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  “So you’ve never met her personally?” Olivia asked.

  Davena replaced the frame and rose to look out the window. A scene of tranquil beauty met her gaze as she looked out over the moon-drenched bayou. “There were a couple of instances where I spoke with her. Not even my mother knew. Once, I was twelve. I walked out of school waiting on Delia and there Delphine was.”

  “What did she want?” Ava asked.

  Davena fingered the lace curtains. “I don’t know. She asked me silly questions like how I did in school and if I was happy. She freaked me out so much that I walked away while she continued to ask questions.”

  “And the next time?” Olivia asked.

  She faced the bed, her hands resting on the windowsill. “I was sixteen. I’d been out late with friends and walking home. One moment my friends were talking, and the next they were on the ground unconscious. This time she asked if I was practicing my magic.”

  Ava blinked in shock. “Magic? I mean, I know what the guys said they saw you do tonight, but does that mean you know magic?”

  “No,” Davena said quickly. “I don’t know how I did what I did tonight. I wanted to go to Delia, and I wanted the fire to stop. Somehow, both happened.”

  Olivia fluffed the pillows on the bed. “She took an interest in you. Did she do the same to Delia?”

  “Not that I knew of, and Delia would’ve said something. She so desperately wanted to follow in our mother’s footsteps,” Davena said, remembering it all as if it just happened yesterday.

  “What will you do now?”

  Davena looked around the room. “As beautiful as this plantation is, I can’t stay here.”

  CHAPTER FOURTEEN

  Beau stared at the stove for a long time. Whenever he was troubled, he had always found solace in cooking. That night was the exception.

  His body had yet to cool from his kisses with Davena, and knowing she would be sleeping down the hall from him wasn’t making things any easier. But it was the knowledge that they hadn’t seen the last of Delphine that turned the knot in his stomach tighter.

  A glance at the clock showed he had been standing in the kitchen for almost two hours. Everyone else had long since found their beds. Beau didn’t want to walk up the stairs because it would put him too close to Davena.

  She should have time to herself after losing her sister, not be pawed at by the likes of him. Beau couldn’t believe he had groped her so. She had wanted a kiss, and he had taken things much further. If she were interested in him before, she certainly wouldn’t be anymore. Perhaps it was for the best. Allowing anyone close was setting himself up for hurt later down the road.

  He fisted his hand, the weight of her breast still fresh in his memory. She wasn’t just beautiful, she was a fighter, a woman who never gave up. She was tenacious, steadfast, faithful, and trustworthy.

  Davena had survived the worst kinds of travesty – twice – and still resolutely faced the world with her shoulders back and chin held high. He didn’t know how she did it. His parents’ deaths had nearly destroyed him and the family. Looking back, it was his siblings that kept him going.

  That he and Davena had in common, at least.

  A sound coming from the study had Beau turning around and silently walking out of the kitchen. He sidestepped the creaking floorboard and stopped beside the open doorway of the office. A lamp on the far side of the room chased away the dark, and the desk light had been turned on granting him enough light to see who was in the study. He spotted Davena near the sideboard that held all the liquor. She took a long drink of bourbon before setting the glass down.

  Her head turned to the side, just now noticing that she was no longer alone. “I thought I was the only one up.”

  “I never went up to bed.” Beau stepped into the room and leaned back against the doorjamb. “Can’t sleep either?”

  Her glorious mane of golden hair shifted along her back as she shook her head. “Every time I close my eyes I see Delia in flames or lying burnt on the ground. I want to cry, but I can’t.”

  “It’ll come.”

  She chuckled dryly. “Will it? I can’t feel anything. I’m numb, and I fear I’ll remain that way until Delphine finally comes for me.” Davena turned slowly to the side and looked at him. “It won’t be here, though. I don’t want her evil touching this place. You have a good thing here with your family.”

  “This land and this house were built and protected to help people like you.”

  “Like my mother helped people?” She twisted her lips in a rueful smile. “Take it from me, Beau. You don’t want any part of that.”

  He glanced around the room thinking back to his early years when he had played in there just to be near his father while he poured over the journal. “Do we really have a choice? Ever since the first Chiasson came to this parish we’ve been protecting the people from the supernatural, whether it’s ghosts, demons, creatures, or magic. We’ve saved a lot of people.”

  “And lost family.”

  “Yes,” he answered after a short pause. “It’s the price we pay for the hunting that we do.”

  She turned the glass in her hand, gazing down at it. “Despite the tragedies, Vincent and Lincoln have found women to call their own. What about the rest of you?”

  “Christian won’t. He refuses. Riley? She’s being kept away from this, so I’m sure she will find someone, as well.”

  Davena’s gaze lifted to his. “And you?”

  A day ago he’d have said he agreed with Christian, but now, he was no longer sure of anything. “I don’t know.”

  “Because you haven’t found anyone?”

  “Because I don’t want to give my heart to someone only to have them taken away.”

  She looked away, taking a quick drink and then licking her lips. “I see.”

  “No, you don’t.”

  Her gaze skated back to his. “Tell me then.”

  Beau hesitated, unsure of what he was doing. “I thought I would be all right alone. I was prepared for it. I just wasn’t prepared for you. I don’t want you close, but it’s where I need you.”

