Chapter One
Rhapsody Pierce stretched her long, limber body. The silk sheet she was under slipped away exposing round, firm breasts, a tiny waist and slender hips that were mouth wateringly perfect.
She ran her tan fingers through her long silky locks, shaking her head once so that they fell into place. Then she bounced out of bed and twirled once before heading to her en suite bathroom.
The bathroom was much like her bedroom, pretty with pink ruffles and strawberry colored roses everywhere. It had anything a young girl could possibly want, including a Jacuzzi tub and a steam shower. Rhapsody had wheedled and begged until her father tore out an unused bedroom to give her the bathroom she wanted.
Now, she didn’t even notice the luxuries that she took so much for granted. Now she had a purpose. She was eighteen today, a very special day in the Pierce family bloodline. Today was the day she would become a member of the Pierce Coven. As part of the Coven, she would be given her powers and taught how to use them.
Her green eyes sparkled as she danced across the room, picking up her brush and using it until her hair crackled with electricity. Then she twisted the bouncy red curls and pinned them to her head leaving a few to frame her pretty face. She glanced once more at the mirror then blew her reflection a kiss and headed to her closet.
Throwing open the wide double doors, she stepped inside. It was a teenage girl’s dream closet filled with pretty clothes and killer shoes. But Rhapsody barely glanced at them. She’d planned this day so often she could find her outfit without looking.
She smiled at the soft green sweater and the short, clingy green suede skirt. Her heels were designer made and the exact color of the sweater. They’d been specially made for her and for this day. She sighed, reaching into another drawer and pulling out the lingerie set that had also been specially made for this day.
A tiny green thong slid easily up her long legs and over the carefully trimmed vee of red curls she’d left on her mons. The elastic snapped against her skin and she turned, admiring the way the black strap separated her curvy ass. Her hand slipped over her cheek and a tiny shiver sent a draft of goose flesh over her and made her puffy pink nipples grow hard.
She squeezed her breasts, tugging on her nipples while perfect white teeth nibbled delicately at her lush lower lip. Desire pulled at her, need that had been too long denied tugged at her body and her mind and she wished she had time to pleasure herself. A glance at the clock by her bed made her moan and she huffed a sigh. Regret made her moan once more, then she reached for her bra.
If this wasn’t so important…God, how many times had she said that to herself. If this wasn’t so important, she might have given in to Carl the night of prom or to David after the homecoming game. If her powers hadn’t depended upon her being pure…oh the nights she’d given up for this.
And the men…she sighed again. How many boyfriends had called her a tease, who’d taken her rejection as a sign that she hadn’t liked them? How many had left her, spinning tires and kicking up gravel to find someone more receptive to their touch? None of them had understood, how could they? She wasn’t allowed to talk about the gift or to tell them of the prophecy.
She wasn’t even exactly sure what would happen today. She carefully pulled the sweater over her head and then shimmied into the form fitting skirt. Glancing into the mirror, she slid her hands down her trim abdomen and over her hips, smoothing out any creases or wrinkles. Then she took her heels and sank down on the side of her bed.
Her mother, Allaria Pierce, was a mysterious and beautiful woman. She was blonde and bewitching with gloriously big blue eyes that could will her husband into anything. Her father, Darius Pierce, was a man who exuded power. He was an athlete of the finest caliber and swam daily. He epitomized the meaning of tall, dark and handsome with a healthy dash of intellect thrown in the mix.
With parents like Allaria and Darius, being beautiful was a foregone conclusion. She’d gotten the best of each parents’ DNA. As well as beautiful, she was intelligent and athletic, she thrived on competition, and was as accomplished in the drawing room as any sweet southern belle. She could flirt with the best of them, since, well, flirting was all she was allowed to do.
All in all, she was a daughter any parent would be proud to have and it disgusted her to bits. She sighed as she rose and then sank down at her makeup table. “Smile, Rhapsody. You’re 18 and will become a full fledged member of the coven. It’s everything you’ve ever wanted.”
She flashed her reflection a fake smile and then crossed her arms under her full breasts, a pretty pout upon her lips. The expression didn’t change when, with a quick tap upon her door, her mother poked her head into the room. “Happy Birthday darling!” she sang out.
Rhapsody tried to smile but it failed miserably and she hated to see the joy slip from her mother’s face.
“What’s this? A frown on a day like today could be almost illegal, baby. What’s wrong? You tell Mama and we’ll fix it right away.” Allaria hurried across the room and sank down on the very edge of the chair Rhapsody was in. Her arms encircled her beautiful daughter.
“It’s not something you can fix, Mama. I guess I’m just thinking too much.” She shrugged her slender shoulders even as she scooted over to give her mother a bit more room on the chair.
