Finding the Magic (9 page)

“
Ciaran
… Jonathon! You’re early. Cameron said it would be very late when you got here.”

The first man responded in a voice that was thick with Ireland. “Snow made the roads quiet. We made good time.”

The auburn-haired man grinned. “If it were up to the puppy here, we would have been a couple of hours later. He drives like an old woman.” He was as upper-class English as his friend was Irish.

“Shut up,
Tigger
! How much good would we have been to Cam if we had slid into a ditch?”

“Jon has a point, I almost rear-ended you guys a couple of times,”
Rianne
interjected.

“That, my
darlin
’, would be the fault of your own self. You were obviously too close.”

“Now, wait just a minute, don’t you try to turn this around on me!”

Mary smiled, shaking her head at their antics and turned to the next man who entered. He had very short hair which was as white as the snow on his shoulders though there was nothing old about him. He was slighter in build and had three silver earrings in one ear and one through his eyebrow and was dressed in a long black leather duster over leather pants. He scowled at the bickering of other three, his whole
demeanor
screaming bad attitude. Jayne suspected he could be a very scary man. His eyes were pale, pale blue that only warmed briefly when he greeted Mary with a kiss. “
Fynn
.” He said nothing, only stepped aside to let the last of the four men come inside.

Jayne saw the softening of Mary’s expression as she waited for him. He was the largest of the four and all but dwarfed Cam’s housekeeper as she pulled him into her arms before he could even take off his hooded coat. “Christopher. It’s so good to see you.” They embraced in silence for a few moments before he stepped away and began to unzip his coat. He had the front half undone when he suddenly froze and lifted his head, staring right at Jayne.

When he spoke, his voice was a deep bass rumble, his words slightly blurred as though his vocal cords had been damaged in some way. It made the hair all over her body stand up.

“Mary, you have a guest.”

There was silence in the hallway. Almost as one, Jayne felt all of their gazes fall on her though she stood in the shadows and knew she hadn’t made a sound. She suddenly thought she knew exactly how a gazelle felt when it heard rustling in the grass behind it. Jayne stepped forward into the light, ignoring the part of her that urged her to run and hide.

“Hi. Sorry, I didn’t want to intrude.”

Mary stepped forward to take her hand and draw her into the group.

“This is Jayne Davis. She’s Cameron’s guest, I daresay he’ll tell you about it later. Jayne, this is my daughter
Rianne
and her colleagues. They run a security company, Cameron used to work with them. Still does occasionally as a consultant.”

Jayne suspected that they handled a lot more than security but she said nothing as Mary introduced them each in turn.

“
Ciaran
McCord.”

Ciaran
took her hand and kissed her knuckles, making her smile. “It’s right pleased I am to meet you, Jayne.”

“Just ignore him dear, he’s a rogue. Thinks all he has to do is use that brogue of his and women will fall at his feet.”

“He might be right,” Jayne said and
Ciaran
grinned at her. “But then I had an Irish father and so the accent has an entirely different meaning for me.”

“Ah, now then, that just makes me want to try and change your mind.”

She laughed and he released her hand as Mary moved her along and gestured to the man with the auburn hair and friendly hazel eyes. He introduced himself as Jonathon Pembroke, clasping her hand briefly in his.

“
Fynn
,” the man leaning against the wall with his arms folded nodded briefly at her, his face impassive, “and Jonathon’s brother, Christopher Pembroke.” Jayne turned to find that the man had taken his jacket off while her back was turned. Her voice froze in her throat as she stared at him. He watched her in silence, as though waiting for her judgment. He was a big man, maybe an inch or two taller than Cameron but it was more than just his size that rendered her speechless.

His hair was the same auburn as his brother’s but streaked through with black and gold and white. It was just long enough that it covered his ears and brushed his collar. His eyes were gold edged with light clear green, like a brighter, sharper version of Jonathon’s. There was something different about his face that she couldn’t quite put her finger on, something almost…feline. She stepped forward and held her hand out for his. After the briefest hesitation he took it.

