Just Beyond Daybreak (Star Crossed Book 1) Read online

  The man took another step forward, reaching out one hand like he was prepared to take Meredith from him. “I’ll get her to her apartment, Sir.”

  Just as Malcolm was about to pull Meredith away from the man’s hand, Meredith shook her head. “No need, Gary. Malcolm can see me there,” she said. Her voice was winded, as if she’d been running a marathon, but the doorman dropped his hand.

  “Of course, Miss Blackburn. Allow me to get the elevator.”

  Malcolm was surprised that was all it took to get past the man and into her sanctuary. Hugging her close as the elevator moved up the floors, Malcolm tried to ignore the intimate press of her breasts against his arm. Meredith let out a low sigh and dropped her head over on his shoulder. As he looked down at the gentle slope of her nose and the slight part of her soft lips, Malcolm had to bite his tongue to keep from groaning.

  When the doors opened he adjusted his hold on her and shuffled into the hallway. It didn’t take long for him to realize that Meredith’s apartment was one of only three on the floor. “Okay, Sweetheart, which one’s yours?” he asked, giving her a little shake.

  She pulled away from him and looked around. “This one,” Meredith said, taking a step forward.

  Malcolm had to quick-step to keep her from stumbling forward. He tightened his arm around her waist and let her slowly lead them. It didn’t take long to get to her door, but when Malcolm jiggled the door handle, it was locked. “Just to be safe, of course,” he mumbled.

  Meredith leaned back into him for support as she tried to shove her hand into the pocket of her jeans. Chuckling at her fumbling, Malcolm reached down and pushed her hand away. “Don’t slap me,” he said as he slipped his hand into her pocket.

  He couldn’t help but squeeze at her toned thigh while feeling around for her keys. The sexy moan that slipped passed her lips and the twitch of her hips against his was torture. He could feel the familiar stir in his pants as he scooped the keys out of her pocket.

  It took a second of jumbling the keys to get the door open, but he was finally able to get her inside. “Where’s your room?”

  Meredith nodded towards a door and Malcolm led her into the large bedroom. He was able to get Meredith stretched out on a bed without much trouble, but as she slid away from him, her arm tightened around his neck for a moment. “It’s okay,” he whispered, bending down to ease her down onto the large bed.

  Once she was down, Meredith rolled away from him, and Malcolm stared down at the arc of her neck. He let his eyes trace a path down her throat to where a flash of milky cleavage teased him before vanishing under the collar of her jacket. Briefly, Malcolm thought about helping her out of the extra bit of clothing, but decided against it as he tore his eyes away and looked around the room.

  It was fairly Spartan for an upper-class bedroom. Just the bed, a night table, a small chest at the foot of the bed, and a vanity filled the open space. If he didn’t know better, he’d think he’d dropped her into a guest bed, but this was typical Blackburn style. Everything beyond the study of magic was sparse and rather lifeless for that family. Even in marriage they were all business. Matches were made based on connections and magical ability, but that was common in his own family too.

  He heard Meredith fidget on the bed and turned back to her. She twitched again and Malcolm let out a sigh. Gently he reached down and put his palm over her eyes. The familiar tickle of magic flowed forward and Malcolm whispered a wish for sleep. If she didn’t rest, it’d just make the next few days harder on her. As her body settled into a slumbering state, he eased down on the edge of the bed. At first he watched to make sure her chest eased out into steady even breaths, but seeing her in such a fragile state felt intimate. Which just brought up a slew of questions.

  As he let his fingertips brush her cheek, he wondered why he cared so much. She was a Blackburn; that alone should have kept him away. Instead, he was sitting there watching her sleep. Watching another man’s woman sleep was not his style.

  That thought made him jolt to a stand. As much as he refused to admit it aloud, Malcolm knew her engagement had been one of the reasons he’d left his family and the society they lived in behind. It just wasn’t right to feel this odd mixture of love and hate for a woman that he could never have. So he had left, putting to rest any chance of running into her again.

