Beholden Read online

  I gave a small smile when he waggled his brows at me.

  Max just rolled his eyes. “I could have gone my entire life without hearing you talk like that, Wes.”

  Wes ignored him. He kept his gaze on me. “Just a few minutes, okay? Max and I have to go over a couple of things, and then we can leave.”

  “Sure,” I said with a nod. I sat in one of the extra chairs and set my satchel at my feet. I closed my eyes. The computers were on, so I felt a weird sort of buzzing on my skin. But just being this close to Wes’s magic helped me to feel a little less disconcerted. I just had to hang on until we could leave, and then I’d let Wes take care of me any way he wanted.

  The door slammed open with a bang.

  I jerked upright, my eyes snapping open. My sister stood there, her eyes flashing with fury, her hair actually whipping around her face with some unseen wind. Wes and Max immediately jumped to their feet, on the defensive.

  “Is it true?” Mara asked, her voice low and cold.

  I just sighed. “Is what true?”

  “You know her?” Max asked, shocked.

  “Did you bond with him?” The disgust rolling off her voice was painful to hear.

  “Wes, Max, this is Mara. Mara, Agents Caldwell and Dreswick,” I said like it was a polite conversation. No one moved. I sighed again and turned my attention to my sister. “Why would you even ask me that?”

  She narrowed her eyes, pissed, I was sure, for questioning her. “That doesn’t matter. What does matter is that suddenly you can’t be bothered to communicate with your own sister.”

  “Sister?” Max asked, his voice filled with disbelief.

  Wes growled.

  I ignored them both. “Not that it’s any of your business, Mara, but no, I haven’t bonded with Wes.” It was pretty easy to guess how she’d found out. Mara didn’t work for DEMA, but she sure seemed to have a lot of friends who did, so one of the busybody gossipmongers must have called her.

  “But you are seeing him?”

  My eyes widened. I’d never heard this level of revulsion from her. But I’d never lied to her either, and wasn’t about to start now, no matter how angry she was. “Again, not your business, but yes. Wes and I are dating.”

  “We’re doing more than that,” he snarled.

  I ignored him for the moment. I could soothe his savage beast once I got my sister sorted and out of here.

  “You should be ashamed of yourself, Julian Thomas. How could you bring this disgrace on your family? First you become Beholden, and now this? Dating that man?”

  Wes practically leapt over the desk in an effort to get to her, his fury darkening his features and making him almost unrecognizable. Max was suddenly between them, either protecting Mara from Wes, or keeping Wes from doing something he’d regret.

  “You need to leave,” Max said, his voice gentle, but firm.

  Mara looked like she was going to protest—I knew she felt this wasn’t over.

  Max cut her off before she could speak. “Go, now. And don’t make me force you. You wouldn’t like it.”

  “Until you can get yourself under control, Julian, don’t bother contacting anyone in the family again,” she screeched, then stomped out of the office.

  For a long moment, none of us moved. Tension hung in the air so thick, it stifled. Then Max shook his head and quietly shut the door. I released a breath and sagged in my seat. Wes knelt before me, his hands warm and heavy on my thighs, and concern etched on his face.

  “You okay, babe?” he asked.

  “Of course he’s not okay,” Max scoffed. “His sister just talked to him like he was a piece of trash.”

  I actually managed a smile and carded my fingers through Wes’s hair. “Yeah, I’m fine.”

  Wes looked like he didn’t believe me.

  I shrugged. “Well, I will be. I never thought she’d go quite that far, to be honest. But I always knew she didn’t agree with my choices. I should’ve seen this coming.” I cupped Wes’s face in my hand and kissed his lips. “Thank you for your concern, but I really will be just fine.”

  Wes didn’t move, didn’t speak, just kept his hands on me. It was nice. His presence and his concern comforted me. It would be good to just sit there for a while and soak him up while I processed the latest turn of events.

  “So, Jules,” Max said casually. He’d lately picked up on the shortening of my name, and I was pleased he considered me a close enough friend to use it. “Your sister doesn’t like ‘the gay,’ huh?”

  I laughed at his teasing tone. “Oh, she’s got no problem with ‘the gay.’ She just thinks Wes is beneath me. An Investigations Agent? Low class. My sister’s a snob.”

