CHAPTER TEN
Margo was slowly starting to suspect that there was even more to Gabe than met the eye. Her inner wolf was content with his companionship, but she still wasn’t totally comfortable with her understanding of his place in the Pack. Margo wasn’t sure where he fit and how strong he really was. There were hints, of course. The casual way he flicked his fingers to use his magic was pretty impressive.
But maybe it was all just a big show. Aside from his skill with wards and his claims about what he could do to block Bolivar’s clairvoyance, what could he really do with his magic? Was it just harmless parlor tricks, or was he capable of really doing some damage to their enemies or…perhaps erecting powerful protections? Offensive magic or defensive magic. Either would be acceptable to her wolf, as long as they were strong enough to make him a peer. She just didn’t know how to evaluate that sort of thing. Magical assessment wasn’t really one of her skills.
Her inner wolf had problems contemplating spending the rest of its long life with someone not strong enough to complement her Alpha nature. If she’d been dealing with a shifter, it would have been easy to establish, but being with a magic user was confusing. On so many levels.
It was also the most amazing sex she’d ever had. Gabe was fast becoming her drug of choice when it came to pleasure. She’d spent every night with him since that first encounter in Grizzly Cove. She would always think of that town, and its little hotel, fondly. It was where she’d begun to learn that there was so much more to passion than she’d ever realized. Gabe had been an eye-opener in so many ways. He’d been teaching her things about herself, her body, and her mental perceptions about the world since almost the day they’d first met.
She’d never had a lot of exposure to magic users before the Pack had descended on Pennsylvania for Deena and Josh’s mating celebration. It had been a lot to get used to at first. All the Pack members had felt the same. There had been an initial distrust of anyone with magical abilities because of their past dealings with Bolivar, but Deena’s mother and the women of her Clan had made it easy to accept the whole family. The goodness seemed to radiate out from those women—those priestesses—who served the Goddess. It was next to impossible not to like and respect them for the purity of their souls.
That acceptance had easily spread to the males in the family because the shifters had quickly realized that women of that caliber would not tie their lives to anyone who was not similarly pure of heart. The more Margo had been able to observe the family, the more impressed she’d become with their love for each other. The extended magical family was structured a lot like her Pack. There were the same loving bonds that tied them all together, and they all showed the same deep caring and bonds that looked very similar to those that naturally formed between Packmates.
As she walked arm in arm with Gabe back into the hotel casino where they were staying, she kept her own counsel about the thoughts racing through her mind. She was looking forward to another night of bliss in Gabe’s strong arms and didn’t really want to think too hard about the future. Not now. Not yet. Not while they were still on their quest and she was able to shelve all the long-term questions for later consideration.
Maybe it was the coward’s way out, but so be it. She wanted to enjoy her time with Gabe and let tomorrow take care of itself. That decision firmly in mind, the moment the hotel room door closed behind them, she pounced.
Margo was on a mission. She knew what she wanted and just how to get it.
She pushed Gabe up against the wall and kissed him. He didn’t resist. Far from it. If anything, after a moment’s surprise, he gave as good as he got. And good from Gabe was the best she’d ever had.
Margo climbed him as best she could, lifting one of her legs upward, bending at the knee to try to align more of her sensitive places with more of his. It wasn’t enough.
He worked at her jacket, sliding it off over her shoulders and letting it drop to the floor. She did the same for him, and then, it was his shirt. That had to go. And his pants. She pushed them down, impatiently waiting, kissing his chest while he blindly kicked off his boots and flung them across the room with the force of his own impatience.
She slid out of her own leather booties—thank goodness they were low enough not to require a zipper or something equally annoying at this stage. She licked her lips as he unbuttoned and unzipped her everywhere, assisting him with shrugs and wiggles until she was naked. He was almost there. He just had another set of printed boxers on when she stepped back to get a look.
There was a devilish-looking smiley face peering up at her from his crotch with a very appropriately placed tongue. Oh, yeah. That little cartoon was giving her lascivious ideas. Suddenly, she wanted nothing more than to taste him.
Margo held his gaze as she sank slowly down in front of him. When she was in optimal position, she reached up and grasped the elasticized waistband of the boxers and slid them down tantalizingly slow. She wasn’t sure who she was torturing—him or herself. Either way, she was enjoying every minute of it.
When she pulled the elastic over the head of his hard cock, he groaned. She made short work of the rest, allowing the boxers to glide down his legs quickly while she zeroed in on her objective. He was thick and hard and long…and right there. In front of her. Where she could just reach out and take him.
So, she did.
Gabe groaned again when she took him in her fist, pumping gently at first, to give him a chance to appreciate her skill. Then, she leaned in and licked him, running her tongue over the contours of his shaft, learning his shape and feel, scent and taste. All her senses were engaged and turned on to maximum effect.
