Wicked Temptation: The Siren Coven (The Excalibur Duet) Read online

  Wicked Temptation: The Siren Coven

  The Excalibur Duet Book 1

  Kim Loraine

  Copyright © 2018 by Kim Loraine

  All rights reserved.

  No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

  Edited by: Ellie McLove: My Brother’s Editor

  Cover Design: Olivia Pro Designs

  Proofread by: Allison Irwin

  For Rachel

  Thank you for being there from the very start.

  Contents

  Author’s Note

  Also by Kim Loraine

  About the Author

  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

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Chapter 23

  SNEAK PEEK

  Chapter 1

  Acknowledgments

  Author’s Note

  This is book one of a duet.

  This series contains several scenes of an adult nature between two, sometimes three, consenting adults.

  That’s all I’m going to say. I don’t like spoilers.

  Also by Kim Loraine

  Paranormal Romance

  The Siren Coven

  Eternal Desire (FREE)

  Cursed Heart

  The Excalibur Duet

  Wicked Temptation

  Immortal Flame

  The Fallen Angel Trilogy

  Waking the Watcher

  Denying the Watcher

  Releasing the Watcher

  Contemporary Romance

  Until the Stars Fade (FREE)

  The Royal Virgins

  The Virgin’s Playboy Prince

  The Virgin’s Royal Guard

  The Virgin’s Forbidden Lord

  The Virgins

  The Virgin’s Fake Fiancé

  Rescuing His Virgin

  His Hollywood Virgin

  The Cocktail Girls

  His Whiskey Sour (A Stand Alone Rock Star Romance)

  The Halloween Honeys

  His Wicked Witch

  The Golden Beach Series

  Restoration

  Renovation

  Foundation

  Resonance

  Redemption

  Resolution

  Devotion

  Remnants

  About the Author

  Kim Loraine writes steamy romances in both the contemporary and paranormal genres. When not writing, she’s busy herding cats (raising kids), trying to keep her house sort of clean, and dreaming up steamy ways for fictional couples to meet.

  Sign up to get updates on all of Kim’s new releases!

  Wicked Temptation: The Siren Coven

  Chapter One

  Gabriel

  I can’t believe I have to do this. I have more pressing matters than reuniting two star-crossed lovers, don’t I? But the apocalypse has started. Lucifer is free. And these two are vital to closing the seal and ensuring the demons don’t take control of Earth.

  “Why does it have to be me?” Gwen asks as we stand outside the door to the flat where my brother, the fallen angel Tamiel, housed our chosen one. The little witch shifts back and forth on her feet, clearly uneasy.

  The sounds of a busy London street outside filter in through an open window at the end of the hall. All these humans surrounding us are living their lives without any knowledge of what’s around them.

  Gwen shifts and sighs, not wanting to be confronted by her past. But she can’t be allowed to abandon him this time. Not with the fate of the world at stake.

  I can feel the magic of Excalibur from behind the door. Perhaps I should pay a little visit to Avalon. I haven’t spoken to the Lady of the Lake in quite some time.

  “You are the only one who can do this. You’re the only thing that remains from his old life. Now, stop whining.”

  I push open the door and shove her through, barely controlling my frustrated sigh. If God says jump, you say, how high? That’s how this works. Why do these creatures consistently fight me on this?

  The knight is asleep on the couch, complexion pale but with a little more life than I expected. No doubt his trace of fairy lineage has helped him combat the demon venom in his system. Honestly, the fact that he thought he could fight a horde of demons with nothing more than a sword—even Excalibur—was insanity. Clearing my throat, I use my grace to turn on every light in the small flat.

  He opens his eyes, blinks a few times, then his brows pull together in a frown as he stares from me to Gwen. “Guinevere?”

  “You.” She spits the word, a ferocity and venom coming from her I've never seen. "Of course, at a time when I don't have my magic."

  "You're a witch? That makes perfect sense to me now. Why else would I have sacrificed everything for you?" His voice is laced with anger and tight with pain, but there’s strength behind his words.

  Oh, Father help me. This is not what I expected.

  "Get me away from him," Gwen orders, urgency in her tone.

  "Gwen, really? That’s not an option.” I try to argue, but she's blind with anger. This is a Gwen I’m not familiar with. “He’s no danger now. He can barely move.”

  "He can't be trusted. First Tristan, then Paris. Don't you see? Even death won't stop Calista from ruining us."

  I do understand her fear. She and her coven had spent thousands of years cursed to die and be reborn because of Calista. “Do you honestly think I’d put you in danger? He’s the key to ending the apocalypse…to getting you your magic.”

  "This man might claim to be righteous and good, but he's not.” She glares at him. “You made certain I learned that lesson well, didn't you?"