  For long moments, their gazes held. Beau anxiously waited for her to respond, to say something, anything after he put out a statement like that. Finally, she set down her glass and pushed away from the sideboard. She closed the distance between them, stopping a few paces away from him.

  “I have a hole inside me,” she said softly. “It’s growing by the minute. I haven’t felt anything since I saw the flames take Delia, except when I was in your arms. I don’t want to be alone tonight. I don’t want to think of what happened or what is coming. I want...you.”

  Beau reached out, cupped her cheek and slid his hand into her hair, the silky strands gliding through his fingers. He understood all too well what she was going through – and what she wanted.

  He stepped closer, pulling her against him as he did. Her spring green eyes drew him in until he was engulfed in all that was Davena. Her lips parted, drawing his gaze. His head dipped and he took her mouth. He tried to be gentle, to go slow, but at the first touch of their lips, her arms snaked around his neck. With her body molded to his, the passion erupted like a firestorm.

  Beau held her tightly against him. He kissed her fiercely, brutally. All the while, her hands clawed at his shirt, ripping it in her efforts to take it off.

  He pulled back long enough to remove the garment. With chests heaving, he paused before he kissed her again and felt something break apart inside him when she smiled. His hands rested on her hips and stroked upward until he reached the hem of her shirt. He slipped his fingers beneath it to touch her stomach.

  Beau couldn’t wait to strip her slowly of clothes, but that fantasy shattered when she jerked off her shirt and shimmied out of her jeans. In a matter of seconds, she stood before him in nothing but her yellow panties and bra.

  Her smile mixed with the blatant desire shining in her eyes, and Beau forgot all about his fantasy. He hastily removed his jeans and
yanked her to him. Then, with a twist of his fingers, he released her bra. The straps sagged on her shoulders, causing her grin to widen. She carelessly discarded it over her shoulder.

  With nothing separating them other than the silk of her panties, Beau slowly ran his hand up her back. It brought her against him, pressing her breasts to his chest.

  The passion was explosive, the desire sizzling. Each kiss brought them higher, closer. Her skin was satin, her touch scorching.

  He turned her against the wall and kissed down her neck to her chest. Beau stopped long enough to suckle on each nipple, flicking his tongue over the tiny buds until she was gasping and her hips rocked against him.

  Only then did he continue his kisses down her stomach and over her hips, tugging her panties down as he did, until he reached the golden curls nestled between her legs. He lifted one of her legs and draped it over his shoulder. Then he licked her. She cried out, her fingers tightening in his hair. But he didn’t stop. He licked, he laved.

  The taste of her essence was everything he’d known it would be and more. It wasn’t enough to have her on his tongue, he wanted to feel her as well. With his tongue intent on her clitoris, he slid a finger inside her.

  Davena clung to him as her body shivered with his every touch. Heat filled her until her veins ran with it. Her hips rocked in time with his tongue teasing her.

  Her eyes closed as the pleasure became too much. She could feel her body rising to the climax, knew it was there waiting. He spread her legs wider, opening her more to his mouth so he could learn every inch of her.

  Then his fingers began to explore her, working her into a frenzy. She slammed her hands on the wall in an attempt to stay upright.

  The bliss was intoxicating, the decadence exhilarating.

  She was helpless to stop the unrelenting pleasure Beau heaped upon her. She might be powerless, but she’d never felt so safe. It gave her the freedom to open herself to him in ways she never imagined she could – or even knew she wanted to.

  The orgasm, when it hit, took her breath. She opened her mouth on a silent scream as she was swept along a tide of unbelievable, incredible ecstasy.

  Her knee buckled, but Beau caught her, shifting her until her legs wrapped around his waist. She opened her eyes to see him looking between them. Davena was enraptured as she watched the tip of his engorged cock slip through the folds of her sex and then inside her body.

  She bit her lip as he filled her, stretching her. Her nails sank into his shoulders, even as she moaned in pleasure. Sweat glistened over their bodies, allowing them to slide easily against the other.

  Beau’s strong hands held her steadily as he suddenly turned away from the wall and walked to the couch. Each movement from him made his cock shift inside her, causing her to gasp and groan at the feel of it.

  He sat down so that she straddled his hips and kissed her slowly, languidly. They used that time to learn each other. Davena hadn’t gotten nearly enough time to look over his amazing body. His muscles were toned and powerful, the sinew molded tightly.

  She ran her hands along his chest and over his washboard stomach before caressing the bulging muscles of his arms and shoulders. He abruptly ended the kiss and shifted them so that she was on her back on the couch, with him still inside her. His hands held her arms above her head as his gaze caught and held hers.

  Then he began to move his hips. Long, slow strokes that heated her blood soon turned into hard, short thrusts that took her higher and higher.

  She locked her ankles around his waist. His eyes darkened and his rhythm quickened. He filled her again and again, harder, deeper.

  Davena turned her head into the couch when the scream welled up as her second climax claimed her. Her body pulsated with unending pleasure.

  “Davena,” Beau whispered.

  She looked up to find his face contorted as he jerked, his own orgasm descending.

