by Larissa Ladd
Contents
Title Page
Description
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Get Cool Stuff
About the Author
The Witch’s Love Spell
Book Two
Larissa Ladd
Copyright © 2014 by Larissa Ladd
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed or transmitted in any form or by any means, without prior written permission.
Publisher’s Note: This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are a product of the author’s imagination. Locales and public names are sometimes used for atmospheric purposes. Any resemblance to actual people, living or dead, or to businesses, companies, events, institutions, or locales is completely coincidental.
Description
Skyler’s new boss, Chad Pearson has gone from her worst enemy to her lover. Things would be great except—how do you tell your lover you’re a witch? Chad, on the other hand has an agenda of his own—to love her and leave, driving Skyler permanently from his life. But his plan is backfiring. The more time he spends with Skyler, the more he wants her in his life. There’s no doubt in either of their minds that Skyler is crazy hot for him. When Skyler asks Chad to play matchmaker for his brother and her best friend, the cauldron starts to bubble and they both learn that combining secrets, lies and magic is like throwing dynamite into a fire!
Chapter 1
“I already told you I couldn’t come over tonight. I’m going dress shopping with my mother and my friend.” Skyler laughed at the pouty face Chad gave her as she buttoned her blouse. The papers that had been on his desk minutes ago were scattered without regard across the floor, and she had just retrieved her panties and Chad’s slacks from where they’d been tossed carelessly.
Working late did have its perks.
“If I’m dropping you off, why can’t I pick you up? Or even hang around and take you back to my place?” He sounded like a petty child, a young, spoiled boy who always got his way.
“I already told you I want to avoid you meeting my mother just yet. You’ll meet her soon enough, but I need time to prepare her. If you stay more than a few minutes, just long enough to meet my friend, she’ll spend the evening trying to pick you apart into small pieces rather than trying to find a dress. I don’t want to be shopping all night.” She lifted her foot and adjusted her high heel. “And as for picking me up, my mother would want to know who’s taking me home and would likely follow me if I didn’t tell her.”
Standing up and smoothing out his clothes, Chad sighed. “You make your mother sound like some sort of evil witch.” Skyler froze at the statement. “In my experience, we all see our parents as worse than they actually are. She can’t be that bad.”
Shaking her head, she assured him, “I’m not exaggerating, Chad. My mother is a force to be reckoned with.”
A knock on the office door made them both jump, and Skyler’s cheeks flamed when she saw the awkward and accusatory smile on the young intern’s face. Opening the door just a hair, he cleared his throat and said, “Sorry to interrupt,” placing knowing emphasis on the word, “but I have the proof of the magazine for your review, Mr. Pearson. I stayed late today because you insisted it needed to be completed.” He held out the magazine.
Chad stomped across the room and yanked it from his hand. “Go home, Devon. And if you want to earn your position here, I would seriously consider working faster so you didn’t have to stay late.” He finished with a harsh look at the man, who was really barely beyond boyhood.
Devon nodded. “Yes, sir. I’ll work faster in the future, and you won’t see me here after hours again.” He turned on his heel and left, and Skyler eyed Chad with amazement. “Do you have that effect on everyone? I mean, is it your goal in life to intimidate people into submission?”
Chad blinked as if not realizing he’d done anything, then laughed. “Sometimes, it’s the only tactic that works. There are people who just think they can get away with anything and that they don’t have to answer to anyone. I’m in charge here, and I don’t need little weasels like him trying to undermine me or thinking that they can blackmail me.” His face was serious up to that point, and then he smiled at her salaciously. “Of course, it doesn’t work with everyone, does it?”
Skyler laughed out loud as he waggled his eyebrows suggestively. “If you’re talking about me, no, it doesn’t work. I don’t let anyone intimidate me. I just . . .” She trailed off. She would just curse or hex them, but she couldn’t say that to Chad. “I just buck up and fight back.”
“I’m not sure I believe you,” he taunted. “After all, you seem pretty intimidated by your mother.”
“Oh, no, you’re not going to use that against me. And when it comes to Ava Duran, I do fight back, fairly frequently. But I also have to pick my battles because if I fought everything, I’d be exhausted down to the bottom of my soul.”
“How very melodramatic,” he mused sarcastically. “Whatever. I guess I can make it through the night without you. Are you ready to go?”
“Speaking of melodrama,” she muttered, nodding, and followed him out to the car.
Chapter 2
They arrived at the mall right on time, and Jayden was already waiting in the food court. She came running up to Skyler, excitement threatening to burst through her skin like she was a balloon with too much helium. “Saks is having a huge sale on jewelry, and there is a bracelet you absolutely have to have . . .” She halted her speech as she finally noticed Chad, and Skyler considered reaching out to wipe the drool off her chin.
“We’ll go look at the jewelry in a minute. First, I’d like you to meet Chad Pearson. Chad, this is my very best friend, Jayden Fisher.”
Chad put on the charm, from his perfect smile to the tips of his toes, as he held out his hand in greeting. “I’ve heard a lot about you, Jayden. It’s wonderful to meet you.” He took her hand and kissed the back of her knuckles.
