Guardian of My Soul (3 page)

Sally shifted restlessly on her soft sheets and tried to
calm her mind and fall back to sleep. She knew she needed her rest. The case
she and Kyle were working on was a hard one, filled with temptations for her,
and had likely been the catalyst that had brought all those memories to the
front of her mind.

She and Kyle had been called in to assist with a case
revolving around an evil ritual. While they had not personally had contact with
it, the case had triggered memories of Sally’s past. Kyle had insisted she
would not fall back into old ways, his belief and trust in her absolute. She
didn’t feel so confident.

The temptation was always present to take the easy route, to
use darker magic to force something that was not meant to be or to stack the
deck in her favor. Never far from the edge of her conscious mind at all.

Once again Sally stretched her hand over the vast emptiness
of her bed. She knew Kyle was not there. While they had upon occasion been
forced to share a bed, he had never slept beside her on her own mattress, nor
had she ever been inside his bedroom. The urge to see him, feel him, be held by
him nearly overwhelmed her.

Not for the first time, nor even the thousandth time, she
wished she dared to cross the boundary of their friendship and seek more from
him. There was no one she trusted like him. No one she
needed
more than
the calm, confident wizard.

Kyle was everything to her. Her world, her sanity, her rock,
her life. The one thing Sally knew she had perfect control over was the extent
to which she permeated his life. Kyle deserved someone whole, someone who had
not sold giant chunks of her soul to the darkness within. Kyle deserved someone
completely good and untainted.

And that witch was not her.

Not even close.

So Sally remained merely his partner and friend and nothing
further, even as it ate away at her day by day. Taking a deep, shuddering
breath, she rolled over and closed her eyes. She needed at least another few
hours’ worth of sleep to function fully the following morning.

Ten minutes later she knew beyond a doubt that sleep would
not come for the rest of the night. Or not here, at least. Sally resisted the
urge to give in and go over to Kyle’s condo. Restless, she climbed out of her
bed and changed from her sleep shirt and boxer shorts into a fresh pair of
sweatpants and a crisp T-shirt.

If she was going to be awake the least she could do was go
for a run, perhaps burn off some of her energy. Sally warmed up with a few
stretches, then pulled on socks and her sneakers. She walked down the hall and
into the living room.

She searched for her keys, finding them in a glass bowl on
the coffee table. Scooping them up along with a stretched hair elastic, Sally
pulled her long, dead straight hair back into a ponytail. Mentally she went
through the circuitous route she would run. As she wound the elastic around her
hair to restrain it, her eyes fell on a thick pillar candle on her mantelpiece,
pure white with navy-blue banding and gold runes decorating it.

Her breath caught at the sight. A strong memory assailed her
of the day she and Kyle had been pulled into this case. They had been walking
while they discussed their plan of attack and aired their private thoughts upon
the severity of the matter. They had agreed that they needed to assist Kiera,
Josh and particularly their friends Melissa and Daniel, an Assassin couple they
had known for years. Yet even back then Sally had spoken of her worries
surrounding dabbling once again—even so faintly on the edges—of the darker side
of their magical world.

Kyle had smiled in that calm, confident way of his. He’d
looked utterly serene, as if not a single speck of doubt hovered anywhere
within his mind or soul.

“Sal, love, the very fact you’re so tied up over it proves
how far you’ve come,” he had said. “You know I’ll be by your side through this
case, just as we’ve always worked in tandem. Do you honestly think I’d let you
fall back into that pit of darkness?”

Sally had assured her partner she didn’t doubt him, but she
felt no confidence in her own strength of will. Kyle had stopped and gently,
lightly touched her shoulder.

“Listen to me. I want you to make me an oath,” he said
seriously. She’d shaken a little at the heaviness of his words, his dark eyes
boring into her very soul. Sally could feel her self-double clawing at her. She
didn’t know whether she could keep an oath not to be tempted, not to give in.
It was a daily struggle, one she could only take step by step with Kyle beside
her. With temptation so very close at hand, she feared for her strength and
willpower.

For the millionth time, Kyle surprised her with the depth of
his understanding. He had not intended her to make such a difficult oath.

