Beauty and the Jinx: Magic and Mayhem Universe (Jinxed by Love)

by Cherie Marks

  “Dammit!” She wanted to throw the book into the water fountain and forget the whole thing. Why was she still working on this anyway? Zayn Gray had jinxed her. She shouldn’t be helping the person who was taking away everything that was important to her. Should she?

  Yes, she admitted she’d put a barrier around what he’d said was important to him, but she hadn’t done that on purpose, and she was trying to fix it. He’d jinxed her on purpose, and everyone knew that two wrongs didn’t make a right, even if three rights did make a left.

  The garden gate clicked open, and Ivy looked up in time to see Zayn slip inside. He didn’t even bother glancing around, just made a beeline for the house, but she wasn’t going to let him get away.

  “Mr. Gray!”

  He didn’t stop.

  “Mr. Gray! I need to speak with you.”

  He threw up a dismissive hand, but she was gaining on him. Nothing like righteous anger to make a person want to sprint down a gravel path.

  “Right. The fuck. Now, Zayn!”

  That got his attention. He slammed to a stop and turned toward her, closing the few feet that still remained between them.

  “What is your problem?”

  “You are.”

  “Look, I don’t have time for this. We had a deal. You fix the rose, and I give you your golf ball. You agreed to that.”

  “Did I? Are you sure? Because as I remember it, someone threw his magic at me, and I was compelled to come back here. What else was in that spell?”

  He ran a hand over his face before crossing his arms across his chest. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

  “Don’t you? What other magic did you use against me?”

  He had the audacity to shake his head and give her a look of confusion. She wanted to smack it right off his face. “Nothing? Really? You’re not even going to admit it?”

  “Admit what? That you’re insane? Consider it done.” He took a step backwards. “Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’ve wasted enough time on you today.”

  But she grabbed his forearm, too in the moment to think about what she was doing, and he stopped. His dark gaze started at her hand and lifted until it met hers once more. She fought the urge to pull back, holding her ground instead.

  “Really? Well, let me tell you about my day. I haven’t played golf that badly since I was a teenager. My drives ended up behind trees, in the sand, or goodness knows, countless other hazards that I had to scramble to get out of. My irons were all over the place, and my freakin’ caddy is off trying to figure out how to change back into his human form. Do you know how hard it is to figure out which club a bear thinks you should hit? Or if he reads any break in the line of the putt? It was a disaster.”

  “I know.”

  “What? Don’t tell me you know. How dare you try to placate me after what you’ve done.”

  “I saw you play today. I know how bad it was.”

  “You were...there?”

  “I walked with the crowd and followed you today.”

  Her anger built at the thought of him seeing her struggle. She hated that he might have gotten satisfaction out of her failure. “Wanted to see the results of your handiwork?”

  His sigh blew across the top of her head as he lifted her hand from his arm and stepped back again. “Can you just tell me what you’re accusing me of?”

  “Fine! Play dumb. But, here’s the thing. I’m not leaving here tonight until you’ve removed the jinx.”

  “Excuse me? What jinx are you talking about?”

  “The act is getting old. I know you jinxed me. The spell you put on me yesterday. It was laced with a jinx, wasn’t it? I want you to remove it...now.”

  He dared to look confused again. “I don’t know what you’re talking about, Ivy. I didn’t jinx you.”

  “It had to be you. You’re the only one who gains anything from hurting me.”

  “First of all, I don’t want to hurt you. That has never been my goal. Second of all, trust me, if I’d put any more magic into the boomerang spell I put on you yesterday, you probably wouldn’t be alive right now. And finally, there are bound to be other people who would want you to lose this tournament. I have no reason to care whether you win or lose. I just want my source of release back before we’re all living with the regret of what happens if I don’t.”

  “How do I know you’re not just saying all of this to make me go back to trying to free your rose? You could be lying completely. Your jinx could be the reason my game is falling apart.”

  “Or, you could just be playing badly.”