  Max snorted a chuckle. “She’s got no idea who your family is, huh, Wes?”

  The kneeling man shot his partner a warning look. What was that about? I knew about his childhood, but obviously there was something Wes had neglected to tell me. For a few seconds, hurt flashed through me. But then I reminded myself that we were still getting to know each other. Just because he hadn’t told me yet didn’t mean that he hadn’t planned to eventually.

  Max held up his hands in surrender, then made a dismissive motion toward the door. “I’ll handle wrap-up for today. Why don’t you take Julian home?”

  I shook my head, even as Wes started to rise. “Really, I’m all right. You can finish what you need to.”

  Wes shot me a look full of power, promise, and dominance. I swallowed hard. I sometimes got a look similar to that when we were in bed, and I couldn’t help the association my body felt with it. Wes smiled heatedly and leaned down. “Let me take care of you, yeah?”

  “Yeah,” I agreed breathily.

  I couldn’t help the flutters in my stomach. For all that Wes had a fierce and sometimes-stoic persona, he thrived when he had someone to take care of. I’d learned that well in the time we’d spent together. Who was I to deny him? Besides, if I were completely honest with myself, the whole encounter with my sister had shaken me up. I could do with a little decompression time.

  It took only a few minutes for Wes to pack up. I stood and picked up my satchel, ready to take his hand and amble out to the parking lot the way we’d made a habit of doing. But when I took his hand, Wes pulled me straight into his arms. He hugged me tight for a few seconds before his hold relaxed.

  “Will you let me just take us home?” he asked, his hot breath caressing my ear.

  It took me a second to puzzle out his meaning. “Oh, I, um…you don’t want to take my car?”

  His scowl was adorable. “I just want to get you home.”

  I hated traveling by transportation spell. It always made me queasy because I wasn’t used to it, not being able to work the spell myself. But I could see the worried look in Wes’s eyes. He was concerned for me, he wanted to take care of me, and I knew from experience it was better to let him. In truth, I really loved that about him.

  “Yeah, okay,” I agreed.

  Seconds later, we stood in Wes’s living room. I doubled over, panting heavily and trying to get my riotous stomach under control. No matter how much I tried to swallow that feeling, though, it didn’t work. I made a mad dash to the guest bathroom, then proceeded to lose my lunch.

  When I finished heaving, Wes helped me stand. Embarrassed, I took the cool cloth he handed me and wiped my face. Then I used my toothbrush to vigorously scrub the foul taste from my mouth. Afterward, Wes pulled me into his arms. I tucked my face into his neck.

  “That from the travel or because of what happened?” Wes inquired.

  “The travel,” I answered, my voice muffled.

  Wes rubbed my back. “You could have told me it would affect you that way.” He sounded a little put out that I hadn’t informed him.

  “It’s fine. I’m okay.” With a sigh, I looked up at him. Wes lowered his mouth to mine, but the instant our lips touched, I jerked back with a grimace.

  “I just threw up!” I protested.

  He shrugged. “So? You brushed
.”

  “Gross.” I laughed.

  With an unrepentant grin, he stole another kiss. Then his expression softened. “You want me to make dinner?”

  I shook my head. “Not yet. Can we just…sit together for a while?” I suddenly felt shaky, and still out-of-sorts, and I just wanted to cuddle with him and feel his warmth.

  “Of course,” he said, his voice dropping even lower. It was soothing, and I was pretty sure he knew I thought so.

  In the living room, Wes took a seat on the couch. I sat next to him, resting my head on his shoulder and wrapping my arms around his waist. He let me get comfortable before he started smoothing his hand up and down my back, his touch firm and calming. I release a sigh and snuggled in.

  “Do you want to talk about it?” Wes asked after a while.

  “No.”

  Wes didn’t say anything, but I could practically hear the disbelief in his silence. I didn’t want to talk about it. I wanted to forget about it and pretend it had never happened. I didn’t think that was too much to ask. I’d lost most of my family years before—they didn’t want anything to do with me after I’d become Beholden. To have Mara disown me was a shock, but not actually unexpected.

