by Shara Lanel
Kimberly gasped and they turned to gaze at her in surprise. Her eyes were wide as saucers, her face ashen.
“Kimberly, what’s wrong?” Jordan asked.
“She’s a witch?”
Jordan smiled. “It’s okay, honey. She’s a good witch.”
Nina sighed, throwing her a disgusted look. “I’m not a witch. I’m a Wiccan. There’s a difference.”
“Pardon me, Miss Nina,” Jordan teased. She knew Nina hated to be called a witch. “I just thought that would be the easiest explanation for Kimberly.”
“Oh, well, that’s okay then.”
Drake shook his head. “I appreciate the offer, Nina, but her grandfather already tried to have it reversed. It didn’t work.”
“They obviously didn’t know what they were doing. Most any spell or curse can be reversed.”
Jordan snickered. “She’s a poet and doesn’t know it.”
“What?” Nina asked.
Jordan raised an eyebrow. “Most any spell or curse can be reversed?”
Nina frowned. “You’re still drunk, aren’t you?”
Jordan shook her head with a smile. “No. I’m sorry.” She rubbed at her aching forehead. “I’m just too damn hungover to look at this seriously.”
“We have to look at this seriously.”
“There’s more,” Drake said, and a feeling of ominous dread swept over her.
“What?” Jordan asked, not sure she even wanted to know.
“The woman who imprisoned me is trapped as well.”
“So she’s here too?” Jordan sighed.
“Yes and no. For some reason, she can come and go as she pleases.”
Nina scowled and pointed a finger at him “There’s more to this isn’t there?”
Drake nodded with a tired sigh. “Yes.”
“Then we should hear all of it.” Jordan demanded.
“There is a catch to the spell, one that I’d rather not elaborate on at the moment. But suffice it to say, Jordan could be in danger.”
“You have to fall in love, don’t you?” Nina asked, a slight quirk to her lips. “And the woman sees Jordan as a threat because of that. She’s sensed that you’ve already developed feelings for her.”
“Nina,” Jordan hissed.
Kimberly stepped forward, her slim fingers gripping the back of a chair. “Yes, but she also must fall in love with him.”
“Kimberly!” Drake snapped.
“Why wouldn’t you want her to know?” Kimberly snapped back, then paled at Drake’s scowl. “I’m sorry, my lord, but be realistic. She could help you.”
Jordan glanced from Drake’s murderous scowl to Nina’s pleased grin. Is that what all the sex had been about? Had he been trying to make her fall in love with him in her dreams? It would make sense, she supposed. Maybe he thought if he told her up front what he was, she would have been terrified and fled. Would she have been?
She didn’t know for sure. But knowing what she did, how hard would it be to deliberately fall in love with someone? And what would happen once the spell was broken? Would she be setting herself up for a massive broken heart when he disappeared forever?
Bringing her hands up, she massaged her pounding temples.
Oh, God, I have such a damn headache.
“Are you all right, Miss Jordan?” Kimberly asked, concern lacing her soft voice. “Would you like some aspirin?”
“How about the remedy you gave me, Kimberly?” Nina suggested. “It works wonders.”
“Of course. In all the excitement, I completely forgot.”
Jordan sat silent, thinking as Kimberly prepared the drink. As she set it before her the awful smell made her wince. It reeked of garlic and something else horrid that she couldn’t quite name. “Oh, God, what’s in that?”
“Trust me,” Drake mumbled. “You don’t want to know.”
“Oh, now that’s encouraging,” Jordan replied dryly.
Nina chuckled. “Just hold your nose and swallow it down quickly. Don’t stop, because if you do, you’ll not want to continue.”
Jordan stared at her in disbelief. “Is it that bad?”
“No,” Nina said with a shake of her head.
Jordan scowled.
“Okay, it is,” Nina acknowledged. “But it works and that’s the important thing.”
