Chapter 17

The day had been long—too long.

We’d made the unanimous decision to push off our plans until tomorrow. I’d walked by the two sheet-covered statues in the foyer on the way to my quarters and never glanced at them.

Whatever happened tomorrow, they’d both be gone and the space would once again be empty. Henry was already making plans to put a big grand piano there. If the house hadn’t screamed hotel to everyone already, it surely would after the piano got installed. One of Henry’s people played. All we needed was a bar nearby and someone making drinks.

I felt tempted to buy a rusted suit of medieval armor to stand next to it just to mess with Henry. Maybe I’d stick a cigar in the mouth hole and light it up once in a while. That would at least make me chuckle when I headed to bed.

I wandered into the sitting room with its new furniture. Today, they added another beautiful piece. It took a moment to notice it wasn’t a bookcase like I thought at first glance. It had shelves that held a wide assortment of glassware. That could only mean Henry had fulfilled yet another of my wishes.

I opened the lower set of doors and found a lovely assortment of alcohol waiting. This was great. Now I could dig my emergency bottle of Jamieson’s out of the storage tub because it finally had a home.

I needed a drink but I was too tired to go storage tub diving tonight. So instead I picked out a nice bottle of cognac and found a suitable glass. I guessed my way to a double pour, put the cognac back, and carried the drink to a chair. It took me a full moment to find the remote for the fireplace, but I finally did.

Now I had everything a tired woman could want—a drink, a fire, and a few minutes of peace. My contentment lasted for nearly two minutes this time. Then I had to rouse myself to answer the door.

I knew who it was but not what he wanted. I knew what I wanted but he’d already declined to give it to me. So why was the guardian here this late?

“Evening,” I said.

Rasmus smiled. “Would you like some company for a while?”

“What would do if I said no?”

His smile widened. “Talk my way in, anyway. I missed you too much to sleep.”

I stepped back and held the door open. “I’m having a drink. I know you don’t imbibe so I won’t bother offering ya one. I may have a bottle of water. Come to the sitting room and I’ll look.”

“Water will be fine if you have it.”

I turned back to the sitting room and heard the door click shut behind me. Then I heard the lock being thrown. An urge to laugh at the finality of it hit me but I bravely fought it off. Did he think I’d try to escape? Or had he locked himself in here on purpose?

I found a few bottles of regular water and several mineral ones next to the booze. Maybe I’d look into getting one of those tiny refrigerators. Then I could have ice and cool drinks because I wasn’t already spoiled enough.

I carried the bottle of water to him and handed it over. His gaze remained on me the whole time I sat and picked up my drink.

“Are ya sizing me up to kill me? Yer gaze is very intense.”

“Sorry,” he muttered, looking away.

I returned to sipping my drink. “Are Zara and ya okay upstairs? Since we know nothing’s going to happen until we make it happen, I figured there was no reason for the two of ya to spend another night on cots.”

“We’re fine. Zara was in her room reading when I left.”

“Were ya too restless to sleep?”

“It wasn’t a problem of restlessness. I couldn’t sleep in my bed because it smelled like you.”

My sigh echoed into my glass. “I forgot ya were in the blue house last night. Since I’d climbed the stairs already, I stripped and slept in yer bed.”

“I’m really sorry I missed that.”

I lowered my glass and softly laughed. “I suppose the polite thing would be to offer to share my bed with ya tonight.”

“Yes, and that would keep me from having to beg.”

I did laugh then because Rasmus sounded so humble. I knew that wouldn’t last but I could make the most of it while it did.

I smiled at him. “The idea of ya begging has a certain appeal, guardian. But I won’t make ya work that hard for the privilege. I’m happy if ya want to sleep with me tonight. I missed ya too.”

Rasmus reached across the small distance between our chairs and slid the now empty glass out of my fingers. I guess I’d guzzled it when he arrived.

He carefully set it on the side table before dropping to his knees in front of me.

I leaned forward and ran my fingers through his hair, releasing it from the band that had kept it constrained in a ponytail all day. I pulled it over his shoulders, barely conscious of what I was doing. “I often wish I understood ya better but I’m still glad ya’re in my life, Rasmus.”

His solemn gaze met mine. “I want to be someone who never angers you.”

To a woman my age, a handsome man kneeling at her feet whispering promises was the stuff of fantasies. My laughter as I cupped his jaw was light as a girl’s.

