The Professor Woos The Witch (Nocturne Falls Book 4)

by Kristen Painter

  “I don’t like it now. Tell me your thoughts. I’ll be as open-minded as I can be.”

  Gertrude’s words rang in Pandora’s brain. “This is going to sound crazy, but you might be something called a familiar.”

  “Familiar with what?”

  “No, a familiar. A witch’s companion.”

  His expression didn’t change for a moment, then he started laughing. “Okay, you got me. Good one.”

  “No, I’m serious.” She held out the book to him. “You should read this.”

  He held his hands up. “Pandora, c’mon. That’s so bananas I don’t even know where to start. Certainly not with that dusty old book.”

  Reluctantly, she put the book back on the shelf. “You said you’d be open-minded.”

  “Yes, but a witch’s companion? As in your companion? Is this your way of trying to get me to believe? It’s cute, I’ll give you that.”

  Kiss him, a voice whispered in her ear.

  So she did.

  Cole registered Pandora getting closer, her eyes closing, her lips puckering. He knew on some level what all those things meant. And yet he was still surprised when her mouth made contact with his.

  Not so surprised he couldn’t react. His growing desire to be near her, to touch her and hold her, spiked into incalculable territory. His arms slipped around her of their own volition. She was as warm and soft and curvy as she looked. Maybe more.

  Her lips fit his perfectly, and as her tongue brushed the seam of his mouth, he groaned in pleasure, unable to hold back the sheer joy of tasting her. Kissing Pandora was torture in the most amazing way.

  She kissed with the kind of tentative pressure that made him realize she had no idea how he felt about her. And why would she? He’d been a jerk.

  Then, maybe because she’d figured out he wasn’t resisting, she leaned in and really kissed him.

  Heat rose up through his body like he was standing on a steam vent. Every muscle and nerve came alive. He wasn’t even sure he was still touching the floor.

  The rush of air stripped the heat from his skin and everything changed. No matter which way he turned his head, his field of vision was filled with the sprawl of forest and rising hills. He flapped his wings and—he flapped his wings? Cole opened his mouth to cry out.

  The screech of a bird filled his ears.

  Pandora was gone. He couldn’t feel her or sense her presence. All he saw was sky and the earth below. Things started to contort, and his vision went blurry. His heart pounded, thundering with the unknown and the known. More bird cries filled his ears. Everything about this moment was strange and, somehow, déjà vu.

  There was a brief pinch of discomfort, then all went black.

  He opened his eyes and saw the wood ceiling of the attic. And Pandora, looking down at him with big eyes and a slightly awed expression.

  “Are you okay?”

  He blinked up at her. “I don’t know. What just happened?”

  She glanced down the length of his body before making eye contact again. “For about thirty seconds, you were…a raven.”

  “It sounded like you said I was a raven.”

  “I did.”

  He really didn’t want to unpack that, but somehow it made perfect sense. And no sense. “An actual bird.”

  “An actual bird.”

  He stared at the ceiling for a long, quiet moment, hoping he would suddenly awaken and realize this was all a dream. No such glorious thing occurred. “I might need professional help.”

  She nodded. “I can arrange that.”

  “You mean professional witch help, don’t you?”

  “In this situation, that seems like the best choice.” She helped him sit up.

  He leaned on his bent knees. “What the hell is going on with me, Pandora? This isn’t normal. You can’t tell me this is normal.”

  “If you’re a familiar, which it seems you are, then yes, becoming a bird is normal. But you shouldn’t be shifting spontaneously or blacking out when it happens. It seems pretty obvious you weren’t in control of the shift and that’s not how it should be, but then how could you control it when you didn’t even know what was happening to you? Or…I don’t know. But we’ll figure this out.”

  As his common sense returned, he managed to process his thoughts a little better. “Pandora, I’m not a familiar. I’m not anything but human, so there’s no way I just changed into a raven. I’m sure it was just the rush of blood and endorphins brought on by our kiss.”

  “Cole, I know what I saw.”