“Pleased to meet you, Christopher.”

He nodded and released her hand. “Chris.”

Jayne narrowed her eyes, she could have sworn she caught a glimpse of fangs in his mouth. She waited and was disappointed when he remained silent. Tension had built she hadn’t been aware of but was suddenly gone and
Ciaran
, Jon and
Rianne
began arguing again about driving skills. Mary deftly broke it up when she grasped her daughter’s arm and started toward the kitchen.

“How about some hot chocolate to warm you all up before you go upstairs to your rooms? Christopher, I believe Cameron is in his office, I’m sure you want to talk to him. Why don’t I bring some up to you both?”

“No need, Mary. I’ll bring him down, make him socialize.” The big man nodded and started up the stairs while Mary led the rest into the kitchen, leaving Jayne looking up toward the second floor with suspicion.

“Come on, Jayne, you can help me keep these boys under control.”

Sighing, Jayne followed the summons.

The moment he heard the knock on his door Cameron knew who it would be and called out, knowing the other man wouldn’t enter without an invitation.

“Come in, Chris.”

He rose from the sofa and they grasped hands and drew each other into a back-slapping embrace.

“It’s been too long.”

“It has. I take it you haven’t received any more details about Nick?”

“No. Nothing. I haven’t been able to find out anything more about the person who sent the message and it’s damned frustrating! All we can do is wait.”

“We’ve waited this long, Cam, I don’t think a few more hours is going to make much difference.” He felt his friend’s sympathy, saw it in his expression, and knew that he too suspected Nick was dead. “In the meantime why don’t you tell me what you, of all people, are doing with an unmated, marked female in your house?”

“Going slowly mad.” He shook his head and sat. When Chris had joined him, he told him how and why Jayne Davis had come to be there. “Did you bring the stuff I asked you for?”

“Yes, I asked Jon to stop for it.” He smiled. “She doesn’t strike me as a woman who’s afraid of much. You could have called one of us, Cam, we would have watched her for you.”

“No. I thought of that, but I
couldnae
face having another man do it, never mind another shifter. And now she’s under my roof and I had to call you anyway. So I’m sitting up here, where I won’t be tempted to rip someone’s head off for looking at her the wrong way.” He met his friend’s gaze. “She’s my
fìor
cèile
.”

“I’m sorry, Cam.”

He laughed bitterly. “Why? It’s no’ your fault. We both knew it would happen eventually. I was just kidding myself to think I would be able to avoid it. I’m just not ready, I’ll never be ready. What if it’s the same?”

“I know it’s not what you wanted but…you’re not your parents, Cam.”

“Ah have them
in
me, Chris, and the
Ceangal
destroyed them both!” Cameron’s brogue increased along with his frustration.

“No. They destroyed each other!” Chris’ frustration beat at him. “Your mother was weak, she couldn’t cope with the demands of the
Ceangal
. She hated your father for what he was and he should never have taken her. It wasn’t a true bond, he could have walked away and didn’t! That’s what caused their deaths, not the mating bond. I know the bond doesn’t always have a happy ending, hell, look at me! But despite this,” Chris gestured the length of his body, “I’d still risk anything to have again what you have right under your nose. Susan and I didn’t have long, but we were happy, Cam.”

Chris stood and laid a hand on his shoulder. “For what it’s worth, neither Jon nor
Fynn
have entered their cycle yet and you know you have nothing to worry about from me.”

Cameron looked at his friend, seeing the traces of his animal and knowing his jeans and polo-neck sweater concealed more. His voice was still distorted by vocal cords that weren’t quite human but they were both grateful for it. It hadn’t been so very long since Chris hadn’t been able to speak at all. “How are you, Chris, really?”

