The Magic Touch

The Magic Touch Julia Talbot All rights reserved.

Copyright ©2005 Julia Talbot

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ISBN (10): 1-59596-260-3

ISBN (13): 978-1-59596-260-7

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Chapter 1 The scent tended to linger; that was the main deterrent to a good summoning, especially if you demanded anything big enough to assume human form. Lorelei sprayed cinnamon air freshener about the room, hoping that Trinity would come home and think she’d burnt some baked apples. She’d learned to shun incense when her niece had accused her of smoking pot. “That is really quite ghastly,” her erstwhile guest said, crossing his arms over his naked chest. What a nicely formed chest it was, muscled and taut-skinned. Below that, well, goodness. If the situation were any less desperate, she might keep him for herself. He cleared his throat and Lorelei reluctantly returned her gaze to his face. “Tell me why I’m here?” Yes. Focus on the task at hand, she thought. Oh, she couldn’t wait to set this plan in motion. “Well, you see. I have this niece. Her name is Trinity…”

*** “Mmm. Cinnamon brimstone. What did you do this time, Lore?” Trinity asked. “Don’t be any ruder than you must be, darling. We have a guest,” Lorelei replied. Oh, God, not another one of Lorelei’s kooky friends. The last time it had taken her weeks to get the stains out of the oriental rug in the lounge. Trinity looked around, finally pinpointing a man sitting in one of the wing chairs by the fire. He didn’t get up to be introduced, so she dismissed him as rude as hell. She didn’t need any shit from Lore’s friends. The day had been too damned long for that. “I take it that means you’re having supper out?”

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“Not at all!” One of Lorelei’s delicate red eyebrows arched up, her aunt’s best reproachful look firmly in place. “Dev is staying with us for a few days. I have a lovely pork roast in the oven.” Pork roast. Good God. “Lorelei, the domestic goddess, huh?” “Are you always this impossible with your aunt?” said the guy who got up and came out into the light. Trinity stared. He wasn’t perfect by any means, but oh, he was hot. Definitely hot. Too young for Lore by a long shot, but then, who cared? If he liked his ladies older, so be it. She stabbed a finger at him, giving him her best deadpan looked. It worked on the customers at The House of Pain, the one stop shopping alterna-mall where she worked, all the time. “You don’t get to berate me for bad manners, mister. I’m not even acknowledging you.” “Trin! Really!” Lorelei looked horrified. “No, let her go on. Why not, pray tell?” Man, he even talked like Lore, all old fashioned with perfectly enunciated vowels. “Well, it’s pretty obvious you had no desire to meet me, even if I am your hostess’ only family,” Trinity said with a snort. “Technically, cousin Nathaniel is family, Trinity, dear…” “And he’s a nutball you adore and I don’t get. And that’s by marriage. Anyway, you have fun with your pork. I’m going upstairs. I’ll call for pizza.” Without waiting for anyone to react, Trinity turned on her heel and marched out, ignoring the tiny little part of her that was ashamed of herself. Okay, so the guy had really pretty dark blond hair, and these weird greeny-yellow eyes, and a nice body under the soft looking pants and loose shirt. So what? That was no reason to be nice to an obvious asshole. “You see what I put up with?” she heard Lore say loud and clear as she hit the second floor landing, turning left to take the smaller, iron spiral staircase that led to the turret her suite was in.

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She really ought to get her own place. Living with Lore was a give and take. Sometimes it felt like all give. But she loved the old monstrous white elephant of a house they shared, the only one in their part of the city that still had “grounds” and wasn’t chopped up into trendy apartments. The place had natural stone walls and towers on three corners and a huge solarium, and she didn’t want to give that up, even if her aunt made her batty. Bats in the belfry. Trinity laughed. They actually had those. Tossing her mail and keys down, Trinity headed right for her workroom, intent on making the changes Augusta had suggested to the new corset she was designing. Augusta, or Gus, as Trinity called her, was her boss, training her in the fine art of historical clothing reproduction, and she did love her job. Not to mention the fact that hard work was great for getting rid of her irritation over a certain hunky houseguest. Just about the time she got the little pleats pinned in place, a knock on the door had her jabbing herself with a straight pin. Cursing, Trinity sucked at the blood to keep it off the pristine linen, heading back out to answer the damned door. “What?” Damn. It wasn’t Lore. No, it was Mr. Hotness. “Your aunt went to a great deal of trouble. She would like you to join us.” He stood there, arms folded across his chest, eyes flashing yellow fire. “Look, Dev, is it?” “That’s a nickname of your aunt’s choosing.” “Right. Whatever, don’t tell me. We play this game a lot, Lore and I, and I’m not up to it tonight.” She started to close the door, but it caught as he stuck his foot across the threshold. Dev didn’t even flinch. She did, though, when his hand clamped around her upper arm hard enough to feel it a little. “You’ll come with me now,” he said, brows lowering ominously. Okay, he did forceful really well.

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“Oh, you fucker…” she trailed off, something about the set of his mouth and the flash of lightning in his eyes stopping her. Was that ozone she smelled? “Okay. Okay. Let me change into something less formal and I’ll be down.” “I will wait five minutes. No more,” he said, squeezing her arm even more for emphasis. Shit. “Five. I’ll be right there.” God, what an asshole. “Yes,” he said, nodding. “You will be.”

*** “I think I would like to go by Nicholas,” he said, watching Lorelei flutter about, lighting candles and arranging flowers. He did not so much like Dev, even though Lorelei had named him so. He did not really have a name of his own where he normally lived. Lorelei stopped, her brow furrowing, her nose wrinkling enough to show her freckles. Truly, such things always amazed him, the small imperfections that made up the human body. That such a powerful witch had freckles stymied him even more. Why did she not use her spells to take them away? “Isn’t Nicholas a bit… obvious?” she asked. “Not at all. At least not to her. You are right. She is deep in her denial of self.” “You see! I knew it. Cousin Nathaniel says she just doesn’t have talent, but I knew better.” Lorelei practically crowed it, bouncing on her toes. “She has great untapped talent. I will simply convince her to use it. Then you will pay me my tribute, yes?” His tribute was all he ever really got for being summoned. It was important to him to have her promise. “Yes.” “Yes what?” Trinity came into the dining room, on time, wearing a simple shift of light green. The color complemented her well. Nicholas stared, appreciating her curves. She had the look of a woman from his own era, though that had been so long

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ago that he hardly remembered the pleasure of earthy charms. His new body seemed intent upon reminding him. Constantly. “I said yes I’d introduce you finally. Trinity, this is my friend, Nicholas Deveraux. Nicholas, Trinity.” “Oh, so that’s where the Dev comes from, huh?” Giving her aunt a careless peck on the cheek, Trinity grinned at him, her eyes dancing with mischief. They were an odd gray, like smoke. It reminded him of home. She was not classically pretty. Really, she was too… round, her face almost too dimpled and sweet. But that conspiratorial air gave her something, though. Something that pulled at him, called to him. “Supper looks good, Lore. Sorry I was a bitch.” “I’m used to it.” They had an easy way about them, moving around each other smoothly to finish setting the table, giving him a much better idea of their relationship than their first meeting in his company. Perhaps this would not be so difficult after all. The meal passed in relative quiet. Nicholas sensed Trinity practically vibrating with questions, but they remained unvoiced; she spoke mainly when spoken to. Lorelei chattered briefly, but trailed off soon enough, her bright eyes watching first him, then Trinity. For his part, Nicholas simply enjoyed the taste and texture of food again, the pork tender and juicy, with a delicate sauce of ginger and saffron, the potatoes, a new food to him, crispy and coated with an oil and rosemary mixture. The bread gave him his only pause, as it felt soft and gummy against the roof of his mouth. “Well, thanks, Lore. That was great. Just leave the dishes and I’ll put them in the washer later.” A sharp stomp on his instep reminding Nicholas of his duty. He should try to spend time in her company. “Surely you do not intend to retire. Lorelei promised me you had much nightlife here. We should go out for a drink.” Her look spoke of great disbelief. “Great. You two just do that. I won’t wait up.”

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“Don’t be ridiculous, Trin. Nicholas is far younger than I. You’re much more in his age group. Take him out to that place… what is it that you go to? The house of ill repute?” Rolling her eyes at her aunt, Trinity replied, “The Fall of Usher, Lore. Come on. Why do you deliberately mix it up?” “Because I can. Yes. I think you should dress up and take him out. I know you have tomorrow off,” Lorelei said. “Sure, but I wanted to work on that new design.” “Come out with me.” Tiring of the idle argument, Nicholas put command into his voice, nudging the suggestion with his mind. Trinity’s eyes went wide, her pupils dilating. “Okay. Let me go change. Uh. Again.” “That was amazing,” Lorelei said. He turned to her as Trinity pattered out. “No. Amazing will be when she is able to fight me on a silly mind trick like that.”

*** Usher was jumping. It was eighties night, and the songs all had that new wave feel that she preferred, like Duran Duran or Depeche Mode. Trinity would have loved it. Except for one little, or maybe large, thing. Her date. “Do you always stare at people like that?” she asked Nicholas. “Like what?” One blond eyebrow rose, making her clench her teeth. Lore could do that. She could not. It made her crazed. Checking to make sure she wasn’t popping out of her corset, Trinity sighed. “Like they’re a new kind of bug.” He laughed, the sound rusty as an old saw blade. “I thought I was giving you my most intense, seductive look.” The little hairs on her arms and neck stood up. “Are you trying to seduce me?” “Not exactly. I will if you like, of course.” His eyes twinkled at her, the green coming out more than the yellow.

