Page 12 of The Death Dealer (Sentinels of Magic Book 2)

Trev caught up to Soleil in the hallway and hurriedly ducked in front of her to stop her from stalking away. “I didn’t mean it the way it sounded.”

“Like you were telling me not to worry my pretty, empty head with manly things?” she asked with a dangerous fire in her eyes.

“Exactly like that.” Knowing he owed her an apology, he trailed a finger along her temple and swept a lock of wayward hair behind her ear. “I’m sorry, Dalli. Please forgive me for coming across as a chauvinist pig. You’re more than welcome to hang out. Draven’s here to create a shield to block out prying deities and Fintan to predict future ramifications if I heal Lily. I honestly don’t know what you can do to help.”

Soleil’s stance softened, but her pout didn’t completely die away. “How can you cure her all by yourself? To my knowledge, it takes multiple witches to achieve something like that. Only Damian is all-powerful.”

Again with the hero worship for her brother-in-law!

Trevor shoved aside his irritation. It was no skin off his back if she admired the guy more than was healthy. That was between her and her sister should Vivian catch wind of Soleil’s adoration.

“A Death Dealer has the power to give and take life,” he explained. “Just as we can obliterate, we can boost the health of the body’s cells. It’s not something the average witch can accomplish, even with help. At least, not in the long term.”

“But if you heal Lily, it will stick?”

“It should, but I don’t have control over the Fates.”

“It seems cruel for her to be healed only to have it return,” Soleil said softly.

“I have a contingency in the event it does,” Trev confessed. He refused to fail. Mainly because he liked the kid.

“Then I’ll go putter in the greenhouse and leave you to it,” she replied with a smile.

Trevor winced. “Christ, I didn’t mean for it to sound so condescending. I’m sorry.”

“You already said that.”

She squeezed his hand, and Trev was startled to realize that sometime during their conversation, he’d reached for hers to hold. His subconscious need to touch her had overcome his reticence to start anything between them.

Purposefully, he released her and backed away. “Stockton has breakfast laid out in the dining room if you’re hungry.” Internally, he cringed at the stiffness in his tone.

Her smile didn’t falter as one might expect it would. Instead, it widened. “Thanks.”

“Um, okay. I’ll be in there.” He pointed lamely behind her, weirdly unsure of himself for the first time in history.

The sparkle in her eyes spoke of her amusement.

When had the tables turned? How had she gained the upper hand? Maybe he should kiss the smirk off her face. His focus dropped to her mouth, and his sudden desire to taste her made his knees weak. What the hell was happening to him?

Her lips moved, but it took him a solid ten seconds to register she was speaking.

“What?”

“I said, for the record, I don’t admire Damian more than what’s healthy.” Her exaggerated patience annoyed Trevor. “But I can recognize he’s a great guy,”

“Wha—oh. Yeah. Uh.”

Fuck!

He’d forgotten to shield his thoughts, and that forgetfulness was becoming a bad habit when he was around her. Screw it, he was going for the kiss. It was the only way he could scramble her thoughts and regain the upper hand. As he leaned in, he was met with her palm in his face.

“Don’t even think about it,” she growled. There was laughter in the sound, as if she thought his behavior was hilarious but didn’t want to let on that she did.

“Why not?”

“You don’t believe I’m the type to dally with.”

“You said you were,” he countered.

“Meh.”

She shrugged and sauntered off.

Trev was oddly proud of her faux air of indifference. Their back-and-forth was challenging and bizarrely fun. When he’d started this gig, he thought monitoring her movements would be duller than watching paint dry. Now, he knew differently.

The thought brought him up short.

He’d forgotten his mission! How the hell had that happened? He still hadn’t worked out the why of his job, but then again, he hadn’t given it a helluva lot of consideration after the first time they kissed. His obsession for the earth witch had gotten the better of him.

“Dalli?”

She paused in her escape and glanced back at him.

Trev closed the distance.

“I forgot something,” he said.

Color crept into her cheeks, but she remained quiet and watchful.

He swept her into his embrace.

“I forgot to tell you a good-morning kiss wasn’t optional. It’s a necessity,” he murmured against her lips.

* * *

Soleil was still thinkingabout that earth-trembling kiss two hours later. How was it so much hotter than any they’d exchanged before? What had changed?

Maybe it was the way his burning gaze had traveled the length of her body, stripping her bare.

Maybe it was the memory of their shared fantasy.

Or maybe it was something more. Maybe they were developing an emotional bond deeper than either dared to acknowledge.

She touched her fingers to her lips and scowled as she tasted dirt.

Ick!

She dusted off her hands and shook her head. Trevor Blane could scramble her brains even when he wasn’t present. Deciding her concentration was crap, Soleil left the greenhouse. She walked along the path leading to the beach, passing the thicket of hibiscus bushes that disguised an eight-foot, metal security fence. The gate was open, so she traversed the steps down to the sand and approached the shoreline.

After glancing around and only spotting a powerboat in the distance, she snapped her fingers and changed into a one-piece bathing suit. Next, she bent to wash her hands in the water. As much as she loved having her hands in soil, feeling the magic flow through her when she was wrists deep into the planting process, she despised dirt under her fingernails.

A ping sounded behind her.

Startled by the noise, she straightened and turned. The movement saved her life as a bullet tore through her upper arm, where her heart had been seconds before.

