Astrid Cooper Christmas Creek Decadence

Rampaging vampires, mischievous cat-shifters, frustrated
spinsters, a forbidden lover and low cal. erotic desserts – just
routine for a wizard…

Banned from using his magic, Severin is banished to live

in the world of humans. So what’s a sixth level mystic meant
to do? Simple: use his remaining skills and open up a bakery
at Christmas Creek. Severin’s creations are all low cal, but it
is his Decadence line—the erotic desserts—that cause a
culinary stir in the normally quiet Australian town.

Severin’s plans for revenge against his enemies are put on

hold the moment he meets Will Lawrence, the young Aussie
whose golden hair and sexy smile bring Severin to his
knees… all things considered that’s not such a bad place to
be when you have a lover like Will. Except the vampires
demand Sev’s blood, the shapeshifters want a piece of him,
and the unmarried women of Christmas Creek want more
than his chocolate éclairs… Except he isn’t a ladies’ man.
Watch the fur and fangs fly.

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Criminal

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This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and
incidents either are products of the author’s imagination or
are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events or
locales or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

Christmas Creek



2011 Astrid Cooper

ISBN: 978-1-77111-055-6

Cover art by Martine Jardin

All rights reserved. Except for use in any review, the
reproduction or utilization of this work in whole or in part
in any form by any electronic, mechanical or other means,
now known or hereafter invented, is forbidden without the
written permission of the publisher.

Published by eXtasy Books

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Christmas Creek

Astrid Cooper

Dear Reader,

I am an Australian writer. Consequently, you may notice

variations in spelling, punctuation and grammar. The setting
for this story is outback Australia and to be true to the story,
I have used Aussie slang in the places where appropriate,
but have explained the meaning within the context of the
story. However, some words may be untranslatable, so I
have included a small glossary for reference. If you’d like a
more personal explanation, please contact me, at the email
address below, using the subject header christmascreek. I will
be only too happy to discuss the nuances of Aussie-speak!

I hope you enjoy this book.

Best wishes
Astrid Cooper.
asti8@bigpond.com

Chapter One

ust what was a former sixth-level wizard doing in the
kitchen? If anyone dared question him, Severin had a

reply: go drop in the void, which was equivalent to the
human expression—mind your own … expletive-of-your-
choice … business.

The recipe was not going well. The damn toffee was stick-

jaw when it should be brittle and the red cherries he had
planned to use contained wriggling things. In his life, he’d
faced down warlocks and rabid vampires, but the sight of
something wriggling or slithering sent him running. Even if
the wriggling thing was a quarter of an inch long.

Returning to the kitchen after the worms had been

removed by the domestic cleaner, and after a medicinal
brandy to settle his nerves, Sev resumed work on his sponge
cake.

Sev stared at it. This was not one of his culinary

masterpieces. But a wizard never admitted defeat. So, begin
again. He wove the containment field, the tips of his fingers
glowing purple.

Ripples of chocolate oozed over the cake, peaking in the

centre. Severin concentrated his spell on the design.
Frustration didn’t describe the moment. A wizard in
disgrace, his magic reduced to six percent, what had taken
him a nano-second before, was consuming precious minutes.
And the spell wasn’t working.

Just a little more and—

Christmas Creek

“Severin! You can’t do this!”
With his attention diverted by the sound of Tarix’s voice,

the binding shattered and chocolate erupted like a volcanic
plume, slamming against the ceiling. The glutinous mass
fanned outwards, splattering the kitchen.

Severin ducked as rogue globules flew past. A warm,

sticky droplet stuck to his cheek. He wiped it away and
stood up.

Hell’s coldest depths! He stared at the disaster. The

normally pristine kitchen was coated in chocolate and slivers
of congealed toffee. Just great! It’d take him hours to clean—
unless he could bribe a wizard to vanish it all with a wave of
his wand. No, that wasn’t going to happen. Severin was
outcast and he’d be left to stew in his own chocolate.

“What the hell happened?” Tarix demanded, striding into

the room, his gaze on the chocolate trickling down the walls.

“You—that’s what happened.”
“Me? I didn’t do a damn thing.” Tarix’s green eyes

danced mischief.

Sev ignored the glint, focusing instead on Tarix’s

transformation. His auburn hair, that was his pride, was
secured in a severe bun at his nape by a metal clasp. The
black and crimson tabard and leggings hugged his powerful
frame. Sev swallowed hard. The sight invoked memories,
best left in the past. At Tax’s side the ceremonial knife rested
in an ornate gilt sheath. Tarix was a lover not a fighter,
which was another reason why Sev had been so surprised
when he’d heard that his former bed-mate had taken on
guard duty. But, who could follow the thought processes of
a cat shifter? Sev had tried for centuries and failed.

Tarix stepped up to Sev and ran a thumb over the older

man’s cheek. He held out his thumb, the tip encased in
chocolate. Tarix put it into his mouth and licked, slowly
sucking. His green eyes, holding Sev’s gaze, sparked gold.

Astrid Cooper

Uh-oh. When Tax looked at him like that Sev knew he

had to watch out for his arse—literally and figuratively. He
wasn’t in the mood for any cat-boy games and retreated a
step, placing himself behind the work bench.

“What is it you want?” Severin asked.
Splat. Drip. Squelch.
Chocolate dripped from the ceiling.
Both men looked up. The corner of Tarix’s lip curled.
Sev’s fists clenched. Just say it… just you dare! Was the

cat-boy foolish enough to make a joke of a wizard’s spell
gone wrong? He watched Tax, his heart rate increasing. It
was suffocatingly close in the kitchen. The cat returned the
stare, a heated gaze, that under normal circumstances would
have had them tangling on the floor or on the bench in
seconds.

“These aren’t normal circumstances,” Tax said huskily,

picking up Sev’s thoughts.

“So, tell me what brings you here?” It had been months

since he had seen his ex-lover.

Tax frowned, arms folded. The playfulness was gone.

“You’re a sixth-level wizard. Tell me that it’s just another
vicious rumour, that you aren’t going to spend your
banishment cooking for humans.”

“Millions might argue that a four-tiered toffee mud cake

without calories isn’t a gross waste of my skills. Maybe
you’d rather see me in a tall, pointed hat and cape, telling
fortunes or drawing rabbits from hats in some sideshow?”

“That would be marginally more acceptable.” Tarix

spread his hands. “I don’t give a pinch of wizard dust for
humans. It’s you I worry about. You have a reputation to
uphold.”

Severin snorted. “Tax, you’re such a snob.”
“True, but that’s why you love me.”
The older man ignored that remark. It went without

Christmas Creek

saying. “You shouldn’t be here. I’m outcast. You of all
people know that.”

“I’m here in my official capacity. Don’t you appreciate the

fact I’m in uniform?” He tugged at the high collar. “I’m close
to choking and my balls itch in breeches. How do you
endure it?”

Severin glanced down at his black jeans and t-shirt. “I’m

breaking myself in for life on the outside. If I wore my silk
robe out there, I’d be beaten up. Humans don’t like men in
dresses.”

“Except Scotsmen’s kilts.” Tarix ran a hand over his chin.

“I knew a Scotsman once…”

“Spare me your reminiscences.”
“Jealous?”
Sev grimaced. “You’re incorrigible.”
“I like the way the jeans hug your arse, and the t-shirt

shows your body to perfection, but you don’t have to
renounce your wizard robe for human clothes. Really, Sev,
you’ve gone too far with this outcast thing.”

Severin snorted. “I’ve gone too far?”
“There’s rumblings all over Sanctuary.”
“More than usual?” Sanctuary—the wizard retreat—was

always a hot bed of gossip and intrigue. Sev had remained
aloof from it, even when the rumours centred on him.

“That’s why I came here. Word has it you’re going to live

in the human world. Working as a cook. A bloody cook for
the stars’ sake.”

“It’s true.” Severin tried hard not to laugh at the shocked

disbelief on Tax’s face. “I like to cook and with my magic
reduced to base grade, there’s not much I can do—”

Tarix cat-growled. “Even on your worst days you can run

rings around every wizard in Sanctuary.”

“When I was sixth-level, but now I’m just base grade.”
“There’s nothing just about you, Sev.”

Astrid Cooper

Their gazes clashed. The memories cut deep, cramping

Sev’s gut. He saw the younger man’s pain. How the hell had
it come to this? And one word was his answer.

Vampires.
Sev drew in a deep breath. The past was the past. “I’m

retreating, not surrendering, Tax! You can share that
information with all the scandal-mongers in Sanctuary.”

Tarix smiled. “That will be my pleasure. Sev, you’re being

expelled tomorrow. I can manage to postpone it by a day,
maybe, but—”

“I’m ready to go.”
“You aren’t going to appeal? Just leave Sanctuary and live

outside with humans? I can intercede, mount a last minute
stay of proceedings…” Tarix frowned. “It’s not too late to
try.”

“No.”
“Have you lost your nerve?”
Sev smiled grimly. “Tell me why I should listen to advice

from someone who’s standing there with chocolate running
down his back?”

“I—What?” Tarix glanced over his shoulder, horrified at

what he saw. Hissing, he leapt forward, swatting at his
uniform.

The cat was fastidious, bordering on obsession. Severin

laughed at the appalled look on his friend’s face.

Tarix walked to the work bench, trailing a thin sliver of

chocolate. More drops fell from the ceiling, narrowly
missing his gold braided tabard.

“I thought you’d fight them, Sev. I don’t understand

you.”

“Of course not, you’re only three hundred years old.

Maybe in another two hundred you might discover how
wizards think.”

“Or not think, in your case.”

Christmas Creek

Severin smiled. Wizards were a quirky, enigmatic lot, the

more powerful the wizard, the greater the eccentricity. Sev
kept his own counsel, infuriating friend and foe alike, while
two of his colleagues kept women as lovers. That penchant
defied good taste.

“So, just like that, you’re leaving? And not going to say

goodbye to me? For that I ought to bite your arse.”

“Like you need an excuse?” Biting was just one of the

things his former lover did well… ah, very well. He must not
remember, because the loss was almost unbearable. Sev
wiped down the marble table top and lifted the dough from
the bowl. He rolled it out, elongating the pastry, shaping it
in the semblance of a rigid cock.

Tarix swore, then laughed. “You’ve got a good memory.”
The retort stung them both. It had been nearly a year

since they had shared a bed. Sev had missed the
inventiveness of his friend, but his sixth-level training took
all his time and energy. Tarix had understood and sought
the beds of other men. Many men, simultaneously, so Sev
had heard. The cat gave new meaning to the word ménage.

But now Tax was a guard, he had to abstain for the term

of his contract. Abstinence and cats were mutually exclusive.
What had gotten into the boy? Or—who had gotten to him?
The thought intruded and Sev suddenly felt cold. Had Tax
betrayed…? He shook his head. No, the cat was a loyal
friend. He had to believe that, because what else was there to
believe in?

“No wizard has ever dared renounce Sanctuary.”
“Until now.”
“Sev, out there… it’ll mean you’ll have to store what little

magic you’re allowed just to maintain your age. Please
reconsider. Take your banishment here. Don’t leave
Sanctuary. It’s the only thing that keeps us alive, forever
young.”

Astrid Cooper

“It’s a risk I’m prepared to take.”
“And then there’s the vamps. There’s a blood call on

you.”

“I can outwit a gods-be-damned fang boy.”
“But not the whole Family.”
“It’s a challenge.”
“You’re out of your mind.”
“So you always tell me.”
Tarix swore in his cat language. Sev had never learnt all

the profanity in the cat vocabulary—inventive and
comprehensive as it was.

“Right now, I could kick your ass. That’s what humans

say, isn’t it?”

Tarix leaned across the work bench, selected one of the

chocolate éclairs from the silver platter and lifted it to his
mouth. Severin watched his former lover run his tongue
over the pastry, separating the folds of cream and chocolate
in a lazy lick. How often that tongue had licked and caressed
him, teasing his cock, his balls, or his arse. The thought, the
memories, hardened his sex instantly.

His breathing picked up a notch. That fluttering feeling in

the pit of his stomach… Hell, he wanted to cross his legs, the
desire and the denial was so intense.

Concentrate. Focus. Tarix was out of bounds. For both their

sakes.

The cat-boy eyed Severin, his gaze narrowing, hardening

in a rare display of anger. “I’m not going to forgive the
Council for doing this to you. And they cut your hair!”

“So all know I am outcast.” Severin ran a hand over his

head, his fingers knotting in the curls at his nape. They had
not used a spell for the shearing, but scissors. The magic was
in place, like an itch, so his hair would not grow while he
was banished. Wizards were vain about a lot of things, but
their hair was sacrosanct.

Christmas Creek

“You had such beautiful hair… blue-black, like a raven’s

wing and down to your waist. You know how much I liked
to run my hands through it and suck the ends.” Tarix’s eyes
misted. “And now you stink.”

“I—what?”
“The shearing spell… it’s clinging to you and smells like

someone’s old boot.”

“That’s why no one sits next to me in the dining hall? I

thought it was because I was outcast.”

Tarix’s smile was grim. “That was someone’s payback,

Sev. I won’t give you any prizes for guessing who. Only
wizard-kin will smell it, not humans. But they have their
own stink, anyway, so they’d not notice you. What a
confounded mess. You should have fried the lot of them
when you had the chance.” He paused. “They gave you a
hundred years to repent and after that you can petition the
Council to have your banishment commuted. Big of ‘em.”

“There were some who called for the death penalty.”
“Only the vamps and they never think beyond the next

bite.”

Severin shrugged. “I got off lightly, Tax, you know it, so

does everyone else.”

“I don’t call reduction of your magic to base level as

getting off lightly. How will you manage? It’d kill me.”

Severin smiled grimly. “I won’t give anyone the

satisfaction of dying.”

Tarix reached across the table and took Severin’s hand

between his, his eyes bright with unshed tears. “Promise me
you’ll survive.”

“I give you my word.” Sev pulled free from Tax’s grasp,

but the feel of flesh sliding against flesh, nearly was his
undoing.

“Let me love you.” Tarix’s gaze was severe, his emerald

eyes dark with desire.

Astrid Cooper

Severin tried to ignore that look, but… what was he doing

now?

Tarix ran his tongue the length of the éclair, then bit

down, taking it into his mouth, swallowing the damn thing
whole. Severin winced. For Tarix’s sake, he had to refuse the
cat’s seduction. Bloody difficult to do with a throbbing hard-
on straining against his jeans.

Beyond frustrated, Severin pounded fresh dough onto the

floored board and added a sprinkle of crystal dust and his
own spell to counter the calories and carbohydrates in the
concoction. He worked furiously until he had gained control
of his sex.

“There’s something I need to tell you, Tax.” He lifted his

gaze, pausing. “I’m moving to the country.” Travel and
distance for wizard kin was marked in seconds—thanks to
the vortex—no long term travelling for them, just a flick of
the wrist and a severing of dimensions and they arrived in a
new place within moments.

“Fine. I’ll come and visit. Which country?”
“This country. A tiny town in the middle of nowhere. It’s

called Christmas Creek. No vortex connection.”

The silence in the kitchen was deafening.
“The next thing you’re going to tell me is that you’re

taking a woman as a lover—”

“There’s no need to be insulting.” Sev’s hands tightened

around the dough.

“You’re cutting yourself off from everyone?” The hurt in

Tax’s voice tugged at Sev. “Why, Sev? Why?”

“I have plans.”
“That don’t include me, or any of your friends?”
“I have my reasons.”
“And like the bloody wizard you are, you won’t tell me.

What are you planning?”

Severin lifted his chin and their gazes clashed. He hoped

Christmas Creek

in that moment, that the cat would have enough wizard-
sense to understand without the need for words.

“Mmmm.” Tax nodded. “I’ll escort you to the vortex. If

we time it right, there won’t be any spectators. I thought
you’d prefer that.”

“Oh, I don’t know. Maybe I could have a few fireworks to

mark the occasion. Perhaps a cheering squad.”

“That’s not funny, Sev. There are a few who will shed

tears at your departure.”

“And stain that pretty uniform of yours, Tarix? Tsk. What

will the Council say?”

“Whatever they want and they can go to the coldest hell.”

He folded his arms, his look intense. “Now, I’m going to
shock you, like you shock me. I’ve taken on Watcher duty. I
know, I know! Twelve months of abstinence. But at least I
can watch them and report to you.”

“You can’t. Too dangerous. If they discovered your

spying, you’d be relegated to domestic cleaner. If you were
lucky.”

“It’s the least I can do for you, Sev, for old times’ sake.”
Wizards rarely cried, but tears stung the backs of Sev’s

eyes. He blinked furiously. “You have to forget me.”

“Not fucking likely.”
“I’m dangerous to be around, Tax. My loyalty has been

questioned.”

“Just because you saved that human family from the

vamp’s orgy. Maybe you should have let them die, Sev.
Look what’s happened to you…a reprimand and a
demotion.”

“What else could I have done? Turned away?”
“Better that, than see you in disgrace.”
Severin’s hands fastened around the dough. “Sometimes I

think I don’t know you.”

“Sev… I didn’t…”

Astrid Cooper

“We’re taught that humans are expendable. If a vampire

wants to sink his fangs into a human, or three, what’s it to
us? Right? Well, I believe, I have always believed that
humans are a life form with the same rights as us. We live on
their world for the stars’ sake. We owe—”

“We owe them nothing. They amuse. They can be trained

to be passable lovers. But equal rights?” Tarix shook his
head. “Sev, you shock me.”

“In this instance I am pleased I do.”
The two men exchanged frowns, silent recriminations.
“When do you want to leave?” Tarix asked.
“Tomorrow. Midnight.”
“Good, that gives me time.” The younger wizard smiled.

“I can fuck you once more, for old time’s sake.”

“I don’t think so.”
“No?” Tarix breathed in, then slowly exhaled. The

pheromones swirled around Severin’s senses, igniting,
tightening, luring. What Tax was doing was against the
rules. One did not be-spell wizard-kin. Sex scents and spells
were strictly for luring humans, or the occasional fang boy.
Tarix had no scruples about how he did, or with whom—or
what. Severin was a monk in comparison to Tarix’s
voracious appetites. But he had remained faithful since he
and Severin became lovers. For Tax that was a rare sacrifice.
Now he was in the guards and had taken on a Watcher’s
role. Was the cat-boy doing this for him? To plot and plan
for Sev’s eventual, triumphant return? Did the boy love him
that much? Or, was he playing some game of cat and
mouse?

“How will you exist out there, with just base level

magic?”

“I’ll store it. Keep some for survival, the rest goes on my

business.”

“Your what?”

Christmas Creek

“I’m going to open a café.” Severin smiled at Tax’s

outrage. “I have to earn a living. I like to cook.”

“But for humans?” Tarix folded his arms. “They don’t

have a refined palette. And they’re obsessed with weight
loss and cholesterol readings and gym workouts. The only
workout that burns my calories is the horizontal kind.
Return me to the decadence of the eighteenth century, not all
this tofu and bean sprouts nonsense.”

Severin laughed. “Those were the times, weren’t they?

The best of times, the worst of times.”

“Don’t quote me bloody Dickens.” Tarix wiped a finger

around the chocolate bowl. “This tastes strange.”

“No calories.” Severin paused. “My speciality. Eat the

cake and lose weight. How’s that for a promotional tag
line?”

Tax snorted. “You talk like a human sometimes. Eat the

cake and lose weight. I like that. But no one will know.
You’re going to concoct for humans and they’ll be none the
wiser.”

Severin smiled, deliberately sparking his eyes at Tax. “I

have a few tricks up my sleeve.”

Wizards’ robes were notorious for the invisible

compartments where they stored spells, secrets and magic
paraphernalia.

Tarix’s hiss was pure cat. “That bloody t-shirt doesn’t

have sleeves. Stop sparking at me. I hate it when you do
that, when your eyes change from that sexy amethyst to that
dusky grey. Stop it!” He paused. “I like your jeans, by the
way. They hide nothing and I’m glad, because you say no,
but your body says yes. Come to bed. You want me and I
want you. Don’t dare deny it.” His gaze rested on Severin’s
crotch.

“My hands…”
In two long strides, Tarix was at Sev’s side and lifted his

Astrid Cooper

hands. Raising them to his mouth, he licked up every
skerrick of cream and chocolate. Then, in a rare show of
dominance, he flung Severin back against the table and lifted
him onto it, pushing him down, spreading his legs wide. He
took Sev’s mouth in a kiss that was on the edge of brutal, his
tongue plunging inside, demanding. Severin met his tongue
thrusts with his own, heated and musky. They couldn’t take
the sex scent away, not without killing him and he gifted his
own essence to Tarix, even as his lover tugged at the jeans’
zip.