  Where was her groom-to-be, anyway? He knew her engagement had been planned already. Just like his own brother, Meredith had been saddled with the family responsibility of marriage and children. Why wasn’t that man here helping her? Where was his influence in her home and how the hell had Malcolm managed to forget that the man existed?

  Wandering out of her room and into the rest of the apartment, Malcolm discovered the same Spartan feel. There was nothing showing that anyone besides Meredith was living there. By this point he was sure the man would have at least been close to living with her. His own brother had already moved his wife to be in with him. Why hadn’t Meredith?

  Even as he searched her kitchen for something to give her when she woke up, he only found the skeleton of a life. A single wine glass sitting next to the sink and a single meal of takeout on the counter were the only signs that she even used the room. Malcolm would bet a year’s worth of rent that Meredith’s study was where he’d find the real personality of the little witch shine.

  Plopping down on the plush couch in the living room, Malcolm was reluctant to search through any more of her private life. Whatever was going on with her engagement was none of his business. He had other things to worry about. Meredith would sleep the rest of the night, which gave him enough time to let things settle down at his place and check on what was left.

  Digging a short candle out of his satchel, Malcolm took a deep breath and started focusing on all the research that had filled his home. Letting that breath out, he thought about the dark alley he had cornered Meredith in earlier. The memory of the sound of his steps over the pavement filled his mind as he struck a match, and as he lit the candle he could feel the bricks pressed against the palms of his hands when he made her talk. As his eyes unfocused he could see the place where he realized that she would die without his help.

  The wick flared to life and he blinked.

  Then he was standing in that alley again. Candlelight was the fastest way to move about if a witch or wizard could manage to master it. If Meredith had been stronger or if he’d known what the inside of her apartment looked like he would have done it then, but the magical drain could have easily pushed her beyond exhausted and closer to fading.

  Adjusting the strap of his satchel, Malcolm glanced around the building towards his apartment. There were no more blaring lights and everyone had moved on. What he had told Meredith was true. They didn’t ask questions in Magic Town and they didn’t stick around to figure out the mess either. It didn’t take him long to get to his building and past the yellow tape.

  The charred bricks were still hot, but as he made his way up the stairwell it was clear that the fire had been controlled long before it had done any real structural damage. While the building might be salvageable, the last four years of his life was spread out in wet ashes. He spotted his safe in the corner peeking out from blackened shelving. With a nod, Malcolm started kicking through the mess, looking for his spell book.

  Unless that imp had some powerful magic backing him, that book should have been thrown back out of the flame. None of his books could travel through fire, or anything else, without him. It was a failsafe spell he’d created himself after his brother had shown up demanding one of the family spell books. Malcolm might not be worth much to his family, but those books had been entrusted to him for safekeeping. That meant wherever he went, they went.

  It felt odd shuffling through the burned-out husk of the only life he had ever known outside of his family and the society that surrounded them. A touch depressing really, but he could do it again. He still remembered most of everything that had been lost. As long as the spell books survived, he could find
another apartment and go on with his second son lifestyle.

  When the worn and slightly burnt book was kicked loose from what was left of his couch, Malcolm nearly jumped for joy. He picked it up and bumped it on his leg to knock off the dirt and ash. With this he no longer had any reason to deal with Meredith Blackburn.

  He was pulling his other spell books from the safe when the image of her eyes flashing with anger crept into his mind. Even as desperate as she was, Meredith still had a fire in her. The will to live was strong. So strong that it had brought too much of her draining magic to the surface, shortening her waning life force. Glaring down at the books, Malcolm made up his mind.

  Meredith Blackburn was not going to die.

  ****

  Something was tickling her nose. Brushing it aside, Meredith nuzzled deeper into the comfortable pillow. She still felt the heavy tug of sleep, but another tickle traced over her ear. Meredith groaned and tried to swat it away, but was instead greeted with a man’s deep chuckle. “Come on. It’s time to get to business.”

