Gods and Swindlers (City of Eldrich Book 3) (31 page)

John hugged her. “The witches will help you.”

She pulled back from his embrace and looked at his face. He was smiling at her in an odd way.

“The dragon can stun you,” Meaghan said, watching for John’s reaction. “Make you calm and docile.”

The effect was immediate. John’s face went slack and his eyes lost focus. He wore a vague smile. “The witches will help you. And me. I’ll help you.”

Her heart pounding with fear, Meaghan drew him back into her arms so she didn’t have to see the dazed look on his face.
I have to keep them as far away from it as I can. They won’t be able to fight back or even run away.

How the hell was she supposed to fight the dragon and keep everybody at a distance at the same time?

John ran his fingers through her hair. “Shh. It will all work out. We will be fine.”

“Liar,” she said, before finding his mouth and kissing him.

The bitch needs to—

No!

She shoved the balding wizard out of her mind. If these were her last hours alive, she wasn’t going to give that piece of shit any more mental energy.
Brian killed you. You’re dead and I’m done with you.

Meaghan wriggled closer, straddling John’s thigh. She grabbed his hand and placed it on her breast.

“Are you sure?” he breathed in her ear.

“Yes.”

“Now?”

“Yes,” she hissed at him. “Now. Here. No more talking.”

“Are you sure?”

“Lock the door,” she said. “Then get back here. I’m sure.”

Meaghan stood up when he came back to the bed. She pulled up his shirt and kissed his chest as she fumbled to unzip his jeans.

“Wait,” John said in a squeaky voice. “I don’t know how.”

“You have a son,” Meaghan said between kisses. “What do you mean, you don’t know how? You’ve figured it out at least once before.”

“Stop. Please. Talk to me.” He pushed her away gently. “I mean, I don’t know how with a human body. Without wings. I never did it lying down before.”

That got her attention. “You mean you did it in the air?”

“Yes,” John said. “In flight.”

“Why did you do it that way?”

John shrugged. “We had wings. Why would we not do it that way?”

“Huh.” Meaghan stared at him. “Good point. I never thought about it. How do you make it work?”

“Together,” John said. “The taboos about forcing sex aren’t the only reason there is no rape in Fahraya.”

The wizard returned to her mind, leering as he pinned her to the ground.

The tears came with him, big sobby tears, fueled by curdled lust and shame and . . .

And that goddamned dragon.

John scooped her up and took her back to the bed, this time climbing under the covers with her and pulling the quilt on top. He held her and murmured comforting sounds in her ear, but didn’t ask any questions. He let her cry until she was done.

When the sobs tapered to hiccups, he handed her a wad of tissues from the box on the nightstand. “Now are you ready to tell me what troubles you?”

The story came out in a torrent of words. John didn’t comment or interrupt. He stroked her hair and let her tell the story.

“The worst part was how helpless I felt,” Meaghan said. “I couldn’t stop him and now when you . . .” The tears threatened to return but she pushed them down. “When you touch me, down there, I can’t get his face out of my mind.”

“But you did for a moment, make him leave, I think, before I stopped you.” He brushed her cheek gently with his calloused fingertips. “What were you thinking?”

“That I’d had enough of him and he didn’t deserve any more of my time. Then you said about why there’s no rape in Fahraya and he came back.” This time the tears won.

“Shhh.” He pulled her close. “I will never do that to you. I will never hurt you or force you. Sex is something I want to do
with
you, not to you. Do you understand?”

“I wish every man thought that way.” Meaghan blew her nose.

“To think otherwise would make me less than a man,” John said. “This is what I was taught as a boy. What shows you to be a man is the smile on your woman’s face, not the number of women you have been with.”

“Smile on your partner’s face,” Meaghan said, thinking of Jhoro.

“Yes.” John smiled at her. “Partner. It’s no different if you are like Jhoro. It’s still about making your lover happy instead of making yourself happy.”

