Hexed (The Gwen Sparks Series Book 4)

by Nelson, Stephanie

  GWEN AND FIONA stopped short when they entered the living room. Gwen eyed the people on her sofa, and glared at the woman sitting on the arm of my chair. Something about that made me smile. Even though she didn’t remember our time together, seeing me with another woman bothered her, and I liked it. It meant that maybe she wasn’t as immune to our connection as she led me to believe.

  “Not a great time for a party,” Gwen said, her tone insinuating much more. To make matters worse, the woman sitting on my chair—Mariana—draped an arm across the back of my shoulders and smiled toward Gwen.

  “This her?” Mariana asked as her eyes surveyed Gwen from head to toe. I knew I should have stood up, backed away from Mariana, but the jealousy beaming from Gwen’s azure eyes gave me all the proof I needed that she cared about me.

  “Gwen,” I said, standing, “meet your coworkers.”

  Her brow arched as she took turns looking at the five faces taking up space in her living room. I bristled when her gaze stopped on Reece, the group’s womanizer. While I did not like the acceptance in her eyes as she took in Reece, I mentally snorted at her choice. Even without her memories, the girl still had no problem finding trouble or making bad decisions. Reece fucked and left girls so fast that he had acquired the nickname Roadrunner. Lucky for him, I’d warned all five of them it was hands off when it came to Gwen. Reece knew the repercussions if he ignored my warning.

  “Coworkers?” Gwen questioned.

  “They’re spirit walkers,” I explained. “They’re here to help with our little problem.”

  “Little problem?” Fiona said under her breath.

  I excused myself from the spirit walkers and made Fiona and Gwen follow me down the hall and into Gwen’s bedroom. Once the door was shut, I spun around to face them.

  “I found out some interesting news while I was gathering them.” I gestured my head toward the wall to signal the waiting spirit walkers in the other room. “Every other city in America has only had small cases of magic going awry. It seems Flora is the mecca for everything.”

  Gwen and Fiona glanced at each other. “Because I’m in Flora,” Gwen concluded.

  I nodded. “Yeah, that’s what I’m thinking, but I don’t want them knowing about what happened.”

  “Why?” Fiona asked. “They’re here to help. Shouldn’t they know what they’re dealing with?” Before I could answer her, her cell phone rang, and she excused herself. I eyed Gwen as she worked her tongue over her teeth, not in a sexy way either. Her tongue pushed her upper lip out until she resembled a monkey.

  “What are you doing?”

  “I have something in my teeth,” she explained. “Nevermind. Why don’t you want the other spirit walkers to know what you did?”

  “Can you just trust me on this? The less people that know the better.” While I had warned the other spirit walkers away from bothering Gwen, I wasn’t completely sure one of them wouldn’t figure out something wasn’t quite right with her and take it upon themselves to reap her soul. I was still in the process of trying to think of a way to fix what I had done, and Gwen’s death was not an option. We lived in a magical world; there had to be a loophole I was missing.

  “I don’t know,” Gwen said, “should I trust you?”

  “I’ve gone out of my way to protect you, broken rules that were never meant to be broken,” I told her. “If you trust anyone, trust me.”

  She eyed me skeptically. After a long pause, she nodded and her body relaxed. Whatever had crossed her mind was enough for her to believe what I told her. I had uttered those two little words to women before—trust me—but the difference between now and then was that now I meant them. Despite all of Gwen’s friends, I knew I was the only one willing to cross the line for her. Was that a good or bad thing? I still wasn’t sure.

  After I was sure Gwen and Fiona wouldn’t divulge the secret, we joined the other spirit walkers in the living room. Reece and Bree currently stood beside the sofa table inspecting the collage of photographs. Mariana still sat on the arm of the chair, her long fingernails raking through her ebony hair. Braden and Jerrick sat on the sofa with their arms resting on their knees, talking quietly between themselves. All of their eyes lifted to us when we entered the room.