Eyeing the glass warily, she picked it up and pinched her nose. Taking a deep breath, she quickly downed the beige liquid. It tasted rank, like tepid swamp water that had been sitting for months. She set the glass down on the table with a thump, nausea rolling through her stomach. Putting her hand over her mouth, she gagged, trying to keep it down.
“Hold it down, sweetie.” Nina patted her shoulder. “It’s got to stay down or it won’t work.”
Jordan shook her head, unsure that she could. She closed her eyes, trying not to think about the taste, the smell.
Kimberly set a steaming cup before her. “Try this. It’s peppermint tea. It should get rid of the taste.”
Picking up the cup, she gingerly took a sip. She could taste the peppermint with a hint of sweet sugar. She took another, then another, the morbid taste of fetid water slowly disappearing. “Thank you.” She threw Kimberly a small smile.
“Feeling better?”
She frowned, surprised that the headache was now gone. “Yes. Actually I am.”
Kimberly’s face lit up in satisfaction. “Good.”
Setting the dainty china cup back down on the table, she eyed Drake with serious intent. “Okay, Drake. Let’s get back to this ‘having to fall in love’ stuff and the other witch. What exactly can she do to me?”
Drake reached out and touched the back of her hand. Jordan’s first impulse was to pull away, but something in his gaze stopped her.
“Well,” Kimberly began. “She’s already killed once.”
“What?” Jordan yelled.
“Kimberly!” Drake bellowed.
Rene remained in the shadows, quiet, sullen, watching. Kimberly stood her ground, jutting her chin out in determination. “I may pay for this later, but I want this finished. She’s perfect for you and I know you already have feelings for her. I’ve seen how you watch her.”
“Excuse me?” Just where the hell had he been watching her?
Kimberly took a deep breath, forging on. “We can make ourselves invisible. Drake watches you all the time.”
Jordan glared at him as realization dawned. All the times she’d felt someone’s presence. His presence. She’d thought she was only imagining things. “That night in the library when I felt as though I was being watched. And the afternoon in the gallery. That was you.”
“Yes.” He nodded, but wouldn’t look at her. In a gesture of impatience, he used his fingers to brush his hair from his forehead. “If the rest of you don’t mind, I’d like to speak to Jordan alone.”
Nina stood, pushing her chair back, scraping the legs loudly against the antique tile floor. “I think that sounds like a perfect idea.”
“Nice of you to consult me,” Jordan grumbled.
Nina pointed a finger at her, giving Jordan her best ‘I’ve had it’ stare. “Look, Chickie. I cut you some slack because of the hangover, but it’s time to get over it and go talk to the man. I’ve got things I need to do. I’ve got a protection spell I need to cast. Kimberly, I’ll need a few things.”
“Of course, Miss Nina. What do you need?”
“I’ll need some black candles, some rowan—and some sage.”
“Well,” Kimberly glanced toward Rene, and he nodded his head silently. Kimberly returned the gesture and took a deep breath. “I believe I have all those things. They’ll be in the pantry.”
“Perfect.” Nina patted Jordan on the back. “Now. You two go somewhere and talk.”
“Not my bedroom,” Jordan said, her eyes narrowing.
Drake grinned. “It is possible to have sex in the parlor, or the dining room.”
Jordan stood and placed her palms on the table. Leaning forward, she star
ed him squarely in the eyes. “You’re already in enough trouble with me as it is. Don’t push it.”
With that, she walked from the room, not even bothering to see if he followed her.
Chapter Nine
Jordan strolled into the solarium toward the back of the house. Kimberly called it the summer parlor. As soon as the weather was warm enough, the massive windows and French doors were opened, allowing in the warm summer breeze. Wicker furniture was placed around the room to form three different conversation areas. There was even a table—for tea, she supposed, or possibly a late summer breakfast.
Plants were everywhere, giving the room the appearance of a tropical garden. In the center was a fountain. The sound of trickling water relaxed her, and she sat on the edge of the fountain, letting her fingers slide through the cold water at the base.
“I’m sorry for this, Jordan.”
