Page 12 of Ivory's Familiars

They all stood in silence, absorbing the information and lost in their own thoughts for a few moments, “Where do we go from here? We’re all attracted to her – an oddity considering I haven’t gotten it up for anyone but the two of you in years,” Vaughn freely confessed.

Ronan shrugged, “Even if we wanted to do something about it, there’s no guarantee she’d be interested.”

“Oh, she’d be up for it,” Vaughn assured them, remembering the heat in her eyes as she had leaned in for that kiss.

“It doesn’t matter if she is,” Ronan’s voice was firm now, “She’s vulnerable at the moment. She’s been terrorised for months now by some sicko who wants in her pants and who knows what else. We’re here to keep her safe. Nothing else.”

“And you think you’ll be okay with nothing else?” he asked doubtfully, because he was nothing if not honest. And honestly? He was worried he’d even make it through one evening without wanting to taste Ivory. Especially now that he knew his lovers didn’t have a problem with it. They were all on the same page. And then there was that round bed …

“I have to be,” Ronan responded, but he didn’t look convinced.

“Okay, fine. Subject change; what about the other unexpected turn of events?” Seth asked, “She smells like us. That’s just fucking weird. What do you think it means?” he turned dark green eyes towards him, “Could she be a witch from our coven?”

Vaughn hadn’t been expecting that. Why the hell would Seth think that? The mere mention of the possibility was jarring. He accepted that Seth still believed there was a member of their coven’s bloodline out there somewhere. The kid could believe whatever he wanted. Didn’t make it true. But he hated it when Seth kept bringing it up all the time. It was the one thing they ever really fought seriously about.

Luckily, Ronan spoke up, blocking him from his thoughts and his automatic scathing response to Seth’s question, “Our coven has never smelt like that before, Seth. Besides, we don’t recognise the bloodline through scent. We recognise it through power. And I don’t sense even a hint of power on her.”

“Then what’s with the connection we all feel? It’s not just chemistry – I don’t just want to screw her. I want to talk to her, get to know her. I want to protect her, make sure she doesn’t get hurt. I want to make her happy,” his green eyes were dark with confusion, “Isn’t that what familiars do for their witches?”

Vaughn reminded himself that Seth had never served a witch before, so his persistence was due to ignorance rather than malice. But this was a touchy subject for Vaughn – and Ronan – and he was beginning to feel twitchy. Praying for patience, he reasoned with Seth in what he hoped was an even tone;

“Ronan is right. The coven’s power calls to the panther. Trust us Seth, if she were our witch, we would know it beyond a shadow of a doubt,” he watched as his young lover’s jaw clenched stubbornly and Vaughn knew Seth was going to press the issue, “There is no-one in the bloodline left,” his voice was flat, “And even if there was, do you really think we’re just going to stumble across a coven member in some random, podunk town at the bottom of a mountain?”

“Why not?” Seth retorted, “We’re going to stumble across them somewhere. Could be here.”

His panther stretched inside his mind, gearing up for the perceived fight. He didn’t usually mind these battles of the wills with Seth because they invariably led to sex. But now wasn’t the time or the place. They had a new client to protect and a new mystery to solve, “Why do you insist on harping on and on about this? This is the second generation Ronan and I have been born into without a single member of the Panthera Coven. The bloodline is extinct. End of story.”

“If it was extinct, why was I born? A new familiar with a new soul, bound to serve the Panthera bloodline. If nobody was left, why are we still here? No bloodline means no familiars. We are familiars, therefore there must be a bloodline,” Seth peppered him with his argument – an argument he had heard over and over again.

“Will you two stop bickering? This isn’t an argument either of you can win. Vaughn; Seth is right on some points and you know it,” he turned to Seth who was looking smug, making Vaughn want to wipe the look right off his handsome face, “And Seth; Vaughn is right about the magic, we would sense it. There is no way Ivory is any kind of witch, let alone one from our coven.”

“Enough of this crap,” Vaughn declared. Talking of his lost coven always left him moody for days and they had work to do. Besides, Ronan was right; it wasn’t a dispute either of them could win because neither of them could prove their points, “We need to stop with all our feelings – including the horny ones. We have a job to do. Ivory has a sicko stalking her and she needs our help. Let’s do the job we were hired to do.”

“And if she wants more than that?” Seth asked, clearly not willing to give up on the idea of having the pretty little brunette.

“Then that will be up to her, won’t it?”

