Forsaken Talisman Read online

  “I can’t find my bowtie. Hell, it ain’t gonna be in here with you two unless you’re using it for some kinky bondage game, so if you’ve got it, I don’t want it back. I’ll just figure something else out.” He continued to grumble as he closed the door.

  The room was quiet for 2.3 seconds before Mariah burst into giggles. “Okay, the lock on that door sucks. So much for privacy.”

  Stephan kissed her laughing mouth. “I’m working on that, sweetheart, but until then…” One hand slid under her shirt, palming her full breast, massaging her nipple between his thumb and forefinger. The other found her clit, teasing it until she arched and moaned beneath him.

  “Don’t stop,” she whispered breathily. “Don’t ever stop.”

  * * * * *

  “I see you found your bowtie,” Mariah said as she stepped into the main room of the compound.

  Dusty smiled in appreciation. She looked like the midnight sky, her dress a deep black lit up with sparkles—knowing Stephan, they were probably diamonds. The dress fastened around her neck, leaving her arms and shoulders bare and dipped low in the front, allowing an enticing glimpse of flawless skin and luscious breasts. Her hair was pulled up in some fancy twist with random strands curling around her face and neck. Those long dancer legs, teasingly visible through the thigh high slit, walked toward where he was sitting on the couch.

  He tugged on his bowtie and grimaced. “No, I had to borrow one from Ryan. I couldn’t find mine anywhere.”

  “Do I want to know why you were looking for it in the training room?” she asked, a wry glint of humor in her voice as she sat down next to him.

  Dusty laughed. “Probably not, but I’ll tell you anyway. Me and Jake were comin’ home from a snooty benefit dinner thingie and he ran into a Speint demon, which sprayed vomit all over him. We were getting out of the car, so we were close to home. Anyway, I ran downstairs into the training room to grab the Speint masting bow because I knew Ryan was still working on installing a new shoulder sling after Stephan broke the last one. As I was running upstairs with it, the damn trigger switch broke, so I hooked my bowtie to the free arm and lashed the metal back with my tie. It worked great. I just figured that when Jake brought the masting bow back after the Speint turned on me, he’d have left the bowtie on there, but I guess it completely disappeared. Hell, maybe Ryan tossed it, or the Speint ate it. All I know is I went looking for the bowtie and I found you two instead.”

  Mariah just laughed. “I think you were right, I probably didn’t want to know.” She leaned toward him and straightened his bowtie. “How did you guys survive without a woman around all these years to help take care of you?”

  He smiled and dropped a kiss on her forehead. “We weren’t livin’.”

  “Dammit, Dusty. She’s mine.”

  Stephan stepped into the living room, his tuxedo jacket slung casually over his shoulder. Mariah turned, allowing Dusty to view the pale skin of her back. “Hello, GQ…” she said, her voice husky, wanting. She approached Stephan, who tossed his jacket onto the couch before placing his hands possessively on her lower back, pulling her to him.

  Dusty shifted his gaze and adjusted his pants. The last thing he needed was to add to his discomfort by playing the voyeur…again. After walking in on the two of them going at it last week and again earlier today, he didn’t need to watch to know what they were doing. The image of Mariah’s head thrown back, Stephan’s hand covering one naked breast as he fucked her hard from behind, was one that would stay with him forever. He swore he would never open another door in the compound without knocking first, just to avoid the torture of seeing lust, love and passion that wasn’t his to enjoy.

  Damn tight pants.

  The rustle of clothing, giggles, whispers and quiet moans became impossible to ignore. Dusty avoided shoving his fists deep into his ears and thought about all the alcohol he would have to imbibe in hopes of erasing the need burning deep inside.

  He sighed. Alcohol. That was the need, the thirst burning deep inside. But he didn’t drink anymore. Would he ever stop thinking of it? Referring to it as though it could ease all his ills?

  “Done yet? We gotta get going.” Dusty looked at the two of them as they slowly pulled apart. Mariah’s left hand slid over Stephan’s lips—the heat between the two of them was palpable.

  Wait a second. Was that an engagement ring on her finger?

  “Something you wanna share with me? As in how much the boulders on that ring on Mariah’s pretty finger weigh? And, I don’t know, maybe if it’s what it looks like it is, ‘cause of where it is?”

