Chapter Ten

 

This mansion was amazing. I sure hoped we didn’t have to flee it and start all over again somewhere else.

I mean, I loved my weird little apartment; until today, I’d have never thought I had any desire to live anywhere else. But Emma brought me back down to the main floor, across to a smaller stairway on the other side of the grand front hall, and from there to the most adorable little garret of a room I’d ever seen, or even been able to imagine.

“I’m sorry it’s so small,” she said. “This whole wing was built earlier than the rest of the house, before people had any sense of what’s really required in a bedroom.”

“What? It’s not too small. It’s amazing,” I said, standing in the doorway, drinking it all in. “At least twice as big as my bedroom at home.”

She shrugged. “At least it has its own bathroom, and it’s convenient to the rest of the rooms down the hall. This wing is kind of like a big suite, though all the rooms aren’t connected. But there’s four other bedrooms on this hall, and two more shared baths; your men can each have one of the rooms. Or if you like one of those rooms better than this one…”

I was already in the room, running my hands over the antique oak furniture, gazing out the leaded glass windows. “Don’t you dare try to take this room back away from me, you meddling woman,” I said, mock-sternly. We both giggled, then I said, “Wait a minute. My men are all supposed to live here now? And me too?”

“Well, at least until the danger is passed. The lady has made it pretty clear that we should all stay inside the boundaries of this house whenever possible.”

“But they have jobs, lives! I mean, I have a job too…” I stared at her. She was giving me that same satisfied, confident smile she had the day we’d had coffee. Um, two whole days ago.

My god, how things had changed in two days.

“Just rest here a bit,” she said, patting the bed. I sat down on it. Yes, I was a bit tired, come to think of it… “I’ll go find your guys and send them to you, and we can talk about the rest of the details later.”

“Thanks.”

~*~*~*~

Apparently having lots of sex and doing lots of magic in the course of fighting demons is really, really tiring. The next thing I knew, I was waking up in a strange room.

My room.

I lay fully clothed on this adorable bed, nearly buried in a plush down comforter and a huge pile of pillows. Late-afternoon light slanted through the pretty, faceted windows. “Hmm,” I mumbled, rolling over and looking around, trying to clear the fog out of my brain.

On a low chest of drawers near the door, I saw a vase of red roses that I could swear hadn’t been there when Emma brought me here. Leaning against the vase was a card.

“Hmm again,” I said, and sat up on the bed, rubbing my eyes and yawning. When I felt like I could stand up without falling over, I got up and sniffed the roses—deliciously fragrant and fresh—then picked up the card.

Come find us next door when you awaken. We have food and wine. ~M.

Aww.

I went into my little bathroom; it was almost more adorable than the bedroom. I felt like I was in Paris or something; everything was so petite and precious, yet functional. Though small as the mirror in here was, it was big enough to show me that my afternoon sleep had gotten me pretty rumpled.

I started a stream of hot water running into the clawfoot tub and went back out to explore my bedroom, pausing to sniff the roses again. Truly excellent roses.

There was a dresser along the wall. I opened a few drawers, finding clothing that looked awfully familiar. I pulled out a pile of T-shirts and jeans and sweatshirts and laid them out on the bed. Yes, they were all my clothes.

Who had gone to my apartment and gotten my things?

I couldn’t decide if I found that thoughtful, or invasive.

This magic business was going to take some getting used to.

I explored the rest of the room, wondering what else might have been brought here from my place, but other than the novel from my nightstand, everything else was pleasant and generic.

Back in the bathroom, I looked through the medicine cabinet, finding my own toothbrush and other toiletries, in addition to a generous supply of about twelve different kinds of bath salts, bubble bath, and other luxuries. I chose a rose-scented bath oil, in honor of the red roses my men (or at least Mahlen, but I suspected a group effort) had brought me, and poured it under the stream of hot water running from the tap.

I found a stack of plush white towels on a rack above the old-fashioned toilet, and laid out two of them before getting undressed and stepping into the steaming, floral-scented water.

