Third Charm: A Reverse Harem Tale (Lovin' the Coven Book 3)

by Jacquelyn Faye

  "You're wrong about one thing," he managed to say after the blushes passed.

  "What is that?" I pulled his hand away from his face and caught his eye in mine.

  "I…um. I don't think you're pretty. I think you're beautiful."

  It was cheesy, and it was corny, but I knew he meant it. My heart melted a little as I leaned closer with the intent of kissing his cheek for being sweeter than pure cane sugar. He turned and was leaning back, maybe out of fear, maybe out of shock. I closed the distance between us, and my lips found his, instead of his cheek.

  He stopped moving away and leaned into the kiss, his lips hungrily meeting mine.

  Without looking, I set my beer down and wrapped my arms around him, pulling him into me as I leaned back across the couch. He scrambled to kneel over me as he slid his bottle onto the table next to mine before using his hands to hold himself above me.

  My tongue danced against his as he slowly lowered himself against me, my breasts pushing against his oh-so chiseled chest. My hands slid over his back and down his ass, grabbing and pulling with the heat blazing between us.

  Ding Dong.

  I stopped kissing Jason and turned my head toward my front door.

  Want me to get it? Dar asked jokingly.

  If you had hands, I might take you up on that. Not sure I want whoever it is to see me like this, though.

  It is the one you call Chief.

  How do you know?

  Gunpowder. I can smell it. And his aftershave.

  Yep. That would be Chief.

  "It's Chief," I told Jason, letting him pull himself off me.

  "Dot, I'm sorry!"

  He looked close to panicking. I put my hand on his shoulder. "Why? I kissed you."

  He breathed in, and nodded, trying to calm himself.

  I got up after he gave me enough room and walked over to the front door, opening it without looking through the peephole.

  "Is your phone broken?" He had his hands on his hips when he asked. I reached down to my jeans pocket but remembered I had put it on the kitchen counter. I made a face at him and went and got it. As soon as I picked it up, I knew I had never turned it back on.

  "It's just off. Why?"

  "Hey, Jason," Chief said with a nod before answering me. "There was another attack."

  "What? Where?"

  "Antonio's Pizza."

  "But we killed the damn thing."

  "Apparently not all of them."

  "Jason, lock up when you leave," I shouted over my shoulder as I ran to my bedroom to get my hoodie and jacket. The sun would be down soon, and I didn't want to freeze my ass off.

  "You got it, boss."

  "Give us a minute, would you, Chief?"

  He gave me a strange look, shrugged, and left through the front door. I waited until I heard the click before calmly walking over to Jason. "Thank you, for a wonderful day," I said shyly and meant it. Having him with me had not only made my life a little easier, but exciting, too.

  "You're welcome. I'm glad I could be of assistance." He smiled and I did my best to wipe that smile off his face with my lips.

  When I pulled away, he stared at me and gently reached up and touched his lips with two fingers.

  "Was that okay?" I wanted to make sure he didn't mind. Judging from the smile on his face, he hadn't.

  "Um… Yeah! Feel free, any time."

  "Well, we'll just have to see," I said and touched his nose with my finger, laughing as his eyes crossed before turning around and leaving him standing there, bewildered. Before I could shut the door behind me, Dar shot out of the house and mentally yelled at me for trying to leave him behind.

  ∞ ∞ ∞

  Sure enough, the moment I got away from him and into my car, guilt settled in like ton of lead bricks. The ten minutes it took to get to Antonio's was spent chastising, berating, and belittling myself.

  In my own defense, I had little protection from the sweet, intelligent, and incredibly sexy package that was Jason Bradley.

  I pulled my SUV behind Chief's Jeep and shut off the engine before opening the door. Dar stepped over the center console and jumped down onto the cold wet pavement.

  "Smell anything?"

  Pizza, marinara, and… Another imp. He's gone, though. Took off across the street and through the park.

  "That's quite the nose."

  Thank you.

  "Now if you could just smell where all these hellions are coming from…"

  Probably from the rift.

  "Um… What particular rift are you talking about?"