Best of all, I knew Rasmus meant his words and that they were not just romantic drivel being uttered to get me into bed with him. That was going to happen the moment he’d smelled me on his bedsheets. I’d had a hard time not going to the blue house last night and making him return with me.

“Yer wishes are less likely to come true than mine, guardian, but I’m not angry with anyone tonight. Let’s just go with that, shall we? Tomorrow will bring its own challenges. It always does. I appreciate ya saying such nice words. Women like to hear them and I’m no exception.”

His hand came up between us and cupped my jaw too. “I”ve never felt attracted to any female like I am to you. It’s important to me that we bond in every way, not just the physical.”

“Ya’re such a sweet talker,” I teased.

When his mouth closed eagerly over mine, it opened under his with profound relief that we hadn’t lost this. He slid me out of the chair until he could wrap my legs around his waist. He stood up with both of us, momentarily stopping to press me into the chair and kiss me even harder.

Rasmus always knew when to unleash his masculinity. And his timing was always perfect. It was a rare and wonderful skill for a man to possess. I felt lucky all over again that this male—whatever manner of being he was—wanted me so desperately.

He finally let go of my mouth and summoned enough restraint to get to his feet. I clung to him, refusing to let go of my python hold. Using his wide shoulders for leverage, I hoisted myself higher. The guardian was a tall male to climb.

Once I was where I wanted to be, I kissed under his jaw and down his throat.

He stopped and stared down at me. The bed was still several steps away. His hold tightened to where I thought for sure he would take us both to the bare, hardwood floor. I would have paid for that tomorrow and not have cared one whit.

“Bed,” I whispered. “I’ll try to be patient until ya get us there.”

His head shook as he began walking again. “I don’t want your patience. I want to know how hungry you are for me so I can satisfy you.”

“Well, I’m starving,” I said in a low whisper.

He turned and fell on the bed with me on top of him. His hands were tight clamps on my waist as he pressed my hips down tightly on the evidence of his need.

I worked hard to free myself until I was on my knees over him. Then I attacked his jaw again with my lips... and his throat. I kissed and nipped and moaned against him until he shook under me.

This time I didn’t stop what I was doing, not even when Rasmus whispered my name in a choked, hoarse growl. I pressed my hips to his again and pushed his shirt up to kiss more of him. My hands worked deftly between us as I did my best to free him from his clothes.

Desire for Rasmus ruled me, and I soon forgot to be civilized. I nipped at the muscles above his waist when the clothes I hadn’t removed stopped me from going any further.

Rasmus sat up with me and tore at my clothes to remove them. I don’t know how we managed, but eventually, we were both naked and wrapped around each other.

We gripped and pulled in a desperate need to mate like we had the first time we’d joined this way. I think I called his name more often than he called mine. But who was counting?

In golden moments afterward, it was Goddess Danu’s name I called. I thanked her profusely for sending me a lover who was a genuine match for the fire that had always burned so hotly inside me. I needed a man’s passion like blooming flowers needed sun.

I still had no idea how the guardian and I could ever co-exist peacefully outside of bed. Yet there wasn’t a single doubt in my mind that keeping him with me was worth the trouble of trying.

Rasmus had knockedon the door around nine-thirty last night and now it was nearly two. It had taken several bouts of lovemaking to sate us both enough to have normal conversation again.

“When Zara and I went to say goodnight to the demon wolves, we saw Mulan working on her tiny patio. She was chanting over a tool and seemed to be writing on something. It had a cord and was plugged into a longer one. I think the tool was electrical.”

My chuckle was soft. “Do ya remember when we first met that I took ya to Mulan to see if she could cast out the demons in ya? We thought ya were demon-possessed because Conn and I discovered Lilith’s compulsions. That was before we knew the truth of what ya really were and what had happened to ya.”

“No, I don’t recall that. My memories of being held prisoner were only partially recovered after I could transform back. I know Jack was kind to me and I recalled your determination to restore me. I also remembered thinking you were the most beautiful woman I’d ever met. I remembered wanting to kiss you but holding back because of Jack.”

Of course, he remembered Jack. Even after seeing Jack turn into a monster of biblical proportions, Rasmus still acted like my ex-husband’s biggest fan. I would never understand how the guardian’s mind worked but I refused to torture myself with that shortcoming tonight.