Her first instinct was to teleport, and her cells warmed. The magic was immediately aborted due to Stockton’s Blockers’ spell. Locked in place, Soleil ducked and curled into a tight ball, conjuring a force field the way Sabrina had taught her to do after her niece’s abduction at the hands of an Arcane Devourer.

Bullet after bullet struck the shield directly in front of her face, and Soleil couldn’t hold back her terrified screams.

The protective bubble held.

Two more shots were fired in rapid succession, but she remained safe.

“Thank you, Sabrina,” she whispered. “Thank you, thank you, thank you!”

Although the layer of her shield was translucent, there was a faint distortion when she tried to peer out and get a location on her attacker. The muffled sound of an engine roaring to life caught her attention, and in a blink, the powerboat sped away.

Heart practically beating out through her chest, Soleil staggered to her feet, wildly checking around her for the threat.

“Let the shield hold. Please, let it hold,” she prayed to the Goddess as she inched backward toward the steps leading to Gene’s back lawn.

A shout from behind her had her spinning in blind panic.

Trevor’s horrified expression was one she’d never forget. His gaze was focused on her ruined upper arm as he ran full-out to get to her. As soon as he was within touching distance, he reached for her—and got the shock of his life! The power of her force field knocked him on his ass. He blinked his disbelief, and his reaction would’ve been hilarious had Soleil not been bleeding out on the sand.

Knees weak, she dropped down.

“Don’t faint,” she told herself fiercely. Her pain was great, but she held on to consciousness through sheer stubbornness.

“Lower the shield!” Trevor shouted. “I can’t heal you if you don’t lower it.”

What did it say about her cowardice that she didn’t want to dissolve the one thing keeping her safe?

“You’re not a coward, Dalli.”His voice flitted through her mind. “You’re clever, and you thought fast on your feet.”

They locked gazes, and his tight smile reassured her.

With her uninjured arm, she waved, peeling back an opening large enough for Trevor to get to her. The second he registered the clear line of sight, he dove through and hugged her tightly to him.

“I lost years when you screamed,” he said feelingly.

“How did you hear me?”

“Through our link. The others must’ve thought I was insane, taking off mid-sentence.” After kissing her brow, he eased back to examine her arm. Frowning, he asked, “Why didn’t you stop the blood flow?”

“I didn’t think of it. Is it normal to feel this woozy?”

“Yes. Lie down,” he ordered. With one last scan of the horizon, Trevor covered her wound with his hands.

Soleil cried out, and in her pain, she lost the ability to maintain her protective shield. “Trev!”

“It’s okay, babe.” He never lost concentration and continued to knit her bone. “Draven and Fintan are keeping watch, and I can see Stockton’s men already scouring the beach.”

Sweat beaded his brow, and it was the only indication of how hard he struggled to heal her.

“I thought this was your thing. You act like it’s hard work or something,” she joked weakly.

“I expended a lot of energy to help Lily.”

Soleil placed a hand on his wrist. “Is this something someone else can do? Should we call Damian?” When Trevor turned his fierce glare on her, she dropped her arm. “I’ll take that as a no,” she muttered.

“I can fucking heal a shattered humerus, Soleil,” he snapped.

“Shattered—oh!” Thinking what that bullet would’ve done to her heart had she not moved, she felt faint again.

“I won’t think less of you if you pass out,” Trevor said. “I can’t guarantee I won’t take advantage and sneak a peek at your tits, though.”

His teasing brought her back from the darkness, and she sputtered a laugh. “You say the nicest things.”

He grinned, and Soleil savored the gorgeous sight.

“Thank you, Trevor,” she said softly.

“You don’t have to?—”

“I do. Not just for healing my arm but for charging to my rescue.”

Turning his too-intense gaze to her, he opened his mouth to speak, but before the words could be uttered, the Guardian and Seer rushed up.

“No sign of the fecker,” Fintan said with a disgusted shake of his head.

“How are ya feelin’, cher?” Draven asked.

“Not great,” she admitted, hissing a breath in as Trevor manipulated the muscles around.

Bending on one knee, Draven touched a finger to her forehead. A sensation similar to euphoria flowed through her, dulling the pain. Giddy, she giggled.

“That might’ve been too much with all her blood loss,” Trevor remarked. “She’s drunk on the magic.”

“Sure, and there’s worse things to be,” Fintan replied with a twinkle in his eye. “There’s nothing so grand as a pretty cailín laughin’.”

Soleil sighed and smiled up at him. “I’m not at all sure what you just said, Mr. Sullivan, but I could listen to you talk all day and never get tired of it.”

For the first time since she’d met him, she witnessed Fintan grin. “Maybe I’ll be entertainin’ ya with me stories while you’re abed, yeah?”

“Not likely,” Trevor growled as he rose with her in his arms.

He staggered, but when Draven reached for her, Trevor cut him off with a shake of his head. “Back off.”

“You’re weak from all the healin’, mon ami. Let someone help you for a change.”

Soleil, equalling out from the magical infusion and seeing the wisdom in the Guardian’s words, cupped Trevor’s jaw. She waited until he met her gaze before speaking.

“No one is questioning your strength, Trevor. But you said it yourself. You’ve expended a lot of energy to heal Lily and now me. Please let someone help you.”

Seconds ticked by, and sweat trickled from his brow. Right when Soleil thought he might dig in, he closed his eyes and nodded.