“Well, you stop that right this very moment, Rhapsody Paige Pierce. Today is a wonderful, exciting day and you should be looking forward to every moment of it, not thinking dreadfully mournful thoughts. Now, your Papa has decided to take us all out to breakfast at that place in town you love so much, so hurry and get your shoes on.”
Rhapsody dug up a smile though it felt fake. She quickly slipped on her shoes and then rose with her mother, automatically smoothing out her skirt. “Do I look okay?”
Allaria cocked her head to the side and put one peach tipped finger against her equally peach colored lips. Then she smiled and hugged Rhapsody. “You grow more beautiful with each sunny day, my love.”
That did bring a real smile to Rhapsody’s lips. It was something her mother said to her often and Rhapsody replied as she always did. “But what about the cloudy ones, Momma?”
“In every life a little rain must fall.” The voice that answered was deep and very male. Rhapsody twirled and then threw herself into her father’s arms with a squeal of joy. “Daddy!”
Darius grinned and hugged her close, winking at his wife over Rhapsody’s perfectly coiffed head. “You’d think I’d been away for months.”
Allaria smiled at the two people she loved the most in this world. She felt blessed and so very happy. “You know how she is, Darius. She was afraid your plane might have been delayed or another meeting might have made you late for today.”
He took Rhapsody’s arms in his big hands and stepped back from her so that she had to look up into his face. “Do you think I’d have let anything make me miss this important day in my baby’s life? If I’d had to, I’d have gotten out and pushed the plane home.”
Rhapsody laughed at the picture that formed in her head. “I’m just glad you’re home, daddy. We miss you when you go on these trips.”
Darius wrapped an arm around Rhapsody’s waist and the other around his wife’s. Then he deftly herded them toward the door. “You know they’re important trips, baby. I wouldn’t go if it wasn’t necessary.”
Rhapsody nodded and slipped out the door first so her parents could walk together. Her room was in the southern wing of the huge estate and overlooked the carefully tended south garden as well as the tennis courts. “I know it but it doesn’t mean I have to like it.” She pouted for a moment longer and then gave it up. Today was too beautiful and she felt that welling excitement bubble over again. “Are you guys going to give me a hint about what is going to happen today?”
“Just like a kid at Christmas.” Darius laughed as his daughter took his hand and danced down the hall. “You know we can’t, baby. Just trust me; it will be well worth the wait.”
She sighed and grumbled then gave in as gracefully as any teenager would. “Then, since it’s my birthday I’m going to say screw the diet and have Banana’s Foster French toast.”
Allaria put her hand on her own rigorously toned abdomen. “I think I’ll join you, baby. Your baby can only turn eighteen once.”
“Then it’s decided.” Darius stepped off the last tread of the oak staircase and took his jacket from Roland, their butler.
“Happy Birthday, Miss Rhapsody.” Roland was very formal, adding a quick bow. He flushed when Rhapsody threw her arms around him and planted a big kiss on his rugged cheek. “Uh, thank you, Miss.”
“You’re very welcome, Roland. And thank you. I think it will be a happy one.” She twirled again having too much energy to stand still.
Roland stammered an answer and then handed Darius his car keys. “I had Richard bring up the car, sir.” He seemed to calm as familiar duty soothed his nerves.
“I don’t know what I’d do without you, Roland.” Darius slapped the man on the back which caused even more stammering and then herded his girls out the front door.
The drive to the restaurant was a quick one even with rush hour traffic and the maitre d found them a table though the place was crowded and the reception area was filled. That was the power of the Pierce name. It opened doors and greased wheels not so easily greased.
Nashe Wolfe, the owner of Abstracts and two other restaurants in town came by their table as their food was being served. Darius stood and shook Nashe’s hand. The two men were old friends and business acquaintances.
“Well, this is a surprise.” Nashe smiled down at the two women before turning back to Darius. “Aren’t you usually roasting your competitors at this time of the morning?”
Darius chuckled. “Normally. But today is a special day. Rhapsody turns eighteen today.”
Nashe laid his hand on Rhapsody’s shoulder and gave it a gentle squeeze. “Eighteen all ready? It seems like only yesterday you were running into the kitchen to sneak maraschino cherries and pickles out of the walk in.”
Rhapsody laid her hand on Nashe’s. “Shh, I thought that was our secret.”
Allaria shuddered. “That’s not a combination I’d like.”
Nashe laughed. “Want to sneak in again, you know, for old time’s sake?”
Rhapsody cocked her head, but her mother’s gasp and exclamation of disgust changed her mind. “Next time. How’s Terry?”
“Tripping over the kids. She’s having a hard time finding a suitable sitter for them now that they are going through phases. It’s a hard time on the kids but she’s handling it like a trooper. I’ll tell her you three came in. Oh, and Vicky?” He waited until their server’s head came up and met his eyes. “His money is no good here.”