  Ivy stood silently, letting his words sink in. He could be right. Maybe she was just in a slump. It happened. Then again, it all seemed to happen after his spell hit her.

  “No. All of this began right after you used your magic on me. You did this.”

  “Wait a minute. The shot you hit over the wall of my garden happened before. How do you explain that?”

  How did she explain that? What if she’d been jinxed before she hit the ball on hole 15? What if he hadn’t been the one to jinx her? And the worst thought of all—what if she truly wasn’t jinxed? What if she just sucked?

  “Is there any sure way to tell if I’ve really been jinxed or not?”

  He thought for a moment and nodded slowly. “I think Franny might know a way.”

  “Oh, yeah, I’m sure she would. And the fact that she favors you will mean that she’ll either not detect a jinx or that it wasn’t placed by her golden boy.”

  His features tightened, and she felt like she’d hit a definite nerve with that one. He had to know that no matter what, Franny would always take his side.

  “Trust me, if she thought I was wrong, she’d tell you. She’s protective, but she calls me out when she thinks I’ve messed up.”

  “I don’t care how hard she is on you. I just can’t keep playing the way I’m playing. I need help.”

  He actually looked a little sympathetic, and Franny’s words came back to her. Maybe she should try a little flirtation. He seemed almost...human in that moment and more attractive to her than ever. Would he respond to her if she went all eyelash-batting? She could. She was really good at flirting, but she wasn’t sure she wanted to go down that road. She didn’t want to feel the sting of rejection, and she had always been afraid of the internal ache that haunted people long after something ended.

  She didn’t want to get her heart broken.

  Yet, maybe she could be a little nicer to him without actually flirting. Maybe it was true that a little honey worked better than vinegar when trying to persuade people.

  Here goes. She took a deep breath and closed the foot of space between them. Without hesitation, she laid a hand on his chest and looked up at him. With widened eyes and slackened jaw, he looked a little shocked by her boldness.

  “Zayn, I just want to get to the bottom of this. Something is off, and I don’t know how to fix it on my own. I really need your help.”

  He stared at her for the longest time, like he was trying to figure out what kind of creature she actually was. Up close, his eyes were ringed in a dark brown and there were darker rings inside the light, almost copper, color that filled out the iris. They were beautiful in close proximity, and she began to forget she had a mission she was trying to accomplish. She just continued staring into his eyes, entranced by how mesmerizing they were.

  Then, the heat began to rise as his gaze dropped to her mouth. Without thought, she licked her lips and heard him suck in a quick breath. Did he want to kiss her? Did she want him to? Time slowed and the world around them faded as Ivy let her own gaze drop to his mouth. His was the most kissable set of lips she’d ever seen, and for just a moment, she thought she might lose her mind if she didn’t feel the warmth of his touch. Just one kiss. That was all they both needed, right?

  He cleared his throat, drawing her attention back to the matter at hand. Embarrassed by getting caught up in her own trap, she dropped her hand and took a step back.

&
nbsp; What was that? She shook her head to clear it.

  “Let’s start with Franny and see where it goes from there. What do you say?” His voice had lost its edge. It was softer, as were the lines of his face. Maybe honey wasn’t such a bad way to go, but she wasn’t going there again.

  Her heart was racing, and she was concerned he’d be able to see just how close she’d come to making a fool of herself. She needed to change the charged atmosphere right now, and she would do well to remember that she was so not a manipulator or a flirt. That was not her, and clearly, she was going to need to use a different tactic from this point forward.

  She swallowed hard. “Fine. But if I catch even a whiff of her protecting your ass instead of telling the truth, I can’t be held responsible for my reaction.” She knew what would happen if she felt like Franny or he was lying to her. This whole place would be doused with her vinegar—her foul, stinging, powerful vinegar.

