Page 19 of Which Witch Is Wicked?
“Was that a wise move, mistress? Asking others to do our job?”
Her laugh carried a careful tinkle, and he wondered at her lackadaisical approach. “Why not? It’s not as if you boys have accomplished your tasks. You know what they say about asking a woman if you want a job done correctly.”
Annoyance burned inside him. “We will take care of this. To allow someone else goes against the very fibers which make up our universe.”
She rubbed against him, pulling his arms around her. “Hold me, Dru. Won’t you come back to Gwen’s room and make love with me tonight? I know that’s what she expected, but you should love me instead. It’s been such a long time, and that sweet monk Julian won’t give me any.”
“I’m sorry, Lucy, but to allow myself to be distracted by your beauty and charms might deter me from completing my mission.” It was as close to rejection as he could deliver and not be rendered mindless by her wrath.
“Oh, Dru.” She turned as though she might be headed back into the house, still holding his invisible form against the door. “You were always a sweet-talker. We both know that Fire bitch ruined you. Yes, I smell her all over you. But know this, my delicious hunk of chiseled muscle, she will die, and you will come crawling back to me. When it comes, I shall savor the day. Be warned, I will torture you until you’re a groveling mass, but eventually, I’ll forgive you. Good night, dear Dru. Until we meet again.”
She groped his crotch. “Mine,” she whispered before she slipped around him and returned inside the compound.
Dru stood for a moment, experiencing uncertain fear for the first time in his life as the sun dipped closer to the horizon. The other Horsemen would certainly kill Claire if the opportunity presented itself. Lucy, on the other hand, would draw out and relish her death. There would be no honor in the act. Only desecration.
He had to find a way to warn her. If he directly outed Lucy, she’d know in an instant, so he’d need to keep his warning vague. Hopefully, Claire would be smart enough to piece together the rest and recognize the danger.
9
Afierce restlessness filled Claire, the likes of which she’d never known. She needed todosomething.Takeaction.Fixthe calamities piling up around them.
Yet, she sat in her room, staring out the window into the surrounding darkness, wishing she could eviscerate her longing to see Dru again. Since she and her sisters had discovered Tierra’s pregnancy and had inadvertently opened the fourth Seal, an incessant need to see him, to touch him had grown uncontrollable. Incredible yet imaginary memories of Dru’s touch and kiss constantly filled her mind. She closed her eyes and ran light fingers over her bare arms, pretending Dru touched her. She sensed his presence continually, and her body ached to have him near. To the point she’d considered her body a traitor against her mind.
She couldn’t want him and save the world, too.
Goddess, she might go crazy before the end of everything became a certainty.
Feeling reckless, she lifted the screen from her second story window and slipped out onto the porch roof. Kai put his front paws on the windowsill and tried to follow.
She lifted the red fox, holding him against her chest as she stroked his soft fur. “So sorry, little buddy. I need to be alone for a while.” She set him on the floor inside and closed the window behind her, refusing to allow his pleading black eyes to sway her.
Cool evening air caressed her heated skin, and her nipples puckered in response. The scent of pine tantalized her senses. It was as though the whole world encouraged her unrelenting needs. As though someone or something had ramped up her hormones to the point of driving her insane.
Over and over, she relived the kiss she’d shared with Dru outside Sirens. His lips on hers. The way her body had accommodated the hard angles of his. His promise that she couldn’t hurt him. If only she could go back in time and savor that moment.
She blew out an agitated breath and carefully climbed to the widow’s walk atop the house and stepped over the wrought iron railing that encompassed it. She wanted to dream and pretend her lover was there with her. She turned in a circle, the entire view of Port Townsend and the full moon glittering off the Puget Sound in the distance making her feel closer to Dru. He was out there, somewhere. Perhaps at his cabin. Perhaps at the Horsemen’s lair in Sirens.
If only she could call him. Call a truce. Just for a night.
She couldn’t imagine he wouldn’t be agreeable.
She sighed and arched her neck, turning her gaze upon the mesmerizing starlit sky. He’d said he could hear her thoughts. Would he hear her now?
“Dru,” she whispered. “Come to me.”
Claire.I’m on my way.His voice, plain as day, echoed through her mind, sending her pulse racing.
The thoughts were all in her head, she knew. Conjured fantasies of a desperate woman, but she couldn’t let them go.
I need you, she thought.
Ah, my love. I need you, too. I will be there soon.
Not soon enough.She cupped both breasts and emitted a soft gasp when her thumbs crested hardened peaks. She literally ached for his touch. Her skin burned with scorching need.
Yes, love. Do that again. Make me feel your need.
She had gone insane. No doubt. But she couldn’t stop, not with overwhelming need thrumming between her thighs. She tugged on her nipples, rolling the tight buds between her fingers until an electrified sensation tightened her core.
