Tragic Magic: Wards and Wands #3

by Royce, Rebecca

  It really wasn’t. There were other parts of the house that might be called that but not here. No, this was a safe spot. “Thanks for coming in here, waking me, and this.”

  He nodded. “I get to be your hero for five minutes.”

  “I didn’t say hero.” Still, she gave in to the need and snuggled closer against him. “You put that word in my mouth.”

  “Hero.” He smiled broadly. “I’m taking it and owning it. You think I’m your hero, Mel.”

  No wonder he’d always been so popular with women. Elliot flirted whether he meant to or not. The gossip pages had once been filled with him. “Sorry, you must have me mixed up with another woman. We could go pull out the news clippings and see which one you must be thinking of from the write ups of your dating life.”

  Now it was his turn to groan. “Most of that was overblown.”

  “Ah, your honor, please take note that Mr. Boothe said most not all. That therefore means some of it must have been accurate.”

  He tugged her slightly tighter. “Guilty. I plead guilty. I did some stupid things I wouldn’t do again. I hurt some people, emotionally. I wasn’t always as clear as I should have been about my intentions. I learned to be very upfront about things. Like, hey, I’d like to hang out and have a good time, but I’m never getting married, never soul binding, and kids are out of the picture entirely. I think in those early days, when my antics were written about, I was hurting pretty badly watching my father go downhill, and I was just generally a jackass in my early twenties, not thinking about the future.”

  “I’m not here to judge you. I’m… guilty of many mistakes. A woman is dead because of me.” It hurt to say that aloud. “If I’d been more careful this whole mess didn’t have to happen.”

  He ran his hand through her hair. “My first instinct is to say to you, Melanie, that that’s not true. You didn’t cause this. But… I don’t know what you did or didn’t do. If there were steps you should have taken and didn’t, that will be hard to live with. I am sorry this is happening to you. More than I can say. I do know for a fact that you didn’t make Peter Evans kill anyone, you didn’t cause that woman to marry him despite his very well-known history. You didn’t hire an assassin. If intent matters, and I think that it does, this isn’t on you.”

  The heaviness of everything descended on her. “I’m going to cry. I won’t do it on you.”

  “My shirt can be dried. Don’t move. Stay right there.”

  She didn’t know how Elliot had turned out to be just who she needed in this mess, but she’d be forever grateful he was there.

  Chapter 6

  Melanie woke up slowly. She was stiff like she’d lain in one place too long. It took her a minute to recall where she was or who she was with, since the first thing she became aware of was the sound of someone’s heartbeat against her ear and the easy breaths he took in and out. The night before rushed at her, and she remembered it all at once. The bad dream. The emotions. The crying herself to sleep against his chest.

  He smelled good. That was a funny thought, but the most pressing in her mind. It was morning, and he still had the scent of whatever soap he’d used the day before on his skin. She lifted her head, fully expecting him to be awake and annoyed. She’d cried herself to sleep on him, and he’d been stuck all night.

  Instead, his eyes were closed, and from the looks of it, he was actually asleep. She stared at him for a long second. He almost never slept, but he was right now. She laid her head back down. Well, she wouldn’t move and wake him. Besides, how many times in her life was she going to get to lie still with Elliot Boothe?

  She closed her eyes and just breathed. Eventually, he squirmed. A pained expression crossed his face before his lids popped open, revealing the white underneath. For just a second, right there on his face, was such pain it stole her breath. He didn’t have up any guards yet, and she’d never seen him so exposed before.

  He rubbed his eyes with one hand and squeezed her back gently with the other. She hugged him, and he smiled, the mask clearly fixing itself back over his face. “Morning. Or I think it is. Is it morning?”

  She cleared her throat. “It’s morning. Thank you for basically letting me sob all over you and pass out on top of you all night.”

  He moved his hand to run it through her hair. “I haven’t slept in nights but then you snuggled up and you were warm. It was… soothing to have you so close, to feel like there was another human being to get through the night with. I passed right out. I should be thanking you.”

