Divinity Bound: A Fated Guardian Paranormal Romance (Rise of the Lost Gods Book 2) Read online

  Divinity Bound

  Rise of the Lost Gods - Book 2

  Nicole Hall

  To Laura, thanks for letting me use your name and your grace.

  Contents

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Epilogue

  Warrior Tamed

  A Note from Nicole

  Also by Nicole Hall

  About the Author

  1

  Ana

  She’d never made out in a cop car before. Technically, the SUV that pulled up behind her was a sheriff’s car, driven by none other than Sheriff Shane Garrett. Her mind went immediately to the gutter every time she saw his official vehicle.

  Ana relaxed her hands on the wheel and tried to calm her racing heart. Failing to parallel park wasn’t against the law, so the esteemed sheriff had no reason to question her. She watched in the side mirror as he got out of his vehicle and peered toward her, shading his face.

  Worn jeans clung to his thighs, and an orange UT Austin shirt stretched across his broad chest. Off duty, then. He’d double-parked behind her, but she doubted the few people availing the services of downtown Deckard in the middle of the afternoon would care.

  The two large boxes in the back seat blocked her view of him as he crossed behind the car, but she knew what Sheriff Garrett looked like when he walked. A smooth, graceful cadence that showed confidence in his body. She’d know. Her life up until the last few months had focused on squeezing every last drop of beauty from her movements.

  And this man was beautiful without trying.

  He appeared on her side of the car and ran a hand through short, dark hair as he approached. She reminded herself that according to the townspeople—and Kora—he didn’t take advantage of his authority. Kora swore he was kind, and Ana tended to believe her boss’ judgment calls. Still, her stomach trembled as she rolled down her window.

  Humid air smacked her in the face, making a mockery of the air conditioner. “Sheriff Garrett. How can I help you today?” Ana adopted her customer service voice. A bland smile and limited interest could hide a surprisingly large amount of anxiety.

  He tucked his thumbs in his front pockets and leaned down to smile at her. “I’ve asked you to call me Shane.”

  She didn’t dare, at least not to his face. Using his name felt too intimate, especially while staring into dark eyes that saw too much. “Did you stop me just to remind me of your name? Because I assure you. I remember.”

  He chuckled. “You look like you’re having trouble.”

  “I’ve never been great at parallel parking, and doing it in Kora’s car is making it twice as hard. All the practice here seems to have made me worse instead of better.”

  “Want me to try?”

  Ana stiffened. “Not particularly. Do I have a choice?”

  A flicker of hurt crossed his face so fast she thought she might have imagined it, but he straightened and shrugged. “You always have a choice.”

  Ana sighed at the guilt, knowing she’d capitulate. “If I can’t get it this time, it’s all yours.”

  He nodded and walked to his SUV. Instead of getting in, he leaned against the front and crossed his arms. Apparently, she now had an audience. Fantastic. That would really help her performance.

  Sweat dampened her shirt, but she didn’t bother rolling up the window. Why give the good sheriff a nice, cool car to sit in? Ana jerked her attention away from the mirror where she’d been staring and focused on the maneuver in front of her. Pull forward, back up at an angle, pull forward at the opposite angle.

  Her brows flew up as she stopped the car neatly next to the curb equally spaced between the other two cars. The thrill of triumph raised goosebumps along her arms, but the sensation didn’t stop at her skin. Tingles raced down to the tips of her fingers, and a dull glow formed around the steering wheel.

  Ana gasped and dropped her hands to her lap, clenching them tightly around each other. This was why she didn’t go out much. The last thing she wanted was to draw attention to herself, and unpredictable magic hands would ruin any chance she had at blending in.

  Her pulse raced as she willed the power to fade.

  “Well done. I promise you’ll get better with practice.”

  Ana jumped at the male voice next to her. The sheriff had returned.

  He rested his arms over her open window and glanced at the two boxes in the back seat. “You need any help taking those up to your place?”

  “What makes you assume I live here?”

  He raised a brow. “Everyone knows you moved into the apartment above Kora’s shop. Maribeth told me you were having trouble because your knee was still bothering you, and Reggie said I should stop by to make sure you used the locks since there aren’t a lot of people around once the businesses close.”

  Small town gossip struck again. His eyes settled on her face, and Ana prayed her hands had stopped with the dramatics. She couldn’t look down to check, but the telltale prickle had disappeared. “My knee is healing nicely, and I make sure to lock up whenever I’m home. I’m very cautious with my safety.”

  He tilted his head with a sardonic twist to his lips. “You’re going to make me stand here and watch you struggle to carry both those boxes up the stairs with a bum leg?”

  For a second, she considered the idea. Ana hated being the center of attention, but this man brought out a stubborn streak she hadn’t known she possessed. He’d no doubt make good on his promise, and deep down, she wanted his attention on her. Not like that though. Not watching her fight with the unwieldy boxes and the tiny stairway.

