Seduced by Magic (11 page)

85

Stephanie Julian

“Now since you’re in such a good mood,” Sal continued, “we got trouble and I think you’re the person to help.”

* * * * *

Justin felt like she’d kicked him in the chest. “Are you telling me my father lives here?”

Mia grimaced. “When he’s in the, ah, area, yes, this is where he stays. Darn, I should have kept my mouth shut.”

“Is he here now?”

“Yes,” came a voice he knew so well and thought he’d never hear again, “he is.”

Justin turned, his heart trying to beat itself out of his chest.

“Hello, Justin. It’s so damn good to see you.”

The man he knew as Michael Johannson stood in the doorway, a small smile on his face but his blue eyes shining. He hadn’t changed at all since the last time he’d seen him and Justin didn’t know whether to hit him or hug him.

His father took the decision out of his hands when he walked over and wrapped him in his arms. Justin caught his father’s scent—woody and clean with a hint of smoke—and held on.

“Dad…”

He felt his father sigh. “I know, I know. I’m sorry, kid. I hated to leave you and your sister and your mom but it couldn’t be helped. I was starting to get the questions.

I’ve missed you, boy.”

Michael—or should he call him Selvans?—drew back and Justin saw tears in his bright eyes, eyes he’d never realized were the most pure shade of purple he’d ever seen, with a startling blue band around the iris. Why had he never noticed that before?

Well over six feet tall, Michael…Selvans had curly black hair, but otherwise they were carbon copies, though Justin was several inches shorter than his father.

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Torn between pissed off and elated, Justin went with his gut and hugged back. And the joy of seeing his dad gave him a head rush. “I missed you too, Dad.”

His father smiled as he took a step back, though not too far. “I knew you’d find me.

My journals, I knew they’d lead you to me eventually. You were always a smart boy. I guess you have a lot of questions, so why don’t we get started?”

“How about we start with the fact that you’re an Etruscan god.”

His dad’s brows raised in amazement. “And how the hell do you know that?”

“Sal told me.”

Shaking his head, Michael—Justin couldn’t wrap his head around the whole Selvans thing—began speaking in a foreign language. Justin assumed he was swearing because his hands were going up and down and he’d started to pace.

“Shit.” His father abruptly switched back to English and stopped directly in front of Justin. “I’m sorry, son. That’s not exactly the way I would have wanted you to find out.”

“Yeah, well, there were extenuating circumstances.”

His dad frowned. “Oh? What the hell’s going on?”

“First explain to me about this whole god thing, Dad. I’m having a little trouble wrapping my head around that one. I mean, are you human? Am I human? Or something else entirely? Where do you come from?”

“That’s a question none of us can answer,” his father said. “We simply are.”

“But the
folletti
and the
salbinelli
and the
Lucani
?” he pressed. “Where do they come from? Are we all related on a cellular level? How does it work?”

His dad’s expression turned rueful. “You always did want to know how things worked. Could never get you to stop asking questions as a child. Nearly drove your mother insane until you learned to read when you were five and we bought you that set of encyclopedias.

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Stephanie Julian

“I can’t really tell you how it works because no one really knows. Not even me, son.

I may be a god but I still don’t have all the answers.

“What I can tell you is that there is magic in the world, magic that the
Fata
and the
Enu
can control to varying degrees. We know that
Fata
such as the
folletti
can mate with humans and produce children who either have wings or do not.
Enu
like the
streghe
, the Tuscan witches, and the
versipelli
can control the same powers of the earth as the
Fata
.”

His brain trying to cram in all the information, Justin held up his hand. “So the
Enu
and the
Fata
are the magical races of the world?”

Smiling, his dad shook his head. “Just as there are different varieties of humans, there are different varieties of magical beings. In Ireland, they have leprechauns.

They’re called
lauru
in Italy. The English have their fairies and we have
folletti
.