CHAPTER NINE

The second hand on her bedside alarm clock ticked agonisingly slow. She should be used to the insomnia by now, after having been on high alert for months lest her prowler paid a night time visit. But her restlessness had been for a whole new reason last night. Three whole new reasons to be exact, and their names were Seth, Vaughn, and Ronan. The rest of yesterday had been spent answering questions about her routines, her friends, her staff, her family, her hobbies. The only time she hadn’t felt like she was being interrogated was when they were dismantling her expensive new alarm and replacing it with their own security system. She now had individual alarms on every window and external doors and motion sensors in the house and on her front step. The sensors were hooked up to cameras and would record everything as soon as movement was detected. She was trying not to see it as an invasion of her personal space, but a necessity. It was hard though, given she was such a private person by nature and oh yeah, she was hiding the fact that she was a freakin’ witch!

Groaning, she rolled onto her back, starfishing on the huge, soft mattress. She had purchased the round bed on a whim when she had been attending a deceased estate auction. Rich, lonely dead people always had the best antiques. It’s where she had acquired all of her furniture. One look at the decadent and indulgent round bed base had her blowing two months of her income when the gavel came down. She had spent weeks eating two-minute noodles after that, but it had been well worth it – even though it was far too big for one person. Hell, it would be too big for two people as well. Now, if there were four people … She yanked her pillow from under her head and did her best to self-suffocate. She had no business thinking those dirty thoughts. Even though the men had been nothing but professional with her and each other the night before, she hadn’t missed the easy, intimate way they were around each other. Their little ménage looked to be solid and happy. So why did Vaughn have desire in his eyes when he had backed her into the wall yesterday? She must have imagined it, she assured herself, and proceeded to get ready for the day.

She found all three of them in the open dining room off the kitchen. She had a large table that could comfortably seat eight people with single chairs at either end and along one side, and an old church pew along the other. The heavy mahogany table was a priceless, one of a kind, hand carved piece and had been another steal from a rich dead dude. Although it dominated the space off the kitchen opposite the converted living room, she thought it fit perfectly. It had been her last purchase for her renovated apartment. She hadn’t been lying when she told Vaughn she had done most of the renovations herself. And she had hardly even cheated with her magic – mostly. Some of the heavier items like the table and her massive, awkwardly-shaped bed had received a little twitch of her nose and wave of her hand.

When she had first rolled into Hadleigh, she’d had no intention of staying. The town was too small with a population of around ten thousand permanent residents. Although, that number almost doubled during all the main holiday periods and during the summer; it was popular for its nature walks, hiking, and rock climbing. Always before, she had chosen to hide out in the bigger cities, believing the old adage that there was safety in numbers. And it had definitely worked until she had started to believe she was being watched. It was nothing like her pathological gift-giver now, just some raised hairs on the back of her arm every now and again. It had been enough to convince her to move on and she had stumbled upon the picturesque mountain town because she had to pee. One potty stop, one pub purchase, and five years later, she was still here. She absolutely loved it.

She felt a pang of guilt for assuring Vaughn her secret past had nothing to do with the trouble plaguing her now. What if it did? What if it was someone from the conclave? Or even a witch hunter? But if that were the case, surely they wouldn’t be trying to scare her with date requests, dead flowers, and soiled lingerie. No – it had to be just some random crazy. But doubt still niggled at her. If it were something to do with her magic, the men would be seriously outnumbered and outgunned. But it wasn’t like she could tell them she was a modern-day witch. There were still some true believers out there who were harmless enough – most of them members of the Wiccan religion – though they weren’t true witches. However, the majority of people didn’t believe in magic and she was just as likely to be shipped off to the funny farm if she confessed now.

“Ivory, you going to stand there all day?”

The deep voice belonged to Seth and had her jolting from her thoughts. She really had no choice but to keep on her current path, she decided. So she pasted a smile on her face and walked to the coffee machine that appeared to already have gotten a workout, “Sorry. I was just thinking. I hope everyone slept well,” she turned and leaned back against the kitchen counter. Damned if the three handsome men didn’t look perfect sitting at her table.

“Sure did, thanks,” Ronan answered, looking fresh and put together. He was clearly a morning person and she tried very hard not to hate him for it.

She cast her eyes over the other two, seeing a casual looking but somewhat sleepy-eyed Seth and a grumpy looking Vaughn. At least one of them wasn’t a fan of mornings. Why wasn’t she surprised it was the blunt, gruff one? “What’s the plan for today?” she asked.

“We’ll be with you at work today. You won’t be doing much without at least one of us following you around for the foreseeable future, I’m afraid,” Ronan informed her, nicely.

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