  “I’m going to need to file a new emergency contact at work, though. Mara wouldn’t come now, even if they did call.”

  “Put down my name.”

  I barked a surprised laugh. “That’s a little soon, don’t you think?”

  “No.”

  I looked at his set face and shook my head. “Wes, I don’t think—”

  “Don’t worry about it this minute. I think I’ve found a place where we can get some answers about what’s going on with your magic.”

  “What?” The abrupt change in topic startled me. But Wes liked to do that when he didn’t want to hear me object to him. Because this was so important, I went with it. “What do you mean?”

  “We have an appointment tomorrow with someone who thinks she can see what’s going on with you.”

  I squinted. “An appointment with whom?”

  For a long second, Wes didn’t respond and avoided my gaze. I didn’t think I’d like the answer. When I poked his side, he blew out a breath. “Miss Lavinia.”

  I sat up straight. “I can’t afford Miss Lavinia.”

  Wes mumbled something, and stared at the far wall with feigned interest.

  I glared. “What was that?”

  “I said,” he replied with a sigh, “not to worry about it. It’s taken care of.”

  I slid to the other side of the couch. “No. No way. I’m not letting you pay for it. That’s insane!”

  “I’m not—” Wes scrubbed his hands over his face. “Can you not worry about it for right now? Will you just meet with her? You’ll understand once we’re there. Please?”

  It was the “please” that did it. I wasn’t sure I’d ever heard that word out of his mouth. I looked at him, really looked, and saw the sincere pleading on his face. He wanted to do this. And the truth was, I really wanted to find out what was going on. But I knew how much a consultation with Miss Lavinia cost, and if she had to work any spells, the price could double. There was no way I could afford that. But he’d said “please,” and I didn’t know how I could turn him down.

  “All right,” I said. “I’ll agree to a consult. But anything more, we have to talk about it before she does it. Okay?”

  “Yeah, sure,” he agreed quickly. “You’ll understand when you see.”

  I wasn’t sure what he was talking about, but I knew it would be pointless to push. If he wanted me to know, he would tell me. Wes wasn’t one for keeping me in the dark about things. Whatever was going on, I’d find out tomorrow.

  * * * *

  I was nervous. Miss Lavinia was renowned throughout the entire Northeast region, and I’d never thought I’d be able to meet her, let alone get her help. Never thought I could afford it. I felt privileged, but incredibly anxious. If I hadn’t had Wes’s solid presence next to me, I would have turned around at least three times. But Wes was there with me, and that somehow made it a little easier.

  Because I insisted, we took my car. I didn’t want to be left without a means of escape if I embarrassed myself. Wes drove, and when he pulled into the driveway of the gray Victorian, my mouth fell open. It was gorgeous, and kept pristine. It looked like it must have when it was first built. Wes ran his knuckles down my cheek, then gently tapped the bottom of my chin.

  “Relax. It’s just a house, and Miss Lavinia is just a person. You’re going to be fine.”

  I nodded fast, even though I didn’t believe a word out of his mouth. He came around the car to open my door. I took his hand, gripping it tight. His thumb made a soothing circle on the back of my hand, and he didn’t make a single comment about my sweaty palm. Ten steps, and we came to the porch. Five stairs led us to the front door. I swallowed hard. Wes didn’t even bother to knock. He just opened the door and stepped inside, tugging me in behind him.

  The entryway boasted a coat tree and an ornate grandfather clock. Silk wallpaper covered the walls, and the brocade runner showed us the path toward the parlor. Wes seemed at ease, like he had been here more than once, and with a soft smile on his face, he escorted me into the parlor.

  “Westcott Alastair Caldwell, come give me a hug.” The soft voice sounded jovial, even if there was no mistaking the command in the words.

  “I thought you said your name was Wesley?” I hissed at him as he pulled me through another door.

  Wes smirked. “You said my name was Wesley. I just didn’t correct you.”

  The warm and homey kitchen had bright yellow walls, white and yellow gingham curtains hung on the windows, and roosters decorated every surface. I blinked, nonplussed. It seemed so out of place in the stately manor that, for a moment, I didn’t know what to do.