Sweet Mother of All, she’d never enjoyed giving a guy the once over as much as she was enjoying these moments with Gabe. When his body jerked, she decided to give him what he wanted and took him deep into her mouth, using gentle suction to enhance his experience. His moan was her reward, as was the way his hands fisted in her hair.
She liked the raw power of him. The need he didn’t even try to hide. Gabe was lighting up her heart—lighting up the room—with his intensity.
Oh. Wait a minute. He really was lighting up the room.
Margo released him and stood, petting his strong shoulders, trying to ease him. “Slow down there, lover boy. You need to get a little control over your magic or we’ll be giving the town an unscheduled fireworks show.”
Gabe opened his eyes and looked around the room. “Shit,” he muttered, breathing hard and stretching out a finger to call back the golden speckles of light that were the only manifestation of his magic she had seen to this point. It came when he crooked his finger just the tiniest bit, coalescing back into his hand and disappearing.
“Neat trick,” she observed, still trying to figure out what his oh-so-casual gestures meant in the grand scheme of things.
“It would’ve been okay. I warded the room already. None of my magic can escape, and even if I set off sparks, nobody outside can see them,” he assured her, leaning down to kiss the top of her hair. “But it’s sweet of you to try to protect me from my own power.”
She liked the smile in his voice, and that negated her slight annoyance at his words. “I’m an Alpha female,” she reminded him. “Protecting is what I’m built for.”
“Maybe so, but you also seem built for pleasure. At least, when you’re with me.” His sly smile revived her mood.
“Oh, really?” She chuckled as she manhandled him over to the bed. He went along willingly, grinning the whole way.
When the back of his legs connected with the edge of the mattress, she pushed him back, hard. He toppled willingly, going spread-eagle down on the bed. The devilish look on his handsome face could tempt a saint into a sinner, she thought as she followed him down onto the bed. She straddled his muscular torso, loving the way he felt against the soft insides of her thighs. He was rough where she was smooth, hard where she was soft. Yin to her yang.
“Let’s not mess around, mister,” she told him playfully. “I want you to please me, and if you don’t…there’ll be consequences.”
Gabe’s eyes lit from within. “What kind of consequences?” Did he sound eager to find out? She wasn’t sure, but he was playing along, for which she was grateful.
Margo was Alpha in her life, her job, her Pack, but she’d always played the submissive role in sex. The men she’d chosen had always been even more dominant than her. They hadn’t been willing to allow her to lead. Not at all. Not even once.
That Gabe was willing to let her take the initiative was both delicious and a little worrying. What if he turned out to be less dominant overall than her? Could a relationship like that work long term? She didn’t think so. Not for her wolf, anyway. Maybe, for another shifter female, it could happen, but Margo knew her own mind—both the human side and the wild side. She needed a mate who was even stronger than she was. Spending the rest of her life with a man she could easily push around just wouldn’t work for her.
But why was she thinking about the rest of her life, anyway? All that mattered was right here, right now. She had to focus on that—and enjoy the freedom Gabe was giving her to stretch her wings and try new things. With him. The only real opportunity she’d ever had to experiment sexually with anything other than doing what the man said all the time.
This time, she wanted to make Gabe do what she said. Nothing too kinky for her first foray, but then, she had never really had a chance to let her freak flag fly. Maybe she’d like kink, if Gabe was willing to give it a try. She’d figure that out later. Right now, her body was yearning for the fulfillment only he could give her, and this time, he’d do it on her terms.
“Cup my breasts,” she ordered, whispering the command gently, almost holding her breath to see if he’d object.
Gabe didn’t disappoint her. He lifted his big hands to her body and took the weight of her breasts into his hands. The rush of power as he complied with her wishes was heady stuff. As were the sensations he elicited throughout her body by the way he caressed her nipples.
She leaned over him, positioning herself closer to his mouth. “Lick them,” she told him in a quiet, urgent voice as her passions rose.
Again, he complied, holding her gaze for a long moment before he took things one step further and sucked one of her hard peaks into his mouth. She gasped as his tongue swirled around the tip, then retreated. He treated her other breast to the same treatment as she moaned in need.
“Touch me,” she pleaded as her body betrayed her. Being in charge was a short-lived pleasure of the first order that had rapidly escalated into the most intense need of her life.
Gabe seemed to read her mind, knowing what she wanted as he lowered one hand to the apex of her thighs. His fingers sought and found her clit, rubbing in gentle circles that made her cry out and clench her eyes shut as a small climax hit.
A moment later, his strong grip went to her hips, guiding her down over his raging erection. He was almost too big after the way her body had clenched in orgasm, but he was patient and firm. He pushed inward, and she tried to accommodate. She wanted him inside, and she wanted the even bigger climax she sensed was waiting just over the horizon. If she could just get him inside and then ride him to the moon and back.
