Master of Seduction Read online

  So she spent fifty minutes at the therapist’s office rehashing the shooting -- again -- and explaining she felt fully justified and would do it again if she had to.

  She wasn’t sure the therapist believed her.

  Next Rachel swung by her parents’ house to tell her mother what was going on. She’d briefly considered waiting until it was all over so her folks wouldn’t worry, but what if she didn’t survive her transformation? She didn’t want them blindsided like that.

  Barbara Kent worked the second shift at Tayunita County Regional Hospital, but it was her day off, making this a good opportunity for a visit.

  Though she’d become a nurse when her Magekind ambitions failed to materialize, Barbara was still tall and athletic even in her fifties. She was so thrilled when Rachel told her the news, it was obvious it never even occurred to her that her daughter might not survive the Gift. Rachel decided not to bring that possibility to her attention.

  When she left the family’s brick colonial, her mother was already making plans for the party they’d throw to celebrate Rachel’s becoming Magekind.

  Buoyed by Barbara’s confidence, she called her Highway Patrol trooper father to give him the news. Richard might not be a Latent, or even a Kent by blood, but he knew the family secret and had embraced its traditions. He’d even taken his wife’s name, a move that had raised some eyebrows in his very conservative family. He’d been willing to do it anyway to make his wife happy.

  He’d even submitted to the secrecy spell Oriana cast on family members to ensure none of them talked about the Magekind. The measure was de rigueur for any mortal who knew the secret; Avalon was more paranoid about security than the NSA.

  Richard also knew what it took to become a Maja, and he wasn’t sure he liked the idea. Nor did he approve of Court Seducers, particularly when it came to his daughter.

  “So how’s this vampire treating you?” Dad demanded, sounding every inch the big, intimidating cop he was.

  “Oh, Nathan’s a perfect gentleman,” she told him without missing a beat. She didn’t lie to her father often, but there were some things he didn’t need to know.

  “He’d better be, or I’ll kick his ass.” Dad would give it his best shot, too, never mind that a vampire was several times stronger than any human.

  By the time Rachel hung up, she was smiling.

  A call to her firefighter sister was the next order of business. Teresa wanted to know if the vampire was cute. She admitted he was, and resisted the temptation to add that he was also an asshat. Anything Teresa knew, her parents would find out. Her little sister couldn’t have kept a secret in a bank vault. She loved to talk, and she was compulsively honest. If not for Gee’s Top-Secret spell, she probably would’ve outed them all on Facebook by now.

  Duty done, she headed home and fell into bed for another desperately needed nap. She dreamed about the shooting only once, but it was still bad enough to make her claw her way to wakefulness.

  By the time Oriana finally arrived at sunset, Rachel was glad for the distraction.

  Gee treated her to dinner before she set off for her appointment with Nathan and another glorious night of banging her head against the wall.

  Though she was tempted to do it with the vampire’s stubborn skull instead…

  * * *

  Rachel strolled in wearing a black tank top and another pair of skintight leggings that made Nathan’s vampire appetites rumble approval. She’d tied her hair back in a curly ponytail that swung between her shoulder blades, and her brown eyes were narrow and wary.

  Good, he told himself. If she wanted to keep her distance, all the better. His disappointed libido would have to get over it.

  Once again they headed into the dojo, but this time he gave her one of Oriana’s simulation circlets. She studied the engraved silver circlet dubiously, but she put it on anyway.

  He did the same, feeling the familiar buzz of magic along his skin as the spell activated.

  Suddenly they stood in an alley between two brick buildings. The ground trembled beneath their feet.

  It had good reason.

  A creature fifteen feet tall raced down the alley toward them on two powerful legs, thick tail lashing behind it as it ran. It was covered in emerald green feathers, its gaping muzzle revealing teeth like daggers. A blue gemstone shown above its bright orange eyes.

  Rachel recoiled, staring at the dinosaur in shock as it thundered closer. “What the hell is that -- a Tyrannosaurus Rex?”

  “The team that fought it called it Super Chicken.” He didn’t blame her for looking horrified. He was glad he hadn’t had to fight the thing himself. Facing it in the simulation was bad enough. “But technically I think it was a raptor.”

