by Michele Hauf
“You really debunk vampires?” she asked, as he stood and stretched. “What about witches?”
Dane came out of the stretch with a chuckle. “Bunch of silly women who play with crystals and herbs and think their cats can talk to them.”
“Ah. Wow.”
The man had no idea how many points she would take off for that comment. On the other hand, the less he knew, the better. He’d be shocked to meet a cat-shifting familiar that could talk to humans. She bet he’d never debunked a creature like that before.
“You’re sure?” he asked. “About me taking your car? Do you trust me driving on these roads?”
“They’re clear of ice and snow. Mostly. I trust you.”
She kissed him again. All of him smelled so good, like a place she could cuddle up in to get away from the rain. Or like a long-lost sanctuary that she’d found again.
She patted his chest. “I know your soul.” He gave her a wonky look of disbelief, so she flounced toward the doors. “I’ll get the key!”
Telling him she knew his soul had probably been rushing things more than if they’d almost had sex. And she wasn’t positive she recognized his soul. The whole night had been a heated surrender to passion and lust. It was time to start thinking rationally.
“Like a scientist,” she murmured, as she picked up the car keys from a copper bowl on the kitchen counter.
A scientist who debunked paranormal beings and who thought witches were silly? If they were going to get to know one another any better, Eryss sensed Dane’s every belief would be duly challenged.
Challenge was necessary to a great life. So she’d bring it on, ready or not. The man had just stoked a silly witch’s passions.
Chapter 4
Eryss strolled into the brewery, leaving Dane outside on the sidewalk. With a shovel. The heavens had dropped a light dusting of snow overnight, which left the sidewalk coated, and Dane had commented that it could be dangerous. So she’d gotten out a shovel from the basement storage and handed it to him. He’d grinned at her and accepted the challenge.
Hey, if the guy wanted to comment on their upkeep, then he needed to put up or shut up. Trial by fire, baby. Or rather, by snow.
After shedding her coat and mittens at the end of the bar, she shook out her hair and glanced over the hardwood floor. It was in need of a mopping, which she’d get to soon enough. A clinking sound came from the dishwasher, which was being fed pint glasses by Mireio. Mireio was an early riser and was always first into the brewery. But then, she rarely closed. Such a schedule worked well for all of them and their half-dozen other employees (none of them witches, and none of them aware of their employers’ otherworldly abilities).
“So?”
Eryss met Mireio’s hopeful gaze and knew exactly what she was thinking. And she wasn’t even psychic. Eryss aligned a few pint glasses on the stainless steel counter and then tossed a dishcloth in the sink. “So what?”
“That looks like a fine specimen of man shoveling our sidewalk. Where did you find him? Dial-A-Manhunk?”
“At the party last night.”
Mireio’s eyes widened and she clutched her hands together hopefully before her chest. “And he’s still with you this morning! Ooh! Did you have sex last night?”
“Really? Of all the things you want to know about that amazing hunk of man with the biceps of steel and hair that glistens like black gold, all you can think to ask is did we have sex?”
Mireio nodded eagerly. “What else is there to know? You must have taken him home with you, since you two are together today.”
“I did take him home with me. We made out. But sex would have been pushing it a bit quickly.”
“Good call.” Mireio’s gaze was pinned to Dane. “Maybe? Oh, how could you have not? Look at him!”
Eryss had. And knew exactly what wild and delicious scenarios involving naked flesh and moans and sighs were running through her friend’s imagination. “He’s a scientist.”
“Ooh. A nerd. I love a sexy nerd.” Mireio toyed with her springy red curls. “Don’t find them wandering around Anoka very often. So when will you have sex? Because if you let that one slip out of your hands without tapping—”
“I’ll give it my best shot. The man’s kisses do not lend themselves to patience.”
“Did you tell him you’re a witch?”
“Mireio, he’s a scientist.”
“I got that. Oh, you don’t think he’d believe you?”