“The members of the pantheons are all different entities, though there are many similarities between them. Norse, Egyptian, Roman, Greek, Hindi—” His father held up his hand before Justin could ask the question forming in his brain. “Don’t even go there, son. The Christians are a scary lot. Better to leave that question unanswered.”

His temples throbbing, Justin realized he was nearing info overload. “Ya know, I’m starting to think that old saying ‘Be careful what you wish for’ is right on the money.”

His dad shrugged. “Some of us believe that deities were born directly from the need for a higher power. That we’re created from the same earth, sky, water and air from which all else springs. Others just don’t care. Being a deity is good enough for them.”

Justin shook his head. “But people don’t worship them anymore.”

“There are still those who believe, son. And there are the magical races to protect.

We’re still needed, still of use.”

Okay, he could understand most of that. But now here came the sixty-thousand-dollar question. “So where does that leave me, Dad?”

“Human,” his dad said. “We’re not really sure how it works but because your mother is human, her genes supersede mine. Strange, huh? And when you were a baby, 88

Seduced by Magic

I was able to hide your magical genes, if you will. You’ll have extended life, possibly several hundred years. Your intelligence is higher than the average human genius. And you may have powers that haven’t manifested themselves yet.”

Well, that sounded interesting. “Like what?” Justin urged when his dad paused.

“My genes are in the mix, son, but they’re buried. Sometimes those latent abilities become viable. And sometimes they can be called forth. But that’s a dangerous path.

The transformation could kill you. I’ve lost children because of this, son, children who should have known better.”

His dad’s expression hardened and Justin saw pain in his eyes. “I don’t want to be in that position again. I don’t want you to put your mother through that. The power you might gain isn’t worth your life.”

“Well, I may need them, because someone’s found a way to use me.”

He told his father and Mia, who’d stayed in the background the entire time, what had happened the past two days.

It sounded crazy. Hell, he had a god for a father, had met a creature who was half man, half goat and had had sex with an actual fairy with pink wings.

Two days ago, he’d been unaware that entire races of magical creatures also shared the world.

His dad rubbed a hand down his lean face. Justin couldn’t remember how many times he’d heard someone say he looked like his father. He’d never seen it himself but now…now he saw the resemblance in their bone structure. They had the same long features, straight nose and high cheekbones. But where his father’s hair was dark, his was fair. Michael’s eyes were that pure purple and his were blue.

“Sounds like the
Mal
are up to their old tricks again.” Mia spoke her first words since his father had entered the room. “I’ll do a little recon, see if I can figure out what they’re up to.”

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Stephanie Julian

Michael sighed. “They’re persistent bastards, I’ll give them that. All right, Mia. Just don’t let them know what you’re doing.”

Nodding, she left the room.

And finally they were alone.

Michael’s lips quirked in a lopsided grin. “So you want to take a swing at me?”

Justin felt an answering grin on his own lips. “I should but I’m too damn happy to see you.”

“Me too, son. I have kept tabs on you and your sister. I just never saw this mess coming. Especially this company you work for. I did a little digging into Bonnini’s background when you took the job. Just to keep an eye out for you, keep up with what you were doing. But nothing popped right away. The guy looked squeaky clean. Of course that in itself should have been a red flag.”

“Hell, I work for them and I never had a clue. I don’t like being used.”

“Then let’s see what Mia comes up with,” Michael said. “In the meantime, let’s talk to Salvatorus—”

Justin shook his head. “Not a good idea. Didn’t you hear? The reason I’m here is because Nortia showed up.”

Michael huffed. “Don’t worry about her. I can handle her.”

* * * * *

Turned out his dad handled females about as well as a one-armed cow roper handled a roundup.

“Now, babe, I know I’ve been—”

“A shit, a creep, a dung beetle?” Nortia gave him a tight smile. “All of the above?

Why is it that I got stuck with you anyway, you unfaithful jackass? I never did understand that.”

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Seduced by Magic

His father’s expression turned chagrined. “Norty, come on. You know neither of us had a choice in that. That’s the hand we were dealt. And it’s not like you’ve been a saint.”

