FOR WHOM THE SPELL TOLLS
Book 6 of the Dulcie O’Neil series
HP Mallory
Also by HP Mallory:
THE JOLIE WILKINS SERIES:
Fire Burn and Cauldron Bubble
Toil and Trouble
Be Witched (Novella)
Witchful Thinking
The Witch Is Back
Something Witchy This Way Comes
LOOK FOR THE JOLIE WILKINS SPINOFF SERIES COMING SOON!
THE DULCIE O’NEIL SERIES:
To Kill A Warlock
A Tale Of Two Goblins
Great Hexpectations
Wuthering Frights
Malice In Wonderland
For Whom The Spell Tolls
LOOK FOR THE BRAND NEW LILY HARPER SERIES COMING MARCH 26, 2013!
FOR WHOM THE SPELL TOLLS
by
H.P. Mallory
Copyright © 2013 by H.P. Mallory
All rights reserved. Without limiting the rights under copyright reserved above, no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in or introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form, or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise) without the prior written permission of both the copyright owner and the above publisher of this book.
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, brands, media, and incidents are either the product of the author's imagination or are used fictitiously. The author acknowledges the trademarked status and trademark owners of various products referenced in this work of fiction, which have been used without permission. The publication/use of these trademarks is not authorized, associated with, or sponsored by the trademark owners.
For Dulcie’s Fans
Acknowledgements:
To my mother: Thank you for everything you do.
To my editor, Teri, at www.editingfairy.com:
I always appreciate your fantastic edits! Thank you.
To my husband:
I love you.
To my son:
Thank you for making me laugh every day.
To my beta readers Evie from Paromantasy and the Eaton sisters, thank you!
To the winner of my "become a character in my next book" contest,
Rachel Wallace: Congratulations! I hope you enjoy reading about yourself!
To Mary Stadter:
Thank you so much for entering the contest to come up with the title for this book.
I really love it!
A Note From HP:
To all my readers,
I hope you’ve enjoyed Dulcie’s adventures as much as I’ve enjoyed writing them.
As this is the last book in the Dulcie series, it’s with a heavy heart that I write this note but I do hope you’ve enjoyed the series and you’re happy with the ending!
I will certainly miss writing about Dulcie, Knight and the gang but I’m also very enthusiastic about new projects that are currently underway. (Be sure to read the first chapter—at the end of this book—of “Better Off Dead,” the first book in the brand new Lily Harper series!)
Thank you so much for all your continued support. As an indie author, I can’t tell you how much it means to me.
Love, HP
ONE
The decision was made.
And now that the decision was made, I could somehow think a little more clearly. It was like the proverbial fog was lifted from my eyes, revealing the reality that we were going to invade the Netherworld.
The decision to invade the Netherworld was both complicated and not-so-complicated. The not-so-complicated part was that the decision had been made so now it was just a matter of planning the strategy for the invasion. The complications arose with regard to invading the Netherworld, itself, because we, The Resistance, intended to dethrone my father, who was not only the head of the Netherworld, but also a ruthless tyrant. Given our father-daughter relationship, some people might have considered the whole situation complex but as far as I was concerned, it wasn’t.
“You good with this?” Knight asked as he sat behind the wheel of a Chevy Suburban. He kept alternating his piercing blue gaze between the road and me.
I nodded immediately. “I’m good with it.” And that was the Hades-honest truth. I mean, only moments earlier, I’d announced that we needed to stop wasting time and invade the Netherworld now. Truth be told, I was concerned that we’d waited too long already. Why? Because I’d just discovered that my father had tricked the head of The Resistance, Christina Sabbiondo, into revealing many of our secrets which had, in turn, completely compromised everything we were planning. At this point, all we really had on our side was the element of surprise. And from where I stood, banking on the element of surprise wasn’t necessarily a good bet.
Knight offered me a smile. Even though he simply raised the corners of his lips—not even into a full-fledged grin—it caused butterflies to rise up into my stomach all the same. Maybe it was because Knightley Vander’s photograph could have been posted beside the headline “So incredibly gorgeous, it feels sinful just to look at him” in good ol’ Webster’s Dictionary. Or maybe it was his personality—the quintessential flirt who could basically undress you with just a glance. But he was also incredibly dedicated and devoted to people and ideas he believed in. All in all, Knight might appear the rogue and, in many ways he was, but he was also a good guy. A really good guy.
“You realize what this will mean?” he continued, eyeing me with his black eyebrows drawn together in an expression of speculation. His pitch-black hair and olive complexion imbued him with a certain Mediterranean air, but those crystal blue eyes muddied any hunches about his ancestry. I knew what he was though—a Loki, a creature born from the fires of Hades and created in Hades’s own burly, large and stunning image.
“What what will mean?”
“Dulce, we’re going against your father with the intention of bringing him down, no matter the costs.” He took a deep breath and seemed to zone out on the road before he returned his gaze to me. “And the costs could be your father’s life.”
