Must Be Magic (Spellbound Book 4)
Page 25
Angel stood as a stunning brunette swept inside, her knee-length white dress hugging every curve perfectly despite the fact she must have been freezing in the strapless dress when it wasn’t even 60 degrees outside.
Setting the chunks of pumpkin she’d collected on the counter, Angel felt the unyielding weight of the man’s gaze linger on her. She resisted the urge to look down at him, trying to focus on the woman across the room.
Heads swiveled to follow the furious click of her heels on the wood floor.
“Has anyone seen Cade?”
Everyone buried their faces in their drinks, a few people shaking their heads and doing a horrible job of pretending they weren’t waiting for the woman to discover him behind the bar. Angel spotted Scottie freeze in the doorway, a broom and dustpan clutched in one hand. She retreated soundlessly, shooting Angel an apologetic look.
Apparently Cade wasn’t the only one on his own.
“Cade?” Angel found herself inquiring. Someone had to say something.
The woman gave up scanning the interior of the Come Again to study Angel. No doubt her bright blue sundress splashed with globs of orange and pink-tipped blonde hair seemed a little out of place.
“What does he look like?” Angel asked when the woman in white edged a little too close to the end of the bar where she might glimpse Cade.
“About six-two, brown hair, eyes like the snake that he is.”
Someone coughed, and the country music seemed almost too loud now that conversation had ceased in the room.
“Not a fan of his,” Angel guessed.
The woman crossed her arms, revealing the perfect amount of cleavage, and judging by the practiced move, she probably knew it.
“He’s wearing jeans and a white T-shirt he probably slept in.”
From the corner of her eyes, Angel saw the man in question sniff his shirt and shake his head in disagreement.
Angel pressed her lips together, fighting a smile and tried to stay focused on the brunette.
“What did he do, if you don’t mind me asking?”
Cade inched closer, and his fingers curled around her ankle. Heat surged beneath her skin at the point of contact even though the touch was nothing more than a plea for her to shut the hell up.
“Anything the police are aware of?” Angel pressed, wondering if she should be enjoying herself this much, and it didn’t have anything to do with the green eyes that never left her. “Wanted felon or anything?”
He gently squeezed her ankle and the flash of heat swept all the way to her toes.
Suspecting Angel was up to something, the woman narrowed her eyes. “If he turns up, tell him Shelby is looking for him.” She directed the comment to everyone in the bar.
Surprisingly no one had fallen out of their seats while straining to eavesdrop on their exchange.
Shelby glanced at the counter, taking another step closer, and Angel tensed.
“Why do I get the impression I’m missing out on seeing my brother get his ass kicked by a girl?” a deep voice echoed from the doorway.
Shelby glanced at the newcomer, and giving up on finding Cade inside the Come Again, she stalked toward the door, the echo of her heels even louder on her way out.
“Excuse me.” She waited for the guy to step aside and let her pass.
The man moved out of her path with a sweep of his arm that directed her to the door. “If you need any help, let me know. I can hold him down for you,” he quipped.
With a tight smile, Shelby walked out. The guy laughed then strolled over to join two men at another table. “Coast is clear,” he called out a few moments later.
* * *
Cade let out the breath he’d been holding, one that had nothing to do with narrowly escaping Shelby’s wrath.
“You can probably let go now.” The request that could have been described as breathless finally penetrated his brain.
It took him a moment to realize his fingers were still curled around the blonde’s ankle, and another few to stop staring at her long enough to loosen his fingers and release her. “Sorry,” he murmured, registering Shelby’s fading footsteps on the porch out front.
The blonde let out a low whistle. “Break her heart or just her mirror?”
Cade waited another beat, making sure Shelby continued her search elsewhere before rising. Scottie was going to kill him for destroying the Jack-O-Lantern she’d only finished carving that morning.
The blonde watched him from big blue eyes, waiting. He managed a shrug though nothing about the gesture felt casual. Nothing about standing opposite her felt causal, his pulse unsure whether to slow down or speed up.
He found his voice, conscious of every set of eyes in the room fixed on them. “Some women have a hard time when they realize a guy won’t change no matter how painfully honest he is about that right up front.”
