Hex in High Heels

by Linda Wisdom

  “Sure. Excuse us, Jen.” Jake gratefully took his chance for escape and led Stasi over to booths that still needed painting.

  “It was nice meeting you,” Jennifer called after her.

  “You, too.” Although Stasi might not have sounded particularly sincere, she still had the polite bit going on.

  Jake deliberately chose one of the end booths.

  “How mad is she?” He squatted down and pulled out a screwdriver to open a can of paint.

  “Think Mt. Vesuvius and Mt. St. Helens combined, and that’s only the starting point.” She waited a beat. “You hurt her, Jake. You never said one word about having a fiancée. It wasn’t good for Blair to find out this way.”

  His shoulders stiffened. “Jen’s not my fiancée. She’s the Pack’s attempt to strengthen the bloodline. Since my parents came from strong lines, they want to increase it with Jen’s family line. They came up with this plan when we were young and it was not my decision.”

  “If that’s what they want, why didn’t they match her up with Roan?” She glanced up and noticed that Roan had reached Jennifer before one of the elves had. A low snarl of warning from Roan kept the little guys at bay.

  “I don’t know, since that would make a hell of a lot more sense.” He kept his voice low. “When I left the Pack—”

  “Don’t tell me, tell Blair,” she interrupted him. “Unless I’m badly mistaken, she’s the one who matters. If you’re smart, you’ll find a way to tell her before the potluck; I’m sure Jen will be there along with Roan and a few others.”

  “Do you think she’ll bother to listen before she lets loose one of her infamous revenge spells?”

  “That could be tricky. You’ll need to be fast and find a way to make her listen to you, but I think you won’t have to worry about her taking more than a few strips off your hide.” She thought for a moment. “Well, maybe she will. But if you’re lucky she might kiss it all better after she finishes. You’re the Were. Show her that side.”

  “I told her my life was complicated, but she didn’t believe me.”

  “And I’m sure she told you yours is no biggie compared to ours. Okay, I know what to do. Go off and do what you need to do. I’ll take care of this.”

  Jake straightened up and smiled. He pressed a light kiss against her forehead. “Thanks, Stasi.”

  “Don’t thank me. I have to live with her, you know.”

  Jake moved off, aware not only that Stasi’s attention was on him but that Roan and Jennifer also watched his movements. He felt his temper heat up, all of it directed at Roan, since he knew who was the instigator. He felt his muscles tense and begin to bunch up with the anticipation of getting into a pissing contest with Roan. Sensing Jake’s fury, Roan flashed a smile that declared loud and clear that he was confident who the winner would be in that battle.

  That’s what you think, Jake thought to himself. Things have changed over the years, and you’re not the only one who can fight dirty.

  ***

  “And you’ll be nice tonight.” Stasi and Blair chose to drive down to the town hall since they had a large pot of chili and pans of corn bread in the back of the SUV.

  “Yes, Mother,” Blair drawled with teenage sarcasm for what had to be the millionth time.

  “I watched Agnes out there this afternoon and I swear she was in her element. Oh, I don’t just mean directing everyone. She’s always loved doing that, and we’ve all let her because none of us wants the job, but I swear she was practically mothering those elves, and they ate it up.”

  “She was that way this morning, too. If she adopts them, the town will never be the same. Although I have to admit I’m impressed with her getting them to shower and wear clean clothes along with pretty much keeping their grubby little paws to themselves.”

  “And none of them tried to pinch my butt or even look at my breasts.” Stasi parked in the small parking lot behind the town hall that was already filled with cars and trucks, including a snazzy BMW that they knew didn’t belong to anyone in town and a few other vehicles they didn’t recognize.

  Once out of the Explorer, Blair opened up the back and reached for the large pot.

  “Blair.” Stasi stopped her before she picked it up. “Please remember what I said about Jake. He has no feelings for that Jennifer at all.”