I soaked in the tub till the water began to cool and I felt much more human. Putting on my own comfy, casual clothes helped me the rest of the way there, so that by the time I stepped out into the hallway to find my men, I was actually fit for company.

They were not hard to find: the door to the room next to mine was open, and the sound of male voices wafted into the hall.

“Grace!” Mahlen said eagerly, spotting me in the doorway. “Did you find the flowers?”

“I did,” I said, grinning as I stepped into the small room. “Thank you.”

Mahlen was already on his feet. He came and gave me an enthusiastic hug, then stepped back, looking a little abashed at the other three men.

Because yes, Amory was here too, sitting on a wooden chair by the window. The twins shared a small couch, and Mahlen had been in a second wooden chair, and that basically filled up the room, leaving only room for a double bed.

“You can hug her,” Javier said, grinning at Mahlen. “Nobody has an exclusive claim on our Grace.”

Our Grace. I found myself smiling as well. I liked the sound of that. “So, no one saved me a chair?” I asked.

“Oh! Take mine,” Mahlen said. “I can sit on the bed.”

But Amory was already getting up and pointing Mahlen to his chair. “Since this is my room, perhaps I’ll take the bed.”

“Right!”

Once everyone was reseated and Jorge had handed me a glass of wine, I said, “So, I must have slept for hours. What have you guys been up to for all this time?”

The twins glanced at each other, then at Amory. “Just getting to know each other a bit,” Javier said. “Telling Amory what we know so far.”

“Which isn’t all that much,” Jorge added, “but it’s more than what Aiden apparently told him.”

“We’re learning how to be a cohort,” Mahlen said. “Emma’s men have been very helpful.”

Jorge laughed. “I wouldn’t say very helpful, dude. More, enthusiastic.”

“Yeah,” Javier put in. “Apparently this is not a bad deal at all, being kept as sex slaves in a sex harem for a sexy lady to have sex with.”

I snorted with laughter, shaking my head. “You guys aren’t slaves! Jeez.”

“Well, what does ‘bound’ mean?” Jorge asked. “That sounds like slaves to me.”

“Not that we have a problem with that!” Javier said, and Mahlen laughed, agreeing.

I looked at the adorable fellow sitting on the edge of the bed. “Amory, what are you making of all this?”

He gave me a shy smile. “Just…trying to make sense of it all, like the rest of you.”

“Where…how did Aiden find you? What did he tell you?”

Now he looked even more shy, and a little embarrassed. “I know him casually through work. He told me that he had something to tell me that was going to sound crazy. That I probably would not believe it, but that I should just trust him, open my mind and give him a chance.”

“That sounds strangely familiar,” I said dryly.

“Yeah.” He shrugged. “And it did sound crazy.”

“So how did he convince you to come here? I walked out, when Emma told me her story.”

Amory leaned forward, his hazel eyes holding mine with a powerful intensity. “I thought about walking out. I almost did. But then he touched me here—” Amory put a hand on his chest “—and I felt the magic, in him, and in me. I felt something come alive, and I understood…so much more than I can actually put into words.” He glanced down at the floor, then back up at me. “Also, it kind of sounded like the beginning of an adventure. Like in a game, or a fantasy novel. The kind of thing you wait your whole life to hear, and never do. Because it’s not real. But then…it turns out that maybe it is? So I couldn’t pass it up.”

“Huh.” I looked back at him, then around the room at the others. “Do you guys feel magic in yourselves?”

“Yeah, but not in my chest,” Jorge said, and I swear he waggled his eyebrows at me.

“Significantly lower,” Javier added, in case his brother’s innuendo hadn’t been perfectly clear.

I looked at Mahlen. “These idiots are your friends?”

“It’s better if you have more wine,” Mahlen said, refilling my glass.

“I thought you said you had food too?”

~*~*~*~

We spent the evening that way, just getting to know each other, coming to some kind of terms with our situation. The banter was a mix between awkward and comfortable; I felt more at ease as the time passed. Even Amory opened up a little more, though he was clearly shy in the face of the…connections I’d already made with the other three men. Not knowing how, or if, we were supposed to talk about it.