  I look at the man whose face holds betrayal and confusion. "What is she talking about?”

  Gwen stares hard, rage on her face. "Why did you tell them your name was Arthur?”

  “I never said that.”

  She turns to me and I realize with absolute certainty she had no clue who was waiting behind the door when we arrived. “This has to be some kind of joke. Right, Gabriel? There is no way the archangels think I need to be tied to my former lover.”

  “I don’t joke. He’s your responsibility, Gwen. From now until I lift the enchantment, you are bound to Lancelot.”

  Then, I leave. The two of them can work out their issues on their own. I’m an archangel, not a therapist.

  Chapter Two

  Gwen

  I promised myself I’d kill Lancelot if I ever saw him again. Now, here I stand, nerves fluttering in my belly as I face the one man who broke my heart and ruined me for anyone else.

  He’s beautiful. The same face I dream of every night. A face I’d thought I’d never see again. Dark hair tousled and falling into his eyes, the thick strands curling around his ears, shaggy to the point of being too long. But it’s his eyes that take my breath away. The truest blue I’ve ever seen, Lancelot’s eyes tell the story of a man who lost everything. He never could keep me in the dark if he let me see those sky-blue irises for longer th
an a few seconds. Right now, I see a culmination of shock, anger, frustration, betrayal…and the pain of long weeks spent near death.

  “Guinevere, what are you doing here?” His voice hits me like the strike of a whip. Painful. Terrible. Perfect. “Come to lead me to my downfall once more?”

  Oh, if only he knew. I may be a witch, a siren cursed to die and be reborn for all eternity without ever finding true love, but I never ensnared him with my song. “Look, I don’t want to be here either, but I have to. You saw as well as I, Gabriel sent me.”

  He cocks a rakish eyebrow. “As in, the archangel? What interest would he have in two adulterers?”

  Fighting a sigh, I avoid eye contact with him and turn to leave. I can’t be here. Not with this man I’d spent reckless nights with hundreds of years ago. “Never mind. This is daft.” I reach for the doorknob. “I’m leaving. Try not to get yourself killed, will you?” My arm throbs, a deep burn taking hold.

  Glancing down at my wrist, I gasp at the sight of three deep claw marks marring my once pristine skin. I’ve seen this injury before…on Lancelot only weeks ago. A slowly healing wound caused by the demon venom that nearly killed him.

  Damn it all to hell. Gabriel hadn’t lied. I’m tied to Lancelot. What happens to him, happens to me. And that means I’m stuck here…with him.

  My thoughts drift to my earlier conversation with Gabriel right before we left my sister’s wedding celebration. The archangel’s voice rings in my memory. “He knows nothing of this world, Gwen. He hasn’t been outside since he escaped purgatory and until he touched Excalibur, he didn’t even remember who he was.” I can’t leave. There’s more than just my life at stake if I do.

  “Change your mind, my lady?” His words send a shiver of longing through me. I remember him whispering those words against the nape of my neck as we’d snuck off into the woods together for the first time.

  “I don’t have a choice.”

  He lets out a dark laugh. “Of course. If you did, you’d have chosen anything other than me. How fitting.”

  There’s such bitterness in his tone, I almost ask what he means, but then I remember. For all his gallant airs, I know exactly who he is. The knight I sacrificed everything for. The knight who left me alone in the forest after promising me we’d be together forever.

  “I’ve been tasked to help you…acclimate to this time,” I grumble, hating the fact that I’m connected in any way to him. I don’t understand why Gabriel would do this to me. I’ve fought the good fight, given my all to the side of the angels, and now I’m punished to live without magic, and most of all, to stare into the face of the man who’d been my downfall.

  He frowns. “Why?”

  “There’s too much to explain right now. All I know is you’re the key to getting my sisters and I our magic, at least, that’s what Gabriel says.”

  The air around us shifts and I fight a sigh at the reappearance of Gabriel. His tall, broad form is encased in biker leathers, from his collar to his boots, but I catch sight of the paperback romance novel stashed in his pocket. He’s a closet romantic and he looks nothing like what I’d picture as the messenger of God.

  “What do I say?” he asks, leaning against the breakfast bar.

  “Come off it, angel. You know exactly what we were talking about. I bet you didn’t even really leave. I never knew angels were voyeurs.”

  He sniffs. “We watch. It’s part of the job.”

  Lancelot clears his throat and steps forward. “You. You were the one I saw in purgatory before.”

  Gabriel frowns. “Hmm. But the real question is, how is it I didn’t see you? A living soul in purgatory doesn’t seem like something I would’ve missed.”

  “I became quite adept at hiding in plain sight after I arrived.”