He slid in, finally, and she followed the gentle guidance of his firm grip on her hips. He’d kept his head throughout her loss of control, and she began to ride him as she’d dreamed, closing her eyes as the sensations washed over her. Fast, slow, hard, soft. It all blurred together into the most intense moments she had ever spent with a male. With Gabe.
Always with Gabe. Forever with Gabe…
She came apart at the seams as she reached for the stars, and he was there to catch her. Margo saw the bright golden glow of his magic swirling around them, even behind her closed eyelids. She opened her eyes to appreciate the sparkling light show as his magic seemed to wrap around her naked body, binding her to him in the most intimate of ways.
It was an experience she would never…ever…forget.
*
The next morning came too soon for Margo’s satisfaction. She’d wanted to laze in bed with Gabe for a while, but her phone dinged with a message from Ezra. He was already downstairs in the hotel restaurant and wanted to meet with them over breakfast.
With a suitable amount of moaning, groaning and muttering curses at the annoyingly early Ezra under her breath, Margo got into the shower and made herself presentable. Gabe shared her shower, and they might’ve gotten sidetracked into a wet and slippery quickie if Margo hadn’t heard her phone dinging in the other room. Damned Ezra.
She left Gabe to finish his shower, parting with a kiss he would hopefully understand was a promise for a later adventure in the big shower. They would have to try it out tonight, if they were still here. Oh, how she hoped they were still here. She fantasized about shower sex with Gabe as she got dressed and checked the messages on her phone from Ezra.
Sure enough, the bastard bear was teasing her about putting her boy toy away and getting her ass downstairs to eat. She hadn’t known the bear long, but shifters were generally pretty easy with the sex jokes. The fact that Ezra was treating her as one of the guys meant he was acknowledging her Alpha personality, which was a major concession among shifters who were both dominant—and especially among shifters of different species.
Silly bears always seemed to think they were the baddest shifters in the room just because of their size, but Margo knew better. Some of the most dominant shifters she knew were of smaller breeds. Certain big cats could be downright deadly, and wolves could definitely hold their own if they had sufficiently big enough personality—or balls, as the guys in her Pack would put it. Margo knew actual balls had nothing to do with it. The animal side was what counted. If the animal was a tough-assed Alpha, it didn’t always matter what form it took, or what gender.
Gabe got ready while Margo sent a text message to Ezra, telling him to keep his shirt on. They were on their way in short order and went down to the lobby, finding their way into the hotel’s restaurant. Ezra was seated at a table by the window and looked like he was well on his way to charming the waitress. Margo and Gabe joined him, placing their orders before they got down to business.
Gabe did that finger-flick thing he did to raise a ward around their table so they could talk freely. He let it be visible to them inside the circle for a moment so Ezra and Margo could see he’d done his part.
“Well, the good news is that I’m pretty sure Bolivar is still in the Lake Tahoe area,” Ezra said, starting right in.
“That’s very good news,” Gabe replied. “It means that my spell has a chance of affecting him. It has a pretty wide radius, but blocking someone on the other side of the country might’ve been a bit dicey.” He grinned, and Margo wasn’t sure if he was joking or if he really had the kind of power that might affect someone three thousand miles away. She wasn’t sure about anything anymore when it came to Gabe, it seemed.
“I’ll lay down the preliminaries right after we finish here, and he should be actively blocked, even without my ward tricks, starting in about twenty minutes,” Gabe went on. “That gives us a few days to find a good place and time to confront him.”
“It may not take that long,” Ezra said, surprising her. “I’ve had some indication that he might be overseeing the next consignment of women himself. Seems he’s in the habit of checking out the merchandise, and if he picks out a particular woman, she goes home with him, never to be seen again. I’ve seen records from this most distasteful sideline of Jonathan’s that show several women have been taken off the shipping manifests over the past few months and listed as gifts to Bolivar for services rendered. Like they were payment or something.” Ezra shook his head in disgust.
“Do you think he’s using them for blood magic?” Margo asked, appalled by the very idea.
“Or worse. He could be keeping them alive and siphoning off their power,” Gabe told them. Margo was surprised again. She hadn’t really known such a thing was even possible. “If he’s singling out the women with magical inclinations, he could be literally feeding off them for months or even years in order to strengthen his own power.”
“That’s awful,” Margo breathed, wondering what it must be like for the women who were abused in that fashion. And what else was the mage doing to them while he had them as his prisoner? She wondered if maybe killing them quickly in a blood magic rite wasn’t the better alternative in such a case.