“You were ordered, Tarix, to remove yourself from all

association with this renegade.”

Swearing, hissing, Tarix spun around. Severin struggled

to sit upright on a table that was slippery with flour, spilt
milk and melted butter. Together they confronted Ardan,
second in the Council, a bastard in every language in the
universe and Sev’s unrelenting enemy.

Ardan’s triumphant stance, the gloating look, spoke

volumes. “Get out, cat! The renegade and I—”

Tarix rested a hand on his knife hilt. “I’m here on official

business, informing this criminal of his expulsion.”

“And such informing requires you to congress on a

kitchen table?”

Tarix glanced at Sev, raising a brow. Congress? What sort of

dumb-fuck word is that? Ardan is such a pig-headed arse-wipe
bore! The cat’s thoughts made Sev smile. Did Ardan
overhear? Judging by the man’s puce-coloured face—yes, he
had heard.

Severin stood up, folded his arms and leant against his

work bench. “What is it you want, Ardan?”

“It’s Sir Ardan to you.”
Sev’s palms itched with the spell he wanted to hurl at

Ardan.

Tarix interposed himself between the two men. “Well, Sir

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Ardan to you, what do you want?”

“You insolent reprobate…words fail me.”
“That would be a first!” Severin said.
Tarix smiled and went to speak but stopped as a droplet

of chocolate fell onto Ardan’s bejewelled cap. Another.
Severin and Tarix raised their gazes to see the chocolate
hanging by a slowly elongating thread from the ceiling, in
direct line to the senior wizard’s head.

Tarix and Severin moved back as the strand gave way and

the whole mess landed with a squelch, shrouding the wizard
in its sticky mass.

Ardan howled outrage. His hands frantically wove a

vanishing spell against the chocolate. The chocolate and
toffee peeled back, then congealed in great lumps over his
robe.

Sev caught Tarix’s magic-scent as the cat cleverly and

surreptitiously inhibited Ardan’s spell.

Furiously, the wizard invoked more spells and slowly the

chocolate vanished from his golden robe. His hat and head
remained coated, a fine sliver of toffee-chocolate standing up
from the cap like a bristle.

Severin turned away trying to hide his smile. Tarix, never

discreet where Ardan was concerned, roared with laughter.

“For that, cat-boy, you will pay.”
Severin whirled about, facing the older man. “Threaten

him and you threaten me.”

Ardan, with a flick of his wrist, hurled a withdrawal spell

at Tarix and the younger man dematerialised, even as he
struggled with the counter spell. For a moment Tax hung in
the room, infuriating Ardan further.

“Sev…”
Severin clenched his fists and summoned. Nothing. Not

one iota of magic was in reserve. His chocolate spell had
depleted him. Damn it all to hell. He was as weak as a

Astrid Cooper

newborn.

But Ardan was too incensed to realise he was completely

magic-drained. All Sev had left was reputation and bluster.
“Rest assured, Ardan, if you hurt Tarix, in any way, I’ll
destroy you.”

Ardan laughed, but Severin caught the undercurrent of

fear. Ardan might be a councillor, but his powers, like his
imagination were limited. Sev could out-spell him any time.
Everyone knew it. Ardan had been one of the few on the
Council who had called for the death penalty, not because
Sev’s crimes called for it, but simply it was a means to
destroy Severin. The jealousy among wizards bordered on
insanity.

“Outcast! Renegade! There will be a reckoning between

us, and only one of us will survive.”

“Glad you know the fate awaiting you, when I come

back—”

“If, Severin. If.” Ardan undulated his fingers in the

vanishing spell and dematerialised.

Severin slipped to the floor and rested his head on his

knees. The confrontation had drained him. As weak as a
novice and just as damn ineffectual.

What a bloody, awful mess. Tarix had come to him, in

defiance of the Council, and he’d suffer for it. But worse, a
thousand times worse, and no doubt why Ardan had
spirited Tax away, was that he knew Severin would be
worried for his friend, and in exile had no way of protecting
him. Ardan had a small victory.

Sev was banished and Tarix had sided with him. And that

chocolate… he could have held it back from Ardan, but hell,
the temptation to let gravity have its way was too much. If
nothing else, he would remember the sight of a chocolate-
coated Ardan for years to come. Small comfort. Because
Ardan said he was going after Tarix. He said, but would he

Christmas Creek

be stupid enough to try?

Ardan, like all wizards was unforgiving and punishments

were inventive, cruel.

But Severin could be crueller, more inventive. Ardan

knew it.

That threat might be enough to protect Tarix. If not, he

still had friends in Sanctuary… And Tax had powerful
lovers who could protect him. As if any cat needed a
wizard’s help. Cats just made themselves invisible and
waited until the furore—the ones they habitually invented—
died down. He’d return, striding in as if nothing untoward
had happened. Cats!

But Sev didn’t think the furore of a chocolate-coated

Ardan would die down in a century. Ardan was full of his
own importance and wore his ceremonial robe every day.
Just how many spells would it take to remove the toffee and
chocolate from the silk? Pity that the cherries had been
removed from the kitchen. The sight of Ardan crawling with
fruit worms had enormous appeal. Maybe, he could …? Sev
shook his head against the thought. He couldn’t touch those
wriggling things—not in a million years.

Without a backward glance he strode from the kitchen,

seeking out his friends, so that Tarix would be protected in
his absence.

And when he returned, Sev vowed, the reckoning would

be… inventive.

Astrid Cooper

Chapter Two

he town of Christmas Creek was a sleepy dusty
backwater, far removed from the pristine opulence he

was accustomed to. If a wizard was ever to remain
undiscovered by his enemies, then Christmas Creek might
just be the place.

Sev parked by the ‘for sale’ sign and copied down the

mobile phone number into his diary. At first, the blasted biro
wouldn’t work. Damn it. He’d grown accustomed to
scrawling notes into the ether to be retrieved with a spell
when he needed them. Now, he had to write—for the gods’
sake—write on a piece of paper. Primitive. Inconvenient.
He’d tried an iPad but couldn’t make the thing work. Pens
and paper were his limit.

He studied the secluded property. Between the wrought

iron lattice of the fence and the overgrown garden, with its
oak and fig trees, Sev could just make out the stonework of
the baker’s premises, with an adjoining two-storey
residence. The house was older than the bakery, with a
round turreted room at the far end, its stained glass window
boarded up. That room reminded him of his own at
Sanctuary.

A sharp pain slanted across his heart. He had never

experienced it, this sense of homesickness, but knew it for
what it was. The loss of all… Temporary loss, he reminded

Christmas Creek

himself. Survive for only one hundred years and then he
would return to Sanctuary. He drew in a deep breath. He
would endure this.

Sev appraised the property. It would suit him nicely, but

it needed substantial renovation. No flick of the wrist and a
molecular transference—the equivalent of the human
abracadabra—Sev would have to get his hands dirty, or
employ someone to do the restoration. Before leaving
Sanctuary, he’d converted all his assets into cash, but the
purchase of his car, and now the bakery would just about
wipe out his nest-egg. The irony of his predicament did little
to improve his mood. Wizards could conjure everything
they wanted out of the ether. Sev no longer had such
resources. The bakery and residence needed fixing and until
he was cashed-up, he’d have to do the work himself. That
might prove interesting. Not.

He put the car into reverse and crunched the gears. He’d

never get used to a car—not in a million lifetimes. The car
salesman had gripped the dashboard with hands that
resembled claws, his face turning white as Sev drove the test
car around the street. It was the first time Sev had ever
driven a car. The only thing that kept the salesman in the
Porsche during the demo was the fact that Sev had put
down a deposit of twenty thousand in cash—money spoke
all languages and overcame all obstacles in the human
world. The driver’s licence was a fabrication, as were Sev’s
identity papers. He’d paid one of the castellans in Sanctuary
to do all the necessary paper work. But, he still couldn’t
drive a damn car.

He gunned the engine, skidded sideways on the gravel

and turned onto the dirt track in a flurry of dust.

Returning to his B & B room at the colonial mansion on

the outskirts of town, Sev rang the mobile number and a
woman’s husky voice answered and then went straight to

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voice mail. Another human thing he hated. Answering
machines. The day lurched from one bad moment to the
next. And when a wizard was having an off day, look out
universe!

He glared at the phone after he left the message. Sev

rarely had dealings with women and the encounters always
made him nervous and irritable. Nothing for it though, but
to live in the human world and interact with women. What a
monstrous thought. Why didn’t human men keep their
women subjugated, or even better, cloistered?

A few minutes later and the phone in his room rang. The

caller was Susan Lawrence who made an appointment for
them to view the property, as Sev had requested, in an
hour’s time.

That would give him time to erect a glamour around

himself to avoid female contamination. Though it would
cost him a week’s worth of magic, it was a small price to
pay.

Sev drove his car down the road and parked it in the

shade of an ancient peppercorn tree, its twisted, flaking
trunk resembling the face of an old man. Another car which
Sev recognised as a utility vehicle, a ute in Australian
speak—covered in red dust and spattered insects—was
parked under another tree in the driveway. One of the large
wrought iron gates had been opened and hung askew.

A figure, thankfully male, detached itself from the

shadows and walked forward. For a moment Sev’s mouth
dried and his heart flipped. The man walked like a panther.
Was this a trap? Was he a shifter…?

Then Sev caught the human scent. Mere human. But the

man walked… Gods how he walked…

The man was young, but then any man was young

compared to a sixth level wizard who counted a lifetime in
centuries. The human pushed back his stained akubra from

Christmas Creek

his head and drew off his sunglasses as he halted before Sev,
holding out his hand.

“Gidday? You’re Mr Smith?”
Severin took him in—all six feet four of him—at a single

glance. It was an unexpected, but pleasant surprise to meet a
man whose height matched his own. The handshake was
firm, the palm touching his, work roughened. The man’s
scent was… indescribable. Sex on legs, Tax would have said
and the thought made Sev catch his breath as memories
kicked in.

Tarix had not earned any significant punishments for the

kitchen incident with Ardan. His friend had taken a
reprimand, gone to the bottom of the promotions list and
received a month’s additional guard duty at Sanctuary. It
could have been worse, much worse, but Tax and Sev still
had connections in the right places…

“Mr Smith? You ok?”
The voice brought Sev back to the present. He thrust his

hands in his jacket pockets.

“I’m Smith. You are?”
“Will Lawrence. I’m the lawyer administering the estate.”
“I was expecting a woman.”
“Sorry to disappoint.”
“I’m not disappointed.”
Will’s tawny gaze levelled at him. It was rare any man

could meet a wizard’s eyes, but this one did and more
besides. He issued a challenge. Back off.

Sev smiled, to reassure. “You don’t look like a lawyer.”
He glanced disdainfully at Sev and his car. “We don’t all

wear Armani and drive a Porsche.”

“Apparently not.”
Will’s contempt of foreign cars and suits was fairly

typical, Sev soon discovered on entering human society and
Australian society in particular. He couldn’t understand the

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reasoning—unless it was due to envy?

“I’ll show you inside,” Will said.
Sev’s breath caught in the back of his throat.
In certain wizard and shifter circles, the I’ll show you

inside, would be an invitation to offer one’s body… Tax
would have had no hesitation. But there were limits to
depravity and Sev had never—would never—fuck a human.

Oblivious to Sev’s thoughts, Will turned and walked

away, his stained, faded levis and work boots and cotton t-
shirt covering a body that was tense with anger and with…
yes, Sev felt it, a frisson of sex of which the human was
unaware.

Sev followed the human up the weed-choked pathway to

the front door. Will inserted the key into the old lock and
gave the door a heave with his shoulder. The wood creaked
ominously, but opened, and Will stood aside as Sev stalked
past him into the dark interior. Dust lay on every surface.

“It’s the maid’s week off,” Will said.
“I’ll take it.”
“You… what?”
“I will purchase this property.”
“You haven’t seen the rest and… well, she needs a lot of

work—”

“She?”
Will spread his arms wide. “She. The house.” His tawny

gaze narrowed. “You’re not from around here, are ya?”

“Not exactly.” Sev paused, taking in the rooms, sensing

the cellar below, the overgrown garden outside and the
rooms adjoining where the baker once worked.

Will drew off his hat and ran a hand through his hair. “I’ll

be honest with you, Mr Smith, this place has a lot of history,
so I can’t let it go cheap.”

Salesmen the universe over were the same, it seemed.
“What is the asking price?”

Christmas Creek

“Give me your best offer.”
Sev sighed. More human games. He caught a faint

emanation from Will—the lowest figure he was prepared to
accept. Sev folded his arms. “Two hundred and thirty
thousand dollars.”

“Two fifty and you’ve got a deal.”
“Is cash acceptable?”
Will’s jaw almost dropped. “You carry that kinda money

around?”

“Not exactly.”
“Then I’ll give you the BSB and account details.”
Gibberish. Humans always spoke gibberish. “I can give

you the cash when you draw up the papers. When? I need to
take possession urgently.”

Will studied him, head askew. “I can get it all sorted

within the next coupla days. You’re staying at Peppertrees?”

Sev grew cold, alarmed. “How do you know where I’m

staying?”

“Bush telegraph.”
“What?”
“Someone pegged the car the moment it hit town. Not

many Porches, red or otherwise, hit Christmas Creek. The
stranger alert went out.”

Sev stared, heart racing, mind reeling. What was the

human saying? “My car hasn’t ever been pegged and I
didn’t hit anything in the town.” He’d come close, but not an
actual collision. His driving was getting better—
marginally—with experience.

Will laughed, and for a moment Sev’s body thrummed in

response. The human was unaware of his sexuality, but Sev
wasn’t immune. He ought to run from the danger this man
represented.

“You really are a stranger, aren’t you? Locals always

know when there’s someone new in town. The news spreads

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fast. That’s the bush telegraph, faster than the internet and
about as reliable. You stay here long enough and you’ll
learn. I can have the contract drawn up by Monday. I’ll be at
Peppertrees at two pm, is that ok?”

“Acceptable.”
“I’ve got the papers out in the car, for formal offer and a

deposit. Sorry, that’s how it works.”

“Yes.”
“You sure you don’t want to have a good look around?”
“I’ve seen enough.” Sev’s gaze rested on Will.
“Rightio.” Will pushed his hat back on his head. “Follow

me out to the car.”

Will leaned into the ute cabin and drew out a sheaf of

papers from a briefcase. He strode to the front of the car,
hitched up his booted foot on the front bumper bar and used
his knee as a rest while he wrote on the contract. Sev’s gaze
lingered over the sudden strain of denim and cotton as Will
leaned forward writing. His mouth went dry and his throat
tightened. These were not good reactions for a wizard
dealing with a human.

“Done,” Will said, dotting the paper with a final full stop.

He turned to Sev holding out the document.

Sev glanced at the paperwork and took the pen from

Will’s hand, their fingers brushing slightly in the exchange.
The frisson raced through Will, a pleasure turning to alarm,
but for Sev it was as if he was engulfed by fire. Gold lights
sparked behind his eyes and his body constricted painfully.
A wizard knew… and if he didn’t know, the reaction
unequivocally informed that this human—this human—was
a man he could love.

Insanity to consider it, to allow even the thought to

intrude. There were things a wizard could do to deny a fatal
attraction and gods be damned, if he was to survive he
would have to do more than deny it. Because he had plans to

Christmas Creek

return to Sanctuary and take his rightful place on the
Council as Wizard Prime. There was also Tarix to consider.
Tarix, who had risked everything to help him. For a moment
Sev struggled to remember Tarix’s essence, the intimacy of
years of loving. How could he forget so quickly, so easily?

Because the man beside him was inciting responses. The

human’s pheromones were overwhelming, making Sev
forget. He shook his head in denial. He would not—could
not—entangle with any human.

Again, Will put the papers on the bonnet of the car and

bent over, the jeans hitching around his arse in a way that
Sev tried hard to ignore. And failed—miserably.

William witnessed Sev’s signature with a flourish that

would have done a wizard proud.

“It’s true then?” Sev asked.
“Huh?” Will flicked the lid back over the biro.
“Lawyers’ signatures are as illegible as doctors’.”
Will grinned, the tension evaporating. “Yeah. I’ll see you

in two days’ time. But if you change your mind, there’s
cooling off… that’s the form you have.”

“I’ve decided,” Severin said. “I’ll have the cash for you

Monday. You’ll have the deeds to the property?”

“It doesn’t happen that fast. Lots of paperwork and

legalese to deal with. But… as I’m the executor of the estate,
I can let you rent the property until the transfer is completed
and you’re the new owner. The beneficiary won’t be fazed.
A bit of extra money will seal the deal. How does that
sound?”

Sev frowned. “What sound do you mean?”
“Uh… does this arrangement meet with your approval?”
“I understand. You require a larger deposit? Might fifty

thousand seal the deal?”

Will smiled. “Yeah.” He held out his hand and Sev took it,

relishing the younger man’s strength, the feel of the smooth

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skin amid the calluses.

Sev stepped back, severing the handshake.
Will folded his tall frame into the ute and drove away.
Sev watched the car disappear over the hill. His gut

churned with conflicting emotions. So much, Sev thought,
for a simple life in the country, incognito. This Will
Lawrence was going to prove a challenge to his resolve.
Well, danger and wizards walked hand in hand.

And with that thought came an image—of he and Will

walking hand in hand. That wasn’t going to happen.

Not ever.

Christmas Creek

Chapter Three

or the first time in fifty years, the bakery became
operational.

With nervous anticipation, Severin watched the cinnamon

rolls in the new stainless steel oven. He hadn’t planned on
upgrading the kitchen, but rats had chewed through the
cables and generations of possums had resided in the
chimney, destroying the internal brickwork. The last of Sev’s
money was spent on installing a state of the art kitchen. As a
result he was a down and out wizard with not a cent or a
pinch of magic to his name.

He had stored magic each week and after two months,

expended it in a burst of activity to get the house and
business up and running.

The frustrations of those weeks gave way as the rolls

lifted, turned brown and the glorious aroma of cinnamon
and roasted raisins wafted through the bakery. Sev turned
out more dough on the marble bench top and worked
cinnamon and fruit into the pastry, kneading it with all the
patience and dexterity of a lover.

He sucked in his breath. Sex. It had been on his mind for

weeks. Deprived of companionship in bed and out of it, he
regularly quashed the thoughts, the clamouring of his body
for release. But the desire, like an itch, remained on the
periphery of every waking moment.

Astrid Cooper

The sale had gone through without a hitch. Will Lawrence

had seen to all of it with cool indifference and after their
business was concluded, he had disappeared from his life.

That was fine with Severin. He needed no more

complications and a sexy human was a complication that no
wizard wanted. But, that didn’t stop him from having a few
sleepless nights, or sexed dreams that left him irritable and
longing for the touch of Tarix, so beyond his reach… But
sometimes those dreams had focused on another man, a tall,
blonde-haired, tawny-eyed human, whose jeans clung to his
arse like a second skin.

Severin flipped over the dough and added chocolate to

the concoction.

The bell hanging over the front door tinkled, announcing

someone’s arrival. One day he would put a spell on the
latch. He wiped his hands on the closest towel and ducked
through the beaded curtain, halting in a mix of shock and
alarm.

“Gidday.” Will leaned against the counter dressed, as

before, in faded jeans and shirt with a smattering of red dust.
“I just thought I’d drop by and see how things are doin’.”

“They’re doin’ fine.”
“I can see that. I didn’t think this place would scrub up so

well.”

“But you sold it to me even so?”
Will’s grin was sheepish, a dimple in his cheek. “Yeah,

I’m a lawyer. No integrity. Just in for the fast buck.”

“I don’t believe that.”
“Of me, or lawyers in general?”
Severin shrugged. It seemed to be the answer with the

least possible chance of incrimination.

“I would’ve been here sooner, but I had to go away up

north. The floods destroyed habitat. I’ve only got the
refugees placed.”

Christmas Creek

Severin frowned. The human was talking gibberish again.

His confusion must have shown because Will smiled that
shy boy smile that made Sev’s gut flip.

“I rescue native fauna. Sis and I have a sanctuary.”
A lawyer with a social conscience? Severin was intrigued

and it explained much about the incongruity of Will’s dress
and the cages in the back of the ute.

The human glanced around the shop, his gaze resting on

the large, expensive coffee machine. He gave it an adoring
look.