  Chief walked up. "You coming in? Antonio is pretty scratched up, but alive. Paramedics patched him up, but he didn't want to go to the hospital. What?"

  "Dar says the imps are coming through a rift. I was asking him where."

  "Ouch! What the fuck. Your dog just bit me on my ass!" Chief narrowed his eyes at my familiar.

  "Dar!" I wrapped my arms around him and pulled him away from Chief's posterior. "What are you doing?"

  You told me to.

  "I wasn't serious!"

  Well, next time you tell me to bite your boyfriend on the ass, you might want to clue me in if that is not your actual intention. I can hear your thoughts, but I'm not a mind reader…

  "Sorry," I said trying very hard not to laugh my ass off. I wouldn't want people confusing me for Chief. He was rubbing the part Dar had gnawed on and was sticking his finger through the holes in his jeans. "Sorry, Chief. That was my fault. I told him to do it earlier."

  He shot me a look of pure something. I wasn't sure what the something was, but it made me laugh harder.

  The rift was here, but it keeps moving, Dar continued, ignoring the mumbles about his pedigree from a very angry Chief.

  "So, it's a magical moving rift that leads to…?"

  Are you dumb? Where do demons live?

  "Magical, moving rift to hell."

  Gehenna. Hell is a mortal fabrication.

  "Whatever. How did it get here?"

  How in the hell would I know that? It just appeared. Poof. Disappeared the same way.

  "Did it appear at the trailer the other night, when we found you?"

  Yes.

  "So, it wasn't a bear or a wolf that killed Frank Dunbar? It was an imp?

  No. An imp couldn't do that. It was a pit fiend.

  "A fiend? There's a pit fiend, somewhere in Cedar Falls? Running around and munching on people?"

  Unless it went back through the rift.

  "Why didn't you say anything sooner?"

  Why didn't you ask? I told you about the imp, where the hell did you think it came from?

  "I don't know. Detroit?"

  Funny.

  I looked up at Chief. "There's a portal to hell floating around town. A pit fiend ate Frank Dunbar, and you know about the two imps. The one that attacked Antonio ran that way through the park but is long gone."

  He stared at me incredulously. "Your dog. Told you all of this?" He scratched the back of his neck, trying to process the information.

  "You know he's not a normal dog."

  "Yeah. No, I know, just trying to figure out how I'm going to write that in my police report."

  "Just say it was a rabid trash panda attacking people," I said and turned to walk away. "Come on, Dar."

  "Dot… Wait."

  "Yes?"

  "Can we talk?"

  "I tried. You ignored me. That window has now been closed."

  "I'll buy you a cup of coffee and a slice of pie."

  "You slick bastard."

  "No. I'm incredibly stubborn and–"

  "Stupid?"

  He sighed and nodded. "Yes. That, too."

  "A la mode?"

  "Excuse me?"

  "You said pie. Are we talking a la mode, or just whip cream?"

  "I'll even tell Marge to warm it up."

  "Yeah. That's kind of what a la mode means. Hot with ice cream. Pie noob."

  "I'm more of a cake, guy. Or a nice brownie." He gestured to
ward the cars.

  "Uncultured swine," I said and got in my Sportage, letting him close the door with a sigh.

  We could have walked to the diner, but whatever. It took forty-eight seconds to get there and then I didn't have to worry about walking back to my vehicle.

  "Do you want to wait outside, in the car, or run home?"

  I'll wait in the car. Crack the window or I'll call the ASPCA. Sarah McLachlan hates people like you.

  "You watch too much damn television," I said with a chuckle.

  Chief pulled in behind me. I waited at the door for him and pulled it open, letting him go first. "Do you want to eat dinner instead?"

  "Shit! No. I'm having dinner with Jimmy. Pie and talk." I grabbed my phone out of my pocket, fingers flying over the keys, frantically.

  There was another demon attack. Got into a fight with Boyscout. He's apologizing and then I'll come pick you up.

  He replied almost instantly. No worries. Chinese? We can have dinner here if it's easier.

  Most of the men in my life had flashes of brilliance. And then there was the one standing in front of me. You're brilliant. See you shortly.

  K.

