Seduced by Magic (6 page)

“Justin.” Her voice held a plea.

He heard her but ignored it, lost in memories he couldn’t shake off. Memories that continued to haunt him.

“I’d believed for so long that he was crazy that even though I knew he was telling me the truth, I still didn’t want to believe him.”

She drew in a sharp breath. “What did your father know about the
Fata
?”

“He’d been documenting contact, collecting evidence. Talking to people who said they’d met or seen…your kind. He told me about humans who’d been seduced by beautiful females with wings or men with horns and tails. The magical creatures no one would believe existed. My father believed,” he paused, inhaling deeply, “he believed because he’d lived with them for years.”

Scarlata had heard tales of
Fata
taking
eteri
.

She’d even heard that some willingly became blood-bound to them. The ancient tradition of tying one life to another by mingling blood during sex was not to be taken lightly. It tied their fates, allowing their souls to find one another through each new life.

And that could be a very long time, if you happened to choose wrong.

Mostly though,
eteri
were used as playthings or pawns in petty wars. It was a dangerous game that occasionally backfired and led to messy consequences, witch 44

Seduced by Magic

trials, the occasional capture and, sometimes, to the horrible purges, like the one that had led to her parents’ deaths.

Though she’d taken the occasional
etera
lover, she’d never considered keeping one for any length of time. And she’d never revealed her true self to them.

Justin stood there, staring at her, arms crossed over his chest. Waiting.

She didn’t speak.

He sighed and shook his head. “You’re not surprised, are you?”

She stared straight at him. “No, I am not surprised. All stories of contact between our kinds usually have some kernel of truth in them. But you didn’t believe your father, did you?”

He shook his head again and the gleam from the light overhead sparkled in his hair, making her fingers itch to run through the silky softness.

“Not until I read through his diaries and realized he’d made a pretty damn strong case. By that time, he was dead. I was in my last year of college, planned to get my degree in English then be a professional student until I got my doctorate and could teach on college level.

“Instead, I changed my major to environmental sciences. Figured I’d get a government job and let them pay me to do my own research on the side. But I got hired out of college by BD Enterprises. They recruited me, offered me more money than the government and more opportunity for fieldwork, which was what I wanted.”

Pain had settled into his eyes, a pain she wanted to ease somehow. Her arms ached to hold him but she restrained herself, clenching her hands into fists.

Containment. Right now all she should be worrying about was his containment.

“And what you wanted was to search for your fairies.” She didn’t bother to make it a question.

He nodded. Then the corners of his lips twitched until he had a full grin on his face.

“And damn, but I did good.”

45

Stephanie Julian

He smiled and she melted.

She’d never had much interest in the
eteri
, had always thought they possessed little intelligence.

But this man intrigued her.

She couldn’t kill him. She’d begun to have feelings for him. Feelings she’d never had for an
etera
before. Of course she’d never been this intimate with one of them before either. Before this, sex with an
etera
had been purely physical. There hadn’t been much discussion. Especially not about what she was.

“Justin.” She paused, wondering how to say what she wanted. “If I asked you to destroy your notes, all the material you’ve collected over the years, the information your father made his life’s work… Would you do it? For me?”

Justin’s smile froze then faded until he simply stared at her. She didn’t realize she was holding her breath until he turned and walked to the front door. He opened the door then raised his arms above his head. Gripping the molding, he stretched his long, lean body in a way that made her mouth water.

“You know, I love the way the night smells out here. The scent of the trees, the earth. You can’t smell the stench of the city here.”

His non-sequitur made her frown. “I don’t—”

“I’ve always loved the forest.” He interrupted her as if she hadn’t spoken.

“Especially the old ones. You can almost sense a presence as if the old gods still live here.”

She wanted to tell him he was closer to the truth than he might think but did not want to give him more knowledge he would regret losing.

“It took me years to realize my dad wasn’t crazy, that he knew what he was talking about. I think you might have to kill me, babe. Because if you ask me to forget about my research, it’d be the same as slitting my throat.”