  “Guys, this is Gwen Sparks and her friend, Fiona Bennett. As I told you, Flora is under some kind of spell or something.” I felt Gwen’s eyes on my face but ignored her. “Because of this, people are unable to die, and all magic is on the fritz.” I finally looked down at Gwen and introduced the new spirit walkers. “Gwen, meet Mariana.” I pointed to the Latino woman sitting on the chair and quickly moved on to the next before Mariana could open her mouth and start trouble. “That’s Bree.” I pointed to the young woman with caramel hair and wide blue eyes. She smiled at Gwen and nodded in greeting. “On the sofa are Braden and Jerrick.” I didn’t like how they were appraising Gwen, so I moved on. “And that’s Reece.”

  Gwen nodded her head slowly. “Nice to meet all of you.”

  Mariana stood and sauntered across the room until she was standing in front of us. And when I say sauntered, I mean she put the grace of a panther and ballerina into her walk and strutted her ass across the room like she was working for dollar bills. The fact that she was wearing skintight jeans with a corset top with fuck-me heels proved that she knew what she was doing.

  “So you’re the woman our Dorian finds so interesting,” Mariana said, her Spanish accent thick and rolling off her plump red lips like a slap in the face. She eyed Gwen up and down as she cocked a hip and put on her bitch face. “I don’t see it.”

  Gwen bristled beside me, giving Mariana an equally bitchy look.

  “Mariana,” I warned.

  She shrugged. “Well, I don’t. I’m prettier.”

  “Wow,” Fiona said behind me. “And so classy.”

  Mariana craned her neck to direct her bitch face at Fiona, but she stumbled off to the side when Jerrick shoved her out of the way. Mariana managed to regain her balance like she did everything else, with grace. That didn’t stop me from smiling at the pissed off look scrunching up her features.

  “Hello,” Jerrick said, extending a hand toward Gwen. “I’m Jerrick.” Gwen slid her palm along his until their fingers closed around one another. If I had to describe Jerrick in one word, it would be Canadian. I know, not very creative of me, but that’s what I noticed about him. He drew out his O’s and A’s and said ‘eh’ after almost everything. Plus, I’m a guy, and I wasn’t about to say he was good looking.

  “It’s nice to meet you, Jerrick,” Gwen said, smiling up at him.

  “Next,” I said quickly when Jerrick’s smile became a little too friendly for my liking. “Let’s get all the introductions out of the way so we can move on, and I can direct you guys.”

  “Hi, I’m Bree.” Bree smiled up at Gwen, being a good three inches shorter than she was. She reminded me of a child, all innocence and sweetness, though she was twenty-nine and not a child by any means.

  “Braden here,” Braden waved two fingers in the air, not bothering to get up from the couch, which was okay with me. His English accent already got Gwen and Fiona’s attention. They smiled at each other like two crushing high school girls. I never understood women and their attraction to English accents. Then again, men were just as shallow in other areas so I couldn’t hold it against them.

  Reece made his introduction last, and he sauntered almost as well as Mariana. I felt my muscles tighten in my shoulders as I curled my fingers into fist. His green eyes appraised Gwen from head to toe and then up to her head again, only lingering on her breasts for a few seconds, but it was a few seconds too long. I shifted beside Gwen, tilting my head towards Reece in silent warning. I knew he was fuckin’ with me. It had been a game between us for a long time, betting which one of us could pick up a woman whenever we hung out. What he didn’t know was that I wasn’t playing around with Gwen and I wouldn’t hesitate to rip his dick off if he laid a finger on her.

  “It’s
so nice to meet you,” Reece said, giving Gwen his signature look that normally had girls blushing and fawning over him. I gauged Gwen’s reaction to the tool and was pleasantly surprised when she gave him her normal smile.

  “What the hell is someone like you doing with a dick like Dorian?”

  Gwen’s lips parted at his blunt question. She risked a glance up to me and then returned her focus to Reece. “You’re the only dick in this room.”

  I choked on my laughter and the look of surprise on Reece’s face. “Now that we’ve established that Reece has lost his game, can we get back to business?”

  Reece took Gwen’s insult with a grain of salt, sauntering back over to lean against the wall. He crossed his arms and winked in Gwen and Fiona’s direction one last time. He may have lost this round, but I knew he still considered himself in the game. I’d have to enlighten him.

