, ignoring the slight twinge of guilt for waking her up again.

“Hmm.” She slid one hand up over the back of my neck and pulled me down, tasting me as if she hadn’t sampled me in days. My muscles tightened beneath her touch, and I felt myself stiffen and ache for her.

God, I wanted her. But even if we could make love, it was the last thing we should be doing after the power transfer we’d exchanged earlier. Judging by how much magic I had at the moment, I was willing to bet she’d completely depleted her reserves. She’d passed out almost immediately afterward, so it was likely she hadn’t realized the full extent of what we’d done. Allowing this to go further before she knew her limits was reckless.

With a groan, I rolled to the side, flopping on the bed beside her.

“Hey, where’d you go?” she asked, curling into me.

“Nowhere. I’m right here.” I gently kissed her temple and ran my fingers through her hair.

“But I thought…” She trailed her fingertips over my pecs.

“I know. But it’s not a good idea. Not right now.”

She opened her eyes and propped herself up on one elbow. “You’re turning down sex?”

I laughed at the incredulity in her tone. “Not because I want to, believe me.” I closed my hand over hers. “If you don’t stop touching me like that, my control is going to be nonexistent.”

Her brow furrowed. “Is it the curse?” She sent me a sexy little smile. “I thought we’d already proved there’s more than one way to get the job done.”

“It’s not the curse.” I brought her fingers up to my lips and kissed them. “It’s this.” I traced her wrist and forearm, leaving a shimmering trail of magic everywhere I touched her.

Her breath caught, and her expression turned serious as she focused on an unlit candle sitting on the dresser across the room. After a moment, she let out the air and groaned. “Oh, damn.”

“Magic not working?”

“Yeah. I can feel it fluttering beneath my breastbone, but I can’t call it.”

Dammit. That was what I was afraid of. “I’m sorry, love. I didn’t mean to take that much.”

She shook her head. “You didn’t. I mean, it was both of us. We were both out of control, and besides, I’d have given it to you willingly, anyway. It felt like you needed it.”

“You weren’t wrong.” Still holding her hand, I moved it to my abdomen and guided her fingers over the raised scars, courtesy of Malstord.

She sat up, her eyes narrowed in concentration.

I held perfectly still, waiting for her to process what she was seeing.

She turned to me, surprise lighting her eyes. “They healed.”

I nodded. Her explosion of magic had been powerful enough that the swelling had gone down, and the scars were now a fleshy pink instead of angry red. “They don’t hurt anymore, either.”

Her eyes narrowed. “You were in pain last night?”

“A bit.” I shrugged and grinned at her. “I had other things on my mind.”

“Clearly.” She shook her head, amusement dancing in her eyes. But then she sobered. “What happened?”

“Demon attack.”

“You don’t say?” she said dryly.

I cracked an ironic smile. “I might have issued him a sanctioned challenge.”

Her eyebrows rose and disappeared under her bangs. “You did what?”

I slid off the bed and walked to the dresser, feeling entirely too exposed in only the towel.
Damn. That’s messed up.
This was Jade I was talking to. I glanced back at her, only to find she’d covered her naked body with a sheet.

Guess I wasn’t the only one feeling uncomfortable.

After pulling on jeans and a T-shirt, I grabbed her robe and brought it to her. “Want to talk about this over coffee?”

She bit her lip and nodded.

I brushed her hair out of her eyes and gave her another quick kiss. “I’ll get it started.”

She clutched her robe. “I’ll be right there.”

Leaving her in the bedroom, I headed out to the kitchen and got to work on coffee. Once I had the pot filled, I moved on to breakfast. Omelets, because I didn’t think this was a conversation we should have on empty stomachs. Plus Jade needed the nourishment.

The thought of her not being able to call her magic had me scowling. I’d definitely taken too much of her power. Had left her vulnerable at a time when she was a target. That was on me no matter what she said. I had the ability to control what I took, and instead of worrying about her, I’d taken everything she’d offered. Like a selfish bastard.

And the more I thought about it, the more frustrated I became. My hand closed over the egg I was holding, and before I knew it, the thing cracked, and egg slime slipped through my fingers.

“Son of a bitch!” I flung the mess into the sink and yanked the faucet on hard enough that the handle flew right off. “Goddammit!”

Water sprayed into the kitchen and all over me as I fumbled around trying to stop the water with my bare hands.