“You’re going to be a lifesaver! You can’t get a decent

espresso for one hundred Ks in all directions.”

Sev raised a brow. “Who… where is K-a-y-s?” he asked,

pronouncing the word as Will had done.

“Ks is short for kilometres.”
“I only know miles.”
“Right, well a K… a kilometre… is a little over half a

mile.”

“Thank you for the explanation.”
Will smiled. “So, when’s your café having the grand

opening?”

“I wasn’t going to have one, just—”
“A word of advice from your lawyer, Mr Smith. Here,

you have to invite everyone within two hundred Ks and
maybe, just maybe, after fifty years you’ll get accepted as a
newbie, never a local, you have to be sixth generation for
that.”

Severin nearly choked in shock. Sixth-generation… sixth-

level. Six was always the magic number. Did the human
know? He gazed long and hard at Will.

“Something wrong?” Will asked casually. “The look you

gave me…”

“You shocked me.”
“I shock you?” He laughed. “So, when is the grand

Astrid Cooper

opening?”

“I don’t know anyone to invite, except you.”
“The bush telegraph will take care of all that.”
Sev knew all about the bush telegraph by now. He’d

driven in to town, told the supermarket owner—who was
also the region’s Mayor—about his kitchen troubles and
within two hours he’d had a visit from Nobby, the local
cabinetmaker. Four hours later, the plans were finalised and
a deposit paid. Sometimes humans could work as if by
magic.

“Set the date, put the invite up in the post office and she’ll

be right.”

“Who, she?” Severin didn’t much care for the idea of

women being involved.

“Just a saying. It means all will be okay. Where did you

say you’re from?”

“I didn’t.”
Will’s frown, the sudden chill in his eyes made Sev

instantly regret his curt reply. But how could he explain to
any human who he was, what he was and where he lived?
No human was allowed to know about the existence of
wizards or Sanctuary. If, by chance, they did discover the
truth, they had to die. That was the Law.

“There’s that look again.” Will said. “I like your contacts,

by the way. Unusual colour, the amethyst. Special designer
lenses to go with the car and suit?”

“Mmmm.” Sev couldn’t speak, not if his life depended on

it. This human… this boy was turning him inside out.

“So, give me the date of the grand opening and I’ll put up

a poster in the supermarket.”

Sev swallowed hard against a painfully tight throat. “You

choose.”

“Ok. Four weeks’ time. October ten. Sound okay? It’s a

Friday. Most people will be in town for the monthly ag

Christmas Creek

sales.”

“The what?”
“Agricultural sales. Stock. Grain. Stuff like that. You

really need to get out more. This town is your home. You
can’t live in the bakery like it’s some sort of sanctuary.”

Sev bit his lip. Why did he call the bakery a sanctuary?

Was this boy psychic? “I’ve never had a home.”

“Until now.” Will shrugged. “This town is as good as any

and better than most. I’ve lived here all my life, ‘xcept when
I was studying at uni. Hated the big smoke… Sorry, I meant
the city. You need an Aussie dictionary Mr Smith, or better
still, a mobile phone with an internet connection. It’d take
you straight to a website, for a translation.”

“Technology doesn’t work for me. Besides, you translate

adequately.”

“But I may not always be around.” His gaze searched.
“I’ll improvise.”
The silence in the kitchen lengthened. Sev’s heartbeat was

like a tattoo in his head. “You mentioned about local
acceptance. Your family is this all important sixth
generation?”

“Yep. Started off as miners, found a motherload of copper

in the next valley and made their fortune. Saved the
fledgling colony of South Australia from utter ruin. We still
live out at Wahroonga, the family property.” He paused.
“You want to come to a barbecue next Sunday? You can
meet some of the locals and let them know about your grand
opening.”

“Do I have a choice about this grand opening?”
“Not if you want to live here.”
Severin shook his head. Social interaction with humans?

What was his world coming to? But that was the past—he
was in business running a bakery and coffee shop. His
clientele would be humans, perhaps the stray shifter. Vamps

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and wizards rarely left their impenetrable sanctuaries,
certainly not for something as irrelevant as pastries and
espresso coffee. The last time he had lived among humans, a
woman named Victoria had ruled half the earth. Most
wizards had returned to Sanctuary refusing to live in a
world where a woman was sovereign. Sev hadn’t much
cared, but had joined the exodus simply to be politically
correct. In those days he followed the rules. Did what was
expected.

In the baking room, the oven chimed.
“Perhaps you’d like to sample the first bake?”
Will followed him into the kitchen and watched as Sev

lifted the tray from the oven, his hand encased in a thick
mitten. He popped the buns on the rack to cool. The kettle
boiled and he made coffee.

“Sorry it’s just instant, not real coffee.”
“I’ll survive, but only if you promise to fire up the coffee

machine next time I visit?” Will attacked the cinnamon roll
as if he hadn’t eaten in days. Much to Sev’s horror, he licked
his fingers with relish, as if he was tasting a lover’s flesh. Sev
groaned inwardly. It had been too damn long since he had a
lover.

Watching Will biting into the second cinnamon roll,

savouring every morsel, was more than a sex deprived
wizard could bear. With a groan, Sev turned away and
busied himself over the coffee. He felt the heat of Will’s gaze
on his back and caught a whiff of his arousal. With a little
encouragement the human would be willing, but then Sev
sensed Will’s confusion, and… great gods… he was a virgin.
Double trouble. Virgin and Wizard did not mix.

Come on baby, light my fire…
What the…? Sev looked around the room seeking the

owner of the voice. It came again—from behind William
Lawrence.

Christmas Creek

“Excuse me, phone,” Will said, reaching inside his back

pocket, pulling out his mobile. Sev didn’t know whether to
be relieved or more frustrated, because just for a moment he
thought that Will had been inviting him to light his fire… for
wizards it was the deepest sexual invitation. Sev shivered.

Narrowing his eyes, he studied Will as the boy smiled

into the phone.

“Hi, hon, how’s it goin’?” Will paused. “Yeah, rightio. Be

there in fifteen. Bye.” He glanced at Sev. “Gotta go. See you
on Sunday? Around twelve.”

“Where do you live?”
“Oh, right. I forgot. The property’s twenty-five Ks out of

town, going north. You follow the road to Mount
Tribulation, then… Have you got GPS?”

“I haven’t got any diseases!” Severin was indignant. No

wizard was a carrier of any contagion.

“GPS is Global… I’ll draw you a map. You do have quill

pen and ink?”

Only after seeing Will’s smile, did Severin realise that the

human was teasing him. “I have a pen and paper.” He drew
out his diary and fountain pen and handed them over.

Will glanced at the ornate gold pen. “Not quite a quill

pen, but close enough.” He shook his head chuckling. “Mr
Smith, you kill me.”

“My name is Severin.”
Their gazes locked. Will’s humour evaporated. The

atmosphere in the kitchen became charged.

“Right.” Will cleared his throat. “Sev’rin.”
Sev flinched. The Australian accent butchered his name,

not emphasising the v, or rolling the r.

Severin watched as Will drew the map, with detailed

directions and distances. When finished, Will pushed the
diary towards Sev. “Can you follow that?”

“Yes.”

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“Good-o. See you Sunday.” He stalked from the room,

after liberating two more cinnamon rolls from the cooling
rack. Well, at least, the pastry had found approval, but Sev
knew that he would be hard pressed to win the approval of
the local populace and a wizard’s social and networking
skills were not high on the job description. Time to learn.

Christmas Creek

Chapter Four

he lush, lavender-scented garden was full of humans.
An appalling state of affairs. But worse—there were

women roaming unrestrained, most flirting with the men.
Sev nearly did an about face and fled the scene, shocked to
his core. He might have made good his escape, if Will had
not seen him and made a direct line to block him off.

“Gidday, mate. Glad you could make it. Let me take

those.”

Severin had discovered, through recent research, that one

did not attend any Australian function without bringing ‘a
plate’. He had misunderstood at first. Why would anyone
want to bring a plate to any function? Didn’t Australians
keep enough china for social events? Then through a little
more reading he understood that it meant one had to bring a
plate of food and if it was a barbecue, then usually a six pack
of ‘coldies’… beer. Thus armed with the necessary entree
into society, Severin appeared at the barbecue and was
immediately divested of the items and a stubby of beer
thrust into his hand by someone who was working the bar.

“Only you, Sev, would come to a barbecue dressed in

black silk and Armani, like something out of Vogue.”

“Thank you, I do try.”
Will grinned. “I didn’t… Ah, hell.”
“And you’re not wearing those dusty old jeans and shirt.”

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Sev ran his gaze along Will’s length. The human was
wearing a pair of black jeans, new shiny black boots and a
violet shirt. But his golden hair was in its usual fly-away
uncombed style.

Will cleared his throat. “Ah, come and meet my sister.

She’s been dying for an intro.”

Severin braced himself for the encounter. A petite

woman, brown-haired, and hazel-eyed, dressed in a short
white skirt and lace top, pushed through the crowd. She
held out her hand and Severin took it, expecting to feel
revulsion from a woman’s touch. Strangely, her skin was
soft and warm and her scent… exotic, of jasmine and spice.

“So, this is the chef patissier extraordinaire?”
It had been two centuries since Sev had heard French

spoken, and hers was impeccable.

He bowed slightly. “Enchante, mademoiselle Lawrence.”
Will stared at him, grinning. “Sis goes to mush when

someone speaks French. Watch out.”

“I do not.” She slapped his arm. “Call me Suze. Miss

Williams sounds too formal and I kinda think you and I are
going to be closely acquainted.” She caught her brother’s
eye. Will flushed.

Severin had no idea what understanding passed between

them, but some human connection thing that no wizard
would ever comprehend. “I will call you Susan.”

“I told ya!” Will smiled. “Sev’s not from around here.”
“You can say that again.”
Sev didn’t think that William’s hearing was defective, so

why would the sentence need to be repeated? He glanced
from one to the other. He should not have come to this
gathering. How soon could he leave without giving offence?

Suze put her hand on Sev’s arm. His flesh goosepimpled

in response. No woman had ever touched him in all his life.
But twice today, within minutes, this woman had infiltrated

Christmas Creek

his personal space.

“I’m not going to bite,” Suze said. “Come and meet my

friends. They’re all dying for an intro.” Suze went to take his
arm, but paused as Sev stepped backwards. “Sorry. I don’t
mean to offend.”

“I’m not offended.” Sev smiled, to reassure.
“You need to lighten up,” Will said. “You’re among

friends.”

“I don’t have…” Sev paused, horrified to admit anything

personal, especially before a woman. The only friend he ever
had was Tarix and he was far away, untouchable. He
swallowed hard against the loneliness.

“Don’t have any friends, huh?” Will asked, deliberately

trying to make light of the situation. “You musta moved in
some extreme circles, because I can tell ya’ mate, you want
friends, you got ‘em here.”

“Do you have to talk like a bloody ocker?” Suze

demanded. “The poor guy doesn’t understand as it is.”

“I’m not a poor guy and I do understand.”
“Uh-huh!” Suze replied, her eyes sparkling. “Come on,

meet my friends.” She held out her hand. Sev put his hands
behind his back and followed her, hearing Will’s chuckle
behind him. He resisted the urge to face the young human
and ask what was so amusing. This whole scene was un-
amusing. He was un-amused.

Sev was introduced to four young women whose sex

scents were spinning out of control. His gut churned with
dread. One did not enter the company of women without
layers of protective spells. He was all but naked to their
machinations.

“We heard you speaking French. Whereja’ learn to speak

it?”

“In France.” At the court of Louis XIV, but he couldn’t tell

them that. It was where he had met Tarix. The cat shifter had

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immediately caught his eye, dressed in black silk and froths
of lace.

“Oooh. France. I ain’t been further than the next town.”
“Dani, yes you have. Remember that night on the back of

Roo’s ute?”

“I can’t remember.” She turned back to Sev. “And you

drive a Porsche. I bet she goes like the clappers.”

Will interposed himself between Dani and Sev, with a

look of apology. “Sev, clappers means that the car goes really
fast. And red always makes a car go faster.”

“Perhaps you could take me for a spin sometime?” Dani

asked, trying to dodge Will, to get closer to Sev.

“You wouldn’t ask that if you saw our Sev’s driving.”

Will pressed his shoulder against Sev’s, a playful nudge, but
Dani’s eyes grew round at the exchange.

“Oh…right. Wasting my time.” She spun on her heel and

stalked away.

“Sorry,” Susan said. “Dani’s harmless. Just a bit of fun, at

your expense. It means we like you.”

Sev frowned. The women retreated.
“Don’t worry about them,” Will said. “Come and meet

the local MP.” His hand at the small of Sev’s back propelled
him away from the twittering women. “I thought you
needed rescuing from the barracudas. Anything in pants is
fair game and you, mate, are more than fair game.”

“I am?”
Will laughed. “Unattached male, not local, of

independent means and a face and body to die for…” He
flushed. “Sorry. That’s just what they’re saying. You got
pegged the moment you got out of your car.”

“I’m pegged? How exactly?”
“It means they noticed. And when you spoke French…

Look, Sev, you’re exotic. We both know you don’t belong
here.”

Christmas Creek

Sev halted, his gaze capturing William’s. “Just where do I

belong?”

“In a French château. Where else?” He spread his hands.

“I dunno where you belong. But give this place a chance.
Give us a chance. And if you need a chaperone, Suze’ll
defend you like a mother cat.”

“I’m partial to cats.” He laughed.
“I knew you could do it. That’s the first time I’ve heard

you laugh. Makes you more human.”

In wizard circles what William had just said was

tantamount to a challenge. To call a wizard, ‘human’ was the
direst insult. But the boy had meant it as a compliment. Sev
took it at face value and smiled.

“Yep. Suze’ll look after ya. Make it clear you’re hers. She

can play it as hard as you like. Don’t worry, you’re safe.
She’s not into men.”

Severin glanced back over his shoulder. Susan winked at

him. “She doesn’t like men?” Sev had heard a rumour that
there were some women who loved other women, as
wizards kept to their own sex.

“Oh, she’s not gay, if that’s what you mean. She just

doesn’t have time for men. Too busy with her animal
sanctuary. Though…” Will’s eyes sparkled mischief. “She
might make an exception for you.” Will’s hand tightened on
Sev’s arm, giving it a squeeze before letting it go. “Just
kidding.”

Will dragged Sev around the garden, making

introductions. Severin’s jacket was bulging with business
cards from the locals—farmers, business men and
councillors. Somehow word had spread about the café’s
grand opening and the plate of chocolate éclairs Sev had
brought vanished almost as fast as magic from the table, as
everyone was eager to sample the newbie’s handiwork.

Once the last pastry was consumed, the compliments

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flowed thick and fast as did requests for him to cater for
social events in the region. He wrote names and phone
numbers in his pocket diary, promising to get back with a
quote. He’d learned that interesting custom from Nobby, the
cabinet-maker when the man had come to measure up for
the bakery kitchen.

Now, no longer the centre of attention, Sev retreated to a

secluded spot under a purple jacaranda tree. He studied the
formal gardens, planted with native and exotic flowers,
herbs and trees. Behind the garden stood a two storied
colonial mansion that was Will’s home. It exuded age,
confidence, wealth—the aura of generations of the Lawrence
family. The wide shaded verandas running the entire length
of the home were used by some guests to sit on cane chairs,
or recline on matching lounges. Others sat under umbrellas
on rugs on the manicured lawn. A couple sat closely
together, their legs dangling in the fountain. They kissed
often.

Sev tried not to stare. He had never seen a kiss between

male and female. He supposed the mechanics were the
same? He tore his gaze away and saw Will watching him.

The human stood alone, across the lawn under the shade

of a fig tree. He grinned and held up an éclair. He teased out
the cream and chocolate with a tongue tip, in similar but less
obvious fashion as Tax had done months ago. Sev’s eyes
narrowed and a smile lifted the corner of Will’s mouth, now
stained with cream. He licked his lips in an innocent but
sexy lazy way and Sev groaned. Then, that familiar gut-
tightening twinge of his cock as it hardened. Not for a
human. Must not.

Sev escaped the garden and sought sanctuary under a

long wire tunnel encrusted with wisteria in full bloom. The
pungent scent was a welcome relief from the cloying scent of
the women.

Christmas Creek

As he walked along the tunnel, leaves and spent blue

flowers crunched beneath his boots. He smelt the sweet
dampness of the garden, the jumbled human scents and…

Vampire!
Sev spun around, trying to locate the fang. Vamps could

glamour themselves better than wizards when they wanted
to remain invisible and this vampire wanted absolute
anonymity. But the malice touched Sev, prickling his skin.
The base of his skull pulsed.

Sev sent out his own warning, a silent challenge that

would have fried the vamp’s senses if Sev was still a sixth
level wizard. Now, it was like an ant biting. The answer was
a mocking laugh.

The vamp emerged from the far end of the arbour and

stalked forward, halting ten paces from Severin. They
regarded one another. Severin, his arms behind his back—
the stance of the wizard. The vamp postured, chin raised, a
canine protruding, denting his lower lip. This blood-sucker
was an amateur.

“Yes?” Severin demanded.
“You’re marked, wizard. I’ve come to spill blood. My

brother is outcast because of you.”

“I have paid, am paying the price for what happened. You

have no right—”

“I have every right. Not today, but soon. Whenever you

look over your shoulder, I’ll be there. I want you to squirm.”

Sev laughed. “I am not afraid of a vampire.”
The vamp’s gaze flickered to something over Sev’s

shoulder.

Severin sensed Will’s approach, even before he heard the

familiar footsteps, or caught the familiar Will-scent.

“This guy bothering you?” he asked, pulling level with

Severin. “I don’t know you, mate, you weren’t invited. So,
clear off!”

Astrid Cooper

The vampire hissed. “How amusing. Getting a boy to do

your work for you.” He glanced at Will, an intimate perusal,
lingering on his throat. “I have you marked.”

“No,” Severin said, stepping forward, his palm

outstretched in answer to the vampire’s declaration. He
willed his fingertips to mage-spark. Nothing, not one
goddam purple spark.

“No?” The vampire snarled. “This boy is—”
“He is nothing to me.” Severin held the fang’s gaze.
Laughing, the vampire stalked away.
“Thanks fucking much,” Will snapped and turned.
Severin reached out and gripped Will’s arm and spun the

human back to him, forgetting his own strength. Will
slammed against him, every inch of body contacting hard
against Sev. For a moment neither of them moved and then
Will shrugged himself free, fury in his eyes, in his stance.

“You don’t understand, William.”
“Too fucking right I don’t. And no one calls me William,

‘xcept my Dad and he’s dead.” He paused. “Who was that
bloke?”

“Someone of no consequence.”
“He said he’d marked us both. Whatn’the hell does that

mean?”

“I can’t explain.”
“Can’t, or won’t?”
“Take your pick.” Severin folded his arms.
The unspoken question whirled in Will’s mind, Severin

sensed it. Will was hurt, confused, angry. All because of a
vamp. Nothing new in that, the fangs always fucked up
everything, with wizards left to clean up the mess.

“If I mean nothing to you, Severin, you’d better clear off,

too, like that bloke.”

Severin let out the breath he had been unconsciously

holding. “I said that to protect you.”

Christmas Creek

“Protect me from what? That guy looked like he couldn’t

go two rounds in a revolving door.”

Severin’s jaw dropped. Human gibberish again, but he

caught the image in Will’s mind of the vampire trapped
within the confines of a revolving door such as existed in a
luxury human hotel. The image made Sev laugh, despite
himself. “Trust me, Willi—Will—that guy is dangerous
and…”

“He’s going to make life difficult for you? For me?

Because I’m your friend?” Will paused. “Right. I’ll set the
cops onto him if he shows his face around town.”

“You won’t see him again… until it’s too late.”
“What the hell?”
“Hell—exactly.”
“Let me help you.” Will clamped his hand on Sev’s wrist.

Their gazes locked. Neither moved. A crackle of energy
raced up Sev’s spine. Will flushed, but his fingers tightened,
branding.

Sev stepped back, removing Will’s hold. “I need to leave.”
“You don’t have to go.” Will frowned. “Sis and I were

hoping you’d stay, so we could show you around
Wahroonga.”

“I mean leave the town.”
“You can run, but you can’t hide, Severin.”
Human philosophy—like he needed it at this moment,

but the sentiment had been spoken before, by Tarix and
others in the days after his disgrace had been made public.
He’d faced the Council and his enemies, surely he could face
one vampire? Yes, alone, he could, but now he had to protect
William and a wizard without spells was less than useless.
He chewed his lower lip, tasting his own fear.

