Red house, p.3
Red House, page 3
We agreed on a time for tomorrow and said our goodbyes. I watched her leave, stopping just beyond the doors of the cafe to meet two teenagers. The boy was lanky, on his way to being tall, with sandy blond hair that flopped into his face. The older sister was the shorter of the two, in skinny jeans and a We Are Nashville t-shirt. She’d inherited her grandma’s hair. It hung down her back in a sleek ponytail. Color flared around the edges of my glasses. Curious, I tipped them down to take a look. Sure enough, Shelby’s aura glowed twilight blue, the color I most associated with psychic and magical ability. She turned her head and met my gaze, lifting an eyebrow. Mrs. Epps didn’t notice, focused on the boy at the moment. A long string of people passed in front of me. Mrs. Epps and her grandchildren were gone by the time my line of sight was clear.
“This is what I get for wishing for a doozy,” I muttered to myself. The thought of kitten-killing angry spirits filled me with nothing but dread. I’d have to figure out a way to talk to the girl too, preferably without outing her.
I left the cafe, heading to the courtyard and the parking lot beyond. I stopped just outside the door to exchange my glasses for prescription sunglasses, needing them in the bright glare of the summer sun. After just a few steps I came to a halt again.
Blake Harvill stood at the far end of the courtyard.
Chapter 3
Blake stood watching me. I let myself drink in the sight of him. Blue jeans and a black button down shirt with the sleeves rolled to just below his elbows. Thick black hair slightly longer than the last time I’d seen him, a lock falling across his forehead. Heavy eyebrows framing sinfully delicious dark chocolate eyes, full lips perpetually on the verge of a sexy smirk.
Unable to help it, I took off my glasses and allowed myself a good look at his aura. Expecting to see the same shining black starfield full of supernovas, I was unprepared for the deep twilight blue with tendrils of dark magenta and laced with hints of silver. I’d only seen his aura look like that once before–when we made love.
Frozen, I didn’t realize he was walking toward me until he was halfway across the courtyard. I didn’t know what to do. Should I turn my back to him and walk away? We’d spent one night together four months ago, then he disappeared and I hadn’t heard from him since. As far as I was concerned I owed him nothing. I wasn’t sure if I wanted to hear his excuses, either. He was a dangerous man who liked to play with dark magic. Being sexy as hell didn’t give him a free pass for all his shady doings, or for never calling me. Walking away was definitely the thing to do.
So why didn’t I? Well, I never had sense enough to get in out of the rain, either.
Then he was standing in front of me, hands on my waist, pulling me to him. His mouth on mine, heedless of being in public, or that I might smack him, or anything. The bright sunlight dimmed. The sound of people chattering as they walked through the courtyard melted to a soft murmur. Thoughts of a new case and old troubles faded to nothing. I ran my hands up his chest, pushing against the hard muscle. He held me tighter, exactly what I wanted.
He broke the kiss, and the world returned. A mommy steered her brood away from us, one hand over the eyes of the youngest. Embarrassment set my cheeks on fire.
Blake smirked. “Hey, sweetness. Miss me?”
I gaped. “Don’t call me sweetness.”
“What do you want me to call you?”
“I didn’t miss you, either. What makes you think I missed you?”
“You mean you never thought about me?” His smirk took on a naughty flavor. “Never dreamed about me?”
“Ha!” I stepped around him, not wanting him to see my expression. “Like I would dream about you.” I dug through my purse for car keys as I walked to the parking lot.
Blake followed. “Come on, Roxie. I know you’re glad to see me.”
I stopped to glare at him. “I am indifferent to see you. I couldn’t care less, in fact.”
“That’s not what your lips were saying a moment ago. Or your tongue.”
Damn. This was not going how I’d imagined. When I’d fantasized about seeing Blake again, it always started out with him begging forgiveness for taking off, then telling me how he’d spent every moment since thinking only of me. There would be flowers, perhaps twee love songs, followed by the soul-shaking sex I’d been dreaming about for the last four months. First the hot kiss, then the cold water of how much he infuriated me, was confusing.
