Anica nodded. “Pretty much. The thing is, either I close down for the day . . . or longer, considering I’ll have to reorder supplies. Or, if you’ll—”
“Oh, Anica.”
“Okay, never mind.”
Lily groaned. “I’ll do it, but you know what happens to me after a vigorous magical workout.”
“Can’t you take a sleeping potion or something?” “I’ve tried that and nothing works. I think I’m essentially allergic to wand magic. My system goes on tilt and that’s the end of sleep for at least twelve hours.”
“Then forget I asked.”
“No, no. I can’t leave you in this condition.” Reaching over her shoulder she pulled her wand out of a pocket in her backpack as if unsheathing a sword. “Since you can’t put a protective shield around yourself, you might want to step outside. I’d shield you, but that’ll take more time and energy.”
Yikes! Don’t forget the cat! Jasper let out a plaintive yowl.
Both sisters spun toward him.
“Jasper, you’re supposed to be in the storeroom.” Anica walked over, her shoes making sucking noises in the glop.
“Just take him outside with you,” Lily said. “That way I can handle the storeroom as soon as I’m finished here.”
“Thanks, Lil.” Anica picked up Jasper, made her way to the front door, and unlocked it. “Oh, and don’t forget to fog the windows before you start.”
“Don’t I always fog the windows?”
“No. There was that time you had the wild party in the department store window, and—”
“Anica.”
“What?”
“Let’s remember why we’re dealing with this, shall we?”
“You’re right. Sorry.” Anica tucked Jasper inside the folds of her black cape and stepped into the cold morning air.
“I don’t know which is worse,” she muttered, apparently to Jasper since he was the only one who could hear her. “Being trashed by a roving band of teenage fairies looking for thrills, or being obligated to my sister. Damn it to Hades, why did I have to cast that spell?”
Jasper vowed he was not going to feel sorry for her. He was absolutely not. Never, ever. Except . . . for now.
Chapter 8
Anica deeply appreciated what Lily had done for her. She truly did. But she paid for it by listening to her sister gloat for at least an hour afterward. Lily had to gloat subtly, because Anica had opened the shop on schedule and was busy serving customers, one of whom was her sister, taking full advantage of the free espresso Anica offered.
Caffeine seemed like the last thing Lily needed, but Anica wasn’t about to deny her what she asked for, not after walking into her shop and finding it spotless. She’d locked Jasper in the tidy storeroom, making sure the door was truly locked and not just closed. He’d be fine there sleeping in the suitcase until the morning rush was over.
Her employees could handle the business after that, and she wasn’t worried about more visits from fairies. Besides cleaning the place from top to bottom and replacing all the supplies, Lily had restored the protection spells that would keep Wicked Brew safe from both magical and nonmagical break-ins.
Anica realized that her apartment protection spell probably wasn’t working, either, but she couldn’t bring herself to ask Lily to fix that, too. Lily was already bouncing off the walls in reaction to the magic she’d done so far. Another protection spell would put her on massive overload and increase Anica’s debt exponentially. Anica already owed her sister a lot. And Lily reminded her of it every five seconds.
“Hey, sis.” Lily motioned her over. “What say you and me do lunch later and maybe go shopping? We haven’t shopped together in ages.”
Anica recognized the attempt to create more of a bond between them, which she’d welcome under different circumstances. “Nice idea, but I can’t.”
“Why not? You have good help around here. You can leave the shop for a while.”
Until that moment, Anica had forgotten the other side effect of Lily doing major magic. She couldn’t hold thoughts in her head for more than ten minutes. Anica lowered her voice. “Jasper, my new cat. Remember?”
“Oh, right, right. Jasper. I forgot about him.”
“He drank that special stuff this morning. I don’t know how it might affect him.”
Lily glanced around at the bustling shop. “Oh yeah!” She looked up at Anica. “I’m getting spacey, huh?”
Anica nodded.
“Oh, well.” Lily stood and grabbed her backpack. “Think I’ll hit the department stores by myself. I could use some new clothes.”