  That was the sweetest thing, and if she really did help him rest, then she was glad. “I can go make us a celebratory breakfast for both of us sleeping peacefully, and then I’m going to tackle your project. But not because I’m your lawyer, I think that ship has sailed, but because I’m your friend.”

  He took her hand, bringing it to his mouth to kiss it. She shuddered. Why had he done that? They’d cuddled but this was… different.

  “If I wasn’t this mess, this shell of who I used to be, I wouldn’t just be your friend.”

  Her heart pounded hard. She forced herself to swallow. “You don’t even know if you’d find me physically attractive.”

  “Oh, I’m sure I would. Long, dark chestnut brown hair. Don’t be too impressed. That is what Edward told me the first day. Big brown eyes.” He ran his fingers down her arm. “Sun kissed, tan skin. I can feel the rest of you. It’s not a pretty way to figure things out, but it works. You have beautiful, smooth features.” He touched her cheek as he’d done several times, running his thumb down her nose this time. “And not to put too fine a point on it, but your breasts have been pushed up against me all night. I’m pretty damned sure I’d find you attractive. I already do. Like a teenager, I’ve got morning wood going on here.”

  Her cheeks flamed so hot she was sure she would be bright red if she looked in the mirror. She’d have been lying if she didn’t at least admit to herself that she wanted him, white eyes and all. “What would you say to me now if you weren’t cursed? If you weren’t in this situation?”

  The corners of his lips curved to an almost smile. “I’d say in my most placating voice something like this.” He cleared his throat. “I can’t commit to you, Melanie. It’s not that I wouldn’t want to. It’s just that I know ahead of time that I can’t possibly. But if you wanted to have a great time, to spend time knowing that we will part ways and move on with it, then I’d be game. If that isn’t what you want, then I get that, too.”

  She touched his lips with her fingertips before she could overthink what she was going to do. There were a million reasons to not kiss him and just one to do it. She listened to that one. She wanted him.

  When her mouth met his, he didn’t hesitate. He kissed her back. They’d spent the night pressed to each other. Maybe this was just hormonal, a result of pure need. She didn’t really care the reasons. He pulled her closer until she lay on top of him for a second before he rolled them both over, his body pinning her to the bed.

  He kissed and kissed her. Melanie lost herself to the feeling. With his hand in her hair and their bodies pressed so close together, if they’d been undressed, she wasn’t at all sure she’d have been able to tell where one of them started and the other ended. Her heart raced with excitement. Yes, she wanted this.

  Elliot pulled back to smile down at her. “I didn’t bring you here to do this. It wasn’t some… plan. I just want you, Melanie. I don’t have a right to want anything right now, but I do.”

  She kissed his chin. “I’m not complaining, Elliot. I’ve heard your speech. I won’t get attached.” Or more attached. “I want you.”

  “It’s hard not being able to see that. There are cues I could miss. Say no if that’s what you want and this stops. I…”

  A loud ringing noise sounded and Elliot stopped. “Someone is here. An approved someone but the house is letting me know someone has arrived. It’s got to be Edward.”

  “Sir?” Edward’s voice sounded in the hall, and Ell
iot sighed.

  He grinned down at her. “I’ll go say good morning to him. He’ll get worried if I don’t. Can we pick this back up later? Please. I’d much rather be in here, but I don’t want him to come looking.”

  She touched the side of his face. “Probably better if we both took a breath anyway. I need to shower and I need some clothes…”

  He nodded. “I’ll get that taken care of for you. Don’t breathe too much. You’re mine alone tonight. I hope. Unless you say no.”

  She wouldn’t be saying no. “Go see Edward.”

  He rose from the bed and very obviously had to adjust his pants. “Fuck. I’m like a teenager.”

  Melanie leaned back on her elbows. One good thing about his not being able to see her was that he had no idea how she ogled him right now. Although, maybe he did, because he winked at her. She lay back down. Men were men, even if they couldn’t see you, she supposed.