“I want you to swear to me on our partnership that when you
feel that temptation, when it tickles the back of your throat and fills your
mind to an overwhelming degree, you will come to me,” he said. Sally’s mouth
went dry at how accurately he’d described that lust for more she so often felt.
“I don’t care what time of the day or night it is. I don’t care if you
interrupt me during Armageddon itself. You will come to me and we will weather
the storm within you together.”

For a brief moment tears had filled Sally’s eyes. Not for
the first time she’d felt eternally grateful for whatever twist of Fate had
placed Kyle in her path all those years ago and bound them together so
irrevocably.

This was not the first time Kyle had insisted that when the
demons came too close, when the need clawed at her and her whole being was
overwhelmed, she come to him. Sally had always struggled to resist temptation
on her own as much as possible. She hated turning to Kyle, interrupting what
precious few hours of alone time he could scrape for himself with the job they
performed.

Yet this time he had not been politely asking or gently
scolding her in the manner of a friend. He had been insisting with the force
and demeanor of a partner needing faith and trust from his equal. They had been
near a small shop they both enjoyed browsing. It sold candles and crystals
marketed for humans, but if one knew the correct phrases, far more powerful
magically enhanced and created items could be viewed for a cost.

When she’d hesitated, Kyle had led her into the shop and
requested a specific candle of the heavily pierced redhead behind the counter.
The white, navy and gold pillar had been placed on the table before them and
Kyle had stared hard at Sally.

“Your oath,” he’d insisted. Sally had flushed, licked her
lips but finally agreed. Kyle had purchased the candle and given it to her. As
they continued their walk he had made her promise to put it prominently in her
living room, somewhere she would see it frequently and be reminded of her oath
to come to him in her time ofneed.

As the clever wizard had planned, seeing the candle with her
mind so scattered from the vivid dream had reminded her of her vow. Sally
fought with herself. Part of her deeply desired to run to Kyle, hide in the
shelter of his arms and let him banish her demons for her. Another, a far
smaller but fiercer part of her old self still remained and wanted to do this
alone.

Sally struggled for a moment until she finally released her
pent-up breath on a heavy sigh. There was not much of the old her left. In the
heat of the battle, her earlier, fiery personality sometimes shone through,
though slightly deranged now after the battering it had sustained.

Still a firecracker at heart, Sally didn’t even bother to
try to explain herself anymore. In too many ways she was a conundrum who didn’t
make sense to herself, let alone others.

Yet one of the very few items of self-respect she had been
able to cling to in even her darkest hours was the strength of her word. If she
said she would do something, she would, no matter the cost to herself. The only
thing that had come close to causing her to break her word was the threat of
danger to Kyle. Nothing in this world or the next could make her cause him harm
or pain.

To her mind anyone else—herself included—was fair game in
the right circumstances.

Since she’d made that oath, Kyle had not mentioned it. A few
days previously when they had met at her small apartment she’d seen him notice
the special candle so prominently displayed. She hadn’t missed the small,
private smile he’d sent her, full of understanding and appreciation.

She didn’t want to break her word but neither did she want
to call him. Not because of a dream. Her hand still shook and the lust for
shortcuts and darkness bubbled under the surface of her shaky control.

Sally returned to her bedroom with the keys still in her
hand. In minutes she had packed a change of clothes for the following day, her
sleep shirt and silky sleep boxers as well as a few rudimentary toiletries she
would need in the morning.

Less than five minutes later she returned to the living room
and crossed over to the mantel. She etched her index finger over the runes—calming,
protective runes of power designed to help her even when Kyle was not present.

“I’m not going to be an interruption in your private life,”
she swore silently to her partner, a vow to herself as much as to him.

Determination strengthened the wobbles still shuddering deep
inside her gut. Sally locked and left her small apartment, the duffel slung
over her shoulder. She started up her small, ancient hatchback with a roar and
pointed it in the direction of Kyle’s condo. She knew the route well and could
have driven it in her sleep. Sally reminded herself all through the brief drive
over that she would not wake her partner up—she would creep in as stealthily as
a thief and honor her promise, nothing more.