“Blake, where you have you been the last four months? What have you been up to?”
He stepped closer, his warm energy washing over me. “No good, sweetness. But that shouldn’t surprise you.”
One of his rare genuine smiles lit his face. He took my hand, rubbing his thumb across my knuckles. This was a losing battle and with every touch I was closer to throwing in the towel.
“This can go two ways that I can see,” he said. “You can keep pretending you don’t want me. We go back and forth like this until you can’t take it anymore and then we finally get to the good stuff.”
“What’s the other way?” Though I had a pretty good idea of the answer.
“We skip all the crap, you come back to my hotel with me and we get to the good stuff right now.” He wrapped his free hand around the back of my neck and leaned down to kiss me. “So what’s it going to be, Roxie?”
Clearly option number one was the better decision. Did I really want to rush back into bed with a man whose last relationship was with a murderous evil spirit? Who then disappeared for months, doing no telling what with no telling who?
He removed my sunglasses, his lips soft but insistent against mine. “I missed you.”
Tiny sparks flared over my skin, lighting up all the places that ached to be touched. “I missed you, too,” I admitted. “But I’m not going to your hotel.” I stepped away, deliberately putting distance between us.
Blake nodded, a knowing grin on his face. “You’re gonna make me work for it, aren’t you?”
“Oh yeah.” Marching to my car, I didn’t check to see if he followed. I knew he would.
* * * *
I agreed to have lunch with Blake. I didn’t see the harm in it and besides I was hungry. We took separate cars though, and met at an Indian place in Hillsboro Village. Talking very little as we ate, he seemed as nervous as me. By the time we went for ice cream afterward we’d both started to relax.
There was a freedom I enjoyed with Daniel, and him with me, that we were able to share with few others. As Blake and I began to talk about magic, that few for me increased by one.
“That was both my first and last love spell,” I said. “Not only was it an unmitigated disaster, that stupid girl never even paid me.”
Blake snickered between bites of ice cream. “What I can’t believe is you couldn’t even go to prom because you didn’t have a date? Did they think it was 1952 or something?”
“It’ll always be 1952 in parts of the south. What pissed me off was this guy’s after me, literally breaking in my window, but my parents decide it must be my fault.”
More laughter from him. “It was your fault. You screwed up and used your own hair in the spell.”
“Well, okay, yeah, that was my fault. But you catch some guy breaking in your daughter’s bedroom window and she’s freaking out, throwing stuff at him, maybe you take her side. I was grounded for a month after that.” My own laughter surprised me. I’d held that against my parents for a long time, so maybe it was good to laugh at it after all these years. “Did I mention that fool never paid me?”
“Yeah, I wouldn’t have paid you either.” He offered me a spoonful of ice cream, drawing it closer to him once it was in my mouth. I played along, moving until there was barely an inch between our thighs. After all, we didn’t need anyone overhearing our conversation.
“How did you know where to find me?”
Shrugging, he avoided my eyes. “We have our ways, don’t we?” He kissed me, a light brush of his cold lips against mine. “So how about money spells? You ever put a little hoodoo on a lottery ticket?”
My good mood wasn’t gone exactly, but I wanted some answers from him. “Where were you, Blake?”
He set the empty cup on the table. “I had things to do.”
The last thing I wanted to do was give the impression of the clingy woman who just couldn’t bear to live without a man. The night we spent together meant something to both of us, I had no doubt. I wasn’t sure how he felt about that, though. Or how to ask. “Look, I’m just…I’m not saying I had any expectations or anything. Or that I do now. I just felt strange about not saying goodbye.”
“I was planning on coming back. Goodbye wasn’t necessary.”
I bit my lip, still not sure what to think. “I really like this thing you’re doing where you tell me stuff without telling me anything.”