“I love you,” Meaghan blurted out.

“I love you, too,” John said.

“I think I’m ready,” Meaghan said. “Really ready this time.”

She hadn’t been sure how John would react, but she now realized she’d expected anger, disgust, disdain, distance. She’d expected him to tell her she was being foolish, or worse, treat her like a fragile, broken thing. She’d expected him to swear revenge and turn her pain into a slight on his manhood.

I thought he’d act like he was the one who’d been hurt.

What Meaghan hadn’t anticipated was him merely listening and accepting and not trying to fix her.
Instead, I fixed myself.

No, honey, you didn’t. Nothing’s fixed and you still need to call Marnie’s shrink. It took you almost six months to get here. You can do better.
You have to do better.

Provided she survived, of course. Provided any of them survived.

Chapter Thirty-Eight

M
EAGHAN STARED AT
the ceiling, trying to control the giddy laughter. After a moment, she gave up.

John, lying next to her, grimaced. “That bad? It’s been a long time, remember? I need to practice.”

Meaghan rolled over and climbed on top of him. “Bad? Are you insane? That was amazing.” She kissed him between giggles. “Seriously.”

Amazing was an understatement.

Meaghan had been with enough men to feel she had a fairly good idea of what sex was supposed to be.

She’d been wrong.

They’d had all the usual problems associated with sex in the real world. In the movies, nobody had back problems or creaky knees or struggled to figure out where to put their limbs or accidentally pulled the other’s hair. The sheets never got tangled. Nobody nearly fell off the bed. The music swelled and, depending on the film, the camera either cut away or closed in, but there was no actual conversation. No
ow, ow, no, that won’t work.

But this wasn’t a movie. Along with the typical awkwardness, she and John were no longer young, and their bodies couldn’t necessarily do what their libidos desired. They’d had to stop numerous times to reconsider and strategize.

Still, it had been a revelation.

I really like sex. Who knew?
Certainly not Meaghan. She could see now that her celibacy had been triggered not only by disappointment with romance, but disappointment with years of lackluster lovemaking.

Meaghan kissed him again, reveling in the feel of his naked skin against hers. It had been so long. Too long. But John had been worth the wait.

“Amazing,” she said.

“That’s a relief,” John said, stroking her hair. “Lying down . . . it’s like I have an extra arm I don’t know what to do with.”

Her inner critic smacked the giddy joy aside.
What if you weren’t any good? Did you think about that?

“What?” he said, a concerned look on his face. “You stopped smiling.”

“Was I okay? I’m not . . . it’s been a long time for me, too, and I’m not sure I was ever very good to begin with and—”

He rolled her onto her back and kissed her, taking his time, then said, “Give me a few minutes and I’ll show you how good it was for me.”

The joy returned. He sure didn’t seem disappointed.

“It’s not only human men who have to wait until the battery recharges?” Meaghan smiled up at him.

“I’m a human man now, remember?”

“What about when you were Fahrayan?”

He chuckled. “Fahrayans do not have to wait.”

“How much sex did you guys have?”

“A lot.” He yawned. “You saw Fahraya. There wasn’t much else to do. How is your knee?”

“Better,” Meaghan said. “It sometimes tries to bend in directions knees aren’t supposed to go. How’s your back?”

John laughed. “Okay now, but for a moment I thought I broke something.”

“Low back spasms are the worst.” Meaghan knew she had to get up soon and go back to the madness, but right now, right here, she was warm and safe. “There’s some stretches I can show you to help with that. Are you sure you’re okay?”

He grinned. “I’m fine. Better than fine. It will be better next time, I promise.” His grin faded. “There will be a next time, I promise you.”

“You’re thinking I’m thinking we’re all gonna die,” Meaghan said. “Honey, trust me, that’s the only way we’re not doing this again.” She snuggled against him. The giggles returned. “You’ve given me a reason to live. Actually about five reasons, I think.” She giggled some more. “Which has never happened before. Usually it’s one and done.”

