The Keepers: Ethan. Rae Rivers

fact that you snuck out at midnight without telling anyone tells me it was.”

      “I needed air.” Frowning, she nudged the arrow at him. “Take the shot. It’ll be dark soon. You’re meeting your brothers at the restaurant in an hour and I’m on witch duty.”

      “So you agree to the new terms of the challenge?”

      “No.”

      “Come on,” he mimicked. “You’re that certain you’re going to lose?”

      “Fine. You’ll never win anyway and if you’re upping the game, I am too.”

      He raised a brow.

      “Don’t look so shocked. You’re the one who took us beyond the beers and shirtless fun.” She flashed him a smirk that softened the irritation in her eyes. “Next time you go on a business trip, I want to go with you.”

      “You loathe boardrooms.”

      “I do, but we both know your recent trip to New York had nothing to do with a meeting.”

      Their gazes locked, the air sizzling with tension as she waited for him to contradict her. For a wild moment, he considered denying it.

      “Searching for Hazel alone is dangerous and you know it.” Her expression tightened at the mention of the dark witch caster. Born to a lineage of witches who thrived on black magic, Hazel Brogan was a despised enemy and their greatest threat. After spending more than two years with her, Jenna had firsthand experience of everything the witch was capable of.

      “Do my brothers know?” Hell, he’d never hear the end of it if his older brother discovered he’d been hunting their enemies. As it was, things were tense between them.

      “You really think Archer would’ve kept silent if he knew?”

      “I can’t sit around anymore waiting for our enemies to attack. And they will, Jenna. You of all people know that. Why wait? We find them, we end this.”

      “We’re not murderers, Ethan.”

      “You’re starting to sound like my brother. You really believe the best thing to do is to wait for them to strike?”

      “No.”

      “So why the lecture?”

      “There’s a fine line between crazy and courageous.”

      “Yeah, it’s called common sense. I’m not stupid. I’ve been careful.”

      “Doesn’t make poking around a witch’s lair less dangerous. So we have a deal?”

      “Provided you don’t tell my brothers.”

      “I won’t.” She held up the rock. “Ready to miss your shot?”

      Grateful for the diversion, he adjusted his grip on the bow and arrow in his hands. “Careful, Jenna. Over-confidence is a warrior’s downfall.”

      Her grin derailed the moment of tension. Placing her hands on his hips, she twisted around him. “I’m all confidence and all warrior.”

      He readied the weapon. “Never underestimate me when I want something.”

      He became vaguely aware of her scent. Soft and fragrant, a subtle hint of pine cones. Counting back, she moved behind him, closer than required.

      A ploy to distract him, no doubt.

      But Ethan kept his focus, aligned his eyes with the arrow, and drew back his arm.

      She leaned forward, her mouth against his ear, her hands on his hips. He zoned in, locking in his target, and slowly released the arrow.

      “It’s you who shouldn’t underestimate me,” she whispered as her hand swept lower, her fingertips brushing his crotch.

      He inhaled sharply at the unwelcome arousal and the arrow took off on a burst of air, missing its target completely.

      Her soft laugh broke the silence.

      He tossed the bow and caught her arm. “Using feminine charms to disarm me?”

      “Not my fault you weren’t concentrating.”

      “I was, until you put your hand on my gear.” And his body had acted wildly in response to her. Hot damn.

      Her smile smacked of mischief. “I still won.”

      “Foul play.”

      She gasped when he tugged her closer. For a moment, they stared at each other in quiet amusement, their faces inches apart. When her heartbeat quickened, a testament that he wasn’t the only one affected by her little game, he couldn’t resist a grin.

      “Take it like a man, Bennett.” Her husky voice stroked his arousal. “You lost.”

      “I’m all man – which is exactly why you did that.”

      “All’s fair …”

      He moved swiftly, a speed he never tired of. Air escaped from her lungs in surprise as he backed her against a boulder. Securing her body with his, he reached for her hands, pinning them beside her.

      “What are you doing?” Her breathing had turned choppy, her breasts rising and falling in tiny movements against his chest.

      Damn sexy. Annoying.

      “Is this fair enough?” he asked, his raspy voice surprising him. Hell, he was more aroused than he was letting on. His gaze fell to her mouth and for an insane moment, he wondered what she’d taste like.

      A small smile curled her lips. “Easy, Casanova. There’s a big red line we’re stomping all over.”

      “You’re the one who nudged the line first, Jenna.”

      “We’ve been nudging it since the day we met.”

      He blinked, surprised by her admission. Ah, so she’d felt it too.

      He dipped his head, his mouth hovering against the corner of hers. He had the sudden urge to kiss her. To surprise her the way she’d done to him.

      But held back, that big red line flickering like a runway.

      They were Keepers, housemates, colleagues. Friends. A romantic fling didn’t fit into that combination. At all.

      But still, he couldn’t resist teasing her.

      He trailed a finger across her golden skin, pausing at the opening of her shirt that dipped between her breasts. “Next time, play fair and keep those curious hands off the merchandise.”

      “Curious –? It was simply a distraction!”

      He grinned wildly at her breathy protest and pressed his hips against hers, taking pleasure in the way her eyes widened when she felt his arousal. “Whatever you want to call it,” he whispered against her ear, “clearly, it worked.”

       CHAPTER TWO

      Heat flooded Jenna’s cheeks.

      He towered over her, the intensity of him unsettling her. Dark hair, eyebrows, and long lashes. She lowered her gaze from his blue eyes, which smacked of mischief to his lips. A thin upper lip, indented with a perfect V in the middle, and a fuller bottom lip. Lips curled into a challenging grin.

      Jenna shoved him away. He relented with a low chuckle and retrieved the bow off the ground.

      She was blushing. Blushing! Not something she ever did, but her ploy to distract him had backfired in a way that had left her hot and bothered.

      What the hell was she thinking?

      Despite the attraction that always sizzled beneath their friendship, she’d so far managed to keep their relationship on a professional