NOVA

As I made my way back down the hall towards the living room, I couldn't help but feel as if a dark cloud was following behind me. While the desire to forget about the chaos that currently surrounded our lives was strong, I knew I couldn't do it entirely. Things were going on with Nevada that I knew nothing about, the answers feeling just out of reach. 

I hated seeing her that way, the normal bright green eyes that I knew so well were dull and haunted despite the smile she wore on her face. She was suffering and more so than she would admit. I had felt the strain on her energy, her once vibrant life force now drawn taught and pale in comparison. If only I could help her, if I could find a way to ease her pain, I would gladly do so without hesitation. Nevada was all I had left.

The gentle hum of music threaded its way into my thoughts and it drew my attention to the two people I had left in the living room while I tended to my sister. Michael and Cecile were both on the couch now, one of Cecile's long legs curled around Michael's as they conversed in hushed voices. Leaning on the doorway with my hands tucked loosely into the front pockets of my jeans, I let my eyes trail over the two of them.

Cecile was gorgeous in her little pink dress, her lips curved in a teasing smile as Michael slowly slipped the tips of his fingers under the hem. I watched as Michael tilted his head, his nose grazing the skin on her neck as he whispered something in her ear that caused her to blush. As if finally sensing my presence, Michael lifted his head and pulled away from Cecile a fraction as he looked at me, a hint of concern in his eyes. 

"Everything alright?" Michael asked.

I nodded my head but said nothing as I continued to lean against the door frame. The plan had been to let them distract me, take my mind off of everything I didn't want to think about. That was why I had come here, not because Michael was a warlock that could hide Nevada and I. That just happened to be a perk to the current situation, but it hadn't influenced my decision to be here.

Michael was a very attractive man, his tan skin and short brown hair mixed with his lean build had always drawn me to him. I knew that he harbored feelings for me even if I had always made it clear that I had no interest in anything beyond certain… benefits. Don't get me wrong, they were very good benefits as he had over a century of experience compared to most other men I had been with. There had been a time, recently in fact, that I thought that maybe I could let myself be interested in Michael in regards to something more than just friendship and sex. However, that had changed after the time I had spent with Hatter.

Michael gently untangled himself from Cecile and made his way towards me but stopped at the table a few feet away from me that was positioned against the wall. He poured a glass of scotch and then proceeded to close the distance between us, holding the glass out to me. I hesitated only briefly before accepting it and downing half the contents. Michael's lips twitched but he didn't comment, instead he hooked his thumbs into my belt loops and tugged me farther into the room.

I didn't protest, wanting nothing more than to escape the direction my mind had wandered. I looked down at Michael, as he was a couple of inches shorter than me, and licked my lips as my eyes met his. They were a rich mosaic of colors, often changing to one more than the other. As he looked back at me, I watched as they slowly turned to amber, the same warm hue as… 

Don't think about him!, I growled to myself and forced his image from my mind and focused back on Michael. 

"I can help Nevada, if you want," Michael told me, his voice low. 

"You can? How?" I asked in surprise at his unexpected words.

Michael shrugged. "I have my ways and many talents, Nova, and if you want then I'll do what I can for her."

"Yes, please," I replied without a second thought. "I can't stand to see her that way."

I felt hands snake slowly under the back of my shirt and recognized Cecile's presence behind me as she began to lift my shirt. Michael's still amber eyes darkened as I helped her tug the fabric over my head and my bare chest was displayed before him. 

"I only want one thing in return," he said, his voice low and husky as his eyes drank in the sight of me standing shirtless before him. I held still, waiting for his request and hoping I wouldn't regret whatever he would ask of me. Finally, he looked back up at me with lust filled eyes. "Let me have you."

My breath caught in my throat at the double meaning his words held. I had been with Michael before over the last few years and after I had told Nevada who my father was it had been him that I had gone to to forget, letting him do as he pleased in hopes I could escape the memories for a short while. Cecile had been a part of that was well, a marathon of sex and all things debauched. However, I knew in my bones, what Michael was really asking of me.