Many times previously she had fallen into an exhausted sleep
on Kyle’s couch. She could personally vouch for its comfort. Tonight it would
be her bed and nothing more. Sally repeated this to herself over and over on
the short drive, determined not to give in to a temptation equally strong as
that of the dark powers she now had to repress.

Kyle was far more intoxicating than the most potent of
spells, the most evil of castings or rituals.

Sally merely hoped for some sleep and peace before they
started their search once again, bright and early later in the morning. With a
deep, calming breath she continued the drive to her partner’s condo, hoping for
a strength she wasn’t sure she possessed.

Sally parked her small car outside the front gate of Kyle’s
condo. She quietly shut her door and locked it. She crossed the pavement to
stand and pause for a moment outside her partner’s home. Indecision continued
to war inside her. It wasn’t too late to back out.

The serenity and comfort of Kyle’s home beckoned her. Aside
from her own apartment, nowhere else did she feel as safe as inside his place.
She could be herself. Sally knew she could express her wildest flights of
fantasy, divulge her deepest, greatest secrets or simply make off-the-wall
observations as they entered her mind and fell from her tongue.

She didn’t have to pretend she was whole or stable in the
privacy of Kyle’s home when it was just the two of them. Sally didn’t have to
restrain the urge to twitch or shatter.

She could simply be.

It was a freedom and privilege she no longer took for
granted.

Barely a minute had passed with her standing stock-still
outside the front gate. The knowledge of warmth, comfort and security only Kyle
could give her finally lulled her inside. A pale hand fell with practiced ease
to the latch of the gate. Sally touched the icy-cold metal catch and a tiny
frisson of magical energy surged through her.

Years ago, when Kyle had first purchased the condo after
they had graduated from the Academy, he had added her essence into the personal
security system protecting his home. Sally had performed the same ritual with
Kyle months after that when she had bought the lease on her own apartment.

Inbred into the magical workings of the security devices were
their respective essences. The system knew to always allow admittance without
reservation. Sally also held a key for the human lock on the front door, but
there wasn’t a security system she couldn’t breach when the urge grabbed her.
The key just saved her time.

Sally walked up the front path after having closed the gate
and felt the faint tingle of the security admit her. Anyone who came bearing
malicious intent or without Kyle’s approval would be too busy attempting to
keep themselves from being fried to bother worrying about any other dangers
lurking.

Sally slid the key into the deadbolt, opened the door and
entered. Her partner’s scent assailed her nostrils, the woodsy, musky,
masculine scent that was just his. His sandalwood incense lightly filled the
house, reminding her how it clung to his skin and permeated his essence. Light,
strong and reminiscent of nature and the earth it suited Kyle perfectly to
Sally’s mind.

As she closed and locked the door behind her Sally released
the pent-up breath and almost sagged where she stood from sheer relief. She had
done it and the world had not imploded. Her word remained intact, she had come
to Kyle’s home for sanctuary, as promised, because her demons were becoming
unbearable.

A part of her had never believed she would do this, but
somehow she had managed to swallow her pride, keep her word and rely on her
partner. Under no circumstances however would she interrupt his slumber.
Quietly she padded through the foyer, down the hall and into the main living
area.

The curtains were open, moonlight shining brightly through
the bare windows. Even the shadows of Kyle’s home held no fears for her, Sally
realized with a jolt. Shadows that anywhere else—even her own apartment—would
give her cause to worry or jump were bathed in soft pale light. The simple,
elegant, natural beams of moonlight chased to the darkest corners of the room
and made the demons’ hiding spots appear as if they could not affect her here.

Sally dropped her duffle near the end of the couch and
opened it up. Removing her sleeping gear she quickly pulled the hair elastic
from her long tresses, shed her sweats, tugged the sleep shirt and boxers up
over her body and dug under the couch for the throw rug Kyle kept there for
cooler nights.

Lying down on the soft cushions Sally sighed with
contentment and shifted into the perfect position. Kyle’s scent surrounded her,
the sandalwood as familiar as her own faint scent of violets. Sally closed her
eyes and focused on releasing all the pent-up tension through her muscles.

The familiar meditative exercises were as comforting to
Sally as Kyle’s home. His scent wrapped around her. The only thing that could
possibly make her feel any better would be to feel his arms holding her tight.