  Ana peeked at her hands, relived to see the glow had faded. With her magic safely dormant again, she didn’t have any good excuses for denying him. At least, not any that wouldn’t cause suspicion.

  She smiled up at him with fake enthusiasm. “Thank you for your kind offer, Sheriff. I accept.”

  He leaned closer, and the façade melted into real heat she saw reflected in his eyes. “Please call me Shane.”

  Had she been worried about being too close?

  Her nails dug into her palms, a reminder that she couldn’t risk anyone finding out the truth. Especially him. She’d let him carry her boxes and help her park all he wanted, but that didn’t mean Ana could afford to lower her guard.

  “We’d better hurry before someone needs to use their car.” She jerked her chin toward the vehicle behind her that his SUV blocked.

  The charged moment passed. He opened the door for her to step out and moved away. “We’ll get there one day.”

  Ana shook her head. She didn’t understand his interest. They’d known each other for months—he’d stopped to introduce himself on her first day in town—and when she couldn’t physically avoid him, she tried to put him off with polite small talk. Her reticence didn’t seem to make a difference. He always smiled and tried to lure her into conversation.

  She opened the back passenger door and wrestled one of the boxes out of the tight space while he did the same on the other side. His tee-shirt strained against his biceps as he hefted the weight, and Ana sighed. In other circumstances, she’d welcome notice from a nice, attractive guy, but the events of last December had shown
her even nice guys couldn’t be trusted.

  They trudged up the short stairway to the second floor, and Ana counted time in her head. Had it been eight months already?

  Sometimes, the pain in her knee zapped her right back to that night at the barre when she’d come down wrong. Other times, she forgot that her life had been completely different before this year. Deckard, Texas felt like home more than Magnolia or Houston ever had.

  Granted, the trees looked the same as the ones on the compound, but here, she had the freedom to explore in those trees whenever she wanted. No high stone walls, locked gates, guards—nothing but herself to restrain her.

  Her doorway didn’t boast much of a landing since it hadn’t been built as a primary residence. Kora and David had renovated the storage space above their store last year into an efficiency apartment, then Kora had strong-armed Ana into moving in rent-free.

  The sheriff waited next to her door, taking up more than his fair share of the tiny space. She braced her box against the wall on the opposite side as she wiped sweat off her brow then dug out her keys.

  He tilted his head and squinted at her. “The sun is brutal today. You should be wearing a hat.”

  “Where’s your hat?” Ana cringed on the inside at her sassy tone. She didn’t flirt, and she certainly didn’t antagonize county officials with the power to detain her.

  He grinned and leaned against the wall while she struggled to work the key in the old lock. “Got a thing for cowboys?”

  She hadn’t, until she’d met Shane—Sheriff Garrett. “I have a thing for men not telling me what to do with my fashion choices or my body.”

  The door finally opened and blasted them with a wave of frosty air. Ana nearly closed her eyes in relief. The thermostat had been acting up the last few days, so she never knew what temperature to expect.

  She jumped at the pressure of a hand against her back, then fixed a cool expression on her face. The sheriff held his box with one hand and urged her to go through first with the other. The motion reminded her strongly of the men she’d known in her youth. Good ‘ol boys that never let a woman touch a door with her own dainty hands.

  Ana shook him off and twisted the box’s weight away from her hip. With the first step, a spike of pain burst out of her knee and up her thigh, and she hissed out a breath. Only a few more steps to get into the apartment, but they might as well have been miles.

  The sheriff leaned past her to set his box in the entry, then did the same with hers. Ana concentrated on the stained wood in front of her feet as the waves of agony slowly subsided. She should have known better than to let his hands distract her.

  Before she could protest, he’d scooped her up and carried her into the sparse apartment. Ana couldn’t fault him for his form, he didn’t jostle her knee at all as he kicked the door closed. Unfortunately, she’d wrapped an arm around his neck to steady herself, which put her way too close to his mouth for comfort.

  “Is the couch okay?” He turned his head to ask the question, and Ana realized his blue eyes were shot through with gold.

  She nodded, and they maneuvered her to a sitting position with her knee resting on one of her two throw pillows. As glorious of a distraction as Shane turned out to be, the pain in her leg reared up for a second round.

  After a tense moment, the ache in her knee abated, but her thigh refused to relax. Ana pushed on the hard knot with the heel of her hand, but she couldn’t get good leverage without her knee flaring up. She winced as the cramp went on and on while she tried to breathe through it.

  Her self-appointed savior squatted in front of her, and she glanced up into his face.

  “What’s wrong?” His calm tone reminded her of the doctors after her surgery.

  Ana licked her dry lips. “Muscle cramp.”

  His hands hovered over hers, but he stopped short of actually making contact. “Can I try?”

  “I can handle it. I’m not weak,” she gritted out.

  “I never thought you were. Come on, Ana. I’m trying to help.”