46

Seduced by Magic

His words and the conviction in his tone made her breath catch. He was so strong in the face of danger and her heart hurt to think anyone could harm a hair on his head.

She certainly couldn’t…

But what to do?

What
could
she do?

He turned to stare at her, his expression resigned but proud. “I understand responsibility, honey. I know why you need to keep your secrets. The majority of people in the world wouldn’t be able to handle the information I have now. But believe me when I tell you, even if you erase my memories of tonight and destroy my research, I won’t stop until I have answers.”

The steady sincerity in his voice made her despair grow.

Now what?

Well, she couldn’t do what she wanted, which was take him back to bed. Throw herself at him and ravage him until neither of them could see straight. She did not think he’d put up a fight—

A low hum teased the outside edges of her hearing. A car approached up the mountain.

As she walked toward the door, toward him, Justin straightened as if to prepare himself. She stopped next to him but continued to stare through the open doorway. She barely registered the feel of his warm, damp skin against hers as he pulled her into his arms.

“Someone’s coming,” she said.

His gaze fell on her for a second before he turned to stare in the same direction. “I don’t hear anything.”

“No, you wouldn’t. Not yet. Are you expecting anyone?”

She slid him a look. His eyes had narrowed to slits and his brow had furrowed.

47

Stephanie Julian

He shook his head. “No, I’m not. Maybe it’s kids out for a joyride or a little backwoods action.”

Possibly. But instinct told her whoever drove that car had not picked this lane at random.

Someone knew she was here.

Justin heard the vehicle then.

Nearly silent in its approach, it made a slow, steady ascent on the bumpy, rutted lane that broke off from the country road two miles to the south. That lane was the only way for a vehicle to reach this isolated cabin. The entrance to the lane was nearly invisible during the day unless you knew what to look for and impossible to identify in the dark.

Whoever was on their way had to know where they were going.

BD Enterprises had rented this cabin for him specifically because it was hard to find, literally in the middle of nowhere in the forest-covered hills that straddled the boundary line between Berks and Schuylkill counties. It was far enough away from the Appalachian Trail and its hikers and from any development that no one had stumbled onto the cabin as long as he’d been here.

The car stopped before the bend in the lane, still hidden from the cabin by the forest.

He heard a door open. Then another and another. Hushed whispers. The hair at the base of his neck stood up.

Who the hell could be out there and what the hell did they want?

“Get back.” He motioned for Scarlata to get behind him. “Stay out of sight. I’ll find out who it is and what they want.”

“Justin—” She reached for his arm but he shrugged her off.

“Just stay back, darlin’. And switch off the light in the kitchen.”

48

Seduced by Magic

He felt her move away. When the light in the kitchen extinguished, he saw the shadows in the dark forest move and re-form with the play of the clouds over the moon. He tried to make sense of those shifting shapes but it wasn’t until they came closer that he realized there were five men out there…some carrying what looked like guns.

He stiffened, ready to grab Scarlata and run, when he heard a familiar voice.

“Hello, Justin. How are you tonight?”

Surprise made him freeze. What was the owner of BD Enterprises doing here? “Mr.

Bonnini? I didn’t realize you made on-site inspections. With armed guards.”

A short, slim man dressed in dark pants and shirt, Daniel Bonnini broke away from the tree line. The four gun-carrying shadows fanned out behind him.

“Oh I don’t. Not usually. But then this is an unusual situation. Almost magical, isn’t it, Justin?” There was a shrewd tone to his voice.

Realization hit Justin. Holy shit. Bonnini knew. He knew what had happened here tonight. That prick must have had the cabin bugged. But why? What the hell was going on? “I’m not quite sure I understand what you’re talking about, sir.”

Bonnini drew closer until Justin could see the dark-haired, sharp-featured man clearly. He had rarely encountered the owner of BD Enterprises. Actually Justin could only remember meeting the man twice—once at his final employment interview and once more during the briefing he’d received before leaving on this assignment.

