This time she did look at him, her shock registering in those big blue eyes. “No, of course not!” she responded, her tone so vehement that he knew she must be telling him the truth. “Do I act like I am?”
“Well, not exactly, but….” He let the words trail off there. The last thing he wanted was to reveal to her how worried he’d been that she would never be able to look at him as anything except some kind of alien creature, one masquerading as a human but not quite good enough at maintaining the façade.
Hayley set down her wine glass, then reached over and laid one hand on top of his. Her fingers were slender, delicate, and yet he could still sense the strength within them. “Levi, you saved me back there. If it hadn’t been for you, those demons would’ve taken me to the Escobars, and the Goddess only knows what would have happened next.” She paused, then went on, “I’ll be honest — it did freak me out a little when you told me about where you’d come from, that you weren’t exactly the guy next door.” The corners of her mouth lifted slightly. “So to speak. But then I realized that part didn’t matter so much. It didn’t change who you were, that you were someone who’d reached out to me, who wanted to help me feel at home here. And it didn’t change how I felt.”
“How do you feel?” Maybe he shouldn’t have asked that question, but he needed to know. People so often cloaked their true sentiments in words they didn’t mean, pretended to feel things they didn’t. It seemed that Hayley liked him, but perhaps she only saw him as a friend, someone to spend time with. She’d just admitted to being discomfited by his origins. Perhaps those feelings were enough to preclude anything except friendship with him.
“‘How do I feel’?” she repeated, then shook her head. “It feels strange to be talking about this at all. We’ve only known each other for two days. But I….” She seemed to stop herself, lifted her hand from his so she could nervously twist the band of silver knot-work she wore around the middle finger of her right hand. “I’ve never been very good at this kind of thing. I don’t know what else to say. If I blurt out everything I’ve been thinking about you, it kind of takes the mystery out of it, don’t you think?”
“Why would you want there to be any mystery?” he asked, genuinely confused. Of all the nuances of human behavior, the one he still had the most trouble with was people’s inexplicable desire to play games with one another.
“Isn’t that how it’s supposed to work?” Hayley shook her head. “Like I said, I’m not very good at this. All I know is — ” Again she paused. “All I know is that I’ve been wanting to do this all day.”
Before he could even blink, she’d leaned forward, placed her lips against his. She tasted slightly of the chardonnay she’d just drunk, but sweeter and even more intoxicating. Her mouth opened, and he tasted yet more of her, felt the blood in his veins sing at the delicious savor of her. And he also felt how his body reacted to her, how he experienced a sudden heat and pressure in his groin. Wanting her.
Needing her.
His hands went up cup her cheeks. How soft her skin was, how smooth and perfect and warm. He could sense how her breathing accelerated, how her heart pounded heavily within her chest. Actually, he had to stop himself from thinking about her breasts, about the way he’d noticed the curve of them in the tight T-shirt she was wearing today, the enticing shadow that lay between them. This was only their first kiss, after all — he could not expect anything more tonight, no matter how much he might want it.
After a long moment, she lifted her lips from his. Her eyes shone, and he could see a flare of color in her cheeks that had nothing to do with the time they’d spent outside today. “I hope that was okay.”
“It was more than okay,” he replied, every nerve ending in his body still thrumming from the effects of that kiss. “It was perfect.”
Her cheeks flushed an even deeper red. “I’m glad. I mean — I didn’t know what else to say, and you were sitting there looking like that, and it just seemed the right thing to do.”
“Looking like what?” he asked, genuinely puzzled.
“Like a Greek god or something,” she said. “I’d never wanted to kiss anyone like I wanted to kiss you right then. And I suppose I figured, well, this was one way to prove that I really wasn’t frightened of you.”
Levi couldn’t help but chuckle slightly at that admission. “True enough.”
Her head tilted as she watched him for a moment. “Was it your first kiss?”