  When he collapsed on her, Davena pulled her hands from his grasp and wound her arms around him, holding him. She knew they had been careless and didn’t use protection. It wasn’t as if it mattered. She would be dead soon anyway.

  He settled against her with his head on her chest. Davena caressed his back with one hand, and leisurely, softly scraped her fingernails against his scalp as she played with his long, dark locks.

  She tried to find regret, since it was something she always did, but there wasn’t anything she regretted since arriving at the Chiasson plantation. Beau might be strong as an ox with enough bravery and courage to rival a superhero, but he was just as broken and battered as she was.

  They were two of a kind.

  It was too bad there wouldn’t be a future for them.

  ~ ~ ~

  The moonlight didn’t penetrate the thick branches of the live oak. An owl hooted from one of the many branches, some so heavy they touched the ground. Delphine paid the animal no attention. Her focus was on the plantation where Davena had been brought.

  The Chiassons. She had expected that they would interfere, just as their meddling cousins the LaRues often did. Yet there was something different about one of the Chiassons. It was the way he had looked at Davena, as if he would readily take on the world for her.

  Delphine smiled slowly. She would see just how far he would go for Davena.

  CHAPTER FIFTEEN

  Beau opened his eyes to find Davena lying on her side facing him, her eyes open. Sometime in the night they had moved to the floor to sleep. His hand rested on her waist while hers lay near his face. She grinned, her eyes crinkling slightly at the corners.

  “Did you sleep at all?” he asked.

  She shrugged and held the blanket over her breasts. “No. I did try. It wasn’t easy with you snoring.”

  “I would never,” he teased, grateful that she didn’t seem as weighted down that morning.

  The smiles died as they gazed into each other’s eyes, desire flaring to life once more. Beau pulled her closer and kissed her softly.

  She scraped her fingers along his jaw over his whiskers. “What happens now?”

  “Breakfast,” he said. “I’ll make you anything you want.”

  “A man who cooks. I could easily get spoiled.”

  He wanted more than anything to keep her beside him. What an idiot he had been to think he could remain alone. Davena was his. He knew it, but couldn’t begin to explain how. “Then let me spoil you.”

  Davena looked away and sat up, keeping the blanket against her bare breasts. “Is that a good idea? For either of us?”

  Beau rolled over and got to his feet. He knew she was pulling away from him, and even though he had fought against her pull, now that he had learned what it felt to have her in his arms, he wasn’t ready to let her go without a fight.

  He tugged on his jeans and tossed her a smile. “I’ll get breakfast started if you want to grab a shower.”

  “Beau,” she said and lifted her gaze to him. “It’s a matter of hours before Delphine comes for me.”

  “We’ll pay for Delia’s funeral.” If he ignored her, she might forget about wanting to put distance between them. Getting her to remain at the house might give him time to make her realize he could keep her safe.

  She ran her hands through her long hair and sighed. “Fine. We’ll do this your way.”

  Beau kept his smile in place until he was in the kitchen. Once there, he closed his eyes and knew he was in the biggest fight of his life – two-fold. Not only did he have to contend with Delphine, he had to win Davena. She had come to him easily last night, but only because she expected to die soon.

  “And here I thought finding you and the lovely Davena naked would erase that frown.”

  Beau’s eyes snapped open to find Christian at the table with a mug of coffee in one hand and a slice of strawberry cake in the other. “What are you doing back so early?”

  “Marshall came by the clinic. We chatted for a bit, and then he called the doc. I’ve been home for a couple of hours.”

  “You shou
ld’ve woken me,” Beau said crossly as he stalked to the fridge and yanked open the door.

  Christian swallowed his bite. “And ruin such a nice picture the two of you made? Not a chance. Tell me you didn’t leave her to wake up alone?”

  “Of course I didn’t,” Beau said and threw him a glare over his shoulder. “You’re such an ass.”

  Christian screwed up his face. “Aren’t you supposed to be in a glorious mood after a night in a woman’s arms, especially a woman like Davena.”

  Beau inhaled, and then slowly released it. “I’m making her breakfast.”

  “Be careful with her, Beau. She’ll slip through your fingers if you’re not watching. She’s used to being on her own.”

  Christian’s words only tightened that niggle of worry at the back of his mind. “She has her sister to bury.”

  “And a psychopath to stay away from.”

  Beau grabbed the carton of eggs, milk, and grated cheese. “I don’t plan to let her out of my sight again.”

  ~ ~ ~

  Davena smelled the eggs cooking and briefly thought about remaining, but she knew if she stayed, Delphine would come for her and kill all the Chiassons when she did.

  The Chiassons were good people, and Beau...he was the best. He was the kind of man women prayed they would find, the kind of man who could smile and melt the stoutest of hearts.

  The kind of man Davena had always yearned for.

  The kind of man who needed to stay alive.

  Davena slipped out the front door before she changed her mind.

  ~ ~ ~

  He was a fool. A complete and utter fool.

  Beau angrily shoved his hair out of his face as he stood in the office, staring down at the perfectly folded blanket that lay on the arm of the couch. A blanket that an hour earlier had been wrapped around Davena’s lovely body.