by Sarah Bailey
“But I’m not ready to go back down yet.”
He waved his hand, blue smoke coiling out of his fingertips.
“Just watch.”
The smoke curled around, creating a cloud which cleared in the middle. She gasped when she saw Torin, Etta and Bree in the kitchen.
“I still don’t understand why you’re objecting to my son marrying Lacey,” Etta said, her arms crossed over her chest.
“Have you two not spoken to Lacey today?” Torin asked.
“No, why would I have?” Bree asked.
Torin looked troubled. Grace clutched Alistair’s hand.
“If Lacey didn’t go to Bree, who has she told?” she said.
“I don’t know,” Alistair replied
“Because Lacey was at Alistair’s house last night and discovered Grace there. She threatened to come to you over this,” Torin said.
“If she hasn’t come to Etta or me… Etta, be a dear and call Harriet, find out if Lacey has been home,” Bree said.
“I’m not your dogsbody and we’re not done talking about Alistair and that woman’s daughter,” Etta replied.
“Her name is Grace,” Torin said.
“I don’t care what her name is.”
“Etta, she has never known her mother. She is not Ophelia. And if you’d bothered to look, you’d have seen our son care for someone else other than himself for once in his life. It is clear as day he adores that girl and here you are holding onto old grudges. I do wonder at your priorities. Alistair is happy. Isn’t that what you want for our son or is your need to keep up appearances more important?”
Etta looked shell-shocked. Her mouth opened and closed like a fish.
“Does he normally talk to her like that?” Grace asked.
“No…”
She looked at him. His ears were pink. Is he blushing?
“Is what your dad said true? Do you adore me?”
He was forever teasing her and making her blush. She wanted to see if she could fluster him instead. He didn’t meet her eyes, fiddling with her hand for a moment which was in his.
“You mean everything to me, Grace. We haven’t known each other long, but I cannot imagine life without you.”
Her heart constricted in her chest.
“Alistair…”
“No, let me finish. I worry about you leaving me if all this shit doesn’t get fixed. I worry it’ll be too much for you. Goddess, I can’t breathe when I think about never seeing your face again.”
He looked up at her, piercing sapphire eyes full of turmoil. Her heartbeat pounded in her ears.
“You’re the world to me. The whole world and if you leave me, I might break in half.”
A tear trailed down her cheek.
“I… I won’t leave you. I can’t. You’re my whole world too.”
He brushed away the tears from her face, leaning in to kiss her. She buried a hand in his hair, the other around the curve of his neck. She pressed him back onto the bed, her legs either side of his. His hands went to her hips, gripping them as her fingers ran down his chest.
“I’m yours,” she whispered.
Not caring they should be dealing with the ongoing situation downstairs, she ground against him.
“You drive me crazy,” he groaned.
“I thought you wanted to do bad things to me,” she whispered in his ear.
“Oh, I think you’re the one who wants to do bad things to me right now.”
She kissed him again to silence him. There was a knock at the door. He groaned again.
“Really? Now?”
“You’ll have to wait until we’re home.”
“Home, eh?”
She flushed.
“Back at yours, with Smudge.”
“Don’t you start with that cat.”
Another knock came.
“Alistair, your aunt wants to speak to you and Grace,” Torin said through the door.
“Yeah, coming,” he called back.
She slid off him and got up, stretching.
“Oh, well, look at you.”
She turned, frowning. He was still lying on the bed watching her with hooded eyes.
“Would you get your mind out of the gutter for one minute?”
“That’s no fun.”
“What if I promise you can take me straight home after we’ve dealt with this and make love to me all night?”
He raised an eyebrow.
“Now whose mind is in the gutter?”
“You have five seconds to get off that bed or I’ll retract my offer.”
He scrambled to his feet, looking at her with horror.
“You wouldn’t…”
“You’ll never find out now.”
She smiled at him before he chased her from the room.
§
“If I’d known your boyfriend was such a good cook, I’d have angled for an invite sooner,” Amelia said, sitting back in her chair.
Grace bit her lip, looking at Alistair with adoration. Two months had passed since they’d visited his parents. Things had settled into a routine. She spent so much time at his, her laptop had taken up permanent residence on the desk in his living room. She couldn’t neglect work completely.
“Yeah, thanks for this,” Josh said.
Alistair smiled at the two of them. He’d insisted on making an effort with her friends as they were her only family now her father was gone. His fingers brushed along the back of her neck. A promise of what was to come later. She shivered at the thought of his hands all over her. The man next to her made her feel alive on every level.
“Grace,” he whispered in her ear. “What are you thinking about?”
“What do you mean?”
“You’re all red.”
She put her hands on her cheeks. They were burning. Oh gods!
“N… nothing.”
Now she knew what she’d been missing, she couldn’t quite get enough of him.
“Hey, we’ve got to get going,” Amelia said.
“Oh, okay,” Grace said.
