The Keepers: Archer (11 page)

Everything in Sienna screamed at her that she needed this man with a hunger that only he could satisfy. He’d invaded all her senses, completely overwhelming her with his masculine heat and sexy aura. With his perfect features, brooding green eyes, and wall of sleek, strong muscles, he was built for sex and pleasure.

And she shuddered at the very thought of it.

He surrounded her with the hardness of his body, his strength, his powers, and she ached for more. She gasped when he stopped at the kitchen door, swung her around, and laid claim to her mouth in a kiss so possessive, so urgent, that she quivered in his arms.

Sidetracked by his kisses and the desire that burned between them, he shoved her against the wall, and drew her legs up around his waist with a satisfied growl.

The soft sound sent fresh shivers through her, and she threw her head back with a sigh.

And cried out when he suddenly froze.

“What’s wrong?” she gasped as his body went rigid.

“My brothers,” he grunted. With a scowl, he quickly separated them. “I’m sorry.”

She gaped at him. “They can’t see me like this.” Everything about her screamed that she was sex starved and flushed with desire.

Archer gave her one last kiss, his lips lingering for a moment with promises of later. He smiled at her when he pulled away, tugged her shirt back in place, and ran his fingers through her hair to tame her curls. “They’re here,” he whispered as the kitchen door swung open and his two brothers marched into the room.

The three dark, handsome, and powerful men together in one room shifted the atmosphere almost immediately. Their mere presence seemed to shrink the space around her and Sienna quietly breathed in air, overwhelmed with the glorious trio of male splendour.

At least two of the three brothers were properly dressed in jeans with shirts.

“You must have consumed too much river water, Declan.” Ethan walked to the counter island in the middle of the kitchen. He carried a rectangular white box and dumped it on the counter with an insignificant toss.

Declan followed, acknowledging Archer and Sienna with a curt nod. “I know it was Warrick, Ethan.”

Apparently, the brothers’ argument made them oblivious to the signs of the heated love scene that had just occurred.

Sienna blushed at the thought of what would have happened had Archer’s brothers not interrupted them.

Ethan spread his hands in the air, palms facing upwards. “Why would he send his witch into the river? That’s insane.”

“I know,” Declan grumbled, running his hands through his hair. “But someone in that SUV caused the accident, and I bet the keys to my Harley that our wormhole friend was responsible.”

“So why don’t we find the dick and ask him?” Ethan said with a cool tone and reached for the bottle of wine on the counter.

“We wouldn’t even know where to find Warrick. His ass has been in hiding since Sarah’s death. He wouldn’t dare come out of hiding and sends his minions to do his dirty work.”

Sienna gulped as the opening reared its head, demanding she say something.

But she didn’t.

Instead, she stood still, her eyes rooted to the package on the kitchen counter.

Ethan poured them both a glass of wine, handed it to Declan. “Bottoms up, brother. It’ll take the edge off.”

“I’m going to need something far stronger than wine to do that.”

“Suit yourself.” Ethan lowered the glass but smiled when Declan snatched it out of his hand, downed the entire glass in one gulp, and held it out for a refill. “Feel better?”

“Hell no.”

Ethan laughed, the sound deep and sexy, and refilled his glass.

A trace of a smile hovered on Declan’s lips, and he nodded at the white box. “What’s with the box?”

“No idea. It was at the front door earlier.” Ethan reached for it, sliding it across the counter toward him. He ripped open the card and frowned. “Looks like we have a new neighbour.”

“And why would I care?”

Ethan held out the card. “It’s always good to know who you’re borrowing your eggs from.”

“As if I’d borrow eggs,” Declan scoffed. “Don’t even eat them.”

“Read the damn card, Declan.”

He did and the frown that creased his forehead was instant and fierce.

Archer stepped forward, raising an eyebrow at his brother’s reaction. “What’s wrong?”

Declan swore softly and gaped at them. “What the hell’s this?”

“Looks like you won’t have to look far for Warrick after all,” Ethan said and sipped his wine.

Archer frowned and folded his arms across his chest. “What do you mean?”

“Read the card. Warrick’s back in town.”

Sienna’s stomach rolled, and she drew in a quiet breath. Say something, she told herself, unsure why she was hesitating. Dammit.

Declan crumbled the card in his hand. “And he’s staying at the old Mallory property at the end of the river.”

