Seduced by Magic (8 page)

* * * * *

The closer they got to the city, the smaller Scarlata felt. And the more trapped.

She couldn’t seem to catch her breath. Every time she drew in a breath, some foul odor made her gag.

Trash lay in the hard streets. Trees struggled between slabs of concrete, their growth stunted because their roots could only reach so far into the soil.

Occasional oases of green grass appeared but they were few and far between.

Some homeowners had corralled containers of bright flowers on front porches but it wasn’t enough to combat the gray stone and red brick of the buildings. Not nearly enough.

60

Seduced by Magic

She was a
folletta
. She needed a forest or a field to roam. Just the thought of cities made her hyperventilate. So many people in such a confined space made her ache to run into the wooded undergrowth and the fallen leaves.

Worse still, she was having a hard time concentrating on the unique signature that marked the place she sought. The steady, magical beacon that could only be detected by the
Fata
faded in and out of her detection. She hoped that didn’t mean the safe house had been destroyed or abandoned. It had been many years since she’d spoken to Sal.

Maybe more than a hundred.

Still… “Turn right here. It’s this way.”

Justin turned without hesitation, drawing her gaze to him. She’d been furious when she’d discovered his deception. Her neck still throbbed from his hit. He would pay for that.

Nevertheless, her heart leapt at the fact that he’d wanted to keep her with him, even at the expense of his own life.

She’d had time to think about the men who’d come to take her and she did not like her conclusions. Obviously those men had known she lived in the vicinity and that Justin’s research in the area would draw her out.

But did they know the bigger secret still hidden in the forest? She needed to get to Sal’s. She wasn’t sure yet what she needed to do but she could keep Justin safe while she came up with a plan.

As they drove farther into the city, she had to pay more attention to her surroundings. She hadn’t been to Sal’s in many years. And though not much had changed in his neighborhood, she needed to look closely at the houses.

“Here,” she touched Justin’s arm and waved toward the side. “Stop here.”

Justin slowed and pulled into the next available parking space then stared out the front window. “Hon, this doesn’t seem like such a great neighborhood to visit. Are you sure we’re at the right spot?”

61

Stephanie Julian

“Yes. This is the place.” She opened the door and swung her legs out of the car.

Then quickly drew them back before she could set her bare feet on broken glass. She huffed in displeasure but in the next second Justin was there, reaching into the car to lift her from the seat.

His scent shot straight to her head like sweet mountain water and she wanted to bury her nose behind his ear and lick his neck. Justin chose that moment to look at her and his expression hardened.

“You’d better steer me toward the right place, Red. Because otherwise I’m going to take you on the street and I won’t give a damn if people see us or not.”

His words flooded her sex with moisture and made her whimper with lust.

She swallowed hard.

“Which house, Red?”

Which house? Oh. She turned to look at the buildings on the street. It appeared to be a residential area, the red-brick houses built side-by-side in rows. Many seemed deserted but there were a few that looked as if they’d been cared for over the years.

She knew which house they needed by the runes carved to look like decoration into the lintel above the front door.

“That one.” She pointed to the house.

Justin didn’t move, staring at the building. “Are you sure?”

She stroked his jaw with her hand, drawing his gaze back to hers. “Yes. Trust me, Justin.”

The corners of his mouth quirked. “I think we’re past that, babe. And I do trust you.”

He walked to the door, carrying her like she weighed nothing. “So is there a key or some hidden—”

She grasped the doorknob. It turned smoothly in her hand.

62

Seduced by Magic

Justin shook his head. “Okay then. I guess we don’t need a key.” He stepped over the threshold and kicked the door closed behind them. “But I do need this.”

He maneuvered her until she could wrap herself around him, one of his arms around her waist to hold her in place. Sinking her fingers into his hair, she planted her lips on his and kissed him until she thought she’d faint from oxygen deprivation.

His free hand—the one he didn’t have planted on her bare ass—swept from her hip to her breast, sending heat sizzling along her nerves. Cupping it, his fingers plucked at the nipple, playing with the hard tip until the sensation was almost painful.

