The Witch's Thirst

Unable to answer Hoot’s questions without sounding like a loon, Evee said sternly, “No! Let go of him right this minute or I’ll put you in your cage.”

With a shrill shriek of anger, Hoot finally released Lucien’s shoulder and took flight, leaving the kitchen and heading for the foyer.

“That’s some pet you have there,” Lucien said, rubbing the shoulder that Hoot had dug into.

Evee sighed. “He’s my familiar and overprotective.”

“What exactly does a familiar do? Does every witch have one?”

“Most of the witches I know do. Familiars are supposed to be our eyes and ears when we’re not around. Their purpose is mostly to warn us of pending danger. Hoot does that for me, but he’s also bossy and gets carried away at times.”

Lucien gave her a small smile. “It’s nice to know you have someone looking after you.”

Their eyes locked for a moment, and Evee felt her knees grow weak. Not from exhaustion this time, but from desire. It felt like desire, anyway, but could have been the aftermath of shock from the Cartesian attack and near drowning. She shook her head slightly, trying to clear her thoughts. It was then she noticed that she and Lucien were both soaking wet and dripping water all over the floor.

“There’s a shower down here if you’d like to use it,” Evee said. She pointed past the kitchen toward the front of the house. “Just past the foyer and living area is a hallway. Take a left there and you’ll find a bathroom. Last door on the right. I’ll use the one on the second floor.” As an afterthought she put a finger to her lips, then said, “I’m sorry I don’t have any dry clothes to offer you. House full of women, you know. But there’s a robe hanging on the back of the bathroom door that you’re welcome to use. And back here...” Evee led him to a small room located at the far end of the kitchen near the back door. The room held a washer and dryer, utility sink and folding table. “You can just toss your clothes in the dryer while you shower.”

“Thanks,” Lucien said. “Dry sounds like a great plan. I’ll wait to shower when I go back to the hotel.”

“Y-you’re going back to the hotel?” Evee asked, then mentally admonished herself for sounding so needy.

They stood so close together in the small room that she felt Lucien’s breath as he spoke. Just being this close to him calmed her. She forgot about the wet clothes on her own body and the chill that had her shaking since Lucien pulled her from the river. His presence sent heat radiating through her body, chasing away any semblance of cold.

“If you don’t mind,” Lucien said, “I’ll dry my shirt first so you can direct me on the dryer settings.” He grinned. “Too many buttons and gadgets on that machine. Left to myself, I’d probably shrink my shirt down two sizes or nuke it into ashes.”

“No problem,” Evee said, then held her breath as Lucien reached behind his head with both hands, grabbed the back of his T-shirt and pulled it over his head.

Seeing him bare-chested with rippled abs and sculpted, muscular arms stole what little breath Evee had left. She gasped to refill her lungs. An embarrassing sound at such a wrong time.

“Are you okay?” Lucien asked, his brow knitting.

“Huh?” Evee had been so absorbed with the sight and scent of Lucien so close to her, she hadn’t heard what he’d said.

He handed her his wet shirt. “I asked if you were okay. You gasped. I was concerned it might have come from residual water from the river in your lungs.”

“No, no, I’m fine.” She took his shirt, threw it into the dryer and set the dryer on its gentle cycle so the T wouldn’t shrink, then pressed the start button.

Evee glanced back at Lucien, trying not to focus on his chest. “Your jeans are heavier material, so set the dryer on time-dry for them.” She pointed to the appropriate knob. “Both shirt and jeans will be dry before you know it.” Evee didn’t tell him what cycle would be best for his underwear. For all she knew, Lucien might be flying commando. Either way, she felt confident he’d figure it out.

Since the incident with the Cartesians and the near drowning, Evee felt out of sorts and confused. She found herself wanting, aching to feel the safety of Lucien. Just like when he’d carried her home.

She felt heat radiating from Lucien’s chest, which was lightly matted with dark brown and black hair that formed a narrow path to the top of his jeans.

Evee felt awkward as she watched him remove his watch and set it on the washer. She had no business standing here. She had to shower and dress, as well, yet felt glued to where she stood. Unable to take her eyes off him.

Lucien turned to her, and she studied his strong, chiseled face, his eyes greener than the depths of the Pacific Ocean. An unspoken question flickered across his face, and Evee fumbled for something to say.

