Witch Fury

NINE

THEO SKATED HIS HANDS DOWN SARAFINA’S SMOOTH arms and decided immediately this was not a good idea. She needed someone else to help her learn to handle her fire magick. A witch of her own element, one who wasn’t attracted to her. God, she should have gone to stay with Adam and Claire.

Sarafina shivered a little and extended her arms the way he’d instructed. He set his palm on the seat of her magick, right between her breasts and tried to ignore just how much he enjoyed his hand there.

They stood in the center of fire’s brand-new training room. Thomas had spared no expense. Pads covered most of the floor, for practice in hand-to-hand combat. The walls and floor were all fire-resistant. Numerous tools were supplied for aiding new fire witches in learning the finer points of control. . and Sarafina really needed to use them.

She had an incredible amount of raw talent in healing. . but that’s where it stopped. Defensive fire magick seemed to be a skill beyond her grasp. It was a good thing she hadn’t tried to fight the demon in her apartment with magick; she’d have lost.

About ten feet away from them stood a large metal bowl on a pedestal. “Concentrate on hitting the bowl,” he said, using a little earth magick to help her draw her thread of power and keep it steady. “This will teach you control.” Taking her time, she aimed a stream of fire toward the bowl. . and hit the wall behind it with a radiant flash. The ball of fire burst into white-hot brilliance, then faded to a slow burn. The bowl still stood, completely unmolested.

Theo allowed his hands to drop away.

“Wow, I really suck at this, don’t I?” she asked, staring at the black spot on the wall.

Theo pushed a hand through his hair. “I think that’s a little harsh.” It had been some variation of the same all day long. Anyone who came to their power so late in life should have trouble adjusting and controlling it, but Sarafina seemed. . exceptional.

“Don’t try to sugarcoat it, Theo. I suck.” He sighed. “Yeah, okay, you suck.”

She grimaced. “So no gold stars for me today?” “You probably just need more practice. Look, your healing ability far surpasses anyone’s I’ve ever seen, and you have a lot of raw power. It’s learning to direct and control it. That’s your difficulty. You just need to train more.” She raised an eyebrow and cocked her hip. “What about all that stuff you said about witches overtraining, and all we really had to do was tap into our seats and be one with the power?” He studied her for a moment. “Yeah, well, in your case, you need to train.” “Okay, let’s do it then. Let me try the candle thing again. I almost got that one.” He pulled out a new taper and placed it in its holder. Then they stepped back away from it. She could light a candle close-up; that had been the first thing she’d learned to do. The objective here was to light the wick from a distance, something that took considerably more control.

She melted the entire thing, even the holder.

Together, they stared down at the bubbling mess. “That was even worse than the first time, wasn’t it?” she asked.

“Last time you only melted half the stick.” She sighed. “I’m not giving up. Let’s keep going.” And he wasn’t giving up on her, either.

They practiced for the rest of the day with varying degrees of success. Sarafina was tireless in her efforts to learn what he was trying to teach her, and little by little she improved.

At the end of the day, Theo pulled her back ten feet in front of the bowl once more. “Try it again.” Sarafina closed her eyes and concentrated on drawing power and wielding it. An arc of white-hot fire raced from her and exploded in the bowl in a brilliance of sparks, setting off the sprinkler above it. Perfect shot.

She did a little victory dance and then turned to him with shining eyes. “Good?” Theo stared at the water hitting the faraway fire and smiled. “Much better. I think you’re finally getting it.” The woman had so much untutored power it was mind-boggling. It was a miracle she’d managed to get this far in life without torching herself like her mother had. Sarafina was probably among the stronger fire witches in the Coven. Her only hang-up was control.

She stood with her hands hanging loosely at her sides, dressed in a pair of clingy gray cotton workout pants and a burgundy halter top.

“You’re improving, but you still need to work. I think I’ll have Jack come in to help you with some of the finer points of wielding fire. But this portion of your training is finished for the day. Your seat must be exhausted.” She grinned, but it quickly faded. “This portion of my training? What’s the other training I’ll have to do?” “Claire will need to teach you how to use your magick against demons. They have effective shields against elemental magick, but there are techniques to get around them.” She nodded. “Okay, that seems like a good thing to know.” “Isabelle will work on training you to use a copper sword.” She nodded. “I read about the sensitivity of the daaeman to copper in Micah’s book.” Daaeman, all the breeds, had an allergy of sorts to copper. When the Coven had first learned of it, they’d had weapons made to take advantage of it. The daaeman could use a type of magickal inoculation against their reaction to copper called caplium, but it wasn’t completely effective. Copper, even though it wasn’t a surefire way to defeat a daaeman in a battle, was still better than nothing. It was one of their only weapons against them and they all trained diligently with the swords.

“And I’ll have to teach you self-defense,” Theo added. “The non-magickal kind.” Her eyes widened a bit. “Oh. Like kung fu?” “Something like that.” Theo couldn’t help but grin at the look on her face. “It’s necessary. Magick doesn’t always work.” “Hey, if I had known how to kick Stefan’s ass back at the farmhouse, I would’ve tried my best to do it.” “After I get through with you, you will.”