Guaranteed she’d max out her credit card. Anica couldn’t stand by and let that happen when it was her fault Lily was in this condition. “Hey, come home with me instead. I’m almost ready to leave.”
“What’ll we do at your place?”
Anica thought fast. It had to be something active, something Lily loved to do. Anica knew in her heart what it had to be, the area where she’d always been weak and Lily was strong. “I want you to try teaching me to dance . . . again.”
“That didn’t go very well back in high school. You stomped off in a huff.”
“I promise not to stomp off this time, and I’d really like to learn.”
Lily got a devilish gleam in her brown eyes. “How about salsa?”
Anica tried not to wince at the image of her attempting salsa. She was so bad at dancing. “Sure, if that’s what you want to teach me.”
Lily grinned. “It most definitely is. I’m smokin’ when it comes to salsa.”
“And I’m not.”
“I know.” Lily looked smug. “This role reversal is working for me, sis. When can we leave?”
“Give me five minutes to make sure Todd and Sally are on top of everything around here. Then I’ll go get . . . the suitcase, and we’ll leave.”
“What suitcase?”
Anica spoke in an undertone. “The one with the cat in it.”
“Oh, that’s right! I keep forgetting about that.”
Anica envied Lily her forgetfulness. Anica was afraid that even after Jasper changed back into a man—and he would, because she was determined to make that happen—this incident would haunt her forever.
Jasper wanted to do nothing but sleep, but that didn’t seem to be his destiny. First he was carted back to the apartment in the suitcase, and nobody could sleep through that jolting experience. They made one stop, and from the smell of the place and the rustling of thin plastic, he identified it as the cleaner’s. At least he’d have clothes to wear when he transformed.
Back in the apartment with both sisters, he endured a whirlwind of cleaning conducted mostly by Anica. She wouldn’t let Lily help by using the wand, which made sense if working magic made Lily hyper. Consequently Anica hauled out the vacuum, which was the signal for Jasper and Orion to dive under the bed, where they had a hiss-off.
Fortunately Orion didn’t try to chase Jasper out from under the bed, which seemed like the only spot to hide from the monster vacuum. Jasper tried reasoning with himself that it was only a vacuum cleaner, a tool he’d used himself a million times. But he’d been a lot bigger then. And he hadn’t had a tail that could be sucked right into that roaring machine.
He and Orion seemed to bond over their mutual fear of the vacuum cleaner. Jasper was relieved that they’d reached detente. He’d hate to have to fight Orion and avoid the vacuum at the same time. A cat could only handle so much stress, especially when he was desperate for a nap.
As a man, Jasper had never been a napper, and yet that seemed to be all he could think about as a cat. He wanted that cozy corner of the sofa where he’d started his snooze earlier that day, before the whole suitcase trip, fairy vandalism and magical restoration deal had interrupted his shut-eye time.
Finally the vacuum noise stopped, and he ventured out just as a Gloria Estefan tune blasted from Anica’s CD player in the living room. Orion stayed under the bed. Maybe the orange tabby didn’t care for
Gloria, but Jasper had always kind of liked her music.
He crept down the hallway and peered into the living room, where Lily was putting on a salsa demonstration that nearly set fire to the carpet. Jasper recognized the sexiness displayed by Lily during the dance, but he was more interested in Anica, who stood in the kitchen doorway, gazing at her sister with obvious envy.
He hadn’t known Anica long enough to find out if she liked to dance. It didn’t really matter, because now that she’d hexed him they were so over. He had no reason to be curious about the dancing habits of a woman he had no intention of dating ever again. He should just find a cozy spot somewhere and take that nap he’d been promising himself.
Instead he settled down right where he was and watched to see what would happen next.
“This isn’t the best album for dancing,” Lily said. “But it’ll be okay for starters. Next time I’ll bring some of mine.”
“I don’t think the music matters when you’re as uncoordinated as I am,” Anica said.