But the pain wasn’t hurtful. Just the opposite. It made her want him all that much more.

Her hips began to move, grinding her mound against his stomach. She rubbed against his thick cock, straining against his shorts. Her pussy moistened and throbbed, yearning for something to grab onto, to fill her.

“That’s right, babe. Let go.”

His husky voice stoked her desire higher, made her move faster. When his hand moved around to rub her clit, she moaned into his mouth.

More. Goddess, she wanted more. And he gave it to her without fail.

He didn’t play with her. His strokes were deadly serious, working her until an orgasm rocked through her body. The feeling was so strong she had to release his mouth to draw in air. Justin’s gasp sounded just as desperate as her own.

“Don’t move…” he panted. “Just let me…the zipper…”

She heard his shorts hit the floor a second before he grabbed her waist and jammed her down onto his cock. Groaning in ecstasy, he slid as far into her as he could, her still-contracting muscles clamping down on him.

“Oh Christ. I’m gonna come in about two seconds.”

“Then do it,” she whispered in his ear, licking the lobe before biting it. “I want you to. I want to know how hot I make you.”

63

Stephanie Julian

He put one hand under her chin and drew back until she met his gaze. “I only have to look at you and I’m burning.”

His words and the look in his eyes made her sheath contract and she felt him jerk and release into her without moving a muscle.

With a sigh, he palmed the back of her head and urged her forward until she nuzzled her nose into his neck. He held her easily, her legs still wrapped around his waist.

She rested her head on his shoulder, drawing in his musky scent, listening to him breathe. It was a good place to be. And that scared her.

“Well, Scary. Haven’t seen you for a while. Looks like you’re doing okay.”

The voice came from behind them, freezing them in place for a second. Then Justin nearly dropped her in his haste to shield her behind him. His caring gesture made her chest tighten.

“Who the hell—” Justin fumbled to put his shorts back on then paused and shook his head. “Whoa. Are you— Red, is that what I think it is?”

She smiled at the wonder in his voice. “Yes, Justin.
He
is.”

“But…but…that’s…”

She moved to his side then down to her knees, showing the proper respect for the man before them. “Greetings, Salvatorus. We seek sanctuary.”

The four-foot-tall
salbinelli
waved her to her feet. “Yeah, I kinda figured that. Sorry to disrupt,” he said with a grin on his face. Then he gestured to them. “Come on back.

After you get cleaned up, we’ll get a drink and catch up and you can introduce me to your new friend.”

Salvatorus turned and made his way to the back of the house, hooves clicking on the hardwood floor.

As she rose to her feet, Justin grasped her elbow to help her up. “Red, is that really a…a satyr?”

64

Seduced by Magic

“He is
salbinelli
, maybe the oldest in the country. He arrived before the Purge.

Possibly before the Europeans. He doesn’t talk about it. And I do not suggest you ask.

The last person who did never lost the tail Sal gave her.”

Justin looked at her with his lips parted, his surprise evident.

“Is he really part goat and part man?”

She shrugged and began pulling Justin in the direction Sal had gone. “No. He is
salbinelli
,” she said, as if that would explain everything.

Justin shook his head. “You know, Red, I’ve seen things tonight I never thought possible. But right now I feel like Alice in Wonderland, like I’ve fallen down the rabbit hole.”

The
salbinelli
called Salvatorus popped back into the end of the hallway and smiled at him. “Son, this is definitely not Wonderland and I’m no fuckin’ goat.”

Justin felt his stomach turn over about the same time his head started to spin.

“Shit, Scary, he’s gonna faint,” Salvatorus said.

“No.” Justin reached for a chair at the table in the surprisingly high-tech kitchen and sat. “No, I’m fine. It’s just been kind of a crazy day. Know what I mean?”

“Yes, actually I do.” Scarlata kneeled by his side, her hand warm on his knee, the look in her eyes doing the same to his groin. “I’ve had the same feeling today.”

The four-foot-tall creature to her right grimaced. “All right, you two. Your little displays of affection are making me sick. Let’s get to business already.”