  The woman rising from her place at the table had bright blue eyes, and long golden brown hair that hung to her waist. It was shot through with more than a few strands of gray, but she wore it well. I kind of liked that she didn’t feel the need to dye it. She opened her arms, and Wes went straight to her, hugging her tightly. When they pulled apart, she cupped his cheek in her hand and her gaze turned affectionate.

  “Introduce me to your guest,” she said to Wes, patting his cheek harder than was strictly necessary. If I hadn’t been so nervous, I would have smiled.

  “Julian Thomas, may I present Miss Lavinia,” Wes said with formality. Then his tone and features softened. “Mom, this is my Julian.”

  I opened my mouth to tell her it was a pleasure to meet her, but before I could get out a word, Wes’s statement penetrated my brain. Miss Lavinia was Wes’s mother?

  “Ho. Ly. Shit,” I whispered, completely stunned. Then anger worked its way into my stomach and I glared at Wes. “Are you kidding me? Why the hell didn’t you tell me?”

  “You didn’t tell him?” Miss Lavinia sounded indignant.

  Wes held up his hands and actually blushed. He made a placating gesture toward both of us. “Hang on. No, I didn’t tell him. But I had good reason.”

  Miss Lavinia crossed her arms under her breasts and glared at her son. “This I’d like to hear.”

  “Me, too,” I muttered.

  “Come on, babe. You were already freaking out about us moving too fast. If I told you that you were about to meet my mother, you would’ve run screaming in the other direction. Admit it.”

  I made a grumbling noise that I’d learned from Wes, and he probably took it to mean I agreed. Okay, so he was probably right. Or at least he was right if this had happened a few days ago. Sometime in the last week, though, I’d decided to jump in with both feet. Not that he knew that, because I hadn’t told him. And I wasn’t going to do so now. I tried to firm up my glare. When he took me into his arms, I kept my body unyielding.

  Wes went right for my weak spot, nuzzling his nose against the edge of my jaw. Without permission from my brain, my muscles went soft. I wrapped my arms around his should
ers and hung on.

  “I’m mad at you,” I grumbled as quietly as I was able.

  Wes gave a small laugh. “Yeah, I know. We’ll deal with that later, okay?”

  I nodded, took a deep breath, and pulled away from him. I turned to Miss Lavinia and held out my hand. My voice didn’t even shake when I said, “It’s a pleasure to meet you, ma’am.”

  She took my hand in both of hers. “Call me Lavinia. The way my son’s aura just lights up when you’re near, I know we’ll be seeing a lot of each other.”

  “Mom has the gift of Aura Sight. It’s why I brought you to her. I told her what was going on and she thinks she can help.”

  “I do indeed,” Lavinia said kindly. “It’s funny how much your aura matches Wes’s. Well, I guess not that funny. You two are obviously compatible. I like it, though. It means you’ll be good together. But, the dark spots, Julian…” She cocked her head to the side. In that motion, I could see Wes so clearly, I had no doubt they were mother and son. She shook her head. “I don’t like the dark spots. Let’s see what those are all about, shall we?”

  I could do nothing but agree.

  Chapter 11

  I sat on the divan in the parlor while mother and son conferred over a pile of herbs. I didn’t really pay attention to their conversation, my mind still reeling from the new information. And, yeah, I had freaked just a bit at meeting my boyfriend’s mother for the first time. I knew from Wes’s stories that they were close. I wanted to make a good impression, and feared I was failing miserably.

  “You okay?” Wes asked, his deep voice pulling me out of my thoughts.

  I nodded, though we both knew that was a lie. “Hey, I need to ask you something.”

  Wes smirked. “I imagine you want to ask me a lot of somethings.”

  “Yeah, well.” I dismissed that with a flutter of my hand. “This is the most important thing. We’ll get to the fighting about you keeping this from me later.”

  Wes nodded solemnly but I saw the hint of amusement in his eyes. I snorted a laugh, my cheeks burning at the sound. Gods, I wasn’t doing anything to improve the impression I was making, was I? Wes sat next to me, pressed against my side, and I didn’t try to stop myself from leaning into him. For all that I was angry with him, he was still my biggest supporter. And I needed him.