“Hanging on. It’s not going to get any better, Cam, this is as good as it gets and it took three years to get this far. I still have to watch my temper or things can get out of control. At least I can go out in public now, if I’m careful.”

“And
Becca
?”

Affection and
humor
chased away the lingering sadness briefly. Chris smiled and shrugged. “She’s six. She liked it better when her daddy looked more like a kitty cat.” His smile faded. “What are you going to do about Jayne?”

“I don’t know, Chris. I just don’t know anymore.”

“Come downstairs, drink some hot chocolate and make Mary happy. I’ll try to make sure you don’t kill anyone.”

Cam stood and made an effort to throw off his fears. “I’m not sure, Chris…
Ry
,
Ciaran
and Jon in the same room? I think it’ll be a toss-up between me and
Fynn
as to who snaps first. You think you can handle us both?”

Chris laughed, slapped him on the back and followed him out of the room. “You I’m pretty sure I can take, at least you’ll listen to reason, eventually. I might need some help with
Fynn
though!”

When the two men reached the kitchen, Mary was just pouring the rich hot chocolate into mugs. Cameron felt the energy of the
Ceangal
swirl around him, through him and his gaze immediately sought out Jayne. When he found her sitting at the table with Jon, he had to fight the desire to go over and drag the younger man out of his seat. She liked him, thought he was funny and charming. Cam heard the thoughts go through her head and was suddenly glad for Chris’ silent presence behind him. Giving himself time to get a grasp on his instincts, Cam looked around the room.

Beside the stove,
Rianne
and
Ciaran
were fighting about the benefits of marshmallows and consuming most of the packet between them.
Ciaran
and
Rianne
had been fighting like brother and sister almost from the moment
Ciaran
had joined the team five years ago. Mary broke up this argument by snatching the marshmallows out of the Irishman’s hand. Shaking her head as he pretended to pout.

Rianne
had cut her hair shorter since the last time he saw her and he was relieved to see she had let the blue highlights grow out. A slight smile curved his lips as he remembered that it had been he who had freaked out when she had first dyed her hair. It had been fluorescent green that time and he supposed the electric blue had been an improvement. Mary had merely agreed with her daughter that yes, they were eye-catching. She had laughed when Cameron had objected and told him it was only hair. It would have been entirely different if her daughter had dyed
herself
green. The very possibility that
Ry
might
actually do that had worried him every time she went out of the house for weeks.

Cam felt eyes on him and turned to see
Fynn
leaning against the counter on the opposite side of the room. He watched with cold blue eyes, keeping himself separate from everyone else in the room, as usual. He looked much the same as he always did. Though he now had three earrings in his ear instead of two. It made Cameron wonder what else he had added under his thin black sweater and leather pants. Last time he had seen him, there had been a ring through his nipple and several tattoos on his body. Waste of money if you asked Cam since all the tattoos would vanish after his first shift. The newest
piercings
too, unless he left them in when he changed. He nodded at the other man and received an acknowledging tilt of
Fynn’s
head in return.

Feeling more in control, he walked in.

Chapter Eight

Conversation stopped and for a moment there was silence before
Ciaran
and Jon called out greetings.
Rianne
dashed forward and jumped into his arms. “Cameron!”

He kissed her cheek and set her on her feet. “I missed you too, lass, I like the hair.”

She touched the ends and offered a wry smile. “It was time for a change.”

“It looks good.”

Cameron continued on to the table where Jayne now sat alone. Jon was the youngest of the group but he wasn’t stupid. He had moved as soon as he’d seen Cam. Jayne didn’t look the slightest bit disturbed by
Rianne’s
enthusiastic greeting. It annoyed him that she wasn’t even a little jealous, when just the fact that Jon sat next to her had his hackles raised. She watched him approach her with a slight smile. The same one that had annoyed him at the wedding, the one that said “
I know what you
’
re doing
”. He sat beside her, aware of the others chatting around them. She had a million questions swirling around in her head, most of which he didn’t want to answer.