“Okay.” He slid several inches away, draping one arm on the back of the booth, fingers grazing my shoulder. “We need to get this whole relationship conversation out of the way.”
Cringing, I said, “No, we don’t. It’s fine. Everything’s fine.”
“We need to do this so it’s out in the open. I left because I had things I had to take care of, not because I didn’t want to be with you. I do want to be with you. I knew it the first time I kissed you. Maybe even before then. But I had to deal with some stuff first. All that’s done, I’m back, and I’m staying. Okay?”
“You’re back and you’re staying?”
“Yes.”
“So it’s as simple as that?”
“Yes. As far as I’m concerned, anyway.”
“It just doesn’t seem like it should be that easy. I mean, does this mean we’re dating?”
“Why do I get the feeling your track record with relationships is even worse than mine?”
“Don’t make fun of me.”
“I’m not. I thought you wanted this, too.”
What did I want with Blake? I had no idea. Did men like him have serious relationships? Did I want that with him? What flavor of crazy would I be opening myself up to by getting involved with him? I had too many questions and wasn’t sure about anything. A little evasion seemed like a good plan. “So what did you have to take care of? Where’d you go?”
“I did some work.”
Again with the answer that wasn’t an answer. “What kind of work?” I asked, not bothering to keep the suspicion out of my voice.
“The kind that pays a lot of money.”
I raised an eyebrow. After a moment he relented. “How much do appliances cost?”
“Huh?” That wasn’t what I expected to hear from him.
“I owe you some appliances. Some windows. A car.”
“What?”
Blake took my hand, entwining his fingers with mine. “I trashed almost everything you own. I need to fix that, Roxie. All that stuff was destroyed because of Delia coming after me while I was with you.”
My stomach flip-flopped at the thought of my house. “There’s no need. You don’t have to worry about all that.”
“We can find another place to live,” he said softly.
He knew. About the flood, about my house being destroyed by the water. He knew, and he wanted to take care of me. My God, this was about the last thing I ever expected from him. “Blake.”
“Shh.” He placed a finger on my lips. “I’m not going anywhere, so you think about it. However long you need.”
There was no way I could not think about it. The more I considered the possibilities, the more questions I had. Starting with the money. “So. What kind of work did you do?”
“Roxie.” Blake the Sexy Sorcerer smirked as he traced a finger down my neck. “We don’t need to talk about that.”
I laughed. “Raise a red flag in front of my face, why don’t you. Come on, what’d you do?” I made an attempt to push his wandering hand away. Not a very good one, though.
“Just a little private contracting.”
“I’m scared to think of what kind of private contracting you might do.”
“Very boring stuff. Not interesting at all.”
Chuckling, I said, “I don’t believe you. I don’t trust you, either.”
“Smart girl.”
I nodded. “You say that, but you also want me to believe you came back here to play house with me.” I watched his profile, tempted to take my glasses off for another good look at his aura. “What kind of game are you playing at, Blake?”
One side of his mouth curled up and he cut his eyes at me. “I’ll play any game you wanna play, baby.”
Laughing, I pushed him until he moved from the booth. “You’re gonna have to do better than cheesy one-liners.”
“But I practiced in front of a mirror and everything.”
“I know you’re up to something and I will find out what it is.”
“Well, I guess you better keep pretty close tabs on me, in that case. Follow me around. Never take your eyes off me. Ooh, you should definitely follow me into the shower. I get up to all kinds of no good in the shower.” He trailed me to the parking lot.
“I wouldn’t want to intrude on your special private time.”
He maneuvered me against my car, his arms on either side of me. “Come back to my room with me.”
“No.”
Gold flecks lit his dark chocolate eyes, sparking memories of our one night together. I wanted so much to be weak and easy and take refuge in his arms and his bed, but I knew I couldn’t afford to do that. I was suspicious as hell of him and I had to have the upper hand if I was going to find out what he was doing back in Nashville.