  Her name on his lips in that honeyed voice sent hunger spiraling through her, a weird contrast to her throbbing leg. She grimaced and moved her hands to give him access. Instead of massaging as she’d done, he gently stretched her leg to lengthen the muscle, careful not to aggravate her knee.

  When he did finally put pressure on her thigh in long, slow strokes, the cramp started to ease. Ana closed her eyes and let her head fall sideways against the couch. Her sweat had dried to a sticky film, so her hair stuck to the side of her face where she leaned. Despite the cold air, heat thrummed through her in rhythm with his massage.

  “Since I’m getting up close and personal with your thigh, maybe you can finally start calling me by my given name.”

  Ana watched him through lowered lashes. “Why is this so important to you?”

  “Because I want you to see me as a friend, not an authority figure.” He concentrated on his movements, giving her the rare chance to look her fill.

  Tousled dark hair and stubble along a strong jaw could have been any number of suitors she’d rejected, but his eyes always tripped her up. It wasn’t the color—though she liked the dark blue—but the compassion he never tried to hide. As if he could read her thoughts, he glanced up to meet her gaze.

  Ana didn’t bother pretending not to stare. “What makes you think I don’t see you as a friend?”

  “I’ve noticed the way you are with Kora and David, even Sabine. You let them in, at least a little bit. You’ve known me just as long, but with me, you’re guarded. Why is that?”

  Warning bells went off in her head. Those were the kind of questions she needed to avoid, but she wasn’t sure she could feign icy indifference with him attempting to ease her pain.

  “I don’t know you as well as I know them,” she whispered.

  “You would if you gave me a chance. Ask me anything you want. I’ll give you an honest answer, and you’ll know a little more.”

  She broke the staring contest to watch the motion of his hands—warm and callused against her skin. Should she play his game? Curiosity ate at her. He hadn’t demanded anything in return, so what harm could come from asking a question? Worst case scenario, he lied to her about something inconsequential.

  Except, she didn’t want to ask something inconsequential. She wanted to know if she could trust him. Her time in Deckard would come to an end at some point, and she’d better have more than spotty magic and an injured knee on her side—like maybe a handsome, stubborn sheriff.

  “Why did you go into law enforcement?” Ana forced her attention up, wanting to see his face when he answered.

  “I wanted to help people. As simple and complicated as that. Unfortunately, law enforcement doesn’t always succeed in that mission, but I try.”

  His sincerity never wavered, but Ana had proved in December that her judgement couldn’t be trusted. Still, it was a nice answer. Now the real test began. He’d asked why she revealed more of herself to her friends, and the answer was that they never asked for more than she could give them. They accepted her mysterious past and her unwillingness to talk about anything before she’d moved to Deckard.

  If he pushed her to open up, she’d know this whole conversation had been a ploy.

  He flashed her a smile that caused her pulse to race. “Was that enough of an answer?”

  Ana nodded. “For now.”

  “See, quick and easy. No harm done.”

  He had no idea. Shane—and he’d always be Shane now in her mind, he’d won that much—continued to rub until the knot in her thigh subsided completely. His fingers lingered even after the pain had ceased, stroking her skin, and Ana fought the urge to slide off the couch and into his lap.

  Talk about mixed signals.

  Instead, she scooted around him to stand. “Thanks for your help. Really.”

  He straightened next to her, and Ana hesitated as she stared up at him. One answered question didn’t make someone trustworthy, but he was right
that she’d taken a chance on a few of the others in town. She was under no obligation to answer if he asked something too personal.

  “In the interest of fairness, I’ll give you one question, but I make no promises to answer it.”

  Shane rubbed his chin. “Only one, huh? What’s your middle name?”

  The question surprised her enough that she answered without thinking. “Nicolaevna.”

  He cocked his head. “There’s a story behind that name. Maybe you’ll share it with me some time.”

  Unlikely, but then, she’d have thought the same thing about developing magical powers, meeting a god, and going into hiding. All of which turned out to be extremely likely.

  “I suppose we’ll see.”

  Shane smiled at her restrained response as if she’d just challenged him. Maybe she had. If his pursuit of friendship was any indication, he wasn’t the type to give up easily. Ana moved past him to open the door.

  He picked up the not-so-subtle hint and made his way to the exit, stopping next to her to search her face. “I have one more question.”

  Ana crossed her arms and leaned against the frame. “Now you’re getting pushy.”

  “A simple yes or no, I promise. Are you going to the Lantern Festival tonight?”

  “I hadn’t planned on it.” Why hadn’t she just said no? She’d made it sound like all she needed was a good reason to attend.

  “I’m meeting Kora and David at nine. Why don’t you join us?”

  Because she couldn’t afford to like him any more than she already did. Not to mention, people would definitely notice magical glowing hands after nightfall. Unfortunately, she couldn’t tell that to Shane. “That was two more questions, and I don’t enjoy festivals.”