“It’s been done before, in the distant past. The practice seems to have been revived in recent years by the Venifucus followers of Elspeth the Destroyer. There are a number of documented cases where members of that order either tried or succeeded in leaching power from other magical folk—shifters, other mages, even humans with latent magical abilities they were completely unaware of until they were captured by one of the Venifucus,” Gabe informed them. “It might be possible to save the prisoners, if there are any still alive, if we can find where Bolivar might be keeping them.”
“The information I have begins to make more sense,” Ezra said contemplatively. “I closed down Jonathan’s connection to the sex slavers, but they didn’t stay out of business for long, much to my disappointment. They started up again, and rumor has it they’re still using Bolivar, and pretty much the same routes Jonathan established. I’ve been following his trail all over the western part of the country, but he keeps coming back to the Lake Tahoe area. That’s why I settled on this place being his base of operations. If he was keeping prisoners, they’re likely around here somewhere, and he comes back to get a hit off their power. Does that sound about right?” Ezra asked Gabe, seeming to defer to Gabe’s superior knowledge of magic for the first time.
Gabe’s lips formed a tense, grim line. “It sounds exactly right. We need to figure out where he’s stashed them. If any of his prisoners are still alive, we need to find them and see if they can be saved. It might be too late, but they are innocents in this mess. We need to at least try to help them.”
“Agreed,” Ezra and Margo said in unison.
The waitress returned with their order, and a few minutes were spent sorting out the dishes and drinks. They ate a bit and continued the discussion as they demolished breakfast.
“There are a few things I can try to locate them, but it would help if I knew who I was looking for,” Gabe said unexpectedly. Margo had figured he’d leave the tracking to the shifters, but it looked like he had other means for sniffing out a scent. “Do you have any data on the women he’s chosen?” Gabe asked Ezra.
“I’ve got five names, going back about two years,” Ezra replied, his expression grim. “I tracked the last two for short distances but lost the trails pretty quick just outside town. I’m beginning to think Bolivar covered their tracks with the same magic he used on your family, Margo.” He reached into an inner pocket of his jacket to retrieve his smartphone and went through a few screens before landing on the information he wanted. He read off a list that meant little to Margo, except for one name.
“Theodora Jackson,” Margo repeated, getting the men’s attention. “Collin put out a BOLO within the agency for her.” Margo used the acronym for Be On the Look Out. She figured the guys would understand. “Her family hired him to find her. She’s a bear shifter, if I remember correctly. She was described as shy and rather submissive for a bear. I have a picture of her somewhere.” Margo scrolled through her own phone’s screens until she found the image she remembered from Collin’s alert and held out the phone so the men could see it.
“Pretty girl,” Gabe commented. “I might be able to do something using her image to help locate her.” He didn’t say what Margo was thinking—if the girl was still alive.
Ezra was oddly speechless, but the look in his eyes as he saw the girl’s photograph was haunted. Margo figured he was taking this harder because the missing woman was the same species as he was. Maybe he even had a little sister or something that the woman reminded him of. Whatever it was, Ezra wasn’t sharing, and Margo had to respect that.
“All right,” Margo said, taking charge of this part of the meeting. “Theodora will be our starting point, then. I know Collin will be happy if we can find her. Or find out what happened to her. While Gabe does his magic thing, I’ll call my boss and let him know we might finally have some movement on the case. I bet he’ll throw us some more support if we need it now that we have a link to an active case on his books.”
“That would be good.” Ezra seemed to have finally found his voice again. “We can use all the help we can get. As you can probably tell, I don’t usually work with a lot of support staff.” Ezra actually managed to crack a tiny grin as he uttered those words. “Right now, our assault team consists of us three. If we’re going to be freeing up to five prisoners—speaking optimistically—then we probably need a few more boots on the ground.”
Margo nodded. “You got that right,” she told Ezra with a kind smile. Whatever had come over him a moment ago, he seemed recovered now. “Gabe, do you need anything from us to do your magic thing?” she asked, just to be sure.
“If you could send me a copy of the girl’s photo, that would help. Other than that, I just need a little quiet and some space. The hotel room should work. I’ve already warded it and cleansed the energies. Unless there’s a sacred circle nearby, it’s the next best thing.”
“As far as I know, the nearest circle is way out in the desert. Unless you really need it, you can save a lot of time and effort if you can do your work here,” Ezra told him.
Gabe nodded. “All right, then. Here it is. I’m heading back to the room.”
“I’m going to call my boss, and then, if you don’t mind, I’d like to nose around town with you, Ezra. Maybe you can show me some of the scent trails. Bear noses are reputed to be really good, but we wolves aren’t too shabby in the tracking department. I might be able to find something you missed.”
“Well, it’s worth a shot, I guess,” Ezra said without taking offense.
Margo was glad he was being reasonable about her desire to recheck his work. Some men might’ve gotten upset about it, but Ezra was proving to be a very sensible guy…for a bear.