“So that explains the sudden renewed interest over that property.” Archer reached for the crumpled card. “I thought they were tearing it down.”

“Apparently not.”

“So what’s this?”

“Warrick’s having a formal dinner dance.” Ethan mock toasted his brothers. “And he’s invited Sienna to join him.”

Archer’s head bolted up. “What?”

Sienna pushed herself away from the wall, having gathered her composure enough to face the three brothers. “Since when do you open my mail?” she asked Ethan, snatching the card out of Archer’s hand.

Ethan shrugged, spread his hands in defence, and flashed a boyish grin. “How was I supposed to know it was meant for you?”

“By the name written on the envelope?”

In a simple, neat typed card, Warrick Brogan had invited her for a formal dinner, champagne, and dancing in celebration of his return to Rapid Falls.

And as most of the town folk had no idea of the evil he was capable of, they would all go. They’d eat his food, drink his stupid champagne, and slap several welcoming pats on the warlock’s back.

It made her sick to her stomach.

Without saying anything, she dropped the card on the counter and reached for the white box. Archer was beside her in a flash that startled her.

“No,” he said, covering her hand with his.

“I want to know what’s in there.”

“Let me.”

She raised an eyebrow.

“We have no idea what’s in there, Sienna. Puppies, snakes – who knows what Warrick’s capable of?”

“I doubt he’s sent me either. Just open the damn box.”

Archer carefully lifted the lid and peered inside. The muttered curse and harsh frown that followed had her peering over his shoulder.

An evening gown.

She glanced at Archer who was staring at the blue material as though it would sprout several snakeheads and bite them. “Archer, it’s only a dress,” she said softly, touching his arm. “It doesn’t mean anything.”

His jaw worked, and he gestured wearily at the gown. “It means everything, Sienna. He sent you a dress.”

“So we’ll dump it.”

“Hell yes.” He balled the material in his fist and pulled it free from the box. A small handwritten note fluttered into the air and landed at his feet. He bent, reached for it, and opened the folded note. Heat fired in his eyes, and he spun around to face her. “Sienna,” he read, his words laced with anger, “I hope our meeting earlier today was fruitful. Save me a dance. Warrick.” He waved the note at her. “What the hell is this?”

Oh, brother.

Three men, wearing expressions of varying degrees of anger, stared at her for an explanation.

Sienna’s gut twisted, but she held her ground. She knew their reaction came out of a loathing for Warrick Brogan and a love for her, but her defensive wall prickled at the feeling of being cornered. She crumpled the note in her hand, lifted her chin in a quiet act of defiance, and pinned them each with an intimidating stare of her own.

She was reaching, but she needed all the ammunition she could get to juggle all this damn testosterone and anger directed at her.

“You saw Warrick tonight?” Archer asked, something sharp and fiery clipping the edge of his soft tone.

“That’s what spooked you out of Lora’s store,” Declan said with a fake laugh of disbelief, but his expression quickly clouded with confusion. “He came to you, with us standing outside?”

Sienna nodded.

“What the hell did he want?”

“To make sure I’d accept his invitation to the party,” she said softly, drawing on her strength for the outburst that would follow.

And she wasn’t wrong.

“Why the hell didn’t you say anything?” Ethan asked, surprising her with the bite in his tone. It was seldom that he lost his temper or snapped at her.

Unlike his two brothers.

Declan grabbed the bottle of wine and poured so quickly that wine splashed onto the counter. “Sienna, we were in a bloody car accident after your little hush-hush reunion and you never thought to tell us?”

“We don’t know for sure that Warrick was responsible.”

“Yeah, right. As if we have more than one psycho freak show after us. Why would you keep that from us?”

“Because I knew you’d all go King Kong on me and react this way!”

“Hell yeah. You know what Warrick’s capable of. King Kong is mild compared to what I feel right now.”

“Oh, calm down, Declan.”

“Don’t treat me like I’m an overprotective big brother, Sienna. You put all our lives at risk by not telling us that you met with Warrick.”

“He caught me off guard, Declan.”

“Yeah, well a little whisper, a scream, a sign – anything – would’ve been nice to warn us that Warrick is back in town and brushing toes with our witch right under our damn nose.”

“Don’t be snarky, Declan.”

“Oh, I’ve earned several hits of snarky,” he snapped. “You lied to us tonight and almost got us killed in the process.”

“That’s not fair.”

“You shouldn’t have lied, Sienna!”

