Free The Banshee's Revenge (The Banshee's Embrace Trilogy) by Victoria Richards Page A

a finger down the side of his face. "You have a few worry lines."
    "Now if I said that to a woman, I'd be in big trouble." He laughed, feeling some of the weight from the past few months lift. "How can you get away with it?"
    "Because those little lines make you more handsome. They give your face character. Worry lines just make women look old," Jacqueline laughed, too, unaware of the changes Toby saw in her face as she did so.
    He could still see her, the old Jacqueline, the woman he'd fallen in love with. The moment she'd laughed, the darkness lifted from her eyes and her face lost some of its sharpness.
    Hope filled him.
    It wasn't too late.
    But what of the child , his conscience asked. You have to remember what you promised .
    Later. He would deal with that later.
    Right now he only wanted to concentrate on the woman he loved.
    *****

Arwan watched the couple make love.
    Envious, he kept his presence a secret, though he was certain had either of them been paying attention, they would have been alerted to him the moment he materialized in the room.
    One always sensed a god. The power they gave off was too great to ignore.
    And yet, they were ignoring him, irritating Arwan to no end.
    The banshee woman was supposed to have fallen to his charms. Gwydion had given him a directive, and partly because they were old friends, Arwan would follow through on it. But the main reason he'd indulged Gwydion was so he could get a taste of the banshee. She was lovely and there was the promise of untold passion in her.
    She should have been grateful for the attentions of a god.
    All creatures were.
    Then again, she'd just met her father. Maybe her mind wasn't entirely focused on sex then. Perhaps he could make allowances for her this time.
    As a god and warrior, Arwan had existed a long time. He couldn't quite remember when Hades had created him and assigned his area of the realm to work. While he wasn't the leader of the Underworld, he'd certainly done his fair share of wrangling lost souls and sending them to their final destinations.
    Along the way, he'd developed a god's arrogance when it came to women, especially mortal women. They should all consider themselves lucky if he chose to bestow his kiss on them. After all, the stories of his prowess were legendary--even if they hadn't made it into the history books like Zeus or even Morrigan.
    As he watched Jacqueline moan with desire under the hands of her lover, the necklace caught his eye. It lay between her breasts, a beacon catching the light of the room as it sent out its power.
    He frowned.
    This was a complication.
    Morrigan had already marked this woman. That meant no one was allowed to harm her. Was Gwydion aware of this? Was he trying to pull some trick on Arwan which would bring him under Morrigan's wrath? He wouldn't put it past the wizard who had reeked of desperation when they'd spoken.
    Two could play that game. He felt no loyalty to Gwydion.
    Perhaps it was time for him to pay a little visit to Morrigan, grace her with his many talents, and find out the truth of what was going on. Not to mention that he'd kept a little secret from Gwydion about Merlin and the banshee. The sight of them had intrigued him and instinctively he'd known to hold back and observe.
    Morrigan would be grateful to him for finding out the truth about Jacqueline's father.
    He watched Jacqueline and Toby a bit longer, until his own needs betrayed him. With a flick of his fingers, he returned to his realm where his servant girls awaited. He gestured to a particularly curvy one whose eyes filled with gratefulness that he'd picked her.
    That was more like it.
    "Come here." Arwan smiled as he removed her simple white gown. "I have something for you."

Chapter 8
     
    "You wish to see me, my son?"
    Morrigan smiled down at the man kneeling before her. She liked him best in that pose. It allowed her a moment of pure dominance before the upstart began to run his mouth as he always did.
    Damn kids.
    You birthed