T-FLAC has a special psi – psychic (i.e. wizard) group (unknown until this book)… and the Edge brothers, Gabriel, Duncan and Caleb are in T-Flac… and this story is about Gabriel… the Edge brothers live under a 500 year old curse… 500 years earlier, Lord Edgeton was engaged to a nobleman, but dallying with the village witch… he gave the witch a ring, bracelet, and necklace set – but when he married the noblewoman, choosing duty over love, the witch returned the jewelry and cursed him and his descendants… each generation would have 3 sons, who would have her powers (i.e. be wizards), all would love, but their love was destined to die… and the curse could only be broken by an item freely given, and the three working as one (further complicated by the fact that when the brothers are together, their powers are diminished… no generation avoided the curse – the wives dying young… their parents, in trying to avoid the curse, lived apart (one in Scotland, one in Montana) for the year – only being together for 1 week… after 18 years, they stayed together 3 months, and the wife died in her sleep… and when apart, they were so lonely and depressed they neglected their growing sons…
Dr. Eden Cahill – brilliant scientist, photographic memory, gorgeous (loves expensive shoes), more comfortable in her lab than anywhere else… for the last 7 years she has been working with her mentor and an assistant on an uber-rescue-robot – looking like a 5 year old child, able to survive any conditions (fire, explosives, biohazards), and with the ability to rationalize / think independently . Unfortunately, the robot is stolen… unfortunately, in the wrong hands the robot can do harm… Unfortunately her mentor is killed – but before he dies he warns her to erase all information about the robot and to not trust anyone… She does not tell her boss (Jason – a rich man who has been courting her) nor the agencies that question her that the robot is more dangerous than imagined, and that her photographic memory would allow her to make another robot….
Gabriel is assigned to use his power to extract the information on how to construct the robot – they know the prototype is dangerous, and cannot find it, and need a uber Robert to stop the other uber robot… when Gabriel goes to Eden (he’s invisible of course), he recognizes her as his life mate, and is extremely attracted to her – but keeping with the pact made with his brothers, he will be disciplined and not succumb to the attraction… but unfortunately, he cannot get past her mind blocks to extract the information on how to construct said robot… so he decides to go to her at night, invade her dreams, bring her to sexual climax and when her mind is relaxed, extract the information… she awakens when he enters her room, though he helps her believe she is still dreaming… and although she is reacting to his mind making love to her, she will not allow it to go to climax – I was uncomfortable with this part, as this was just simply rape to me…
The next day, invisible, he goes into her lab, tries to ‘seduce’ her mind again, and fails… so he materializes and places his arm around her and teleports her to his home… in Montana – where he grew up with his mother, but had transported the Scotland castle to Montana… with his kindly, gentle butler MacBain (who has served his father before him). Until the end he fights his attraction and thus his love for her – though when in anger she ‘attacks’ him, and touches him for the first time – he can’t resist her lure – they make love all afternoon – but then he goes back withdrawing from her…
She agrees to help him if he can prove he works for a good agency… so he is flying in an FBI agent who had questioned her numerous times over the last weeks… When he gets there, Gabriel doesn’t like him, but doesn’t know why and she asks to see him alone so that he would not be influenced… and she confesses the true potential of the robot in the wrong hands, and that TFLAC wants her to construct a robot to stop her robot… and then the FBI agent, unaware of TFLAC and surprised she could do this, tries to kill her – chocking her and teleporting her – but Gabriel gets in just in a nick of time to stop him….
He doubles the security measures… he calls for a wizard summit – 3 wizards have been killed in the last month, and wizard’s powers pass to the one who kills him… now knowing their deaths are tied to the robot… they have sex (he is reluctant – but can’t stop once she touches him)… she allows him to extract the information … she sleeps, he goes to the lab… she awakens to him – but it isn’t him – she recognizes Jason’s smell & words… she pretends it is, kisses him and as he relaxes she bites his tongue and knees him in the groin – she calls for Gabriel’s help… she takes the sword off of the wall, and as she is about to cut him, he teleports out – and then Gabriel can enter…
She fine tunes the robot he has constructed from her mind… then on the news they see that a child is abandoned at Yosemite’s geysers –she recognizes her robot – and sees that it is carrying a backpack… they deduce that the backpack has a chemical agent to poison the water supply on the west coast (tied to the underground geyser system)… and then 200 people are dead… the wizards try to stop it; but they can’t get to it… they teleport their robot – the robot isn’t much more effective – but Gabriel can focus his power through the robot’s eyes to destroy the backpack & its chemicals and then he sends the robots to lala land… and then they set up for the bad wizard, Jason’s visit… she refuses to leave – Gabriel places her in a painting… she gives him the lucky ring her grandmother gave her… she can telepathically communicate with him and sends him encouraging messages… Jason comes disguised as his brother – uses a little mind control that have him second guessing his sword ability… but he is determined… Jason puts out an image of Eden bloody and tied up – Gabriel knows it is not her and ignores it… she sends him a message to put her ring on his little finger…he does, and his power is enhanced – he can see better, move faster, etc… he kills Jason, cutting off his head, absorbing his powers… and he is aware that there is another, more powerful wizard, boss to create future problems…
And he is getting ready to send her back – she doesn’t want to go… they are going for goodby sex when she notices the portrait of his 1st cursed ancestor, and her ring is now painted on her finger – and her ring is shiny and altered… and they realize the 1st part of breaking the curse is there – the ring freely given… so there is hope for them – if his brother’s find their life mates with the jewelry…Hamm