“Are you going to tell me what’s going on?” Will asked.
“You know too much already.”
“You’re a fuck, do you know that?”

Astrid Cooper

Severin laughed. He was a fuck, and a good one, in Tax’s

opinion. The fury in Will’s eyes quashed Sev’s humour. He’d
misunderstood—again. “Explain.”

“Nope. You won’t tell me what’s going on, so stew on it.

I’m going back to the party. Stay or go, mate, your choice.”

Will stalked away, leaving Severin to stare after him. The

frailty of the human ego. He’d heard rumours of it, but had
not believed it until now. And it seemed Will Lawrence’s
ego was the frailest of them all. Humans… impossible to
comprehend. Why should be bother? But he realised, in that
moment, that he was bothered. Bothered a great deal.

And then the thought intruded, how had the vampire

found him? There was only one answer: he had been
betrayed. Sev had covered his tracks, his psychic imprint,
anything that might lead to discovery. Someone had
informed his enemies. Who… someone?

Tarix was only one who knew. Sev shook his head in

denial. Tarix would not! But Tarix might have been forced to
reveal…? No, his friend would die first. Had Sev misjudged
the cat? Perhaps the shifter was playing a game of intrigue,
politics? Sev frowned. No, Tarix would never betray him. He
had to believe that. But there was no way he could return to
Sanctuary and discover the truth.

When he had been expelled, the gatekeeper had changed

the spell-locks. It would be impossible for him to discover
the new combination. The only way he could return to
Sanctuary was by invitation. That was never going to
happen. He was on his own.

Sev leaned against the trellis, resting his forehead against

the metal. He purged the fear, the loneliness and pain from
his being as only a wizard could do—brutally. Matching the
pain with deeper pain, excruciating, it brought tears to his
eyes.

He straightened and turned on his heel and strode back to

Christmas Creek

the garden, determined to leave. Susan intercepted him.

She gripped his arm. With his defences at an all time

low—thanks to the day’s events—Sev’s skin crawled at her
touch.

He forced down the revulsion of a lifetime, a revulsion

borne of a wizard’s training. It was forbidden to contact a
woman unless under the most dire circumstances. Lessons,
learnt with pain, were hard forgotten. And Severin’s training
had been long and hard, his flesh scoured with burning
spells to ingrain the lessons. Not that he needed such
reinforcement. Only a few wizards ever turned rogue and
became women-lovers. They were regarded as an oddity,
deluded, requiring only a good man to show them the error
of their sexuality.

This woman had a strength about her almost the equal of

a wizard! The thought was shocking—but true.

“You’ve upset my brother. When he hurts, so do I.”
“It was not my intention.”
“Maybe not, but you have. Go and make up. He’ll fret for

days if you don’t.” She paused, her eyes narrowed. “Please.”

Severin stalked away, intending to leave the property, but

instead his feet followed his senses, finding William in a
small side garden, sitting in a white lattice gazebo. The
human radiated distress, but when he turned at Sev’s
approach, his gaze hardened.

“You still here?”
“Apparently.”
“You don’t owe me an explanation, but I want one.”
Severin folded his arms.
“Don’t the fuck do that.”
“What?”
“That!” Will flicked his hand at Severin. “Fold your arms.

I hate it, and that superior look.”

Wizards were arrogant, it came with the job. Severin

Astrid Cooper

spread his hands. “Sorry. It’s my training. Before.”

“Before you came here? What did you do?”
“Got into a lot of trouble.”
“That I can believe. And that guy was part of the trouble?

What are you running from, Sev? Let me help.” Will stood
up, hand outstretched.

“If I let you help, you’d be dead, or worse.”
“What’s worse than dead?”
“You never want to find out.”
“That guy’s part of the worse than dead stuff?”
“Oh man, yeah.” Great gods, now he was talking like a

human.

“I’m a big boy, Sev. I can look after myself.” Will paused.

“And fuck that look, too. If you’ve got trouble, then so do I.
Cobber’s don’t run out on each other!”

Sev had heard this word before. ‘Cobber’ meant a mate, a

friend. “Right.”

“So, it’s agreed? I help you? You stay?”
Every part of Severin, every instinct told him to run—far

away. From the vampire, but mostly from this human who
might just be the death of him.

Will stepped closer. Severin held his breath. Their gazes

clashed.

Sev couldn’t stand it. The human’s sexual scent was of

spice, cinnamon, sandalwood, eucalyptus—an exotic
combination that was alluring. Alluring, like the most potent
wizard’s spell. And Sev was captured, ensorcelled. Fighting
it only made it worse.

Severin leaned into Will, pushing him back against the

gazebo into the shadows. His mouth came down softly on
Will’s, a tentative taste. That was all he intended. Will pulled
away, his eyes searching, his senses flaring. Severin was lost
in that instant.

His arms folded Will to him and his mouth slanted over,

Christmas Creek

harder, deeper with every moment. His tongue tip begged
entry and for a second Will’s mouth remained closed. Then
opened. His tongue boldly met Severin’s as the kiss
deepened.

Will’s fingers roamed over Severin’s back, branding with

fire.

Severin groaned, or at least he thought he did. Perhaps it

was Will? Perhaps it was both. He wanted more from this
human, more than he could ask. It was dangerous.
Forbidden.

Severin pulled back and away. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean

for that to happen.”

Will smiled. “You’re fucking doing it again. Coming on,

then running and hiding. You are what you are Sev. Same as
me, only I guess I was hiding it, too.”

“Perhaps so. It won’t happen again, William.”
“Uh-huh.”
“What do you mean uh-huh?”
Will stalked away, laughing. He glanced back over his

shoulder, giving him the sexiest look.

Severin decided to leave well alone and bid a retreat from

the humans and from William, who was more dangerous
than a cache full of vampires, or worse, a coven of witches.

Astrid Cooper

Chapter Five

everin hated parties. This one was a necessary evil, given
because he had to become part of the Christmas Creek

Community. It was some sort of obscure human rite of
passage, he thought wryly.

Susan Lawrence had enlisted the help of some of the

members of the local Country Women’s Association and the
ladies, laden with trays, circulated among the guests with
cakes and pastries and vol-u-vonts which Severin had made
for the gala opening of Decadence Café.

Two of the women—Maggie and Bea—had taken Severin

under their collective wing, declaring that ‘the boy’ needed a
mother’s hand. Sev smiled to think that he was old enough
to be their great great-grandfather, many times removed.
Maggie had taken one look at the café dining room, declared
it to be a disaster and proceeded to scrub it from floor to
ceiling, muttering all the while that no man, in her
experience, could be relied upon to clean ‘properly’.

Severin discovered, to his astonishment, that human

women were not feeble in mind or body, despite what he
had been led to believe by his teachers. These women were
intractable, so he left them to their own devices.

Which, he thought, looking about the room, had been a

wise decision. The dining room sparkled, and he hadn’t
needed to include any wizard dust into the paintwork to

Christmas Creek

make it glitter.

He had woven spells into each part of the house and

bakery. For those with the eyes to see, the walls shimmered
with magic, the windows, doors and open fireplaces swirled
with talismans that barred unauthorised entry, resembling
whirlpools on a water’s surface.

The wards presented a silent, but lethal barrier against his

enemies. Humans would not be affected.

“It’s going well, Smithy,” William said.
Sev turned and saw the human leaning against the

doorway, champagne flute in his right hand. William was
dressed in black trousers, boots and a green shirt that
matched the flecks in his eyes. The heavy silver bracelet on
his left wrist was etched with a Gordian Knot. Did the
human known the symbolism of his jewellery? It
represented a puzzle, a deadlock. Interesting that he had
chosen it. If ever there was a puzzle, William Lawrence
personified it.

“What is that god-awful buzzing?” Will asked.
Severin studied him with narrowed gaze. Humans

weren’t supposed to be able to hear the wards he’d set in
place. But Will did? Again he wondered if he had some sort
psi ability. If William was psychic, that added a new level of
danger to their relationship.

Will stepped forward in that sexy, panther tread and

halted before the serving counter. In the adjoining room the
conversation had reached deafening proportions.

“You look like you want to fry me to the spot,” Will said.

“And what is that noise? You got a faulty fridge or
something?”

Sev shook his head. “Your imagination. Too much

champagne.”

“You’re probably right. Oh… it’s gone now. Yeah,

champagne and I do not normally mix. Just for you,

Astrid Cooper

Smithy.”

“Stop calling me that, please.”
“Don’t like my epithet? Rather I call you Sev-baby?”
Sev grimaced, then saw Will’s smile. The human was

playing with him, teasing. A very dangerous thing to do.

“I hear you’ve got an under-the-counter range of treats,”

William said, leaning over the servery, as if trying to catch a
glimpse of anything hidden. “Why you call this café
Decadence?”

Severin shrugged. He had chosen the name to honour

Tarix’s memory, because the cat enjoyed the decadence of
the eighteenth century. They had first met in that century, at
Versailles. It had been at the palace where Sev had learned
to speak French, with Tax’s help.

“So, where’s this naughty range of goodies I’ve heard

about?”

“You’re well-informed. I haven’t launched my Decadence

line. Yet.”

“Yet,” replied Will, putting his hand over Severin’s wrist,

applying the subtlest pressure. “Someone musta’ seen. The
bush telegraph kicked in. You can’t keep secrets from us.”

Can I not? Sev silently retorted. Humans! He had almost

forgotten that his café was full of men and women. He must
be going crazy with the close association. How could a
wizard ignore the proximity of humans, and one human in
particular? He frowned at Will.

“C’mon, show me this X-rated line.”
“Follow me.”
“I thought you’d never ask.” Will’s grin was infectious

and Sev found himself responding.

Severin led Will into the walk-in pantry. He opened the

fridge door and pulled out a tray of chocolate-coated
pastries, shaped like cocks.

Will laughed. “Who was your model? I’d like to meet

Christmas Creek

him.”

Sev frowned. A sharp twinge skitted across his gut. He

realised he was jealous—the thought of Will with another
man. Then he saw Will’s eyes. The human had pierced his
defences, more than Sev cared to realise. And William knew
it.

“No one modelled for these, I have a good imagination.”
“Mind if I indulge?”
“Be my guest.”
“You’re being very accommodating today, Sev.”
“Enjoy it while it lasts.”
Will lifted the dessert to his mouth and teased the cream

from the opening. Sev groaned inwardly, his body pulsing
with desire. He wanted to… great gods, what he wanted to
do to Will at that moment defied all the rules. But be gods
damned to the fucking rules.

Will smiled. “You and I want to do more than talk, Sev.

We both know it. Except, if we give in to the feeling, here
and now, what will the ladies think?”

I don’t give a wizard’s balls what women think—he kept the

retort to himself. But the image of himself entangled with the
human would not be quashed. He swallowed down hard,
struggling for control. This naïve, boy-human was flirting
with him. He had never been played like it before and he
had known many masters of seduction.

“How do you know what I want?” Severin demanded.
“Sixth generation Irish. The Lawrences have always had

the Sight. Suze can read Tarot like you wouldn’t believe.”
Will grinned. “Hey, lighten up, Sev, I was only kidding. It
was just a lucky guess.”

Severin snorted. In his experience there was no such

thing.

“So, are you going to just cater for the ladies?” Will asked,

a glint of mischief in his tawny gaze.

Astrid Cooper

“What?”
“All these male appendages. The women’ll love ‘em, but

what about the blokes? No cream-filled, chocolate coated
pussies? I’m sure you’ll have eager volunteers to model for
you, unless you rely on your vivid imagination for
inspiration.”

“I’ve never—” Sev bit back the sentence, just in time, or so

he thought. Will’s gaze was smug.

“You’d never ask a woman to pose for you, or you’ve

never had a woman?”

“You ask a lot of damn questions.”
“Mmm.” Will licked the cream from his lips, his tongue

dragging infuriating slowly across his lips. Sev tried to
ignore the sight. Tried. Failed. “So, you telling me you’ve
never been with a woman?”

Sev glared at him, folding his arms in a pose that sent

most wizards screaming for cover. The human—gods rot
him—just laughed. “I can tell you here and now that I will
never ask a woman to pose for me. No matter what.”

“Who’s going to pose?” Suze stuck her head around the

door. Her gaze fastened on the tray. Shock, a red face and
then infectious laughter, her reaction was not as Sev
imagined. “Oh my. You called it Café Decadence for a reason.
Mmm. I just know where you can sell these. What else you
got hidden in the fridge?”

Sev shoved the tray into the freezer and slammed the

door, leaning against it, arms folded.

“You won’t sell anything like that, Smithy,” Will said.

“The idea is to advertise.”

“Stop calling me Smithy.”
“Can’t help it. It’s an Aussie trait. We twist names every

which way. But I kinda’ think that Smith isn’t your
surname.”

“Think what you like.”

Christmas Creek

“Oh, I always do, especially where you’re concerned.”
Sev frowned, his lips tight, otherwise he might have been

tempted to laugh.

“That’s some pillow talk you have, Will,” Susan said.
“Mind your own damned business.”
“And I love you, too.” Susan laughed and kissed Will on

the cheek. He hugged her and then she was gone, her gaze
lingering on Sev as she walked from the room. That look
told Severin a number of things. If the woman was a witch,
he’d have been fried on the spot.

Three hours later with the last guest leaving the shop,

Susan locked the door. “That was a resounding success.” She
paused. “Your cooking is just out of this world. Where did
you learn to do it?”

“Out of this world,” Sev said. Not exactly a lie.
“Mr Mystery is at it again,” Will said from the back room.

“Trust me, Sev, if you don’t start telling people some facts
about yourself, they’ll make it up. Bush telegraph will take it
on and you’ll never live anything down.”

“What do you want me to do? Post my life story in the

local paper?”

“That has interesting possibilities.”
“Not from where I stand.”
“I’d rather you talked about lying down.”
Sev swore and Will laughed.
“I’m going to leave you boys to clean up,” Susan said.

“It’s feeding time at the sanctuary.”

“The—what?” Sev demanded. Was this woman a mind-

reader? Had she picked that up from him, as her brother
did?

“Haven’t we told you about our wild life sanctuary, back

at Wahroonga?” Her gaze was piercing. “What else did you
think I meant?” She paused. “Cat got your tongue?”

Sev frowned, agitated, flustered. Will laughed.

Astrid Cooper

“I think Sis was part of the Spanish Inquisition in a former

life. Surrender, now, Sev.”

“I never surrender,” he growled.
“Why doesn’t that surprise me?” Susan said.
She left with a backward wave of her hand and Sev

watched as she climbed into her four-wheel drive and drove
off in a flurry of gravel. His gravel, that he had neatly raked
for hours.

“Does she always drive like that?” Sev demanded.
“Yep.” He turned to face Severin, all mischief gone.

“Now, where were we?”

“Cleaning up.”
A golden eyebrow raised in disbelief. For the first time in

centuries Severin blushed. Blushed—for the great gods’ sake!

Will stalked past him, brushing against Sev in the narrow

confines of the counter. The shock of contact was electric.
Sev reached out and pulled Will by the wrist back to him.

“You play with fire,” he snarled.
“When I’m inspired.”
“Are you inspired?” Severin could hardly breathe.
“Oh, yeah.”
Severin raised Will’s chin with a fist. “You know nothing

about me.”

“You an axe murderer? Paedophile? Little green man in

disguise?”

The last was closer to the truth… from a certain point of

view. Sev nearly smiled. “No.”

“Well then.”
“Well then—what?”
“Start what we finished in the kitchen.”
“I didn’t start anything.”
“Your eyes said something different.”
Will’s hands slid across Sev’s belt. A moment later the

leather gave way and Will’s fingers slipped into Sev’s jeans,

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the zip sliding down with infuriating slowness.

“Not here,” Sev said. He couldn’t do this. Couldn’t. But

the stroking of Will’s fingers made it difficult to think.
Except for the one thing—to have this human. Have him and
be done with it. Maybe then, he’d be able to get on with his
life… endure the exile and focus on something else other
than a human-boy.

Will backed him into the workroom, up against the bench.

He went down on his knees and his tongue quested inside
the opening of Sev’s jeans.

“Still no?” Will whispered, his face uplifted, his mouth a

fraction away from Sev’s rigid cock.

Sev shivered. The demand for release was a bittersweet

pain. Delicious. Excruciating. The need, terrifying.

Will’s tongue traced up and down the engorged shaft,

while his fingers lifted and stroked Sev’s balls. The tongue
was soft, warm, moist, gentle, but demanding and Sev
groaned, clasping Will’s head between his hands. He almost
lifted off the floor when Will’s mouth fastened around the
tip of his cock and took it inside. Just the tip. His tongue
worked the slit, teasing it open.

Sev ground his pelvis against Will’s face, a silent demand

for more. To dare more. To go deeper. Great gods… this
human was unexpected. Unpredictable.

Will took Sev into his mouth, as far as he could go, then

retreated. Back and forth. A slow drag and retreat of tongue
and mouth, of lips and teeth.

Sev held on for as long as he could. But he had lived

celibate for months, an unnatural state for any wizard. The
world turned inside out as Sev exploded and in that moment
of release, the stored magic of that week erupted, pouring
into Will, bringing the human to a climax that probably
short circuited every nerve ending in his body. Will slumped
forward on hands and knees, moaning, shuddering.

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The magic rebounded against Sev, bringing him to

another climax. He pulled Will to his feet, and held him
crushingly close. He could barely breathe while the human
shuddered against him.

Minutes passed, the only sound in the kitchen, that of

strained breathing.

Will pushed back from Sev. “Man, oh man, what did you

do?”

“I did nothing. You played with fire and got burned.”
“My legs have gone to mush.” Will ran a trembling hand

through his hair. “I’ve never…”

“I know,” Sev said gently.
“Is this what it’s like with a man?” Will blushed. “I’ve

only ever tried it with a guy once, when I was at high school.
It was a fucking disaster. Literally! Ah, hell!”

“The first time is often a disaster.”
“I bet not for you!”
Sev shrugged. He couldn’t explain to Will, for the truth

was too dangerous—for both of them. And he had given
Will the orgasm of a lifetime… And Will pleasured him like
an experienced lover. The human was a contradiction.

Will’s gaze dropped to Sev’s rigid cock. “You want me to

love you again?”

“No.” Sev zipped himself up with a certainty he was far

from feeling. If he was truthful, he wanted this human, in
every way imaginable. And unimaginable. He gazed at Will,
torn with the wanting and the denial.

“You make this hard,” Will said.
“I… what?”
“You say come on and then your look says go away.

What’s with you?”

Sev knew this could never happen again. For both their

sakes. “I’m just an arsehole.”

“You can say that again.” Will stalked from the room and

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slammed the front door.

Humans… Sev would never comprehend them, not in a

million years. And he had the inkling that he would never
understand William Lawrence. Which was the safest path,
but if so why did he feel as if he had been magic-slammed?
The feeling felt much like being flung face first against a
brick wall.

Astrid Cooper

Chapter six.

our weeks later, and with the café now a popular drop
in centre for locals and tourists alike—thanks to the

bush telegraph and his flashy website, designed and
maintained by a high school student—Sev was run off his
feet and had to employ Alice, a local girl to wait on tables,
while Sev mingled with the guests or prepared more
desserts.

His bank balance was in the black. With some of the funds

he purchased furniture and soft furnishings to decorate his
home. On-line shopping was a whole new experience and
when the delivery truck arrived two weeks after he placed
his order, he assumed that the truck’s arrival had been noted
by Christmas Creek’s residents.

Some items he conjured through magic. His ornate, king

size four-poster bed, crafted from ebony in the style of Art
Noveau, with carvings of long, slinky felines draped around
each post, took three days to perfect. The black and red silk
tasselled coverlet was carefully prepared to include
protective spells, while the curtains, of red silk shot with
black also held magic to deter bad dreams. The bedroom
took two weeks to complete, an inordinate amount of time,
because he could only add to it when he had magic to spare.
And that wasn’t often, thanks to the popularity of his low-
cal desserts and the Decadence line now mailed around

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Australia to private customers and speciality shops in all the
major cities.

Sev heard a truck pull up outside and peered through the

window. Spud’s tall, stocky frame eased out stalked to the
back and lifted the ute hatch. Sev met him on the veranda.

“Gidday Sev. Whereja want ‘em?”
Spud was the local courier and Sev had no idea of his real

name.