For some reason Drake’s voice didn’t startle her. She’d felt his presence a second before he’d appeared. The fact that he’d watched her still unnerved her, though.
She kept her gaze on the ripples her fingers created as they moved through the water. “You’re the reason my grandfather sent me here, aren’t you?”
“Yes. You were his last ditch effort to free me. I didn’t ask him to. Your arrival was as much a surprise to me as it must have been to you.”
“What will happen to you once the spell is broken?”
“I’m not sure.”
“So if I agree to try and fall in love with you, there would be no guarantee that we would even have a life together.”
“No.” Drake sat down next to her and put his hand on her knee. “You don’t have to do this.”
She shrugged, a ragged sigh escaping her chest. “I think I’m already halfway there anyway.”
Drake gave her a lopsided smile.
“What would happen if I just said the words?” she asked.
“Probably nothing. I think it’s a little more complicated than that,” Drake answered with a sigh.
“You probably have to make some sort of sacrifice. Or maybe I have to.”
Drake brought her hand to his lips and kissed the back of her fingers. Heat traveled up her arm at his tender touch. “I don’t want you to be hurt, Jordan. If things turn rough, I want you to leave.”
“I can’t leave. I have to remain here for six months or I lose everything.”
His forehead creased in a frown. “What?”
“It’s the stipulation in the will. I have to stay here or I inherit nothing.”
Drake’s face flushed in anger and his eyes deepened to navy. A small thrill went through her at how sexy he looked when angry. “Why would he do that? He knew what has happened in the past. He knew what kind of danger he’d be putting you in by forcing you to stay here. What was he thinking?” he snapped as he stood and paced before her.
“He was thinking of saving you. And me.”
“What do you mean you?” he asked as he turned to face her.
“I haven’t exactly had the best luck with men. Maybe he thought you would be the one to make me happy.”
He sat back down and stroked her thigh with his warm hand. A tingle went up her leg that she tried hard to ignore.
“You had said once before that you couldn’t feel passion.” His gaze locked with hers, and she sucked in a breath at the intensity of his stare—the desire within his eyes. He dropped to his knees between hers and caressed her face between his palms. The warmth of his touch sent a jolt of lightening through her flesh. “Whoever told you that was wrong. You’re the most passionate woman I’ve ever met.” A tiny smile lifted the corner of his lips, giving him an impish look. “And I’ve been around a while.”
Jordan chuckled. “You bring out the passion in me.”
His lips pressed against her forehead. “We bring it out in each other.”
“Last night?” she swallowed, trying to remember what happened. “Did we…?”
“Have sex?” he asked, his lips quirking in amusement.
“Yeah. I know we have before. But I can’t remember last night, and there’s a rather large hickey on my neck.”
“No. We didn’t have sex. You were too drunk. I may be a cad, but I’m not that much of a cad!”
Jordan snorted. “You’re cad enough to have sex with me and make me think it was a dream.”
“That was different. You could have said no at anytime.”
She stared at him in shock. “But why would I? I thought I was dreaming. No woman says no to a man like you in a dream. At least not a woman in her right mind.”
Drake chuckled and placed a kiss on the tip of her nose. “I have a confession to make.”
She backed away and eyed him warily. “What?”
“We didn’t have sex, but I did masturbate right along with you.”
The heat of a blush traveled up her neck and face. “I masturbated? On the pool table?”
He nodded, the amusement evident on his face. “Yes. You were quite hard to resist. But I did. After you passed out, I put the mark on your neck. I realized I wanted you to know I was real, or at least as real as I can be. And I wanted you to fall in love with me, not a dream.”
She was so close to being in love with him. Maybe already was. But her fear of the unknown kept her heart hard—kept her from admitting to herself or anyone else what she felt. He deserved to hear her fear, to understand why she was reluctant.
She touched his face with her palm, scraped his whiskers across the flesh of her hand, and traced his dimple with the tip of her finger. She loved his dimples, the way they deepened whenever he smiled in mischief. Closing her eyes, she took a deep breath and kissed his chin.