As Lucien stared at her, his eyes soft yet piercing, she said, “I—I’m sorry about earlier.”

“Sorry about what? You didn’t do anything wrong.”

Evee glanced down for a few seconds before looking back up at him. “I forgot to say thank-you.”

“For?”

“Saving my life. You know, from the Cartesian, from drowning.”

“My pleasure, I assure you.” Lucien tilted his head slightly. “If you don’t mind me asking, don’t you control the element of water?”

Evee nodded.

“Yet it frightens you. Why is that?”

She shook her head. “To tell you the truth, I don’t know what the water thing is all about. I never did get it. I’m supposed to control the element of water, and I can, but from a distance. I don’t know why I have such a fear of it. All I think about is drowning. Maybe it’s a former life thing. Maybe I drowned in some other life and hold repressed memories about it. Then again, it could just be a weird phobia.” She shrugged, feeling all the more uncomfortable. She was rambling like an idiot. She felt her cheeks grow warm. “I think not understanding it frightens me most of all.”

“Life has a lot of unanswered questions,” Lucien said, his voice low and husky.

She nodded and watched as his amazing eyes turned to a smoldering forest green.

“Whatever the reason,” Evee said, trying to get her wits about her, “please accept my gratitude for your help.”

“Accepted,” Lucien said with a soft smile.

Something inside Evee told her to move on. To go upstairs and shower as she’d proposed earlier. Instead, she stood staring at him. Neither of them said a word.

Before she knew it, Evee sensed what almost felt like human hands push her closer to Lucien, seemingly without her consent. Suddenly, she found her lips on Lucien’s, kissing him fiercely. His hands cupped the sides of her face and he returned the kiss, matching her ferocity.

The moment her lips touched Lucien’s, Evee felt such a thirst overtake her, it was like every ounce of moisture in her body had been depleted, her body suddenly dehydrated. So much so she could have drunk the entire Mississippi River and would still be craving more.

His full lips, so delicious, succulent.

Lucien’s lips moved over her chin, down the side of her neck.

A moan escaped Evee’s lips, and she whispered, “Don’t let me go...don’t.” She tangled her fingers into his collar-length black hair and pulled him closer.

Without warning and in one fell swoop, Lucien dropped his hands to Evee’s waist, then lifted her up onto the dryer. He cupped the back of her head and kissed her long and deep.

Evee wrapped her arms around his neck, tangled her fingers into his hair. Her hair and clothes were still soaked from the river, but neither seemed to notice or care.

Lucien’s hands moved at what felt like an infinitesimally slow pace, from her waist to the top of her thighs.

She groaned reflexively, and Lucien broke their kiss, studied her face, his eyes smoldering green, hypnotic.

Their eyes remained locked, their faces only a few inches away from each other. Lucien’s eyes seemed to call on something deep inside her.

Locked in that moment, Lucien moved his hands to rest near the top of her thighs. He placed his thumbs between her legs, and she felt heat roll from her with the fierceness of a bonfire. He pressed his thumbs down a bit harder and began to rub his right thumb left and his left thumb right in the center of her legs.

Evee gasped loudly. She heard a loud humming in her ears and suspected the sound to be her own blood rushing hot and fast through her body. She arched her back, pushed her hips toward him.

Evee’s mouth found Lucien’s again and she took his tongue into her mouth and sucked hard as his thumbs moved faster, pressed harder against her.

Fire roared through her until Evee broke their kiss and arched her back, crying out, “Yes! Lucien, yes!” And in that moment a tsunami of all orgasms overtook her, washing away the fear that had held her captive earlier, shoving away every insecure thought, every inhibition she’d ever known. Shaking, she clung to Lucien once more.

“I need you,” she said unabashedly. “I need you inside me.”

Lucien took her face into his hands. “There’s nothing I want more. You’re one of the most beautiful women I’ve ever known, Evee. But taking you now, after all you’ve just gone through, would make me feel...” He smoothed her hair with a hand. “Not now. Trust me. We’ll have our time together. When and if it’s right. I promise.”

With that, Lucien gently moved his hands from between her legs, wrapped them around her waist and lifted her off the dryer and placed her on the floor.

Evee wobbled once, and he caught her. He held on to her arms until her feet felt steady beneath her.

