Spell Checked

by C. G. Powell

  Aidan also wished they could stay longer. He could bewitch them to stay, but he had figured out a long time ago, things go much better when the other party willingly comes of their own accord. “Then why not stay longer?” He asked, hoping she would rationalize a good reason on her own for why they should not leave.

  Mae picked her puzzle book up again, mulling over the one she had been working on before her peace and quiet was disrupted by Aidan’s prattle. “I wish it were as simple as that, but the bus leaves in the morning for Kinsale,” she said as if to remind him of she and Gemma’s imminent departure.

  “Well… if you won’t stay, you should at least join Gemma and I this evening for dinner and dancing,” Aidan smiled. He needed her to go with them tonight and he didn’t like the idea of bewitching her. However, he knew he would if only for Becks sake.

  “Thank you, but no. I would not want to intrude on your date,” she interjected, wanting him to leave her out of their plans.

  “It’s no intrusion at all. I even swapped cars with a friend for the occasion and Gemma really wants you come with us.” Aidan did not wait to have his invitation declined again. He looked into her eyes and set in motion a charm that would compel her to go with them.

  Gemma finally graced them with her presence. Looking at Aidan she said, “Sorry to keep you waiting. Did you talk her into coming with us?” Both turned to look at Mae as they awaited her answer.

  Before she had a chance to think the words had already left her lips, “Okay I’ll go. Just give me a minute to shower and change,” she replied, suddenly thinking to herself. “Why in God’s name did I just say that?” She really didn’t want to intrude on their date.

  Gemma smiled and started picking out clothes from her suitcase. She handed Mae a turquoise halter dress with a rouched-waist and a full calf-length skirt, a string of pearls and silver rhinestone sandals with two-inch heels. Not wanting to keep Gemma and Aidan waiting, Mae left her hair unwashed. It was still curly from the night before so Gemma loosely combed it back with her fingers making a French twist in the back and pinned it with a couple of rhinestone clips. After last night, Mae was a bit scared when Gemma took out her make-up case, but within minutes she was finished and Mae looked in the mirror. Light colored shadow on her eye lids and simple brown eyeliner, slightly pink cheeks, and a mauve gloss with a hint of gold shimmer. Mae rubbed her lips together to spread the lip-gloss evenly and said to Gemma, “At least I don’t look like a Goth hooker tonight,” she smiled and thought, “Actually, I almost look pretty.”

  Gemma hugged her from behind, “I’m glad you’re coming with us.”

  To their surprise, there was a silver Bentley waiting for them out front complete with driver. Aidan handed them each a rose as they entered the car and took their seats, then asked, “Would you ladies care for some champagne?” He grabbed three glasses and a bottle of Cristal from the front seat and poured each of them a glass of the expensive champagne.

  Much to Mae’s relief, Café en Seine was more bistro/bar than some snooty up-scale restaurant. The décor was very opulent but relaxing, despite being packed in with a bevy of young, beautiful, twenty-something-year-olds. A waiter escorted them to the reserved table in a more secluded area away from the bar and handed them menus.

  Gemma was looking around at the beautiful Parisian décor when she notice Aidan’s friend at the bar. “Aidan, isn’t that Beck over there at the bar? You should invite him to dine with us. Is that okay with you Mae?” Gemma asked, as if it were nothing more than an afterthought.

  Mae wanted to kick Gemma under the table. “Gemma knew Beck was the last person I wanted to”….Stopping midway through her thought, Mae was unable to process the rest of it. “That would be lovely,” Mae said aloud instead of to herself.

  “Please excuse me, ladies while I retrieve my wayward friend.” Aidan grinned as he walked away…“Everything is going as planned,” he thought to himself.

  Beck was just finishing his glass of wine when Aidan approached him. “Did the girls like the flowers and champagne?” he asked.

  “Yes, I’m glad you thought of it. Unfortunately, I still had to charm Mae into coming and I added an attraction charm. Otherwise, you’d be spending the rest of the evening at the bar instead of joining us for dinner. Your lady is quite obstinate, like someone else I know.” Aidan answered.