  I fought the urge to snarl at my phone. I hated the K.

  Seriously. How fucking hard is it to type an O in front of it?

  "Everything okay?"

  "With Jimmy. Yes."

  "Ouch."

  "You know, we wouldn't have to keep having these charming conversations if you would stop being a douche."

  He sighed and we entered the restaurant. I waved at Marge and plopped down unceremoniously in my spot. He skulked into the booth across from me.

  "Let me start off by saying, I'm sorry."

  "Wise choice."

  "I have my moments," he said proudly.

  "Few and far between, but yes."

  "You're still pissed."

  "What can I get for you two?" Marge asked as she idled up to the table.

  "Cherry pie, a la mode, and a coffee. Unless you're hiding a bottle of bourbon behind the counter."

  "I'll see what I can do, sweetie. What do you want?" She turned to Chief. "Or should I ask, what do you deserve?"

  "Do you call her when I screw up, just to torture me?"

  "No, but I should. It's probably just instinct," I said with a laugh.

  "I'll have the brownie sundae."

  "Does he deserve it?" She asked me.

  "No, but he'll cry if he doesn't get it. Not worth the hassle."

  She scoffed and walked away.

  "I swear, that woman…"

  "Is gold."

  "That, and so much more."

  "So. Where were we? Oh, yes. I'm still pissed. My old boyfriend shows up, I tell him that I'm happy with who I'm with, and then I see you spying on me? What was all that about? But then I text you after you run off, you hide, and ignore me? Damn skippy, I'm pissed."

  "Dot…"

  "Spill it. Let me hear what the hell was rattling around that spacious warehouse on top of your shoulders."

  "I went to talk to him."

  "Who?"

  "Derek."

  "You did what?"

  Marge was standing just outside of earshot, holding a tray with coffee and desserts, but not wanting to interrupt. I turned and smiled at her, letting her know it was okay.

  She set the stuff down quickly, and practically ran for the hills, not that I could blame her. I was surprised I hadn't shattered any glassware when I hit the high C note on the what part of my question. Even Chief looked a little scrambled.

  Instead of apologizing, I scooped a schlarf of pie and ice cream into my mouth and let everything go for a moment, breathing with the taste of heaven in my mouth. "Could you repeat that?"

  "Huh? I'm sorry, I'm having a little trouble hearing at the moment."

  "Not a good time for jokes, Chief."

  "Sorry. I said I went to talk to Derek."

  "Why? Did you not trust me?" I reached down and picked up my cup of coffee, taking a swig and nearly choking as it burned all the way down. It wasn't even that hot. The whiskey Marge poured in it cooled it down quite a bit. I turned and looked at her standing behind the counter. She winked at me and gave me a thumbs-up. I gave her a crooked grin in thanks.

  "Quite the opposite."

  I took another bite of pie. "Do you want me to guess or are you going to tell me what the hell is going on?"

  "As soon as I turned around and walked away, I realized that my jealousy of a man you dated forty years ago was probably the most childish and idiotic thing I'd ever done. Okay, maybe not the most, but it was definitely in the top ten. I turned around to come back when he came out of the diner. I was going to let him go, but I figured it was a good place to start. I stopped him and took him to O'Malleys for a drink."

  "You did what?"

  "I took him for a drink and did like I promised you. I reserved judgement until I got to know him. He's actually a pretty nice guy. So, we bonded, and he asked me about joining the coven. I told him he had my vote and that I would talk to you."

  "So why did you tell your deputy to tell me you would talk to me tomorrow?"

  "Well, he's not a deputy. He's an officer, and I texted him from the bar because I figured you would run to the office to chew me a new one."

  "Weren't wrong."

  "I figured."

  "So why did you blatantly ignore my texts, right in front of me."

  "I was texting Jimmy about my meeting with Derek and was trying to plan a dinner tonight with the four of us to show there was no hard feelings. I was ignoring you until I heard back from him, and then I ran into you on the street and panicked. I'm sorry. I tried calling you, but you had shut your phone off, apparently."

  I had finished all of my pie and my coffee flavored whiskey by the time he finished explaining. "I'm sorry."