“I’m afraid falling in love with you would mean losing you,” she whispered.
* * * *
Jordan found Nina in the library, her nose buried in the screen of her laptop. “What are you doing?” Jordan asked.
Nina peeked at her around the screen. “Research.”
“Ah,” Jordan sighed, and sank into the leather chair opposite the massive desk.
“How you holding up, Chickie?”
“As well as can be expected, I suppose. I refuse to let her run me off, Nina. I’m standing my ground.”
Nina smiled. “Good for you.”
“Have I lost my mind?”
Jordan heard a snort from behind the computer, glanced around and grinned at Nina’s rapt interest in what was on the screen. “Was that a snort of agreement or disagreement?”
Nina looked up and stared at her in confusion, then smiled. “Sorry. No, you’re not losing your mind.”
“What are you researching?”
“Drake and Celeste.”
“Oh.” Jordan sank back down in the chair, gazing at the ceiling. “Find out anything?”
“Not really anything we didn’t already know. Celeste was the second daughter of the Earl of Fawnworth. She disappeared the same time as Drake and it’s rumored they ran away together. Quite a romantic tale.”
“Hmm,” Jordan grunted, making Nina chuckled.
“Yeah, I thought you might like that.”
“How’s the spell casting … thingy … going?” Jordan asked with a wave of her hand.
Nina shook her head and leaned back in the chair. “You never did take my belief in Wicca seriously.”
Jordan opened her eyes and stared at her friend. She hadn’t meant to give that impression. “I’m sorry, Nina. Of course, I do. I just don’t understand it all. And besides, you know me. I’m so uptight about all this, things I say come out the wrong way.”
“I know, sweetie. But you’ve got to relax. There’s more nervous energy coming from you than anyone else in this house. Well, I can’t really pick up Drake and the others. It’s strange. It’s as though they’re not even there.”
Jordan snorted. “They’re not. Not really anyway.”
“Jordan, I need you to listen to me,” Nina began, and Jordan sat straighter in the chair, prickles of ap
prehension racing down her spine.
“What?”
“I’m not sure how powerful this Celeste was, or is. My magic may not be strong enough to protect you, so I want you to make sure you watch yourself. Pay attention to your surroundings and if you see anything or sense anything odd, tell me.”
“Of course, I will.”
“Take this very seriously, honey. This isn’t a game.”
“I know it’s not.”
* * * *
Later that evening Jordan slid between the soft sheets of the king-size bed. The weather had turned unseasonably warm and she’d opened the French doors, allowing the breeze to flow through the bedroom. Would Drake come to her tonight? If she called out for him, would he hear her?
As if on cue, he appeared next to the bed dressed exactly the way he was earlier. He smiled down at her, his eyes moving to her nipples, which hardened through the cotton of the sheets. She imagined the feel of his tongue sliding around them, his teeth nipping, and they hardened further.
“I was just thinking of you,” she whispered.
“I’m always thinking of you.”
She smiled and threw the covers back. “Join me?”
“I thought you’d never ask.”
With slow, deliberate movements, he shed his clothes and climbed under the covers. He lay on his side, facing her, and slid his thigh between hers. Putting his hand at the back of her leg, he lifted it over his. The hairs along his skin tickled her flesh and a tremor of awareness skimmed through her.
“Can you sleep?” she asked.
His palm slid up her thigh to her hip, sending heat straight to her already wet core. “Sleeping wasn’t exactly what I had in mind. But no, not really.”
“What about eating?”
“I can go through the motions, but I can’t taste it. I try to anyway because it keeps things a little more normal.”
“That makes sense.” Resting her hand against his pecs, she slowly messaged his nipple, feeling it turn to stone beneath her palm. “How did you get to be so muscular?” she asked, and moved her fingers lower, running them over the hills and valleys of his abs.
“I hated being indoors. If I wasn’t working on the books, I was outside in the garden, working alongside the men in the fields. I liked working with my hands, building things. I miss it.”