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Now it was her turn to stare. Who knew he could tease? Or did he mean it? “You…” she began. “Trin! Hey.” It was Augusta, her boss, hailing her and slipping into the booth beside her to kiss both her cheeks, their breasts pressing together above the corsets they both wore. For a moment she thought she smelled singed vinyl from Nicholas’ side of the booth, but Gus distracted her. She only got a glimpse of Nicholas, red faced and squirming. “So,” Augusta said. “I thought you weren’t coming?” “Well, I was going to work on my design. You know, the Elizabethan? I have the linen mock up almost done.” “All work and no play, babe. Who is this?” Gus waved at Nicholas, grinning. “This is Nicholas. He’s a friend of Lore’s.” “Oh-h.” Gus gave her a commiserating look, knowing full well how Lore pressed her into service as chauffeur and tour guide. “Hi, Nicholas. Nice to meet you.” Taking Augusta’s outstretched hand, Nicholas did a half bow over it, kissing the backs of her fingers. Gus flushed, from her face all of the way down to her ample chest. Pushing her black hair out of her face, Gus stared at Nicholas, her blue eyes wide, and said, “Wow.” Something hard lodged in Trinity’s belly. Something ridiculous that felt a lot like jealousy. “Yeah. He’s a charmer. See you later, Gus. Nicky here owes me a dance.” She nudged Gus away from Nicholas, breaking the hold Gus still had on the guy’s hand. “Oh, sure. Okay. I’ll just go find Cy.” Cyrus was Gus’s boyfriend and Augusta looked like she was going to tear him up. “Do you wish to dance, really?” Nicholas looked a little dubious, brows drawn into a frown. “Sure.” Well, she couldn’t back out now, could she? “Why not?” He led her out on the floor, watching the gyrating kids for a moment with the most curious look, but then he got going, his movements oddly graceful, but completely in time with the beat. The floor left little elbow room so they swayed close together. She

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brushed against him, feeling his muscles move under his clothes, smelling his unique scent. Hot. He smelled like the beach on a summer day, minus the Coppertone. Salt, sea, and blazing sun. Her nipples hardened, and Trinity blinked. It was too bizarre, how he was getting to her. The bad thing about wearing a corset with nothing but a thin satin liner was that everything… rubbed. Her corset had competition, too, because suddenly Nicholas came a lot closer. Like a lot. His thigh brushed hers, his hip bumping her belly as he turned just so. He had one amazing ass. Her head snapped up when she realized how hard she was staring, only to find him watching her, and that looked more like a seductive look than the teasing one he’d tried before. God. “So, you don’t go dancing much, huh?” she asked him, lips almost touching his neck. He frowned. “Am I clumsy?” It actually made him look more approachable, which should be odd, but knowing she could pique him a little helped in a huge way. “No. You’re just not used to this music, from the looks of it.” “It is most pleasant.” His body swayed to the beat. “Pleasant.” Pleasant didn’t begin to describe the heat he gave off. More like melting. Incendiary. Woo and possibly hoo. Trinity backed off. “I need a drink.” “Of course.” He sounded disappointed, but immediately let her go. Somehow, his overly courteous response made her furious, swinging her mood like a pendulum, and Trinity turned on him. “Why are you here?” “Your aunt invited me.” Said flatly and as pat as if he practiced it, it sounded like the absolute truth. Somehow she knew it. But why Lorelei wanted him here, Trinity simply couldn’t imagine. Her back held straight from more than just the spiral steel bones holding her waist in, she headed for the bar, her brain spinning. She just needed to think, and with him right on her heels it was pretty darned hard.

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“Scotch and soda,” she told Jeremy behind the bar. Sometimes it was good to be a regular, to know everyone by name. He grinned back. “Going with hard liquor tonight, huh?” “Something like that.” She needed the scotch to burn away the frustration. “Who’s your friend?” He batted his eyelashes at Nicholas, and Trinity rolled her eyes. Jeremy swung both ways, and he made a point of checking out all the new guys. “Nicholas. A friend of my Aunt Lore’s. What do you want, Nicholas? I’m buying.” “That is good. Your aunt gave me no money.” Jeremy hooted. “Oh ho, a kept man.” “A kept man?” A long look passed between Nicholas and Jeremy, one she couldn’t decipher. Then Nicholas went on. “That would be you, yes? Does not the club owner’s man keep you in style? You live off his money, and you let him in your bed. Geoffrey is his name.” She’d never seen Jeremy blush over anything, but his cheeks went as red as her hair. “Did Lorelei tell you that?” she asked. “She did not have to. It is obvious.” “Here you go. One scotch and soda and one tequila, no salt or lime.” Well. She didn’t remember Nicholas ordering anything, but whatever. As long as Jeremy heard it, she guessed that was okay. After serving them, Jeremy hurried to the other end of the bar, waiting on a couple of watercolor punks whose hair would run like crazy in a good rain. God, she was getting old. “You are not quite twenty-five,” Nicholas said. “Huh? Oh. Another little tidbit from Lore. Man, she filled you in on a lot in just one morning.” “She did tell me that much, yes.” His eyes glinted oddly as he smiled. Tossing back the tequila, he held out a hand. “I liked the dancing. Let us do it again.” The music changed to something slow and dreamy just then. Coincidence? Trinity sighed and drank her scotch down. “Sure. Okay.”

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His hand closed around hers as he pulled her out on the floor again, yanking her in close. Nicholas did slow dancing way better than he did fast stuff. She tried not to gasp and wiggle. “Have you lain with him?”

“Huh? Who?”

“The one with the drinks. Jeremy.”

“No! Ew.”

“He is most attractive.”

“And he’s like an older brother.” Just. Yuck.

Nicholas inspired very un-brotherly feelings. At least below the waist, and above

it too, if the permanently hard nipples counted. “Are you trying to seduce me or set me up?” “You did not seem to want me to make love to you myself. So I thought…” “Don’t think.” “Very well.” Hand on her laces, he pulled her up against him and bent, lips covering hers. She didn’t think much after that. In fact, she flat out kissed him back, fighting him for control. Hot peppers, tequila, and smoke were his taste. All of the really spicy things in life, wrapped up in one supremely attractive package. Strong hands slid down to cup her butt, squeezing, and she rubbed against him in time to the music, shameless as a Siamese cat. By the time the kiss ended his lips sported her lipstick and hers had bruises, and her feet floated nearly an inch off the floor. The amazing thing was, he wasn’t holding her up. Not one bit. The minute it occurred to her she plopped down, nearly killing her feet as her three-inch heels clomped against the dance floor, jarring her spine. “How did you do that?” she asked, close to panic from the whole floating thing.

Nicholas smiled. “It is magic.”

Trinity pushed him away so violently he bounced off the dancers behind him,

tossing her last word over her shoulder as she left him standing there. “I don’t believe in magic.”

Chapter 2 “She will be more difficult than I thought.” “Well, of course. She’s a Broussard.” Lorelei paced, sparing only a moment’s thought to the way her gauzy new skirt fluttered around her legs. Oh, she was glad the peasant look was back. “Are you feeling unequal?” “No!” The air crackled around her, the feeling as she breathed in just like the one she had when she stuck her head in the oven after burning a casserole. “I will handle it. She is simply much more oblivious than I had thought. Deliberately so.” “Then you shall have to push her,” Lorelei said, rolling her eyes at him. God, he was dense. “Yes. I shall. I will. I will have my boon,” he growled as he said it, the floor under her feet vibrating. Obviously he took his prizes for doing his duty very seriously. “Of course you will, darling. What will you do next?” “Arouse her passions. The breakthrough nearly always comes in a moment of great anger.” Lorelei nodded, sipping her hard cider and looking at him sideways. “Or lust.” “Yes,” he replied. “Yes, exactly.”

*** The design kept sort of… swimming before her eyes. Trinity sighed and tossed it down on the drafting table. She was being an idiot. All she could think about was a stupid kiss from some stupid guy who wouldn’t even be around next week. Ridiculous. Grabbing a crocheted poncho and her purse, Trinity headed downstairs. She needed to get out, maybe go get a latte and wander down at the Abbey, checking out

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some of the fancy shops for ideas. See what was in. See what kind of fabrics she should be looking for to make the most of her corset sales. “Lore! I’m going out.” Lorelei appeared from the library, hair in wild disarray, a smudge of soot on one cheek. “Oh, good. I need milk and eggs. Take Nicholas with you.” “I haven’t seen him. Sorry. I’ll get your stuff later. Shit!” she ended with a squeak as Nicholas stepped up beside her like he’d materialized out of thin air. “I will be happy to accompany you. I will need money, Lorelei.” Like the arrogant request was perfectly normal, Lore nodded, wandering out to dig in her purse, muttering, “Now I know I had a couple of twenties. There! Take Trinity out to lunch.” “I don’t want to go to lunch,” Trinity said, trying not to pout. “Of course.” Nicholas took her arm in an iron grip. “Come, let us go.” Something twisted in her head, some tiny little electric flash of pain, but Trinity dug her heels in against both it and the proprietary hand. She wanted some time to herself, not another forced date with mister tall, blond, and weird. He squeezed, a glinting grin coming over his face, making it clear he was laughing at her. Asshole. “Arguing will do you no good. I will do as your aunt asks.” “What are you, her lapdog?” “Something like that,” he murmured, drawing her along. “I am here because of her. So I do what she wants. What would you like for lunch?” “Well, I was just going to get a cappuccino.” “Italian then. I have not had that in… a long time.” How the hell did Nicholas get her to go along like that? He just swept her down the stairs with him, right out of the gate and down to the city street, carefully leading her down the stairs from their sidewalk to the crosswalk. The sidewalks were high because they’d been built when carriages were the primary form of transport, and a lady had to step right from it onto the sidewalk, avoiding the filthy street below. He turned right, down toward the Abbey, where she wanted to go anyway.