  Chapter 11

  “OH, YOU’RE DEFINITELY jinxed. I can feel the strong magic now that I know to look for it.” Franny squeezed Ivy’s hands, giving her the news she obviously didn’t want to hear. Zayn watched her closely. Her eyes wide open, he saw the genuine girl struggling with something out of her control. Even his jaded heart was slightly affected.

  He was hit once more by a need to help her.

  “Can you tell...where it...came from?” Her gaze darted toward him before jumping back to Franny. Though he didn’t purposely try to jinx her, his magic wasn’t totally his own. What if some of the magic he carried inside of him now had somehow created this jinx? He couldn’t say one hundred percent that it was impossible.

  Franny shook her head slowly. “I’m being very honest with you here. There’s a stealth on this jinx that hides the spellcaster. I can’t identify who created this and placed it on you, but I can assure you it is no one in this room.”

  “How can you possibly know that?” Another quick look in his direction.

  Franny said some words aloud in a low, chanting voice, and a bright, green glowing ring started at Ivy’s feet, rose up her body, until it flew over her head and disappeared through the closest window.

  “That was a tracer spell. If it had been someone in this room, it would have flown right to the hands of the witch or warlock who’d conjured the jinx. Once the tracer finds the original jinxer, he or she won’t be able to remove the green glow. The person won’t even know it’s there. We just need to find the person with the green-glowing hands.”

  Yet, the suspicious look in Ivy’s eyes said she wasn’t quite sure about his plan. She probably still suspected Franny would choose him over her. What Ivy didn’t understand was that Franny would have suspected him first, too. She wasn’t just here to take care of his home and daily routine. She was here to watch him, too. If at any point in time she believed his magic was taking over, it was her job to stop him. She was the only one even close to powerful enough to see it through.

  “I guess I’ll just have to wait and see if anyone’s hands betray them tomorrow.” She turned toward the exit. “For your sake, Zayn, I hope I see green.”

  She pounded out the door, and Zayn stared after her in silence.

  After a moment, gaze still focused on her retreating figure through the glass of the door, he asked, “Are you sure it wasn’t me?”

  “Most assuredly, you are not the one who jinxed her. But, your magic is boiling just below the surface, isn’t it?”

  “Yes. And, there’s a chance that as the magic grows, it will attract more unsavory characters who will come to try to take such powerful magic. I’ve got it for now, but soon I won’t be able to control the damage. I’ve got to find a way to harness the power inside me. Do you think another rose could bloom in time?”

  “No, Zayn. I think we need to find a way to remove the jinx from Ivy. Then, and only then, will she be able to remove the magic from the rose. And, you’ll be able to settle things inside yourself.”

  “I wish I’d never taken this burden on.”

  “But if you hadn’t, you wouldn’t be here, and so many others wouldn’t be alive today either. It was the right thing to do.”

  He approached the door, leaned on the frame, and watched Ivy go to work. “Who do you think jinxed her?”

  “Well, if Baba Yaga were in town, she is powerful enough to break through the stealth, but she’s inaccessible at the moment. The only thing I can say for sure is someone wanted to make sure Ivy didn’t win the golf tournament, and I’m afraid it’s someone close to her.”

  Zayn swiveled his gaze to Franny. “Like, someone she trusts?”

  Franny released a heavy breath. “I don’t think that poor girl has ever trusted anyone around her. I think she’s been looking for someone trustworthy all of her life.” A smile tipped up her lips. “Do you know anyone?”

  He released a humorless laugh and turned his focus back to the outside. “Don’t even go there. If I even think you...” But he trailed off, straightening at something terrifying that caught his attention. “What the hell?”

  “Language, Zayn.”

  But he was already out the door, crossing the garden in eight strides. Ivy was backing away slowly, her fingers to her mouth.

  Scattered across the ground under the rose were three darkened, curled rose petals, lying useless and dead.

  “What have you done?”

  She looked at him, eyes wide, mouth open, and hands at her sides now. She seemed to be searching for words. “This is how I found it, Zayn. I don’t know why, but the petals are beginning to fall off. The rose is dying. I’m so sorry.”