“In the front room. Thanks. Can I help?”
“Nah, she’s right.” Spud hefted two boxes onto his

shoulder and eased through the open door.

Sev signed for the delivery of ingredients and began the

laborious process of taking each box down to the bakery
cellar. He was tempted to use magic, but decided against it.
He needed it for a new Decadence order, plus his room
required wards placed around the windows. A possum had
insinuated itself in the ceiling and scampered across the roof
at night, driving Sev to distraction.

He was just putting away the last packet of chocolate

when he heard the sound of breaking glass upstairs.
Something hard landed on the floor.

Perhaps the possum was back, or Bea’s cat who had a

habit of calling in for a saucer of cream. Wizards liked cats.
He wasn’t fond of possums, but he guessed he might get
used to one. But the dratted animal was not going to be
allowed inside.

Sev climbed the staircase and pushed open his bedroom

door.

The musky stench of vampire slammed into him,

moments before the fang launched at Sev, talons extended
and teeth bared.

Ever since the encounter at Will’s barbecue, Sev had been

expecting an attack and had warded himself and his home
as best he could. But the wards weren’t full strength—how

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could they be, when he was limited in magic by the Council.

The vampire dragged Sev into the bedroom and flung

him hard against the wall. The impact would have crushed a
human, wizards were tough, but even so, Sev felt a rib crack.
The vampire was at Sev’s throat, fangs eagerly probing. Sev
hurled the creature away.

They circled one another, testing, silently taunting. The

vampire sprang and took Sev down to the floor, his talons
tearing Sev’s chest. They rolled across the carpet, locked in a
lethal embrace.

“What the…?” Will’s voice intruded.
From his position above Sev, the vampire turned, his

blood-lust gaze fixing on the human. The vampire discarded
Sev for more succulent meat.

In a blur of speed, Will was knocked to the ground,

spreadeagled, beneath the vampire. The creature’s fangs
descended.

“No, you don’t.” Sev grabbed the vampire by the scruff of

the neck, hauling him back. Summoning his stored magic,
Sev sent every ounce of power, like an arrow, into the
vampire. The creature staggered backwards, eyes flaming.
Sev put the shield around himself and Will.

“I’ll kill you if you stay,” Sev said, his fingers tinged

magic-purple, tingling with the power, ready to rend the
vampire limb from limb.

“Another time, wizard. Human.” He leapt from the

window and morphed into a bat, huge leathery wings taking
him far away in a matter of seconds.

Sev heard a cough behind him and braced himself. Will

had seen, knew… what no human was allowed to see, to
know. He turned, dreading what he might see. What he had
to do.

“Whatn’the hell was that?”
Sev saw Will, kneeling on the carpet, his face grey.

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“That, William Lawrence, was a vampire.”
“Yeah, right. Trick or treat? Hey, Sev, are you ok? Hey!”
Sev’s legs buckled and he pitched face first onto the floor.

The world span, followed by creeping darkness.

Astrid Cooper

Chapter Seven

everin started awake, something cold stinging his arm.
He swiped at it, only to have his hand intercepted and

flung back.

He opened his eyes and saw Will sitting on the side of the

bed, a wad of cotton and a bottle of clear liquid in his hand.
He wiped Sev’s arm with more of the stuff. He caught the
scent of tea tree and bit back another cry as the antiseptic
flooded his wounds.

“You ought to see a doctor,” Will said, not meeting Sev’s

gaze, his focus on the task in hand. “But then that’d be out of
the question, wouldn’t it? When I took your pulse, it was
really low. So, I found your heart, except it isn’t in the right
place. Just what are you? A little green man?”

“William…”
“Don’t William me! I saw what I saw. I wish to God I

hadn’t, but that’s the fuck isn’t it?” He stood up and stared
down at Sev.

Severin glanced at his arm. The vampire had shredded

flesh, almost to the bone. He placed his good hand over the
wound and concentrated. There was just enough magic to
heal the cracked rib and shredded flesh. He’d be as weak as
a kitten after the healing.

His palm warmed, before his hand was encased in

glowing blue light. He channelled it into the flesh, joining

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skin and bones, staunching blood.

All the while Will was silent, staring. A few minutes later

and Sev’s arm was as good as new. It itched, but that was
the legacy of the magic. Always that Gods-awful itch.

“You need a tetanus shot. Those claws were rancid.”
“You can’t catch anything off a vampire, except a lethal

case of anaemia.” Humour seemed so out of place in the
gravity of the moment, but what else could he say? Will had
seen… And the law was simple. No human was allowed to
know of the existence of wizards, or vampires. If they did,
the human had to die. Allowing anyone outside of Sanctuary
that knowledge was a terrible risk. A risk the Council would
not countenance. Will had to die. That was the law. Damn
the law. Maybe he could cast a forget spell on the human?
He lifted his gaze to William.

Will shrugged off Severin’s mental touch as if he was

swatting an insect. His magic faded, leaving him sick and
tired, so deathly tired.

“I have to sleep.”
“Right.” Will pulled up a chair and slumped into it. “I’ll

stay here. Is that thing gonna come back? What do I do if it
does?”

“You can’t fight a fang…”
“The hell I can’t!”
“He won’t come back. The spell-frying I gave him will

make him think twice about attacking me, or you, again.”

Will’s gaze was dark. Pain and fear lurked in those tawny

eyes. Sev had hoped never to see such in his eyes. He tried to
sit up and fell back with a groan against the silk coverlet.

“You’d better rest. I want answers. I’ll stick around ‘til

then.”

Severin woke, languidly. His moment of peace was short-

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lived as he remembered. Will was slumped asleep in the arm
chair. Severin almost smiled. So much for his protection.

He eased out of the bed and went to the shower, stripped,

then stepped under the hot water, lathering his body,
washing away the stink of vampire and the reek of old
magic.

Leaving the shower, he rubbed vigorously with a towel,

all the while aware of Will’s gaze. He ignored him,
postponing the inevitable confrontation for as long as he
could. He glanced over his shoulder.

Will leaned against the doorframe, watching, wary. Not

the soft eyes of a lover, but hard and furious. Frightened.

His gaze swept Severin from head to toe, fastening on the

indigo tattoo that covered Severin’s left side, from hip to
crotch, then up the side of his torso. Every swirl was a
talisman of protection. The last, the dragon device of sixth
level had been etched into his back only weeks before he
was made outcast.

“So,” Will said in a voice that was hoarse.
“So.” Severin went to walk past, but Will blocked him

with an arm.

“I want answers.”
“I’ll give you answers when I’m damn well good and

ready and not when I’m freezing my arse off. Stand aside.”

Slowly, Will dropped his arm and Sev strode into the

bedroom, flinging open his antique wardrobe. Will resumed
his place in the chair, watching as Severin shrugged himself
into a silk robe. The black kaftan was Sev’s favourite. When
he was home alone he never wore human clothes. Too damn
restrictive.

“I must eat,” Sev said. He clutched the wardrobe door as

the room pitched. He hated the aftermath of expending too
much magic. He ought to have… there were a lot of things
he could self-recriminate over, but right now he needed food

Christmas Creek

and fast.

Will followed him downstairs to the kitchen and watched

while Sev dragged out a bottle of blue liquid from the
refrigerator. He peeled off the cap and gulped the drink
down. This was the emergency ration, for when a wizard
was too weak to eat. After expending magic, every wizard
was depleted. If not renewed, a wizard could go into shock
and die. It had taken Sev a week to brew the concoction, a
task that when he was functioning as a whole wizard was a
few minute’s work. Fuck the Council for what they’d done
to him. The encounter with the vampire had nearly finished
him off. He’d saved Will and himself by the barest of
margins.

Angrily, he shoved the cap back onto the bottle and

returned it to the fridge. He leaned back against the bench,
arms folded.

“So,” Will said again.
“If I tell you, the law says I have to kill you. As it stands, I

have to kill you anyway for what you saw. Unless I can
make you forget.”

“No chance of that.”
Severin smiled without humour. “I could you know. A

wizard—” He put up his hand to halt Will’s comment. “I am
what I am. You saw me heal myself. I was… am a sixth level
wizard. I can fry your brain, remove every memory you ever
had. Kill you in one stroke.”

Will straightened, fists clenched at his sides. “You can

try.”

Severin laughed. He couldn’t help it. That only brought a

flush of fury to Will’s cheeks.

“I can do all this and more, William.”
“So what’s stopping you?”
Severin paused. What indeed? The answer nipped at his

consciousness. He rejected it. Had to. For his sake, and for

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Will’s.

“That thing that attacked you. It was a vampire?”
“Yes.” Severin eyed him. What he had seen would have

comatosed most humans, or sent them screaming for the
hills. Will stood his ground. More or less. He was shaking,
Sev could feel the fear and the anger wash over him. But the
boy wasn’t running.

“I need to know all of it, Severin.”
That was one of the few times Will had used Sev’s full

name, pronounced correctly as Sev had instructed. The
human meant business. That made two of them. Time to sort
out this gods-awful mess.

Will spread his hands. “I was a goth at school. I was into

all that ghost stuff.”

Severin sniffed disdainfully. “I don’t mix with ghosts. Too

much chain clanking for my taste.”

“Be serious.”
“I am.”
“Yeah, right. So, tell me. Everything. Now. You said

you’re a wizard. Like a Merlin or Gandalf type of wizard?”

“I don’t know these names.”
“I read about them in books.”
“Ah, fiction.”
“No, Merlin was real, like King Arthur.”
“I never studied human history, except in France. I lived

it, I suppose, before I returned to Sanctuary.”

Will frowned. “So, tell me. Please. I have the right to

know.”

Severin drew in a breath. So he told him about wizards,

the Council. How vampires and wizards lived in their
impregnable sanctuaries on the world, fighting wars, dying,
apportioning territory to each race, humans all the while
oblivious.

“But, why?” Will struggled to make a coherent sentence,

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Severin knew.

“Why what?”
“Why here, on this world?”
“Accident. There was a war, the survivors fled through

the portal. This world was one of many we used. The portal
closed and we can’t open it again. Marooned.”

“Stuck on a primitive backwater, treating humans like

fodder. Fuck you.”

“Maybe one day you will.”
“I wouldn’t fuck you if you were the last man on earth.

Only…” Will stalked away, pausing at the door for dramatic
effect. “Only, you’re not human.” The slam of the front door
made Severin wince. Will was gone and perhaps it was for
the best.

The irony of it was that if Will ever told anyone about

what Severin had divulged, he’d be laughed at, treated like a
lunatic. The deepest irony was that humans didn’t see the
truth, even when it was stuck in front of them. Which was
fortunate. But what to do about William Lawrence?

The law said he had to die.
Killing him was out of the question. Because William was

more than just a human, he was special. And inside, Will
had tried to hide it, the sense of loss, of betrayal, of deepest
hurt when he listened to Severin.

No, the last thing Severin wanted was to hurt William

Lawrence. The human needed time to come to terms with
what he had seen, what he was denying within himself.

Humans were such an infuriating, irrational species. Why

did he bother with them, with Will?

Because, Severin realised with a shock that made him

stagger. Because he loved William Lawrence.

Astrid Cooper

Chapter Seven

everin put all his energy into the café. His Decadence
sideline of sexy pastries and X-rated desserts became

increasingly popular. He was kept busy with catering for
special functions, from hen’s nights to buck’s nights, to a
celebrity garden party in the city. He was also interviewed
by the region’s tourist authority to be listed as an attraction
on their ‘top places to visit’ list.

Every day he traipsed to the post office with boxes of

treats that the postmaster nonchalantly dealt with. The locals
knew of his erotic sideline. It brought business to the town
and the café now employed several local girls. The locals
could overlook Sev’s naughtiness in light of his contribution
to the town’s economics. Spud had told him this during one
of his deliveries.

“You’re a celebrity, Mr Smith, but won’t be a local unless

you’re sixth generation.”

Sev had to laugh at that. Spud always called him Mr

Smith, and in so doing, made it clear that he knew of Sev’s
proclivities. Spud Brown was a pure, red-blooded Aussie
male with a wife and four kids at home. He showed Sev a
family picture on his mobile phone, the day he delivered his
first order to the café. The human was about as subtle as a
vampire on blood-patrol.

And as for William Lawrence—Severin didn’t see him,

Christmas Creek

but Sev dreamed of him almost every night, waking up in a
lather of sweat and sex-heat that the more he tried to ignore,
the more plagued his sleeping and waking moments.

He’d placed wards and counter wards about the house,

his car, his person. No vampire was nearby, but it would
only be a matter of time before he returned—probably with
reinforcements, since fangs were notorious cowards, and
then there’d be a reckoning. Severin stored up his magic in
his Oracle, disguised as a chandelier hanging in his private
dining room. He carefully grew every crystal, imbibing the
gems with as much magic as each could hold.

Though Sev’s days were filled with work, his nights were

fraught with tension. With dreams, when he could sleep,
and nervous tossing and turning on his bed, when he could
not relax. And why?

William Lawrence, that’s bloody why, Sev thought as he

pounded the pillow for the tenth time. The scampering in
the roof grated on his nerves. The bloody possum wasn’t
deterred by the wards he’d placed in the roof. In fact,
another possum had joined the first and they squealed and
scampered to their heart’s content every bloody night.

“That’s it,” Sev said, sitting up in bed. “Tomorrow I’m

fixing this once and for all.” He didn’t mean the possums.

* * * *

Severin drove the long, dusty, corrugated track—no way

could it be called a ‘road’—that led to Will’s home. William
Lawrence was a distraction that Sev didn’t need. The sooner
he sorted the human out, the better.

Using his wizard’s senses, he followed the human’s

unmistakable aura-trail and found William in the kangaroo
enclosure. He was sitting with a baby kangaroo on his knee.
The joey was wrapped in a fluffy towel, suckling from a

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bottle that Will held. Susan was nearby also feeding another
orphan. She glanced at Will, then at Sev. Carefully, she
placed the joey into a sack and strung the strap over her
shoulder. “I’ll leave you boys to it.” She walked away. The
look she gave Severin would have blistered paint from the
walls. Be thankful for small mercies, Sev thought. He’d
rather have that glare than her usual tongue-lashing.

“What do you want?” Will demanded.
“We have to talk.”
“Oh yeah? Last time you did all the talking. Here’s my

take on the situation. There’s nothing to say.”

“There’s everything to say. You know it and I know it. I

can smell your arousal from here.”

Will snorted. “That’s just kangaroo piss.”
Severin flushed. It had been years since he felt

embarrassment and this sexual frustration that bedevilled
his life.

“I don’t think so.”
“You don’t think so—what?”
“What I sense is nothing to do with kangaroos. William,

you and I—”

“Nothing. Whatever there was, I’ll get over it.”
“I’m not here to argue.”
“Fine. Just go.”
“Don’t be so…”
“Human?” Will laughed bitterly. “That’s what I am.”
“You’re making this difficult.”
“I’m so sorry.”
“I’ve come to say goodbye.”
That got Will’s attention. His gaze lifted and narrowed at

Sev. The moment between them stretched. It felt like a
lifetime.

“So, you’re turning tail and running? Again?”
That stung. He’d left Sanctuary as an exile. But he

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supposed he could have stayed and fought. Made the
Council reconsider his case. “I’m leaving for our own good.
What happened at my home, will happen again. If I stay
you’re in danger. You’ve been marked. Guilt by
association.”

Will stood up and carefully placed the joey into a sack

hanging on the post. The creature went in head first,
squirmed around, its gangly legs poking out through the slit.

“We can’t talk here. It’ll upset the ‘roos.”
Will led Severin to the gazebo at the far end of the garden,

where they had kissed… so long ago that seemed, now!

In the shade, surrounded by the smell of eucalyptus and

the sound of cicadas, they stood facing each other.

“You’re leaving on my account?”
“It seems the best.”
“For you, maybe...” Will bit back the words. Severin

caught the inflection, the anguish.

“You know too much, William.”
“That’s right. And I can’t go back to being who I was

before you came.”

“The vamp—”
“I don’t give a fuck about that vampire. I’m talking about

me and you. I’ve only ever had one girlfriend, for the sake of
the family. For my Dad. It was a disaster. I am what I am. A
shirt-lifter.”

Severin frowned. “I don’t…”
“What we’re called around here. Shirt-lifters. Gay. Poof.

Queer.”

“For me, it is the normal sexuality. Forget those names.

That’s for the ignorant.”

“Yeah. But that’s just it. We’re judged by our sexuality. I

have to live here, not flip off to some place when it doesn’t
suit.”

“Is that why you’ve stayed away? Not because of what I

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told you? Or, what you saw? But because of what you are?”

“Maybe.” He smiled that little boy smile that made Sev’s

gut clench. “Well, I suppose being told all that stuff about
magic and vampires might have given me a bad moment or
three…” He paused, staring off into the distance, not seeing,
his gaze on some invisible moment. “I had to come to terms
with what I am. I can’t live the lie. I’m not into women. I’m
not into guys, except you. And you’re not a guy.”

“I’m not?” Severin smiled.
“You know what I mean, Sev. Homo but definitely not

sapiens.”

Severin laughed. This human amused, gods how he did.

Even Tax didn’t push the buttons this human, in his
innocence, could do.

“Don’t leave,” Will said.
“There’s danger.”
“Then you’d better tell me how I can slay vampires. Is it

like van Helsing, a stake through the heart?”

“You don’t want to get that close to a fang, trust me.”
“Can I?” Will studied Severin with an intensity that was

unsettling. “Can I trust you, Sev?”

Severin paused. If a wizard was asking that question, the

answer would be no. No wizard could fully trust another
wizard. The relationships and the politics were too
complicated. And humans… He’d never had a friendship
with a human. That was a complication on a grand scale,
and it was taboo. And this human had a sister. A woman.
Both of them outside of Severin’s experience. Will and Susan
were inextricably linked and if Severin took the man as
lover, the sister would be part of his life, too. Not a lover, of
course, but a friend. In certain wizard circles Sev would be
damned—double, no thrice damned. He’d be Outcast. A
human-lover. A woman-friend. Yep, three times damned.
Maybe he’d better find some other transgressions and make

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it an even six. Sixth-level wizard, lover of a sixth-generation
human.

“Why are you smiling, Sev?”
He told Will and they laughed.
“You’d better answer him, Severin,” Susan said from

behind them.

The two men turned.
“How long have you been spying on me?” Severin said.
“What makes you think you’re so important I’d waste my

time on you? I’m watching out for my brother.”

“Sis.”
“Cut the crap, Will. You haven’t been the same since this

bloke arrived.”

“You don’t know—”
“I’m not stupid. Besides, you woke me up night after

night with your screaming. Nightmares about wizards and
vampires. We both know how Smithy doesn’t fit in. Like he
stepped out of a time warp. It didn’t take Einstein to figure it
out. Either you were going mad, or something queer was
going on. Literally.”

William winced at Susan’s double entendre. Severin

looked from one to the other. Human men he could learn to
understand, perhaps in a few centuries. But women, he
might never fathom.

“Well, can we trust you, Severin?”
“Yes.”
“Maybe you should swear it on something sacred, so that

if you do go back on your word, you’ll be in deep shit,”
Susan said.

“Do you know what wizards do to women who use

profanity?”

“Try anything on me, mate, and look out!” With her

hands on her hips and her chin raised in challenge, she
meant business. Severin dared not smile, but he was

Astrid Cooper

tempted.

Severin spread his hands. “I swear I will not betray you,

or William.”

Susan held his gaze and Severin felt the hair at his nape

lift. With just a little clearing of her blocked chakras, this
woman could be a witch. And a wizard never suffered a
witch to live. The Salem trials had been the last great
expunging of witches. But the woman was Will’s sister—
witch or not—and Sev would protect her with his life.

Susan nodded. “Okay. And you can trust us. Now what’s

this about you running away just because some vampire has
his fangs out for you?”

Severin gaped. “I—”
“You’re not going anywhere. If you break my brother’s

heart, I’ll stake you myself.” Susan stretched up on her toes
and kissed Severin’s cheek. The wizard was too shocked to
move. He touched his cheek with a finger, watching Susan
stalk away.

“Is she always like that?” he asked.
“Uh-huh.”
“I may have underestimated women.”
“You and the rest of the male population of this planet.”

Laughing, he walked to Severin and put his arms around his
waist. “Is this how it’s done?” He raised his face.

Severin’s lips found his in a tentative exploration. Will

tasted of the wild, the forbidden. Male mixed with
eucalyptus, the musk of sex.