  “You should be so thankful, that stubbornness has saved your bum more than once if I recall.” Beck chastised Aidan as they walked to the table. “Hello, ladies. My apologies for last night’s abrupt exit, I had a bit of an emergency. I hope you can forgive me?” he said, before sitting down at the table.

  Despite Mae’s previous reservations and her inability to concentrate, dinner went well. Strangely, she kept having the wickedest thoughts where Beck was concerned, wanting to touch him, kiss him, feel him. She wanted him to make the first move…..Any move. Dance music started to play and people were making their way to the dance floor.

  Beck leaned closer so she could hear him over the music. “Do you like to dance, Mae?” he whispered softly.

  She could feel his breath on her neck. Her mind was thinking sensual thoughts as she shifted in her seat. “I love dancing. Nevertheless, like most geeks I am not very good at it. And how about you Mister-Calm-Cool and Collected, you ever raise the roof?” She laughed mentally at the thought of Beck doing the electric slide; it was as out of place as a milk bucket under a bull.

  “It has been a long time since I danced. But, I do enjoy it when I get the chance,” Beck replied. He then leaned over towards Aidan and whispered something to him. Aidan nodded in agreement, then got up and spoke to the DJ.

  A tango started to play. Beck stood up and put his hand out to Mae. “Dance with me, Mae.”

  “I can’t dance to this. I don’t know how to tango,” she said nervously.

  “But I do. Just follow my lead and feel the music.” Beck pulled her chair out and she gave him her hand.

  “I don’t want to look like a fool in front of all these people, Beck.” Mae said as they walked on to the dance floor. For some reason, she was finding it hard to tell him no.

  He put his hand around her waist. “All you have to do is keep eye contact with me and feel the rhythm,” Beck reassured her.

  The music surrounded them as they danced, flowing through them. Unaware of her own movements, each touch from Beck felt like a lover’s embrace. All she could sense was their closeness. Lost in his beautiful, ice-blue eyes, his fingers burned like a fire against her skin. Moving, spinning, touching, over and over again. Mae could not get enough of him. Pressing so close, she wanted to melt into him and become one, then being pulled away and yearning to be close again. In the pulsating rhythm, Beck’s hands traced down her body’s curves as her legs wrapped around him. She felt like she was looking into his soul; naked, touching, feeling. When the music died down, all Mae could feel was Beck’s warm breath on her neck and his heart beating wildly against her. “You are beautiful,” he whispered as clapping and cheering erupted from the crowd when they walked off the dance floor together.

  As they headed back to the table, Aidan pulled Beck aside. He looked at Mae and said, “Could you give us a moment please?” in a concerned voice.

  “Sure, see you back at the table.” She made her way to where Gemma was sitting and sat next to her, wondering what was going on between Aidan and Beck.

  Aidan waited for Mae to be out of earshot when he finally shook his head at Beck. "Well my friend, that little sexual number was practically pornographic. You two were undressing each other with your eyes and Mae was projecting her emotions for everyone to feel. It was like raw animal lust took over the room. By the end of the dance, we all thought you two would be naked on the dance floor. Half-way through the dance, Gemma slipped her hand in my front pocket and well...Need I say more?"

  Beck, stunned by his friend’s words, felt the dance had left him in an emotional turmoil. He was feeling completely vulnerable and did not like i
t at all. "I should not have let you charm her, now I cannot tell if any of this is real or just the charm."

  "You need to relax and go with the flow. What could possibly go wrong?"

  Beck and Aidan returned to the table. "Would you care to dance?" Aidan asked Gemma as he offered her his hand.

  "I would love to," she replied, taking his hand and leaving Mae and Beck alone at the table.

  Beck suggested they move to somewhere more comfortable, so they made their way to one of the couches along the wall. He sat down in the corner leaning against the arm of the couch. She sat next to him and leaned back into his chest as he put his arm around her. She wanted him in a way that she had never wanted anyone before, but was afraid to do anything beyond placing her hand on his leg by his knee and enjoying the closeness of the moment.

  "Would you care for a drink?" Beck asked as if trying to find something to say.

  Mae turned to him, placing her hand on his well-defined chest and leaning closer so he could hear her. "I would…But not here; it's getting too noisy,” hoping he would get the hint that she would like a little privacy.