  He closed his eyes for a moment. “I can’t believe this is possible. I just can’t.”

  “I thought you might need convincing. So I pulled this off you.” She held up an iridescent black feather.

  Pandora chewed without really tasting. She sat between Kaley and Cole with the pizza in the middle of the table. She knew Cole and Kaley were talking about school, but Pandora’s mind was on the feather in her pocket, what she’d just seen and what it meant.

  And how much she’d liked kissing Cole.

  She studied him. He was in an animated conversation with his daughter, as if nothing had happened. How he could manage that, she had no idea. Maybe it was a skill set that came with parenthood. Whatever, it was impressive.

  Kaley tapped her arm. “Hey, are you in outer space?”

  “Kaley, that’s not nice,” Cole reprimanded.

  “Sorry.” Kaley shot her father a look before talking to Pandora again. “You seem really far away.”

  “Yeah, I guess I was.” Pandora glanced at Cole, but he was getting another slice. She turned her attention to Kaley. “What did I miss?”

  “Nothing. Boring school junk. I’m so glad tomorrow is Saturday. Do you have to work?”

  “Yes. I have to show a house in the morning. Hey, can you see everyone’s aura?”

  Kaley perked up, apparently happy to talk about witchy stuff. “Yep. Yours doesn’t look nearly as broken as it used to.”

  Good to know—and telling—but not what Pandora was after. She pointed the tip of her pizza slice at Cole. “What’s your dad’s aura look like?”

  Kaley made a face. “His is weird. I’ve never seen anybody else’s like it. Except for Grandpa’s.”

  Which made perfect sense. If Cole was a familiar, one of his parents had to be too. “Weird how?”

  “It’s all dark and floaty. Like black snow.”

  “Or maybe…feathers?” Pandora watched Cole’s face.

  “Sure, could be.” Kaley stuffed another bite of pizza in her mouth.

  Cole’s everything-is-fine expression blanked out. He stared at Pandora, the look in his eyes like that of a drowning man searching for a life preserver.

  Pandora’s heart went out to him. She could only imagine how it felt to have your life—and your beliefs—turned upside down like that. Not to mention finding out your parents had clearly kept some big secrets. “Why don’t you guys come to my mom’s house for dinner tomorrow night?”

  Cole nodded, but it seemed more like an acknowledgment that she’d said something rather than an acceptance of her invitation.

  Kaley answered around a mouthful of pizza. “Cool! I can’t wait to meet more witches. Will your sisters be there?”

  Pandora smiled at Kaley. “Sure will.”

  Kaley tipped her head toward Cole. “Dad, can we?”

  Pandora turned her gaze back to him as well. “I think my family could be…helpful.”

  He appeared lost in thought a moment longer. “I guess so.” Then he addressed Pandora in a softer voice. “I don’t like this.”

  “I know.” Pandora made herself smile. He also really wouldn’t like it if he knew the ghost of the witch who’d owned this house was still in it.

  Kaley dropped her half-eaten slice of pizza on her plate. “I’m done. Can I be excused?”

  “Yes.” As Kaley took off, Cole seemed relieved that he could stop pretending. He laced his hands behind his head and stared at the ceiling. “What am I
going to do?”

  “You’re going to take it one day at a time. I’ll help you.”

  He dropped his hands to lean on the table, closer to her. “What does this mean for my life? Why didn’t my parents tell me?”

  “You’ll have to take that up with your dad.”

  “I plan to.” He shook his head. “Let’s say I am a familiar, which still makes no sense to me, then what does that have to do with me being a raven?”

  “Familiars are traditionally animals. I guess for human familiars, it means you can shift into that form. Yours just happens to be a raven. Birds are definitely one of the more popular types of familiars with witches, although cats are high on the list too. Hmm. You being a raven shifter might explain your dislike of cats.”

  “And why yours tried to eat me.”

  “Pumpkin did not try to eat you.”

  “I felt teeth. Look, if I’m a familiar, why haven’t I been chased by witches all my life?”