  The sound of his voice made her eyes shoot open. Meredith didn’t sit up at first. She just stared at her surroundings. The bold red comforter with black vines was definitely hers, and so was the lamp on the night stand. “Malcolm, what are you doing in my bedroom?” she asked, finally rolling over to look at the man leaning over her.

  He was close. So close that she could make out the golden flakes that dotted his blue eyes. Strands of blond hair brushed downwards, trying to hide the merriment that danced around those golden flakes, and a grin graced his full lips. “I’m trying to wake you up, Sleeping Beauty,” he answered, sitting back a little further away from her. “You’ve been asleep the better part of the morning.”

  Pushing herself up to lean back on the headboard, Meredith knew that couldn’t be right. “No. I couldn’t have.”

  “You sure did, Beautiful,” Malcolm said as he reached his hand out to her forehead. He brushed a strand of her long hair away and flattened his palm against her skin for a second.

  Confused and oddly amused by his statement, Meredith let out a short laugh. “Did you just call me ‘Beautiful’?”

  His hand trailed down her cheek and his thumb caressed her skin gently. “Yeah, I did,” he answered in a low, husky voice that sent a frighteningly pleasant shiver through Meredith.

  One hand pressed into the bed beside her thigh, supporting his weight.

  A warm flush of excitement rushed over her as she stared back at the man. At first she thought he was going to kiss her, but he stopped just before that. He was hovering just inches away from her, searching her face. His jaw was tense, like he was thinking, but he didn’t offer any clue as to what he was doing or what he wanted her to do. Soft breaths brushed over her lips and she almost wanted to lean forward to find out how soft his lips were, but couldn’t. This went on for a long second before Meredith blinked and whispered, “What are you doing? We’ve got to find the Dragon’s Eye.”

  He pulled back and let his head drop, hiding his face.

  Clearing his throat, Malcolm looked back up at her and nodded. “And we will, but you haven’t been resting at all, have you?” he asked, raising an eyebrow in accusation. Meredith gave him a blank stare. Of course she hadn’t been getting a lot of sleep. She’d spent most of the week searching for her family’s relic and him. “Your magic is fading, Meredith. You should have at least been taking care of your body. You haven’t been eating right either.”

  Meredith watched him lean forward and grab a tall cup off her nightstand. When he held it out to her, she stared down at the milky white liquid and asked, “What’s that?”

  “It’s a protein shake. It won’t keep your magic from fading, but it’ll help keep your body going a little longer.” He pressed the cup into her hand, and when she didn’t immediately start drinking, he added, “You have to feed yourself if you’re going after the Dragon’s Eye.”

  Letting out a sigh, Meredith tipped the drink back and gulped it down quickly. The vanilla flavoring was surprising. “Where did you get this?” she asked, after setting the cup aside.

  “I picked it up at the store,” he answered, leaning over her. “You need to take better care of yourself, Meredith. Your entire family is counting on you. You pushed yourself too hard looking for me,” he said, grabbing up the empty glass and standing. “I’ll give you a few minutes to get up, and then we can get to work.”

  Meredith stared after him as he left her room. The whisper of her door closing made her give herself a shake. Since when did Malcolm care about her health? He’d even bought that drink and he must have helped her back to her place the night before. Just moments before it had seemed like he wanted to kiss her, and even though she wanted it too, she just didn’t understand. Malcolm Blackwood was off limits. Always had been and always would be.

  Vague memories of the subway trip and speaking with the doorman filtered through her sleepy haze and Meredith let out a sigh. He could have taken advantage of her if he’d wanted to. Malcolm could have left her in that alley too, but he didn’t. Instead, he’d treated her with an amount of respect she hadn’t expected. It was a surprising soft side of the man that she hadn’t known existed, but she was happy to see it. It made the odd tingle she felt every time he touched her make a little more sense and seem a bit less wrong.

  Getting up out of the comfortable bed, Meredith started moving around her room. A quick hair brushing and a change of clothes was all she really needed before stepping out into the living room to start her hunt again.