  Zayn fell to his knees and gathered the three lifeless pieces of the only thing tethering him to his sanity. He held them in the palm of his hand and looked at her. From the look on her face it was obvious she had no idea what she’d done.

  If the rose died, they all died, and there was nothing he could do about it.

  Chapter 12

  AT HALF-PAST MIDNIGHT, Franny came and pulled Ivy from the garden to get some rest. Ivy pleaded to give her just a few more minutes to try one more thing, but Franny insisted.

  “I don’t want him to hate me.”

  “Don’t be silly. He doesn’t hate you.”

  “How could he not? He said it himself. I’ve taken away the only thing that matters to him.”

  “Oh, Ivy. There’s so much you just don’t understand. If we had more time, I’d explain it to you, but for now, just know that I’ve never seen Zayn look at anyone the way he looks at you. That man is usually as unbreakable as titanium, but something about you makes him less apt to lose his mind.” She lowered her voice as if she thought Zayn was just around the corner. “You’re good for him. He might not admit it, but you’re exactly what he needs right now. He needs a reason to care.”

  “And you think I’m that reason? I don’t think that’s even remotely possible, Franny, but thanks for the flattery.”

  She smiled as if she knew something Ivy didn’t and said, “Go to bed. Get some rest. Tomorrow is the day when everything changes. I’m sure of it.”

  “Yeah, I’m sure of it too, but whether the change is for the better or worse isn’t entirely clear yet.”

  AS THE PLAYERS GATHERED for the third round of the tournament, Ivy thought a couple of toothpicks might come in handy right now. She needed something to keep her eyes open and to fool those around her into believing she was awake. Short of that, she needed Flint by her side to keep growling in her ear, but once again, he was nowhere to be seen.

  Of course, she’d been too distracted to notice his absence until now. She’d been looking at the hands of people around her, searching for any hint of green. Once, she’d thought she’d spotted the trace, but as it turned out, it was only a flash of a golf towel in someone’s hand as they cleaned their ball. But, now the tournament announcer had just declared that play would begin in the next ten minutes. She was out of time to look for the jinxer, and she wasn’t entirely convinced there was one anyway.

 
; “Looks like you need a caddy.”

  Ivy pivoted one-hundred-eighty degrees and met Zayn’ hard, brown gaze. “Flint will be here any minute.”

  “Last I saw him, he was behind the maintenance shed, slumped down over a bucket of beer, slurping away—still very much in bear form. I don’t think he’s going to be any use to you as a caddy today.”

  “Looks like I need a caddy. Do you know anyone?”

  The grin that stretched across his face stole her breath away. It was the first time she’d actually seen him smile, and it was life-altering. In that moment, she probably would have agreed to anything he’d asked...if the fate of her game wasn’t on the line.

  “I’m free.”

  But, today’s round would make the difference as to whether Ivy was competitive for the win tomorrow or not. She couldn’t get distracted today at all.

  “Thanks, but no thanks.”

  He shrugged as if it really didn’t matter to him one way or the other. “I may not look like much of a coach, but after watching you yesterday, I could tell you a few things that would improve your play.”

  “Wouldn’t having the course superintendent for my caddy give me an unfair advantage?”

  “Maybe, but I had my groundskeeper move the holes last night, just in case you said yes. I’ll tell you how to approach the shots, but I’m seeing the hole placement for the first time just like you.”

  Despite her hesitance, she couldn’t help but be tempted by his offer. What if he could help her? Should she consider it?

  “Oh, Ivy, there you are.”

  Ivy gritted her teeth at the familiar voice. Prunella was behind her, and Ivy was actually glad to come across her in that moment. As she turned to face her, she hoped to see a flash of green. It would make sense that Pru would want Ivy to lose the tournament. Maybe she’d even be willing to jinx her to make that happen. Yet, the minute she swiveled and dropped her gaze to Prunella’s crossed hands, she was frustrated and annoyed to see a lack of green there.