Imagining this, Sally didn’t register it as she slid into a
deep but restless sleep.

* * * * *

Sally’s body arched beneath his, her small breasts firm and
a delicious handful. Their bodies were both coated in sweat as they strove
closer and closer to the brink of mind-blowing pleasure. Kyle thrust his cock
inside her wet, tight heat as deeply as was physically possible. Her vise-like
pussy clenched down around him, squeezing him. It was as if she couldn’t bear
to let him move so much as an inch out of her grip. He thrust his hips forward,
eager as she to be joined together.

Kyle looked deeply into Sally’s wide-blown, lust-ridden pale
blue eyes. Pain, pleasure and a deep satisfaction reflected in her gaze that he
knew would be mimicked in his own. He had waited forever for this moment, the
perfect time when he lay buried inside her to the hilt and they were joined as
intimately as was possible for a witch and a wizard.

He didn’t need to be connected psychically to her to read
Sally’s thoughts, they could always read each other like a book and had been
able to since their first few missions together. Always this bond had been
between them. Sally’s Dark Years had proven to him, nothing and nobody could
possibly ever come between them.

Yet still Kyle had burned for more from her. He cherished
their bond, their friendship and the unbelievable level of trust that resided
between them. Since she had come back to him shaken, shattered and broken like
a child’s toy, he had never again taken them or their partnership for granted.
As Sally rebuilt herself, proved herself over and over just how powerful,
strong and courageous she was, he had been scorched with the desire to move
their friendship to the next level.

He ached for her. He lusted for her. He loved her with every
fiber of his being. Yet never would he push her or force her to do anything she
felt she couldn’t do. She had been through enough already, even though they
were both barely into their mid-thirties.

Kyle would not be the one to press her.

Yet as he thrust his cock in and out of her strong, lithe
body, as his hands cupped her delicate breasts and his fingers toyed with her
erect nipples, he felt bathed in a golden glow, as if he had sought and finally
discovered heaven.

This was perfection.

“I need you, Kyle,” Sally moaned, her eyes burning with the
intense fire he saw within her so frequently. Kyle goraned and thrust harder
and faster inside her.

“I love you, Sally,” he replied, sweat dripping down his
back. “I love you with everything within me. I have wanted this forever.”

“I need you,” she panted, but something in her tone caught
his attention. Desire still dripped from her tone, but a sharper, different
tone had entered her words. Kyle searched her eyes and saw the pain that
resided in her gaze all too frequently.

“What is it?” he asked, instantly alert to their
surroundings and searching for whatever it was he’d missed.

“I need you,” Sally cried, all desire now lost from her
tone. Only pain, desperation and a soul-wrenching need remained. “I’m losing
myself again, Kyle. I can’t find my way back,” she called out, agonized.

“No!” Kyle shouted. Even though she lay beneath him, Sally
appeared far out of reach. Kyle ran, struggled to grasp her outstretched arm
and pull her from the demons that incessantly tortured her. Like a wisp of
smoke or a beautiful, shining moonbeam, Sally remained out of his reach.

“Sal!” he cried, desperate to reach her but unable to touch
what he craved and desired the most.

Kyle jerked upright, reached a hand out across the empty
expanse of his mattress. The sheets were tangled around his feet, his body
covered in sweat as he panted hard. His cock was thick and fully erect. The
head leaked pre-cum against the silky material of his boxer briefs.

Dropping back onto his mattress Kyle caught his breath and
rubbed his face with a hand. This was not even close to the first time his night
had been filled with erotic fantasies of himself and Sally. So frequent were
the night-time displays if he went a week or more without one he began to
worry. Usually though, they didn’t end with Sally fading away, sucked in and
drowning by the demons that haunted her.

Kyle turned onto his side as he frowned. He closed his eyes
again to once again capture sleep and maybe re-live and change the ending of
that erotic dream. The certain knowledge someone had entered his house without
upsetting the security alarm jolted through his mind.