Nashe didn’t stay to listen to Darius, he nodded his head at the three and went back to where he felt the most comfortable outside of his wife’s arms. His kitchen.
“That was nice of him.” Rhapsody hummed her pleasure at her first bite of expertly prepared French toast with banana and caramel and just a touch of rum. “I just don’t know how he cooks like this and stays so trim.”
Darius smiled at his wife and cleared his throat at her knowing look. Rhapsody didn’t know much of the world she would be stepping into tonight. The only thing she knew of the supernatural were the things glorified and horrified on the silver screen. That would definitely end tonight when she stepped into her place amid the council and took up her scepter to reign amongst their people.
Rhapsody was a special girl, more special then she knew. She’d been carefully chosen and equally carefully raised to be pure of mind and body. Darius worried that he hadn’t been there when he’d needed to but Allaria always managed to find the words and the…<i>actions</i> to make him feel better. His daughter had a huge heart and a quick wit with the intellect to do what was right for her people.
It still didn’t help that, after she was crowned tonight, she would be whisked away and ensconced in the castle. She would be far away and out from under his caring and loving eyes and protective hands. But it was necessary and it was tradition. He couldn’t fight tradition, though he’d tried. He’d argued for hours, hating the thought of his daughter so far away from him.
If Rhapsody had known that these <i>business</i> trips were actually trips to the castle, to argue his point with the elders until he was blue in the face, she’d have been shocked. He reached out to her now, doing his best to hide the pain in his heart as he pushed a few stray strands of hair from her face. “You are beautiful, daughter.”
She smiled. “Are you growing nostalgic, daddy?”
“It’s just hard to think of you as eighteen. It seems that only yesterday you were racing around the hallways on those awful skate things you had to have. I thought you were going to go straight through one of the plate glass windows in the ballroom.”
“Daddy, I was only eight years old. And roller blades were the in thing back then.” She sighed and then shrugged her shoulders, picking up her glass of orange juice to sip. “Besides, you made me wear the helmet and the pads, I was perfectly safe.”
Darius smiled, thinking back to the council meeting and the back lash those blades had caused him. “I know, Princess. But even the tiniest scratch on your fingers causes me great pain. I never want to even think of you being hurt.” He lifted her hand to his mouth. “Your mother and I love you very much, baby. All we want is your happiness, no matter what that means. You remember that, okay. No matter what, we want you happy above anything else.”
Rhapsody gave him a puzzled smile but she nodded and pressed her palm to his cheek. “I know that, daddy.” She laughed and then cocked her head to the side. “Is there something you aren’t telling me? Something about tonight? Should I be worried?”
Before Darius could answer, he felt a presence at his elbow. Glancing up, he quickly began to rise, stopping only when the man pressed his hand to his shoulder. “S-sir, I wasn’t expecting to see you here.”
* * * *
King Nicholas Stormbringer smiled down at his favorite amongst his advisors. His eyes skipped around the people at the table before falling upon her. He felt a surge of excitement and the rush of power it brought. It seemed to shimmer in the air around him as if a handful of sparkling fairy dust had been tossed over him.
“I actually hadn’t expected to be here today, but I’d heard that Nashe Wolfe makes some of the best food in four states and I couldn’t resist.” It hadn’t been the food he’d been unable to resist. It had been for a glimpse of this vision in spring green sitting before him now. And after tonight, she would be his. “This must be your lovely wife.” He clicked his heels and bent respectfully over her slender hand. “I’d thought you exaggerating but I bow to the amazing accuracy of your words, Darius.”
Darius nodded a bit nervously before he reached out and took Rhapsody’s hand in his. “And this is my daughter, sir.” He stuttered a bit before Nicholas took pity on him.
He took Rhapsody’s hand from Darius and felt a spark of electricity pass between them. Her soft lips parted and a hushed rush of breath left her. A becoming flush turned her fair cheeks rosy and she blinked quickly. Her eyes roamed over his uncommon male beauty, liking everything she saw. He was as tall if not taller than her father and his suit jacket seemed to emphasize his broad shoulders and lean waist. His hair was long and clubbed back at his nape, leaving a tail to trail down his back. But it was his eyes that seemed to capture her entire being. They were blue, the color of tropic waters, and they seemed drawn to her. They drew her in and captivated her.
“Have you no name, my lady? Or must I guess to earn a smile from you?”
Rhapsody smiled, she couldn’t help herself. If this man were to beckon with a quirk of his finger, she would rush to his side. None of the boys she had dated before held a candle to the flames that he was igniting with just the touch of his fingers upon hers. “But what would I get if you were to guess incorrectly, sir?”
Nicholas chuckled, enthralled. “What would my lady wish? I think you hold my heart in these tiny hands already. What more could I offer you?”