  Pandora thought about what he’d told her about his ex-wife. “I think you have been. At least once.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “You said Lila claimed to be a witch. Based on what I’ve observed in Kaley, I’d say that’s true. Kaley had to get it from someone and it sure wasn’t you. Did Lila also claim to see auras like Kaley does?”

  “Yes.”

  “That explains it then.”

  “Explains what?”

  “You said that in the early days, she treated you like a king.”

  He nodded. “So?”

  “She saw your aura and understood exactly what you were. I think she was trying to get you to bond with her. Or at least reveal yourself as a familiar. When that didn’t happen, she split.”

  Cole swore softly. “She was using me. I guess I always kind of thought that, especially when she left Kaley behind, but hell, I never knew to what extent.”

  He sighed and pushed his glasses back. “Is Kaley really a witch?”

  Pandora nodded. “Yes. And seeing auras like she can? That’s pretty special stuff. A lot of witches claim they can, but most just see vague colors. Kaley seems to be able to read them with the sort of clarity that’s rare.” She hesitated. “Gertrude could read them too, I think.”

  “You mean the old woman who used to live here?”

  Pandora rolled her lips together, wondering if she should say more.

  “What?” Cole asked. “You’re not telling me something.”

  “I don’t know how much more you can take.”

  He laughed. “You’re a witch. From a family of witches. My ex-wife is a witch. Apparently literally and figuratively. Plus my kid’s a witch. And I am probably some kind of animal shifter. All that, and I’m still upright and functioning. I don’t think there’s anything you could tell me that would break me at this point.”

  She kept her mouth shut.

  He reached out and put his hand as close to hers as possible without touching. “C’mon, Pandora. What is it?”

  Goddess help her, she wanted to touch him, but she didn’t want to throw him into that weird shifting fugue state again. She sighed. “Gertrude is still here. Sort of. I ran into her ghost in your attic.”

  He swallowed. “You’re sure?”

  Pandora nodded. “She’s the one who told me what you are. Your great-uncle Ulysses was a familiar too. It’s in your bloodline. And based on what Kaley said about your dad’s aura, he’s also a familiar.”

  Cole pulled his hand back and took a deep breath, exhaling before he spoke again. “You think your family can help? Not just me, but with Kaley?”

  “Yes, absolutely, to both.”

  “Good.” He smiled with weak resignation. “We’ll come to dinner tomorrow night. I don’t know how I’m going to live with this. And Kaley’s going to need guidance I’d never be able to give her.”

  He stared at Pandora’s hand, then slid his back across the table toward her. “I like you, Pandora. I feel…drawn to you in a way I’ve never felt with another woman. If that’s whatever’s inside me responding to who you are, so be it, but I don’t like being afraid of touching you.”

  He raised his head to meet her eyes. “I don’t think I can stop feeling this way either.”

  She lifted her fingers, her instinct to lay them on top of his, but she stopped herself and dropped them back to the table. “I’m okay with that. I feel drawn to you too, despite the fact that I don’t really like you much. Didn’t really like you much.”

  “I’m sorry about that. I’ll work on being more likable. I swear.”

  “I’ll believe that when I see it.” She smiled. “We’ll figure this out. I promise.”

  He stood, putting some distance between them. “I need to call my dad. He owes me a big explanation for why he and my mom kept this from me all these years. I’d really like to know what the hell they were thinking.”

  She got up. “I should go anyway. Work tomorrow and all that. I’ll text you with the time for dinner.”

  “Sounds good. Thanks for not giving up on me. I’m sorry I was such a bonehead about the whole witch thing.”

  “You were just being human.” She smiled, her heart thudding a little at how handsome and vulnerable he looked.

  A thin half smile lifted his mouth. “I’d like to kiss you good-bye, but I’m not sure that would be a good idea what with the shifting and all.”

  “Right. We totally shouldn’t do that then.” But she couldn’t bring herself to move toward the door. “Or I could try to…help with that.”

  “How?” He took a step in her direction.