“Go now,” Lucien whispered in her ear. “Shower. Get into some dry clothes. I’ll let Ronan know what happened—except for this part, of course. We’ll regroup.”

Evee nodded slowly, then made her way clumsily back into the kitchen and through the foyer. As she headed up the stairs, her body still humming from Lucien’s touch, she was grateful Hoot had made himself scarce. The last thing she needed was her familiar giving her a morality lesson and killing her buzz.

Three steps up the stairway Evee suddenly realized she’d stepped into a huge pile of shit. For it was then that she felt just how badly she wanted Lucien.

She walked slowly. Each step brought different emotions. The need for Lucien. God, he must think her a slut. She’d all but attacked him. All but begged him to screw her right there on top of the dryer.

Evee started to feel ashamed of herself. She should have shown more restraint. She had no business wanting any of the Benders. They were human, and her body hungered for more than a one-time fuck. That Evee could make happen at any time. But the Benders were different. Not only were they handsome, intelligent and powerful, but any woman would be stupid not to desire their heart along with their body.

And there lay her downfall.

No Triad shall marry or live intimately with a human.

The curse of the ages. If it was broken, they were assured it would cause the destruction of the world. That was the purpose for the mirrors inside their Grimoires. They replayed each day since they were created, scenes of Armageddon.

Except as of late. Over the last week, the mirrors inside their Grimoires had stopped replaying the destruction of the world. All three showed nothing but swirls of gray smoke. And no one, including their Elders, had any idea as to why. When Evee stared at the mirror in her Grimoire, she felt hopelessness, helplessness. As far as any of them knew, the end of the world might already have begun.

Heaven help her if she had had sex with Lucien. It might have been the match that lit the fuse to a bomb that would blow the hell out of everything.

Herself included.

Chapter 4

Once his clothes were dry enough for him not to look like a drenched rat, Lucien quickly dressed while Evee was in the shower. He felt guilty for leaving without saying goodbye, but after the incident on the dryer, he thought it best to be on his way—quickly.

Lucien couldn’t quite wrap his brain around what exactly had happened on Evee’s dryer. One moment they were staring at each other, and the next her lips were on his. Her body so close to his sent more messages than he’d been able to sort through. He sensed passion pent up like a pressure cooker without a release valve inside her. So he’d provided one. Anything beyond that, and he’d have forever considered himself a schmuck. It had taken what felt like superhuman strength to control the need he had for her. Sending her off to shower while he waited for his clothes to at least half-ass dry, then leave, made him feel like chicken shit. But he figured better chicken shit than regret.

Instead of going to the hotel to shower as he’d told Evee he would, Lucien decided to scout for Ronan first and give him a heads-up on the Cartesian attack. With that in mind and visions of Evee burned into his brain, Lucien automatically reached for his left wrist to initiate the locator implanted in his watch. It took a second for him to realize it wasn’t on his wrist.

Lucien stopped abruptly. “What the hell...?” Then he remembered. He’d taken it off at Evee’s, right before tugging his shirt off and tossing it into the dryer. Why the hell did he remove it in the first place? The only time Lucien ever removed his watch was before stepping into the shower, even though the watch was waterproof.

Habit, he assumed. Clothes came off to shower, thus off with the watch. But now his butt was in a sling. He couldn’t just walk back to Evee’s after what had happened a short time ago. She might view his return as an excuse, get the wrong message. Not that she’d have gotten the message wrong. Not completely anyway.

Hell, who was he kidding? He was the one who’d have the problem if he had her alone right now. How was he going to get his watch back without it being awkward for either of them?

Nikoli, the oldest of his cousins, always reminded them of the Benders’ mantra whenever they headed out on a mission. Keep your dick in your pants and your mind on the mission.

Normally that wasn’t an issue for Lucien. Women flirted certainly, and, occasionally, he’d reciprocate. But that was as far as it went until the mission was over and all they’d gone there to accomplish had been completed.

This was different, though. The mission wasn’t “normal,” as it involved the Triad, whom they’d never protected before. It slid off the normal scale with the number of Cartesians they’d encountered so far and the Originals they had to find and protect. All new challenges for them.