“No,” he replied, and her face fell slightly. He was actually glad that she’d reacted that way; he thought it charming that she’d wanted to be the first woman he kissed. “I did kiss Zoe, but it was more to prove to myself that I truly wasn’t her consort. And I obviously wasn’t, so that was the end of that. There hasn’t been anyone since.”
“Then the girls here in Jerome are falling down on the job.”
He grinned. “I didn’t say they didn’t try.”
Hayley reached for her wine and allowed herself another sip, then set it back down so she could finally help herself to a cracker and some cheese. Before she took a bite, however, she said, “You stopped them?”
“No, it was more that I didn’t allow myself to be put in a position where things might take a turn for the intimate.” Levi realized he was hungry, so he picked up a piece of cheese. Savoring the rich flavor helped him to organize his thoughts, because he could tell from the lift of Hayley’s eyebrows that she was expecting an explanation as to why he’d been so dedicated at dodging Jerome’s eligible female population. “Somehow I could tell that none of them were the right person for me. They’re all very nice young women, but I wasn’t interested in something casual. It didn’t feel right.”
She was quiet for a moment, apparently weighing his words. “But this…this does?”
“Yes,” he said at once. She didn’t respond, and so he went on, “Is this too much for me to be saying right now? I still haven’t quite figured out how the timing of these things is supposed to work.”
At that remark, Hayley gave him a rueful smile, and once again reached over to touch his hand. “I don’t think there’s a right or a wrong way. It’s just…I guess I’m trying to deal with realizing that this thing between us is real. Is it okay to say that, when we barely know each other?”
“Witches and warlocks tend to recognize their attractions very quickly,” Levi pointed out.
“Well, that’s true,” she said. “But you’re not exactly a warlock, are you?”
“No,” he replied. “And yet I have magic flowing in my veins, just as you do. So I would say I’m the equivalent of a warlock, which makes it close enough.”
“A warlock who has access to all our powers at once,” Hayley said. “I’ve never heard of anyone like that.”
She had a point. Levi almost mentioned that Damon Wilcox supposedly could work all kinds of magic, that his talent, in a way, was magic itself. However, he realized that making comparisons between himself and that now-deceased worker of dark magic was probably not a very good idea. Hayley appeared to have accepted him — he knew she would have never initiated that kiss if she’d felt differently — but there was no point in saying something that might disrupt their new and fragile rapport.
“Yes. I can’t say that I’m the same as all other warlocks, because that wouldn’t be true. I suppose all I can do is ask how much it matters to you.”
In response, she leaned forward and kissed him again. This time, he put his arms around her, drew her close. How exquisite she was, how warm and alive and so very, very real.
When they pulled apart, she shook her head. “It doesn’t matter to me where you came from, or who exactly you are. Because I know you’re Levi, and that’s good enough for me.”
He took her hand and pressed it to his lips. She could have no idea what a gift she’d just given him, how he immediately recognized the stirring in his heart, even though he knew now was not the time to give voice to those words. Not aloud anyway.
Instead, he settled
for saying them in his mind, letting them echo in his thoughts. Hopefully, one day very soon he would be able to tell her exactly what he was thinking.
I love you, Hayley McAllister.
7
Of course her phone had to go off soon after that. Hayley was tempted to ignore it, but with everything that was going on, it didn’t seem very wise to ignore a text.
Her brother’s number. Leaving now, the text said. I’ll be home in 20. Burgers at Bordello’s OK?
Shooting Levi an apologetic glance, she typed, Sure. See you then, and shoved the phone back in her purse.
“Your brother?” he asked.
“Yes. He’s on his way home. I guess we’re going out to eat again.” She shook her head and added, “I really need to get to the grocery store and get some actual food so I can cook dinner. We can’t keep going out to eat every night.”
Levi appeared rather impressed by that comment. “You can cook?”
“Well, I wouldn’t say I’m a gourmet or anything, but my mom taught me. ‘A necessary life skill,’ she said on more than one occasion.” Hayley shrugged, adding, “Frankly, it probably would have been easier if my talent was cooking, but what do you do?”