  “Real raptors were the size of German shepherds!”

  “Super Chicken wasn’t a real raptor. A werewolf wizard created it from another werewolf.”

  “Oh, come on! Werewolves don’t use magic any more than vampires do.” Apparently Oriana had briefed her descendants about Merlin’s assorted creations.

  “Warlock did.” And they’d had a hell of a time killing him, too.

  The monster thudded to a stop, tail whipping, and roared, breathing the stench of blood and meat over them.

  “Back off, KFC!” Rachel snapped up at it, before turning to glare at Nathan. “No. Forget it. I was willing to play along with the sword fight yesterday, but this is ridiculous.”

  The raptor started to dive at them, jaws open wide as if to eat them both. With a huff of disgust, she snatched the circlet off of her head. And promptly vanished from the simulation.

  Nathan did the same before the creature had a chance to take a bite out of him. Both the dojo and Rachel reappeared. He glowered at her. “I told you I was going to test you. Are you giving up on becoming a Maja?”

  “No, I’m refusing to go along with this bullshit.”

  “Majae don’t get to turn their backs on a mission because it’s dangerous.”

  “And exactly how many times have Majae had to fight magical raptors in the past fifteen hundred years?”

  “Once,” he snapped back. “But they did have to fight it.”

  “And how many of them were brand new Majae who’d never fought anything at all with magic -- ever? I have had zero training in the use of my power because I don’t have power to use. You can’t tell me Morgana Le Fay would send a rookie Maja against a monster like that with no backup.”

  “Look, all you have to do is picture what you want to do -- create a fireball or whatever -- and the spell will create an illusion of that attack to let you experience what it would be like. The point is to see how you would use magic if you had it.”

  “The point is to scare me off. Look, I get that you don’t want to have to kill another insane Maja. I don’t blame you. I’m not real thrilled about the possibility I might have to shoot somebody again. But giving me Merlin’s Gift is your job. The Majae’s counsel cleared me to get the Gift. Do your job or quit.”

  “This is my job,” he ground back. “I make the final decision about whether you can survive the transition. So take the test or go home. Those are your options.”

  “May I remind you, you’re not the only male court seducer in Avalon? I can also go to Dominic Bonnhome.”

  At the thought of Bonnhome taking Rachel to bed, a stab of vicious jealousy knifed through him. “He’s on a mission.”

  “Fine. Half the people in this town have dicks. I’m sure Gee can talk one of them into doing it.”

  And they’d probably be more than happy to oblige, too. “Not if I appeal to it to Arthur. As I told Oriana last night, he’s the only one who can rescind this assignment. If I judge you’re not safe to receive the Gift, he’ll back me up.”

  Her delicate jaw jutted. “Are you honestly saying you think I’m too weak to survive?” When he hesitated, she demanded, “Is that what you think?”

  He couldn’t quite bring himself to lie. “I don’t know. I do know your life hangs on this
decision. Yes, Dominic would happily bang you into the Gift, but if you lost it, he’d also cut your throat without a second thought.”

  “Would you have a second thought?”

  “Yes, damn it, I would. I’d never fucking get over it. Is that what you want to hear?”

  Rachel looked startled for a moment before she frowned. “Even if I pass your tests, is there any guarantee I’ll survive the transition?”

  “No,” he said reluctantly.

  “Then what’s the point? And what gives you the right to take this chance from me if you don’t know?”

  Nathan started to retort, then closed his mouth. Yes, if he gave her the Gift and she failed, he’d be cheating her out of her normal lifespan. But if he refused to Gift her when she could have passed, he’d be depriving her of centuries.

  He didn’t have that right.

  And yet the thought of looking into those big chocolate eyes and killing her was unbearable. He’d survived Christine’s death. He really wasn’t sure he’d survive Rachel’s.

  It’s time for me to quit this job and go back to being a straight field agent. Nobody would be surprised. Court Seducers had a notoriously high burn out rate.