As Evee was for him. What he felt for her whenever he was near her was far from normal. She was an extraordinary woman who always smelled like gardenias and daffodils. Her smile melted his heart, and her copper-colored eyes grew so bright when she got excited they could’ve lit up a quarter of the universe. Evee might have come across as the gentlest and quietest of the Triad, but she carried an innate strength that was unmistakable.

“Hey, what’re you doing here?” a man asked, yanking Lucien from his thoughts. The voice came from behind Lucien, which caused him to clap a hand on the sheath of his scabior and spin about.

It was Ronan.

“Aren’t you supposed to be hunting the west side of the riverbank?” Ronan asked.

Lucien slapped a hand over his thudding heart. “Man, don’t you know better than to sneak up on me like that? I could’ve fried you.”

Ronan gave him a lopsided grin. “Nah, your reflexes are too sharp for you to make that kind of mistake. So, what are you doing here?” He took a step closer to Lucien and sniffed. “And why do you smell like...fish and dirty gym socks?”

Uncomfortable with the number of people milling about Toulouse Street, Lucien motioned for Ronan to follow him into an alley just off Dauphine.

“What’s going on?” Ronan asked. “You’re acting weird.”

In the muted silence of the alley, Lucien relayed to Ronan what he and Evee had gone through on the east bank. As he wound down the telling of the incident, even in the faint glow of streetlamps, Lucien saw Ronan’s face turn beet red.

“I told you!” Ronan said. “Didn’t I tell you it was a bad idea to split up? Evee could have died. On our watch, she could have died!”

“Shh,” Lucien warned. “If your voice gets any louder, we’ll start attracting a crowd.”

“Shh, my ass,” Ronan said. “The Cartesian, the water...” He ran a hand through his charcoal-black hair and started pacing in a tight circle. He stopped abruptly. “Where is Evee now?”

“Still at her home, as far as I know,” Lucien said, shoving his hands in his pockets.

Ronan stepped closer to Lucien. “Hang on a minute. What were you doing on the east bank when you were supposed to be scouting the west?”

Lucien lowered his eyes for a second, then shrugged. “Instinct more than anything. I just got a sudden urge to follow her. I’m glad I did.”

Ronan’s eyes narrowed. “So you saved her from the Cartesian?”

“Yes.”

“And from drowning?”

“Yes.”

“Then what?” Ronan asked.

“What do you mean?”

“What happened after you pulled her out of the river?”

Lucien glanced away for a millisecond. “I carried her home. She was in shock, shivering. Couldn’t stand on her own two feet.”

“Then what?” Ronan asked, taking another step closer to Lucien. “What did you do when you brought her home? Just drop her at the front door? Make her tea? Get her a warm, fuzzy blanket to wrap around her shoulders?”

Lucien stared at the fury evident on his cousin’s face. “What’s with the twenty questions and why are you so pissed?”

Ronan turned away, folding his arms across his chest. “You broke protocol. It’s not like things aren’t screwed up enough here. Breaking protocol confuses things all the more.”

Lucien frowned. “Protocol for what? Rescuing a woman from a Cartesian and then from drowning?”

“Splitting up in the first place,” Ronan said, pounding a fist into the palm of his hand. “I could have saved her from that Cartesian and from the water.”

A neon light suddenly went off in Lucien’s head. It answered a lot of questions and made him sick to his stomach at the same time.

“Ronan?” Lucien said.

“What?” Ronan turned to face him, his expression roiling with anger.

“You like her, don’t you?”

“Who? What the shit are you talking about?”

“Evee. You like her, don’t you?”

Lucien saw Ronan’s shoulders slowly relax from their defense position. He unfolded his arms and shoved his hands into his pants pockets. “Keep your dick in your pants and your mind on the mission,” Ronan said, his voice low, resigned as he stated the Benders’ mantra.

Even in the darkness of the alley, Lucien saw defeat dull his cousin’s large black eyes. In all the years they’d known each other, not once had Lucien ever seen Ronan make such a fuss over a woman.

It broke Lucien’s heart to see his cousin look so dejected. The words that came out of his own mouth milliseconds later rattled him to his core.

“If—if you’re interested in Evee,” Lucien said, “you should let her know. Eventually this mission will come to an end and so will the Benders’ mantra. So, good, bad or indifferent, at least Evee will know how you feel.”