I felt my jaw tighten at the mention of my father, Melchior O’Neil. Glancing down at my clenched fingers, I found my knuckles were white. I relaxed my hands and shook them out as I turned to face Knight. “As far as I’m concerned, I don’t have a father.”
Knight took a deep breath and exhaled loudly. “He’s all you have left.”
Unfortunately, Knight was right—my father was the last of my kin. My mother had died a long time ago and my father had only come into my life recently. But it definitely wasn’t a family addition that I welcomed or invited, by any stretch of the imagination. Melchior O’Neil, my father, was basically Enemy Number One, as far as I was concerned. He’d created an illegal narcotics Utopia in which street potions from the Netherworld were transported to my city of Splendor, California, (as well as many neighboring cities) through portals. My father had been importing these street potions for centuries. As an elf, he had the ability to control his own aging, and in the process, he was able to grow incredibly wealthy, thereby gaining even more power. The irony of the whole damn situation was that I’d dedicated myself and my life to fighting crime as a Regulator for the Association of Netherworld Creatures (ANC) here in Splendor. Funny how life sometimes kicks you right in the nuts … well, if you have any, that is.
“He’s not all I have left,” I countered. “Sam, Dia, Quill, Trey and … you … you’re my family. And you all are way more family than Melchior ever was to me.”
Even though Knight and I had experienced our fair share of issues during our relationship, there was no denying that we were absolutely in love with each other and always had been. Despite trying to talk myself out of being in lov
e with him on numerous occasions, it was a complete waste of time. When it comes down to it, you just can’t rationalize emotion, much less try to control it.
I probably shouldn’t have been surprised that I couldn’t convince myself not to be in love with Knight. Every time the man so much as looked at me, I felt my insides melt. What was more, a fire began to brew in my core—a fire that felt very much like yearning. It was a sexual ache the likes of which I’d never experienced with another man. But that was no surprise because sex with Knight was, in one word … addictive.
When confronted with my own thoughts, I felt heat burning my cheeks and shifted uncomfortably, trying to clear my own mind. Thinking about sex with the Loki wasn’t going to solve the issue of invading the Netherworld. All it would do was get me flustered, which was something I really didn’t need to add to the overwhelming list of emotions already plaguing me.
“You’re the strongest woman I’ve ever met,” Knight said thoughtfully. He didn’t look at me, but continued driving. “I admire you more than words can express.”
“Hey, you aren’t so bad yourself,” I said with a slightly embarrassed laugh. I wasn’t really comfortable with compliments and mushy stuff. I never had been. It was one of the things I envied about Knight—he didn’t have a problem balancing his funny, sociable or tough side with his caring, romantic and emotional side.
He glanced over at me and there was no expression on his face. It was just a blank canvas of male beauty. “I am your family,” he said simply. “And I would gladly give my life if it meant saving yours.”
I swallowed hard, not able to face the truth in his eyes. I didn’t want to think about him trading his life for mine because it was a trade I would never accept. I would never allow Knight to die for me or in my name.
“Don’t talk like that,” I said softly, hating the image of him still and lifeless. I crossed my arms against my chest and felt my chin starting to jut out in defiance. “We’re going to take my father down and that’s that.”
Knight nodded with a slight smile as he studied me. After another few seconds, he glanced back at the road, as if to make sure we weren’t veering into oncoming traffic. When we were safely traveling in our traffic lane, he looked at me again. This time, there was something in his eyes that wasn’t there before—a certain twinkle like he was pleased to know something I didn’t.
“One thing I do know for sure,” he started, but seemed to swallow his words. Instead, he just wetted his lips with his tongue.
“What do you know for sure?” I asked, sounding less than interested.
“Once this shit with Melchior is figured out,” he continued, sparing a few seconds for the road before returning his intense gaze to mine, “I’m locking both of us in my bedroom for at least a week; and at the end of that week, you won’t be able to walk.”
My stomach dropped down to my feet as the butterflies that were already causing a quiet flurry inside me suddenly intensified, feeling like a flock of angry crows. The yearning I mentioned earlier became an all-out conflagration of need, so intense my heartbeat raced and my breath started coming in short gasps. Yep, this was exactly what Knightley Vander did to me. At the mere mention of sex, I became a slobbering dog.
“Oh … okay,” I said dumbly. But it wasn’t my fault—words had completely escaped me.
“I need to taste you, Dulcie,” Knight whispered, and his eyes began to glow like they did whenever he was turned on or … jealous. He shook his head and tightened his grip on the steering wheel. Meanwhile, I felt like my insides were succumbing to an avalanche of craving. “I keep replaying a memory of you in my mind and I think it’s slowly driving me crazy.”
“A memory?” I repeated in a mousey voice as I felt my own hands gripping the leather seat more tightly.
I could see his eyes flaming white, their glow his way of telling me that his body had selected me as his mate, and I was his for the taking. It was something innate to Lokis—in order for a Loki to procreate, the woman with whom he mated had to be strong enough to bear his seed. And Knight’s body had illustrated the fact that I was strong enough by glowing whenever Knight and I were being intimate or if another man ventured anywhere near me.