And yet he was clearly attracted to me…which was good, because my whole system was on fire for him. As the evening wore on, I found myself sitting next to him on his bed, propped up against the headboard buffered by pillows, a platter of cheese and crackers and fruit across both of our laps. The other men picked from the platter as well, taking any occasion to touch me—little brushes of the back of a hand against my cheek, or a caress of my upper arm. Mahlen gave me one tiny kiss on the neck, but mostly it was just subtle. Chaste…but with an underlying sexual tension.

It was delicious.

Only Amory and I did not touch each other, though our proximity was…noticeable. We sat not two inches from one another, but we were both quite cognizant of the fact that we weren’t supposed to consummate our connection until tomorrow.

I felt like, when the time came, it was going to be no problem.

I’d had that long and lovely nap, so I wasn’t sleepy when the guys started yawning. I’m not completely clueless, though, so I noticed, after the fourth or fifth yawn.

“So,” I said, getting off the bed and stretching.

Four pairs of eyes followed me. Three eager; one wary.

Right. Everyone had their own rooms…so were we all supposed to sleep alone? Together? I didn’t think so; I mean, none of our beds were even big enough, if mine and Amory’s rooms were any indication.

How did this work, anyway?

I’d slept (as in sleeping) with Mahlen the last two nights. Clearly it was someone else’s turn tonight.

Jorge cleared his throat. “Actually, one of the things Emma’s guys told us about was how they do the sleeping arrangements. There’s no rule or anything, and they’re still getting it all worked out, but they basically take turns. I mean, unless, um, something else happens.” My men all glanced at each other at this point.

“You mean like someone’s posing for a sketch and a few guys help her undress or something?” I asked, smiling.

“Yeah, like that,” Javier said with a grin.

“But you’re in charge,” Mahlen said. “You’re the boss of us, and whatever you say, we all have to abide with it.”

I shook my head. “I don’t want to be in charge. Are you kidding me? We’re going to be a democracy here.”

“Um, I think that’s how the magic works,” Amory put in. “From what the guys were telling me, anyway. Because it’s feminine magic, a woman has to be the center, the leader. It’s what’s going all wonky with Emma’s cohort, that Aiden is taking too much upon himself. She needs to, um, discipline him better.”

I raised an eyebrow at this. “Indeed.” Then I banished the image from my mind. I liked Emma just fine, and there were some things I just really didn’t need to know in any kind of detail. “Okay. So.” I looked helplessly around at the men as I tried to figure out what to do. I should choose one of the twins tonight, but then tomorrow was Amory, so that left the un-chosen twin the clear loser. And did I leave Mahlen out of one round of the first rotation, then? Since he’d already had two nights and no one else had had any?

But Mahlen was the one I’d started with. And he was the one I’d had a crush on for a freakin’ year. Was he somehow going to be my ‘primary’ boyfriend, like in a polyamorous situation?

Who had left all this up to me to decide, anyway? Stupid magic.

Well, what did I want? Since I had to be the decider. Putting all other considerations aside, what did I want?

What I really wanted tonight, I finally admitted to myself, was Amory. I’d been sitting so close to him all evening, I was absolutely dying to touch him. To kiss him. To learn everything about him—who he was, how he felt and tasted, how he thought. I was so curious what completing the cohort would feel like. But I couldn’t have him yet. Whoever I slept with, I was worried that I’d be thinking about the new man-to-come. It wouldn’t be fair to anyone.

Yes, I could see that a partly formed cohort was unstable. Clearly what I needed to do was finish establishing the cohort, and then we could start fresh, with everyone on an equal footing.

And it had been good to have that little bit of solo time this afternoon, even if I’d slept through most of it. “Guys, you know what?” I said at last. “I’m going to sleep alone tonight. Then tomorrow, we’ll draw up a rotating schedule. We can adjust it whenever we need to, and I’m always going to want your input, but if I have to be in charge, then so be it. I think everyone could probably use a good night’s sleep.”