She turned toward him, and that same fire-to-the-gut sensation made him take a step closer. He’d lived his whole life in Sapphire Falls and he knew he’d never met the woman in front of him. Right?
He would have remembered those eyes and the splash of freckles across the bridge of her nose. And her smile, the shy curve of her lips promising he was only glimpsing a hint of the warmth inside her.
“And what were you painfully honest about?” When the blonde stooped to pick up the remains of the shattered glasses, he crouched to stop her.
“I got it.” He reached for the pieces in her hand, the softness of her skin a sweet contrast to the roughness of his own.
She gave up the broken glass a little too quickly, wincing as blood welled along a small slice on the side of her hand.
“Here.” He didn’t give her the chance to object, drawing her hand—and the woman along with it—closer to him. The scent of apples and cinnamon filled his head.
“It’s not a big deal.” She tried to tug her hand free, watching him with the same intense curiosity that pulled at him.
“Cade?”
Cade mentally cursed his brother Ethan, even if his timing moments ago couldn’t have been better.
He pushed to his feet, nodded to his brother without relinquishing his hold on the blonde’s hand, and fumbled for the napkins stacked in a neat pile on the edge of the bar.
“It was my fault.” He pressed the napkin to the cut.
“And far more minor than whatever you did to her I’m guessing.” This time she managed to work her hand free but held the wadded napkin in place.
“Depends on your point of view I suppose.” He kept his voice low, knowing there wasn’t a soul in the place above eavesdropping.
His hoping the bar was hardly the most exciting thing to happen in the Come Again, but there was no shortage of gossip in their small town, and he’d already spent enough time at the center of it.
“Shelby knows I’m not interested in anything serious.” He’d explained it that way at least a hundred times to more than a few women, but this time he found himself almost forcing it out.
The blonde returned to her seat. “Proverbial playboy?”
Cade dumped the chunks of glass and pumpkin in the garbage can behind the bar. “No. My mother taught me never to string a woman along when I know she’s not the one for me.”
The woman brushed her hair over one shoulder, and his gaze caught on the deep pink ends that looked like they’d been dipped in paint. “I didn’t realize playboys were looking for the one?” She picked up her wine glass when he leaned on the bar.
“Doesn’t everyone want to find someone that drives them absolutely wild?” He held her gaze until she glanced away, loving the flush of color that brightened her cheeks.
“And you think one night with a woman is all it takes to figure out if you should get serious?”
Deciding it would be a bad idea to invade her personal space any more than he already had, he turned and snagged a beer from the fridge. He took a sip before sliding onto the stool next to her, willing to risk being late if it meant he got to talk to her for another
few minutes. “You don’t believe in love at first sight?”
She laughed, the sound loosening tension in his shoulders he hadn’t realized was even there. “You sure you’re not talking about lust at first sight?”
He shook his head. “Lust is easy. You look at someone and want to get naked, end of story. But love at first sight… People have been writing about it for thousands of years. I just figure there must be something to it.”
He’d half believed it before today, but looking in the large blue eyes that crinkled at the corners when she burst out laughing, he was nearly convinced. He smiled in return easily, wondering how much longer he could linger when he had deliveries to make.
“I’m Cade by the way.” He offered his hand and wasn’t disappointed when she slid her palm against his in a slow shake that definitely sped his heart up.
“Angel.”
He caught his attention drifting to her smile and jerked his gaze away, taking a long drink of beer that iced his throat. “So…” He gestured to the glass of wine. “Celebrating or lamenting?”
“Maybe I just like wine.”
“Maybe,” he conceded, “but everyone in here is drinking for a reason, whether it’s because the work day is over, they’re blowing off steam, or avoiding a significant other,” he trailed off, “man or woman.”
“Is that your way of fishing to see if I’m into girls?”
She’d hardly be the first in Sapphire Falls if she was. “Hey, to each their own.”
Bill angled his head, and Cade rose and crossed to where the regular sipped on his daily beer. The old guy spoke low, and Cade’s grin widened. “Not interested in anything with a penis, huh?”
A deeper flush of color darkened Angel’s cheeks. “Not too disappointed I hope.”
He left Bill to his beer. “Encouraged actually.”
She frowned like she was trying to piece something together. “You’re clearly not a bartender.”
“How do you know?”