“I want…” Will breathed, his gaze meeting Severin’s.
“I know. But not here, not now. When we fuck, it’s going

to be special. I want you to go slow, enjoy every step, not
rush into it.”

“Just because I’m a virgin?”
“Especially because. Now, sit.”
Will sat on the bench and Severin knelt between his

Christmas Creek

splayed legs. He reached out and scraped a finger over
Will’s belt, tracing the length of the jean’s zip. It came down,
a fraction of a time, teasing, slow. Severin gently pushed the
human back against the gazebo wall. Holding Will’s gaze,
Severin slipped his fingers inside the jeans, touching hot,
rigid flesh. Will sucked in his breath, his stomach muscles
taut.

No, not like this, Severin thought. He lifted Will,

removing every garment before placing his lover onto the
bench.

“Now, you, Sev. I want to see you butt naked, like before.

Please.”

“Since you ask so politely.” Sev stripped, tossing aside his

designer clothes.

“That tattoo, what—?”
“Ask me another time.” He knelt between Will’s legs and

leaned forward, taking his mouth in a kiss that blazed,
tongues locked in a dance of thrust and parry. Will tasted,
Severin tasted. Severin’s hands threaded through Will’s hair,
holding the man as he kissed, plundered.

Severin’s lips seduced, sliding down Will’s body to his

groin. Cupping the rigid flesh in his hand, he took Will into
his mouth, down as deep as he could go. Will lifted off the
bench at the touch. He groaned. Then moaned. Then cried
out as Severin teased his cock with tongue, teeth, lips,
sending him a tiny ping of magic to heighten the moment.
The frisson raced up and down Will’s spine and then
transferred to Severin, bouncing back and forth between
them as Sev lathered and sucked and nibbled, then bit.

Will’s hips rocked upwards, sideways, a frenzy of need,

of a release held until holding was a pleasure-pain and
then… explosion.

Severin held his own release, determined to convert the

energy into magic, to store it, but Will had his own agenda.

Astrid Cooper

Taking Severin’s cock into his palm he pumped it, rolling his
balls in his free hand, teasing down and around, finding the
tight arse. He nail raked over the opening and Severin
screamed in exquisite delight.

Will locked his legs behind Severin’s back, drawing him

down. Wrapped in a tangle of arms and legs they kissed
again. A moment of intimacy, of gentleness before the need
took them away, over the brink.

When the world around them ceased to be an inferno,

when breathing had returned to normal, Sev moved Will
around, pulling him back against his body. He wrapped his
legs across Will’s thighs, his hands fanning over his stomach.

“Sev?”
“Yes?”
“This isn’t enough for me. I want you in me. I want to be

in you.”

“Yes.” He halted Will’s hands. “Soon, but not today.”
“Why wait?”
“Because I need to gift you something and right now, I

don’t have enough magic to boil an egg.”

“Will you stay the night?”
“If you like.”
“Oh, I like.” Will glanced up at him and rubbed his cheek

against Sev’s neck.

“But separate rooms.”
“Something to do with that wizard thing you need to

do?”

“Yes.”
“Ok. Scout’s honour, I won’t come in your room tonight,

but I can’t promise about not coming some place else.”

“What…? Oh, I understand.” He laughed at Will’s playful

banter and kissed the human deeply, thoroughly.

Later, Sev and Will walked to the animal enclosures, each

carrying a bucket of peeled fruit, vegetables and grains for

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the night feed. Sev watched as the animals clustered around
his lover, pawing at him, nipping at his heels if he was too
slow in giving them their meal.

“Just one more patient and we’re done. Come on, I’ll

show you.”

Severin followed Will into a stone outhouse. In a large,

heated aquarium, something rustled beneath the thick layer
of leaves. Will lifted the lid and drew out a snake.

Severin retreated in terror to the far wall, breathing hard.
“What’s with you?” Will demanded, allowing the

creature to curl around his arm. He stroked the emerald and
grey diamond-shaped head. “It’s only a tree python. Not a
brown, or a tiger.”

Sev watched as Will and the snake touched noses.
“C’mon, Mr Magic. Monty won’t bite. I’m the only one

allowed to bite you.”

Severin took a step closer. Another. Sweat traced down

his spine and he swallowed hard as the snake reared its head
and gazed at him.

“Here, you can hold him while I get the injection.”
“Eh… what?” The snake was carefully handed over and it

curled around Sev’s arm. “I can’t do this, William. I hate
things that crawl… Look. Take the damn thing away!”

But Will was concentrating on filling a tiny syringe from a

bottle he took from a ‘fridge on the far wall. He strode
forward and carefully injected the python. The snake’s
forked tongue whispered over Sev’s wrist.

“If this thing bites, I’ll make it into a belt.”
Will smiled as he stroked the snake. “Monty was taken

from the wild and animal rescue confiscated him when they
raided the farm. It was the worst case of animal hoarding
I’ve seen.” Tears glistened brightly in Will’s eyes. “Half of
the animals had to be euthanized. I hate people sometimes!”
He paused and drew in a quick breath. “I’ll take Monty.”

Astrid Cooper

“What’ll happen to the snake once it’s recovered?”
“I’m gonna keep him.” He lifted his gaze to Sev. “You got

a problem with that?”

“Nope. I mean, no, no problem. I suppose I could get

used to the snake.” He stroked the reptile’s scaly back. Not
cold, but warm, alive, smooth.

“I’ll make a wildlife rescuer out of you yet.”
“Mmm.”
They walked back to the house, shoulders rubbing, hips

touching, Will holding Sev’s wrist.

“Sis’ll have drinks on the balcony. Friday night is pizza

night. She makes a mean pizza. You like pizza?”

“I have no idea. I’ve never eaten pizza.”
“Beneath a wizard’s good taste? About time you got real,

Mr Smith.”

“I believe I am real, William.” He pulled Will to a halt and

yanked him into his arms, hard, the length of their bodies
contacting. He kissed him fiercely.

“If you do that again,” Susan said, laughing from the

balcony, “I’ll have to call out the CFS. You’ll start a fire.”

“Too late for that, Suze,” Will said, stepping away from

Sev, fanning himself, theatrically. “I’m about to explode.”

“Take a cold shower. Both of you.”
“The woman is insufferable!” Sev said following Will into

the house.

“Don’t I know it!”

* * * *

Next morning, Will saw Severin to his car, closing the

door behind him. He leaned on the bonnet smiling down,
with all the ease of a long term lover.

“Sev, glad you saw reason and bought a decent Aussie

car.”

Christmas Creek

“The salesman said this ute was a beaut. I wasn’t sure

what he meant, but I assumed it was good.”

Will grinned. “Yeah. She is a beaut… I mean a beauty. It

means good. Red paintwork always makes a car go faster.”

“It does?” Sev paused. “I needed a working car for my

business. I couldn’t get all the orders to the post office in one
trip.”

“So the Porsche had to go?”
“Yes.”
“I approve the new car. Needs a bit of modifying, though,

Sev. Too stock standard for a proper ute. Give it a decent set
of wheels and a custom paint job and she’ll be a ripper.”

“Your English is indecipherable.”
“Yeah, well, we’re even. You talk about stuff that needs

sub titles.”

“I’m leaving.” Sev started the car and put it into drive.
“No more gear crunching. Thank the universe for an

automatic car.” Will touched Sev’s cheek. “See you
tomorrow. I’ll be in town.”

“Yes.”
Sev drove down the gravel drive, watching Will in the

rear view mirror. He waved and then turned and walked
back into the house.

So, in a day, Severin had a lover, a woman-friend, and

had come to terms with a python, named Monty. Will had
put on a DVD last night as they ate pizza and drank beer
from crystal goblets and introduced Severin to the python’s
name-sake—Monty Python and the Holy Grail. The humour
was bizarre, often gibberish, but twice Severin had laughed.
Will had said there was hope for him… And had kissed him
and turned back to watching the television.

Now, driving back to town, Sev did as Will suggested and

floored the accelerator. Dust erupted like a volcano behind
the ute as he raced home. It must be true, he thought as

Astrid Cooper

pulled into his own driveway. Red did make the car go
faster.

Christmas Creek

Chapter Eight

can’t stand this heat!” Severin said aloud, slamming
the pantry door shut.

“If that’s so, Mr Magic, whyja’ decide to live in Australia?

We’re either in drought, or up to our arses in flood.”

Sev glanced at his lover standing in the shadows by the

door. How long had the boy been watching him? He ran a
hand over his neck, grimacing at the perspiration. He longed
for the climate control of Sanctuary. But did he? Sanctuary
was a sterile cocoon, it protected and inhibited illness and
age, but it did not allow the freedom to think, to move, to act
without considering allegiances and consequences.
Sanctuary was a stifling existence.

And it did not permit the taking of a human lover.
William had gotten under his skin and into his heart.

Probably a bad thing, but right now it didn’t feel bad, but
good. Oh, so good.

“I thought I’d find you here, slaving away.” Will’s voice

purred.

Sev turned, watching as Will stalked into the kitchen. He

was smiling that crooked smile… Wizard dust! That frigging
smile. Sev’s gaze travelled the human’s length. He was
dressed in an old t-shirt ripped around the hem, and a pair
of cut off denims and frayed sneakers.

“Like what you see? There’s more, if you’re interested,”

“I

Astrid Cooper

Will said, an brow arched above a mischievous tawny eye.

Severin grunted, not trusting himself to speak.
“I’ll take that as an affirmative.” The smile broadened and

Sev’s balls tightened. That human knew how to play him,
and the realisation brought a sense of pleasure, of
familiarity…

Sev concentrated on his work, putting the last lashings of

cream into the chocolate pussies.

Will dipped a finger into the bowl and took it to his

mouth, sucking. Sev refused to watch, but the slurping
sound tore at his gut.

Will laughed, pointing at the desserts lined up on the

work bench. “Who’d you get as model? Some very
interesting contours, there, Sev. Was it Dani, maybe? Or
Karen? So many to choose from, and all so eager to pose for
you. Who was the lucky gal?”

Sev snorted. “I don’t need a woman for anything. I’m

familiar with the anatomy.”

“Just never been intimately acquainted?”
Sev glowered at the boy. “You’re being the lawyer today,

William. Trying to make me admit to something—”

“You can’t blame me for trying. I’m curious about you. I

need to know.”

“There’s nothing in my past that concerns you.” He lifted

the tray of desserts and shoved it into the fridge.

“It’s too damned hot to work here, Sev. Come for a

swim.”

“I don’t know how.”
“I’ll teach you.”
“Isn’t there some sort of swimming apparel? I seem to

recall—”

Will laughed. “Where I’m going, ya don’t need clothes.

Trust me.”

Trust him? Gods help him, but he trusted Will with his

Christmas Creek

life.

“I’m expecting Madeleine in an hour. She’s collecting the

desserts for her hens’ night. I assume it is a bizarre female
rite, something to do with pre-marriage celebrations.”

“Yeah that’s right. Women. Who can fathom?”
“Your sister might explain.”
“Like she tells me anything. You don’t have a sister?”
“None of us have ever—”
Will’s triumphant smile made Sev groan. The human had

caught him off-guard and he’d nearly revealed himself.

“That’s one I have on ya’, Sev-babe.”
Severin frowned, torn between horror and the pleasure of

Will’s endearment.

“Okay, back to Maddy. Leave a note on the door. This is

Christmas Creek, no one here locks their front door.” He
paused. “A bit different where you used to live? With all
that magic to deter burglars?”

“Mmmm.” The human knew too much for his own good.

For my own good.

“Hit close to the bone, did I? What’s the score? Sev nil,

Will only minus two.”

“What are you talking about?”
“I’m keeping track of how much I learn about you, in

ratio to how much you keep hidden. My track record is
improving.”

Sev snorted. He pulled out a pen and paper and left the

note pinned to his door.

Severin climbed into the ute and fastened the seat belt.

Will gunned the engine, reversed out of the driveway and
sped down the road out of town.

“We’re going to Wahroonga?” Sev asked, as he recognised

the turn off to the Lawrence property.

“Yeah, the billabong.”
“The what?”

Astrid Cooper

“Billabong. It’s an aboriginal word. It means dead water.

Hey, don’t look so worried. It’s a secluded water hole at the
end of the river that cuts across our land. I’ve never taken
anyone there before.”

“Thank you.” Severin inclined his head.
Will rolled his eyes. “Sometimes, Sev-babe, you’re such an

ass.”

“And you can be such a pain-in-the-ass.”
“Touché.”
“Do you always have to have the last word?” Severin

demanded.

“I’m a lawyer.”
Severin folded his arms and glared. Rarely did he retreat

from a confrontation. This was one such moment.

As William had promised, the billabong on the property

was secluded. Large carob trees ringed the pool. From one of
the largest trees a thick rope hung over the water.

Will spread a blanket under the shade of a tree and placed

a basket on it. Sev glanced at the basket, then at Will.

“Never been on a picnic, either?” Will paused. “What did

you do in that Sanctuary of yours? Doesn’t sound much like
fun to me. All spells make a dull wizard.”

Irreverent boy. Severin ought to be shocked, but instead

he laughed. Around Will he laughed a lot.

“C’mon, let’s have a swim.” Will stripped and walked to

the water’s edge. Severin watched him, admiring the lean
torso, the muscles, the whipcord and harsh planes, and the
softer curves of arse and thigh. Gods, he was beautiful. Will
glanced at him over his shoulder, all coy innocence. He bent
over to the water’s edge, giving Sev a good eye full.

He slipped into the water, like an otter, barely sending a

ripple across the shadowed surface. He floated on his back.

“C’mon in, sweetcakes,” Will called.
Sweetcakes. Severin groaned. That boy needed a lesson in

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manners. Sweetcakes, indeed! But, he supposed, in a certain
irony, it was true. He made cakes, and they were sweet.
Country people, especially in Australia, never called one by
their birth name, it was always some gods awful, irreverent
nickname. Like sweetcakes. What could he call Will? He’d
have to consider that when the time was less fraught with
sexual tension. At the moment, he couldn’t think straight.

Will swam out to the rope dangling in the water and

pulled himself half way up it. He swung on the rope, back
and forth, increasing the momentum. He let go of the rope
and somersaulted, landing in the water, sending up a huge
spout of water and disappeared beneath the surface.

Sev ran to the water’s edge. “William!”
He saw his lover emerge from the water, laughing. “You

can try that later, when you can swim. Sis and I used to
bomb each other when we were kids. C’mon, Sev-babe.”

Sev peeled off his jeans and t-shirt and put a toe into the

water. He eyed it dubiously, then Will.

“I won’t let ya drown.”
Severin lowered himself into the water, the coolness

making him gasp. Will swam the length of the pool, then
back, to sit in front of Severin. He touched his chest, tracing
a wet finger over flesh. Sev caught Will’s finger.

“I thought you came here to cool off,” Severin said.
“Mmm. Cool off later. Right now I want to fuck you. You

want to fuck me?”

“Now is not the time or place.”
“Where is?” Will paused. “You always say it’s not the

right time, well to hell with that. I’m through with waiting.”
He inched closer, his hand seeking, finding Sev’s cock. “And
Mr Wizard is ready for it, too. Or is that just a figment of my
imagination?” He gave Sev’s anatomy a playful tug and Sev
all but lifted out of the water. “Yep, I’d say, Mr Wizard is hot
to trot.”

Astrid Cooper

Will ducked beneath the water and fastened his mouth

around Sev’s erection. He sucked and teased the flesh and
just when Sev was ready to explode, Will came up, gasping
for air.

“I damned near drowned giving you head.”
He pulled Sev to him and turned the older man around,

floating him over his body. For once in his life, Sev was
reliant on another, as his feet found nothing but water, no
hard surface. Panic cramped his gut. Will’s arms tightened
around him.

“Relax. You’re safe with me.” The teasing was gone.

Will’s voice was hard, older than his years and utterly,
utterly in earnest. In that moment Severin knew he was safe.
The uniqueness of that moment brought tears to his eyes. He
had never been safe—truly safe—before. He had left
Sanctuary, only to find sanctuary of a different kind within
the family circle and body of William Lawrence. A human.

Will’s hand fastened around Sev’s cock. He began that

slow, teasing exploration. He was never in a hurry. For a
moment Sev remembered Tax. Tax was always hard, eager
and violent. It was his nature, whereas Will was gentle.
Passionate. A man of extreme contradictions. Infuriating
contradictions that kept Sev guessing.

Sev’s thought’s diverted as Will’s mouth fastened at the

base of his earlobe. He bit, gently, then sucked. The force of
it extended through Sev’s body, drawing lower and lower
until it reached his sex. He groaned his release.

Against him, Will was suddenly taut. He came.
The water around them rippled and splashed as their

bodies convulsed. Minutes passed and finally silence and
stillness returned to the billabong.

“That, Mr Wizard, is entrée. Come out of the water for the

main course.”

Sev glanced over his shoulder at Will. His smile

Christmas Creek

confirmed the double entendre. Come out of the water.
Literally and figuratively.

Hand in hand they stood up and strode from the

billabong, collapsing on the blanket. Will poured Sev a glass
of wine and handed it to him. Sev tentatively tasted. He
never drank alcohol. It went straight to his head, making his
brain go to mush.

“Are you trying to seduce me?” Sev asked.
“Whatever gave you that idea?” Will grinned over the lip

of his glass. “Besides, seduction’s been and gone,
sweetcakes. I’m moving in for the kill.”

“Oh?”
“I’m going to make love to you, Severin. In every way.”
“Here?”
“It’s good a place as any. Roll over.”
Sev’s mouth went desert dry in a nano-second, while

other parts of his body moistened, hardened, shivered.

Slowly, he did as Will demanded. He felt Will’s finger at

the tip of his arse, begging entry. He allowed a fraction of
intrusion before tightening. Let the boy wait and suffer. A
sharp slap across Sev’s buttocks made the wizard cry out.

“Naughty boy,” Will admonished. “Now, open up.”
Severin laughed and allowed the entry of a finger. It was

the most delightful sensation, the pleasure that bordered on
pain. He should not be letting the human do this… it was for
a wizard to take, not be taken, especially by a human. But
this was Will and this human was special. To be indulged.
To be allowed every liberty.

The wine had lowered his defences. Oh hell, no, that was

a lie. He wanted this, wanted it for so long. But he’d only
ever let Tax in…

Forget Tarix. Forget Sanctuary. In that moment Sev knew

that his future would be outside of Sanctuary, with a human
who was little more than a youngling in comparison to

Astrid Cooper

wizards, but a man, nevertheless, who knew exactly what to
do… And what he was doing was… exquisite.

Will leaned into him, parted Sev’s legs and stole a finger

stroke between his thighs to tease the base of his cock and
the now hard balls.

He spooned against Sev’s back and flung a leg over his

thigh and leaned in. Sev felt the tip of Will’s cock stroke his
entrance.

Sev drew in a deep breath. Wanted this. Oh, wanted this.

“C’mon baby light my fire,” he whispered.

“What did you say, Sev?”
“That day when your mobile phone went off, I mistook it

for your invitation. C’mon baby light my fire. It’s the
ultimate invitation from one man to another, at least where I
come from.”

“Okay, baby, I’ll light your fire.”
Will entered, a tiny fraction at a time, widening with his

hard long length. Sev cried out.

“I’m hurting you?” Will’s voice held a tremor and he

began to withdraw. Sev put an arm around him, and held
him within his body by the force of his arse muscles.

“No. No. William…” The last breathed in a whisper that

held a universe of meanings.

Will gently rocked against him, probing deeper, pulling

back, returning. His pace was a slow drag and thrust. Sev
matched his tempo.

“Oh, hell…” Will breathed. “I can’t…” The orgasm rocked

them both and Sev took Will’s seed-gift deep inside.

In the quiet interlude, Will stretched his body over

Severin. “I’m sorry Sev, I just couldn’t hold it,” he whispered
against his ear.

“Never say sorry to me, William.”
“But I wanted to make it last, make it perfect for you.”
“You think it wasn’t?”

Christmas Creek

Sev felt Will pull back and kneel between his parted

thighs. A finger traced up Sev’s body, over and around the
scrolls of his dragon tattoo. The power rippled through Sev.
He caught Will’s hand and turned to face him.

“Don’t do that, especially after sex. That tattoo is my

protection, but it can also enhance. Today, I’ll explain and
show.”

“It’s that wizard thing you mentioned before?”
Sev rolled Will onto his back and spread himself full

length over him. He took his lover’s mouth in a kiss that
might have been brutal, but it matched their mutual need.
Tongues danced against the other, coiled, sucking, tasting,
teasing.

