“I’ll let you get acclimated. I’ll see you in a bit.”
As I stepped out of the gym, Ian called my name as he reached the top of the stairs.
“Yes?” I answered, turning to face him.
“Where is Juliana? She was not in the guest wing.”
“She’s in the gym.”
“Okay. I have selected a room for her. We will have her moved after we return.”
“Return?”
“Leo called. He knows of a location that may be the auction site.”
“Oh, that’s great!”
“We need to hurry. Meet me downstairs.”
I showered, dressed in my fighting gear: a black tank top, calf-length black jacket, black jeans, and, of course, my banshee-ass-kicking knee-high black boots. I entered the den within fifteen minutes, still buckling my knife belt as I sat on the couch beside Sheryl.
She nudged me with her elbow. “Hey Midget, it’s about time you showed up.”
“Shut it, Blondie.” I nudged her back, maybe a little harder than she’d nudged me. She just laughed, and I rolled my eyes. A typical exchange for us.
I noticed several banshees had arrived while I had been getting ready. Some were still filing in as Ian spoke. He told us what he’d learned from Leo. My money was on it being true; it was too similar to Gabriel and his gang’s M.O. of young people going missing in the area. We just needed someone to keep an eye on the mortals while we were gone. Not to mention feed them.
“I can cook for everyone,” Juliana said from behind everyone.
“Um…” I muttered.
“That will be a great help,” Ian said “Everyone, Juliana. Juliana, everyone.” Ian spread his arms to include the entire den.
I turned to give Ian a questioning glance and caught my uncle moving closer to Juliana. She attracted his attention when she was close. I had lived with him my entire life and had never once known him to have dated anyone. I wanted him to find someone to share his life with, but I did not want to see him hurt. I was torn between being encouraging and being protective.
Ian caught my eye with a wave and motioned for me to follow him into the kitchen.
“What’s up?” I asked.
“I was able to work my way into Juliana’s mind while she slept. I did not get much. She is trying to figure us out. She also wants to help us hunt Gabriel. For now, I trust her enough to let her stay and help with the cooking and cleaning… with someone here to watch her.”
“So, you’ll keep evaluating her and trying to read her thoughts? And when you can trust her, then what? Train her to be like me?”
Ian chuckled. “Not possible. No one will ever be like you. You are one of a kind.”
I opened my mouth to tell him that wasn’t what I meant, but he was looking at my lips, his own slightly parted. I watched as his face lowered toward mine.
“We ready?” Peder asked, interrupting us when Ian’s lips were a breath away from mine.
“I’m ready,” I said, stepping away from Ian. “You?”
“Yes.”
When we were in the garage, Ian took my hand and led me to the car.
“Tonight—” Ian began as he got in the car.
“Do not say that tonight will be different.”
“I told you I will never set you up again. I meant it. You are going to have to trust me. Completely.”
“I’m sorry. I do trust you. Completely.”
“Good. Do you want my essence?”
“Yes, please.”
He gripped me around the waist and pulled me across his lap. His lips touched mine, tentatively, as though waiting for me to pull away. I did pull away, but only to shift so I was straddling him.
This time I closed the gap between us. His eyes widened in surprise for a second before my lips met his. It was a thrill to know I could excite him. When a few seconds went by and he still sat frozen, I nibbled on his bottom lip earning a deep groan from him and he deepened the kiss.
He moved his lips to my ear. “Ready?” he whispered as he took the lobe into his mouth and suckled. The sensation brought a little moan from me, which he took as consent, and brought his lips back to mine.
Tingles of pleasure-filled warmth soon covered my body as he began to release his essence. When I’d had enough, he pulled away earning a disappointed groan from me.
He chuckled. “We will finish this soon.”
“I’ll hold you to that.”
As we arrived at our meeting point my thoughts had to switch to warrior mode. My developing feelings for Ian would have to wait. I looked out the window and saw the guys from the night we rescued Ian and Seth, along with a half a dozen others. We had a small army. I smiled thinking how great it was to have such loyal and skilled friends.
When I stepped out of the car, my legs felt like jelly and I stumbled. Strong hands grabbed me before I fell.
“Whoa.” The power Ian had given me was stronger than what Peder had. The euphoric sensation was so powerful I could have turned on some Pink Floyd, lay in a field gazing at the night’s sky and just enjoyed the ride.
“QADIRA!” Someone yelling my name snapped me out of my daze.
“Huh?” It had been Seth who’d caught me, but Ian who yelled my name. Apparently, he’d been trying to get my attention for a bit.
“What?” I snapped. Seth began to laugh. “Oh, crap.” I was caressing Seth’s chest.
Peder walked up, also laughing. “She does that when it hits her.” Seth nodded, still smiling while Ian glared at me.
“What? I didn’t even know I was doing it.” I shrugged and looked back to Seth as I pulled my hands away from him. “Sorry, it’s the shirt. It’s so soft.” Peder laughed harder.
“It’s all good, beautiful.” When Ian stepped between us and growled, Seth backed up, hands in the air. “Whoa, chill out, bro, all I did was stop her from falling. She’s not your property.”
Ian grabbed him by the collar. Ian’s behavior shocked me and so, I was slow to react. Before I could even try to stop their fight, a female voice called out, “Okay, boys. Let’s stop the pissing contest and get to the real reason we’re here.”
I leaned to the side to see around Ian to find out who had spoken.
“Gorgeous,” I whispered, unintentionally.
I needed to work on building up my brain-to-mouth filter. She stopped beside Seth. Ian still had Seth’s collar in his hand, but the woman had his full attention. She had everyone’s full attention. She deserved it. I had never seen anyone so magnificent. It was more than her beauty; her aura gave off a sense of poise I’d never encountered.
She tossed her curly, waist-length auburn hair over her shoulder. With the sword strapped to her back she was the vision of a Celtic warrior goddess. I returned my gaze to her stunning face. Her deep green eyes sparkled with humor. She was enjoying this display of testosterone.
She smiled warmly. “You’re not too bad yourself.” Her amazing eyes roaming over me from head to toe.
“Thanks.”
Banshees don’t see gender. They may have a preference, but ultimately, it came down to one aura’s attraction to another. I looked around to see all eyes glued to the newcomer. Including Seth, except he had a peculiar look on his face.