  “Mariah agreed to marry me today.” Stephan’s proud and possessive grin practically split his face in two.

  Dusty scowled at Stephan. “It’s about time. If she’d been mine, I would have married her immediately, and not given her three months to come to her senses and leave me.” He turned to Mariah with a smile. “See, you should have married me when I asked you.”

  “My loss,” Mariah said with a dramatic sigh, but her hand intertwined with Stephan’s and she leaned against him.

  Stephan shot both Dusty and Mariah a questioning glance but was interrupted as Ana and Jake entered the room through the open door from the stairway. They both wore black from head to toe.

  “Congratulations, you two.” Ana smiled softly at them and sat in the recliner. Jake sat next to her on the arm of the chair. Since Ana’s surprising return to Talisman Bay, she and Jake had resumed the close friendship they’d had while growing up. But she still hadn’t told any of them where she’d been for the last twelve years.

  “Did I hear that right?” Jake said with a grin. “You two finally disengaged long enough to get engaged.” Everyone groaned as Jake clapped and laughed at his joke.

  “Hey, Wonder Twins, why aren’t you ready to go?” Marlin joined the crowd, his statement obviously for Jake and Ana, although his eyes focused solely on Ana. Dusty saw her eyes darken before she turned away from Marlin’s stare. Wonder what that’s about? Marlin leaving shattered hearts again?

  Jake laughed. “Someone has to patrol while you guys are schmoozing people out of their money. We’ll try to show up late if we don’t run into any problem critters. Gotta get this girl all prettied up.” Jake wrapped his arm around Ana and pulled her against his side. She laughingly attacked him while Marlin watched, his jaw clenched tight. He turned away and frowned when Jake pealed with laughter and gave her a noogie.

  “Where’s Twyla? Wasn’t she gonna meet us here, or are we supposed to pick her up at her place?” Marlin sure seemed interested in seeing Twyla. So, who was he trying to get into bed? Ana or Twyla? Dusty snorted. Probably both of them…at the same time. That was more Marlin’s style.

  “Twyla’s just going to meet us there,” Mariah replied. “When we had lunch earlier, she told me she had some stuff to do before the ball and might be running late.”

  Dusty’s gaze took in the room around him. Jake with Ana, Marlin looking on. Stephan and Mariah, still wrapped around each other. Was he the only one flying solo?

  He grumbled and stood up, heading for the stairs. “All right, the limo should be out front. Wait a sec…where the hell’s Ryan? Dammit, can we just get this ball over with? It’s not like I’m getting any prettier sitting around here waiting.”

  “Well shit, Dusty. Ya sure aren’t getting any better flappin’ your trap like that.” Jake shook his head and grinned. “Someone needs to get laid…in a big hurry.”

  “If only it were that easy,” Dusty mumbled.

  “Come on, you guys. Ryan’s closing up the shop. He’ll be joining us in an hour.” Stephan put on his jacket then picked up a fur wrap and settled it around Mariah’s shoulders. She smiled up at him as he placed his hand on her back and gently led her to the door. Marlin gave Dusty a raised eyebrow before pushing past him and walking up the stairs. “Let’s go find Dusty a good mood,” Stephan said as he guided Mariah after Marlin.

  Dusty scuffed up the stairs after them, feeling properly c
hastised. He really was happy for Stephan and Mariah. But they made him realize how alone he was. Jeneane was great, but there was nothing beyond a fuck on that menu. Although that had been fine for a while, now he was ready for a full course meal. He smirked at his imagery. Jeneane was simply an hors d’oeuvre, and he needed a lot more than a cheese cube to satisfy him.

  Mariah stopped at the top of the steps, shooing Stephan forward, before turning to face Dusty.

  He sighed and ran his hand over his hair. “I’m sorry—”

  She placed her hand on his arm. “Shush, don’t apologize. It’s all right. Let’s just go have a good time tonight, okay? Maybe someone new will surprise you.” Humor sparkled in her brilliant blue eyes. “Besides, with those socks, who wouldn’t want to dance with you?”

  “What’s wrong with my socks?” Dusty lifted up his pant leg, showing off black socks with big red hearts.

