Sacred Circle by Rachel James Read Free Book Online Page A

her pointed questions, he could study her unobserved. His gaze raked her body again. She was still a ravishing blonde, with an hourglass figure. Her lips were sensually rounded and just begged to be thoroughly kissed. And the musky-rose flush that stained her cheekbones? It made him want to see what other flush might be produced if his naked body claimed hers.
    He put a brake on that erotic thought—and the insane desire to stop the Jeep and make love to her on the spot. Would the Sisters of Fate look kindly on such an act? Hardly. Then why had they thrown them together again, and filled him with hope that this time he could win her love?
    His gaze centered on the illuminated blacktop in front of the Jeep. There was a way to trap her in a loveless marriage, but his pride couldn’t stomach it. If he couldn’t have her love unconditionally, he didn’t want her, period. However, somehow in the next couple of days, he intended to tell her he owned D.J. Corp and that he had bought her company, lock, stock, and barrel. His pride couldn’t stomach holding on to that lie any longer either.
    Switching his thoughts, he leaned over and replaced the current music with a James Blunt CD. The soothing tones softly reverberated and he returned his attention to the road ahead. The Jeep was eating up their hundred-mile drive at an astonishing rate. He could see the outlying mountain range in the distance already. The Sapphire Lake cutoff was ahead, no further than thirty-five miles.
    He let his mind replay Brianna’s earlier question. What had gone wrong in the Sacred Circle? Anything, he knew. A pissed off elemental, an intruder stepping into the circle at the wrong time, the door between worlds left open. He squelched that thought. No, he’d not go there. He’d rather think a pissed off elemental had latched onto Sienna’s essence and she was unable to fight off the powerful energy. If that were the case, he was sure they could find a way to make amends to the elemental and send it safely back to its home realm. Groveling would probably be part of the process, but it would be a groveling worth doing.
    Thirty minutes later, he switched CD’s again, and exited the expressway onto the parkway cutoff. As the car settled back into a steady rhythm, he tuned into Brianna’s energy level. She had gone dead to the world when the music started, and she hadn’t flexed a muscle in at least thirty miles. What was she dreaming about? None of your business, he cautioned. Enjoy the peace and quiet.
    Ten miles later, he realized he was nodding off under the steady hum of the tires, and if he didn’t find some way to keep his mind occupied, he’d literally fall asleep at the wheel. He stole a peek at Brianna, surprised to find her eyes wide open and studying him.
    “Penny for your thoughts,” he stated.
    “I was thinking about the power of three—how one little thing you do comes back to you in triple force.”
    “Three times bad, three times good,” Devlin quoted.
    “Umm, but how does it relate to Mother’s collapse? She’s never had a hateful thought for anyone. And all I can do is wonder what she could’ve done to have the power of three boomerang back on her in such a terrible way.”
    “Perhaps, the boomerang wasn’t meant for her,” Devlin said. “The karmic lesson may be for the person—or entity—that interrupted the flow of energy in the circle.”
    “Or me.”
    Devlin’s foot jerked from the gas pedal.
    “That’s absurd.”
    “Why? I hurt my parents beyond belief when I willfully disobeyed the Wicca creed. And I broke every principle of faith that I once cherished by wishing harm on you. As if that wasn’t enough, I went out into the world and exploited the very people I admire to get them to do what I wanted. So much for the principle of ‘blessed be’ and ‘harm none,’ don’t you think?”
    Devlin digested her words. It was certainly possible that karma owed her a few lessons for her selfish behavior, but