“Your talent is a very important one,” Levi said. He reached out to touch her cheek, and she thrilled all over again at the brush of his fingertips against her skin. Crazy how the smallest of caresses from him managed to light her up inside. “We will have need of it.”
And with those words, the afterglow was abruptly gone. She didn’t want to think about what had happened this afternoon, didn’t want to think about the threat looming over the entire clan. Those kisses from Levi had helped to erase the terror of those moments, but only for a little while. Once again she could see those hideous, unearthly creatures advancing toward her, could see the wall of flame that rushed out to consume them. She supposed she should be relieved that they’d been dispatched with relative ease.
Next time might be much, much harder.
“I suppose so,” she said, hoping Levi would be able to tell from her tone that she didn’t want to discuss it anymore. “Anyway, I hate to kiss and run, but I guess I should get back next door.”
“Are you going to tell your brother about us?” he asked, sounding genuinely curious.
Oh, Goddess, that was going to be a fun conversation. “I’ll tell him something,” Hayley replied. What, I have absolutely no idea…. “And I’ll also have to let him know what happened this afternoon. Brandon doesn’t have much of a temper, but that’s one thing I know will upset him.”
“It is better to be honest. Although you should also tell him to keep it to himself for now, at least until we know how Connor and Angela are going to handle the situation.”
Hayley hadn’t even thought about that. Would they make a general announcement of some sort, or were they going to keep things quiet for a while, hoping that they’d be able to come up with a solution that didn’t involve invoking mass panic? “I’ll make sure he knows to keep quiet about the whole thing. Besides, from what I’ve been able to tell, he doesn’t seem to hang out much up here in Jerome because he’s working all the time.”
“That’s true enough. It doesn’t seem as if he’s done a lot to get involved with the clan.”
Was it her imagination, or had she detected a note of disapproval in Levi’s voice? Well, as an outsider who had been embraced by the McAllister family, he probably didn’t think much of Brandon’s solitary habits. Hayley supposed she could try to explain to Levi that her brother’s behavior didn’t have anything to do with disliking the Jerome branch of the family — otherwise, he wouldn’t have hung around as long as he had — and everything to do with the tunnel vision that descended whenever he was working on a project. Problem was, it did seem as if the shop where he worked had an unending stream of projects. Great for keeping busy and not having to worry about money, but not so great when it came to the socializing end of things.
“Brandon always was kind of antisocial,” she said lightly. “But now that I’m here, I’ll see what I can do to get him out a bit more. Anything coming up that I should know about?”
“There are always bands at the Spirit Room on Friday night,” Levi replied. “That might be a good place to start, especially since he only has to walk half a block to get there.”
That prospect sounded halfway promising. If there was beer involved, she might be able to coax her brother out of his flat. “I’ll see if I can figure out a way to mention it.” Then she went on her tiptoes, gave Levi a quick kiss, just to show that she would rather stay here with him, but that she needed to go meet her brother.
He seemed to understand, because he smiled as he walked her to the door. “I’ll see you tomorrow, though?”
“Absolutely. I’ll come over after Brandon’s gone to work and I’ve gotten myself put together.”
Levi touched her hand briefly, and then Hayley slipped out and hurried over to her brother’s flat. It all looked exactly as she’d left it, but then, why wouldn’t it? The place had been empty all day. She thought of everything that had happened — the demon attack, the kisses she’d shared with Levi — and reflected that it felt as though she’d been gone much longer than a mere eight hours or so.
With a start, she realized that everything she’d bought in Old Town Cottonwood was still locked up in the cargo boxes in Levi’s truck. Well, she hadn’t bought anything perishable; the accent pillows and picture frames and whatnot could wait until the next day. She just hoped Levi didn’t plan to run down the hill to go grocery shopping or something, because he wouldn’t be able to fit anything else into those boxes with all her stuff crammed in there.