Mahlen, Jorge and Javier all nodded; Amory watched us all with slightly widened eyes. “That’s fine,” Mahlen said. “I know I’m pretty exhausted.”

Javier said, “Me too. But I’m the first door on the right if you change your mind.” He winked and started tidying up our wine glasses.

“I have some sketches to keep me company,” Jorge said with a wicked grin.

I rolled my eyes. “Great. Glad to hear it. You enjoy that.”

“I mean I need to organize my sketch book, decide which rough sketches need polishing and which don’t work.” His eyes were now wide and innocent. “That’s all.”

“Okay, sleep well, everyone,” I said, grinning at them all.

“Do we get kisses, at least?” Mahlen asked. He looked so…wistful. Just plain adorable.

My heart melted. “Of course. Why don’t you each show me your rooms?”

“In case you get lonely in the night and want to know where I am?” Javier asked.

“Sure. Something like that.” I took Mahlen’s hand. “You first.”

Mahlen’s room was at the end of the hall, just the other side of Amory’s. Which left the twins in adjacent rooms across from them. “They let me choose first,” Mahlen said, opening the door and ushering me in. “I almost took the room right next to yours, but this one…spoke to me more.”

It was as charming as my room—this whole wing was just perfect—but I saw what he meant. This looked like a painter’s room. It was dark outside now so I couldn’t see how the light came in, but it was a corner room with windows on two sides, so it was probably pretty great.

It was furnished a bit like mine, with a nice assortment of cool antique furniture, including a great, complicated cabinet that looked like it came out of an old apothecary shop. “Ooh,” I said, walking over to check it out.

“I know. That’s what finally decided me. I can keep paints and stuff in it.”

“It’s great.” I turned around in front of the cabinet, and Mahlen stepped into my arms.

I tilted my head up and kissed him, snuggling in to his cozy warmth, into the familiar feel and taste of him. Yes, it would be real easy to just crawl into bed with him again…but I felt the tug of the unknown, back in Amory’s room.

I don’t know if Mahlen sensed this or not, or was just being considerate and responsible, but he released me a minute later. “Good night, Grace,” he whispered, and planted a last gentle kiss on my forehead.

“Sleep well.”

I closed Mahlen’s door behind me, then turned and found Jorge waiting before the door just across the hall. “Thought I’d save you a few steps,” he said, and opened his door.

It was the other corner room, of course; so naturally, the other artist had chosen it. Its furnishings were a little more modern, but it still had a fine old oak bed. “This is really nice,” I said, looking around.

“I’ll need to bring in some of my own collection,” Jorge said, waving at the walls. “These paintings make me feel like I’m in a business hotel downtown.”

I snickered, looking at them; I saw just what he meant. “I imagine we can personalize these rooms however we like.”

“For now, I’ll just take my kiss.” He opened his arms and I flowed into them. All the unease and awkwardness of our over-the-top sex session of this morning had faded away; now he felt like a safe harbor. A very hot one, mind you; our kiss warmed up fast, and I felt his strong response as he pulled me close.

But he too let me go readily as I began to draw back. “More to come,” I whispered.

“I look forward to it.”

I was not surprised to find Javier standing before the last door. “Yes, I see your door is just catty-corner from mine,” I said as I smiled and walked up to him.

“Very convenient. You can almost find it with your eyes closed.” He ushered me inside. His room was the largest of the men’s rooms; there was a connecting bathroom between it and Jorge’s, which I hadn’t noticed on the other side. Apparently I’d been a bit distracted. “I’ll leave this door ajar so I can hear when you sneak into my brother’s room at night,” Javier teased.

“Why should I sneak? Aren’t I your goddess queen mistress-boss and Decider of All the Things?”

He laughed, and then grabbed me up into his arms, showering me with eager kisses as he walked us toward the bed, where he laid me down on it and stretched out over me.

“Wait a minute,” I started, but he just laughed again.