  "My place is just around the corner, if that is okay with you."

  "That would be perfect. I'll tell Aidan and Gemma we’re leaving."

  They walked out the front door. The Bentley was waiting for them as if on cue. "Does Aidan know you’re taking his friend’s car?" she questioned, wondering how Aidan would feel about losing his ride.

  Beck laughed, "I am his friend and this is my car. I drove his Roadster here; it is in the car park." The driver opened the car door and waited for them to get in before closing it.

  "Donald, take us to my townhouse please," Beck told the driver.

  "Yes sir," Donald replied.

  Mae reached over and grabbed Beck’s hand as soon as the car started to move. He squeezed her hand and started to rub his thumb across it. Something stirred inside of her and refused to wait any longer to be released. She climbed onto his lap and straddled him, throwing her arms around his neck. She kissed him hard then lightly bit his bottom lip as her lips left his. “I want to touch every bit of your body,” she whispered in his ear as she started to unbutton the front of his shirt. Her mouth moved to his neck, gently nibbling, trying to fight the urge to bite him hard and taste his blood. He pushed Mae away slowly and cupped her face in his hands.

  “Mae, I need you to slow down….Is this really what you want?” Beck whispered breathlessly. He lightly kissed her on the nose and moved her off his lap.

  Mae placed her hand on the side of his face and turned it toward hers. She became completely lost in his beautiful eyes when she answered his question. “I want this more than anything I have ever wanted.”

  The ride was all too short when the car stopped in front of a red brick townhouse, the dark blue door had large, white columns on each side and an ornate arched window over it. They walked up to the door, Beck fumbling for his house key. As soon as they entered, Mae pushed him to the side and against the wall, kissing him hard. He kicked the door closed with his foot then quickly turned, pinning her hard to the same spot.

  “So Mae, this is how you want to play.” He held her arms against the wall and wedged his knee between her legs leaning his whole body into hers. His mouth covered her lips, his tongue searching franticly, needing to taste hers. When he finally released Mae from his kiss, he lightly kissed her lips again, then her cheek.

  As Mae’s breath came faster, she pleaded, “No holding back. It’s been too long.”

  She could feel his warm breath on her neck as he relaxed and whispered, “Helen?”

  She pushed him off with a sudden clarity and snapped out of the fog she had been under all evening. “Who the hell is Helen?” she yelled, before everything went black.

  Beck watched in horror as Mae’s eye rolled back in her head and she started to collapse to the ground. He caught her and carried her to the couch. He was scared for her and angry with himself. “Why did I allow Aidan to charm her? How could I possible fix this mess now?” he thought.

  He called Aidan, hoping his friend was still at Café en Seine and not off somewhere more private with Gemma and his phone turned off. “Aidan, I need you here now!” Beck said in a half-panicked tone.

  “What’s going on Beck?” Aidan was a bit miffed by the urgency of his friend’s voice.

  “We just got in the door and she was all over me. Against my better judgment, I returned her affections and for a moment, I thought it was Helen. As soon as I said Helen’s name, Mae snapped out of your spell and blacked out. I feel like I practically raped the poor girl.” Beck mentally cringed at his own words.

  “Not good, not good at all, I’ll be there in a few. What do you want me to do with Gemma?” Aidan asked.

  “Bring her with you or she will be pacing the hotel room ready to call the police. We will probably need Howard’s help as well. I will send Donald after him.”

  Beck hung up with Aidan and called Howard. “There is an emergency here at my house and it requires your assistance, so I am sending Donald to pick you up. Do you have any of the DNA results?”

  “I’ve been meaning to talk to you about that. I keep getting multiple DNA results like the glass was contaminated,” Howard answered, sounding confused.

  “Bring your kit. You can swab her when you get here,” Beck suggested, knowing they would need answers quickly, ones that the DNA results could provide.

  Within a few minutes, Aidan and Gemma burst in through the front door. Gemma completely panicked and started talking so fast Aidan could only understand half of what she was saying. Aidan walked up to where Mae was lying on the couch. She looked pale and her breathing was shallow. “I need to monitor her,” he told Beck.