“Of course it does! Everything matters.” Lily stopped dancing and glanced down at her sweat suit. “Even the clothes matter. Let’s go see what we can find in your closet.”
“That’s way too much trouble. I don’t want to change clothes for this.”
“Come on, come on.” Lily beckoned to her sister as she started toward the hall. She paused as she spotted Jasper. “Looks like somebody came out from under the bed.”
“It’s been about five hours since he drank the potion, Lily. Don’t you think we should see some sort of change in him by now?”
“I don’t know. I’ll take a closer look.” Lily crouched down next to Jasper and peered at him. “Sorry, sis. He’s still very much a cat.”
Anica came to stand beside her. “I know, but I wish we’d see something that shows he’s changing back into a guy.”
“Too bad you don’t have cable. We could test him by putting him in front of ESPN with a bowl of beer and a package of Cheez-Its.”
Jasper hissed his disapproval.
Anica laughed softly. “I don’t think he appreciates your stereotyping him like that.”
“Oh, bite me, Jasper.”
It was a tempting thought.
Lily stood. “Enough of this. Let’s raid your closet and find us some hot dancing duds.” She continued down the hall.
Jasper glared after her. Lily was so wrong about him. He didn’t like Cheez-Its. Onion rings went way better with beer.
He sulked for a while as the women discussed clothes. Lily apparently found something of Anica’s she wanted to wear, judging from her exclamations of happiness. Beyond boring. Naptime beckoned, and he was on his way to the sofa to stake out his corner spot when Lily let out a hoot.
“When did you buy this? Talk about wicked! I didn’t know you had it in you, girl.”
“I may not keep it,” Anica said.
So much for Jasper’s plan to take a nap. He retraced his path to the bedroom.
“Of course you’re keeping it,” Lily said. “In fact, you’re going to wear it right this minute. Take off your pants and sweater while I cut off the tags.”
Anica sighed. “All right.”
Jasper arrived in the bedroom doorway to find Lily wearing a black dress she must have borrowed from Anica, which made it indecently short. Jasper spared her one glance before all his attention was claimed by Anica taking off the sweater she’d worn to Wicked Brew that morning. She and Lily hadn’t noticed him, so he crouched on the carpet and waited for the sweater to come all the way off. He might as well know what he was walking away from when he left this apartment tonight.
Quite a bit, it turned out. Even giving credit to a black underwire bra, Anica was built like a goddess. Knowing he was going to ditch her the minute he was himself again, he probably shouldn’t check her out like this. He should go back down the hall and get on with that nap.
Yet he drew comfort from the fact he wasn’t sleepy anymore. Maybe the potion was working, because he shouldn’t be fixated on Anica while she undressed. But he was mesmerized as she kicked off her shoes, unzipped her slacks and stepped out of them.
“I don’t think you’re supposed to wear a bra with this.” Lily held up a red dress on a padded hanger.
Jasper wasn’t much of an expert on dresses, especially when they were still on a hanger, but this one looked promising. The top part was a halter style that tied at the back of the neck, and the skirt sort of floated in the breeze from the heating duct, which meant as it moved it would show off a nice pair of legs.
“You can wear a bra,” Anica said, “but it has to be a halter style. I haven’t bought one to wear with it yet.”
“Then go without.”
“Okay.”
Jasper held his breath as Anica reached behind her back and unhooked her bra.
Just as the bra came undone, Lily stepped in front of his line of sight. He hadn’t meant to growl. It sort of slipped out. Both women turned immediately in his direction.
Anica gasped and held the bra against her breasts. “I didn’t realize he was there.”
“Me, either,” Lily said. “If I didn’t know better, I’d say we have a Peeping Tomcat on the premises.”
“I’ll finish changing in the bathroom.” Anica snatched the hanger from Lily and stalked away.
“I don’t get it,” Lily called after her. “You came really close to sleeping with the guy, so why worry about a little boob show now?”
“Because I never will sleep with him,” Anica said from the bathroom. “I don’t want some man I never intend to sleep with walking around Chicago with a visual of my bare tits.”