“Oh too easy.” She clucked her tongue as if disappointed. “I’d hoped you to be truer, sir knight. But it seems as if you give your heart too easily.” Her eyes sparkled as he laughed and she basked in the heat of his approval.
“A fine wit and an intellect as bright as your hair, I shall have to be on my toes with you, lady.”
She nodded and then relented, gifting him with another bright smile. “I am Rhapsody.”
“A beautiful name, Lady Rhapsody. It suits you.” He bent over her hand and let his lips slip over the softness, his tongue sneaking out to taste her silky skin. He felt her jump and his eyes met hers. The startled heat there had him wondering what she would do when he tasted her tiny nipples or the heat between her thighs. Just the thought sent another rush through him and he knew she felt it. He heard her soft gasp and felt the rush of her breath.
Today would be a long day. He forced himself to stand and slowly released her hand. His need for her was bordering on desperate. He knew it was part of the bonding process, a process that had started when he was ten and this vision was a tiny baby in her mother’s arms. Even then, he’d been transfixed by her and he’d reached out and gently stroked the tiny red curls that had covered her soft head. He could remember his anger when they’d taken her away. He’d felt cheated. They’d given her to him and then taken her away
He still smiled as he remembered the fit he’d thrown. It had taken discipline from his father before he’d calmed enough to try to understand what had happened and how Rhapsody would be brought back when she was old enough to know what she would be given and what she had to give up to be with him. Now that day was here and he was breaking every rule just to be here now.
His smile encompassed the table and he nodded to Darius. “I shall see you tonight?”
“Oh, yes sire…sir. We wouldn’t miss it for the world.” Darius smiled, understanding his young king and the temptation that had been just too hard to resist. He could remember how he’d felt for Allaria and how that feeling had only grown stronger as they’d gotten older. There might be a bit more wisdom involved but he still felt the heat of the marriage bed. His eyes went to Rhapsody and he smiled wider as he saw her watching the king depart to his table.
“Who was that, Daddy?”
Darius heard the interest in the careful tones of his daughter’s question. A surge of relief flooded him. Perhaps he hadn’t made a mistake that day eighteen years ago when his king had asked him to meld the families in marriage. “He was a man that I work with, honey.”
“I’ve never met him at your office…”
“It’s a big office, Rhapsody. Eat your breakfast before it gets cold.”
Darius reached out and took Allaria’s hand in his. He squeezed it reassuringly. “We have a lot to do today, baby and you’re going to want that breakfast energy before lunch.”
Rhapsody carefully cut another piece of the French toast and popped it in her mouth. She chewed and swallowed almost choking when she glanced toward the man’s table and saw his intense eyes upon her. That same surge of excitement had her squirming in her seat. One thought grew in her mind until it seemed almost all consuming until it felt as if it would swallow her whole. But what’s your name?
He nodded and then another voice entered her thoughts. I'm Nicholas, firebrand. You’ll burn as red hot as your hair in my arms. A vision of the two of them, intimately tangled in each other and rolling across silken sheets in a strange bedroom had her grabbing for her napkin. Heat seemed to swamp her body and she closed her eyes. She felt the brush of his fingers and then even more startling, the touch of his lips on her neck. His husky chuckle had her eyes flashing open and she reached for her glass, bringing it to her suddenly dry mouth to take a sip.
His smile was intimately knowledgeable and she narrowed her eyes. Gorgeous or not, two could play this game. Her smile turned coy and she licked her lips, closing her eyes halfway as if in ecstasy. She sent a shiver of pleasure to him and felt a momentary triumph when she saw as well as felt his surprise. But she wasn’t ready for the kick of lust that shimmered through her when he smiled slowly and licked his lips in return.
“Rhapsody? Did you hear me, honey? If we’re going to get to the designer’s and pick up your gown you have to hurry and finish? Are you all right? Maybe we should cancel tonight, you look a bit flushed. Are you feeling all right?”
Rhapsody jumped and looked away feeling as if a physical connection had been broken between them. She dabbed at her lips and set her napkin down by her plate. “I’m fine, Mom. I was just thinking.” She shook her head and glanced at her father. “I thought you said that this was no big deal and this outfit would be fine for tonight?”
Darius smiled and then cupped her cheek. “It’s your eighteenth birthday, honey. Let your parents spoil you for a day without asking questions, huh?”
Rhapsody grinned. “Who me? Ask questions? Not a chance. Spoil away my wonderful parents.” She made to rise and only then glanced back toward the enigmatic Nicholas. He was still staring at her but the look in his eyes confused her. He looked…pained.
But her parents were already walking away from the table; her father had tucked his wallet away after pulling out a generous tip for Vicky. They stopped to glance back at her. “I’m coming.” With one last glance at him, she hurried after them, determined to put all thoughts of him out of her mind. Even as she walked out of the restaurant, she heard his echoing laugh and heard his words.
You can try, little one. You can try.
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