SARAFINA LANDED FLAT ON THE MAT, UNDER THEO’S big body. Her heart rate had ratcheted up, but it had little to do with the exertion she was putting forth and a whole lot to do with the man forcing her to exert it.

Theo’s breath teased the fine hair around her face. He stared down at her with such intensity it made her breath catch. “Give me more.” More. She closed her eyes.

For the last week that’s all he, Claire, Isabelle, and Jack had demanded of her. Theo worked with her self-defense skills, Jack was helping her fine-tune her raw ability with fire, and Claire was teaching her how to use it effectively against demons. Lastly, Isabelle was helping her learn how to use a sword — something she never thought she’d have to do in her life.

God. Not ever.

Every night she collapsed exhausted into her bed and slept like the dead until morning. Every single one of all the muscles she’d never known she’d had ached. She understood the gravity of her situation and she’d been giving her all to each of them. That added up to three hundred percent. She had no more more to give.

She tried not to let the look in his eyes cow her. “I’ll try.” He grunted and rolled off her. “Don’t try, just do it.” She pushed to her feet, wincing at a pain in her back. Being slammed down onto a pad by a muscular man twice her weight wasn’t fun. “Who are you, Yoda?” Annoyance made the words snap out.

“Just because Bai hasn’t been back doesn’t mean he won’t be.” She let her head droop. “I know, I know. Believe me, if he or Stefan ever come back I want to be ready.” She shivered. “I think Stefan scares me even more than Bai.” “Why?”

Sarafina walked over and took a towel from where she’d draped it over a Nautilus machine. They were training in the Coven’s exercise room. “Because he’s a witch. I mean, I would expect a demon to do hideous and terrible things. I can understand that. But Stefan is aeamon, one of us.” Theo uncapped his bottle of water and took a drink. When he’d finished, he put it down and said, “We’re all one, Sarafina. As hard as that may be to understand, the aeamon are a part of the daaeman. We’re born of them. The daaeman are a complicated race, like humans. Some of them are good and some of them are bad. There many shades of gray. You can count on an Atrika being violent and sociopathic. They’re made to be that way. You should count on it to save your skin. But there are accounts of even Atrika falling in love with humans in ancient times. Even they are capable of compassion, apparently.” “So what are you saying?”

“I’m saying you shouldn’t generalize and you shouldn’t think in terms of us versus them. Basically, there is good in all demons, witches, and warlocks, but there’s bad, too. You can’t live by absolutes and you can’t trust anyone, not even those closest to you.” Sarafina studied him for a long moment. “Do you really believe that? You can’t trust anyone?” He shifted. “Yeah, mostly.”

“I agree with most of what you said, up until the end.” She glanced away. “Wow, I’m sorry.” “Why?” The word dropped like a sharpened blade between them and she fought a wince.

She turned and found his gaze. “I’m sorry that whatever life handed you it was so terrible it taught you that you shouldn’t trust anyone.” He tipped his head to the side a little. “Didn’t it teach you that?” She smiled and shook her head. “No. Oh, I had a rough time of it when I was a kid and the day my mom died was no picnic, but no. There are lots of people in my life I can trust, and I thank the stars every day for each and every one of them.” Just thinking about how blessed she’d been to have Rosemary, not to mention all of her friends, made warmth tingle through her chest.

But Theo’s gaze only grew colder. He looked away from her, at the door. “Let’s knock off for the night. I think you’ve had enough for one day.” She tried not to jump up and down and squeal with excitement. Jumping up and down at this point was out of the question, anyway; she was far too sore. “Sounds good to me. I’d love a long, hot bath and an evening of relaxation.” “If we’re lucky, Bai and Stefan will give it to us.” They gathered their things and headed back to Theo’s apartment. Grosset was lying on the couch when they arrived, looking like a little furry emperor awaiting his evening meal. She collapsed onto the couch next to his happy, squirming body and sighed deeply.

“Speaking of your friends,” said Theo from the kitchen doorway. He was probably going to make more charms. It seemed like all he did was make charms or work out when he wasn’t training her. The man had no capacity for enjoyment, it seemed. “Do you need to contact them? Aren’t they wondering where you are?” She smiled as much as she could under the weight of her fatigue. “I’ve been fielding text messages for the last week. You provided me with the perfect cover. Maria has sung your praises to our entire circle of friends and acquaintances. They all think you’ve taken me away again to help me get over my grief.” If only she really could disappear for a while and nurse the heavy, sad undercurrent of emotion that seemed ever-present since Rosemary’s death. That luxury was denied her.

He nodded. “So in their eyes I’m your boyfriend.” He could’ve used the same tone to say, I’ve been sentenced to be hanged at dawn.

“That’s your fault, dude, not mine.” She let her head fall back against the cushions out of pure fatigue and closed her eyes. She couldn’t even gather enough energy to be offended.

Grosset hopped off the couch and ran into the kitchen, where Theo was clanging pots and pans. She knew he’d feed the little dog and could hear him talking to Grosset in his low, rumbling voice. Eventually, as her exhaustion got the better of her, she heard nothing at all.

