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“You loathe boardrooms.”
“I do, but we both know your recent trip to New York had nothing to do with a meeting.”
Their gazes locked, the air sizzling with tension as she waited for him to contradict her. For a wild moment, he considered denying it.
“Searching for Hazel alone is dangerous and you know it.” Her expression tightened at the mention of the dark witch caster. Born to a lineage of witches who thrived on black magic, Hazel Brogan was a despised enemy and their greatest threat. After spending more than two years with her, Jenna had firsthand experience of everything the witch was capable of.
“Do my brothers know?” Hell, he’d never hear the end of it if his older brother discovered he’d been hunting their enemies. As it was, things were tense between them.
“You really think Archer would’ve kept silent if he knew?”
“I can’t sit around anymore waiting for our enemies to attack. And they will, Jenna. You of all people know that. Why wait? We find them, we end this.”
“We’re not murderers, Ethan.”
“You’re starting to sound like my brother. You really believe the best thing to do is to wait for them to strike?”
“No.”
“So why the lecture?”
“There’s a fine line between crazy and courageous.”
“Yeah, it’s called common sense. I’m not stupid. I’ve been careful.”
“Doesn’t make poking around a witch’s lair less dangerous. So we have a deal?”
“Provided you don’t tell my brothers.”
“I won’t.” She held up the rock. “Ready to miss your shot?”
Grateful for the diversion, he adjusted his grip on the bow and arrow in his hands. “Careful, Jenna. Over-confidence is a warrior’s downfall.”
Her grin derailed the moment of tension. Placing her hands on his hips, she twisted around him. “I’m all confidence and all warrior.”
He readied the weapon. “Never underestimate me when I want something.”
He became vaguely aware of her scent. Soft and fragrant, a subtle hint of pine cones. Counting back, she moved behind him, closer than required.
A ploy to distract him, no doubt.
But Ethan kept his focus, aligned his eyes with the arrow, and drew back his arm.
She leaned forward, her mouth against his ear, her hands on his hips. He zoned in, locking in his target, and slowly released the arrow.
“It’s you who shouldn’t underestimate me,” she whispered as her hand swept lower, her fingertips brushing his crotch.
He inhaled sharply at the unwelcome arousal and the arrow took off on a burst of air, missing its target completely.
Her soft laugh broke the silence.
He tossed the bow and caught her arm. “Using feminine charms to disarm me?”
“Not my fault you weren’t concentrating.”
“I was, until you put your hand on my gear.” And his body had acted wildly in response to her. Hot damn.
Her smile smacked of mischief. “I still won.”
“Foul play.”
She gasped when he tugged her closer. For a moment, they stared at each other in quiet amusement, their faces inches apart. When her heartbeat quickened, a testament that he wasn’t the only one affected by her little game, he couldn’t resist a grin.
“Take it like a man, Bennett.” Her husky voice stroked his arousal. “You lost.”
“I’m all man – which is exactly why you did that.”
“All’s fair …”
He moved swiftly, a speed he never tired of. Air escaped from her lungs in surprise as he backed her against a boulder. Securing her body with his, he reached for her hands, pinning them beside her.
“What are you doing?” Her breathing had turned choppy, her breasts rising and falling in tiny movements against his chest.
Damn sexy. Annoying.
“Is this fair enough?” he asked, his raspy voice surprising him. Hell, he was more aroused than he was letting on. His gaze fell to her mouth and for an insane moment, he wondered what she’d taste like.
A small smile curled her lips. “Easy, Casanova. There’s a big red line we’re stomping all over.”
“You’re the one who nudged the line first, Jenna.”
“We’ve been nudging it since the day we met.”
He blinked, surprised by her admission. Ah, so she’d felt it too.
He dipped his head, his mouth hovering against the corner of hers. He had the sudden urge to kiss her. To surprise her the way she’d done to him.
But held back, that big red line flickering like a runway.
They were Keepers, housemates, colleagues. Friends. A romantic fling didn’t fit into that combination. At all.
But still, he couldn’t resist teasing her.
He trailed a finger across her golden skin, pausing at the opening of her shirt that dipped between her breasts. “Next time, play fair and keep those curious hands off the merchandise.”
“Curious –? It was simply a distraction!”
He grinned wildly at her breathy protest and pressed his hips against hers, taking pleasure in the way her eyes widened when she felt his arousal. “Whatever you want to call it,” he whispered against her ear, “clearly, it worked.”
CHAPTER TWO (#u0f219859-6310-5080-aa1a-1cafcc099a83)
Heat flooded Jenna’s cheeks.
He towered over her, the intensity of him unsettling her. Dark hair, eyebrows, and long lashes. She lowered her gaze from his blue eyes, which smacked of mischief to his lips. A thin upper lip, indented with a perfect V in the middle, and a fuller bottom lip. Lips curled into a challenging grin.
Jenna shoved him away. He relented with a low chuckle and retrieved the bow off the ground.
She was blushing. Blushing! Not something she ever did, but her ploy to distract him had backfired in a way that had left her hot and bothered.
What the hell was she thinking?
Despite the attraction that always sizzled beneath their friendship, she’d so far managed to keep their relationship on a professional basis.