“They’re usually the ones answering questions from customers they haven’t cut off yet, not asking them.” She cocked her head, her teeth catching her bottom lip as she mulled it over. “Maybe a cop?”
“Or just a plain old country boy,” Scottie interjected. She held out the broom to Cade. “I know how you like to clean up your own messes,” she finished a little more sharply than expected.
He followed her hostile gaze that drifted toward the corner where Ethan sat with his back to the room.
That again, huh?
Smart enough not to comment on his brother’s return to Sapphire Falls, Cade took the broom and swept up the remaining splinters of glass. Scottie said something to Angel he didn’t catch while he finished cleaning the floor.
He tugged some bills from his wallet to cover the beer and broken glasses and handed them to Scottie. She stuffed them in one of the pockets on her apron and turned to deal with a customer.
Angel ran her finger around the lip of her wine glass, her expression thoughtful. Maybe even a little sad.
He stepped from behind the bar, pausing next to Angel and giving himself another moment to become intoxicated by the apple scent already branded on his memory. “I hope I can convince you that not all country boys are the same since you seemed to have your mind made up about us.”
Her eyes flicked up to meet his, and she fiddled with the necklace she wore. Her fingernails were painted different shades, her thumb a bright pink where it rubbed the unusual green stone she wore around her neck.
“Outside. Now.” Scottie nudged him toward the door, carefully avoiding the side of the room where Ethan sat.
Cade blew out a breath to settle his insides that were way too fired up. Casting a long look over his shoulder on the way out didn’t help.
“Don’t even think about it,” Scottie warned in a hushed tone. “She’s off limits.”
He didn’t even try to hide the fact that he was peering over her head, wondering if Angel followed their progress the way Ethan did.
She was staring right at him and quickly looked away. He grinned.
Scottie poked him in the chest.
“Hmmm?” Damned if he couldn’t stop smiling.
“What is wrong with you?” She shook her head. “Never mind. You owe me a carved Jack-O-Lantern. A Darth Vader one, by the way.” She turned away.
That knocked him out of his stupor. “Wait, what?”
“I spent three hours on that thing. You can find a template online.” Smiling, she spun around and walked back into the Come Again. “Oh, and Shelby is right behind you.”
Shit.
He turned and found the parking lot empty, but Scottie had already disappeared inside before he could respond to the stunt. Not that he hadn’t deserved it. He grinned as he walked toward the truck loaded with pumpkins, wondering what Angel liked for breakfast.
Pick up your copy of Going Wild today!
Books by Sydney
Pendragon Gargoyles
Primal Instinct
Primal Hunger
Primal Attraction
Primal Pleasure
Primal Temptation
Primal Bounty
Spellbound
Say You’re Mine
Don’t Let Go
Whatever It Takes
Must Be Magic
Going Wild
Shadow Destroyers
Unbreakable
Stripped Away
Storm Warning
Dark Obsession
Single Titles
Busted
Call Me Cupid
By the Light of the Moon
Trust Me
Enslaved
Waitin’ on a Hero
About the Author
A born and raised Maritimer, Sydney Somers fell in love with writing when she finished her first story, Jenny and the Glowing Green Mittens. Thirty novels and novellas later, Sydney is thrilled to spend her days slaying demons, running with shape-shifter packs and making the people in her head fall wildly in love.
When she’s not writing or curled up with a good book, Sydney can be found chasing after her herd of kids, talking her way into a gourmet meal, exterminating rogue dust bunnies or joking about the pending zombie apocalypse. She loves hearing from readers and invites them to contact her anytime.
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PRIMAL PLEASURE Copyright 2017 by Sydney Somers
Cover Design by Crystal Cuffley
All Rights Reserved
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This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are the product of the author’s imagination or used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, or persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental.
Table of Contents
Must Be Magic
MUST BE MAGIC
CHAPTER ONE
CHAPTER TWO
CHAPTER THREE
CHAPTER FOUR
CHAPTER FIVE
CHAPTER SIX
CHAPTER SEVEN
CHAPTER EIGHT
CHAPTER NINE
CHAPTER TEN
CHAPTER ELEVEN
CHAPTER TWELVE
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
Author’s Note
Going Wild
Books by Sydney
About the Author
ook 4)