  “You must have.”

  I cross my arms over my chest and take a long breath. “All right, Gabriel. You’ve popped in and sufficiently broken up the tension in the room. Why are you back?”

  The angel settles his big body on the cozy armchair and stretches his long legs out. “I’ve come to lay down some…rules for you two. I realized I hadn’t given you enough to keep you from ruining everything.”

  “Rules?” I can’t help but bristle. I’ve spent far too long following rules that never worked to my benefit.

  “Yes. Since you’ve got no magic, you can’t really protect Lancelot, but you can protect each other.”

  No. I don’t want Lancelot looking after me in any way. He’s done enough damage to me. I open my mouth to protest, but Lancelot cuts me off.

  “I owe her no fealty. She is no longer my queen, no longer my duty.”

  Gabriel laughs and shakes his head. “She’ll always be yours.”

  What does he mean by that? I’ll always be his, or his duty?

  Lancelot scoffs. “She was never mine.”

  “How true,” I say. “If only you’d been so honest the first time.”

  Gabriel holds up his hands. “Now, now, children. Let’s not fight. Lancelot, you and Gwen have important roles to play and you can’t fulfill them without each other.”

  “So, what are we supposed to do? How can we finish this and move on?” I ask.

  “Lancelot must walk through his trials before he’s ready to do what he must to stop the apocalypse. I’m sorry. I can’t say any more.”

  Right, there’s that. As if we didn’t have enough happening with our magic being stolen and in the hands of some unknown enemy. We have to deal with the beginning of the end.

  “Of course, you bloody can’t. Typical angel.” I throw my hands into the air, desperate need to get away from all this clawing at my chest.

  “I can’t tell you more because I’m not sure what awaits him. My Father has a plan and all I can do is deliver His message. Stay together. Stay safe. I’ll return with more information once Lancelot is strong enough to move forward.”

  My ears pop and the hair on the back of my neck stands up as the air around me shifts. Gabriel is gone—again. Damn angels. They always pop in and out when they want and leave the rest of us to clean up their messes.

  Taking a long breath, I raise my gaze to Lancelot’s, but hesitate, settling on his full lips instead. That was a mistake. I mutter to myself, “Come on, Gwen. Don’t be a coward. He’s just a man.”

  If I had my magic, I’d throw a protection spell around him and leave, but I don’t. I’m basically human. My chest tightens at that thought. In all my many lifetimes I never thought I’d be…normal.

  “What was that, my lady?” His warm velvet voice covers me like a favorite blanket on a chilly night. Comforting, just right, and everything I need.

  I shake my head. “Nothing. It’s just…it would seem the two of us are linked. Gabriel shackled me to you…magically speaking.”

  “What are you talking about?”

  “I can’t leave even though I desperately want to. When I said I was tasked to help you, I meant it. God has put us together. God, or Gabriel…that angel is a menace.”

  He runs a hand through his hair and sighs, wincing with the movement. “He’s an angel. Don’t angels do good things, like save innocent people from imprisonment and death?”

  I can’t help but laugh. “I see purgatory didn’t change your trusting nature.”

  “Everyone deserves trust…until they break it.”

  That burns. He’s the one who convinced me to leave Arthur, to run away and never return. Without a single declaration of love, he took my heart as his and he hasn’t given it back. “I broke nothing.” I sigh, collecting the pieces of my ruined heart that escaped the prison I’ve made in my chest. I’m stronger than this. I will not let Lancelot be the reason the world ends. “You and I are stuck together until Gabriel sees fit to remove his curse. So, I suggest you get over whatever grudge you hold against me as we get you used to the world you’re living in now. We have work to do.”

  “Should we make the most of it?” A dark look takes me by surprise as he leans against the
back of the sofa, his full lower lip between his teeth. “There’s no love lost between us, but if I recall, we were quite skilled at other things.”

  A shiver rolls through me, anticipation, hunger, desire, all working against my iron will. I’ve spent centuries without him, lifetimes alone, never knowing the touch of a man, and now, with a lip bite and teasing words, he’s got me needy. “Your pretty face fooled me once, but I won’t be letting you seduce me again.”

  He’s close enough to touch now, the heat of his body melding with my own. “Oh, my lady, are you so certain it was me who did the seducing?”

  “Ye—” I stop myself before I give in and argue. “There’s no point in fighting over this. You and I were the worst mistake in history. Quite literally. I won’t have you in my bed again. Not now. Not ever. So, you can just take your handsome, dashing self and find another willing woman. I’m not an option.”

  His eyes widen, but he smirks. “Always so easy to get a rise out of you. And your cheeks get so pink when you get angry. If I remember correctly, other parts of you are just as pink.”