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“Where are you from?” If she was going to have to spend the day with him she might as well make nice with the conversation. He turned a smile on her, lips curling only slightly, but eyes sparkling. “Originally? Or recently?” “Both.” Might as well find out all she could. Using his grip on her arm, Trinity steered them toward the fabric shop at the south end of the Abbey shopping park. They could end up at the Trattoria Fellini. “Originally I am from the North of Italy. Now I come from somewhere closer to the tropics.” Huh. He had kind of an old world way of speaking, but no accent, really. The tropics thing might explain why Nick always smelled hot, even though it was gloomy as hell in Eden, what with the clouds and rain. His skin had this unnatural warmth to it, too, like he just had a higher body temperature than she did. “Do you like Eden?” “It is very nice.” He sounded underwhelmed. Hey, not everyone took to the East Coast like she did. Nice. Well, that wasn’t how she’d look at it, but hey. Oh. Silk velvet. The display in the window of Bow and Bolt stopped her dead. Deep, rich red. Sapphire blue. A rainbow of the richest, sweetest cloth she’d ever seen beckoned to her. Trinity even moaned a little as she broke Nicholas’ grip and slipped inside. So soft. She stroked one corner of the fabric, the saffron yellow almost more than she could bear. “Hey, Trin.” Amy, the clerk who got her the best remnants, came over, wide ass swinging, her blond, hippy-era braids falling in her face. “Thirty-nine-ninety-nine a yard.” “Shit. No way can I afford enough of this stuff to make something I could wear.” “Yeah, no kidding. Anyway, old lady Granger is on a rampage today, so don’t let her catch you petting the merchandise.” “Got it.”

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Old lady Granger, the shop owner, really didn’t care for Trinity, or anyone else who worked at Pain for that matter, considering them well beneath her clientele range. Trinity just stood and looked, biting her lip. “If you want it, why can you not get it?” Nicholas asked, appearing next to her. “Because Lore keeps me on a pretty tight leash. And my job doesn’t really pay very well. I’m an apprentice.” “Well, perhaps she’ll give you a better price.” Trinity snorted. “Yeah. Because Granger just loves me. I doubt it.” “You are passionate about this?” His long fingers stroked the fabric, making her mouth go dry as she watched. It was so sensual, the way he touched the fabric, so slow and deliberate. “I… yeah.” Her tongue stuck to the roof of her mouth, the heat in her belly making it hard to be coherent. “Then negotiate. And put your passion into your thoughts.” Okay, that sounded way new age. But she could at least try. “Hey, Mrs. Granger. How much is the silk velvet?” “Forty-five dollars a yard.” Trinity’s jaw dropped. “But Amy…” The look on Granger’s face stopped her. Of course Granger knew what Amy had told her. The old bitch. Man, she wanted that velvet, though. Just a yard each of the amethyst and the yellow. That would make great side panels for the silver brocade and the gold Chinese dragon silk she’d gotten on sale from the Fabric Barn. She could see the corsets she could make, could see the kinds of orders it would bring in. Nicholas slid up beside her, his hand warm and encouraging on her arm, and Trinity drew herself up. “Twenty-five a yard,” she offered. Mrs. Granger snorted. “Are you nuts? That’s barely above cost.” “Bullshit.” She felt stupid, but Trinity thought twenty-five a yard as hard as she could and pushed the thought at Granger. She really wanted the damned fabric. “It’s a fair price and you know it.”

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Something glittered in Granger’s eyes before they went blank and the old lady nodded. “Okay. Okay, fine. How many yards?” “Just a yard each of the purple and the yellow.” “Gotcha.” Holy shit. She couldn’t believe it. Trinity watched Granger cut her a generous yard of each, gnawing on her thumbnail. Had she done that? Amy seemed just as flummoxed, giving her a thumbs-up as she paid. But she waited until they got outside before she thumped Nicholas on the arm. Hard. “What the fuck just happened back there?” she asked, figuring she might just be losing her mind. “You got what you wanted.” He sounded so damned calm that she whapped him again. “Did you do that?” He just kept smiling, his hand moving on her arm, stroking it lightly. “No. You did. It was simply your will being stronger than hers.” “You’re saying it’s that magic shit again.” “Whatever you like to call it. You say you don’t believe in magic.” Trinity turned on him, poking him in the chest as he stopped. “I don’t. So quit it. I don’t want to hear anything else about it.” “As you say, my dear. As you say.” He sounded perfectly agreeable. Somehow, though, Trinity didn’t think she’d heard the last of it.

*** The restaurant had good ambiance, despite the fact that the old Abbey made Nicholas uncomfortable. And why would it not? It still echoed with prayer. The freeflowing wine of the trattoria helped to keep him from becoming lost in the somber feeling. So did the Beefsteak Florentine. Trinity played with her fettuccine primavera, picking at it over and over, poking it with her fork. “You are angry.”

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“I don’t get you.” Trinity stabbed the fork in his direction, scowling. “I don’t like that.” “What is there to get?” Testing her, he pushed a little, just to see if he could improve her mood. The little door in her mind slammed closed against him, not even letting him find the pathway that led where he wanted to go. Impressive, and much quicker than he’d hoped for or expected. He finally had something good to report to Lorelei. “That’s just it. What is there to get? What are you here for? You keep saying Lorelei sent for you, but why?” “Why did you like the velvet so much?” he asked, since he had never seen her react so violently to anything but him before now. “Because it feels good. And it’s pretty.” Yes, it felt good under her fingers and on her skin. The silk gave the velvet a softness that false fabric never had. Nicholas shaped the air a little, rubbed the skin of her throat with his mind, watching her gasp, her pupils dilate. His hand went to her neck, rubbing. “It will look very nice on you,” he said, before taking a bite of steak, pressing the advantage to stroke down over her breasts where the valley between them lay bare from the little square gaps in her covering. It looked rather like a fishnet. He liked it, especially over the little boned top she wore, with the built in cups that pushed her up and up. The tops of her breasts had such soft, smooth skin. It had been so long. “Th-thanks.” Her eyes darted about the room as she shifted on her seat, her thighs rubbing together, audible to him even across the table. “Though the gold one is for Gus.” “The girl from the other night?” Now that was an image he would not soon forget, the two girls pressed together that night at the club, smiling… “Do you think they burned something in the kitchen?” she asked him, sniffing the air.

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“Hmm?” Oh, that would never do. His lust had gotten away from him, his heat scorching the seat under him. Nicholas banked his own fire and set to building Trinity’s again. Less sniffing was required, more gasping. He stroked her belly, her thighs, putting real effort behind it with his thoughts. “Perhaps they burned the bread.” “Oh. Uh huh.” She did not seem to be listening now either, her thighs parting for him, her nipples clearly visible through the layers of cloth covering them. Nicholas checked to make sure no one watched before pressing against her center, feeling her begin to dampen for him. Soon he would touch her physically as well. He ached for it. “Are you well?” “No. I think I, uh, need to go to the bathroom.” “Oh, it’s full. You’ll be fine here.” She was in the corner, after all, and it only took the tiniest nudge to keep the waiter at bay; it didn’t even cause a break in his concentration on Trinity. The backs of her knees, where the tiniest tracery of blue veins showed through, fascinated him. Her ankles were delicate and yet strong. Still, the insides of her thighs kept drawing him back, and Nicholas pushed harder, doing all of the things with his phantom caress that he wished to do for real. When he slipped inside her she moaned, the sound loud and shocking, but unnoticed in the little bubble he’d created for them. Yes. Yes, that was it. All he had to do was press at her clit, stroke her cunt… Her eyes went wide, the gray outlined with a ring of black and her head fell back as she shuddered and shook, her thighs squeezing together, her moisture escaping. The scent made him throb. Trinity just sat there, panting, staring at him. “Can I get you folks anything else?” the waiter asked. The cheerful voice snapped them out of their trance, Trinity flushing a deep red and jumping to her feet, her chair clattering to the floor. “No. I’m fine. I’ll… I’ll be back.” She ran, but only to the restroom, so Nicholas paid the bill and relaxed as much as he could with the inconvenient hardness pressing up between his legs. It had been

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worth it, though. At the last moment, when she’d climaxed, Trinity had touched him back, a ghostly touch on his lips that felt just like a kiss.

