Anya Bast - Witch Heart

Adam turned away, his shoulders hunched, a slight tremble going through him. "How much do you know about demon magick? Educate me."

She forced her mind into first gear with effort. She cleared her throat and, with it, tried to clear the lazy fog that Adam had settled over her mind and body. "I can't do what you just did. I've never touched any daaeman magick with my power, but it seems natural there would be elemental magick in daaeman magick."

"Why do you say that?"

She swallowed hard and organized her thoughts. "Our magick was born of theirs, so the elements must be present in their power."

"Yes." He turned to her. His face was once again that mask she was familiar with, but shadows moved through his eyes. "I bet you can touch another witch's power, Claire. Witch, being the operative word. It's a skill only some have, and with your abilities I bet you have it. Want to try? You never had the opportunity on Eudae. Here you do."

She took a step toward him, intrigued by the possibility. "Can I try on you?"

A cocky grin split the serious expression on his face, but something unsure moved through his gaze. It was gone in a moment and he walked to her. "That was the general idea."

She touched the center of his chest, the seat of his magick. "How do I start?"

"Close your eyes."

She allowed her eyelids to drift down. His hand closed over hers, broad, strong, and warm. It made her jump.

"Shhh, it's all right, Claire." His voice was the barest whisper and she could too easily imagine him using it in bed with her, limbs and sheets entangled. She licked her suddenly dry lips.

"Now, draw a thread of your power," he instructed. "However you do that, from one element or a couple. Parse out just a little and send it into me."

She did as he instructed, feeling the sluggishness of the Earth she now resided on. Working magick here was akin to living on the moon her whole life and then having to get used to gravity. Focusing her power, she eased it to Adam's chest, hesitated for a moment, and then pushed it in.

His breath caught and his hand tightened on hers. "Yeah," he breathed. "You're in."

Her mouth twitched a little at the desire in his voice. It was arousing to feel another's power rub against yours that way. Nice to know he felt it, too. Now if she could excite him to the point of insanity and then walk away, they'd be even.

She would if she could.

Inching a little closer to him, so she just brushed his chest, she allowed her magick free rein in his body, touching the fiery heat that dwelt within his seat. It was dangerous, playing with power like his. You could get burned if you went too far. So she resided just on the edges of it, licking at it with her own magick, rubbing up against it like a cat.

He pulled her against his body with a groan and his hard cock pressed against her stomach. His hands slipped to her waist, sought the hem of her shirt and her skin beneath it.

"Claire, fuck—" he bit off. His hands went to the button and zipper of her jeans, lingered there. The heat of his fingers warmed her abdomen.

Finally, some reaction from him. Maybe she wasn't just chopped liver after all.

The problem was that she was reacting, too; her body was responding to his interest in her. The game she played with him might cost her considerably. She stroked his magick anyway, calling it to hers to pet.

Suddenly, his hands tightened around her and his magick flashed white-hot. She gasped, snapping her power back into herself as he pushed her away. She sat down hard on the couch behind her.

Then he was there, with his hands on her knees. "Are you okay, Claire?"

"I–I'm fine. What was that?"

"You," his voice sounded ragged. "It was you. It was hard for me to hold myself back. Eventually, I couldn't." He paused. "The draw between us should have evened out by now, but I'm still really attracted to you. Too much."

Her head snapped up. "I thought you couldn't feel it."

"Oh, hell, Claire, I feel it every second you're near me."

That was great, but it still didn't explain why he hadn't been touching her. By all rights, if he was feeling even a fraction of what she was feeling, he should have been all over her. "It should have faded by now."

"I know." His voice came out a low growl. "Goddamn it, I know."

She swallowed hard at the heated look in his eyes. At the moment he looked ready to push her back onto the couch and strip her clothes off right then and there. Not even Ty had looked at her that way — like she was a four-course meal and he hadn't eaten in days.

"Why do you seem so concerned by the attraction between us, Adam?"

He broke his intense study of her face. "Claire, I don't know what to say." Adam turned his head away and rubbed his hand over a jaw that needed a shave. "Look—"

"Hey."

They both looked up to find Theo staring hard at them from the entrance of the living room. Correction, staring hard at Adam.

"Got something to say?" Adam asked. He didn't move his hand from her knee and there was a challenge to his voice. Some unspoken communication passed between the two men.

Theo stared at him a moment longer and then looked at her. "You all right?"

"Why wouldn't I be?"

Theo's shoulders were tense. "If you ever aren't all right, you come to me."

Adam stood. "What's the big deal, Theo? I was helping her with her magick. She got burned by mine and I was making sure she was okay."

"Yeah, well, it looked to me like you wanted to help her with more than just her magick." Theo moved his gaze to Claire again. "Like I said, if he gives you trouble you don't want, you come to me."

Adam shifted, visibly bristling. His lips pressed into a thin line, but he didn't reply.

Claire tried not to smile. These aeamon weren't as disciplined as the Ytrayi, but the males had just as much testosterone pumping through their veins. "What if he gives me trouble I do want?"

Theo mastered his surprise well, but she still caught it moving over his face like a swiftly moving cloud. He blinked. "That's between you two. I'm not the house mother."

She didn't know what a house mother was, but she surmised he was saying he wasn't in charge. "That's good to know."

Adam shifted and a bored look overcame his face. "Did you come in here to actually say something interesting, Theo?"

"I just talked to Thomas. He's handpicked ten witches to intercept us and help us guard Claire until Micah makes some progress. They're going to trickle out of the Coven, make sure they're not being watched, meet up, and travel here. Thomas said we can expect them tomorrow morning sometime."

"Who?" Adam asked.

"I only know James, Craig, Erin, Tom Blake, Andrea, Lisa M., and Ingrid for sure are coming. He didn't name the rest. Jack fought to come, but Thomas nixed it because of the baby."

Adam nodded. "It's a good crew."

"Just about the best. If Jack and Thomas were in it, it would be."

Claire stood, suddenly feeling cold. She hugged herself. "I don't want the best of the Coven witches put in danger for me."

Theo fixed her with a stare. "This isn't just about you, Claire. We don't want the Atrika to have the elium either. That could be dangerous for us."

"You're not worried about the Ytrayi ?"

Theo shrugged. "The Ytrayi are a wild card, but they've gone out of their way to leave us alone." He shook his head. "We don't know what the Atrika would do with the elium in their hands. Trust me, this is about self-preservation just as much as it is about saving your life."

"You're awfully talkative there, Theo. Did you get laid last night or something?" asked Adam.

"Fuck you, Adam," he shot back… and actually grinned. Claire was surprised the man's face didn't crack.