She awoke inside a dream. Or at least in the brief interlude between sleep and wakefulness, Sarafina thought she had.

Theo leaned down over her, fresh from the shower, wearing nothing but a towel around his narrow waist. His skin smelled of soap and the slightest bit of aftershave. His long dark hair lay damp and tangled over his broad shoulders. Her gaze seized on his chest, which was rarely bare despite the amount of training they did every day. The breathtaking expanse of muscular yumminess tapered to a narrow waist just barely covered by the white towel. For a moment she hoped it would slip. And, God, she was dying to ask him about all those scars.

“You fell asleep,” he rumbled, helping her up from the couch. “You’ll wake up sore if you sleep that way on the couch, and we have more training to do in the morning.” She groaned and allowed him to pull her to her feet. “I can’t get any more sore than I already am,” she grumbled and staggered toward the bedroom. Heavy drowsiness confused the signals transmitted from her head to her feet and she stumbled. Theo caught her and steadied her, but not before she fell against all that lickableness. That woke her up a bit.

“Take a shower and get into whatever you sleep in and I’ll give you a massage.” She stumbled again. “A massage?”

“I’m good at them.”

She started to ask who he practiced on. He didn’t seem to have a lot of friends, let alone girlfriends. His life was all about magick, training, and gaining revenge against the Duskoff and demons. But pointing out he had no life was not a good way to treat someone who’d been generous enough to open his home to her, not to mention put himself in front of a demon for her.

Anyway, the thought of having his hands on her made her knees go weak.

“Okay, I won’t turn the offer down. A good massage would make me sleep much better.” They stopped outside the guest room doorway. “Make sure you wear something”—he paused and made a slow sweep of her body with his gaze—“appropriate.” Sarafina scowled at his back as he walked down the hallway to his bedroom. Wear something appropriate? What did he think, that she intended to try and seduce him? Did he think she was planning to light a few candles and slip into a black lace teddy or something?

She curled her lip and watched him disappear into his room. She might think he was hot and more than a little mysterious, but she had no intention of trying to jump his bones. Good thing, since he’d just made it clear there would be none of that, anyway. He’d rejected her before she’d made a move. . and she hadn’t even been planning to make a move!

Teeth gritted, she went in and took a hot shower. Finding a pair of boxer shorts and a tank top, she declared them “appropriate.” She assumed he wanted her body as covered as possible, but she didn’t own any grannie nightgowns that covered her from throat to ankle. He’d simply have to settle for her normal nighttime attire.

Wincing, she made it over to the bed and collapsed face-down. Her eyelids immediately drooped. The hot water of the shower had made her muscles feel a little better and it had made her extra sleepy. Grosset bustled into the room, followed by Theo.

Wordlessly, Theo started on her right foot, massaging it competently with strong hands. Sarafina groaned, feeling all the tension and soreness leak from her body the farther he moved up her leg.

And the farther he moved up her leg the more poignantly aware she became of his touch. He worked silently and in a very businesslike manner. This was not a man who’d suggested the massage as a way to try and get into her pants. Clearly, he meant only to work out the knots in her muscles so she could sleep better and they could get back to work the next day.

Considering what he’d told her about her clothing being appropriate, she should be offended. She certainly should not be enjoying the slide of his calloused palms over her skin and the deep, strong pressure of his fingers massaging her calves and thighs. It relaxed her body and also made her feel tingly in places he most certainly was not touching.

His touch also made her feel oddly comforted and protected. When she gave in to the fact that she liked his hands on her — really she didn’t have any energy left to fight it, anyway — her body tipped so far into drowsiness that it was impossible to recover.

When Theo reached her shoulders and turned the muscles there into melted butter, the comforting darkness of sleep closed over her head like a wave crashing onto the beach.

THEO NOTED SARAFINA’S BREATHING DEEPEN TO slumber as he finished working the tension from her back. Once he was satisfied that he’d helped her recover from the stress and strain of the grueling week she’d put in, he withdrew and took a moment to watch her sleep, totally unable to resist the urge.

She turned onto her back and lay half covered by the sheet that was twisted around her legs. As she shifted, the boxers she wore rode higher up, better exposing the silky, pale shape of her thighs. He’d just had his hands on them and he knew how soft and velvety her skin was.

She threw an arm over her head and the action caused her breast to press against the material of the tank top she wore. If he looked hard he could see the outline of her nipple. He was a man; he looked. He even imagined what it would feel like under his fingertips, what it would taste like against his tongue.

His gaze traveled upward again. Her eyelashes were swept down over creamy pale skin and her full lips were slightly parted in sleep.

Yeah, she was attractive. Maybe even a little more than merely attractive. Most men would probably call her cute, but Theo found her beautiful.

Grosset lay on her other side, snoring. The dog snuffled against her back and almost woke her up, so Theo turned and walked out of the room. The last thing he needed to be caught doing was staring at her while she was sleeping. All the trust she thought she had in him would disappear.

And he liked that she trusted him.