“You’ll say yes sooner or later.” Supremely confident, Blake was, and I admitted privately it was probably not unwarranted.
“Not today.” Kissing his cheek, I pushed him away and got in my car.
* * * *
An unfamiliar truck was parked in the drive when I returned to Daniel’s. The shirt draped on the banister made me glad my room was at the far end of the hall from his. I didn’t need to hear my vampire cousin’s booty call, especially while frustrated after walking away from Blake.
I tiptoed to my room, suppressing a giggle at the sound of Elvis blasting from Daniel’s end of the hallway. That called for Burning Love jokes later.
I changed out of the skirt and blouse into more comfortable jeans and t-shirt. I needed to take inventory of what few supplies I had, another lovely reminder of how much of my life washed away in the flood waters. All I had left was a backpack full of things hastily grabbed from the magical supply cabinet in the kitchen, rescued from a tree in my front yard. I pulled that out of the closet and sat on the bed with it.
This wasn’t the first time I’d performed this inventory. I think I kept repeating it because it was all I had left. Candles. Containers of salt and various herbs. Mojo bags and an old poppet. Best of all, most important of all, were two leather-bound volumes. One was mine, my scattershot attempt at a spellbook. The other belonged to my mentor, Rozella. The leather soft, pages yellowed with a patina of age, it was an honest to goodness grimoire full of recipes and spells and several rituals in the back I would never perform. It was her legacy and the first thing that went in the backpack when water came in the door. Much of what I did was simple enough, and old hat enough, I didn’t need the grimoire. I might not need it at Maple Hill but I wanted it with me anyway.
Nerves just about had me bouncing off the walls. I almost wished I could have started today, I was so eager to do something. What I needed to do was ground this nervous energy. No telling how long Daniel’s guest might stay, and I kind of liked the idea of some time alone. I wanted to get to the bottom of why Blake returned, but it wouldn’t hurt to take it slow on that. Since he knew about my house he probably had a good idea where I was staying. He might even show up here. I wasn’t sure I wanted Daniel to see me waffling over Blake the Sexy Sorcerer.
Mind made up, I gathered my things and left the room, trying to be quiet. No such luck against supernatural senses. Daniel met me at the top of the landing.
His jeans were zipped but the top unbuttoned. No shirt or shoes. Blond hair mussed. He looked like he’d just rolled out of bed, which he probably had. Pointing at the backpack he said, “You don’t have to leave just because I have company.”
“I know. I just thought I’d make myself scarce for a while. Maybe go find a quiet place to try a little energy work. Hey, I got a good client. The job may be tough but I don’t think the check will bounce.”
He grinned. “That’s always good news. Tell me–” With unnatural speed he slipped around me to stare downstairs at the entrance.
“What is it?”
The muscles of his neck and shoulders bunched with tension, his hands white-knuckling the banister. “Somebody’s here.” A baleful glare and a hint of fang. “For you.”
“What?” My confusion didn’t last long. Only one person would be coming to see me that could piss Daniel off that much. “No way.”
Loud knocking on the door echoed through the foyer and up the stairwell. “Damn it, Roxie.”
“You remember what he smells like?” This was disturbing on a number of levels.
“Hard to forget the stench of insufferable asshole. Roxie, please tell me you won’t get mixed up with him again.”
“I have a daddy, you know.” Leaving my backpack on the floor, I raced down the stairs to open the door. Blake stepped inside without waiting for an invitation, dropping a kiss on my forehead.
“Hi, sweetness. You left before we could make plans for tonight.”
“I told you not to call me sweetness.”
“Yeah, but you didn’t mean it.” He winked before shifting his gaze to the top of the stairs. “Hi, Bubba, how are you?”
The banister snapped under Daniel’s grip, the sound of crunching wood loud and unmistakable. “She’s the only one allowed to call me that.” Pointing at me, he said, “You got two minutes to get him out of my house.” He disappeared.