  Beck let go of Mae’s hand and moved out of Aidan’s way. As soon as Aidan placed his hand over her stomach, a bolt of energy knocked him across the room. He lay on the floor in the fetal position groaning “Ow…that hurt!”

  Gemma screamed and Aidan looked at Beck, “Can you take care of that noise, I’m a bit incapacitated at the moment,” then he moaned in pain.

  Beck walked over to Gemma, grabbing her by the shoulders and looking into her eyes. “It is okay, Mae is just passed out. Why do you not come over here and sit quietly? That is a good girl.” Beck bewitched Gemma to calm her. It was the same type of bewitchment a vampire would use to make his prey compliant during feeding.

  Gemma sat in the chair quietly in a catatonic-like state when Howard finally showed up and Aidan filled him in. “We need a way to get rid of the electricity and fast. She is not going to last much longer like this. Howard and I can’t get close to her but you seem to be unaffected by it, Beck.” By informing Beck of their situation, Aidan hoped he would come up with plan.

  Beck started to look around the room for answers. “Howard, cut the cord off the lamp over there and bring it to me.” Howard pulled out a pocket-knife, cut the lamp cord and handed it to Beck. Beck stripped the wires on the cut end, walked to the window, opened it and wrapped the bare wires around the pipe outside the window. He gently carried Mae to the window and held her in his lap. He grabbed the plug end of the cord and held it against her skin. After a while, color started to return to her skin, her pulse got stronger and her breathing was no longer shallow. Then there was a knock on the door.

  Aidan answered it. A tall, beautiful, red head in a black cocktail dress stood in the doorway. “The council is here!” Aidan yelled to Beck from the doorway. “Good evening Meredith.”

  Beck looked at Howard, “How could you?” he seethed through gritted teeth.

  “I felt it was the best action for all involved,” Howard calmly replied.

  Meredith walked into the apartment and threw her coat on one of the chairs as she passed by. “What kind of trouble are you two up to this time?” Meredith questioned. “Where’s the witch?” she said, a bit baffled by her inability to sense Mae’s presence.

  “Beck’s got her by the window.” Aidan walked Mered
ith to the window and warned her, “Don’t get too close, she knocked me on my bum earlier when I tried to monitor her,” as they walked past Gemma.

  “Is that your newest little tart, Aidan?” Meredith said, pointing to Gemma. “She’s just your type even down to the blank expression.” Meredith stopped in front of Beck and laughed, “I’ll take it that the blank look is your handy work, Beck.”

  “I had to shut her up. It was either that or kill her,” Beck joked. He looked down at Mae and asked, “Can you help her Mere? It is Helen. I have grounded her to the lightning rod to try and get rid of the electricity around her.” His face was etched with worry as he patiently waited for Meredith’s assessment.

  “You probably just saved her life. I think you have dissipated enough electricity for us to use magic to remove the rest. Go ahead and move her to the couch. Aidan, Howard, we need to form a circle. We’re going to draw the remaining energy into a ball and carry it to the window, Howard and I will hold the ball together, Aidan will shoot it out the window to the ground; Beck, tell us when the coast is clear.”

  “All clear,” he cued, standing by the window, watching for nosey neighbors while the circle gathered the last of Mae’s unwanted energy. They moved together slowly to the window and Aidan directed it to the ground. It sounded like a bolt of lightning and his neighbor’s car alarm went off.

  “We need to wake her up and show her how to clear her own channels of unwanted energy before she goes into crisis again,” Meredith explained.

  Digging through his kit, Howard put on latex gloves and grabbed a couple of swabs, “Let me swab her first.” Howard got his samples and left, heading back to his lab. This time he was fully aware of its urgency.

  “What about Aidan’s girlfriend there? She’s not going to stay like that forever,” Meredith pointed out.

  “She’s not my girlfriend. She’s part of Beck’s plan,” clarified Aidan.

  “Well, girlfriend or not when she wakes up from Beck’s bewitchment, you’re going to have your hands full,” Meredith laughed. “You know the effect of a vampire’s bewitchment and since I know Beck didn’t drink from her, you’re going to be the one left trying to sate an unquenchable sexual appetite,” said Meredith, now rolling with laughter.