IK3 by t Page A

Chloe asked.
    “Shhh!”
    “Don’t ‘shhh’ me if you’re going to talk,” she huffed back and then watched
    as the women dispersed the way they had come. After the last one
    disappeared behind the copse of trees, Chloe asked, “Ready to leave now? I
    didn’t see anything special—”
    Her words were lost as Gavin suddenly crushed her to him, his mouth
    covering hers in a heated kiss. Chloe gasped, only to find his tongue
    entering her, his hands sliding along her back, pulling her even closer. His
    lips were firm, his kiss demanding as he deepened it, sucking her tongue
    into his mouth. Oh, Lord, he felt good—
    “Oh, I’m sorry! I didn’t mean to intrude!”
    Chloe stiffened at the sound of a woman’s voice, but Gavin kept her muffled
    against his shoulder as he turned his head slightly and muttered something.
    She heard the woman’s footsteps retreating and peeked over Gavin’s
    shoulder. It was the woman in the green robes. Damn it. Just when things
    were finally going the way she wanted—
    And then Gavin was on his feet, lifting her up. “That was close,” he said.
    Chloe stared at him. The kiss had been a gimmick? She felt like she’d
    swallowed a sack of marbles. Of course it had. Gavin didn’t want to be
    caught spying. She’d been a fool to think otherwise.
    Well, she could be cool too. Lifting her chin, she somehow managed to
    smile.
    “Anytime,” she said and started toward the car, walking as regally as she
    could in the dark.
    She just hoped she didn’t trip on another darned tree root. The last thing
    she wanted right now was Gavin’s help. With anything.

    ****
Gavin wasn’t sure if he were relieved or annoyed that Chloe had left earlier
    that morning when he got down to the dining room for a late breakfast. A
    part of him wanted to see her to prove to himself that the kiss had been only
    a fleeting attraction. What man wouldn’t enjoy a kiss when he hadn’t had
    any relations in a good while?
    What he hadn’t expected was Chloe’s total responsiveness to him. She fit
    against him perfectly, her body molding its soft curves to him in all the right
    places. Nor had he expected how electrifying it was to feel her hands slide
    across his shoulders and finger through his hair. Her lips had been soft and
    warm, her mouth hot and she tasted like the sweetest ambrosia without
    even a speck of blood being had.
    He hadn’t desired a woman so completely since his days at Arthur’s court.
    Gavin sipped his coffee—laced with synthetic blood—and contemplated.
    From what Chloe had told him about the Circle of the Sisterhood, the group
    practiced white magic. Sara Kincaid had been the leader until her
    disappearance and the warlock Michael had served as the group’s druid to
    balance the yin and yang energy. Gavin grinned. The easiest way to balance
    the female and male energy was sex. Gavin remembered the old Celtic Great
    Rite held on Beltane when the king symbolically ‘married’ the land through
    copulation with a high priestess representing the Goddess. Guinevere had
    been furious when Arthur participated, but people had prospered with
    plentiful crops and increased flocks and herds. White magic at its best.
    So what was Morgan doing with a group who, from what Gavin could tell,
    were not involved in anything destructive?
    As if he had conjured her, she slipped into a chair next to him. “Not
    hungry?” she asked.
    The scent of her cologne was cloyingly sweet unlike the slightly spicy,
    refreshing scent Chloe wore. “I guess not,” he said as he pushed the
    scrambled eggs to one side and considered taking a bite of the blood
    sausage. It was blackened to the point of being almost tasteless, unlike the
    way it was served in Scotland. Even after all these centuries, his body could
    only absorb a small amount of solid food. He forced a smile.
    “You’re doing a good job with the media.”
    Morgan shrugged, but somehow it came off as a slow, sensual shoulder roll.
    “There’s