  * * *

  The shower calmed her raging hormones, and she emerged from her bedroom—not her bedroom, the butterfly room, she had to remember that—with a smile on her face. The kitchen was empty but stocked with everything she could need. She magically whipped up some coffee before she set out to start this day on a better foot than the last few had gone.

  A pop sounded, and she turned around expecting to see Lawson. At the same time, the house howled. It was a startling, angry noise, and she covered her ears instantly, dropping her coffee, which might have shattered into a million pieces if she hadn’t also magically stopped it from hitting the ground. A man stood in front of her, his eyes wide, his own ears covered.

  “I’m an Enforcer. I’m Danny. Lawson sent me to check on you.”

  The house stopped wailing as Elliot stormed into the room waving his hand. “Then you should ring the fucking bell. It’ll alert us that someone is coming and then give us time to decide if the person is safe. I told Lawson this. Why didn’t he send you that way?”

  Danny sighed. “He likes to test things. Obviously, I’m the security test today. Sorry. It was hard to get through. Took me an hour to make the transference and only then because I’m an Enforcer.”

  Elliot sighed. “The Enforcer arrogance is not exaggerated. If I’d wanted to, I could have killed you. The house is magically set up to do that.”

  It was? She swallowed. Not that she could pop anywhere, but she’d be sure to ring the doorbell, always. Melanie set the coffee cup down on the table magically and took a deep breath. She steeled her back. Clearly, this wasn’t an emergency or Lawson would have come himself or sent Stefan. Neither one of them would have taken an hour to get through.

  Or they’d have rung the doorbell.

  “Hi, Danny. How can we help you?”

  He smiled at her, his gaze catching hers, and she noticed him noticing her, the way that men did. She’d magically cleaned her clothes but that was never as good as changing them. Her hair was still wet, and she hadn’t done it up, although she would when it was less damp. Truth was, un-put-together felt more vulnerable than when she was dressed for battle at work.

  She crossed her arms over her chest and waited for him to speak. Just because he’d given off the I’m attracted to you vibe didn’t mean he would have to follow it up by saying or doing anything about it.

  “Hi, Melanie, ah, sorry, yeah… Lawson sent me. You have lots of people trying to reach you. We’ve been intercepting it to make sure it’s safe. But I’ve brought it to you now. If you want to answer and send it back, Lawson set up a location that will make it safe for you to do so. And we wanted to make sure you had everything you needed.”

  She smiled, taking the paper from him. It wasn’t the same as voices or images, but she’d take the contact however it came through. “Thanks, I’m doing fine. How are things going? Have you found Peter Evans, or if you have, do you have anything you can use to actually charge him?”

  Elliot walked further in the room. “They’re Enforcers. You’re thinking like a lawyer. If Lawson catches Peter, he doesn’t need anything legal to take him, Mel. He’ll be gone, period.”

  Danny smiled. “That is very true. We’re not so much concerned with due process when it comes to these kind of witching criminals. He’s not a petty thief. This is murder and attempted murder using magical assassins.”

  This part of the Enforcer system had always bugged her. People deserved a trial. But she was bathing in hypocrisy because the idea of Peter just vanishing worked for her, too. She rubbed the back of her neck.

  “Well, okay then. I… I’m not in an arguing mood. Thanks for coming by and bringing me the messages.”

  Danny cleared his throat. “Hey, you know I could check with Lawson, but I’d bet it would be safe if you wanted to get out of here for a while if you went with me. I could take you out, keep you safe, and bring you back.”

  Elliot visibly jolted, and Melanie had to control herself from wincing. This again. She realized this was a highbrow problem to have and that there might come a time when she missed having the attention of men wherever she went. But right now she was on the verge of a headache, trying to figure out things for her future, making out with Elliot even though that could go nowhere, and basically trying not to spend all of her time either asleep or crying.

  It wasn’t the time for this.