  Malcolm was walking out of the kitchen just as she was stepping out of her room. Meredith noticed he had also found a new set of clothes; a simple pair of jeans and a nice button-up shirt. She hadn’t thought about it before, but the smell of fire was gone too. “Did you take a shower while I was out?”

  He flashed her a grin. “Yeah. Figured you wouldn’t mind,” he answered, twirling one of her stainless steel chopsticks between his fingers. “Ready to talk shop?”

  Eyeing the chopstick and the nimble mastery of his fingers spinning it, Meredith nodded. “Yeah. I was going to ask if you had anyway of tracking your spell book. It might be faster than trying to track the Dragon’s Eye and you’d have a stronger connection with it,” she said, looking away from his hand. The thought of private attention from his skilled hands was causing an ache that almost had her pressing her thighs together.

  Seemingly unaware of her internal dilemma, Malcolm just shook his head and picked up a scrap of paper from her coffee table. “I tried to track it. Seems one of my own spells is backfiring on me. I enchanted it to be unfindable. So, unless you’ve got something like that on your relic, I’m going to have to track that.” He held the paper out to her and explained, “I wrote down the things I’m going to need. When you get them together, we’ll get started.”

  Looking over the short list, Meredith nodded. “I’ve got most of this, but none of it really seems needed for a tracking spell.”

  “I’ve got everything I need for that. Those things are for the branding,” Malcolm told her calmly.

  Her heart beat picked up as she suddenly remembered what she had agreed to. The very idea of Malcolm marking her was both terrifying and exciting at the same time. Sharing magical energy was akin to sex magic and just as intimate. “Are you sure about the branding?” Nibbling on her lower lip, Meredith glanced up from the list.

  The first thing she’d noticed was the hard look in his eyes. “You’re not going without that brand,” he said, determination lacing his voice. She knew he was just covering his own ass, but it sounded more like a man protecting something very precious.

  Meredith wanted to challenge that, but knew she didn’t have a foot to stand on. Her magic was fading and Malcolm Blackwood didn’t want a Blackburn’s death on his hands. Nodding, she relented. “Okay. It might take me a bit to dig everything out, though.”

  He flashed her another grin and in an instant was back to his normal self. “That’s fine.
I’m going to stretch out while you do that,” he said and walked straight past her and into her bedroom.

  With a sigh, Meredith turned and followed him. She stopped in the doorway and watched him flop down on her bed like it was the most natural thing in the world. Swallowing the odd excitement of seeing him there, Meredith marched to the chest at the foot of her bed.

  She dug through the small wooden chest of magical supplies, pulling out useful and needed items along the way. She was overly aware of Malcolm lounging across the end of her bed just a few feet away. Here and there she caught glimpses of his outstretched form. He had one knee bent up and his strong arms prompted under his head. She was as equally frustrated with him as she was fascinated by him.

  Her apartment was large enough that Malcolm could have wandered around or even taken over the guest room while she dug out the tools he had asked for, but instead he had strolled right into the master bedroom and immediately sat himself down on her bed. How could a man who had spent his entire life hating someone just waltz into her home and stretch out on her bed? And how come he had to look so good doing it?

  Dropping a brass bowl on the floor beside her, Meredith let out a little huff. The tools Malcolm had asked for were easily found, but the ingredient was a little harder to find. The tools included a simple brass bowl, a few candles, and a thin sharp-tipped object. He had written down “something like a knitting needle” for that last tool, but it seemed the chopstick would do just fine. The rowan resin was a little harder to find. She had been lucky to have a small peddle of it tucked away in an old box her mother had sent her years before. The trick was remembering where she had stashed it away.

  She glanced up at him again. He was still stretched out, a calm look covering his face. Meredith could make out a two day shadow of stubble across his cheeks. Should have shaved before meeting up with his “student,” she grumbled silently and returned to her search. Finally at the bottom of the chest she found the old box and the treasure hidden away inside. Closing the lid of the ancient chest, Meredith made sure it made an extra thud.