Disclaimer: See Chapter 1

Chapter 10: Protection Racket

Despite her words, I didn't see Rachel again for a week. For me at least, it was a very long week. It was all I could do not to call or visit her, so badly I wanted to see her. However, I knew she needed space, as well as time, to think about things, about...us. Now there was a weird thought. But at the same time I liked that thought far more than I would ever have believed I would.

Finally, though, I got the call from my gate guard informing me that Rachel Morgan was here. I tidied up my office, trepidation in my gut. I had been wanting to see her, but now that she had come I was nervous about her visit.

A few minutes later Frederick showed her into my office. She came forward to clasp my hand before seating herself. As before, she blushed when we touched. It may have been my imagination, but it seemed to me her blush was a little deeper than before.

"Trent, how have you been?"

I smiled, folding my hands and hiding my nervousness. "I'm doing well. How are you?"

"I'm okay." She looked down at her hands, then pulled her eyes back to mine, as if it took an effort. "I, uh, I'd like to take you up on your offer of protection from the Coven. I mean, if that's okay."

"Of course," I said reassuringly. I pressed the button on my intercom. "Quen, please come to my office."

He stepped into the room ready for trouble but not obvious about it. I gestured to Rachel.

"I've offered to provide Miss Morgan any protection she may need from the Coven of Moral and Ethical Standards. Could you recommend someone for the job?"

Quen relaxed almost invisibly as he considered my question. After a few seconds of pondering he said, "I believe we have someone on staff who has the necessary skills. Shall I send him in?"

"Please," I said.

Quen nodded. "His name is Randall Simone. He was a candidate for the Coven before you hired him."

I smiled broadly, pleased. "Excellent. He should be a valuable asset, then."

Quen gave me a smile and murmured a greeting to Rachel before slipping out.

"So when are you meeting with the coven?" I asked Rachel.

"In eight days." She bit her lip nervously. "Um, and I'm not entirely sure how I'm getting there. I mean, I guess I'll have to drive." She seemed to realize that she'd begun to babble and shut herself up.

I nodded to myself, drumming my fingers idly on my desk. "I'll take care of transportation. Driving's too dangerous if they decide to go back on their word."

"Thanks," she said, hiding a grimace poorly, and I was reminded of how much she hated owing others.

The door opened, and a serious-looking witch entered. He was average-looking and muscular, though not overly so, but he smelled strongly of redwood. I stood and shook his hand.

"Randall. Thank you for coming." I gestured for him to sit in the chair next to Rachel. "This is Rachel Morgan." Upon hearing her name he turned to look fully at her, seemingly more curious than anything else. I waited until he finished scrutinizing her before continuing. "In eight days she will be meeting with the Coven of Moral and Ethical Standards to rescind her shunning."

The man nodded his comprehension, and I continued. "I would like you to accompany her, just to make sure there is no foul play. Also, in the event the Coven changes their minds, your job will to get her out of there safely. Can you do this?"

He nodded confidently. "I can do it. I know how they operate, and I know the area."

I flicked a glance at Rachel. "Considering the circumstances, you will be drawing hazard pay for this assignment." Rachel leaned back where the man couldn't see her face and stuck her tongue out at me. "Get whatever you need through Quen. If you need to bring anyone else on the job, that's fine; just clear it with Quen. Any questions?"

Randall shook his head. "Nothing I can think of. If I come up with something, I'll relay it through Quen."

"Wonderful. Thank you," I said, standing up again to shake his hand. He turned and shook Rachel's hand as well before leaving the room.

"So, ah, what changed your mind?" I asked Rachel, sitting down and leaning back in my chair.

"Well," she said and knotted her fingers together. "Ivy has been freaking out over this Coven thing. She's paranoid that the Coven is gonna screw me over. She's been trying to come up with some kind of plan to keep me safe, but she doesn't have anyone she knows over there. I found her practically pulling her hair out over it, so I asked her what the deal was.

"She told me what she was trying to do, and, well, she was really worried about me. So I told her about your offer. She wouldn't leave me alone then until I promised I'd accept it." She took a deep breath. "So, here I am."

I allowed a faint smile to play about my lips. "I see."

She shrugged self-consciously. "It's probably for the best, anyway."

"Yes," I agreed. "I'm glad to know you'll be in good hands."

She fell silent, and I didn't know what to do. I wanted very badly to touch her, but I couldn't read her. I didn't know how she would react. After a minute I stood and came around my desk. I offered her my hand and helped pull her to her feet. We stood there for a few seconds, looking into one another's eyes.

"Stop dithering and kiss me, you dumb elf!" she exclaimed, and I did. She sighed against my lips, and I stepped into her, sliding one hand around to bury in her hair and cradle the back of her had. My other arm moved to her back, drawing her body closer to mine. Her arms twined around my neck, and I rubbed my hand up and down her spine.

I deepened the kiss, flicking my tongue across her lips, and she parted them to let me in. I curled my tongue around hers, then caressed the roof of her mouth. I kept my motions slow and sensual, even though I wanted to devour her. It didn't help my control any when she pushed back, exploring my mouth with her own tongue. But I fought to keep the kiss almost teasingly slow until we finally broke apart, panting.

I brought my hand forward to cup her jaw, to trace her cheekbone with my thumb. "Rachel," I whispered, tasting the name, rolling it over my tongue. Her green eyes were warm as she studied my face like she was trying to memorize it.