Sev lifted Will’s hips and drew his legs around his waist.

He positioned Will.

“You want to take me like a woman?”
“I want to watch your face, watch all of you as I love

you.” He paused. “May I?” He had never asked permission,
but somehow with Will he could not take anything for
granted.

“Sev-babe, you can do anything you like.”
Severin leaned forward and took his lover’s mouth in a

searing kiss. The tip of his erection begged entry into Will’s
virgin flesh. He gently probed. Will’s eyes opened. Sev saw
the shock, the pain and sent a spiral of magic into the
human’s core. Muscles relaxed, pain retreated. He entered,
slowly. Gazes locked, they rocked together in a motion that
was older than time, until the moment carried them away,
far away, where only the need, the wanting, the release
existed. Severin held Will on the brink of climax.

He took his lover’s hand, choosing the middle finger to

run over his sixth-level tattoo, to trace the design from groin
to buttock. Will watched, intrigued, as the blue markings
flared to gold, then purple.

Astrid Cooper

“The tattoo is warm. Heck, now it’s burning me.”
“Good.”
“Easy for you to say, you’re not the one being fried.”
Severin trailed his index finger over Will’s stomach.
“What the…?”
“Patience. Watch.”
Will’s skin pulsed. Slowly, a duplicate of Severin’s dragon

tattoo formed on Will. He shivered. Minutes passed. Slowly,
the design cooled, becoming deepest purple.

“Sev, your eyes are sparking. Gold to amethyst. You don’t

wear contacts do you? This another wizard thing?”

Severin smiled. “When aroused, it is a wizard thing.” He

leaned forward and breathed his scent over Will. The
human’s nostrils flared. Will’s sex-essence spiked and Sev
breathed it in deeply, channelling it to his own, before
touching Will’s mouth, exhaling their combined essences
into his lover.

William moaned. Moaning was good, Sev thought, but he

was aiming for devastation. He entered Will again, with his
erection, with his scent and his breath.

Their release, when it came was intense, and devastating.

Later, exhausted and replete from loving, they lay side by

side on the blanket.

“It’s going to be a long, hot summer,” Will said.
“It gets hotter than this?” Severin turned his head and

studied his lover.

“Oh yeah.” Will caught Sev’s gaze and smiled, lifted a

brow, his eyes glinting. Sev’s gut tightened. “I suppose in
that wizard place you never had to worry about hot or cold.”

“I wish that had been the extent of my concerns.” He

shrugged.

“Ah well, sweetcakes, I guess you just gotta burn like the

Christmas Creek

rest of us.”

“Why must you call me sweetcakes?”
Will smiled. “That’s what you do, isn’t it? Make cakes,

sweet and juicy and decadent?”

“Yeah but…”
“But nothing, Sev.”
“I don’t like this name—sweetcakes.”
“A blow to your wizard’s pride, eh?”
“You’re insufferable.”
“Yep. But that’s why you love me.”
Sev’s gut clenched. He was not going to be drawn into the

human’s games. He stood up and waded into the pool,
sitting as deeply as he dared, cooling off.

“Severin?”
Sev turned at the sound of Will’s sexy purr. The boy

wanted him… again. Insatiable. Intriguing. But teasing
William, making him wait might prove interesting. Sev
heaved himself out of the water and sat under the closest
tree, letting the heat dry his skin. His hair dripped down
over his chest.

Will joined him, sitting at his back, his legs stretched out,

confining Sev. His hands spread over Sev’s chest, teasing the
nipples. His mouth nibbled at the groove of his neck, a
tongue tip swirling lazily along his neck.

“I have a nick-name for you,” Sev said.
“Yeah?”
“Legs.”
“Not on your life, Sev-babe. You can’t call me that!

Whyja’ want to?”

“Because you have such long legs. Sexy. They hold me

tight.”

“Severin, there is no way you are going to call me Legs.”
“Very well. Then would mon amour be acceptable?”
“What’s it mean?”

Astrid Cooper

“You need to look up the internet French dictionary.”
Will laughed. “Your hair is longer,” he said, brushing it

aside, lifting it, trailing it over his hand.

“Your imagination,” Sev replied huskily. The human was

doing it to him again. Teasing, seducing.

“Nope. It was at your collar when you first arrived, but

now it’s longer. You told me your hair hung to your arse
before. I’m looking forward to seeing that.”

Was his hair longer? That was impossible. Sev tested the

spell-weaving. Yep, it was there, but… hell’s deepest … The
spell was diminished. He touched his hair. Yes, definitely
longer. Whatn’the hell was going on?

“Can’t keep a sixth-level wizard down, Severin. In more

ways than one. Forget about your bloody hair.” Will ran a
finger up Sev’s erection. He bit Sev’s neck, cat-like and he
shivered. They both shivered. “I want you again.” His hand
around Sev’s cock was not to be denied. Sev gave in to the
moment.

Christmas Creek

Chapter Nine

everin’s skin itched and he smelt that distinctive burning.
He snapped his eyes open. A vortex was emerging in the

centre of his bedroom, spinning with a myriad of colours,
like a rainbow, except this rainbow was all greys and blacks.

The vortex opened and closed as a figure emerged from

the maelstrom.

Sev launched up from the bed, ready to do battle with the

intruder.

Who in the hell used a personal vortex to intrude… Tarix!
Sev drew in a breath, then sat cross-legged on his bed,

studying Tax. Beside him, Will stirred, kicking off the silk
sheet. Tax’s eyes widened, sparking with interest.

Will studied the new arrival and went to rise from the

bed.

“Stay,” Sev said, his hand on his lover’s shoulder.
“Is this how it is?” Tax demanded.
“What do you want?”
Tax’s gaze was incredulous. “I came here to warn you.”
“Coming from you that’s ironic.”
“Meaning?”
“Meaning that I had a vamp here and the only way he’d

know where to find me is that if someone told them. Since I
only told you where I was going … you work it out.”

“You think I’d betray you?” Tarix paused. Sev watched

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the fury spark in his eyes. “Fuck you, Severin!”

“You have, often. In the past.”
In the past. The three words marked the severing of their

sexual relationship. Tarix’s eyes narrowed as he looked at
Will.

“This bloke is one of you?” Will asked.
Tarix’s stunned look almost made Sev laugh.
“This boy knows? This human?”
“He saved my life, Tarix.” Sev touched Will’s cheek.
“I see. Then perhaps I can forgive him for being human.”
“Go to hell, whoever you are.”
Severin stroked Will’s wrist, sending calming vibrations

to his lover. “Okay, Tax, who do you need to warn me
about?”

Tarix’s gaze rested on Will. “A hundred things, but

maybe none of them are important to you, considering…”
He frowned and gestured at Will. “A human? Are you out of
your mind? True, they make an interesting diversion, but
Sev, you surprise me.”

“He’s full of surprises,” Will said. “Like me. Who is this

bloke, Sev?”

“A friend.”
“One of your fucks?”
“The only one,” Tarix said.
“Right.”
“Tarix was just leaving.”
“I come all this way and you just ask me to leave?

Severin, your manners are appalling.”

“So’s arriving unannounced in my bedroom.”
“You never minded before.”
“That was before, Tarix. Not now.”
Unperturbed, Tax sat on the edge of the bed, leaning

back. “I’ve left Sanctuary, too.”

The room pulsed around Sev. “Left, why?”

Christmas Creek

“It hasn’t been the same with you gone.” Tarix’s mouth

turned down, bitter lines etched in the corners. “The Council
is led by Ardan now. With you banished, he made his move.
Some died.”

“What did you say?” Severin’s skin turned cold, his gut

clenched. Died? Wizards died in Sanctuary?

“There were some who opposed. They expired

mysteriously. Accidents, so the verdict was, but I know—we
all know—different. A coup if ever there was one. I have to
give it to Ardan, he was clever. Too clever for our own
good.”

“And those remaining accept him?”
Tarix laughed without humour. “Accept or die. Simple. I

didn’t want to meet with an accident, so I renounced my
affiliations with Sanctuary and left. Well, fled, more like into
the night. Literally. To find you.”

“To warn me?”
“Yes.”
Sev and he locked gazes. A simple action with a universe

of ramifications.

“You’ll stay here of course?” Sev asked.
Will snorted. “No way.”
“I agree with the boy. I was never into threesomes.”
“Not what I heard, Tax.”
“Then you heard wrong.” The air charged, frosted.

“Ardan spread that bit of gossip to poison you against me. I
might be a cat, but I don’t tangle like that. When I commit, I
commit. It’s just you and I… Well, it was fun and we loved
each other, but it wasn’t ever going to last.” He growled. “I
can’t return to Sanctuary. I stole the vortex key to get here.”

“That’s a death penalty, Tax.”
“Yes, I know. But it was necessary. You need to go to

Sanctuary and challenge Ardan. There’s support for you.
You could—”

Astrid Cooper

“I’ll never return to Sanctuary. Let them deal with Ardan.

I’ve got more important things to do and a life here.” He
smiled at Will.

Tarix cat-growled. “Live out here? But that’d mean…

Wizard dust, Sev! You’ll die of old age.”

“Not such a bad fate, Tarix, if you don’t grow old alone.”

He paused. “Tax, you can stay here until you find some
place of your own.”

William stirred against the bed, his thoughts cold and

angry, lashing Sev and Tarix.

“I owe Tarix for many things William, not least my life.”

He stroked Will gently along the neck with a knuckle. “Trust
me.”

“It’s not you I’m worried about. Christ! Two wizards and

a string of vampires—what next? Zombies and mummies?”

“Zombies were hunted to extinction fifty years ago,”

Tarix said. “As for mummies, all you need do is unravel
their linen and they fall to bits. Pfft. Dust.”

Will’s jaw dropped. “You’re taking the mickey!”
Tarix’s brows lifted to Severin. “This means?”
“You’re pulling his leg.”
“Why would I do that?”
Severin smiled. “It means you’re teasing him.”
“I’m not in the teasing mood.”
“Neither am I,” Will growled.
Tarix smiled, his head tilted. “I think it’s best I find

another bed.”

“But where will you go?” Severin asked.
“I can look after myself.”
“Against the enclave, against a blood feud?” Severin

snorted. “You need to stay here, until we decide what to
do.”

“We do what, Sev?” Tarix paused, his gaze shifting from

the wizard to Will. “If he means anything to you, human,

Christmas Creek

then tell your lover that he’s being a fool.”

“I tell him that a lot. Makes no difference.”
Severin grinned, instantly sobering. “Over time I can

make this a retreat. The spell inhibiting my hair is fading. I
don’t think Ardan can control Sanctuary and me. He’ll forget
me, because he has his prize. He’s Prime Wizard of
Sanctuary. So long as I stay away, he’ll let me alone.
Between the two of us, we can make this a retreat. We’ll be
safe here.”

“I’m not sure I could live under the one roof with you and

a human.” Tarix folded his arms. “You’ve changed, Sev.”

“For the better,” the wizard replied.
Tarix’s smile was like the cat of old. “Yes, no longer Mr

Work And No Play. But the thought of Ardan in control
makes my blood run cold.”

“It doesn’t do much for me, either!”
“I can tell you this for nothing. I believe Ardan told the

vamps where you were.”

The silence was deafening. “Even he wouldn’t betray one

of us to them.”

“Who is this Ardan?” Will demanded.
“Prime Wizard.”
“Ah, the head honcho?”
“Does this human speak a new dialect? I can’t understand

what he’s saying.”

“I’m an Aussie.”
Tarix’s golden brow lifted. “This is an explanation?”
“All the one you’re gonna get.”
Tarix laughed. “I understand,” he said, gazing at Severin.
“I thought you might.”
“What’s all that mean?” Will asked.
“It means, William, that he understands why I love you.

You might be infuriating, but you tease and tangle as good
as any cat. That is a compliment, by the way.” Sev paused.

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“Forgive me for doubting you, Tax.”

The shifter shrugged and went to speak, but set his head

askew as if listening for something.

Sev caught nothing, but then a moment later…
“Will, are you there?” Susan’s voice drifted up from

downstairs.

“What…?” Tarix spun, a blur of speed, as only a cat could

move, especially when a woman was in proximity. Will
stared, but Severin laughed.

Susan pushed open the door. “Mail’s in… oh…Oh…” She

backed up a step. “Sorry, I didn’t think you’d still be in bed.
It’s after eleven. I left the mail on the desk. There’s an urgent
parcel I collected… Um. Better go.” She glanced at Tarix,
taking in the red silk kaftan and auburn hair hanging to his
waist. “He one of yours?”

Tarix’s brows drew together, the air around him crackled.

He studied her, at first with dread, then interest.

Severin thought he preferred it if Tax looked at Susan

with dread, not that spark of fascination. That might lead to
other things. Complications. Like they needed any more!

Susan grimaced at Tarix. “Don’t spark your eyes at me,

wizard-boy. I’m not in the mood.”

Tarix’s jaw dropped. “She knows? You have told a

woman?”

“This isn’t Sanctuary.”
“No and you’re not the Severin I knew.” Contaminated.

The word passed silently between them. Tax could forgive
Sev anything, even taking a human as lover, but tolerating a
woman? That was going too far—even for Tax’s liberal
tastes.

“I’ve been re-educated,” Severin said.
“Stop that,” Will and Suze said together.
“What?”
“That bloody mental ping-pong. You got something to

Christmas Creek

say, you say it, so’s we can hear.” Susan put her hands on
her hips.

Tarix put his own hands on his hips. “She’s got spirit.”
“She has got more than that!” Susan snapped.
“Interesting,” Tax said.
Suze cast him a withering look that only made Tarix

smile more.

Her look was murderous. Uh-oh! Severin knew that look.

Tarix was unaware of his danger. The woman was harder,
sharper, more dangerous than a nest of wizards.

“Are you sure this wizard-guy didn’t betray you?” Will

demanded.

Severin put up his hand to stall Tax’s response. Will was

like a snake ready to strike and if he went for Tarix…
Wizard’s Balls! And he had such plans for a quiet, leisurely
sexy day with Will. Wasn’t going to happen.

“No,” Severin said. “Tarix is a cat-shifter, whose father

was a wizard. He walks in two worlds. Cat and Magic.” One
of the reasons why Ardan hated Tarix so much, and
Severin—guilt by association. “Wizards are supposed to
breed pure. Sometimes we get led astray, especially by cats.”

The smile between Severin and Tarix was for times past,

of adventures and misdemeanours.

“Those were good times, Sev. I’m going to miss all of

that.” He folded his arms. “But it pleases me you’ve got
someone, even if he is human.”

“Thanks for nothing, pussy,” Will growled.
Sev put his hand on Will’s wrist. “Never call a shifter that,

he’ll claw your arse—for starters. Then fry your brain.”

Tarix snorted. “You talk like a human.”
“Thank you. I’ve been practising.”
Tarix rolled his eyes. “Convince your human that I did

not betray you. I do not go near fangs.”

Severin closed his eyes. He’d forgotten Tax’s aversion. He

Astrid Cooper

mixed with demons, wizards, ghouls and ghosts, but
vampires? Never. Tax had his limits and vamps were his.

“Okay, so you didn’t.” Will folded his arms. “What

warning do you want to give?”

“There’s a blood call out for you, Sev.”
“That’s last year’s, mate,” Will snapped.
“It… what?”
Severin shrugged. “I’ve already had a visit.”
“No, I mean a blood call. And if some vamp takes you

down, they can have your magic, it doesn’t revert to the
Oracle.”

“What are you saying?” Will demanded. “Where’s those

bloody sub-titles?”

Severin smiled. “The Oracle is the power source of

Sanctuary. I store my magic in my oracle—the crystal
chandelier downstairs. The Oracle at Sanctuary is a huge,
pulsing crystal lattice to which all wizards donate a certain
amount of magic each week. If a wizard should die, his
magic, his essence, all that he was, is channelled into the
Oracle.”

“Sorta like that exchange we made, when you tattooed

me?”

Tarix gaped at Will, then at Severin. “You mated with

him?”

“Yes.”
For a moment Tarix’s face tensed, then it softened into a

smile. “You never did things by the Law, Severin. I suppose
I should congratulate you… both.”

“Thanks,” Will said.
Sev chuckled.
Tarix looked at Susan. “Who is this woman?”
“My sister. And you don’t tangle with her.”
“Stop talking about me as if I’m invisible. I’ll friggin

tangle with whom I choose.”

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100

Tarix grinned, then turned back to Severin. “Ardan wants

to get rid of you. Permanently. Trust me, before I left
Sanctuary, I made sure that the message boards knew about
what he was planning. Maybe he’ll survive, maybe he’ll get
overthrown. Either way, I’m done with Sanctuary. I rather
like the scenery out here.” Tarix glanced at Susan.

“You leave my sister alone, cat-boy.”
Susan flushed. “I can look after myself William. You keep

a handle on your Mr Magic. I’ll deal with the cat.”

Tarix purred, low in his throat, the sound thrumming

around the room. The cat was on the prowl. Severin studied
him with eyes narrowed.

Tarix shook his head, sending his waist length auburn

hair flying around him like a cloak. “A challenge. I so enjoy
a challenge. Who exactly is this woman to you, Severin? A
lover?”

“Hell, no!” William snapped. “Sweetcakes is mine.”
Severin groaned. There were some things that one did not

speak aloud.

“Sweetcakes?” Tax tried really hard not to smile. Really

hard. And failed.

“Humans have this affinity for names.”
“Inventive.” Tarix laughed.
“Annoying,” Severin said.
“Oh, I dunno,” William drawled. “It always makes you

melt, Sev-babe.”

Severin coughed. Susan had the good manners to look

embarrassed.

“William, I think I might call you Legs, because I like the

way you wrap them around me. Why, babe, you’re
blushing.” Severin laughed. “I… what in the—?”

In the distance they heard the strident wail of a siren.
“There’s a fire,” Susan said. “Will, where’s your mobile

phone, mine’s in the car.”

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101

She dragged out Will’s phone from his jeans, discarded by

the bed. She tapped keys, frowning. “CFS bulletin... c’mon.
C’mon! I’m on call-out duty, today.” Her face paled as she
read. “Oh, God! The fire’s out at our property. The animals!”
She raced to the door, but Severin slammed it shut in her
face. She tugged at the handle and kicked the frame for good
measure, before she turned to him.

“If you don’t open this friggin door, now, wizard boy, I

promise you I’ll fry what few brains you’ve got.”

Will was up and pulling on his jeans in a moment. “You

can’t reach the farm in time, Suze.”

“I’m going.”
“It’s too dangerous.”
“Wait,” Severin said. “I can help.” He stood up. Running

a hand over his sixth-level tattoo, he ignited the design and
it, in turn sought the Oracle downstairs. A low thrumming
filled the room.

Severin summoned the magic and channelled it into his

body. He sent out a probe, crossing the kilometres to
Wahroonga in moments, found the fire and encased the
homestead and the animal sanctuary in an energy bubble.

But this was no ordinary fire. He felt, smelt and heard the

magic that had started it. The fire was meant to get his
attention, to divert him, drain him, to make him powerless
against the real assault. The farm and the town that held his
love would be a casualty. His enemies knew his weaknesses,
the final irrevocable hurt to Severin would be to lose all he
had known, all he had worked for in Christmas Creek,
before he was killed, his magic stolen. A nice cruel little
touch, it had the hallmark of Ardan. He struggled against
the magic, beat back the flames.

With his mind open, he heard sirens, saw people running,

animals screaming. His magic held, then wavered. He
staggered, leaning against one of the bed posts.

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102

“Sev, take from me!” Tarix said, racing to his side. He

wrapped his arms around Severin, allowing the wizard to
enter his mind and pierce his energy chakras. “That’s it, take
it all.”

Moments later, the room vibrated with thunder. Susan

raced to the window and tore back the curtain.

“What the hell? When I got here the sky was blue,

cloudless. Now it looks like something out of hell. All black
clouds. Will, look at this!”

Jagged lighting ripped through the horizon.
Gentle rain fell, then seconds later it poured down onto

the countryside, water fighting fire. The flames sizzled,
dropped, flared as magic gained ascendancy.

Tarix touched Severin, mind to mind. Their spirits

merged. Together, they were stronger than any wizard
circle. The magic peeled back, layer by layer. The flames
died, absorbed into the burnt black grass.

Water flowed down empty creek beds, pooling in

paddocks. The rain fell in sheets but now to absolute quiet.
Susan remained transfixed at the window, Will beside her.