“I didn’t lie.”

“Lie. Omission. Same bloody thing.”

“I was not about to let you go all crazy on him in the middle of Lora’s store, Declan. There were people around.”

“You should’ve told us!” he roared.

“Don’t yell at me!” she shouted back and then lowered her voice. “He surprised me. I needed time to process our conversation before I told you.”

“Yeah? An evil warlock’s back in town. What the hell’s there to process?”

“You weren’t there.”

“We were,” he said, scowling at her. “And thanks to your need for processing, Archer had to haul us out of the damn river tonight. Was losing one Keeper not enough for you?’

Sienna reeled back as though he’d struck her.

“Declan, that’s enough,” Archer said, stepping between them. He pinned Declan with a sharp gaze, indicating to his brother that he’d crossed a line.

“Archer’s right, Declan,” Ethan said, pushing his brother away. “Back off.”

Declan inhaled slowly, staring at Sienna with a cold, steely gaze. He slammed his wine glass on the counter, the sound resonating in the sudden silence of the room, and took three strides toward her.

Sienna was vaguely aware of Archer who quietly sidled closer to her, ready to step between them if his brother pushed too far.

Ever her protector.

She refused to back away or flinch when Declan stopped directly in front of her, his face close against hers. They stared at each other in silence, challenge dripping between them.

“Don’t ever lie to me again,” Declan murmured in a low, insistent tone that made her stomach clench. He levelled her with a hostile look and turned to face his brothers. “You’re both fools if you allow her to attend the party.”

“Allow me?” Sienna repeated, raising an eyebrow. “Since when do either of you get to decide what I can and can’t do? Accepting this invitation is my decision.”

Declan sent her another heated look that would intimidate most people. “Great. Of all the damn witches out there, we get stuck with the one hell bent on killing herself.” His lips curled into a fake smile. “And guess what? You might just succeed.”

“Declan, stop it,” Archer said in a low tone that held all the warning needed to silence his brother. He stepped forward and placed a hand on Declan’s shoulders. “That’s enough.”

Declan spun around and jabbed a finger into Archer’s chest. “Whatever happens tomorrow at this crazy-assed party is on you. As for you, witchy,” he said with another fake smile aimed at Sienna, “you best remember that playing with fire equals getting burned.” With a muttered curse, he grabbed a new bottle of wine from the cellar, and stalked out the kitchen.

Archer nodded to Ethan. “Go after him and make sure he doesn’t do anything stupid.”

With an exaggerated sigh, Ethan pushed himself away from the counter and spread his palms. “Oh, great. You partner yourself with the witch, and I get partnered with a disgruntled King Kong. Fair deal, brother.”

“Just keep him in line, Ethan. He’s furious, and he’s unstable when it comes to Warrick.”

“Next time, I get the witch and you get the Kong,” he called over his shoulder as he swiped the bottle of wine off the kitchen counter and disappeared out the door.

Archer turned to face Sienna. “Are you okay?”

“I’m sorry. He just makes me so damn mad sometimes.”

“A given where Declan’s concerned,” Archer replied, pushing himself away from the counter. “He’s riled. He –”

“No, don’t,” Sienna said, shaking her head. “He’s right. I should’ve told you.”

“Why didn’t you?”

She met his sharp gaze, heard the snap in his tone, but didn’t say anything.

“Sienna, we can’t keep you safe if you’re not straight with us.”

She nodded, knowing he was just as annoyed with her as Declan, but Archer had always been better equipped at controlling his anger and emotional outbursts. Declan, on the other hand, had no filter when it came to expressing his thoughts and emotions. “I know, but you have to trust that I know what I’m doing.”

“It’s not that we don’t trust you,” Archer said, taking out a new bottle of wine and fresh glasses. “It’s evil Jafar hell bent on revenge that we don’t trust.”

She smiled at Archer’s name for Warrick. It suited the warlock, except the character in real life was far scarier.

“Declan can be such an ass sometimes,” she said, exhaling slowly, relieved they were alone. Usually she could handle the three brothers in all their testosterone glory but the events of her day had left her tired and rattled.

“Declan’s an ass most of the time, but he loves you and he’s scared of losing you.”

“Warrick’s no match for me.”

“We all know how strong your powers are, but you haven’t used them in a long time. You shouldn’t be taking any chances.”

“I don’t intend to, but what am I supposed to do? Sit back and let everything unfold until it’s too late to do anything to stop it?”

