Free Witch's Bounty by Ann Gimpel Page A

sounded deep in her mind. She wriggled away, gasping and panting, as she tried to sort her jumbled thoughts. “Can’t,” she managed.
    He reached for her, green eyes blazing with desire. “Why not? You’re scarcely a maid.”
    Colleen rolled to her hands and knees and then tucked her legs under her and sat, trying to ignore the insistent throbbing between her legs. “That’s not it. I never cared about any of them.”
    A soft, slow smile spread over his face, intensifying his beauty until she had to look away. “It’s more than just caring about you.” His breath hitched. “If I were honest, I’m falling in love.”
    The alarm bells rang louder. She held up both hands, palms out. “No. Not a good idea. What I do is dangerous. I may not be alive next month. Hell, I may not be alive tomorrow.”
    “Colleen.” He moved close enough to drag one of her hands out of the air and enclose it. “You don’t get it. I want to share your life. All of it. Today was a proving ground. I’ll face down the Irichna with you. And I’ll do my damnedest to get some of my people to help. Gene splicing is a two way street. We can take back the sequence we foisted off onto you.” His expression turned thoughtful. “It would be a hell of a lot quicker than the three of you who are left trying to make new witches, and then waiting for them to grow up.”
    She twisted her mouth into a wry grin. “No shit. Not that any of us ever got anywhere close to having babies.”
    He shook his head. “It doesn’t appear your witch ancestors did, either. The ones who died didn’t leave progeny, or at least not many. Why?”
    “At first they did, or there’d have been even fewer of us. At least potentially, we live a long time, nothing like the Sidhe, but still…” She shifted to a more comfortable sit, but kept holding his hand. “Think about it. How could any of us be out of the action for the nine months it would take to be pregnant? Let alone the years it would take to care for a babe?”
    A familiar sadness flashed through her. For the first time, she dared to acknowledge it. Before, she’d always shoved it aside as an indulgence. She scrubbed the heel of her free hand up her forehead. “I suppose I never expected to live out a witch’s four or five hundred years.” She winced, but kept going, determined to tell Duncan the truth. “I didn’t even think I’d live long enough to risk becoming a mother.” She leveled her gaze at him. “Today was hard. Harder than it’s ever been. I’m not certain I would have had enough power to teleport Bubba, the demon, and me into Hell and fight with it too. If you wouldn’t have been there, today may well have sealed my doom. Depends how generous the gatekeepers were feeling. Sometimes they’ve helped me.”
    He nodded solemnly. “We’re not certain quite why, but the Irichna have gotten much more aggressive—and stronger too. That’s one of the reasons I searched you out, although I was shocked by how few you were once I found you. We, witches and Sidhe, need to work together. I’ll impress that on the Sidhe council. The days when witches alone could hold Earth have passed.”
    “Yesterday, I might have argued with you. Today, not so much.” She paused for a beat, so used to being alone, it was a struggle to ask for help in any form, let alone consider accepting it. When she’d hatched up her idea to bring Duncan along on today’s journey, she’d simply assumed he’d decide dealing with demons was too hard …
     He quirked a brow. “So you set me up to get rid of me?”
    “Yes. No. For God’s sake, stay out of my head!”
    “But it’s instructive to know what you’re thinking.” He tightened his hand around hers and she started. She’d nearly forgotten he was touching her.
    “My thoughts are a jumble. I’m not sure what I’m thinking.”
    Duncan narrowed his eyes. “I know what’s in your head—and heart.” She opened her mouth to protest, but he shook his