  The question was, what was he going to do about Rachel? He’d accepted this assignment. Nathan didn’t back out on missions. Never had. Never would.

  “Well?” she demanded.

  “I’ll make you a deal. Take these two simulations and I’ll give you the Gift -- as long as I don’t find reason to believe you won’t make it.”

  She studied him in suspicion. “Again, why bother?”

  “It’ll give us both a chance to think. Make sure we’re making the right decision.”

  The suspicion intensified. “So after I fight Super Chicken, you’ll make love to me? And then the third time after I do the next simulation?” When he nodded, she thought of a loophole. “What if it takes more than three?” It usually didn’t, but it wasn’t impossible.

  “Then we’ll make love until you get the Gift.”

  She stared at him, eyes narrowed in thought. Finally she nodded slowly. “You’ve got a deal.” She gave him a tight smile. “And I will hold you to it.”

  Then she put the circlet on. With an irritated grunt, Nathan did the same.

  Chapter Five

  I, Rachel thought, staring up at the gaping jaws of the magical raptor, Am out of my mind. Why did I let him talk me into this?

  You know perfectly well why, retorted a disgusted mental voice. You’ve got a thing for him, and you want his approval.

  Idiot. She’d be lucky if she didn’t get herself eaten. Never mind that this was an illusion -- it felt real.

  It wasn’t merely the gleam of moonlight on Super Chicken’s feathers, or the thing’s ear-shattering roars. It was the heavy reptilian scent of the creature, the reek of blood and meat on its hot breath and clinging to its gory claws. The whole effect made her hindbrain gibber like something out of an old Monty Python movie: Run away! Run, run away!

  One thing was for damned sure. She didn’t want to find out what the simulation would feel like if Super Chicken ate her.

  A huge clawed foot slashed at her head, and she threw herself aside. Her enchanted plate armor rattled as she hit the pavement rolling. She had to admit, she liked the armor. Unlike her bullet resistant vest, it weighed little more than her tank top and leggings. Which might be because a tank and leggings were what she was really wearing…

  A deep male voice roared a battle cry, and Nathan leaped at the dinosaur, swinging an enormous claymore in a glowing arc. The magical blade was four feet long, with another foot of hilt so it could be swung two-handed. It was a good choice; nobody in their right mind would want to get any closer to the giant reptile than they absolutely had to.

  As Nathan hacked at its muzzle, the creature jerked its head up. The gemstone over its eyes flared blue, and the blade rebounded off the blue hemisphere of the raptor’s magical shield in a shower of sparks. The dinosaur shrieked and darted its head at Nathan, toothy jaws open wide. He dodged as it snapped, teeth biting empty air. Whirling the blade as if it weighed no more than a chopstick, he darted in, slamming the weapon again and again against the raptor’s shield.

  What had Nathan said about using magic in the simulation? “Look, all you have to do is picture what you want to do -- create a fireball or whatever -- and the spell will create an illusion of that attack to let you experience what it would be like. The point is to see how you would use magic if you had it.”

  “Okay, what the hell.” She pictured a fireball appearing over her hand in the kind of spell she’d been watching Oriana perform for years.

  Woosh! The ball of flaming sparks burst into being, its heat warming her palm. Wow, it worked! She hurled it at the raptor.

  The ball of fire splattered against Super Chicken’s shield, raining sparks. And doing absolutely no damage whatsoever.

  Crap.

  How the hell had the original Magekind team defeated the thing? Rachel conjured another fireball and hurled it after the first. It, too, splashed off the shield.

  Damn it. Taking a deep breath, she circled the monster, darting in, then dancing back, flinging blasts at the monster the whole time.

  The attack served its purpose. Super Chicken quit chasing Nathan to turn its beady orange glare on her again.

  Yeah, that’s a real improvement. Think, damn it, she told herself, summoning another fireball. The original team beat it somehow. What the hell did they do?

  “Come on, KFC!” Rachel bounced on her toes in a mocking little dance as she conjured a fireball in either hand. “I’ve got your eleven herbs and spices ready!”