  “Oh, Dusty…” Mariah laughed and linked her arm through his, as they walked together to the limo.

  * * * * *

  “I wanna sit this one out if you don’t mind.” Dusty smiled at Jill, the owner of the local flower shop, to soften the rejection.

  “Your loss,” Jill said with a laugh, winking at him before grabbing Ryan’s hand. “Let’s dance, sweetie. There’s nothing like a man who can move.” Ryan twirled Jill around, their bodies already grooving to the beat as they joined the rest of the dancing crowd.

  Dusty glanced around the room to make sure no one was watching before he reached below the table and massaged his tender calf. It was really tormenting him tonight. The last thing he needed was for Stephan to find out that his injury still caused him trouble. He’d already taken enough shit over it from Fiero. But Dusty wouldn’t have done it any different. He’d never leave a fight. Ever. And that had been a really nasty one. They’d won that battle, Stephan got his girl and they’d sent the big bads to a hell dimension—and had enjoyed a quiet, relatively trouble-free Talisman Bay in the three months since.

  As Dusty stretched and flexed his leg underneath the cover of the table, he took in the flash and glitter of Talisman Bay’s Fifth Annual Charity Ball. Everyone who considered themselves anyone had shown up tonight, to show off their cars, their money, their jewels and their women—in that order of importance.

  This year, the charity of choice was the Family Violence Prevention Fund, which all of the guys supported after their not-so-great childhoods. And that was why all of them were there in force, getting the wealthy citizens to lighten their pocketbooks. Maybe if the fund had been in place sooner, Dusty would’ve had somewhere to go when things had started to get rough.

  Dusty had done his share, smiling and flirting his way through endless dances. So far, he’d secured several hefty donations, and received more than a few interesting sexual propositions, but the women had been far from his type. He had danced with two Jennifer Aniston clones, several sets of fake boobs, and one trust fund princess who spent the whole time talking about the new cars her daddy had just bought her. If these were the only available women left in Talisman Bay, he’d prefer to live his life alone. Even Jeneane had completely lost her appeal. It was time to officially end it with her. Hell, if he was bored, she probably was too.

  Dusty stood and headed slowly toward the hors d’oeuvre table. He smiled at a few ladies, but still, there was no one who intrigued him. Nose jobs made him wonder if the woman liked herself both before and after the surgery. The anorexic look made him hungry as though to compensate. Were there any real women in the place? Women who were single and real? Well, other than Twyla.

  But Twyla was another story altogether. He watched her swish and sway around the dance floor, taking time to dance with everybody, but at the same time, not really giving anyone the time of day. Her partners only seemed to be moving props—she couldn’t care less who or what they were, just as long as they swung around with her. It was impossible to miss her as she bounced from mover to shaker. Her bright blue dress had more shimmer and shine than all the many diamonds in this place.

  It reminded him of the first time he’d seen her, probably five years ago now. Milty at the pawnshop had told him about an industrial rave that a group of vamps were throwing. Supposedly it was all innocent fun, but Dusty wasn’t going to wait for the blood to start flowing before he investigated.

  What he’d found was a pretty good party run by a group of barely legal teen goths who called themselves vamps, but who would probably shit themselves if they ever met a real one. The music was loud, the beer flowed freely and the women outnumbered the men two to one. He had seen Twyla in the crowd, dressed in a next-to-nothing red leather number, her deep brown eyes full of sexual fire. They’d danced their way into a corner of the warehouse and shared a fuck before the night was over. He’d never learned her name.

  Dusty continued to watch Twyla as the music slowed and Marlin took her hand. He pulled her against him and whispered in her ear. She nodded and smiled, but the smile didn’t reach her eyes. Twyla wasn’t the same woman from five years ago. That woman had loved life, lived it to the fullest. This Twyla was more of a lost soul. Her behavior was no longer free spirited, but more…self-destructive. And her eyes were dulled…not lifeless, but as though they were only watching life instead of living it.

  Dusty shook his head. Whatever the Dread Lords had done to her three months back had changed her. Something inside of her had died. Fucking bastards. He’d like to run into them again. Make them suffer hardcore pain and wretchedness.

  “Hey, sexy, can I have this dance?” a voice purred softly behind him.