“No worries. I just wanted a horizontal kiss.” And then he covered my mouth with his, and my body with his, and kissed me senseless before rolling off me a mere minute later. “Up!” he said, his eyes dancing with merriment as he reached a hand down to help me off the bed.

“Um. Whoah.” I got unsteadily to my feet and tried to push my hair back into place.

“There, now you have something to think about as you try to fall asleep.”

“You are a wicked, wicked man,” I said, shaking my head. “And I’m supposed to believe you’re the banker?”

He grinned. “Stereotypes are no fun, are they?”

“Sleep well, Javier.”

Amory’s door was closed when I returned to the hall. Was I going to kiss him too? Or was I going to wait till it was our time? We hadn’t actually made that clear…and yes, I knew I was in charge, so I could decide…I wanted to kiss him.

But I wanted to do far more than that. Would I be able to stop with a kiss?

He probably wasn’t expecting me. I paused before his door, trying to hear anything in the room beyond, but it was silent. Good soundproofing, or was he already in bed?

Go to bed, Grace, I told myself. Save him for tomorrow—all of him.

I followed my own advice and let myself into my own room, where I was pleasantly reminded that someone had brought the book from the nightstand back in my apartment. I spent an hour or more reading (and arguing with myself about whether I should knock on Amory’s door) until I got sleepy and finally turned out my light.

It took me a long time to actually fall asleep. Just too much to think about, to process.

 ~*~*~*~

A terrible sensation awakened me.

It was the blackest part of the night—and a stab of fear knifed through my heart. The pain was so physical, I thought I was dead already.

Then I gasped in a breath and sat bolt-upright in bed. It was still pitch black; my heart pounded, still aching. Had I had another nightmare?

I blinked, unable to see anything. Wasn’t there any nightlight, a bedside clock? Why was it so freakin’ dark? I couldn’t see my hand before my face—but I knew it was trembling.

Then the sensation hit again—like something tearing, slicing, inside my chest.

Instinctively, I fought back against it, wielding my magic—it was an attack on my magic!—someone was trying to rip my magic out of my breast.

It was the same sensation I’d felt when Edwin struck me down, last week. The memory that had been blanked…and then later returned.

I scrambled out of bed, grabbing the robe I’d laid over the foot of the bed as I tried to magically call to Emma, and to the lady, even as I fought back against the assault. I had no idea how to do any of this—I just thought it as hard as I could, as that had worked when we’d fought Mundon in his realm.

The pain and pressure eased up; I was forcing the attack out of me, giving it everything I had.

Then I heard the cry from next door.

“Amory!” I shouted, and ran for the door to my room. I stumbled about in the pitch dark trying to find the freaking door, then finally asked my magical sight to reveal it. There, there was the doorknob, and I heard another shout through the wall.

I raced into the hallway and to Amory’s door. Locked, of course it was locked, why shouldn’t it be locked?

I yanked on the doorknob as hard as I could, rattling it, sending what power I could into it. “Amory!”

“Grace!” I heard faintly.

The knob would not turn. I closed my eyes and thought about it blasting apart, thought from my heart, not my brain.

The door fell to pieces at my feet.

And the blackness within was absolute.

It didn’t matter. I raced inside, shouting Amory’s name. The attack had let up entirely on my own magic; and I somehow knew that was because the demon was targeting my fourth man instead. If Mundon could prevent our cohort from forming…

I didn’t know what would happen and I didn’t care, it didn’t matter, he was attacking Amory and that was enough for me. Amory was mine, no matter that I hadn’t even touched him yet; he was mine and I would protect and defend my own.

Suddenly, being the boss of all these men didn’t seem so ridiculous any more.

I rushed into the darkness, heading for the bed even though I could see nothing, just going from memory. I stumbled on something on the floor, but didn’t fall; and Amory’s shouts were louder now, I was close to him.