  The raptor lunged toward her, swinging tail narrowly missing Nathan’s head. The vampire whirled aside like a bullfighter, his cold blue eyes locked on the creature, looking for an opening. The raptor twisted its long neck around, jaws gaped wide, and darted its huge head at him. With a shout, Nate leaped back a heartbeat before those jaws snapped shut.

  Rachel strangled a scream, summoned a fireball, and hurled it at the raptor, missing its fanged muzzle by a fraction of an inch. At least I got closer that time.

  Her eyes widened as realization struck.

  The two other times she’d thrown a fireball at it, Super Chicken’s shield had blocked her blasts three feet away. This time she’d missed by inches, as if the shield hadn’t been up. Of course not. KFC was trying to bite Nathan. It couldn’t bite through its own shield. That’s it. That’s the key!

  Her mind worked furiously as she saw what she had to do. But fuck, if she miscalculated…

  Tough. She had to do something. Sooner or later, they’d start slowing down -- and it was all they could do to stay ahead of the monster now. She had to take a chance.

  “Here, chicky chicky chicky!” she caroled, and flung a trio of fireballs at him one after another. It hissed in displeasure. “I’ve got a bucket with your name on it!”

  The huge creature hesitated, glaring toward her. Nathan swung his sword at it, and it wheeled to snap at him. He backpedaled, whirling his sword in arcs that sent sparks raining off Super Chicken’s shields. “Quit smarting off at the monster and keep your mind on the job!”

  Damn it, Nate, work with me! Gritting her teeth with frustration, Rachel darted forward, readying her spell as she ran. She’d only have a fraction of a second…

  But she wasn’t used to running in plate armor. The inner edge of her right thigh plate caught against her left, tangling her legs. She fell, tucking and rolling as years of martial arts training came to the rescue.

  “Rachel!”

  Heart pounding, she flipped onto her back -- to find herself staring up into the raptor’s throat through a forest of teeth as its head shot toward her face. With a shout, she conjured a spear just as she’d planned, then rammed it between those open jaws, into the creature’s soft palate.

  It threw its head up with a squeal of agony. Before it could rear away from her, Nathan raced up, leaped
onto the raptor’s back, and began chopping furiously into its neck with his claymore. Blood flew. She barely rolled clear as the raptor collapsed to the ground, the vampire hacking at it like a berserk lumberjack.

  Before she could conjure a sword of her own, alley and dinosaur disappeared.

  * * *

  Rachel blinked. She stood nose to nose with Nathan, as she’d been when she put on the circlet. Startled, she stepped back a pace. She would have felt a little shamefaced at the reaction, but he looked as off-balance as she did.

  For a moment, they stared at each other, both breathing hard. “Did we actually do any of that? I mean, were we running around the dojo fighting an imaginary lizard? And if so, how did we avoid slamming into walls?”

  Nathan hesitated. “I don’t think so. As I understand it, the spell suppresses your voluntary muscles the same way your body doesn’t act out dreams.”

  Rachel staggered over to the nearest wall, leaned against it, and slid down to sit on the floor. “Then why do I feel like I went ten rounds with a giant prehistoric chicken?”

  Nathan walked over and sank down to sit at her side. “Because it was one hell of a simulation.”

  They spent the next few minutes trying to breathe. Finally, he turned his head to look at her. “So, was falling on your face all part of your cunning plan, or are you just clumsy?”

  “Some of both.”

  “Yeah, that’s what I thought. You do realize if you’d tried that shit in real life, you’d have gotten yourself killed. And maybe me with you.”

  “Only if it didn’t work.”

  When her heartbeat finally slowed, she asked, “So did I pass?”

  Nathan turned his head to give her a smile that sent a bolt of wicked heat through her. “Yeah, you passed. Quick thinking with the spell.”

  She studied him, a little suspicious. “Does that mean I get my prize?”

  He gave her a slow, dark smile. “Oh, yes.”

  Rachel hesitated. She wasn’t sure she was ready to make the transition from fighting for her life -- illusion or not -- to kinky vampire sex. Her gaze dropped to his incredibly erotic mouth, to its firm curves, to the plump lower lip. On the other hand…