Until now.
“It’s late,” she said, her stomach twitching with butterflies – a rarity for her. “We should get back to Sienna and Kate.”
Two witches they were duty-bound to defend. Sienna Beckham, a potent elemental witch and Kate Carrigan, the hybrid witch with the strength of a Keeper and the ability to nullify magic – both fiercely hunted for their powers.
Two women Ethan’s older brothers adored.
“No rush. They’re with my brothers. Besides, I think you and Declan could use some time apart.”
She wrinkled her nose at the mention of his brother’s name. Declan, the fire warrior with the personality as explosive as his powers. “It’s that obvious?”
“I heard you arguing this morning.” He tapped his ear. “Super-hearing and all that.”
“I’m sorry.”
“Don’t be. Declan’s an ass on the best of days.” He placed a hand on her shoulder, turning her to face him. “He’s worried about Kate, Jen. It’s not personal. You protect the woman he loves.”
Worships. Adores.
According to Ethan, they’d never seen Declan so enamoured with another woman before. After almost losing Kate to their enemies recently, Declan had become impossible when it came to her safety.
A given considering their enemies still lurked. With the ability to negate magic and break spells, Kate could swing the eternal war of good versus evil in their enemies’ favour.
The fact that Kate had become part of Ethan’s family, a woman they’d all grown to love, was irrelevant to those bastards.
“He doesn’t trust me with her. Questions my every move.” She reached for the bow, knowing she was doing a lousy job at hiding her frustration. “I’m her Keeper. Declan knows what that means.”
“We all do.”
Of course. It was the foundation of her friendship with Ethan. He understood their world and what it took to protect their witches. Like her, he lived for being a Keeper, but knew it came with a mammoth responsibility and continuous worry that often shrouded everything else.
Jenna inhaled noisily and straightened, shelving the conversation. “Enough doom and gloom. I’ll handle Declan.”
His eyes followed her movements, studying her, like he always did. “Of course you can.”
She watched him walk away, his swagger different from the men she’d watched in New Orleans. He radiated confidence, but in a quiet way. The kind that made you underestimate him. He was an air warrior, connected to an element of nature that many people underrated.
But she’d seen him in action. With the ability to manipulate air, he was able to wield the wind and weather to his will. The man could whip up a storm that would put the New Orleans’ floods to shame.
Not that he would. But he could.
As for her stunt a moment ago … touching him had been inappropriate but it had snagged her a win – one she’d been desperate for. She couldn’t tell him where she’d been the night before. Or why.
Seeing him flustered – if only for a split second – had been a bonus.
There was a rustle of trees behind her. She turned around to see a single black crow squawk twice on a nearby branch before taking flight.
Ethan leapt across the river, landing with ease on the opposite side of the riverbank, the jump effortless and agile. He was tall and muscular without being bulky. His toned muscles bulged beneath the black t-shirt he wore. Whistling softly, he straightened and waded through bushes in search of the arrows they’d lost.
Realising she was gawking like an idiot, Jenna shook her head to get her brain moving again.
The sudden squawk of a second crow startled her. The bird circled above before nose-diving to the ground. It landed silently and tucked away its wings.
The setting sun had tinted the sky and mountains in pink, the river a glow of beauty. The town nestled amongst vineyards and greenery in the distance. A peaceful, close-knit town where everyone was up in everyone’s business and things like home-baked pie, honesty, and solid friendships still existed.
She hadn’t grown up in Rapid Falls like Ethan and his family. She’d met his sister, Sarah, at the academy and frequently travelled home with her during the holidays.
Two women from different backgrounds. Sarah had three older brothers and came from a prestigious family who owned a wine estate. They’d lost their parents in a fire when they were younger. Jenna had once had a family until the night their city had been raided, their homes attacked. Her parents had sent her away, urged her to seek shelter at the academy until they could come for her.
She was still waiting.
But through her darkest moments, she’d never given up hope that her parents were still alive. That they’d still come for her.
She’d never told anyone, not even Sarah. Her death had left a void inside Jenna that could never be filled. She’d never found friendship like that again – had never bothered searching for it.
Not that she’d met many friends in the last two years. Hazel and her people had used bullying and violence as a means of gaining – and maintaining – friendships. She’d soon mastered the art of feigning whatever was needed in order to stay under their radar.
A means of survival few people would understand.
Several excited squawks from the tree above brought her attention back to the present. Five more crows had arrived.
The arrival of a dozen more sent a ripple of unease down Jenna’s spine.
The sky in the distance had darkened, the pretty pink dissolved by a black cloud of doom that moved toward them at a rapid rate. It looked like a thunderstorm rolling in, destroying all traces of the beauty she’d previously admired.
“Ethan?” He’d seen it too and stood with his back to her, staring off into the distance. “Please tell me that storm’s yours?”
“It’s not. And I don’t think it’s a storm.”
The crows above her took flight, circling, their high-pitched shrieks soon joined by numerous others. Uneasy, she gaped at the blackness creeping in.
A plague of crows. Thousands and thousands of squawking birds, sucking everything joyful out of their surroundings.
Shit.