“It’s not that I need him to believe anything about me. Since when do we just toss it out there that we’re witches?”
“True. But can you imagine the conversations you’d have trying to convince him you can control the earth and its elements with nothing more than your little finger?”
“I blew his mind with the conservatory. I liked seeing his surprise. But here’s the kicker—he’s a scientist who debunks paranormal phenomena.”
Sudden worry fluttered Mireio’s lashes. “What do you mean?”
“Like he proves vampires don’t exist and thinks witches are crazy old ladies.”
“Oh.” Mireio shuddered. “Not cool. But he saw your conservatory. Who could actually believe something like that can exist without magic?”
“He’s convinced I have heat coils running under the soil.”
Mireio accepted that with a nod and a shrug. “Could happen.”
“Doesn’t matter. I don’t want to get into it with him until I’m sure.”
“Sure you want to have sex with him?” she asked eagerly.
“That. But also, sure that he’s...the one.”
“The one?”
“The one my soul pines for. I had a weird moment of recognition last night with him, Mireio. What if the anacampserote called him here? What if he is the man I fall in love with every time I’m reincarnated?”
“But he doesn’t even believe in witches. I don’t see that working too swell in the romance department.”
“Right. But this man from my former lives might not have always been in my life for very long. He could have been a one-night stand or brief affair on many occasions. How often do we really reveal ourselves to our lovers?”
“If they are quickies, never. Too risky for witches. But if you think he’s your soul mate, don’t you think you’ll have to tell him sooner or later?”
“I would love to have him know me as I know him. But that’s the kicker. I don’t know him. It was just a moment of knowing last night. So I could be wrong.”
“But you want to be right.”
“Goddess, yes. He’s so sexy.” They both turned to watch Dane push snow off the sidewalk outside.
Had she made a mistake by not encouraging him to have his way with her last night? “What am I going to do? He’s only in town for a week.”
“You can make him love you, then spill the beans about being a witch. Or you can tell him now and challenge his beliefs.”
“Sounds like a game. I don’t play games.”
“Oh yeah? What about the one where you think he’s your lost love and you want to keep him close to you without saying anything?”
“That’s not fair.”
“All is fair in love. War just sucks.”
They both laughed, and Eryss couldn’t find an argument against Mireio’s suggestion to challenge his beliefs. She’d invite Dane to dinner. Tonight she’d prepare a feast to seduce. And she would pay attention to every sign she saw or felt toward him. If her soul really did recognize him, she wanted to be sure. And do what she could to help him recognize hers.
* * *
She had prepared a meal to seduce, Dane thought as he rolled the rhubarb wine across his tongue and inhaled the savory scent of tomatoes, garlic and pine nuts from the plate before him. But he didn’t need to be seduced by food. The dress Eryss wore was more than amply urging his desires to the surface. She had on a soft, pink velvet dress that stopped at her thighs and was fringed with delicate lace about her décolletage, which kept drawing his eyes
right there. And when she laughed her breasts jiggled, and then he couldn’t remember what he was doing.
Oh, right, eating. With a fork. That he’d almost dropped onto the plate.
Making the save, Dane cleared his throat and offered, “I liked shoveling this morning.”
“I noticed. You shoveled the whole block. The pet store next door appreciated that.”
He shrugged. “I think I could handle Minnesota once in a while.”
Eryss lifted a questioning brow.
“Mostly. Probably. In the summer, for sure.”
“Does surfer guy miss the waves? Do you surf this time of year?”
“Oh, yeah. Some of the best swells roll in during January. Put me in a heavy wet suit and I’m good to go.”
“But even with a wet suit, the water must be cold.”
“In the fifties. So you see?” He pounded his chest with a fist. “I’m hardy.”
“Then I challenge you to do the polar plunge. I think that’s happening sometime next week over in Saint Paul.”
“Is that what it sounds like?”