  “You mentioned that people weren’t dying,” Bree said, changing the subject. “What exactly does that mean? How is it even possible for someone not to die? Not even vampires are eternal.”

  “As I told you, someone hexed Gwen. She doesn’t remember her life,” I started. “I think this woman is also using some sort of forbidden magic that has screwed up the balance of things. I wish I could tell you more, but not even I have encountered this before.” I would like to say that lying to them bothered me, but it didn’t. Their sole purpose was to collect the souls of those who should be dead, like the vampire man at the FPD station. I hoped that by collecting the souls of the should be dead, it would help tip the balance between life and death. At this point, I was just grasping at straws, biding my time.

  “Why don’t we just track this woman down and get her to reverse the spell?” Braden asked. He scrubbed a hand through his spiky brown hair, his face bored.

  “I’m dealing with the woman. Your guys’ only job is to reap souls.”

  “Still a drill sergeant, I see.” Reece snorted when I cocked a brow at him.

  “Still a pain in the ass, I see,” I countered. “How about you do what you’re told for once.”

  “Sir, yes, Sir.” Reece mock saluted me like the cocky son of a bitch that he was.

  “Why can’t you and Gwen reap the souls?” Mariana asked. She said Gwen’s name like it was something disgusting and foul. “We all have our own stuff going on.”

  I hung my head, shaking it as I took a calming breath. This boss shit was not my cup of tea. If I didn’t need them, I would’ve cracked their skulls and called it a day.

  “And you think your stuff trumps my command? Maybe I should remind you from whom your power comes from, Mariana. Spoiler alert, it’s me, which means I can retract it should you become a problem.” I was bluffing, of course. Spirit walkers were rare and I needed every single one of them. Unfortunately they knew it, which made dealing with them that much harder.

  “Someone’s testy,” Braden interjected. “Calm down, mate. We’re here aren’t we?”

  “Yeah, you’re here,” I replied, “bitchin’ and all.” I smiled over at Bree, letting her know I didn’t include her in that statement. Bree was too sweet to complain about anything. “Please just scour the town and take care of the souls that need taking care of, okay?”

  Later that night I tossed and turned on the sofa while Fiona sat at the kitchen table talking to Ethan on her cellphone. Annoyed with Gwen’s chatty best friend, I stood up and headed through the kitchen and down the hall that led to Gwen’s room.

  “Goodnight, Dorian,” Fiona said, her tone more suggestive than it should have been.

  The bedroom door creaked when I opened and shut it. Gwen’s slow breathing filled the room. She lay on her side, facing away from me. Without another thought, I crawled into the bed. I had just closed my eyes when Gwen’s shriek made me bolt upright. Her arms shot out, connecting with the meaty flesh of my bicep, and I tumbled out of the bed and on to the floor.

  “Son of a bitch.” I had hit the side of my head on her bedside table.

  A lamp snapped on, filling the space with just enough light to highlight the room. “Dorian? What the hell are you doing in my bedroom?”

  I got to my feet. “Trying to sleep,” I said with exasperation. “Fiona’s flapping her lips to Ethan, laughing like a damn hyena out there. So I thought I’d sleep in here.”

  Gwen hugged the covers to her chest. “You thought you’d just sneak in here and creep into my bed without even asking me?”

  I smiled at her modesty. “I just intended to sleep, Gwen. Stop looking at me like I’m some panty-raiding villain.” My eyes fell to the blanket she held to herself, and I wondered what exactly she was wearing that she felt the need to cover up.

  “Be that as it may, you can’t just hop into my bed without asking.”

  Ignoring her, I said, “Besides, you don’t have anything I haven’t seen, kissed or licked.” I grinned at her, pulling the covers back and resituating myself on the mattress. It was just after midnight, and I was dead tired after spending all day tracking down the spirit walkers.