“I’m on top of you,” Knight started in a deep, but breathy voice. Thank Hades he wasn’t looking at me, and instead watched the road, because I feared I’d melt into a sticky mess if he so much as even glanced my way.
“You’re naked and your hair is spread all over my pillow and all over your breasts,” he continued, still staring straight ahead. “I wrap my hands around your tiny waist, trying to force myself to go slowly with you, to savor every inch of you. But there’s something primitive in me that keeps yelling at me to … to plunge myself into you as hard and deep as I can, to make you realize you’re mine.”
Without any warning, he suddenly slammed his hand against the steering wheel. I instantly realized that whatever this primitive thing inside of him was, he didn’t like it. He finally pulled his attention away from the road and looked at me with what appeared to be anger in his eyes. “There’s something in me, Dulcie, something I’m always at odds with. I think of it as a sort of instinctual beast and the beast tells me to take what I want. Most of the time, I can keep it in check, but with you, I’m always teetering on the edge.”
He paused and I could see his jaw visibly tightening. “Um, go on,” I whispered, thinking to myself that I wanted nothing more than the beast to make its appearance. At this point, Knight was teasing me as much as himself, and even though it was torture, there was no way in hell I would let him stop.
“I remember pushing my finger into you and you arching up against me and moaning.” He stopped talking and faced forward, the glow of his eyes obvious, even in his profile. “The beast nearly took complete control of me then, Dulcie. I wanted nothing more than to spread your legs wide and thrust myself into you. I had to close my eyes and force it back.” He took a breath and chuckled. “And then you told me you needed me inside you.”
I remembered this particular incident—it was probably one of the most intense sexual episodes Knight and I had ever experienced together. It was relatively early on in our relationship and I was over at Knight’s house. We’d just taken a shower after an especially long motorcycle ride. As soon as we were out of the shower, Knight had carried me to his bed and the rest was history, as they say.
“I couldn’t control myself once you said those words,” he continued, the chuckle dying on his lips. “The beast took over and I had to be inside you.” He was quiet for a second or two and when he started talking again, his voice was suddenly raw. “I remember looking down at your beautiful body while I spread your legs and wondered how a woman could turn me on so much.” He shook his head as if he still didn’t have an answer to his question. “And the feel of your tight slickness when I pushed into you ...” His voice trailed into soft quiet again as I silently begged him to continue. I’d never been so turned on by words before. But it wasn’t that surprising because this was how sex with Knight was—completely mind-blowing.
“What’s funny is that the memory is so clear, it’s like it happened yesterday.” He chuckled again. “Maybe it’s because I’ve replayed it so many times in my head, it keeps its novelty.” He paused as he appeared to contemplate it, finally shaking his head. “I don’t really know why.”
“Tangent,” I snapped, surprised by the irritation in my voice. “Back to the point.”
Knight gave me a raised brow and a smirk that was, even now, broadening. “Excuse me, Ms. Demanding.”
“Ahem, back to the story, please,” I corrected myself, adding a pleasant smile.
He suddenly pulled the Suburban to the side of the road, and the uneven terrain caused my teeth to chatter in my head. A few rocks pelted my door as a dust storm circled the car, manifesting the fact that Knight was driving too fast. He turned to face me, making no motion to do anything other than stare at me, but it felt more like he was staring right throu
gh me.
“The part I can’t erase from my mind and the part that I keep replaying over and over again is the feel of you. How wet and tight you were when I pushed myself into you. I remember a voice inside my head telling me to take you even faster, to push into you harder and deeper. I couldn’t fight the beast, Dulcie. As soon as I watched your beautiful breasts bouncing up and down, the beast won. Even though I wanted to close my eyes and fight my urges, I couldn’t stop staring at your stunning body. I couldn’t stop staring at myself going in and out of you.” He sighed long and hard. “The only other time I lost myself to the power of the beast was that time in the Denali on the side of the road.”
That was another incident when our sex got rough. At the time, Knight and I weren’t getting along. Even though I told him things were too ugly between us for us to have sex, he could read my body language, which shouted that I wanted him … badly.
“I think the beast needs to be released every now and then,” I whispered, following his gaze to my breasts. I noticed the line of my nipples standing out against my shirt in an obvious broadcast of my own arousal.
Knight reached over and took my right nipple between his thumb and middle finger, pinching it slightly. There were a good few seconds where I completely forgot to breathe. I couldn’t help it as my gaze drifted south to his lap. And, just as I imagined, he was already straining against his jeans, the outline of his penis more than obvious. I felt a stinging between my thighs and knew my body was preparing itself to receive him.
He didn’t say anything more, so I brought my eyes from his erection back to his face, only to find him staring at me.
“I’m about a second away from tearing off your pants and burying my face between your legs,” he said with calm resolve.