Ronan blew out a breath. “I can’t. I’m not good with women the way you are.”

“Well,” Lucien said, “you can either let your shyness rule your heart or take a chance and tell her how you feel.”

Ronan looked him in the eye. “And what if she rejects me?”

“Then she rejects you, and you’ll move on,” Lucien said. “But you’ll never know where you stand or if you can stand beside her unless you try.”

Ronan slowly nodded, yet remained silent.

Now that he’d offered his heart up for slaughter, Lucien squared his shoulders and said, “Let’s make another run through the Quarter, and then we’ll go to the hotel so I can shower.”

Ronan nodded again, still silent.

Although he hadn’t uttered a word, Lucien knew his cousin well enough to know he was pondering what they’d discussed about Evee. Even now he was probably formulating a plan.

With a heavy heart, Lucien steeled his jaw and reminded himself that he was a Bender. He had to find the missing Originals, watch for Cartesians and take care of the Triad. That was his purpose, his innate ability.

And that’s all there was to it.

Squaring his shoulders, he began walking again, and Ronan followed him. They moved along the streets of the Quarter, Lucien using hand signals to guide Ronan in one direction or another.

Lucien looked over the faces of the people on the streets. Surveyed those who stood or sat in the bars and restaurants he strolled into and out of. He tried to remember the things Evee told them to watch for. The whiteness of the Nosferatu’s skin, sunglasses in the dark because some couldn’t tolerate any form of light. The problem was, after much searching, everyone started to look the same. Men—women—drunk.

After an hour of looking, they still hadn’t turned up anything. Lucien tried thinking like a Nosferatu, one hungry, away from its clan, not knowing where its next meal would come from or how it would get back to the catacombs. Maybe the missing Nosferatu didn’t want to connect with its clan again. Maybe it wanted the newly found freedom.

Lucien clearly remembered what Evee had said about the lost Nosferatu. If they weren’t reunited with their clan for feeding time at the compound, they’d find something or someone to drain of blood.

Once again, putting himself in the shoes of a Nosferatu, Lucien knew he’d go to a place with the most noise, the biggest cluster of people it could find. Once it defined its prey, it’d probably lead them down some dark alley.

The one place Lucien knew that fit this compilation, with many offshoots and empty, dark alleys, was Bourbon Street. First they had to study the street with the beat—Bourbon. A place whose streets and sidewalks held the footsteps, vomit or piss of some of the most rich and famous people from around the world.

Following that logic, Lucien signaled Ronan to his side, told him his game plan. Then they parted, each man taking a side of Bourbon.

Just as Lucien expected, as they walked the crowded street, glancing down one alley after another, they were faced with large groups of people laughing, talking, cramming the bars. How were he and Ronan supposed to identify a Nosferatu in this cluster? It felt like an impossibility.

An idea struck Lucien and gave him pause as he allowed himself back into the mind-set of a Nosferatu. He knew it would find an alley to make the kill. Its prey might be found in the crowded streets, but the kill would be done in seclusion. Not public.

So what made sense to Lucien was to walk Royal Street, which ran parallel to Bourbon, then straight ahead, checking out every alley between Iberville to Esplanade, which crossed the parallel streets. He signaled for Ronan, told him to focus on the alleys between the streets he felt were the likeliest place a Nosferatu would strike. They’d walk in tandem as much as possible.

It wasn’t until Lucien reached Barracks Street that something caught his attention. Sucking sounds, mouth to flesh. He looked across the street for Ronan and saw he was ahead, near Esplanade, dodging into yet another alley. He didn’t want to call out to him and warn whatever he’d have to face in his own alley.

Lucien removed his scabior from its sheath and made his way toward the sounds he’d heard.

The only streetlights he had to work with were the weak streaks shooting from pole lamps on Royal and Bourbon. So the farther he walked down Barracks, the darker it became.

He heard a woman moan. “Oh, baby, yes! Put it in now!”

Lucien walked faster, zeroing in on the woman’s voice. As he made his way toward the voice, a skinny, haggard-faced woman approached him, a hooker looking for a john, wanting a good time, a night’s wage. He ignored her and had walked another half block when a drunk stumbled out of a side alley and bumped into him. The drunk threw a punch at Lucien as if he was the reason he’d misstepped.