Jade appeared and watched me for a second, her head tilted to the side. Then she calmly walked over, opened the bottom cabinet, reached in, and turned the water off. She smiled at me as she poured herself some coffee.

I, on the other hand, stood there, soaking wet, like a damned fool. “Shit,” I muttered and disappeared into the laundry room to grab a couple clean towels. After I wiped the kitchen down, I went back to work on the omelets, my irritation with myself growing by the minute.

When the omelets were done, I grabbed my own cup of coffee and the two plates and sat across from Jade.

She nodded her thanks and took a bite.

I didn’t. My appetite had vanished.

She ate a third of her breakfast, then suddenly dropped her fork and pierced me with her stare, her smile long gone. “You want to tell me what’s going on?”

I took a sip of my coffee, deliberately delaying my answer. I knew what she was asking. She wanted to know why I’d clammed up, why I’d suddenly turned into a raving asshole in the kitchen. But I wasn’t ready to voice what was eating me up inside. “I have to go to the Brotherhood to do a records search.”

Her eyes narrowed and her brow pinched in confusion. “You’re leaving? Now?”

“Yes. I have something to do, but I’ll be back soon. We can talk then.”

Anger flashed in her brilliant green eyes. “You’re joking, right? I can’t believe you’re talking about going to the Brotherhood without explaining what happened with that demon yesterday. Or filling me in on why you were tearing apart our kitchen. Whatever happened to ‘let’s discuss this over coffee?’”

She was fierce, her hands balled into fists as she pressed them into the table. Even without her magic, she looked like she could take on just about anyone and cut them down to size.

I leaned back in the chair, forcing out a breath. My chest was tight, and I felt like a twenty-pound boulder was weighing me down.

“Kane?” The anger had fled, and all that was left was worry. “Please tell me what’s going on.”

“Shit.” I stood, running a hand through my hair. Forcing down all the self-doubt and shame trying to choke me, I rounded the table and pulled her into my arms. She stiffened, and I pulled back, meeting her troubled gaze. “I’m sorry.”

“Kane you don’t need to—”

I held my hand up and leaned against the island that separated our kitchen from our dining room. “I
am
sorry, Jade. What’s happened to you? To us? It’s thrown me for a loop. The fact that someone has cursed you and our future child is messing with my head. And after I realized I’d taken so much of your power that I’d left you vulnerable, I got really angry with myself. I know you’re strong, that you’re more than capable of taking care of yourself, but that doesn’t mean I don’t have a deep-seated need to protect you. To keep you far away from anyone who might hurt you.” I averted my eyes. “Even me.”

“Kane, look at me.”

I reluctantly did as she asked.

Her expression softened, understanding dawning in her eyes. She took two steps and slipped her hands into mine. “
You
could never hurt me. Not like that.”

“But I—”

“No,” she said without any heat in her tone. “I heard what you said. Now it’s my turn to talk. I know how you feel. Don’t you think I go through the same thing every time someone I love is caught in the crosshairs of some magical disaster?”

I released her hand and ran my thumb over her jawline. “No one was caught in the middle of anything, love. This was me taking something from you. Something you need.” I swallowed and rested my chin on the top of her head. In a whisper I added, “Do you have any idea what that does to a man? To know not only that I’m failing at protecting you but that I’m weakening you in the process?”

“Is that really what you think?”

I jerked and met her determined stare. “Well, yes.”

“That you’re failing me? That you somehow stole my magic?”

“Yes.”

“Goddess above, Kane. Don’t be an idiot.” She shook her head. “I gave it to you. You couldn’t have stopped me if you tried.” Her lips curved into a small smile. “And if you think I wouldn’t lay my life on the line for you, then you haven’t been paying attention. Just like I know you’d do the same for me. The day we married, we became partners. Equal partners. In my heart, I know you agree with me. But maybe you need to be reminded.”

Silence hung between us as I let her words sink in. She was right, of course. It didn’t change the fact that I hated I was the reason her power was depleted, but it did help me accept it. I leaned in and kissed her gently on her forehead. “Thanks, love.”

She reached up and brushed a fallen lock of hair out of my eyes. “You’re welcome. Now, do you want to tell me what I missed?”

I nodded and leaned against the counter again. “Yesterday the Brotherhood was summoned to a demon invasion. Nothing too unusual at first, but then as the fight started, I noticed an angel. A young man. And he was moments from being killed.”