  “Judging by what she purchased in your shop, she has feelings for someone.” Blair recalled standing there and watching Jennifer pick out a couple thousand dollars worth of lingerie. Only Horace’s swift intervention had kept her from “tweaking” one of the scented sachets Jennifer also bought.

  “Easy to tell that Grady chose the music,” Blair commented as Lynyrd Skynyrd belted out “Sweet Home Alabama” from the hall’s aged stereo system.

  “Personally, I would have chosen ‘Animal I Have Become’ and see if any howling would come up.”

  The hall was already half filled when they stepped inside and headed for the long tables set up for the food offerings. Along the way they smiled and greeted friends and Blair determinedly didn’t look for Jake. Not that she had to. She already knew he wasn’t there. She would have sensed him the minute he entered the hall.

  But Roan was there, along with Vera, Jennifer, and several other Weres.

  Blair kept her smile firmly fixed on her face as Roan introduced her and Stasi to Vera, who once again didn’t let on she’d already met Blair. Blair was only too happy to keep up the pretense while hearing faint sneers from Fluff and Puff. For a moment she was tempted to let them out, but knew it wouldn’t be fair to anyone else in the large hall. The men and women that accompanied Roan were introduced only as colleagues.

  She thought all was well until Mrs. Benedict cornered her while everyone was lining up to get their food.

  “Is there something different about those resort people?” she asked Blair in a soft voice.

  “As in what, Mrs. Benedict?” Blair leaned down a bit, since the elderly woman was five feet nothing and almost as round as she was tall.

  The woman appeared to choose her words. “As in, they’re like you, but not like you.” This time she whispered, although she had herded Blair into a corner so they couldn’t be overheard. Blair hoped there was enough background noise that none of the Weres could easily eavesdrop. “I couldn’t say this to many, but I know you would understand. Ever since last fall I’ve sometimes sensed people aren’t, well, normal. Sometimes I even feel there’s something odd about Jake. Not odd as you two are, but different. And I sense the same with those resort people. And it doesn’t feel right.”

  The last thing Blair wanted was the elderly woman worried. “Maybe there’s just something you don’t like about them.”

  “Well, that Roan Thorpe thinks he’s hot stuff, as you girls would say, but I don’t see it. Also, have you heard wolves howling some nights lately? It surprised me, because there haven’t been wolves up here for years. I mentioned it to Floyd and he almost clapped his hand over my mouth.” She appeared more angry than upset by that. “He said we mustn’t worry Mr. Thorpe about such things. He wants the man to think it’s a paradise up here. Although I can’t imagine Mr. Thorpe buying the resort without having done a lot of research on it first.”

  “That sounds like Floyd,” Blair said dryly, positive she was one of the few who saw humor in the thought of Floyd protecting Roan from the possibility of wolves in the district. “I wouldn’t worry too much about it, Mrs. Benedict. Ten to one someone’s dog got out and was having a high old time in the woods. Remember last month when the Morrises’ husky was out and about? And he howled every time Floyd tested the town’s warning siren?”

  “That’s true. Carrie Anderson got the children a dog. Some type of retriever that she lets run wild, and he digs everywhere. I shooed him out of my garden just this morning. While there isn’t anything there right now, I don’t want him returning in the spring. Maybe that’s what I heard, since I know the Morrises are keeping their dog inside.” She sniffed, catching sight of Mr. Chalmers
, who had been filling plates for the two of them. “Oh dear, he knows he can’t eat that. The doctor told him he has to watch his salt intake.” She patted Blair’s hand. “Thank you for listening to an old lady’s worries without laughing at me.” She bustled off.

  And that was when the hairs on the back of Blair’s neck stood on end and she felt electricity zinging through her veins.

  Jake had just entered the hall.

  ***

  Damn it! Why did Blair have to make it difficult for him?

  She had dragged Stasi to a crowded table with no room for him. She had even conversed with every damn person, and Were, in the room except for him. By the time dessert rolled around and Agnes stood up at the front thanking those who had worked out by the lake today, he was ready for a confrontation and the little witch was going to listen… or else.