Chapter 3 Spiral steel bones were tricky. You had to make sure they went into the channel just right, or they’d bind in the fabric around them. If you didn’t place them right they would snap when the corset was tightened. Not as bad as flat bones, which would bend, but still. She’d escaped to The House of Pain, leaving Nicholas at Lore’s. Trinity had used the excuse that Gus needed her, even though the shop was clearly closed. Gus usually didn’t open until late afternoon, when Cyrus came in to open his shop, Holey Rights. Everyone and his neighbor worked at Pain. God, she’d needed to get away. What the hell that had been about at the Trattoria Fellini she had no idea. Lord knew she had nothing against orgasms, but spontaneous ones? Ones that made her want to climb on Nicholas’ lap and hump him like a bad dog? Weird. Too fucking weird for words. “Hey, lovely.” Trinity nearly jumped out of her skin as warm hands landed on her bare shoulders and someone pressed a kiss to her nape. Heart racing, she turned and whapped at Ambrose, who had a metaphysical bookstore across the way. Goddamn, she was sick of surprises. “How the fuck did you get in?” Tilting his head, Ambrose grinned, kissing her lips for good measure, just soft and friendly. “I picked the lock. What are you doing in so early?” “Escaping the houseguest.” Hey, maybe he was the one to ask. Not only did he own a mumbo jumbo bookshop, they’d been very close once, so he’d keep quiet. “Do you really believe the crap you sell, ’Brose?”

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“Crap? You mean the metaphysical stuff?” Ambrose touched her arm, his fingers plucking at her sleeve. “Yeah. Magic and all.” She needed to ask, just needing some reassurance that all that hocus-pocus was stupid. “Sure.” At her look, he hastened to add, “Come on, I don’t believe in all of it, chakras and spirit guides and tarot cards. But I do believe in magic. Hell, I can’t imagine anyone living in this town and not believing in it.” “Why? What’s so hot about Eden and magic?” Lore had always tried to convince her that things existed beyond what she could see and touch, and that Eden was a hot spot for it. Trinity had never believed it. Not even as a kid. She didn’t want to start now, either. “Well, I could give you whole speeches about magical confluences and shit, but you’d laugh. What brought this on?” “There’s this guy.” “Ah. Well, I wish you luck.” For a minute sadness flashed across his face, but it went as fast as it came. Good thing, too. Ambrose had broken up with her. He didn’t get to have regrets. “Thanks, but I’m not interested in him that way. Really.” Even if Nicholas got more attractive each time she looked at him and his heat drew her like a fireplace on a damned cold night. He was so not her type and he and Lore had that conspiracy thing going. She didn’t need a man right now, anyway, as she had plans. Right now they included ripping out a whole line of seams to reset the channel for the bone she’d bent all out of shape. “Uh huh. That’s why you’re blushing.” Ambrose kissed her again, lingering a little this time before he rose and headed for the door. “You need a little fun, Trin. I say go for it.” “Gee, thanks.” Staring at the mess in her hand, Trinity shook her head. The problem with Nicholas wasn’t the fun. She had a feeling he’d be mind-blowing.

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The problem was what would happen after. That would probably be just as much of a disaster as her ruined corset.

*** Nicholas lounged on Trinity’s bed, waiting for her to return home. The sheets rubbed against his bare skin, the sensation sweet, almost unbearably so. It had been far too long since he’d indulged in sins of the flesh and Trinity intrigued him so much that he wanted to push the advantage he’d gained at lunch. He just wanted. The light blinked on, nearly blinding him, and Trinity let out a shriek when she saw him, jumping nearly a foot in the air. “What are you doing in my bed? Naked! Shit. Get the fuck out of here.” She couldn’t seem to look away from him, eyes going dark. Putting his hands behind his head, Nicholas leaned back against the tower of pillows, grateful for them. They displayed him to his best advantage. “Make me.” “Oh, like I could.” The door slammed hard, Trinity coming to stand before him, hands on her hips. “Get. Out.” Magnificent. His legs actually twitched, she put so much suggestion behind the words. His cock twitched as well, so proud of her was he, so aroused by her opening up to her innate talents. She stared, eyes fastened below his waist, which hardened him even more. “Try again,” he said. “Get out of my room,” she repeated. He gave her a smile, holding out a hand. “Come here to me.” “No.” Still, she crossed the room and took his hand. He wondered if she would believe that he’d put no magic behind the words. Probably not. “How do you do this to me?” She shook her head, biting her lip, her hand curling around his. “I do nothing you don’t want. You are lonely. You desire me. Is that so bad?”

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“Yes.” Her eyes grew dark, like thunderclouds building. Or like the swirl of smoke where he now called home. “I know you and Lore have something planned. Something I’m not in on. If I thought for one minute that you meant this, that it wasn’t part of the grand scheme…” Thumb tracing her knuckles, Nicholas shook his head. “Your aunt has a plan, yes. But this is not necessarily part of it. This I wish to do.” “Why?” “Because I have not had a woman in too long.” When she tried to yank her hand away, he held fast. “And because I could have any I chose, but I want you. You fascinate me.” “Arrogant bastard.” Her nails dug into his palm and her lip curled. He thought it was adorable. “Do you deny the truth of it?” “Oh, no. You could probably have anyone you wanted, male or female. Jeremy and Gus were both ready to fall at your feet. That makes it even easier for me to tell you no.” “Then tell me,” he murmured as he pulled her still closer, pressing his lips to hers. “Tell me to go.” “I wish I could.” Just like their first kiss, this one went hard instantly, her arms wrapping around his neck. The magic crackled between them, raising the tiny hairs on his arms. Yes. Oh, yes, that sent him soaring, and Nicholas dragged Trinity up on the bed so she sprawled across his legs, his cock burning against her hip. Her clothes confounded him, all laces and buckles, so he finally turned to his mind to do the work for him, finding his control shattered enough that he ripped the delicate seams. Her skin. Oh, her skin felt like nothing he’d ever felt, even when he’d been a man. Silk velvet had nothing on her. Her breasts were slightly too heavy on the underside, the nipples large and pink, and Nicholas cupped them, touched them, marveled at them. A mole crowned one, right where it met her torso. Once they had called those devil’s marks. Nicholas chose to take that as a good sign.

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“You are lovely.” He’d once thought she was not even pretty. Now he knew better. She made him crazed. “You’re full of shit.” No heat filled the words, though, as she seemed distracted by his own skin, her fingers tracing his lips, his chin, then his throat. His chest seemed to please her as much as hers did him, for she pressed her nails against his breastbone before pinching his nipples, making him gasp and roll his hips. Her eyes darkened even more, and she did it again, watching his body convulse. “You like that.” “Of course. Just as you do.” Sweet, soft beneath his touch, her nipple hardened as he pinched, going tight and turning dark rose. That had her gasping and turning as well, crawling up his body to straddle him with her soft thighs. Her belly had a tiny roll of extra flesh as well, not at all like the too skinny girls he had seen on the television that always seemed to be on, even where he came from. Especially there. Nicholas touched her there, fingers slipping down the slope of her belly to the curls covering her pussy, wanting to feel her heat, her wetness. She did not disappoint him, so hot, so good as he stroked down between the lips of her cunt. “Oh. Damn.” “Damn?” “S’good, Nick. Don’t stop.” “Why would I stop?” When she lifted up he pushed a finger inside her, feeling her close around him. Soon he would feel that around his cock. Perhaps not now, but soon. For now her hand would be enough, as it cupped his cock, stroking his length up and down. They moved together, fingers rubbing in time, his slipping in and out, riding up to touch her clit. Her touch on him was soft but firm, fingers tightening at the tip of his shaft, stroking over the slit. “Trinity.” His voice commanded, pushing at her mind as well as her body, every cell focused on her pleasure. Her head fell back and she cried out, shaking, her breasts

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bouncing and her thighs squeezing down on him. He felt the flow of her juices as she came, saw the wildness in her eyes, and Nicholas groaned, his cock jerking as he came, feeling it from the base of his neck all the way to his balls. What a wondrous thing it was to have a body. Even if it did produce a mess he had to wipe off. They lay together a long while, her lush form pressed to his, while they fought for breath. Then she went up on one elbow, staring down at him, a slight frown between her brows. “I don’t get you. You make me so damned mad, but then I want you. I want you so much it hurts. Blocks out all of the bad, no-way reasons about getting involved with you…” Nicholas smiled, letting the words wash over him for a moment. Then he reassured her. “It is the natural way of things, is it not?” Her frown deepened, and she thumped his chest. “No. This doesn’t feel natural at all.” “So what does it feel like?” She was coming to understand whether she wanted to or not. His plan was working. He stroked her back, purring a little, feeling like he had accomplished more in five minutes than he had in the last five hundred years. He knew he was right when she nodded, her eyes holding his, serious and sober. “It feels like magic.”

Chapter 4 “Hey, Trin. That’s looking good,” Gus said, hanging over her shoulder. “Yeah? I wasn’t sure.” The old office chair she used as a work seat squeaked as Trinity swiveled around to grin at Augusta. “The ruching on the sides isn’t too much?” Gus looked particularly fine today, with a pinstripe forties style suit and fedora, her jacket open over a charcoal gray bustier. God, the woman never had a schlumpy day. Trinity grimaced at her own peasant skirt and tunic, thrown on when she’d awakened in the same bed with Nicholas, fleeing before he woke. She’d been at the shop most of the day. “No, it’s good. You look tired.” The mirror had told her the same thing; she had dark circles under her eyes. “Yeah, well, I didn’t sleep well last night.” “Yeah? Get a little fun in, did you?” Trinity’s head snapped around. “How did you…” “Hell, you practically reek of man. Not that it’s a bad scent for you, but damn.” Gus waved a hand. “So was it that guy I saw you with the other night?” “Nicholas. Yeah. I don’t even like him.” A naughty wink and a little wiggle accompanied Gus’s “You don’t have to.” “Yeah, yeah.” The velvet of the little camisole style bustier she was working on crumpled under her fingers as she tried to straighten one fold. “Anyway, it’s been awhile since I spent a night in bed with someone and it felt odd. I tossed and turned.” And had the weirdest fucking dreams, all black and red and smoky, and damned clichéd too. She’d been running from a creature that chased her down the back streets of Eden, and every incarnation of it had Nicholas’ weird green-gold eyes. “Well, it’s about time, I say. It’s been a long time since ’Brose.”