“Well, I took ya to Mulan to see if she could break yer compulsions. She directed her magick by inscribing the request on a turtle shell. We put the turtle shell over yer manhood and she sent magick into it that collected information about the compulsions. Then she used the inscribing tool to command them to break. Unfortunately, the magick refused her request. Her failure set her Wu Shaman ego back a bit. No one in Mulan’s life taught her how to try again when things didn’t work.”

Rasmus chuckled as he rolled to put an arm across my waist. “I’m sorry I caused her to doubt herself.”

I rolled my head to look at him. “It wasn’t yer fault. Ya weren’t possessed and she hadn’t practiced her magick in years. I broke some yer compulsions accidentally just by touching them. Conn broke a few others. Then Lilith removed the rest and that’s what allowed ya to transform into yer guardian self again. Seeing ya as a naked birdman was a sight none of us will ever forget.”

I turned my head back to stare at the ceiling. His chuckle in my ear made me smile. Then I remembered I’d be facing Ezra again tomorrow and frowned.

“Anyway... to answer your question, I’m sure Mulan was inscribing the talisman she’s making for her jiangshi brother-in-law. I taught her the spell to put it inside his body, but she wants me to do that part. Her talisman will do all the things Zara mentioned.”

Rasmus rose to one elbow to look down at me. “Weren’t you creating a talisman as well?”

I blew out a breath. “Yes. Zenos and I are also made a wooden talisman. Ours will help fix the zombie part of his problem. We settled on using a repetitive resurrection spell. The problem is not the jiangshi. It’s the fairy Zenos insists has to be released first. The dragon mage says it will take a lot of power for that spell to be done once, much less make it repeatable. He wants to use the angel energy surrounding Ezra.”

Rasmus snickered.

“Why is that funny?”

“Angel energy is some of the most powerful energy in all of creation. It’s also very unpredictable. Your talisman might end up being a bomb and blowing up the jiangshi from the inside out.”

I grunted at the news. “Well, that’s not good. The dragon mage could have warned me.”

“Zenos of the One is as unique as you are. If he says it can be done, he’s probably right.”

“Probably?”

Rasmus chuckled again and tugged my body closer to his. “Magick is never a hundred percent accurate, but if you want odds, I think Zenos and his plan are above ninety percent.”

“That’s not a good enough number for me.”

Rasmus pulled me to his chest and chuckled harder. “Your spells are only eighty-five percent accurate. You trust those to work all the time.”

I pushed out of his arms but it was hard to look mean when ya were naked. “My spells are more than eighty-five percent.”

“You think that because your belief covers the other fifteen percent. The unknown element of all spells lies in the spellcaster”s intention. The magick alone is somewhat effective, but it’s the magick wielder that makes it work the way it should.”

I promptly decided that talking to an advanced being was not very helpful in times like these. I was worried enough about tomorrow. I didn’t need to quantify that worry with statistics about my potential to fail.

I sighed heavily before complaining, “I don’t want to talk about work anymore. I’ll never get to sleep as it is.”

“Yes, you will. I’ll help you.”

My snort was soft. “Ya’ve already helped me several times tonight and I’m still awake.”

Rasmus smiled and I could feel his lips curving against my forehead. “I adore your matter-of-fact bravery. I also adore how you’d rather use your sword on a problem than to have to rely on casting spells and faith. Yet you are strong in both.”

I breathed out my concerns and breathed him in afterward. Who was I kidding? It would have been worse to be alone tonight.“Ya know I’d kill to protect my family and Conn, but helping friends is my biggest weakness. Well, it was before I knew ya. I’ve had to move ya onto my weakness list as well. Look at me now. I’m weak as a kitten after being with ya.”

“Weak like Mulan’s tiger cat maybe, which as you well know is not weak at all,” Rasmus said with a laugh.

“After the way I attacked ya earlier, I can see why ya’d make that unflattering comparison. Since I’m feeling well-sexed and mellow, I believe I’ll let that insult go unchallenged.”

“Being with me always will make you stronger and never weaker. You can trust that, Aran of The Dagda. I share all I am with you.”

If my eyes hadn”t closed, I might have challenged that outrageous and very human brag about his manly powers. And I might have lost that argument the hard way.

I giggled at my strange thoughts just before the world went dark.