  He waited until she left the table to use the ladies’ room and he was there in a flash. When she exited, he grasped her wrist and dragged her out through the back door.

  “What are you doing?” She pulled back, but there was no way he was letting her go, even if he had to throw her over his shoulder.

  “We are going to talk,” he said grimly, hauling her over to his truck, pushing her up into the interior, then activating the lock while he loped around to the other side. He knew she could easily have disengaged the lock and considered it lucky that she didn’t. Not that her closed expression looked all that promising.

  “Why didn’t you tell me, Jake?” she asked quietly, too quietly. “It’s not as if you didn’t have any chances. Even if it were not something most people would bring up in casual conversation, you could have found a way to say, ‘Oh, by the way, I’m engaged.’ You could have said it any of the times you were over for dinner. Or when you revealed your Were self to us last fall. Or maybe the night you took me to Grady’s.” The lights in the parking lot were dim, but the inside of the truck was as bright as day thanks to Blair’s anger. “Or gee, one of those times we had sex?”

  Her voice cut him to ribbons and he knew he deserved it.

  “There was no reason to mention something that was no longer an issue.”

  “No longer an issue? So the woman who’s considered no longer an issue just came up here for the spa or skiing? And she sure hung on to you a lot today. I thought you told me everything important that night.”

  “I did tell you everything that was important. Jen wasn’t part of that. She never has been. I had no idea that she was going to show up here or that Roan would claim she was still my fiancée, when it’s not true. He obviously said it to get a rise out of you, and it looks like he succeeded,” he said, twisting sideways to rest one arm on the steering wheel and the other along the top of the seat. Blair had scooted as far back as she could until she almost climbed up the door. Her arms were crossed across her chest as she stared at him. It didn’t take an expert in body language to tell she still wasn’t happy with his explanation.

  But now he realized there was no more anger in her eyes. There was hurt. And he knew he was the one who had put it there.

  “The families spoke of a bonding match when the time came; it was one of those unspoken agreements that when Jen and I reached maturity we would become mates. But I knew I didn’t feel anything toward Jen other than the affection I’d feel for a sister, although her interest in me was stronger than that. I couldn’t understand that since I wasn’t exactly prime match material. Personally, I don’t think she loved me as much as the idea of loving someone who was an outcast. Being enthralled by a bad boy. Because I wanted to do the right thing, Jen was the first to know when I decided to leave the Pack,” he said slowly. “She even offered to leave with me, but even if I had loved her, I wouldn’t have allowed it. She’s the type that needs the Pack. I don’t.”

  Blair relaxed, but only a bit. “If she’s up here, that means they want you back in the Pack. Why?”

  He shook his head. “I don’t know and I don’t care, because I have no desire to return. I can’t believe Roan would want me back, even if I’m no threat to his position. Vera sure wouldn’t and I wouldn’t be surprised if she doesn’t have her own agenda in all this. The only woman who has my attention is the one sitting across from me.” He raised his hand to her cheek. She lifted her hand to cover his with her own.

  “I have a temper.”

  He grinned. “I know.”

  “I was going to give you an oozing rash.”

  “I was afraid of that.”

  “She’s very beautiful.”

  He gazed deeply into her eyes. “She’s not you.”

  “Oh, puppy, you just said the right words.” Blair threw herself against him. He was lucky the door was secure or they would have tumbled to the ground.

  Jake grasped her face and brought her to him, kissing her deeply and with the hunger of a man who needed a Blair fix. He nudged her lips apart and swept his tongue, relishing her taste, inhaling the jasmine and vanilla fragrance that wafted from her warm skin with the sharper tang that announced her arousal. Her moan, traveling up from deep in her throat, assured him there was no vengeance on her mind, just old-fashioned desire. She inclined her head enough to nip his throat before she returned to his mouth, while she tunneled her hands under his shirt to circle his nipples and pinch them hard enough he felt it all the way down to his cock, which was trying to stand at attention even if his jeans were in the way. While he devoured her mouth, he blindly fumbled with his fly, almost tearing off the metal buttons as he tore it open. She shifted around to push down his jeans while he worked on her jeans. The scarlet ribbons tied in a delicate bow on her hips were a surprise, but he wasted no time loosening them and pushing her scanty panties down.