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“Yeah, and the same thing is happening with Nicholas that happened with Ambrose.” Stabbing pins into a mannequin really helped with the grrr. Just for the hell of it, Trinity did it again. Hard. Augusta just laughed. “Somewhere, one of those poor guys is going, ‘ow.’ What do you mean, the same thing?” How in heck was she supposed to answer that? One morning, three years ago when she and Ambrose had been at the height of their grand, goth drama love affair, she’d gotten up in the middle of the night to pee, legs a little wobbly from a night of fantastic sex. When she got to the bathroom, though, she couldn’t get in. All of ’Brose’s lush plants had just… exploded. They were huge, all of the blooming ones sporting great, showy blossoms. “That’s why he broke up with me.” “Because you made his plants grow?” One Joan Crawford eyebrow went up. “That seems rude.” “Bitch.” A wad of velvet flew, thumping off Gus’s shoulder. “I mean because weird things happened when we had sex. So I, uh…” “Stopped giving out?” “Right. And now the same thing is happening with Nicholas. Which is worse, because I don’t even know him.” “What kinds of things?” “Nothing you need to know.” No way was she going to tell Gus about getting the free coffee that morning, or about hitting every green light. She’d just say they were coincidental. Even if there was never a free ride or a string of green lights in Eden. Her cheeks heated. Plus, there was the whole explosive orgasm. Ambrose had never made her feel anything close to that, bless his heart. “So what are you going to do about it?” “I have no idea.” Sighing, she went back to work, seeing Gus pull off her hat and jacket out of the corner of her eye, settling at the drafting table to work on a new design.

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“Well, then let’s change the subject to something more fun. What are you doing for your birthday?” She wrinkled her nose. “I don’t know. I was planning on something like clubbing, but Lore has been on this ‘we should do something’ kick.” “Well, I guess she figures you only turn twenty-five once.” “I guess.” The closer it got to her birthday, the weirder Lore got. Maybe it had something to do with her trust fund. Hell, maybe she ought to just ask. Lore was weird about a lot of stuff, so you never knew. As much as she bitched and all, though, she didn’t want to leave Lore in the lurch in some way. They’d talk about it. “Let me know what you’re going to do. I’d like to take you out for a drink or something.” “Cool.” They worked in silence for a while before Trinity glanced over, oh so casually asking, “Do you believe in magic?” “You mean like card trick stuff?” Gus raised a brow, pulling pins out of her mouth. “No, I mean stuff you can’t explain stuff.” “Sure. I live in Eden. How can I not?” Trinity groaned. First Lorelei, then Ambrose and now Augusta. “That’s what ’Brose said. What in hell does that have to do with it?” Gus gave her a look, coming over to sit across from her, the little stool creaking. “Come on, Trin. Surely you’ve noticed that weird things happen here. Not just your blooming flowers. Just look at Jocelyn.” Jocelyn co-owned the Fall of Usher, the club she and Nicholas had gone to. “What about her?” “We’ve been going there, what? Seven? Eight years?” “Yeah. Give or take. Ever since we were eighteen.” “Okay, has she aged? Even a little?” “I always figured she had a good surgeon.” Though Jocelyn didn’t have the perpetually surprised look that a face-lift brought. And her husband Geoffrey had not

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one gray hair, despite the fact that he was at least ten years older than Jocelyn, who had to be in her thirties by now. Argh. “Uh huh. And look at Skinner.” Skinner worked downstairs at the Mark of Cain, the tattoo parlor. “Did you ever notice how he doesn’t have to ask what you want for your tattoo? He just draws it up?” “Skinner’s a freak.” Trinity loved him to death, but damn. He was just a nutball. “Whatever you have to tell yourself to make it through the day. But just because you determinedly refuse to believe it’s there doesn’t mean magic doesn’t exist.” Gus leaned over to kiss her cheek. “Remember that.” She’d try. She really would.

*** Nicholas felt it every time Trinity touched on her innate use of magic that day. They were all small things. The traffic lights on the way to work, the extra shot of whiskey she got for free in her drink at the bar called Usher. So connected with her was he that every time she pushed or pulled, he felt it in his cock, settling in his balls. Making love to her had awakened passions of his own, ones that he had never thought to feel again. It made for an agonizing day. Somehow Nicholas felt his higher-ups would approve. Waiting for Trinity to return home was becoming a habit he didn’t like at all. This time he did not go to her bed. He went to the one Lorelei had assigned to him, trailing his fingers over the fine bedclothes before he stripped down and crawled up on it, the canopy and curtains making it like a nest, dark and warm, where he could close his eyes and follow Trinity about on the dance floor at Usher, watching in his head as she pressed against a girl in a plaid skirt and torn top. His cock swelled and Nicholas pushed at it with the heel of his hand. From the other side a big man with blue hair pushed up behind Trinity, rubbing as he danced. That did nothing for his cock, and Nicholas growled, pushing at Trinity

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with his mind, demanding her attention. Her surprise came to him across the miles, then her determination, shoving at him, growling at him in her mind. This time he felt no pride, only jealousy, anger, the heat in his belly surprising him. The picture in his mind did not change. If anything, Trinity pulled the man closer, bumping, grinding. No! Everything in him shouted no. He actually felt her stumble, her surprise electric, but she moved away from her dancing partners, her knees shaking. Then she got mad. Her anger tasted like fire, molten and sweet, at least to him. Nicholas craved the fire, just as all of the damned did. She raged all the way home and her fury boiled under his skin, making him itch, making him toss and turn, his cock like stone. Yes, dear one, he thought. Yes. I need. The door to his chamber flew open without a physical touch as she stormed in, hair tousled madly, her cheeks red, eyes snapping. “You fucking asshole. How dare you?” She had no idea how daring he could be. Nicholas lifted one hand and motioned, bringing her to him, her heels skidding across the floor as she dug them in to no avail. “I dare whatever I will. You are mine.” He tested the shape of those words with his mouth, feeling the truth of them. Dangerous, for him to become so possessive, but there it was. “Yours! Bullshit. I don’t even know you.” Her hand slapped into his, the touch enough to make his whole body rock, shudders passing through him into her. Her nipples tightened visibly. “You know me. All the way down to my soul, you know me.” Reeling her in until his breath fanned her cheek, Nicholas growled, “Don’t you?” Her eyes went cloudy, her lips trembling as she nodded. “Yes. Damn you.” “You’re a bit late for that,” he murmured, kissing her mouth so hard their teeth clacked together, her lips bruising under his.

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She fell with him on the bed, her hands sliding on his skin as he tried to get her clothes off, finally doing exactly what he had last time, leaving them in shreds on the floor. She chuckled, one hand stroking his neck. “I liked that corselette.” “Then you will have to make another.” He bit her throat, licked along her collarbone, lifted her breasts to his mouth to suck at her nipples, hard and dark for him, her heart beating fast under his cheek. She smelled of cinnamon and cloves, of female musk, her juices wet on his thigh as he pushed one leg between both of hers, demanding she spread for him. Thighs falling open, Trinity humped up against his leg, her nails digging into his back. He let her feel the sting of his teeth, closing delicately on her nipple, before moving back up to take another kiss, tongue pushing into her mouth in a parody of the act he truly wished to perform. Her nails scored his back, making him jerk and groan. Her scent called to him, making his mouth water, and he moved down from her breasts, down over her belly, letting his tongue linger in the shallow depression of her navel. Hands on her thighs, Nicholas slid even lower on the bed, opening them for him to see and touch and taste. His chin pressed against her lower belly, the beard stubble he found such a novelty leaving little red marks on her skin. Trinity must have liked the tiny sensation, for she writhed against him, her hands tight on his shoulders. Her ass moved restlessly on the bed, her breath coming hard as she pushed at him. The hint was not a subtle one and Nicholas took it, bending to set his lips to her clit, letting his tongue push it back and forth. She cried out for him, her sounds like music, nothing at all like the cries he heard in his nightmares. Soon her juices covered his fingers and his lips, and he went looking for more, his tongue slipping along the lips of her cunt, finally plunging into her. Her taste, rich and hot, had him humping the air with his hips, trying to find something, anything to give him some friction.