“No,” he said, handing her a glass. “But attending Warrick’s party could be dangerous for you. The fox has invited the hen back to his hole, and we all know how that scenario ends.”

“I’m not about to be fox food, Archer,” she said with a smirk and took a large sip of wine, needing the twinge of numbness the red liquid promised. “There’s no way he’d be stupid enough to hurt me if we’re surrounded by people and he’d never risk exposure without having Mason by his side.”

“His judgment is clouded with revenge and the goal of breaking the curse on his brother. Who knows what he’s thinking.” He glanced at her, his eyes narrowing. “What exactly did he say to you tonight?”

Time to take her head out of the sand and come clean.

She lifted her chin and met his gaze. “That I should accept his invitation to the party. That he has a proposal for me and wants me to hear him out.”

“So why throw a party?”

“The party’s a distraction, a statement aimed to let us know he doesn’t intend going away.” She shrugged. “By putting down roots here he’ll be in our face every day and at some point, someone will have to give.”

“It won’t be us.”

“Then where does that leave us?

“You can’t seriously be thinking of negotiating with him?”

She turned away, thinking about the warning Warrick had issued against her Keepers. The car accident had sent a message that she’d heard loud and clear.

Warrick Brogan wasn’t messing around.

But neither was she.

Warrick wanted the curse broken and the spell lifted, and would do anything to achieve his goal. Sienna would do everything to stop him, but if it meant sacrificing one of her Keepers in the process, she wasn’t sure she could.

“Did he hurt you?” Archer asked softly, glancing at her hand.

She shook her head, but he moved toward her anyway. He reached for her hand, reeling her in when she pulled away.

“Don’t,” she whispered, trying to tug free, but his grip tightened and he stared down at the three round burn marks on her hand. She’d cleaned the wound and it hurt less, but still served as a fresh reminder of what Warrick was capable of.

“He did this to you?”

“It’s nothing.”

“What happened?”

She told him about the pebbles, about the power she’d felt when he’d placed them in her hand.

Archer’s frown returned. “He wasn’t channelling you?”

“No. Besides my Keepers, only another witch can channel me, and that’s only if she has something of mine to make the connection.”

“But the spell, the curse?”

She shrugged and pulled her hand free. “The spell binds the curse and only the witch who spelled it can undo it. As I haven’t broken the spell yet, it would still be in place.”

“So how’s he channelling his powers?”

“I don’t know. Could be a spell. Witches draw energy from the elements around us. How Warrick’s drawing his energy, enough to heat those stones to actually burn me, is anyone’s guess. Besides, the curse should prevent him from doing that.”

Archer’s eyes shifted nervously. “The fact that he’s showing signs of power again concerns me on several levels.”

“All the more reason for me to meet with him again.”

“All the more reason not to.”

“I have to, Archer.”

“Why would you want to walk into a lion’s den?”

“Because I’ve been invited to. Because I want to hear what he has to say.”

Because he’ll hurt the ones I love if I don’t. She looked away, not wanting him to see the truth in her eyes.

“Then we’ll go with you.”

“He said to come alone.”

“Right,” Archer said with a forged smile. “As if that’ll ever happen.”

His reply didn’t surprise her. “Archer, he won’t harm me. Most of the people in town will be at his party.”

“It’s too dangerous, Sienna.”

“You’ve always let me make my own decisions, despite your overprotective urges. Why’s this different?”

He didn’t reply but brushed his thumb along her chin. Their gazes locked and one unspoken word hung between them.

Sarah.

Sienna reached up and entwined her fingers with his. “You have to trust me.”

He studied her with a long, pensive gaze before nodding. “Fine.”

Just like that?

Sienna tilted her head, her eyes narrowing. “You won’t stop me or interfere?”

“No.”

A small smiled tugged the corner of her mouth. “You hate this.”

He smiled and then turned it off instantly. “Absolutely.”

She leaned forward and kissed him. “Thank you.”

“Just don’t do anything stupid, Sienna,” he said, drawing her into his arms and kissing her head. “Then I’ll be the one dealing with Declan.”

Sienna smiled into his chest as something quiet and comforting rolled through her. The warmth and calm she found in Archer’s arms chased away the crippling exhaustion of her crazy day, and she wanted to savour the unfamiliar feeling. “Declan’s scary when he’s angry.”

“He’s scary even when he’s not.”