Then I was at the bed, and I dove onto it, my arms and my heart searching for him. I could not find him, he wasn’t there! I flailed about blind in the rumpled covers, shouting; then finally made myself slow down and ask my magic…

And then Amory was in my arms, and the pain of the demon attack on him coursed through me once more. “No!” I screamed, holding this man as hard as I could, as he wailed in my arms. “Fight it, fight it!” I hollered in his ear as I pressed him tight to me.

I sent my own magic into him, though it was like it was on fire, acid in my veins. I wanted to cry out again for Emma and the lady, but I could spare nothing. Mundon’s essence was all over us, like a foul oily blanket, like poison, like misery and a lifetime of suffering. All I could do was press against it. It was like holding back the tide.

Amory clung to me, shivering, helpless. “Fight it,” I moaned at him.

Use your strength, came the whisper of Emma’s voice in my heart. Was she coming? Oh god, please let her be coming.

My strength? What was my strength?

I pressed harder against the foulness that smothered Amory and me, gasping for breath. If Mundon was filth and misery and pain, then my strength was…love and connection and carnal joy.

I clung harder to Amory and filled my mind with the images and sensations of my last few days. All the smiles, the kisses, the sex, the astonishing sex. I thought about all the hot sex I would have with Amory, and all the many days and years of amazing lovemaking all five of us had to look forward to. I took these strong visions and I felt them again, I lived them again.

And I felt my strength grow. My magic pulsed and grew in my chest, spreading down through my whole torso, to my loins, out my limbs and back again, reverberating, celebrating life and love and happiness and joy. It was an emotional orgasm, and it was mightier than a demon…I felt Mundon scrabble against it, crying out in frustration and disgust.

So this is what ecstasy feels like, I thought, floating in the grip of my power.

Amory’s power sang forth, at last, welling up in his breast, meeting mine as we gripped one another. I was lying on top of him in the bed, and now I could see him a little…yes! The darkness was abating.

I felt a last demon-scream, felt it all the way to my toes, to the back of my teeth, to the base of my spine. I cried out, then gasped for breath, but the darkness fell away and Amory and I were alone, safe, in his bed.

“Oh my god,” I managed, gulping in lungfuls of air.

Amory trembled in my arms. “What…was that the demon?”

“Yes.”

We lay there a long moment, just holding each other. At last, he said, “It had me, I couldn’t move or breathe. I thought I was going to die. I felt like it…was sucking something out of me.”

“It was.” I shuddered and tightened my arms around him. “It was trying to take your magic away.”

“I don’t even…know how to feel my magic. Not really.”

I buried my face in the curve where his shoulder met his neck. Oh god he smelled good. “You will. It’s pretty instinctual, when it comes right down to it.” His arms moved up my back a little, a gentle caress. “If you let it.”

“I do want to let it.”

This close, I could hear his heartbeat. It had been pounding, racing; it was starting to settle back to something more like normal.

And I could feel his arousal against me…and his heartbeat was not going all the way back to normal.

I kissed his neck, just a tiny brush of my lips; then moved higher, kissing his earlobe. He moaned and held me closer; his erection pressed against me…oh, he was only in boxer shorts, and my robe was falling open…we were already skin to skin nearly to our waists.

I had been so close to his magic, to his spirit, I hadn’t even noticed our bodies.

But I did now.

I grazed his earlobe with my teeth, oh-so-gentle, then trailed a line of kisses along his jaw, seeking his mouth.

And he turned fully to me and kissed me before I even got there. Oh my god, how delicious this man was…I drank him in, darting my tongue in and out of his mouth, tasting his powerful  magic, his soft kindness, his strong desire for me. He kissed me back just as energetically, and his hands roamed all over my back, getting tangled in the robe briefly before he growled and pushed it all the way open.

Then he suddenly stopped, pulling back and gazing up at me in the dimness. “Grace…we can’t…we have to wait till tomorrow…?”

I panted, gasping now from lust and desire, casting my eyes wildly about the room. To the broken-open door. To the faint lights of the distant city peeking through the curtains. To the small clock on his nightstand… “It’s after midnight. It’s tomorrow.”