She nodded. “Jumping into the lake through a hole cut in the ice. But don’t worry, there are towels and hot beverages waiting to warm you up after.”
“I think I’ll stick with fifty degrees and epic surf.”
Eryss’s giggle lifted her breasts in a jiggly don’t-look-away come-on. The water glass Dane held tilted, and cool liquid splashed his wrist.
“Whoa!” She grabbed the glass and pressed a towel to the spill on the table. “Got it.”
“Sorry.” He reclaimed the glass and set it carefully before his plate. Even a child could manage such a skill as lifting a glass to drink. Of course, children’s distractions were far different from a grown man’s. He smirked at Eryss’s darting look. So he confessed. “You distract me. Your cooking distracts me. The warmth from the hearth fire is distracting in a good way. And everything about you and this house is distracting. I’m normally much more pulled together.”
She stroked a finger along his wrist. “And here I thought I was the only one having a hard time concentrating on the pasta. You know you have a few silver hairs in your beard stubble and above your ears that are devastating to a woman’s better judgment.”
Dane rubbed his stubble, which was trying to become a beard. He wasn’t that old, but indeed, he did have a few silver strands. Had he inherited them from a father he’d never known? The only photo his mother had ever saved of Edison had been taken from the side, and was blurry. He had dark hair in it, but it was hard to tell if gray had yet invaded. “They say a few gray hairs give a man a distinguished air.”
“I’d call it downright sexy. But I assumed you were about my age.”
“Which is?” He managed to fork in a bite of pesto without spilling. Points for the distracted scientist.
“I celebrate my thirtieth in a week. What about you?”
“I’m a January baby, as well. My day is the twenty-eighth. We’re both looking at thirty.”
“That’s interesting! I’d love to read your cards.”
“My cards? You mean like tarot? Wait. Don’t tell me.” He cast his gaze about the kitchen, seeing what he’d seen once before, but this time really taking it in. “You’ve got all the plants, the minerals and crystals sitting everywhere, and you told me you believe in magic. Of course you do tarot.”
“Tarot is not done. It’s read. And yeah, I’ve got skills.” She licked her fork clean, and the sight of her tongue dragging along the silver tines disturbed Dane’s sense of propriety. “I just find it interesting that two people born one day apart have found one another. Our souls are clinging to each other.”
“Souls, eh? Tell me you don’t believe in the afterlife and reincarnation and all that blather.” A necessary rebuttal. He had made the comment to her yesterday about witches being silly. It was a standard reply in his line of work. Couldn’t let anyone actually know he believed in real witches.
“I innately know that I have lived many lives. And your lack of belief in an afterlife, or that souls exist in many forms for many lifetimes, doesn’t bother me. You are a scientist, after all. You’re designed not to see the greater picture.”
“Is that so?” Dane pushed his plate forward to lean an elbow on the table. “All scientists do is seek the greater picture.”
“Unless you’re a microbiologist.”
She had him there. They tended to study the small stuff. But still, there was a vast and greater world within their study.
And Dane’s sudden rising indignation settled. He didn’t want to start a fight debating science and fantasy with this beautiful woman who had successfully plied her seduction skills on him. Not when his eyes again strayed to her cleavage and he suddenly wondered what dessert she would offer.
“You mentioned you’re also a geologist,” she stated. “Besides the debunking stuff, you study rocks, right?”
“That’s a vague and expansive way to summarize what I do. But sure, I study rocks.”
“So if I tell you I use crystals to gain insight and heal myself, then where do you stand on that?”
He chuckled, then saw her nodding as if she’d expected him to react that way. “Well, seriously. Rocks don’t heal.” And that wasn’t a line; he simply knew it to be fact. “And people who claim to read stones or get some kind of voodoo vibrations out of them are...”
“Are?”
He was not going to answer that one, even if she threatened to have him stomped on by a thousand elephants. He might stand on the side of logic, but when a man was trying to impress a woman it was far better to plead the fifth at times.