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In and out he fucked her with his tongue, working her until every breath gave him a sweet noise, until her nails dug into his skin in a cruel caress. Trinity begged him, not out loud, but in his mind, pushing him to give her what she needed, to give her his cock. Finally he moved into position, grasping his cock and rubbing it over her clit, back and forth, gathering up her wetness. She grunted, head falling back to expose the long line of her throat, so irresistible that he left a mark there, sucking until a lurid bruise formed. “Nicholas. Need you. Please.” “Yes.” No more teasing. He slid home, her wet heat closing around him so tight and hot that his eyes rolled back in his head. Slick, soft, she drew him in, her body seeming to pull at him as she moaned and rocked up, trying to get more. She simply burned him. Legs wrapping around his waist, Trinity moved with him, held him, cursed him when he went too slow. He’d never felt anything like it, and never was a long time for Nicholas. “Damn it. Come on. I need… Nicholas. Harder.” Growling deep in his chest, he gave her harder, his hips snapping, their skin slapping together audibly. His sweat dripped down on her, leaving little red marks wherever it landed, the sizzle making her cry out, making her squeeze down around him. Faster and faster he moved, his cock swelling even bigger as he rocked in and out, his breath heaving in his lungs. Such curious things, lungs. Bright, sharp pain bloomed against his collarbone as Trinity bit him, and he bucked, his cock throbbing as he shot his seed over and over, his own cry harsh and raw in his ears. She bucked under him, practically sobbing as she tried to find completion, and when Nicholas could think again he propped himself on one shaking arm and reached between them, working her clit mercilessly, pushing her.

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“Come for me, dear one. Now.” Trinity came, her muscles clasping him deep inside, her eyes wide and sightless as her body convulsed. Not a sound came from her, even though her mouth fell open, lips ripe and wet, pink tongue just touching her bottom teeth. “Mine,” he said, putting all of his intent behind it, and she only nodded, pulling him down to bury her face in his shoulder and whisper. “Yours.”

Chapter 5 “You really aren’t supposed to be claiming her, you know.” Lorelei fed little hamburger balls to her Venus Flytrap plants, feeling very Morticia Addams. Oh! Wouldn’t she look marvelous in one of those dresses? Maybe Trinity would make her one. A flash of yellow eyes came from the shadows where Nicholas skulked, pouting at her for calling him to the carpet. Or perhaps growling rather than pouting. “It’s having the desired effect, is it not?” “Oh, yes. She’s quite tapped into her power. Every light bulb in the house blew out. But she has to acknowledge it, too, and before midnight on her birthday. If she doesn’t, she and I are both sunk.” “She will. I have never failed to do my duty when summoned, lady. I will not now.” Something in Nicholas’ tone told her that he resented that duty, and Lorelei looked at him critically, noting the hunched, defensive posture. And the enormous, winged silhouette on the wall behind him. She shivered. “Yes, well, see that you do it this time. We cannot afford for you to fail.” “I know, lady.” The growl became almost a whine, mournful and lost. “I know.”

*** “So what are you doing for your birthday, Trin?” She whirled on Indira, who owned the body painting stand and mehndi place right inside the front doors of The House of Pain, just across from Holey Rights and the Mark of Cain. “I swear to God, if one more person asks me that…”

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Indira had on the most glorious saffron and red sari. It almost distracted her from her frustration. Almost. Brown eyes twinkling, Indira twirled for her. “You like it. You know you do.” “The sari? Yes. The stupid question, no.” Her birthday was like two days away. Nicholas had been around for nearly a month and showed no signs of leaving. Lorelei had that “All is right with the world” smile, and had even commissioned a dress from her, one to go with the black brocade corset Trinity had made her nearly a year before. It was kinda freaky. Even freakier was how she felt about Nicholas staying on. Maintaining that she didn’t like him was so not working. It was kinda hard to dislike someone you were obviously dating. And the sex was amazing. “So, what are you doing?” Painted hands waving, Indira bustled around, picking up this and that. “I don’t know! Lore told me not to make plans.” “Okay. We’ll just have to do cake and ice cream here at work.” “Sure, that sounds good.” Waving, she headed for the shop, intent on finishing Lore’s dress. Except that when she dug through her purse, her keys were nowhere to be found. Growling in frustration, she pressed just like Nicholas taught her and sure enough the damned door swung open. Shit like that was kinda hard to ignore. That whole denial thing Augusta had talked about seemed ridiculous in light of her recent proof. Nicholas had brought magic into her life. Trinity wasn’t sure if she should hate him or love him for it. Love him. She paused, hands hovering over the pincushion. Surely not. No, pure lust seemed a hell of a lot more likely, despite all of the shit they’d been doing. Dinner out. Reading in the library, her feet in his lap. God, it was almost sickening, and it would be if it didn’t feel so right.

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Shit. Ripping out the seam she’d just put in crooked, Trinity concentrated on her work. That love crap would just have to wait. She could only deal with so many revelations at a time.

*** “You’re becoming awfully attached to her.” Nicholas jumped, staring at Lorelei’s Darlingtonia, a carnivorous flower that looked like a blood spattered trumpet. The plant went on talking. “I hope this will not compromise your work.” He rolled his eyes, recognizing the voice. “Checking up on me?” “Of course. I like satisfied customers.” “You’ll have no complaints from this one.” His hands clenched and Nicholas resisted the urge to tear the velvety flower from its glossy vine. “Would you like a meatball?” “No thank you. What I want is for you to make sure you wrap this up. I have other petitioners that need your skills.” “I have two days. One way or the other, it will be over then.” “Yes. Yes it will. And you would be well served to remember it.” “I will,” he said, feeling the chill of it crawl up his spine, making him cold for the first time he could remember since… well, since going to work for the talking plant, that was for sure. “I have no choice.”

*** “Oh, it’s lovely, Trinity,” Lorelei said, looking down at her. “Yeah? I think it needs to come up an inch.” Trinity knelt, pins sticking out of her mouth, to do up the trailing hem on Lorelei’s new dress. Sometimes she forgot how young Lore really was, and how pretty. The dress looked great, hugging Lore in all the right places, flowing to the floor in a nice feminine drape. “So what are we doing for my birthday tomorrow?” she asked around a mouthful of straight pins.

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“What would you like? Cousin Nathaniel is coming. So is Aunt Hetty.” “Oh, yay.” Aunt Hetty was another borrowed family member, an elderly relation of Nathaniel’s who came for holidays and all. “What was that?” “I said hold still.” She didn’t jab Lorelei’s calf with a pin. Go her for her having such restraint. “I want eggplant parmesan as a bribe, then.” And Nicholas. Naked. On a platter. A soft chuckle rustled through her as Nicholas overheard her thoughts from the other room. He wandered in just in time to help her with Lorelei’s corset. “Here. Pull,” she said. He had to be stronger than she was with all of those damned muscles. Nicholas pulled until Lore squealed, but it cinched Lorelei’s waist in so nice and tight that Trinity clapped her hands in delight. “That’s great! You’ll have to do me, too.” “I will happily do that,” he said, giving her a smoldering look. She flushed when she realized what she’d said. “I just bet you will.” Lore whapped him and gave Trinity an arch look. “But not until she’s done with me.” Oh, jeez. The work went quickly after that, because her whole body tingled like Nicholas was touching her, her spine, then her nape, then her breasts when it felt like two hands cupped and lifted them. Damn him anyway. “Okay,” she said, backing away from Lore and putting her pins back in their cushion. “All set. Let’s get you out of this so I can get it done.” “Ah, stripping. I love this part.” Sure enough, Lore danced around the room, flinging corset and dress and stockings in all directions. God, that woman. Trinity grinned as she gathered up all of the various pieces, giving Nicholas a meaningful glance. “I’ll just go fix that hem.” “Okay. Make sure you actually stay out of bed long enough to do it. Big day tomorrow.”

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“Lore!” Damn it, she was gonna go up in flames, blushing like she was. “I’ll put eggplant parmesan on the menu,” Lore said as Trinity hustled out of the room with Nicholas on her heels. Trinity just laughed. She really didn’t need a bribe to be in a good mood for family. She just needed her daily dose of Nicholas. She was addicted. Really, it should terrify her. Nicholas came with her easily, cornering her in the curve of her stairway, not even waiting to get her to her room. He pushed her against the wall to kiss her, lips hard on hers, demanding. She wrapped her arms around his neck, letting him lift her, letting him push her skirt up, his hands tearing at the garter belt she wore to get it out of the way of her panties. The sound as they ripped was almost more of a burning crackle, and the smell of burnt cotton floated up at her, hot and distinct. “Trinity,” Nicholas said, eyes hot yellow-green, like grass in the late summer. “I need.” “I know.” She did know. She really did. Stroking his hair, watching it curl around her fingers, Trinity smiled at him, nodding, letting him know she was ready. He held her easily with one hand, the other going down to free his cock from his trousers and now all she could smell was Nicholas, male and sharp, all musk and want. Her mouth watered. Who needed eggplant parmesan? She could just eat him up. “Now, Nicholas,” she demanded, wiggling against him, trying to get him inside her. The strength of her desire for him staggered her. She’d never just wanted someone without all the preliminaries. Hell, she usually at least wanted flowers. Wide and hot, Nicholas’ cock pushed into her cunt, making her groan and rest her forehead against him. God, he just fit her so perfectly, with just enough room to move, to let him ride back and forth inside. She hung on him, her legs wrapping around his waist, her hands clutching at the fabric of his shirt. Somehow it felt illicit that both of them still had half their clothes on.