His immediate superior had given him the rundown but Bonnini had been there, sitting at the table in the conference room. He’d smiled, they exchanged pleasantries. It hadn’t struck him as odd at the time because he’d heard around the office that Bonnini had devoted too much money to the research facility to have it fail.

Justin had never questioned Bonnini’s desire to build near here. Now he had more questions than he could possibly ask and more doubts that threatened to eat a hole in his stomach.

49

Stephanie Julian

Bonnini smiled but it held no warmth. “Hand over the creature, Justin. You’ve done your job. I’ll take it from here.”

Rage burned in his blood at Bonnini’s condescending tone. Was that bastard actually talking about Scarlata? Had he just called his beautiful Red a
creature
?

How the hell had he even known she would be here?

To stall, Justin smiled, put on the absentminded professor look that had gotten him out of more than his share of trouble at college. He’d been an A-plus student and he had a near-genius IQ but he could play dumb better than the best actor.

“Sir, I’m not sure I understand just what creature you’re talking about?”

Bonnini’s smile disappeared in a blink. “Son, don’t make this any harder than it has to be. You’ve served your purpose to draw her out. The magic you two created was easy enough to detect. This situation no longer needs your involvement. You’re free to go. Just walk away, Justin.”

And what? Leave her alone with the men with the guns? No way was he leaving her. What the hell did they want with Scarlata anyway?

Had he actually been used as bait?

Shit.

He turned, slamming the door behind him and locking it. Scarlata stood in the hall, her eyes huge and sorrowful. Grabbing her arm, he pulled her along with him to the bedroom.

“Get out the window and into the forest.” He threw open the window and pushed her toward it. “I’ll delay them here as long as I can.”

He tried to boost her out but she wouldn’t move.

Her tone confident, she said, “I’m in no danger from these men, Justin. It’s you they won’t hesitate to kill.”

“So it’s all right for you to off me but not them.” Sarcasm dripped from his words.

“That’s kind of a double standard, babe.”

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Seduced by Magic

“Justin, that’s not—”

“We don’t have time to argue. Just—”

Before he could finish, she put her hand over his mouth. “Come with me.”

He smiled, having gotten exactly what he wanted. “Now that’s a plan. Let’s get the hell out of here.”

Her glare should have made his balls shrivel. He knew she wouldn’t like being manipulated but he’d wanted her to take him with her. Had wanted her to
want
to take him with her.

They were out the window when they heard the cabin door burst open with a bang.

“Tranq the creature,” Bonnini shouted at his men. “Kill Johannson.”

“There really is no job security anymore, is there?” He tried to make a joke as they ran for the forest but fear put a bite in his tone. “If we get separated, babe, don’t come back for me,” he said, completely serious now.

She dragged him along, her legs flying over the ground. “Shut up, Justin, and run faster. If you let anything happen to yourself now, I’ll beat you black and blue.”

She didn’t sound out of breath at all whereas he couldn’t seem to catch his.

Something whizzed by his head and he realized someone had just shot at him. Glancing back, he saw the men had chased them into the forest. He tried to put on a little more speed.

“Nice,” he sucked in air, “to know,” he had to suck in another breath, “you care.”

He didn’t know how long they ran, could only concentrate on one thing—staying on his feet. Scarlata ran as silently as a deer, picking out a path that kept them shielded from the men on their tails.

He didn’t know when the sound of the men faded because after a while all he could hear was his own tortured gasping. Trying to regulate his breathing, he kept his gaze locked on Scarlata’s pale, slim outline.

51

Stephanie Julian

When she finally stopped, he ran into her, wrapping his arms around her waist from behind so he wouldn’t fall over. It nicked his pride to know she was barely winded.

“I’m sorry,” she said. “I know you’re tired but we have to keep moving. They continue to follow us. That man, he has magic of his own. Dark magic.” She turned, sliding her arms around his waist and drawing him closer. “There is a spell I can perform, one that will hide us from them. But I will need your help.”