She wanted to spend more time with her friends, but her life was different now she’d discovered she was a witch. Josh knew, but Amelia still had no idea.
“We’ll see you whenever you decide to come home,” Josh said with a wink.
The four of them rose from the table. Grace saw them to the door after Alistair said goodbye.
“You know, you should ask him if you can move in. You spend all your time here,” Amelia said.
“I… I’m not asking him that. It’s only been a couple of months,” Grace said.
Smudge wound his way around her legs.
“And you can spend more time around this little guy,” Josh said, squatting down to stroke the cat.
“You two are ganging up on me.”
“We’re not. You’ve never been with anyone and it’s clear you’re all crazy happy with him. We can get a new roommate,” Amelia said.
“Besides, he has this whole house, it’s not like you’d be in his way,” Josh added.
“Please stop. I don’t want to screw anything up, so you two saying all that isn’t helping,” Grace said.
Amelia kissed her cheek and Josh ruffled her hair.
“We know. See you soon and say thank you to your hot boyfriend again,” Amelia said.
The two of them left her alone with Smudge, walking down the street arm in arm. She picked up the cat after closing the door and went through into the living room. Smudge nudged her face with his and purred his little heart out.
“Now, before we were rudely interrupted, you were telling me what you were thinking about.”
Her eyes fell on Alistair sprawled out on the sofa, flicking through the channels on the TV. How does he always pull off sexy so effortlessly?
“I told you it was nothing.”
Smudge wriggled in her arms, so she put him down. The little black cat trotted over to the sofa, jumped up and curled up on Alistair’s stomach. He stared down at the cat with
annoyance.
“Taking liberties again I see,” he muttered.
“He likes you.”
“He’s your familiar.”
“But you’re my boyfriend and you take care of him.”
He petted Smudge’s head. She walked over to them, sitting on the edge of the sofa.
“Kitty, I know you like sleeping on him, but I’d quite like to cuddle him too,” she said, running her fingers through the cat’s fur.
The little black cat blinked at her. Alistair shifted a little to make room. She lay down on his arm, her face turned up towards him.
“I know what you were thinking about earlier,” he said, his eyes sparkling.
“Then why did you ask?”
“Well, it’s an ego boost to hear your girlfriend tell you how much she wants you.”
“Do you really need yet another one?”
“Always.”
“Well, too bad. I don’t feel like indulging you.”
“Such cruelty I have to put up with.”
Rolling her eyes, she reached up, curling her fingers into the hair on the back of his head. He closed his eyes, lips curving up into a smile.
“Mmm, you always know how to make me feel better.”
“If the cat wasn’t on you right now, I’d make it up to you further.”
“Smudge, please remove yourself from my person so your human can make me a very happy man.”
Smudge looked at the two of them with disapproval written all over his face. She reached down and tickled him behind the ear. The little black cat stood up and jumped off the sofa, stalking away to the oversized armchair and settling down on it.
“Now, what did you say about making it up to me?”
She tugged his face down towards her, giving him a searing kiss. He groaned when she pressed against him, her fingers making quick work of his shirt buttons.
“All I could think about was how much I wanted you to touch me,” she told him. “Every time I look at you, I’m reminded of how lucky I am.”
“Grace…”
“You make me feel like I’m on top of the world.”
His hands were under her t-shirt, fingers trailing over her skin. She fumbled with his belt, wanting him so much she felt as though she was burning on the inside.
“What’s gotten into you?” he asked.
Her hands stilled.
“What do you mean?”
“You’re very eager this evening.”
She thought back to her conversation with her two friends before they’d left. It had rattled her a little. Getting lost in him had seemed like a good idea.
“Am I not allowed to be?”
“You are. I… is there something wrong?”
“You know your habit of reading me too well is irritating.”
He smiled, brushing her hair from her face.
“Talk to me, then I can make love to you without worrying you’re going to have an anxiety attack.”
“It’s something Josh and Amelia said before they left.”
His expression shifted, concern flooding his features.
“They were teasing me. I hate it when they do that. Especially when it’s about you.”
“What did they say?”
“Amelia suggested they could find another roommate because I spend all my time here with you.”
He raised an eyebrow.
“What do you think about that?”
“That they’re being idiots because I’ve only been with you a short time. I don’t want to ruin anything between us. Especially not when things are already tenuous between us and your family. I can imagine what your mother would say. She’s only just about tolerating us being together.”
Bree had been a lot more understanding about them than Alistair’s mother. They’d come to an agreement that they wouldn’t get her involved in the feud with her mother, provided Alistair taught her how to control her magic. An untrained witch was dangerous.
“I don’t care what she thinks. I care what you think.”
“What do you mean?”
“I wouldn’t object to you being here all the time. I haven’t asked you to come live with me because I didn’t think you were ready.”
“You… you want me to?”
“I want you to take this at your own speed, doesn’t matter what anyone else thinks.”
She looked down at her hands.
“I’m not ready for that. I want to be with you all the time but living together is a big step.”