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They got a rhythm going, deep and fast, and finally he kissed her again, the kiss stealing her breath. She couldn’t see or hear or feel anything but him. Her whole world narrowed down to his body and hers and the way he made her feel. She needed… oh. She needed just one little touch to push her over, but Nicholas seemed completely lost, his eyes cloudy, his lips swollen from her kisses, his breath harsh and fast. So Trinity did it herself, unclamping one hand from his neck and reaching down between them. The angle was bad, but she managed it, letting her forefinger circle her clit just once and that was it. Trinity came with a harsh cry, her body convulsing, tightening down on him. It pulled his orgasm out into her, his come wet and hot inside her, filling her so deep and hard that she shuddered, little aftershocks running through her. They rested for long moments, Nicholas’ weight pinning her to the wall. Then he let her slide down so her feet touched the stairs. “Was that enough of a daily dose?” he asked, lips curling up at the edges. Trinity pretended to think about it for, oh, five seconds before grabbing his hand and making for her bedroom. “No,” she replied. “I think I’m going to have to have a second helping.”

Chapter 6 Nicholas dreamed that night. Creatures such as he’d rarely dreamed. He’d learned long ago it took hope to dream, and he’d thought he had none. That night, though, he searched in his dreams for something elusive, something he kept reaching for and that he couldn’t quite reach. There was no swirling mist, no long corridor or empty street, just the one thing he wanted most in the world, and she danced out of his way every time he almost had her. He woke feeling groggy and grumpy, a feeling mitigated only by seeing Trinity at her dressing table, brushing her hair. He did love her hair, such a glossy, deep red, and so thick. Rolling out of bed, he followed his morning erection, ending up behind her with his hands on her shoulders. “Good morning,” he said, stroking her smooth skin. “Morning. You must have been having one heck of a bad dream.” “Did I wake you?” “No. But you were moaning and I was having these weird chasing dreams.” “Something chasing you?” he asked, holding his breath. “No. Me chasing it. And it always just slipped out of my hands.” Maybe it didn’t take hope to dream after all. Maybe it just took despair. Nicholas sighed, digging his fingers into her tense muscles. “Just a dream.” “Yeah. So, are you going to help me get dressed?” Meeting her eyes in the mirror, he smiled, his hands slipping down to part the edges of her robe, pushing the loud, paisley satin aside. “I would rather you undressed.”

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“You’ve never met Aunt Hetty, have you? She’s an early riser. She’ll be here in no time. Cousin Nathaniel will at least wait until mid-afternoon.” He growled a little. This was his last day with her. Hopefully it would prove successful, but he didn’t want to share. He winced at the desperation in his voice. “We have time.” The brush thunked down on the table as Trinity turned on her little bench to wrap her arms around his waist, cheek on his chest. “What’s the matter? If you want to skip the family gathering I won’t hold it against you.” “No. It is your birthday. I need to be there.” “Happy birthday to me.” Chuckling, she nudged his cock with her elbow. “Is this my present?” The sound of his own deep moan surprised him. He took her hand, pulling it down to cover him, to touch him. She held him eagerly, fingers sliding on him, circling and stroking up and down. Trinity looked at him like he was the magic she had discovered. Him alone. When she bent her head and took him into her mouth he thought he might explode. Wet, hot, her lips and tongue moved on his hard flesh, taking him to the very edge of his control. She sucked him hard, her tongue moving on the underside, working the vein there. His fingers sank into her hair, the softness of it its own kind of caress and before he could even warn her, Nicholas came, his heart pounding in time with his spurts. Trinity licked him clean before grinning up at him. “Better?” All he could do was nod, his tongue still stuck to the roof of his mouth. She patted him as she rose, sending one last wave of sensation through him before she pushed past him, tossing over her shoulder, “Good. Now come on and take a shower with me and help me get dressed.” Oh, no. There was much more to do to her before he let her dress. Nicholas followed Trinity into the shower, watching her for a moment as she turned on the water, watching as she stepped under the spray. His cock twitched again, and he stared

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down at it as well, amazed. Really, he could not remember it working this well when he was human, but that had been a long time ago. The water sent steam up toward the ceiling, but to him it felt only lukewarm as he stepped in behind Trinity, hands sliding about her waist. She gasped, leaning back against him, and he stroked her belly, the tiny roundness there arousing him almost insensibly. He buried his face in her wet hair, smelling violets and chamomile, amazed that he could remember each scent individually from his mother’s herbarium. Her skin felt like the velvet she had bought from the mean old woman, his hands dragging on it as he moved to cup her breasts, thumbs working the nipples until they rose tight and hard. “Nicholas,” she moaned, her voice flowing over him like warm brandy. She made him remember what his favorite sins were, made him remember why he’d been banished to the pit to begin with. For her, he would do it all again. “Yes,” he answered, lips against her ear, his hips starting to roll, pushing his cock against her lush ass. Her thighs opened for him, letting him push between from behind and feel how wet she was. “I want you.” “Yes. Please. Anything.” Anything. She was so open for him, so ready. Steadying her with one hand, Nicholas reached down with his other, finding her clit with his forefinger, teasing it, pushing around and around it. Then he spread the lips of her cunt, teasing them both, coating his fingers with her juices. “Are you ready for me, dear one?” he asked, his borrowed heart pounding, his breath coming in pants against her shoulder. She nodded, her hair swinging wildly, wet tendrils of it seeming to cling to him, as if even they wanted him closer. That was all the encouragement Nicholas needed. His cock slipped and slid against her, finally pushing into her cunt. She was so tight around him that he groaned, biting down on the skin of her shoulder.

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She yelled, riding back and forth on him, her ass pushing at his hips, her breasts swaying against his bracing arm with every move, her nipples pressing against his skin. Her cunt squeezed him, pulling at him, and Nicholas fought it as long as he could, feeling with his fingers where they came together, feeling his cock move in and out of her. Finally he knew he was too close, knew he was going to come again. Nicholas started working her clit again, mercilessly, making her shake and beg and finally cry out as she came around him, pulling his load out of him, his cock jerking inside her as he came too. “Damn,” she said, the word jerky and short with her lack of breath. “Oh yes,” he agreed. They were surely damned, but as he had been there already, and he would go back, Nicholas knew he might as well enjoy every moment he could here with Trinity.

*** Having Nicholas lace her into her corset seemed incredibly sensual. Maybe because she’d decided to forgo the usual peasant top or dress under it, deciding on a lined corset instead. Or maybe it was because Nicholas kissed every little patch of skin before it disappeared under the modesty panel in the back. “This one has good spiral steel bones. You can lace it tighter than that.” “I don’t wish to hurt you,” he murmured, licking at the spot just above the top grommet. “Trust me. I’ve been tight lacing for years.” The laces pulled, compressing her ribs and pushing her breasts up, the feeling giving her a little thrill all the way down between her legs. “Why do you wear these? Most women do not anymore.” “I like the way they feel. I like the way they look. And I’m my own best advertisement if I’m going to make money at them.” “Yes. Everyone would want to look like you do in them.” His fingers grazed the tops of her breasts before he returned to pulling, finally taking her in as far as she could go and still breathe.

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“Yeah. I’m shaped a lot more like a Victorian babe than a skinny model.” She’d learned to accept that years ago, even kinda like it. Nicholas tied her off before turning her about to look at him. “You are lovely,” he said. He wouldn’t meet her eyes, staring instead at the heavy seam at the top of her corset. She put her knuckles under his chin, tilting it up. “Is something wrong?” “No. No, of course not.” Smiling, he finally looked her right in the eye, kissing her fingers. And his eyes told her he was lying. The heavy knocking on the door had them both jumping. “Your Aunt Hetty is here, dear. Come along.” Lore sounded disgustingly cheerful. Trinity looked at herself in the mirror. Not bad. Even better with tall, blond, and gorgeous behind her. Man, she really had it bad for him, which still made her blink sometimes, it had happened so fast. “You ready?” she asked. “No. But where you lead I will follow.” A tiny smile finally stretched his mouth. “Uh huh.” It made her grin in return. He was just impossible to resist, even if he was hiding something. Lore wore her dress. Aunt Hetty wasn’t awful. They all managed to last and be polite until supper, when Cousin Nathaniel showed up bearing salad and wine to go with the eggplant parmesan. He brought Brunello. Nice. The dining room was all done up in candles, even the big iron chandelier was lit up, dribbling wax into the little cupped plates below each stand. The damask tablecloth had to be as old as the house, and the good bone china graced the linen placemats. Fancy shmancy. Both Hetty and Nathaniel seemed to take Nicholas joining them in stride, which raised her eyebrows. She let it go, listening to Hetty chatter about her latest boyfriend, a ninety-year-old widower with a pacemaker and his own teeth. Maybe at Aunt Hetty’s age that was way more important than looks or, you know, size.

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“So, Trinity. You’re twenty-five this year. Isn’t that supposed to be some sort of milestone? Tell me what you’ve learned this year,” Cousin Nathaniel asked. “Huh?” Still thinking about real teeth versus Fixodent, she glanced at Nathaniel, raising a brow. “What great revelations has a quarter of a century earned you?” That grin… she wanted to smack it off his face. It wasn’t that she didn’t like Cousin Nathaniel, really. Trinity often found they were just too much alike. “Well, I finally learned that since the road around the Abbey went four lanes it’s best to cross at the crosswalk. I learned that flat steel will pop right out of the end of a channel if it’s too thin.” Nicholas cleared his throat, drawing her eyes. The look he gave her had her pulse speeding up, and she smiled, raising her glass to him. “And despite all of Lore’s best efforts, it took someone really special to make me believe in magic. Because I do, now. I really do.” The candles flickered, throwing crazy shadows across the room, making Cousin Nathaniel’s face glow eerily as he bounced out of his seat and raised his own glass. “Finally! Welcome to the real family, Trinity, my dear. Thank the spirits. I thought you would lose everything.” “What?” Turning to Lore, Trinity opened her mouth to ask, only to see her aunt stand and point at Nicholas. “You have served your purpose here,” Lore said, and started chanting some weird shit, eyes half closing. “No!” Surging to his feet, Nicholas roared. “You promised me a boon. It is part of the bargain. You will pay me my forfeit.” The chant ended. “I didn’t say when I would pay you, did I? Be gone.” Another sound, animal and agonizing, came from Nicholas, the smell of sulfur strong in the air; electricity crackled around them as Nicholas seemed to… shimmer. “Trinity. Please. Help… she lied to me.”

