LITMIR.BIZ

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I’m sorry about that,” he rumbled. “It’s, uh, been an eventful day.”

      “I’ll just bet it has,” Kellan groused, coming into the room and pulling up a chair beside his brother. He was shirtless, his auburn hair mussed from sleep, and Noah realized he’d probably pulled them both from their beds. He hadn’t thought about how early it was there. “And?” Kellan demanded, while he scratched the auburn stubble darkening his jaw. “Did you find what you were looking for? Is the mystery over? Can you finally tell us what all the fucking secrecy was about?”

      Kellan really hadn’t taken well to Noah’s insistence that he make the trip to Louisiana alone, but then neither had any of the others.

      “I’ve gotten a good start,” he said, keeping an ear out for the sound of the shower turning off, “but before we get into it, I need to quickly explain a few things. First of all, I know the witch. The one who was working with Gregory, who took Calder out of Meridian.”

      Kellan rolled his eyes. “We figured as much, considering you called her Sienna,” he offered dryly, scratching his chest.

      “Yeah, well, what you didn’t know is that I grew up with her.” While his friends listened, Noah quickly explained his connection to the Broussard family, telling them about the feud and his friendship with Harris. He left out the part where everything had gone to shit between him and Willow, simply explaining that tensions between the two families had prompted the Winstons to relocate.

      He also admitted why he hadn’t filled them in on any of this before, and then he told them what had happened when he’d shown the spell to Jessie. When he was done, he sprawled back in the uncomfortable chair and waited for them to rip into him.

      It didn’t take long. He didn’t need to hear the guttural curses to know how pissed they were with him. Their expressions said it all. What he hadn’t expected was the hurt he could see in their eyes.

      “We protect our own, Noah.” Though Kierland kept his voice soft, it resonated with anger. “You should have known that.”

      “Yeah, I know,” he muttered, scrubbing his hand down his face. “And I’m sorry. I was a dick not to trust you. I just haven’t been thinking straight lately.”

      “You’re also a dumbass,” Kellan added, and Noah barked out a gruff laugh.

      “Yeah, that, too.”

      Getting back to the issue of the journal, Kierland said, “You told us the aunt was able to decipher the catalyst for the spell, but you didn’t tell us what it is.”

      Leaning forward in the chair, Noah braced his elbows on his knees. “I know this is gonna sound crazy, so I’m just gonna say it. We need an adult virgin. One with a warrior’s blood. And she can’t be human.”

      Kellan gave a low whistle and shook his head. “Well, hell, that leaves me out.”

      “Now there’s something we didn’t know,” drawled a deep voice with a slight Scandinavian accent, and Gideon Granger walked into view, the vampire’s arms crossed over his chest as he lounged against the wall behind the desk. The Deschanel vampire and his brother, Ashe, had been working with the Watchmen for months now, and Gideon was staying at the house in England more often than not these days.

      “I don’t like this,” Kierland rasped. “It doesn’t feel right.”

      Gideon gave a low laugh. “I tried to warn you, Kier, that you might not like what has to be done in order for you and your friends to survive.”

      “This isn’t about our own asses,” Kellan growled.

      Kierland shifted in his chair, cutting a dark, suspicious glare at Gideon. “Did you know it was going to be a virgin’s blood that was needed?”

      The vampire shook his head. “Not specifically. But I was afraid there might be something like that involved. Considering we’re dealing with dark magic, it seemed … fitting.”

      “Well, I’ve got a lead on a demon who should

      be able to help us decipher the rest of the spell,” Noah said. “I’m hoping to track him down in the next day or two.”

      “In the meantime,” Kierland told him, “we’ll research virgin rituals. See what we can dig up.”

      “Ask Saige,” Noah suggested. “She knows all about this kind of crap.” Saige Buchanan was an anthropologist who was engaged to one of the Watchmen in their unit, and her knowledge about clan history was extensive.

      “Will do,” Kellan assured him. And then, quick as a snake, he said, “You planning on telling us who’s in the shower before you head off?”

      Noah made his expression blank. He’d deliberately left out the fact he was traveling with Will, wanting to avoid the inevitable questions. “I don’t know what you’re talking about,” he lied, refusing to give in gracefully.

      Gideon snorted as he glanced from one Scott brother to the other. “Does he think we’re deaf?”

      Kellan looked into the camera and smiled like an idiot. “I can hear it all, big boy. Even the race of your pulse. You got a new lady friend with you?”

      “I doubt he’d call me a friend,” Willow murmured, her voice coming from just behind Noah’s left shoulder, and he damn near jumped out of his skin. He’d been so focused on the conversation with his friends, he hadn’t heard her slip out of the bathroom. “I’m sure Noah would just tell you I’m a pain in the ass.”

      Gideon gave her a slow, appreciative smile. “If they all look like you, sweetheart, I think I’ll have to get one for myself.”

      Noah scowled. “Keep a leash on the vamp, Kier. Or better yet, a muzzle.”

      Gideon’s brows arched with amusement. “You’re awfully touchy, Winston.”

      “Oh, you guys have no idea,” Willow said with a laugh, the fresh, mouthwatering scent of her skin damn near making him drool. A wave of possessiveness swelled up inside him, strange and unsettling, and he had to choke back a snarl as he turned to look at her.

      And that was his second mistake.

      He’d seen a lot of beautiful women in his time, their naked bodies displayed in erotic poses that would have tempted a saint—but none of them had ever made him feel the way he did when he saw Willow standing there in nothing but a tattered white towel, her hair falling in a tumble of curls over the right side of her face, her red mouth curved in a wicked smile. Christ, she was gorgeous. Droplets of water still clung to the feminine slopes of her shoulders, her skin dewy and soft from the heat. He wanted to put his tongue to her and lick those drops right off her skin. Wanted to slide his tongue into places that were even wetter … and pinker.

      Knowing damn well that he was about two seconds away from completely losing it, he growled, “For God’s sake, Will. Put on some clothes.”

      “If you insist.” She started to drop the towel, but his hand shot out and snagged her wrist.

      “Don’t even think about it.”

      Turning back to the computer, he glared at every one of the grinning jackasses staring back at him and then disconnected the connection. The instant the screen went blank, he moved to his feet, towering over Will as he tightened his hold on her wrist, but she didn’t back down. Instead, she stared up at him as she licked her bottom lip with a provocative sweep of her tongue … taunting him. Screwing with his mind.

      Was this some kind of game to her? Did she just enjoy flirting … or was she trying to push him? And if so, where the hell did she want him to go?

      Needing to find the answer, Noah released his hold on her wrist and stepped back, crossing his arms over his chest as he leaned against the desk. “If you’re so eager to get naked in front me,” he rasped, running his heavy-lidded gaze down the front of her body, before looking her right in the eye, “then do it.”

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