“Then we won’t talk about it again until you are.”
He tugged her into his arms, kissing the top of her head.
“Your happiness is all that matters to me.”
A buzzing sensation against her leg interrupted them. He pulled his phone from his pocket, frowning.
“Oh, great.”
“What is it?” she asked.
“A client needs me.”
“Okay.”
She reached up, pressing a kiss to his lips before she moved, allowing him to get up.
“I won’t be long. It’s just important.”
She smiled at him. He was paid well for his magical services and she understood the need for him to work.
“You’re not going anywhere tonight, right?” he asked, buttoning up his shirt.
“No, I’ll just watch TV with Smudge until you get back. Besides, I won’t be able to sleep until you’ve exhausted me.”
“And now all I can think about is tearing your clothes off and making you see stars. By the goddess, you’ll be the death of me one of these days.”
He leant down, kissing her before he moved away to the door.
“I’ll be waiting for you to make good on that,” she called after him.
She grabbed the remote when the door slammed and flicked through the channels, settling on reruns of MasterChef. The doorbell rang, startling her. Who could that be? She felt weird about answering it when Alistair wasn’t here.
It rang again. She got up, looking at Smudge, whose ears had perked up.
“I’m sure Alistair wasn’t expecting anyone.”
The cat jumped off the chair, following her into the hall. She pulled the door open. Standing on the steps was the last person she expected to see.
Lacey Lux.
Chapter Fifteen
Before Grace could say a word, purple magic flew at her. It wrapped around her throat, rendering her unable to speak. She tried to open her mouth, but no sounds came out.
“Now, you are going to do exactly as I say.”
She stared at Lacey, her heart rate accelerating. Why was she here? She’d been missing for two months. No one had heard a word from her.
“As much as I’d like to make you walk barefoot, I doubt my life would be worth living when she sees it. So, be a good girl and put your shoes on and a coat.”
Smudge coiled his body around Grace’s legs, his hackles raised. She was sure Lacey wouldn’t let her go if she tried to escape and get hold of Alistair. She stepped back, slipping her ballet flats on and grabbing her coat off the hook.
She looked down at the cat, silently trying to communicate with him. Please, find Alistair. The little cat blinked up at her before he dashed out of the front door and ran through Lacey’s legs.
“What the hell? Since when did Alistair get a cat?”
Grace pointed at her throat.
“Oh yes, I forgot, you can’t answer me. Doesn’t matter anyway, come along. Won’t do to keep her waiting.”
Grace shut the door behind her and walked down the street with Lacey. She didn’t know how to break the spell Lacey had put on her. Despite Alistair’s coaching, she still couldn’t do any complex spells. She was able to erect barriers to protect herself and levitate books, but anything involving another person was impossible.
“I’m sure you’re confused why I’m here.”
She nodded.
“You sunk your claws into my man. Alistair was promised to me. If I do this, then he’ll be mine again
.”
She wanted to roll her eyes, but she was too afraid of what Lacey was planning. Alistair hated her. He’d never willingly go to Lacey. She was sure of that much. She trembled at the thought of him. Was Smudge going to find him? What would happen when he found out she was gone?
“Whatever hold you have over him, I’ll break it and things will go back to the way they were supposed to be.”
She led Grace to the Underground. They took the tube towards Central London. Lacey hurried her up the stairs and out onto the street. When they turned into a darker street Grace began to recognise where they were. What? Why?
Lacey tugged her down the steps to the bar where everything had started. Why were they here? Alistair had told her witches disliked the company of vampires. Had Lacey brought her here because it’s the last place anyone would expect her to be?
“Go sit at the bar. Don’t try and leave.”
Lacey shoved her through the door and walked back up the steps. There was no one at the coat check this evening. It was a Tuesday night. She guessed it wouldn’t be too busy. Her assumption was correct. There were a few groups and couples dotted about at various tables.
She took a seat at the bar, fiddling with the hood strings on her coat. She’d left her phone in her bag back at Alistair’s, so she couldn’t contact him nor could she even buy a drink.
“Hello, what can I… Oh. I didn’t expect to see you in here again.”
She looked up to find the vampire she’d met before staring at her. She shrugged.
“Well, can I get you a drink?”
She shook her head.
“Is there anything else you need?”
She pointed at her throat and shrugged. She couldn’t talk to Neave even if she wanted to.
“You can’t talk?”
She nodded. Neave moved away for a moment, coming back with a pen. She placed a napkin in front of Grace. Picking up the pen, she wrote down a single sentence.
‘A witch did this.’
Neave raised her eyebrows.
“It wasn’t Alistair, was it? You know I was concerned when you left with him that night.”
She shook her head.
‘He has nothing to do with this.’
“Are you in trouble?”
She nodded. She didn’t care what Lacey did if she found out she’d told the vampire. She wanted Alistair, but she wasn’t sure Neave would help her if she found out Grace was a witch too.