An image of Hatter flashed in my mind, the memory of how he smelled, how he had tasted and felt when I had kissed him; the feel of his lips against mine. Even though I didn't want to face whatever had happened between us, was I really willing to let it all go as if it had never happened and to be with Michael the way he wanted? The thought of Nevada and how she was barely keeping herself together was the deciding factor. She needed help and I couldn't do it myself. 

"Okay," I whispered, my heart aching as the word left my lips for reasons I didn't want to think about. 

Michael smiled, his eyes triumphant as he looked behind me at Cecile.

"Cecile, how about you give Nova and I tonight?" He spoke it as a question but it wasn't. 

She looked momentarily taken aback and hurt crossed her face before she pulled herself together. With a smile pasted on her face, Cecile moved by me and lightly dragged the tips of her nails across my chest as she made to gather her purse before heading to the door.

"Call me when you boys are ready to party," she tossed over her shoulder with a smirk before shutting the door behind her, leaving Michael and I alone.

I looked back at him, unsure of what to say.

"I can make you forget about him, you know," Michael said quietly as he stepped closer to me. His warm breath caressed the skin of my chest as he spoke. "All you have to do is let me."

Closing my eyes, I attempted to clear my mind and empty it of everything that wasn't in this moment. I had come here to not think about him or my father or anything else, to get away from it all for at least a little while. However, now that the moment had come, offering itself to me on a silver platter, I hesitated. But the desire to help Nevada outweighed everything else. 

Suddenly, Michael took a step back and linked his hand in mine, silently pulling me from the room. He led me down the hall and towards his bedroom at the end of the hallway, opening the door a few moments later. I had been in his room before, of course, so the cream colored walls, black dresser and matching nightstand weren't anything of a surprise. However, I stopped in my tracks when I saw the California king sized bed that now took up the majority of the room, the blood red sheets and comforter that adorned it.

"This is new," I commented as I ran my hand over the black wooden footboard.

"Uh, yeah. Needed something bigger," Michael replied, vaguely sounding uncomfortable. 

I looked at him and offered him a small smile. "I like it. More room to play."

Michael bit his lip, not saying anything as he stepped closer to me once more and pulled my head down to his. When his lips brushed mine and then again more firmly I couldn't help but notice that Michael's lips weren't as full as Hatter's, and while Hatter tasted of oranges and spice, Michael was the opposite. As his tongue battled mine for dominance, the taste of spearmint danced across my tastebuds leaving behind a coolness as I breathed him in.

I knew it was wrong to compare the two men, knew that it wasn't fair to Michael especially. He was a good man who had been by my side for years, a friend and a lover who cared for me. Michael deserved my full attention, but why couldn't I stop thinking of him? Why was I wishing it was Hatter who was kissing me instead?

Attempting to push all thoughts of Hatter away, I fumbled with the button of Michael's cargo shorts until it popped free. My movements were frantic as I desperately wanted to get away from my own mind, to let Michael envelope me with his presence. I kicked off my boots without breaking contact, one hand wrapped around the back of his neck while the other gripped his hip as I pulled him closer.

After several minutes of fevered kisses and roaming hands, Michael gently pushed against my chest until the back of my legs met the bed. With one last easy shove, I found myself lying on top of the comforter as Michael tugged his shirt over his head and stood between my legs that were still hanging over the footboard. His chest was bare and slightly muscular, a light dusting of dark hair trailed from his stomach and disappeared into the band of his boxer briefs.

I propped on my elbows and watched as he pushed his shorts from his hips before stepping out of them completely. I licked my lips as Michael slowly climbed on the bed, hovering over me as his lean legs straddled my hips. With lust filled eyes, he leaned his head down and kissed me again, his mouth hot and hungry as I did my best to give him my full attention. 

Sliding my hands down his chest, his skin warm beneath my fingers, until I felt the fabric of his underwear along with the erection trapped beneath. I hesitated for a fraction of a second before I gripped his shaft in my hand, working him slowly up and down as he groaned into my mouth. I knew the things he liked, how to work his body until he was writhing in pleasure and coming apart in my hands. 