  "What?"

  "I said I'm sorry, Bill."

  "Uh oh. She said my name."

  "Do you really want to continue making me squirm?" I already felt like shit and was kind of proud of the big lug.

  He leaned back in the booth and flashed me his boyish smile. "I'm sorry, too. I was trying to be the bigger man, but I shouldn't have kept you out of the loop. You were angry and I should have realized, no matter what my intentions, you would only get angrier. I just didn't plan on you shutting off your phone."

  "Technically, I didn't. Jason did. I told him to, though."

  "Semantics."

  "Well… I have a confession, too."

  "You kissed Jason," He replied. Not angrily, either. It was almost as if he was proud, which was kind of creepy.

  "What? How the fuck did you know?"

  "Dot. I'm a cop."

  "He called you?"

  "No. I called him. I went to your house and your clothes were all rumpled. You were acting like nothing happened, but you didn't see Jason standing behind you. He was flushed and looking like he had a cactus stuck in his colon. It didn't take a rocket scientist to figure it out. Especially since I know you have a soft spot for him. So, I called him to ask him on the way to Antonio's. He was crying, so I'm glad I called him. He thought I was going to shoot him."

  "Are you?"

  "Me? No? Why?"

  "You're not jealous?"

  "Did you want me to be?"

  "It would be the normal reaction. For you."

  "Dot, I don't know if you realized this. But there isn't a fucking thing normal about us…" He chuckled. He wasn't lying either. He wasn't jealous that I had kissed Jason, I could hear it in his voice and see it on his face. I was just glad I hadn't kissed him to make him jealous. That would have been the backfire of the century.

  I was glad I did it, though. Guilt be damned.

  "He's a sweet guy."

  "That he is. This is Jason we're talking about. That's probably why I'm not even the slightest bit jealous. You want to take care of him…and so do I. He might be your assistant, but you'll be good for him, too."

  "So, no jealousy."
>
  "Nope. Derek on the other hand…"

  "Yeah, yeah. I get it."

  "Maybe after I get to know him longer."

  "What?"

  He realized what he said and frowned, knitting his eyebrows. "Did I just say that out loud?"

  "Yes. You did."

  Chapter 12

  "Hey, beautiful."

  "Hey, handsome. Smells like eggrolls."

  "Thanks?"

  Jimmy almost shut the door on Dar. My hand shot out and stopped him until the shepherd walked past him, shooting him a murderous glare.

  "Oops. Sorry, Dar."

  Tell him I forgive him. This time. But now I have acquired a taste for human flesh.

  "He says it's okay."

  I most certainly did not!

  Shush. And no tushy nibbles. That's my job!

  He sat and his tongue lolled out of the side of his mouth, his expression of humor. There was a knock on the door behind us. I turned to Jimmy. "You invite your other girlfriend?"

  "No. I told her I'd call her tomorrow. You expecting your other boyfriend?"

  "Touché," I said with a fake smile, swallowing the rage in my chest. I knew he was joking, and it was my fault for setting it up, but still.

  Mine.

  He opened the door and Yuki stood there. "Sorry."

  "Hey, Yukester," Jimmy said with a smile. He stood there for a moment while she waited patiently outside his door.

  "You have to invite her into your home, Jimmy," I said and rolled my eyes. "Don't you watch vampire movies?"

  "That's real?"

  "Yep," Yuki said, embarrassedly.

  "Dear Yuki, would you please enter my domicile?" He bowed and swept his arm under him, gallantly.

  "Why, thank you, good sir." She chuckled and crossed the threshold nervously.

  "Dinner's on the table," Jimmy said and shut the door, staring at it a moment to make sure nobody else pushed through or knocked. "Gangs all here, huh?"

  "Yeah. They're being over protective."

  "With a bunch of demons running around," Yuki added sarcastically.

  "You figure out where they're coming from?" Jimmy sat down at the table.

  I took the seat next to him. "You two can go watch TV or hang out. Up to you," I said to my familiars.

  "I'll stay, I want to taste Chinese food." Yuki looked at Dar and I saw something pass between them, hearing a faint echo in my head.