"Trent," she murmured, trying my own name out with a soft intonation she'd never used before. A smile grew on her face, turned wicked. "Let's do that again."

I was more than amenable as she pulled my face down to hers again. Certain now of my welcome, I kissed her harder, greedily. She responded with passion, pressing her body against mine. The feel of her slender frame, her breasts, her hips fitting against my body was enough to drive me to distraction, and I growled and penetrated her mouth with my tongue. She moaned, and I reveled in the sound.

This time when we broke the kiss we didn't draw apart. Rachel dropped an arm to wrap around my waist and rested her head on my shoulder. I gently ran my fingers through her curls and inhaled deeply. She smelled like redwood, and I found the scent relaxing. I bent my head and brushed my lips against her cheek, then we both tensed when a knock came at the door.

We drew apart reluctantly and I quickly patted my hair to make sure it was lying flat before opening the door. Rachel sat down quickly, fussing discreetly with her own hair.

I found Quen standing outside the door. I stepped back and gestured for him to come in. "Quen. What is it?"

He remained in the doorway. "Has Miss Morgan left already? Ceri was hoping she'd come by to visit before leaving."

My eyes flicked to her and back to Quen. "She's still here." I raised an eyebrow at her, and she answered the question unvoiced.

"I'd love to," she said warmly, rising and coming to stand by me. Quen frowned slightly at her appearance and shot me a look, but apparently my condition reassured him, and he turned without a word to lead the way to Ceri.

When we entered her room, she was sitting up, cradling a sleeping Raymond in her lap. Rachel immediately went over to give her a hug.

"How are you doing?" she asked. I joined Quen, standing against the wall, and watched the two women.

"I'm doing well," Ceri replied, then made a face. "Actually, I'm going crazy from being cooped up in this bed. They won't let me get up except to use the bathroom. I've tried telling them that I'm fine, but they won't listen."

Quen stirred beside me. "It's only for another day or two, my love."

Ceri gave him a tender smile. "I pray my sanity lasts that long," she said, earning a laugh from Rachel.

"And how is little Raymond?" Rachel asked, bending down and smiling at the sleeping infant. "He looks healthy. And so cute too!"

Ceri looked down at him as well and brushed her fingertips gently over the crown of his head. "He's got a healthy appetite, that's for sure," she joked, then her tone grew serious. "Honestly, though, he's perfectly healthy." She met my eyes, a look of gratitude on her face. "Thanks to you and Trenton getting that sample, and to his genetic labs, he can grow up normally. He probably won't even need any more treatments."

Rachel reacted when Ceri mentioned my illegal genetics labs, and I wondered if she had mentioned them specifically to remind Rachel that illegal didn't necessarily mean bad. I certainly would not have put it past her; I had been impressed before at how manipulative she could be.

"So," Ceri went on, "what's going on in your life?"

"Well, I'm going in front of the Coven in eight days," she said. "That should be interesting, to say the least."

Ceri looked at her, concerned. "Will you be all right?" she asked.

Rachel waved her hand dismissively. "Trent has someone who's going to keep me alive," she said with more confidence, in my opinion at least, than she could possibly be feeling.

Ceri shot me a look, surprise mixed with respect, and I shrugged. "It's the least I can do to make up for the trouble I've given her," I said, wanting her to understand my motives. Well, more like the only motives I was willing to confess; in reality I mostly just wanted to keep Rachel safe.

She smiled. "That's very good of you, Trenton." Rachel, standing beside her, smiled warmly at me as well, and I felt my heart swell from happiness. This, I decided, was what doing the right thing was supposed to feel like.

"Anyway," Ceri turned back to Rachel, "thank you for stopping by. You should visit more often. I can't leave for a couple more days, and Quen has to work, so I'd be grateful of the company."

"I will," Rachel promised. "And I'll try and get Ivy to visit too, okay?"

"That sounds wonderful," Ceri replied. "Take care of yourself."

"I will," Rachel responded and hugged her again before turning and heading for the door. I went to follow her, but Ceri's voice stopped me.

"Trenton? Would you be so kind as to put Raymond in his cradle for me?"

I glanced in surprise first at her, then at Quen. I would have expected him to be the one for that job. Apparently he felt the same, because he was frowning slightly at Ceri. I turned to look at her again in time to see her make a shooing gesture at Quen. He left, and I stood for a moment, trying to figure out what was going on, before approaching Ceri.

She lifted Raymond up and placed him in my arms, and I deposited him in his bed with exaggerated care.

"Oh," she sighed to herself, "What was that phrase? Ah yes," she said louder, then met my curious gaze. "I would recommend that if you're planning to put the moves on Rachel, now would be the time."

My jaw dropped and I felt my face heat up. I wanted to deny my attraction, but decided after a moment's deliberation that there was no point.

"Actually," I said, fighting to keep my voice sounding normal, "that's what I was doing when Quen came to pass on your message."

A look of delight crossed her delicate features. "Oh, that's great!" she spouted, then frowned at me when I didn't move. "Well? What are you waiting for? Go after her," she commanded, and I jumped to obey.

As I opened the door, she called, "Quen? Are you out there?"

"Right here," he replied and slipped back in, leaving me alone with Rachel.

Sorry about the crappy ending place, I'll post more when I can. Unfortunately as my internet access is about to disappear, that may only be about every two months or so. I'll try and do more, but I can't promise anything. By the way, I wrote this some time before Pale Demon came out and as such tried to avoid the whole Coven thing as I knew I couldn't do it justice.