John stroked her arm. “This isn’t how it always is with humans?”

“Not the humans I’ve been with,” Meaghan said. “Sid was right. You do have fancy moves.”

“Sid?”

“Something he said on Labor Day about Fahrayan men having exceptional skills.” Meaghan gave a contented sigh. “When you were here with your . . . problem.”

The love spell’s effect on John had been something akin to an overdose of Viagra. Natalie had given him a potion that had prevented an embarrassing trip to the emergency room, but Sid had seen it as a wasted opportunity for Meaghan.

John chuckled, then yawned again.

“He also said I’d be calmer dealing with the love spell mess if I got laid first.” She lifted up on one elbow and stared at John’s profile in the dim light from the spluttering candle. “God, you’re gorgeous.”

“You’re gorgeous,” John said, through another yawn.

“Yeah, but you’re more gorgeous. Shut up and let me give you a compliment.” Meaghan kissed him again. “Sid was right. I’m a lot calmer than when I walked in here.”

But the dragon
 
.
 
.
 
.
Meaghan shut down the anxious voice in her mind before it got any further.
It’s a big problem, yeah, so break it down into smaller problems.

With her head on John’s chest, she could hear his heart beat. His breathing grew shallower and she could tell he was falling asleep.

Meaghan wished she could join him, but her mind wouldn’t stop running. The lawyer part of her brain didn’t care about her afterglow and started to outline.

The dragon presented two main challenges. The first challenge was keeping everybody safe. She needed somebody to keep everyone else away.

The second challenge was killing the damn thing.

The panic began to rise and she shoved it back down, focusing on John’s heartbeat until the calm returned.

She needed crowd control and she needed to find her weapon.

In city hall, Meaghan had used a stapler, but she’d never have had the chance if Patrice hadn’t been there to clear the road.

It hit her like one of Terry’s stray lightning bolts.

Marnie.

Marnie suddenly had powers nobody understood that seemed to transcend magic.

Who does that sound like?
Patrice appeared in her mind, standing in the attic of city hall, bathed in golden light.
What if she’s like Patrice? What if she’s our secret weapon?

“Patrice could have taken a dragon down with a stern look,” Meaghan said.

“What?” John jerked back awake. “I missed something, I think.” He yawned again. “Why am I so sleepy?”

“Fahrayan men don’t get sleepy after sex?”

“Nuh.” John’s eyes fluttered as he fought sleep.

“Of course they don’t, the little sex machines. Well, now you’re a human man,” Meaghan said. “Sex dumps a bunch of sleepy chemicals into your brain.” Meaghan sat up. “As much as I’d like to snuggle here with you, I need to get up. I think I might have found my weapon.”

“Patrice is not here,” John said. “Whatever her powers were, they are gone now. Why aren’t you sleepy?”

“I’m a woman. My physiology is different. I’m not talking about Patrice. I’m talking about Marnie,” Meaghan said. “Let’s see if she can do more than read minds.”

She watched him fight sleep for another moment and fail. She pulled on her clothes as fast as she could in the frigid room.

On her way to the bathroom, Meaghan stepped over to the snow-crusted window and peered out. The snow fell steadily, but the wind seemed to have let up. She could see only an indentation in the snow from the path trod earlier by the Millers.

I’ve got the Millers, too, for a while at least. Until the stunning magic has time to work.

She glanced at her watch. Not quite two. Plenty of time to put a plan together. She knew she should be as tired as John, but instead she felt exhilarated—giddy even—with relief that she had that damn wizard out of her head.

For now. He’s gone for now.

The candle in the bathroom had burnt out and she couldn’t see what her hair looked like. She patted it and winced. She wet her fingers and tried to smooth down the worst of it at the back. She thought about grabbing the bedroom candle, then gave up. Everyone else had hat head. Maybe they wouldn’t notice.