Jayden gulped. “I’ve heard more than a little about you, too,” she stammered. “You are everything I heard and then some.” Turning to Skyler, she asked, “Is this lovely gentleman going to be your date to the wedding?”
Skyler nodded. “Chad has generously agreed to accompany me to the fiasco. Have you found a date yet?”
Shaking her head and looking nervous, Jayden told her, “I don’t think I can do it. I don’t think I can go and watch him with her.”
“That’s the whole point of this thing, Jayden! My mother infiltrated the system so we could go watch the whole procession fall apart and to make him regret having walked away from you.” Skyler had been fighting with Jayden about this ever since Ava had gotten them invited with her own magic. “And if you can’t find a date, I’ll find one for you.”
“I don’t mean to interrupt,” Chad broke in, “and I’m not privy to all the information here, but I can make some assumptions based on what you’ve said. Jayden, I don’t mean to put you in an uncomfortable spot, but my brother, Van, is single, and you are very much his type. I’m sure he would love to be your escort.”
Skyler said nothing, surprised and impressed by the offer, while Jayden stared at Chad, her mouth slightly ajar. “Does
he look like you?” she asked, suddenly flirty in a way Skyler hadn’t seen her since long before she’d met David.
Chad laughed. “He does, quite a bit, actually.”
Jayden squared her shoulders. “Well, showing up with someone like that would definitely be a blow. After all, David is cute, but he doesn’t hold a candle to you. Would you really set it up for me?”’
“Of course I would. It would be good for Van too. He hasn’t been out in a while.” He turned to Skyler. “I’ll call him tonight. And I assume I’ll hear from you tonight when you’re free?”
She nodded. “It might be late.”
“I don’t care. I’ll wait up.” He kissed her soundly. “Enjoy yourself with your beautiful friend and your mother. I’ll talk to you later.” He turned and left, and Skyler watched after him.
Jayden grabbed her arm. “Be still, my heart! And I get to show up at the wedding with a hunk of meat like that?”
Skyler sighed. “He is about as sexy as they come, isn’t he?” Shaking herself as Chad rounded a corner out of sight, she looked down at Jayden. “I had no idea he was going to do that, by the way. Offering up his brother was all his idea, not mine.”
“I could see that.” She cleared her throat and frowned, sobering quickly. “I’m also not sure what I’m reading from him about you. He’s definitely smitten with you, but I don’t know if it’s the spell or if he’s actually falling for you.” Skyler wasn’t sure she liked the sound of that. “I didn’t get a sense of him being a warlock, but I felt the spell, which I assume is located in the pen inside his jacket. It seems to be radiating into him, but I can’t tell if that’s what’s got his heart pumping so fast when he looks at you or if he genuinely, without the aid of the spell, is crazy about you.”
Skyler cleared her throat and winked at Jayden. “Maybe you can just put the heart pumping up to a round of great sex on his desk in the office.”
Jayden gasped and slapped Skyler on the arm. “I can’t believe you! What sort of person are you turning into?” Her incredulous tone was mostly put on, but Skyler was well aware of her shock.
“What are the two of you going on about over here?”
Skyler groaned. She’d hoped to have a few more minutes to regroup before her mother arrived.
Turning with a false smile of greeting, she responded, “You’re unusually punctual, Mother. What brings you here so soon?”
Ava waved off her insincerity. “Just put away your concerns. We’re shopping today, and that’s going to be amazingly satisfying.” She patted Skyler on the back. “Darling, are you getting ill? You feel quite warm, and your face is a little piqued.”
“I’m fine, Mom. Let’s just do this.”
Chapter 3
“Why are you here, Chad?” Van paced back and forth across the room, which was locked down and barricaded against his escape. This sort of facility was the only place that could hold Van in and get him sober. Now, Chad could see he was ready to leave, his anger bitter but not hot, his body no longer toxic and the alcohol long gone.
Rubbing the bridge of his nose, Chad told him, “I think you should come home now, Van.”
“Oh, really? So, now you decide when I get locked up and when I’m ready to breathe free air. I don’t believe that’s very fair, brother.”
“Van, you had to detox. You can lose complete control of the things that need to be carefully monitored if you’re constantly pumped up with alcohol. I can’t have you like that. It’s a danger to both of us and a bigger danger to others. This time, I think you’re better, and I also have a bit of a carrot to dangle in front of you, if you’ll stay sober.”
Facing him for the first time since Chad had arrived, Van narrowed his eyes in suspicion. “What are you talking about? Are you tossing me a treat, like an obedient dog?”
Chad laughed. “If that’s how you want to look at it, yes. Honestly, I need a favor, and I think it’s one you will enjoy, even if it is to help me.” The scowl of distrust on Van’s face deepened. “I’m accompanying a woman to a wedding in a couple of weeks. Her friend is not excited to go because she can’t find a decent date. I volunteered you to escort her.”