No, she very much doubted that he’d be going down to Cottonwood tonight. Angela and Connor had made it pretty clear that they didn’t want anyone going out at night alone…or alone in general. Those strictures suited Hayley very well, because they meant that she had a perfect built-in excuse for spending as much time as possible with Levi.
The half-smile that had touched her lips at the thought of being with Levi almost every waking moment faded abruptly, however, as she realized that her brother was driving home alone in the dark. A chill struck her, and she grabbed her phone from her purse and tapped out a quick text.
You almost home?
No answer right away, and the icy feeling in the pit of her stomach intensified. That road was so winding, and so dark. Anything could happen along its lonely twists and turns. Hayley tried to tell herself that her brother had driven the highway to Jerome hundreds of times and could probably do it in his sleep. Besides, what would demons want with her brother? Brandon had a powerful talent, true, but unless the Escobars suddenly got it into their heads to compete in an episode of Dream Machines or something, kidnapping a warlock who happened to be a mechanical wizard didn’t make a lot of sense.
Unless, of course, they were really only concerned with causing as much mayhem as possible, in which case, the random murder of a McAllister warlock might perfectly suit their needs.
To her infinite relief, her phone buzzed then. Just parking now, the message read. U must be hungry.
I am, she typed back. Just wanted to check.
I’ll be up in a minute.
She put the phone back in her purse and realized her hands were shaking. That wasn’t good. She needed to look calm and collected, as though she’d just spent an ordinary day exploring her new home. Yes, it would come out soon enough that her day had been anything except ordinary, but better to approach this slowly. Too bad they were going out to eat again. That particular conversation would have been a lot easier to manage someplace where they could talk in private.
Well, she’d talk about the demon attack, and sort of ease into the whole Levi thing and see where things went from there. If she was lucky, maybe there wouldn’t be a lot of outsiders at the restaurant. To be honest, once the shops closed, there didn’t seem to be much to do in Jerome. With any luck, most of the tourists would have gone back
down the hill and over to their hotels and condos in Sedona, and she and Brandon would be surrounded by locals.
Almost before she’d completed the thought, the door opened, and her brother stepped inside the flat. He tossed his keys on the table next to him and then paused, sending her a narrow-eyed look. “You okay?”
“I’m fine,” she lied. “It’s been kind of a long day. And there’s some…stuff…I need to talk to you about.”
He didn’t look terribly thrilled by that reply, but at least he only said, “All right. Give me five minutes, and then we’ll head down to Bordello’s.”
Crazy name for a restaurant, although Hayley knew that Jerome had been a pretty wild town back in the height of its copper-mining days. “Okay.”
Another probing glance, and then Brandon shrugged and headed back to the bathroom. She heard water running, heard the wooden floor creak as he went into his room and shut the door. At least his job had apparently made him a master of the quick clean-up, because it probably was less than five minutes before he emerged wearing a clean T-shirt, his dark blond hair combed back from his face.
“Ready?”
“Yes.” Hayley got up from the couch, retrieving her purse as she did so.
“You might want a jacket,” Brandon told her. “It’s getting kind of cold out.”
“All right.” A coat rack stood on the other side of the door, and she’d hung her brown suede jacket there the day before as she was unpacking her things. Now she paused to set her purse on the floor so she could slip into the jacket, then slung the bag over her shoulder.
She noticed that Brandon didn’t put on a jacket, but refrained from commenting. He didn’t play the protective big brother very often, although every once in a while that sort of behavior would slip out.
The Goddess only knew how he’d react when she told him about what had happened earlier that afternoon.
They went downstairs and walked down Main Street. As Hayley had thought, it didn’t look very busy, although she heard the sounds of acoustic guitar and drum coming from inside the Spirit Room as they passed. So there was something going on up here. She wondered if the bar had live music every night, or just as it got closer to the weekend.
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