  Dusty turned around with a smile for Ana, which swiftly became a grin of appreciation. “Damn, how could I say no?” He took her in his arms and swept her onto the dance floor.

  “You look…stunning. Did you just get here?” He swallowed his surprise at how different she looked all dolled up. She was wearing a Cinderella gown in cream and lace. Her brilliant red hair was left down around her shoulders. The little girl he’d always thought of as a sister had grown up to be an amazing woman.

  Ana’s face pinked at his compliment. “Thank you. You’re looking pretty damn good yourself. And I’ve been here for awhile, just hanging out in the shadows watching everybody.” She grinned up at him. “Can’t seem to let that side of me go. Jake and I will be leaving again after this dance. We gotta do another patrol round. It was quiet tonight, but no need to take any chances.” She leaned toward him and whispered into his ear. “Besides, I’ve got to get out of this dress and into some real clothes. This thing itches like the devil!”

  Dusty howled with laughter and hugged Ana close. That was his girl, still a tomboy at heart.

  He took in the crowd around him. Mariah and Stephan danced a few feet away, their bodies intimately close. Stephan kissed Mariah’s eyelids then her lips before she snuggled into the hollow of his throat, a smile of contentment on both their faces.

  Ryan still danced with Jill, who looked to be in heaven. Jake was in the middle of a Jennifer Aniston clone sandwich, and looked fully prepared to be eaten up by the both of them.

  “So, what’s up with you and Jake?”

  Ana lifted her head and looked at Dusty questioningly. “What’s up? What do you mean?”

  “I mean, you guys are always hanging out together. You two hookin’ up or something?”

  Ana’s eyes widened in surprise. “God, no, Dusty. Jake and I…God, he’s like an older, really annoying brother.” She laughed. “Besides, he and Twyla have been bed buddies lately.”

  “Really?” Dusty smirked. “Everybody’s getting some but me.”

  Ana grinned and smacked him lightly on the chest. “And me. But I thought you were seeing Jeneane?”

  “Yeah, but I think that’s over. We’re both getting bored.” Dusty paused as he tried to decide how much he should say. He brushed a chaste kiss across her forehead before he spoke quietly, “I need something else, ya know?”

  “Yeah, I do, Dusty.” Ana’s eyes met his and
she smiled knowingly. “I feel like I’ve been waiting my whole life for someone.” Her eyes seemed to focus inward. “He’s out there somewhere, waiting for me…” She shook her head. “I know exactly what you’re saying.”

  Dusty pulled her close and they swayed together for a few more moments in silence.

  “Can you turn us around?” Ana whispered against his chest.

  “Sure, sweetheart. Someone bothering you?” Dusty turned as he spoke, and saw the reason for Ana’s concern. Marlin was still dancing with Twyla, but his gaze was locked on Ana.

  “So, you wanna talk about what’s going on between the two of you?” Dusty said as he ran one hand soothingly over her hair.

  Ana sighed. “Not really. It’s something I have to get over. Something from a long time ago.”

  The song concluded and the band left the stage to take a break. Ana hugged Dusty tightly. “Thanks for the dance, and the conversation. Time to get into some leather and go patrolling.”

  Dusty lifted her hand and kissed it. “Thank you for making me look good.” He winked at her before she walked away.

  Marlin approached Ana, but Dusty couldn’t hear what he said. She shrugged him off and gestured for Jake, who peeled himself away from the pouting Jennifer twins. Marlin and Jake glared at each other as Jake led Ana out the door.

  Marlin turned quickly and stopped when he saw Dusty watching him. He glowered and then shot past him, disappearing into the crowd.

  Dusty sighed as he walked toward the hors d’oeuvre table. He checked his watch. This thing was thankfully almost over. The big dance auction that Stephan was emceeing was the only part left.

  A waiter passed in front of Dusty and, without a thought, he grabbed a glass of champagne. Then he stopped. He looked at it there in his hand, willing it to disappear. Memories of stumbling around the compound, drunk off his ass, assailed him. His friends had intervened on his behalf, cleaned him up, got him away from alcohol. What the hell was he thinking picking up a glass again? If the guys saw him with it they’d think he was drinking again—and he’d be back in detox and on their shit list by tomorrow morning.