Read Rescued (Book One of the Silver Wood Coven Series): A Witch and Warlock Romance Novel for Free Online Page A

drain before it danced back up and cascaded over the side. Troy guided it to him with a wave of his hand, lifting and shaping it into a large rectangle before he flicked his fingers. The water divided itself into a net of shimmering drops which dwindled smaller and smaller until they dissolved into a mist.
    Ward of water, protect unseen the woman Summer from all that harm outside and within. So may it be.  
    As Troy cast the spell, his power infused the misty net with a brilliant blue glow, and it drifted across the parking lot to the car, where it funneled into the vehicle through the radiator grill. The interior of the Jeep took on the same shimmering glow for a moment before it enveloped Summer, and then shrank as if it were being absorbed by her clothing. Once the light vanished Troy felt the desire still throbbing inside him ease, although it didn’t disappear completely.
    Of course it won’t, he thought. You actually do want her.
    It had been months since Troy had taken the time to indulge his needs with a female. Now and then he would seek out a witch he knew to be uninterested in mating or monogamy for a night. He always enjoyed spending a night sharing the pleasure and power of sex with a woman, but despite being invited to return to her bed he never did. Serving in the Corps made relationships difficult, as he often had to travel and spend weeks or even months away on assignment.
    That isn’t the only reason, Troy thought, once more recalling how furious his father had been when he’d told him that he had volunteered for the Corps and was leaving Silver Wood. For years Abel Atwater had expected Troy to succeed him as High Priest; to say he did not take kindly to being thwarted was like saying the sun was a little warm. Abel had refused to say another word to him.
    Erica Buchanan, the new High Priestess and his mother’s best friend, had been the only one to say good-bye. For all his stony looks and cold silences he loves you, Troy, she’d said when she’d hugged him good-bye. Remember that.      
    Troy’s current conscription would end on the new year, and part of the reason he had taken this leave was to decide if he wanted to continue to serve. As a warlock with elemental power he knew how valuable he was to the Corps, and he believed in their mission. He just wasn’t certain how much more of his life he wanted to devote to battling Templars.
    He hadn’t seen or spoken to his father since the day he’d left the mountain, but over the years Erica had kept in touch, sending a letter every few months with news of his family and the coven. That was how Troy knew his brother Wilson had mated with Aileen Smith, the green witch Troy had initiated just before he left Silver Wood. She and Wilson were expecting their first child by the Winter Solstice. Wilson would not be happy to see Troy, either. His younger brother had always resented Abel’s preference for Troy, and now that he had mated with Aileen he would probably not welcome the return of his mate’s former lover.
    When Troy climbed into the Jeep he removed the sound-dampening spell from Summer, and passed his hand over her to check the body ward. Wherever the shadow of his hand fell her body briefly glowed bright blue, indicating the presence of the shielding spell.
    Summer turned on her side to face him and opened her eyes.
    “Are we there?” she asked, her voice low and drowsy.
    “Not yet.” He touched her cheek and remembered how Michael had made the same gesture. Her skin felt like warm satin against his fingertips. “We’re at a rest stop. Do you need to use the facilities?”
    “No.” Her brow furrowed, and she caught his hand before he took it away. “Why are my clothes damp?”
    Troy grimaced. The ward had passed through her garments to adhere to her form, and because she was clothed had left behind some residual traces of the water he’d bound it to.  
    “I cast a protective spell over you,” he told her carefully. “It will