  “I’ve only ever truly wanted you,” he growled, gripping her hips and pulling her down on him.

  She hissed with delight and threw her head back as she wiggled until she was firmly seated on his hips. She made short work of pulling off her sweater and camisole and each rocking of her hips sent shock waves through his body.

  Jake already knew that sex with Blair was incredible, but what was going on now was even hotter and wilder. He ignored the steering wheel jammed in his side and the gearshift that could seriously ruin the moment if they weren’t careful. He ignored the thought that someone could walk out into the parking lot at any time, although their body heat had steamed up the windows so that he assumed no one would be able to see in.

  “No one can see in or even sense what we’re doing,” Blair breathed in his ear, nipping his lobe with her tiny sharp teeth.

  His laughter rumbled up his chest. “A bit of your hexy doing again?”

  “Of course.” She ran her nails down his chest, scoring lightly around his nipples. “I want to be mad at you.” She kissed him again, tasting him, offering her flavor in return as she moved her hips in a rhythm that brought shock waves through both of their bodies.

  “I want to fuck you until the world knows you’re mine.”

  She pressed down hard with her hips as she leaned toward him. “No reason to do that when I’m already yours. But I won’t stop you from doing it again. At least we won’t have to worry about Horace showing up.” The rocking of her hips increased in tempo until she felt the fire build hot and fast within her. Jake’s hold on her body kept the intensity strong and before she knew it, they both exploded. If he hadn’t been holding on to her, she would have slid off him and the seat.

  Blair collapsed on top of Jake, struggling to catch her breath.

  “At least we didn’t shatter any windows,” she said.

  Jake wanted to remain there, with Blair wrapped in his arms, but he knew even with her masking spell they couldn’t stay there forever. As if she knew it too, she slowly straightened up and pulled up her jeans without bothering to fix her panties and pulled down her sweater while Jake rearranged his clothing. A moment later he helped her out of the truck and she looked as neat and tidy as she had when she had first arrived at the hall. He wanted to drag her back into
the truck and recreate every second spent there.

  When she started back for the building, Jake pulled on her hand. “There are those in there who will know what we did out here.”

  She knew exactly who he meant. Once they went back inside, the Weres with their supernatural sense of smell would have no doubt that she and Jake had engaged in wild screaming sex out here.

  Her face glowed from a combination of sex and devilish behavior. “Exactly.”

  ***

  “How did they leave the hall without anyone noticing?” Blair grumbled as she and Stasi went through their kitchen with Jake following them.

  “Who cares?” Stasi directed Jake to set the pot and corn bread pan in the sink. As usual, they hadn’t brought back a speck of food. “It’s not nice to gloat, Blair. Especially about having sex in the parking lot.” She patted Jake on the shoulder. “No, she didn’t tell me. Her self-satisfied smile said it all, and I’m pretty sure all the elves knew, too.”

  “Maybe next time we should just put up a sign to announce it to everyone,” he drawled.

  “Nah, more fun to let them guess.” Blair grinned.

  “I’m off to bed.” Stasi wiggled her fingers at them and headed down the hallway with Bogie floating after her. “Good night, you two.”

  “Now, where were we?” Blair walked into Jake’s arms for his kiss. But it was sadly short-lived. The lamp in the room suddenly flashed red.

  “Someone’s breached our wards.” Blair moved toward the back door, but Jake pulled on her arm to stop her.

  “Stay in your room, Stasi,” he called out. “I’ll take care of this,” he told Blair firmly.

  Jake’s nostrils flared as a familiar scent reached him while Blair whispered the words to stop the flashing lights.

  “You know who it is, don’t you?” She followed him to the back door, which he pulled open with more force than necessary and stepped out onto the landing. “Jake?”