“Everything is energy, right?” Eryss said.
“Of course. We are all atoms bouncing up against one another.”
“Including this table, the chairs we are sitting on, the rocks on my kitchen windowsill, the ones in the copper bowl down the table there, and those outside hidden under the snow. Yes?”
Whatever point she was trying to make, he sensed he would not agree. But again... “Yes.”
“Energy vibrates those atoms and makes all things living entities. Why is it so hard to believe that two energies can combine to work with each other? The rock and the healer?”
Dane blew out through his nose. She had an infinitesimal point there. But if given time, he’d refute it with ease. More often than not his job did not result in protecting the masses, but rather a mentally unbalanced individual. Eryss was not one of those.
He hoped.
“Will you let me show you something?” She leaned forward, an eager look sparkling in her eyes.
“Always and ever,” he replied without thinking.
She stretched to the side to grab a stone from the copper bowl she had just mentioned. It was an egg-sized piece of rose quartz, roughly cut and unpolished, yet it gleamed in shades of pink and white under the subtle candlelight.
She held it between them. “This crystal is one of my favorites. I use it often on my heart chakra. The energy it puts out is tangible.”
Uh. Huh. Okay, so perhaps she was a kitchen witch of sorts? That was the only explanation Dane had for those women who were involved in such things as chakras and souls and crystals with energies. A ridiculous enterprise. But a harmless hobby, all the same.
Still, it annoyed him.
“Take it.” She held out the crystal.
He decided to amuse her and took the rock. It had a good weight and he couldn’t deny it was a lovely specimen. But it was simply a rock mined from the earth. His studies tended to ignore the beauty and instead read the history within the striations and deposits that the millennia had formed.
“Now.” She straightened and dipped a finger to her décolletage, pulling down the dress a bit to reveal the inner swells of her breasts. “Place it here, on my heart chakra.”
“You want me to...” Dane held the stone before her. His eyes danced over her breasts. He hadn’t touched them last night. Had he been out of his mind? They we
re firm and full, and perfectly sized, and... “You’re not wearing a bra.”
He caught her lift of brow, and chuckled. “Right. I just sounded like a fourteen-year-old boy, didn’t I? I’d apologize, but it’s inevitable a man’s mind goes certain places when a woman slips down her dress like you just did.”
“No need to apologize. I’m not completely without my wiles.” She fluttered her lashes. “But let’s do the energy experiment first. Place the quartz here.” She tapped her chest between her breasts.
So, with as much fortitude as he could muster—but really, it didn’t require anything more than that lash-fluttering invite—Dane pressed the stone against Eryss’s chest. His fingers brushed her warm, supple breast, and he sucked in a breath to imagine stroking his tongue along the skin. Tasting her. He met her gaze and, while she wasn’t smiling, he felt the acceptance and smile in her eyes. He relaxed—and the sudden shock of an electrical charge forced his fingers from the stone.
Eryss caught the rose quartz in a palm.
“What the—” Dane touched his fingertips together. Grabbing the stone from Eryss, he turned it over, checking for compromise. “Felt like I’d touched an electric fence. A weak one, but...”
“That was the energy of the crystal aligning with my chakra. It felt great, you holding it against my skin.” She took the stone from him and replaced it in the copper bowl. “But I suspect, given the proper amount of time, you’ll find a way to refute what you’ve just experienced.”
He wouldn’t refute the experience. Because he had felt the energy. But...how? Okay, sure, if he went deep he knew there were scientific claims that stones and trees and even flowers carried measurable energy. A particle detector could pick up radiation from stone. He’d verified as such many times in the lab. But never by merely placing a rock to a woman’s chest.
“Dane?”
“Good trick. We should change the subject,” he suggested. Because while he welcomed a good debate, he wasn’t stupid. Arguing semantics about make-believe magical stuff would never get him the girl.
“Yes, we should,” she agreed. “A new topic. How about we discuss your distraction.”