It would be so easy, so familiar, and I could do it within minutes. I wondered if I could do the same with Hatter. What would his face look like flushed with desire, his lips swollen from my attentions? I couldn't stop the moan that escaped my throat at just the image of Hatter in such a way, especially at my hands. My already semi erect cock hardened as the erotic image filled my mind making my jeans tight and uncomfortable. 

Michael thrust into my hand as his teeth gently grazed the skin of my neck while he trailed kisses down to my chest. Sliding from the bed, he popped the button of my jeans before tugging them and my boxers down my legs, freeing my hardened length from its confines. Michael looked down at me as I lay on full display before him, his eyes drinking me in.

"Gods, you are so fucking sexy. Do you know that?" He asked rhetorically, his voice low and husky. "But if you keep thinking about that hybrid, I may get a little jealous and think you don't actually want me right now."

Guilt washed over me at his words, his accuracy nearly on point as I tried once more to clear everything from my thoughts. I knew he would have read them, a talent of his that often got on my nerves because he refused to stay out of people's heads. But I had to let that go, a deal was a deal. He would help Nevada if he could have me, and she was all I had left. It no longer mattered if I wanted to be with him or not, only that my baby sister and best friend would be okay again.

Michael smirked slightly at my silence as I pressed my lips together, unsure of even how to respond without making shit worse. With a slight shake of his head, he leaned forward and trailed open mouthed kisses down my stomach and the inside of my thighs. Closing my eyes tight, I relaxed into the comforter as his fingers encircled the base of my shaft and his tongue slid slowly over the sensitive skin. A familiar sensation tickled the edge of my mind seconds before the world lit up around us.

An orange glow lit the windows of the bedroom, bathing us momentarily before winking out. It was followed nearly instantaneously with an explosion so loud that I felt it shake the house. With wide eyes, I looked at Michael who had leapt from the bed and was already tugging his shorts back up his legs.

"What the fuck was that?" I hissed.

Michael glared at me, his jaw clenched and the feel of his magick growing in the room was nearly suffocating. My own power shot up and flooded my veins with crackling energy as if my blood had become carbonated, immediately going into defensive mode.

"Who the fuck do you think it is?" Michael snapped at me like I had caused whatever was happening. 

The sensation from before entered my mind and I felt the color drain instantly from my face as realization struck me. I quickly stood and pulled my jeans and boxers back up, ignoring my discarded shirt and boots on the floor as I tore from the room. This couldn't be happening. He wasn't supposed to come; he wasn't supposed to find me.

Nevada stumbled groggily from the guest room, her emerald eyes alarmed as she saw Michael and I rushing by her down the hall.

"How did he find us? You said no one would find this place," I growled over my shoulder at Michael as cautiously approached the window.

"I don't know," he replied angrily. "This house is cloaked completely from everyone. If you look at it without my invitation it looks to be abandoned and in ruins. There's a barrier around the house that blocks supernatural energy from being detected inside."

I eased the curtain back a fraction, looking out into the night. Sure enough, standing in the road directly in front of Michael's house was Hatter, August, and my lovely father, Dominic. All of them wore stoic masks upon their faces, their posture relaxed as if this was an everyday thing. What the hell were they doing here?

"What's happening?" Nevada whisper shouted from behind me, her voice laced with panic. "Nova, what's going on? What was that explosion?"

"See for yourself," I answered as I stepped away from the window to give her access.

She peeked through the curtain, a gasp leaving her lips as her hand flew to her mouth in surprise. Looking at me, her face silently asking questions I didn't have the answers to.

"Warlock! Send them out and you'll live to see another day!" came August's voice, slightly muffled through the walls but still strong and clear to understand. "We don't want any trouble!"

Michael's body stiffened beside me, power rolling off of him in waves and it crashed against my own. Unlike with Nevada, his energy didn't meld with my own, instead it felt jagged and sharp as it scraped the out layers of mine. Gritting my teeth in attempt to ignore the needle like jabs, I raised a brow in question at him.

"You two stay in the house," he demanded before flinging open the front door and slamming it behind him.

"If you didn't want any trouble you should have stayed away from here, dead man," Michael taunted, his tone warning. "You aren't going anywhere with either of them."

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A/N: New chapter, a little sexy, a little drama. What did you think?

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