  “Thank you so much for wanting to take me out. That’s very sweet. But I’m one big goop of baggage. I can assure you that you don’t want to date me. I’m such a mess.” She smiled. “Consider yourself lucky you missed out on this mess. Thanks again.”

  Danny cleared his throat. “Oh, okay. Well, let me know if you change your mind.”

  He popped away. Elliot put his hand on the wall with a clunk. “A big goop of baggage?”

  She waved her hand and groaned. “I may not be at my most articulate.”

  “It’s really amazing. I’ve been with you with two single men now and both of them have asked you out. Does that happen to you everywhere? Do people stop you on the street?”

  With her messages in her hand, she passed by him, patting him on the arm. “Well, you had your tongue in my mouth just this morning so maybe I am irresistible.”

  “No argument there.” He grabbed onto her hand before she could pull it away. “I am going to ask you something totally unreasonable.”

  Well, that was the strangest introduction to a question she’d ever heard. “Um, okay.”

  “Don’t say yes while you’re living here. Can you? I have no rights to anything with you. I’ve already told you that I told women regularly there was no future and you know better than most why that can’t be. I think most women thought the curse was something funny, not real, or something they could break like a reverse Sleeping Beauty. You know what is going to happen to me. For the first time ever, I don’t have to explain to a woman I like why I’m… ultimately unavailable. I won’t do to someone what my father did to my mother and me. I won’t take them down with me. And… you don’t seem afraid of my eyes.”

  She squeezed their linked hands. “Elliot…”

  He interrupted. “Let me finish. I know I’m rambling. I like having you here more than I should. I want to… wow I’m just going to say it… I want to make you come. Over and over. And while you’re staying here, I don’t want to think of you with anyone else. That’s selfish and not fair. I’m still asking. Saying no won’t change anything between us. I… I’m just asking.”

  She leaned her head onto his shoulder. “I can barely figure out anything right now. All I know is I want to be in your bed tonight. How’s that? I don’t want to date anyone. I’m not lying when I tell them that I’m too much for them. It takes a real kind of personality to deal with me, and I’m tired of trying with men who can’t.”

  He scrunched up his face. ‘What do you mean by that?”

  “I don’t want to do this right now. I’m trying to avoid crying or sleeping. This topic makes me want to do both. Come on. I’m going to look at my messages and then tackle your boxes. I like to feel busy.”


  Edward rushed into the room. “I was on the other side of the property dealing with the recycling. What’s wrong? What’s going on?”

  Elliot didn’t drop her hand, instead he squeezed tighter. “Well, it’s a good thing we’re not dead, Edward. No, seriously, don’t worry about it. Security isn’t your job. I realize we have some extenuating circumstances here. A lot of them. Thanks for checking.”

  She tugged on their linked fingers, a motion that Edward definitely noted, and took him back to the study. Elliot wanted to make her come. She could hardly breathe for thinking about that. Yes, she was in favor of that, too. Even if everything was a little fucked up.

  * * *

  She’d place money on Elliot’s mind not being on what they were doing, which was okay because Melanie had gotten pretty good at determining what he’d think they should keep and what they should discard. He was sort of humming to himself and turning at every noise he heard. She wasn’t entirely focused herself. In between boxes, she read her messages.

  Her friends had seen the news before the Enforcers had shut down the stories, and they were worried. She’d answered five before she had to get back to thinking about something else. Too many answers about what happened without actually saying what happened were making her itchy. She needed to send a message where she talked and didn’t just spell cast a response to her parents, Ava, and Eleanor. The last two had been there to see what happened and needed a lot of reassurance. Her mom and dad were just worried, as parents were prone to be.

  She side-eyed Elliot, not sure exactly what he was doing. He seemed to be tapping his foot to a song she couldn’t hear anywhere and every so often he’d bite down on his lip. What was he hearing?

  She spelled a box out of the room to the discarded, finished shelf in the garage when she saw the man. Melanie stumbled backward hitting the desk. Had she really seen what she thought she did? Yes, there was a man staring in the window.