  “A little suppression spell. That’s the best thing I can think of. You willing to give it a shot?”

  His answer came without hesitation. He threaded his fingers through her hair and tipped her mouth up to meet his.

  She sank into his kiss with none of the hesitation she’d felt the first time. If he wanted to kiss her, she was going to give it her complete effort. She was also going to do her witchy best to keep him from shifting again and freaking out. He could learn to manage that in his own time. With that in mind, she pushed a little spell over him.

  His mouth was hungry and searching and fit hers as perfectly as if they’d been made for each other, which she guessed was kind of the case.

  She could practically feel his pulse thrumming through his skin. Or maybe that was hers. For a moment, it seemed like they were one person, one being, one perfect entity. A whirlwind spun around them, lifting them, making them lighter than air…

  And then he broke the kiss and backed up. His eyes were a little wild, wide and feral with the kind of animalistic need she’d seen in him right before he’d transformed in the attic. She whispered a calming spell on top of the one to suppress his shifting.

  He relaxed and took a breath. “Did you just use more magic on me?”

  She nodded. “A calming spell. You looked a little freaked out. Like you were going to shift.”

  “But I didn’t, right?”

  “No.”

  “Thanks for the help, but it makes me think we need to practice more.”

  “Practice more what?”

  “Kissing.” He reached for her again.

  Half an hour later, Cole had said good-bye to Pandora three times. This time they’d somehow made it stick, and he gave her a wave as she pulled out of his driveway.

  He was crazy. He knew that. But at a certain point, you couldn’t fight the inevitable. So if he was going to be crazy, he was at least going to enjoy himself.

  And Pandora was very enjoyable.

  But it wasn’t just a physical attraction. He felt complete around her. And that wasn’t a feeling any part of him wanted to fight.

  He watched her car until it was out of sight, then went to the kitchen to grab his cellphone and call his father. He walked out onto the back porch to sit as the line connected.

  “Hello, Cole.”

  “Hi, Dad. How are you?”

  “Good, son. How’s that granddaughter
of mine?”

  Where to start? This wasn’t exactly a conversation about the weather. “She’s good. We’re settling in.”

  “Glad to hear it.”

  There was no way to ease into the tough questions, so Cole stumbled through them as bests he could. “I know about the…that is, I think I know. What I mean to say, without sounding like I’m losing my mind, is that I know about the whole familiar thing. Including the shifting. And we really need to talk about it.”

  His father didn’t respond right away.

  Cole cringed, wondering if he was losing his mind. If his dad said there was nothing to discuss—

  Jack Van Zant let out a pensive breath. “I could pretend not to know what you’re talking about, but we’re both too old for that. I owe you an apology and an explanation, but I’d rather talk to you in person about this. You okay with that?”

  Cole would have rather heard everything immediately, but he was just thankful his father was willing to talk. And that he wasn’t crazy. “Sure, but this house isn’t exactly in visiting shape.”

  “I don’t care about that. Any chance to spoil that granddaughter of mine is a good one. I’ll leave first thing in the morning. Be there by noon.”

  Wilmington, North Carolina, was six hours away. “Dad, you don’t have to leave at six A.M.”

  “And miss lunch with my granddaughter?”

  “Uh, Kaley and I have a dinner thing to go to tomorrow night. I’d invite you, but it’s not my place to add someone. I’m not telling you you can’t stay, just that you’ll be by yourself tomorrow night.”

  “I’m happy to sit someplace and read. That house have a back porch?”

  “I’m on it right now.” Not that you could see much past the railing thanks to the riotous overgrowth.

  “Good. See you tomorrow.”

  Cole hung up. The feelings inside him almost defied labeling. He was as unsettled as he was excited, which was plain odd, because to think he’d be excited about being something more than…human went against everything he believed in.

  But if being a familiar meant more time with Pandora, he was all about that. Just the thought of being near her again pumped endorphins into his system. That had to be this other side of him at work. He hadn’t been interested in a woman in ages. Not after the scar Lila had left.