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Help how? Desperately she reached out with the new talents she’d learned, trying to hold him where he was, but he was slipping away. She felt it like a knife in the gut. She could hear him talking, but only in her mind. His body was simply… gone. “I would have stayed, love. I’m sorry.” His voice came like the barest whisper, the sorrow in it shivering down her spine. All too soon even that touch faded, leaving her alone in her head for the first time in weeks. It echoed in there. She looked at Lore, determination overtaking despair. At least for the moment. “You’re going to tell me what that was about. And you’re gonna do it right now.” She threw every bit of command she’d learned from Nicholas into her voice, pushing it as well. Lorelei winced, her hand going to her temple, and looked at Cousin Nathaniel, who looked at Aunt Hetty, who shrugged and stared at Lorelei. Who sighed. “Of course, darling. Let me tell you about the Broussard family history.”

Chapter 7 For three weeks Trinity had been holed up in the library, researching. After she’d kicked Nathaniel and Hetty out and screamed herself hoarse at Lorelei, she’d camped out there, reading all of those old books of arcane lore she’d missed out on growing up. She handled stress a heck of a lot better when she had something to do, and research was definitely working. Why the fuck Lorelei thought it was Trinity’s fault they’d almost lost the family home and trust fund she didn’t know. If she didn’t believe in magic it was the woman who raised her who should be held responsible, shouldn’t it? For not fostering the ability at an early age? How was a kid to know that there was this whole land grant thing from some knightly cousin and his witch wife back in the day? Worse, how was Trinity supposed to know it had carried over into the new world? Sheesh. “I wanted you to be an individual,” Lore had said, waving her arms. “A free thinker. I thought it would be obvious and that you would come to me for help. I thought surely you would sense it and want to use the magic.” “In other words, you didn’t think of it at all until it was almost too late,” had been Trinity’s reply. Still, she really couldn’t be mad about that, could she? It had brought her Nicholas. What she could be mad about was the way Lore had banished Nicholas without giving him his boon. Or giving her time to say goodbye. She’d never really wanted to say goodbye to him but if he had to go… she just wished she’d had a moment to let him know how she felt. “Trinity, let me in.” Lore scratched at the door like a naughty puppy. “I’ll show you the spell I used.”

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“I thought you said he wasn’t good enough for me.” She flipped through the spells alphabetically. Possession, protection, romance. Summoning. There. “He’s not. You will be stubborn though, won’t you? Please, I miss you, darling.” Trinity sighed and climbed to her feet, rubbing the back of her neck. Maybe she needed the help. Maybe it was time to ask. The door unlocked with a tiny snick, swinging open to reveal Lorelei in a pair of jeans and a plain T-shirt, looking very subdued. “Thank you. Now, we need Uncle Julian’s book of shadows.” The book floated off the shelf and opened up before landing on the table, revealing a sooty page with charred edges. “There it is. All you need to know to get him back. At least for a while.” “I might even forgive you if this works,” she said, softening toward Lorelei for the first time in almost a month. She got a huge grin from Lorelei. “I’m counting on it. Let me gather the moonwort and sage.” Trinity allowed herself to smile back, grabbing the funky marble mortar and pestle from another shelf. Okay, so possibly this asking for help thing wasn’t so awful after all.

*** The creatures of the lower realms gave him a wide berth. How could he blame them? Ever since he’d gotten back, he’d been miserable, especially when his name had been taken from him. Names had power, after all. It had been so since the dawn of time when gods had used the first names as curses. Soon, he would barely be able to remember it, or her, and that he mourned. Losing Trinity once he could hardly bear. Losing her this way too might crack him indefinitely. “You really should get out more. You haven’t even gone on a routine possession.”

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He sighed, staring at the imp who was busily poking his foot with a clawed finger. Even a routine possession might wipe his memories away along with his name. “I don’t want to.” “Well, sooner or later you’ll… are you getting transparent, or is it just me?” the imp asked. When he looked down, half of him was gone, which was pretty amazing, given his size. The other half started to fade as he felt the pull of a summoning, his being dissolving into matter that could travel through dimensions. He gave up fighting it halfway there. Perhaps it would be better to serve another master and forget Trinity completely.

*** “He looks somewhat… mangled, doesn’t he?” “Yeah.” Trinity tilted her head, staring at the mostly Nicholas shaped body lying on the library floor. Blackened with soot, smeared with what looked like axle grease, he still had one wing and a tail. The rest looked more familiar. “What happened?” “I imagine he fought it. Go get a whiskey, dear.” Far braver than she was, Lore knelt down next to Nicholas and started lightly slapping his cheeks while Trinity went on shaking legs to get a highball. She’d done it. Even though Lore helped, she’d done her first summoning. May it be her last too. A low growl had her turning back and trotting over, ready to keep Nicholas from killing Lore if she needed to. He might still be just a little sore about the whole banishing thing. “Concentrate, Nicholas. You’re looking a little underdone.” “You do not command me. You did not bring me here.” Glowing yellow eyes landed on her, widening. Nicholas struggled up into a sitting position, his single wing curling in on his back in an oddly defensive gesture. He hunched away from her like she was the enemy. “You did. What do you want?”

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“Go away, Lore,” Trinity said, her eyes only for Nicholas, Lorelei just visible on the periphery. Chuckling, Lore nodded, getting to her feet and heading out. “Play nice, children.” The big door latched with a hushed click before Trinity allowed herself to start, hoping she wouldn’t fuck things up forever. “I… I wanted to apologize first. I had no idea what was up. If I had, I would never have let Lore send you back like that without your whatchamacallit.” “My boon. It is the only thing that makes this whole summoning worthwhile. It gives me freedom to choose, even if only for a moment.” He climbed to his feet, hands on his hip, his tail lashing back and forth like a big cat’s. That could be interesting, that tail. Concentrate, Trinity, she thought. Out loud she said, “Right. That.” “You could easily have called me back for that. Yet you chose to do a new spell and bind me to your will instead. Why?” “I did? I mean, I thought I just…” She thought about it, her eyes narrowing. Oh, she was gonna kill Lore. “You mean every time someone uses that particular spell, you have to do what they ask?” “Yes.” Okay. Okay, she could work with that. She might be new to magic, but she wasn’t new to bargaining. “Fine. Then I do have something I want you to do for me.” Something bleak flickered in his eyes, his head dropping forward. “I am yours to command.” “Yeah. I. Uh.” Trinity took a deep breath. “I want you to do what you want.” Nicholas’ head snapped back up. “What?” “I want you to take your own initiative and run with it. Whatever you want to do, when you want to do it. And if you do that… your boon will be that I free you from any further service to me.”

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His disbelief echoed loud in her head, even though he said nothing. His body stilled, everything held tight, on the verge of some great movement. She could smell the brimstone as he strained to process her words. “Why would you do that for me?” That was the easy part. In fact saying it was much easier than she’d expected. “Because I love you. And I want you to be happy.” Her cheeks went hot, her heart just pounding. God, she did. She really did. The flash of reddish-black light blinded her, and before she could blink it away he was holding her, hands on her upper arms to pull her right up against him, his lips meeting hers in a kiss that took her breath. Oh, fuck. He was gonna burn her alive. When he finally let her go they both whooped for breath, and she stared at him. Wing and tail gone, Nicholas looked human, completely, from the top of his blond head to the tips of his very normal toes. His eyes gave her the biggest clue, though. They were still a gorgeous greenish-gold. But they no longer glowed like an animal’s. “You -- I -- How?” she stuttered, her hands clenched hard on his upper arms, her breath rasping loud. “You said I should do what I wanted.” “Yes.” He put his hands under her butt, lifting her for another searing kiss. “I want to be with you, Trinity. I want to be a man you can love. That is my boon.” Trinity smiled, so big it stretched her cheeks, the feeling so big she couldn’t contain it. “That’s one boon I’ll grant without even having to think about it. It’s a done deal.” “I love you, you know,” Nicholas said, his mouth hovering above hers. As she wrapped her arms around Nicholas’ neck, she nodded, lips closing over his. She might not be able to hear him in her mind any more, but she didn’t need to; she knew he meant it. She knew it deep in her bones. It was just like magic.

The End

Julia Talbot Julia Talbot resides in the Southwest of the United States with her dog and several houseplants, and has not quit her day job. She has a penchant for blank books, gay porn, and big, ugly hats. She can most often be found in coffee shops and restaurants, scribbling in her notebook and entertaining other diners with her mutterings. Visit Julia’s website at http://thegates.net/juliatalbot to see her current stories, upcoming projects and visit her blog.