Bolting up again, Kyle leaped to the floor and padded
silently but swiftly in his bare feet across his bedroom. He didn’t stop to
grab a t-shirt that was draped over the edge of his bed, didn’t even think
about the fact he was naked except for his underwear. Instead, Kyle grabbed the
sawed-off shotgun from its spot leaning against the edge of his closet and
nudged open his bedroom door listening intently.

No sound greeted his ears but with his senses more fully
open now he could feel the presence of the other person. His body stiff with
alertness Kyle slowly but steadily made his way down from the loft where his
bedroom was and into the kitchen area. Closer now he could feel the presence in
his living room.

Cocking the shotgun Kyle braced himself for the coming
fight, prepared to shoot low and leave his uninvited guest alive for
questioning. He hadn’t thought their current mission would be a walk in the
park but his private details were not open to the public. The fact his home had
been compromised surprised him.

The thought perhaps Sally’s home was similarly open to
invasion made his blood run cold. Immediately he reorganized his priorities.
The second he had the intruder under control he would call Sally, check on her.
Her safety was all that mattered to him.

Determined to not waste time now as every second might be
critical to Sally, Kyle entered the living room in a rush, gun level and ready
to fire at the first whiff of trouble. Astoundingly, no one stood in the large
room. Kyle’s gaze ran professionally around the area and the only person he
could see was a sleeping form on the couch. His gaze lingered for only a few
seconds and his suspicion grew.

Eyes narrowed Kyle stalked carefully into the room fully,
gaze still scanning for the hidden punch line. He knew this was a trap, a trick
or possibly even a powerful casting or spell. Sally lay asleep on his couch,
the moonlight bathing her in a silvery glow. Her face appeared porcelain pale
in the night light, her hair more platinum rather than its usual pale blonde
color.

Kyle spared her only a fleeting glance, convinced it was a
trap or distraction meant to make him unwary. He stalked at first around the
room, checking every crevice and nook. His hold on the shotgun did not waver
for an instant, though his gaze may have roamed over Sally’s sleeping form more
than a few times.

When he was positive the room was secure he left and then
repeated the motion throughout every nook of his whole condo. After that he
repeated the drill, checking and then double checking he had not been breached.
Every door was locked, every window secure. His security—both magical and
human—was intact and there was not anyone or anything other than him and Sally
within his home.

Finally, Kyle returned to the living room and the sleeping
witch upon his couch. Kyle lay the shotgun on his carpet by the edge of the
couch, keeping it within arms reach but allowing this small measure of
relaxation to creep into his stance. Kyle knelt beside the couch and gazed at the
witch of his dreams and fantasies.

In sleep she looked even more beautiful than he recalled.
Her face softened, her lips looked full. Despite the fact a small frown marred
her forehead and she twitched slightly against whatever she dreamed, Kyle could
never think her anything other than perfection.

Unable to help himself he reached a hand out and ever so
gently stroked the fringe of her hair. Sally sighed quietly and Kyle froze,
hoping he had not disturbed her. She settled immediately and Kyle once again
traced the pads of his fingers down the silky strands of her hair, his touch so
gentle he barely grazed her at all.

“Kyle,” Sally sighed softly, clearly still asleep. His heart
melted and any resistance he could ever have claimed to her was lost. He loved
this witch with a deep, abiding passion nothing could possibly break. She was
his world. Her strength, her courage and her determination made her so strong
and yet she still remained so pure and innocent.

Her scent reached him, light and floral. Since meeting Sally
he had never thought of violets in the same manner. They showed her innocence,
despite her life choices. The sweet but simple scent evoked a million memories,
all of them surrounding this slight witch.

Sally moaned a little, twitched and Kyle pulled his hand
back. He could tell she was slowly wakening. A part of him rejoiced while a
part of him felt guilty. While he knew she needed her sleep something terrible
must have driven her here. Kyle had to smile. Even when she kept her word and
turned to him, she had preferred to bunker down here in the living room rather
than using the spare bedroom or even waking him up.

For someone who had been determined to think herself broken
and useless Sally sure managed to constantly show him not only the strength of
her backbone, but also her fierce pride and unending stubbornness. The woman
might have been through hell, but it had tempered her like steel. She was
nowhere near as brittle as she appeared, nor as unstable or weak as she feared.