Standing in the corner, Justin watched the Goddess Nortia wrinkle her pretty little nose. Blonde and blue-eyed, she looked like a twenty-something Barbie doll.

He’d expected her to be a bitch but so far she’d been nothing but kind. Well, to him anyway. His dad was getting hammered.

“Only after I realized you would never be faithful, you bastard.”

“So sue me, babe.” Now his father’s expression turned hard. “But later. We’ve got a bigger problem now.”

Nortia huffed. “I know that. Salvatorus and Scarlata have filled me in. I assume your son has done the same for you. So what do you have in mind?”

“Mia is out gathering information right now but…we think the
Mal
are targeting our people specifically. Can you think of any reason why they would?”

As his father and Nortia talked about things he should probably be listening to, all Justin really wanted was to talk to Scarlata.

She stood against the opposite wall, her eyes never leaving him. She had her wings unfurled and curled around her shoulders. He wanted to put his arm around her, draw her against him. Better yet, he wanted to take her away from here, wipe that fearful expression off her face.

“Do you think they know who Justin is?”

Nortia’s question redirected his father’s gaze to him.

“No. Or they wouldn’t have let him so far off the leash. They didn’t realize who they had in their grasp. And they’re not going to get a second chance at him.”

“Yes,” Nortia said, “I do believe Scarlata would be heartbroken if something happened to him.”

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Stephanie Julian

“Justin,” his father said, “take Scary and go get some sleep. You two look like you could use some down time. We’ll wake you when Mia returns.”

Justin would have argued but the sudden hope on Scarlata’s face changed his mind.

Taking her hand, he pulled her toward the door. It didn’t take much to convince her to go with him and when they reached the hall, he scooped her into his arms and took the stairs two at a time.

He headed for the room they’d shared last night, Scarlata’s arms around his neck, her fingers laced through his hair. Her lips blazed a trail from his ear to his jaw and around the other side.

He kicked the door closed behind him at the same time she dropped her hand to his shorts and unzipped them. They caught on his knees, nearly making him trip. He fell back against the door and set her on her feet but she immediately went to her knees in front of him, running her hands down his chest as she turned a wicked gaze upward.

Her smile held the promise of pleasures to come, making his cock jerk in anticipation. Then her gaze dropped to stare at his shaft, blood pumping, making it twitch. He didn’t realize he was holding his breath until he released it on a gasp when she took the throbbing head into her mouth.

Sensation shot through his body, making every muscle tingle in anticipation. He caught himself before he could grab the back of her head and force her to take him farther. Instead, he reached for the doorknob with one hand and the door hinges with the other and held on.

Her tongue swirled around the tip of his cock before sucking it into her mouth. His balls tightened to the point of pain and, just when he was about to come, she let his shaft slip from her mouth and wrapped her thumb and forefinger around the base of his cock, squeezing until the impending orgasm backed off.

“Oh, you are not going to get off that easy,” she said. “This time, it’s your turn to scream.”

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Seduced by Magic

Her sultry tone had hot blood pumping through his veins, engorging his cock again. When she took him back into her mouth, he let his head fall against the door.

Instead of watching, he closed his eyes and let her have her way with him.

She took him in deep then slid back until only the tip remained in her mouth then worked her way back down until her lips touched the hair at its root. The exquisite sensation made flashes of light appear behind his eyelids. Working into a rhythm, she moved her lips up and down his shaft, her teeth occasionally grazing the sensitive skin.

Need, lust and love combined in a heady mix of emotions that soon became pure pleasure. He found his left hand tangled in her hair and moved it down to rub her neck.

Her hum of approval made the skin on his cock dance with joy and he realized one of her hands had crept around to clutch his ass. Caught between her head and hand, he knew this was where he wanted to be forever.

With a growl, he put his hand on her shoulder and eased her mouth off his cock, hearing the faint pop as her lips broke the suction.