“Oh, lovely, am I to take some hideous girl that no one else will agree to take pity on?”
“On the contrary, Van. Jayden is a beautiful woman who is everything you could possibly want. I believe she is very much your type, and when she isn’t too busy being self-conscious, she also has a lot of spunk.” Watching Van’s face fall as he remembered Leann, Chad almost felt guilty for using Van’s emotions to control him right now. But he really felt it was all for the better. Personally, Chad was feeling feistier and spryer, incredibly happy compared to the last several years, just because he’d been spending time with Skyler. Maybe she couldn’t be a permanent solution; after all, his goal was to get rid of her. But in the meantime, she did him well.
Maybe Jayden could do the same for his brother, restore his healthy outlook on life and remove that brooding attitude that had overwhelmed him since losing Leann. It was the act that had driven him to gamble for the lottery, which had eventually led to his entire demise. Van had been such a great brother. Maybe it was selfish, but Chad missed the camaraderie they used to share.
Van had begun to pace again and hadn’t answered. “Why are you asking me to do this for you? And why are you trying so hard to convince me that I’ll be happy doing so? What’s in it for you?”
At that, Chad guffawed. “I’m having incredible sex with what could be the most beautiful woman I’ve ever met. I want to make her happy so I can continue to enjoy her company and her body.”
Stopping and crossing his arms as he assessed Chad, Van demanded, “Isn’t this woman the same one you’ve complained about? The one who gives you the creeps?”
“Yes, it is, and having sex with her takes the creep factor out. Other emotions and sensations that I’ve been feeling about her make that concern fly right out of my head. I’m in the middle of a plan that’s going to make the woman disappear from my life. In the meantime, I need you to do this for me. And really, what could it hurt? Maybe you’ll never want to see Jayden again, or just maybe, you’ll really like her and, if nothing else, make a new friend.”
“Friends,” he grumbled. “I don’t know what friends are anymore.”
“And that’s the issue. We used to be more than brothers, Van. We were friends. We worked together and played together. I miss my partner in crime.”
Rubbing his face with both hands, Van was obviously in turmoil. “You know what you’re asking is difficult. I hope you realize how much it could hurt me. But I’ll do it, just to shut your whining and begging up right now.” As Chad breathed a sigh of relief, Van continued, pointing at him, “The least you can do is get me a damn picture of this woman so I’m not blindsided when I see her.”
If that was his most outrageous request, everything was excellent. “I’m sure I can handle that.”
“Good. Now, get me the hell out of here. I’m starving, and I’m insanely bored.”
Chapter 4
Skyler watched Jayden fidget and fuss with her dress as they stood outside the venue where the church wedding would migrate following the ceremony. “Stop that, or you’ll look like some kind of paranoid freak.”
Jayden scowled at her. “I don’t know how I let you talk me into any of this. I shouldn’t be here, and I sure as hell shouldn’t be wearing something that shows every roll and flab on my body.”
Skyler smacked her on the arm. “You look amazing, and Van can’t take his eyes off you.” She wasn’t lying; Chad stood about twenty feet to their left, talking to his brother, who seemed to be enjoying a cigar while he continued to stare at Jayden. “When David and his new wife get here, he won’t be able to stop noticing you either.” Jayden’s dress was a sparkling sapphire number that fit tight down to mid-thigh and showed off the curves she had in all the right places.
Jayden sighed. “I still think this was a bad idea, Skyler. Isn’t it a
little stalker-like to show up to your ex-fiancé’s wedding?”
“Not if you have invitations.” Ava’s voice startled them both; they hadn’t expected anyone to open the doors until the rest of the guests had arrived, but apparently, Skyler’s mother was spying on them and breaking even more rules. “Or did the two of you forget that I managed to get those invites from the man himself and his very sociable new bride?” She waved them over. “Come on in. See the fanfare firsthand!”
Reluctant to join her mother but tired of standing in her high heels, Skyler called to the men to join them, and all five of them headed inside. Chad took Skyler’s hand and leaned down to whisper in her ear, “Your mother is a real piece of work.”
Skyler rolled her eyes and muttered back, “Tell me about it. Just try to stay off her radar as much as possible, and the weirdness will maintain its distance.” Chad chuckled, and she was glad she could make him laugh but was still concerned about him spending time with her mother. After all, he was really smart and paid a lot of attention to detail. It wouldn’t be hard to note the little things that were ‘off’ about her family. And then it was only a short leap of faith to figure out their little family secret. Skyler berated herself internally for not thinking to come up with some sort of ignorance spell that would make such details invisible.
“Calm down,” he said soothingly, and she realized she had tensed involuntarily. “Everyone has a little family drama, and we all have kooks in the family. I’m sure your mother is harmless.”
If only that were true, she thought. Her mother, sweet and eccentric though she was, could be very dangerous, as could most of her coven sisters. Honestly, if she wanted to, Skyler could work some very dangerous magic, especially with the aid of other witches like Jayden and Ava. The devastation they could cause was mind-boggling, and Skyler quickly put it out of her head.