“This is bizarre. There’s no wind, just rain…” She turned

towards the wizards.

“Magic,” Will said.
For over an hour the battle waged and when the last drop

of rain fell, Severn and Tarix collapsed spent on the bed.

Susan poured two glasses of brandy, Will taking one to

Sev. Susan glanced at Tarix. She held a glass of brandy to the
shifter’s lips.

He sipped and grimaced. “The woman is trying to kill

me.”

Will smiled. “If that were true, Tarix, you’d be dead.”
Susan’s gaze locked with Tarix’s. The wizard put a hand

around hers.

“I’ve never had a woman.”

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103

“Funny you should say that, neither have I.” She paused.

“Or a wizard.”

“Ah. I see.”
“Do you?”
Severin watched as Tarix smiled that enigmatic cat smile

that lured, teased, cajoled.

“I may need some assistance to understand you.”
Susan snorted. “Assistance is not what I had in mind.”
“How can you think of it, at a time like this?” Will

demanded.

“Priorities” Tarix said.
“Absolutely,” Susan said. “I have to go to the farm. You

want to lie around here in bed?”

Tarix struggled to his feet. “I’ll lie around in a bed, but not

here. It’s occupied.”

Will swore, his cheeks blazing. “Sis?!”
“Don’t you sis me. I’m older than you and I don’t need

you to preach. Mind your own business.”

“But…”
“You heard what she said, boy, mind your own business.”
“Don’t you threaten me!”
“Was I threatening? I do not make threats, I deliver.”
“That’s true,” Severin said.
“But she’s my sister.”
Susan glared at Will. “And you’re my brother, co-habiting

with a wizard who fights vampires and makes rude
chocolates. You want to lecture me?”

Will held up his hands.
Susan stormed from the room, slamming the door. Tarix

tore it open and paused, grinning over his shoulder. “A
woman with spirit. How… delightful.”

“Be warned.”
“Understood.” Tarix paused. “I’ll be back.”

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104

Chapter Ten

everin curled behind Will, his hand dangling over the
younger man’s hip, teasing the flesh just near the pubic

bone. Will’s skin heated.

“You like that?”
“Mmmm.” Will glanced back. “That cat… how close were

you and he?”

“As close as we are now, but ours was a different

relationship. Anyway, that’s in the past, Will. I’m here, with
you.”

“But for how long?” He turned in his lover’s arms. “I

know you’re going to go back and do what you have to do
to your enemies.”

“Maybe.”
“No maybe about it. Even if you didn’t want to, you’d

have to, or you’d not get any peace. They’d hunt you
forever.”

Severin pulled him close. “For a human you understand

politics very well.”

“Politics and humans go hand in hand.”
Severin reached down and cupped Will’s cock, teasing it,

his sacs.

“Stop it,” Will ground out.
“Truly, you want me to stop?”
“Yes. Umm… No.”

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105

“I’m a sixth level wizard, William. I have allies in

Sanctuary.”

“You’ve got friends here.”
“Yes.” How true that was. Human friends who, if they

knew what Will knew, would all run screaming to the hills
and caves. Spud. Nobby. Maddy. Yet, William knew, as did
Susan, and they hadn’t dropped dead in fright. Instead, they
had come out fighting. Perhaps the courage of humans had
been underestimated. Perhaps it was time that all knew the
truth? And Susan… where was she now? With Tarix?
Unbelievable. As to what they were doing? Tarix was
nothing if not inventive. But Sev felt Tarix had
underestimated Susan Lawrence. He laughed.

“What’s so damn funny?”
“Tarix and your sister.”
“I’m not amused.”
“You should be. Tarix has met his match.”
“You think?”
“Yes. Will, I—” Severin leapt from the bed. A moment

later the door splintered and three vampires and a seven
foot blue hunter-ghoul raced into the room.

They cast a magic-net over Severin that shorted out every

nerve ending in his body. He pitched face first onto the
carpet, watching, knowing, but powerless to do a damn
thing. He fought the entrapment, drawing on his energy, but
the oracle was depleted after the fire-fight. As his enemies
intended.

William vaulted from the bed, only to be intercepted by

the vampire—the same one who had marked him weeks
before. The vampire pinned William to the bed with one
hand, while groping the struggling human with his other
hand.

“Let us all drink of the human. You promised.”
“I am first,” the vampire said. “And the last.”

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106

Severin’s blood froze. That meant only one thing—this

vampire would convert Will, make him a slave, a slathering,
hungering slave driven by blood and the all-consuming
desire to please his converter. The worst human-vampire
relationship imaginable. The vampire’s fangs descended to
Will’s neck.

“No you fucking don’t!” Tarix’s voice cut the air. He

morphed in mid step and launched himself as a golden,
auburn-spotted leopard at the nearest vampire. Torn limb
from limb, the vampire crumpled to the floor, vanishing to
dust as he died.

The next vampire turned, ready to fight. Severin mind-

restrained him as Tarix fried him, rendering him to dust. The
ghoul, now released from the mind-binding of the vampires,
screamed and charged around the room, destroying all in its
path.

William moaned and sobbed. The vampire was sucking,

draining, gulping his blood. Even as Tarix moved towards
the vampire, Susan leapt forward, armed with a pick axe.
She heaved it with all her strength, bringing it down
between the vamp’s shoulder blades. The creature snarled.
With its fangs dripping gore and blood, the vamp launched
itself at her, the axe still embedded between his shoulders.
He grabbed her by the throat and slashed her face and body
with his talons.

Susan lay in a bloodied heap on the floor.
Use me! Severin mind-sent and Tarix seized every iota of

his Oracle magic and channelled it into his own body. The
ghoul vanished.

The vampire morphed to bat and desperately flew around

the room, seeking escape. The wards on the window caught
the creature and like an insect trapped in an electric bug-
catcher, the vampire was burned to a crisp. Grey dust drifted
lazily to the floor. The stench of burning vampire flesh made

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107

Tarix gag. The cat never had a stomach for vampire.

The entrapment around Sev disappeared and he

struggled to sit up. He crawled on hands and knees to
William as he half hung from the bed, his legs draped on the
floor. His throat had been torn. His eyes stared, unseeing.

Severin felt the faint life force. Not dead, but so close.

Could he bring him back?

Tarix knelt beside Susan.

Two humans to save, but only enough energy for one. Who to

choose?

For you, Sev.
No, for you, Tax.

I can’t take him from you.

I can’t take her from you.
Severin decided. What was life without love? He’d die for

Tarix, he’d die for William. He’d die for Susan.

No, Severin! No!

Too late, cat-boy!
He traded his life-magic and channelled it out, for Tarix to

save Susan. He saw the healing blue pulse from the shifter’s
finger tips into the woman’s broken body.

Sev bent over Will and drew on the power of his immortal

soul and poured it forth into the human. Will’s chakras
erupted. The vampire corruption battled against Sev’s
healing. If William could not be saved, then he would die,
not as vampire convert, but as human, to lie at peace forever,
not prowl the living eternity trapped between the nightmare
world of human-vampire slave. And if William died, Severin
would die also. What was life without love? Death was
preferable.

Severin made his choice.
“No!” William screamed, his mind and body fighting

Severin. His eyes snapped open and he grasped the wizard’s
wrist in a hold that was now inhuman. The vampire

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108

contagion had spread rapidly. “No, I don’t want to live. I
don’t want to be a blood-sucker. No. Let me die. Kill me.
Otherwise I’ll be a killer. Severin, if you love me…”

Tears mired Severin’s vision. He grasped Will’s arms

above his head with one hand while his free hand drew
circles and spirals over his lover, activating the dragon
tattoo. Slowly, the magic drew forth the vampire contagion.

While he worked, on the periphery of his consciousness

he saw-felt Tarix weaving his own magic on Susan’s body.
The shifter worked hard, fast, staunching blood, renewing
nerves and mending shattered bones. Sev caught Tarix’s
emotions—shock, delight, but above all the shifter’s awe of
the woman who had fought a vampire… had dared
challenge one of the most powerful creatures. She’d axed the
creature, brandishing the weapon like an amazon. Tarix’s
love touched Severin, a coiling, spiral of gold—but not love
for him, but for the woman who even now was awakening,
her first action to smile up at her non-human lover.

The universe worked in mysterious ways. Severin bit

back the thought. Now, was not the time to get
philosophical.

He turned back to William, whose smile was not human,

his teeth sharp and pointed, his eyes dark and malicious.

If William could not be saved, then Severin would kill his

love and follow him into eternal oblivion.

“I don’t want to be like this, Severin. Let me die.” William

sobbed and when Sev went to cradle him in his arms, the
human fought and the vampire bit.

Astrid Cooper

109

Chapter Eleven

ome back, all is forgiven! They even sent me the new
key combination to access Sanctuary.” Severin placed

the message orb on the table and flicked it with a finger,
sending it spiralling across the table to Tarix.

“Not fucking likely!” Tarix zapped the orb with his

magic, sending the crystal across the white damask
tablecloth, narrowly missing the antique silver candelabra.
“I’m here where I want to be and with whom.” He rubbed
his check against Susan’s.

Severin raised a brow at Will. “I told you so.”
The human snorted. “Don’t be so bloody smug,

sweetcakes, or I’ll bite your arse.” Will’s bluster masked his
anxiety that Tarix was playing with Susan—that a cat
couldn’t life-bond with a human. Will called him tomcat
Tarix. That sent the shifter into a frenzy of hissing and
snarling and he morphed into leopard and used Will’s
favourite lounge chair as a scratching post, tearing the
upholstery to shreds.

It was probably fortunate, Severin thought, that Tarix and

Susan lived at Wahroonga and only occasionally visited Café
Decadence.

“We’ll see,” said William.
“See what?” Tarix demanded.
“See—”

“C

Christmas Creek

110

“See if you two can enjoy Christmas Day without an

argument,” Susan said.

She had brought the antique red and gold china and

cutlery from Wahroonga and set the table while Severin and
Tarix had used magic to cook the meal. William had
decorated the room, festooning it with ribbons and baubles
and hung a bunch of mistletoe under the door.

Now seated around the table, replete with hours of eating

and drinking, Severin felt the cares of the world diminish. If
only the cat and his lover would cease hostilities.

“If they’re genuine with that orb thing,” Will said, “then

you need to go back, Severin! You can be immortal again. Be
the wizard, not some dumb fuck patissier in a hick country
town.”

“Since when is Christmas Creek a hick country town?”

Susan demanded.

“You know what I mean, sis!” He waved his hand

dismissively.

“And since when am I some dumb fuck patissier? Really,

Legs, your manners are appalling.”

“Yeah, right. Look, compared to Sanctuary, this place, any

human place is …” He shrugged. “Now that Ardan and his
sycophants are gone, you can be head honcho, Sev. Just
think what you could do!”

“You want me to leave?” Severin asked, trying not to

smile.

“Yes,” Will said miserably. “No, I want you to stay, but

your duty...”

“I’m not going back to Sanctuary. Ever,” Severin put his

hand over Will’s, his fingers entwining with his lover. “I’m
staying here with you. I want you to live here with me.”

“Openly? As your mate?”
“For all to see.”
“It’d shock the locals.”

Astrid Cooper

111

“It’s shocked Sanctuary,” Tarix said. “But then they’ve all

had a bloody big shock… Ardan siding with vamps to defeat
you and kill any opposition. I don’t think they’re really
worried about you co-habiting with a human. And if they
do, well, screw them.”

“Listen, bro,” Susan said. “Everyone in town knows what

side of the bed you sleep on. Have done so since high
school.”

“But what if I turn vampire? I might.” He turned to Sev.

“You said that I still have elements of fang-boy in me. I like
my meat rare, especially when there’s a full moon and I have
a craving for red wine. What if I become some blood sucking
nightstalker? I have vamp and wizard in me from when you
healed me…” His gaze lifted to Severin. “You said that
wizards and vampires don’t mix.”

“Over time, I can eradicate the vampire and replace it

with the wizard.”

“How?”
“Magic,” Severin said.
“Fucking obscure as always.”
“Of course, mon amour,” Severin said. “How else do I

maintain my position? Wizards are full of the enigmatic.”

“You’re full of something, babe.”
“Later, we can both be full.”
Will’s cheeks flamed as Tarix laughed. The shifter took

Susan’s hand and raised it to his lips.

“Will you tell them, or shall I?” he asked, looking at her.
“Um…”
“My sister lost for words? This is a first.”
“Savour it while you may, human.”
Severin touched Will’s arm, applying a warning pressure.

“Cats are very possessive about their mates. She’s bonded
with him, so you can’t speak to her as you once did.”

“The hell I can’t.”

Christmas Creek

112

“The hell you can’t,” Tarix snarled.
“Men, the world over, just interested in one upmanship.”

Susan rolled her eyes. “Pllleeeeeassse.”

“This is for you,” Will said, pushing a large parchment

envelope across to Susan.

She carefully opened the envelope, drawing out its

contents. She looked at Will. “This is the title to Wahroonga. I
won’t accept it, William.”

“Yes you can. It’s your… your wedding present.” He held

Tarix’s gaze.

“But by giving me this, it makes you homeless, living on

the goodwill of Mr Magic here.”

Severin bit back the swell of anger. “Like yourself, Susan,

William and I have life-bonded. I have instructed a lawyer to
draw up the necessary paperwork. William will be my
business partner, as well as joint owner of this property. I
did tell Will last night about my Christmas Eve gift, but he
seems to have forgotten to tell you.”

“We didn’t do much talking last night, Sev-babe.”
They exchanged heated glances. Once Will had recovered

from the vampire attack, they hadn’t left the bed in days. But
the first loving had been a desperate joining, to eradicate the
pain, the fearful realisation that they had both nearly died.
William through his injuries and Sev through choice. To die
for love.

“What is it you want to tell us?” Severin asked, looking at

Susan.

“I’m pregnant.”
Severin studied her, then glanced at Tarix, his brow

raised. The cat had the good manners to look abashed.

“Christ,” Will hissed. “Tarix… you bloody tom-cat jerk!”
“Fuck you, boy. She’s my… My wife. There, does that

convince you?”

“Fine, I’ll believe it when I see it,” Will said.

Astrid Cooper

113

“Fine,” Tarix replied.
“Now all those fines are out of the way, perhaps we can

enjoy some more of Sev’s pavlova. You really have outdone
yourself with the chocolate cream and strawberries. And
you did say no calories? I’m going to be fat enough.”

“Eat the cake and lose weight, is my tag line.”
“Just how in the hell did you get pregnant?” Will

demanded.

Susan put down her spoon. “You want a blow by blow

description? Have you forgotten your biology lessons?”

“It’s my fault,” Tarix said.
“Of course it’s your bloody fault.”
Tarix glared at William. “Very well. Since you’re her kin,

I’ll explain. I forgot… Women… well, after the healing, she
was susceptible and I forgot to take precautions. What does
it matter? I love her and I will love the—”

“William, it’s okay. Really okay! I was shocked at first,

but I’m used to the idea. I’m carrying twins. Boy and a girl.”

“Double trouble,” Will said, almost smiling.
Severin frowned, trying to understand the brother-sister

connection. With Susan’s transformation, her own latent
magic had been awakened. She was going to be a powerful
psychic, augmented by Tarix’s training. Her skin was
unblemished, but to those with the eyes to see, traces of her
vampire attack were visible. Tarix and Severin decided that
Susan did not need to know that. She would only fret. And a
woman with battle-scars—according to Tarix—was more
desirable than the greatest flawless beauty. The cat was
smitten.

“So, this is our first Christmas together.” Will toyed with

the champagne flute. “What do we all drink to? Life? Our
family? This Retreat? I still don’t understand what you and
Tarix have been doing. All that spell-casting sets my teeth on
edge.”

Christmas Creek

114

“We’ve been conjuring a forever-spell, making this house

and grounds a retreat where no predator, human or
otherwise can intrude. We protect my family,” Severin said.

“Yes,” Tarix said. “To the death. No human outside this

circle can appreciate the ties that will bind us together—
those of our blood, now and in the future.”

“So what do we drink to?” Susan asked.
“Love,” Severin said. “It’s the greatest power in the

universe.”

“I didn’t know you were a poet,” Will said, shoulder

rubbing his lover.

“Wizards always have a way with words. There’s great

power in the correct use of the mouth.”

Tarix snorted. Susan laughed. William blushed.
Champagne glasses clinked across the table.
“To a lifetime of love at Christmas Creek.”

GLOSSARY of Australian words in this story:

ocker

An unsophisticated person (generally male).
“He talks like an ocker.”
Ocker can also be an indication, in Aussie circles, that a

person is an Australian.

clappers

Generally means that something goes fast.
“The car goes like the clappers.”

CFS

Country Fire Service
Usually trained volunteers—male and female—from a

local community who answer call-outs to fight fires.

Most large towns will have a CFS depot and fire truck.

ripper

Usually means great – as in something special.
“Have a ripper day, mate!”
“It was a ripper book.”

biro

A ballpoint pen.

full stop

Used for a period after a sentence.

More Australian slang and explanations can be found at

this site:

http://www.koalanet.com.au/australian-slang.html

Decadence Pavlova

NB this recipe contains calories and must not be confused
with Severin’s Decadence pavlova he serves his family at
Christmas.

Pavlova
Ingredients
4 egg whites
approx. 1 cup of caster sugar
1 can of double thickened cream
Fresh fruit for decoration (if using tinned fruit such as

berries, make sure the fruit has been well drained, or you
will end up with a soggy pav.!) Strawberries and/or kiwi
fruit work well. Do not use fruit that has a high moisture
content.

Grated chocolate (optional)
Toffee (optional)

Method
Pre-heat oven to 200 degrees Celcius (or 400 Fahrenheit).
Cut a piece of oven-proof paper (or baking paper) a little

larger than the dish onto which you will spread the pavlova
base – hint – if you use an ovenproof plate you do not have
to transfer the baked pavlova onto another dish for serving.
A pavlova is very fragile.

Put the baking paper on the plate.
In a bowl, add small amounts of sugar while beating egg

whites, using an electric mixer. Beat until the mixture is stiff
and you can make firm peaks from the mix.

Using a plastic spatula carefully put a little of the mixture

onto the centre of the plate and spread out using a circular

motion. Keep adding the mix, carefully working from inside
to out, making the mixture approx. 1.5 inches thick in the
centre, and approx. 3 inches high on the outside. You use a
circular motion, making the mixture “peak”, do not pat
down.

Put plate in oven. Cook for one hour (watch that the pav.

doesn’t burn. DO NOT OPEN THE DOOR! Then switch
oven off and LEAVE THE PAVLOVA IN THE OVEN
OVERNIGHT. (Some recipes suggest removal of pav. after
cooking time. Experience suggests leaving the pav alone
until morning).

Remove pav from oven and begin decoration.
In a bowl whip cream using an electric mixer. You can

add small amounts of icing sugar to the mix. The cream
needs to be firm.

Using the spatula carefully spread the cream onto the

pav, working from inside to out.

Put in fridge to set.
Then garnish with fruit. Australians generally use berries,

strawberries, kiwi fruit to decorate.

Keep refrigerated until ready to serve.
The Decadence version:
Cut strawberries in half and dip tip in toffee. Once cooled,

dip other end in chocolate. Make sure that the strawberry is
finely coated. Kiwi fruit can also be similarly decorated. Place
fruit on the pavlova. Grate rich dark chocolate over the
pavlova. ENJOY!

If you want to vary this recipe, you can finely drizzle

toffee over the pavlova.

A pavlova can be as simple or as decadent as you wish.

But it won’t be low cal – like Severin’s recipe!

About the Author

Astrid has been writing since she was five years old and
even then her stories were of the fantastic: aliens, spaceships,
knights on magical quests. Astrid is an award-winning, best-
selling author whose works encompass many genres and
many formats (traditional print, electronic and POD). Active
in s.f. fandom, she has organised s.f./fantasy conventions,
edited over 100 fanzines, and run several fantasy ‘fan’
groups.

When not writing, Astrid works in her two and a half acre

garden in rural South Australia. She is currently working on
more erotic stories for Extasy Books (Pride’s Passion and
Forbidden Nights), and is planning/editing a mainstream
fantasy novel of epic proportions, has been offered a new
contract for her best-selling book Crystal Dreams and is
contracted to edit an anthology The Fabled Towers featuring
stories about the Arthurian myth. She has also recently
organised a local writers’ group and is convening writefest a
writers’ conference in her home town.

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