“You always were too modest. And speaking of visuals, chances are you’ll see him naked soon, anyway. You two are going to be on fairly intimate terms with each other, whether you want to be or not.”
“I know. I wish there was some way to avoid that, but I can’t leave him alone when the change is taking place. I want to be there in case there’s some . . .” She let the sentence dangle there, unfinished.
Some what? Complete the sentence, damn it! Jasper fought down panic. The whole transformation process scared the shit out of him, and she was only making it worse.
Going from man to cat had been like nothing he’d ever experienced, as if he’d driven his Beemer into a wall at eighty miles an hour. There’d been the shock of impact and then a brief period of total blackness before he realized with growing horror that he was suddenly very hairy and quite vertically challenged.
If he’d thought it was real in those first few minutes after the transformation, he might have gone insane on the spot. But he’d convinced himself immediately that he was in some awful nightmare, and that belief had helped get him through the initial hours. Now he was starting to adjust to his new body.
That was a sobering thought. He was getting used to being a cat. That didn’t mean he wanted to stay that way. It only meant that he was adaptable.
Yet when he thought of changing back again, a sick feeling formed in the pit of his stomach. Would his skin split like the Incredible Hulk’s? Would it be slow and painful, or quick and painful?
Either way he figured it would have to hurt. You couldn’t do something that monumental to an organism without causing trauma. It didn’t take a medical expert to understand that.
For that reason, he wanted somebody else to be there, so he was grateful that Anica had committed to that plan, even though she didn’t want to see him naked. He didn’t want her to see him transform, either, but his fear was greater than his ego. He might need help.
“What do you think?” Anica walked out of the bathroom, her feet bare, her blond hair brushing her white shoulders, and the dress doing amazing things for her body.
Jasper swallowed. He’d been sexually attracted to her before, but he’d had no idea she could look this hot. The dress’s neckline made the most of her eye-popping cleavage. The multilayered skirt had an uneven hem, and when she moved, the layers parted on o
ne side to reveal a creamy thigh.
Lily clapped wildly. “Bravo! It’s the perfect salsa dress. It’s as if you’d planned on learning how to dance.”
“I only wanted to look as if I could dance.” Anica gave her a sheepish glance. “I wanted to fool people into thinking I could step out on the floor any minute, but instead I’d chosen not to.”
“Well, that’s just silly, to go to all the trouble of dressing the part and then not doing it. I’m going to teach you the moves that will make you worthy of that dress. Got shoes?”
“Oh, sure. I bought those, too.” Anica leaned over to rummage in the closet.
Meanwhile Jasper was wishing he could be in the closet, enjoying the view of her leaning over. None of this lusting on his part was good, because he was supposed to hate her. He had a rule—never go to bed with a woman you despise, no matter how hot she is. Naturally he despised Anica for turning him into a cat. Any reasonable person would feel that way.
But how could you despise a woman who was so luscious and so . . . human? Her witchy abilities were intimidating, but not so much now, when she’d lost her magic. He was touched by her worry about her dancing ability, or lack of it. Apparently a witch couldn’t fix everything with a magic wand. At the moment, Anica couldn’t fix a pot of tea with her magic wand, and Jasper could see how much that bothered her.
He wasn’t minimizing the damage to him, not by a long shot. She had plenty to answer for, and he was still a cat, although rediscovering his human libido was encouraging to him. He needed to direct it somewhere else, though, on general principles.
Then Anica brought out the spike-heeled shoes that matched the dress, and proceeded to fasten the ankle straps. God help him, he couldn’t look at those shoes without lusting after the perfection of her legs. He didn’t want to want her, but he couldn’t seem to help it.
“Hooker shoes!” Lily crowed. “Too bad we don’t wear the same size shoe, or I’d be stealing those from you when your back is turned. Come on, sis. Let’s shake it up!” She shimmied through the bedroom doorway. “I saw you ogling her, pussycat,” she said without sparing Jasper a glance. “Don’t think I didn’t.”
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