  The light flicked off, and I heard Gwen moving beside me, either to get comfortable or from being uncomfortable with our nearness. The last time I was in this bed I’d been between her legs, drawing moans from her with each roll of my hips. I pushed the thought away, frustrated with the entire situation. I’d slept with a lot of women, but I’d never still wanted them after I had them, not like this. I wasn’t even sure if what I wanted revolved around just sex. I wanted that connectivity of our bodies, the melody of our pleasure mixing and becoming one. I’d never had that yearning with another woman before.

  “You know,” Gwen said into the darkness, “you don’t always have to remind me we had sex.”

  I smiled against the shadow of the room. “It’s fun watching you squirm,” I admitted, “but if it makes you uncomfortable, I’ll stop. I guess I just hoped hearing about us would jog something in your mind.” I turned so that I was facing her. “You’re more than sex to me, Gwen.”

  She propped herself up on her elbow. “I’m sorry I don’t remember you. I wish I did.”

  “You will,” I promised. It wasn’t hope or faith that prompted that confidence; I knew I wouldn’t stop searching for a way to fix her until she was back to normal again. It was my sheer greediness for her that made me believe she would be herself again.

  “Dorian,” she said softly, “Tonight, when you were telling the other spirit walkers to reap the expired souls—”

  “That’s not you.” The lie fell through my lips so easily. I had to wonder if I was saying it to comfort her or if I had become so naïve and blind that I felt the need to lie to myself, too.

  “But,” Gwen continued, “it’s the same thing. You said I died that day, and you replaced my soul. I’m living on borrowed time just like the others.”

  I fell onto my back and stared up at the ceiling. “I just need time.”

  “How long before they figure it out?”

  “They won’t,” I assured her. “They’re not the ones I’m worried about. If Fiona’s bastard of a boyfriend tells the NAWC about you…” I wasn’t sure how to finish that sentence, knowing no matter what, the outcome would be bad. I’d already broken a major rule by restoring Gwen’s soul, but I knew if anyone from the NAWC came for her, I’d reap their souls quicker than they could blink. And reaping souls before their time was another major no-no. Rules were a bitch.

  Silence settled between us. I watched the pattern of a passing car’s headlights flash through the bedroom, only for everything to fall back into shadow once it was gone. I heard Fiona’s door shut across the hall, but there was no way I was getting out of this bed. Even if I couldn’t touch Gwen, lying beside her was enough to calm my anxious mind.

  “You laid me on the counter,” Gwen said after a while. “I died at Broomsticks, didn’t I?”

  My body became stiller than stone, and all the thoughts bombarding my mind scattered. I sat up, turning at the waist to look down at Gwen. Her dark hair fell over her sho
ulders and ended at the swell of her breasts. Her eyes reached up to my face, searching.

  “You remembered?”

  She propped herself up on an elbow and nodded. “Today, while Fiona and I were at the shop my fingertips brushed the countertop and that scene flashed through my head. Not everything, just my body on the counter and your hands brushing my hair away.” She rolled her bottom lip between her teeth, sucking in a deep breath. “Ms. Ozland told Fiona that doing routinely things could jar my memories. Perhaps being at the store, seeing the damage of whatever happened there, was enough to help me remember.”

  I didn’t say anything, just stared down at her and tried to decipher what her eyes were telling me to do. She held my gaze, no longer focused on the clouds whirling through my sockets, but my actual eyes as though they were normal. Her eyes traveled down my face, settled on my lips and then fell to my chest.

  “I want to remember, Dorian,” she spoke softly, looking up to my face again. “I want to look at you and remember everything between us. I want to stop being a stranger in my own life.” She paused, sitting up so that we faced each other. “That’s why I think you should kiss me again. If just the brush of my fingertips could cause me to remember, then maybe touching you will, too.”

  Her nervousness showed itself in the slight tremble of her voice and how she’d look at my face only to look away again. I lifted my hand toward her, sliding my fingers along the base of her neck. Gwen’s eyes lifted to meet mine again, this time not falling away. Even in the darkness of the bedroom, I could make out the royal blue of her eyes. I wanted to swim within those depths, fit our bodies together to watch them darken with her lust for me. But I wouldn’t go that far, wouldn’t push her past her limits. For now, I’d settle on just kissing her until the proof of our time together showed itself on her swollen lips.