Justin turned in time to see the creature hop onto the wooden chair next to him. His furry goat legs dangled at least a foot from the ground and his small, black, goat-like horns glinted under the fluorescent light. His curly dark hair and facial features spoke of a Mediterranean heritage but his accented voice was pure “Noo Yawk”. His muscled upper body would rival a Michelangelo masterpiece.

65

Stephanie Julian

Sal leveled a piercing black gaze at him. “So you gonna stare all night or you gonna tell me what you’re doin’ here?”

Justin caught himself before he raised one hand as if he were in high school. “Could I ask a question first?”

The creature grabbed an unfiltered Marlboro from the pack on the table and lit it.

“Sure, kid. Knock yourself out.”

Justin tried to figure out how to phrase his question but in the end decided on straightforward. “Where did you come from?”

Sal’s laugh sounded more like a bark. “Well, I certainly didn’t spring from the ground full-formed.” He turned to Scarlata with a smile. “Scary, where’d you get this one?”

“In a cabin on Hawk Mountain.”

“You two got real close real fast, didn’t ya?”

Scarlata shook her head, her expression sweetly amused. “
You
are one horny little bastard. You liked that free show, didn’t you?”

Sal smiled, a wicked glint in his eyes. “Hey, it’s been awhile since I’ve gotten any, babe. At least a few days.”

Now
that
elicited a few images Justin couldn’t quite shake from his head. Who or what did this guy have sex with?

“So, babe, you wanna…” Sal leered at her.

Justin had the urge to cold-cock the guy…creature…animal…for even looking at his Scarlata like that. Still, it seemed they had a relationship that probably pre-dated his birth.

Scarlata laughed now, the first he’d heard. It was throaty and rich and it pissed him off that she’d never laughed with him.

“Ancient history, you devil,” she teased.

Okay then. That answered that question.

66

Seduced by Magic

Sal waved the cigarette in front of her. “Yeah, babe, I know. So what brought you here?”

She sighed. “Someone used Justin as bait to get to me.”

“How’d they know where you were in the first place?” Sal asked, his tone deadly serious.

She shook her head. “I don’t know. But they knew to send Justin.”

Sal gave him the once-over. “Why him?”

Now Scarlata glanced at him and the heat in her eyes nearly melted the fillings in his teeth. “I’m not sure. I believe…I believe it may have something to do with his father.”

Oh shit. Justin didn’t like where this was going. “Wait. What about my dad?”

Her pretty mouth curved up in a sad smile. “His research. I’m assuming those men chose you specifically because of your father’s research. And maybe because they thought I’d be drawn to you.”

Justin raised an eyebrow at her. “You mean it wasn’t just my handsome looks and great body that caught your eye.”

She smiled. “Those are nice too but I have to admit there was something about you, something I recognized as being familiar.”

He liked that she recognized something in him, something that drew her to him.

But they were still missing pieces to this story and it sounded like maybe Scarlata had come up with some ideas. “Like what?”

“Tell Sal about your father,” she urged. “Maybe he will be able to see some connection that I cannot.”

So Justin told the little half-furry creature what he’d told Scarlata earlier, adding more detail as he remembered it.

When he’d finished, Sal stubbed out his cigarette and hopped off the chair to head to the fridge.

67

Stephanie Julian

“Either of you want something to drink? I got beer, vodka, a decent bottle of Cabernet, some homemade lemonade. Squeezed the lemons myself.”

Justin frowned. “Wait. That’s it? No answers, no comments, nothing?”

Sal’s stubby tail twitched back and forth before he turned from the fridge, two bottles of beer and the wine in his hands. He didn’t answer until he’d set the bottles on the table and hopped back onto his chair.

“Nice guy, your dad.” Sal popped the cap on one of the beers and took a swig.

“Stupidest damn God I ever met but he plays a mean game of pool.”

68

Seduced by Magic

Justin was pretty sure he’d just heard the half-goat half-man with horns refer to his father as a god.

He opened his mouth to speak but the only sound that came out was a kind of garbled squawk.

At least Scarlata was more articulate. “What did you just say?”