“As long as it takes.” Evan shrugged. “You’re going to be sitting there even longer than that. After the spell is removed, Anne and I will be putting a shield spell on you to make it more difficult for the witch to put another harmful spell on you.”
“More difficult, but it could be done. Right?” She gave him a considering look. She wasn’t fooled by his assurance. Just his wording told her there were no guarantees.
“Yes, it can be done. If the witch tries, I’ll know and I might be able to track the person by the magic.” Evan slowly slid his fingers up to her wrists and rubbed his thumbs over the soft skin.
Geneva sighed. “Don’t try to fool me. It’s not if, it’s when the person attacks again. If she was going to stop, they would have done it at the first sign of someone helping me.”
“You’re right about that. We’ll have to catch the person and we will. You’ll be safe, Genny.” Evan leaned into the mist surrounding her and feathered a kiss on her lips.
“Get your face out of there. We’re trying to work here.” Anne reached in and cupped her palm over his forehead and pushed him back.
He relaxed back in the chair. Geneva smirked at him. She didn’t know if he was trying to make her smile, but she couldn’t resist responding. He stroked his thumb along the inside of her wrist. She’d love to be in his arms, but she knew that until they were finished with the removal, she’d have to stay in a separate chair.
Eventually, the women relaxed back in their seats. Their hands fell into their laps.
“That’s done and we’re going to have one angry witch.” Anne looked over at Evan.
“I’ll protect my mate.” Evan glowered at his sister. “There’s no need to stress the fact that the witch will attack again.”
Anne just raised a brow and smiled. “Geneva needs to be aware that she can’t relax. She still needs to watch everyone around her. Especially now that she can go places without you.”
Geneva didn’t respond to that. She knew that Anne had meant to remind her of the danger, but suspected there was more to it than that. Anne was pushing Evan’s temper. From what Geneva had seen the two of them were very close. They teased and joked and sometimes got into friendly arguments.
“Let’s get started on that shield spell, Anne.” Evan stood and took the single step necessary to be closer to Geneva. “I want her protected as soon as possible.”
Anne nodded and put her hand on his arm. “We’ll keep her safe.”
The two of them worked quietly together. She felt the magic moving over her. A little heat tingled across her chest. She just wished she knew a little of what they were doing. She felt lost, but watched their every move. She didn’t want to disturb them and cause them to make a mistake. Finally both of them stepped back. Evan reached out and urged Geneva to her feet. She stood, stretching out the kinks with a groan.
“So now I can get back to some sort of normal life.” Geneva tilted her head and looked at Evan. She didn’t try to fool herself. He wasn’t going to withhold his opinion. He’d been protective from the first.
“You mean go back to work. No. The witch will use any opportunity to get to you and a work routine will give the person more chance. You know that witchcraft isn’t the only weapon she will use.” Evan glared down at her and gave a firm negative shake of his head.
“I can’t just sit around doing nothing. It will drive me insane to wait and watch.” She folded her arms across her chest. When she hadn’t been able to get more than a few steps away from him, the restriction had been something she could understand, but she needed to be doing something to help with the search now.
“You won’t be just sitting around and watching your back for the next attack. You’ll be going through files and helping track information on the women who might hold a grudge against you.” Evan smiled at her. “You’re not going to be bored by sheer inactivity.”
Geneva stifled a groan. She’d be stuck behind a desk for most of the day and in spite of what he said very bored. “Might hold a grudge. We’ve been through this. How am I supposed to know who it is? It’s not like I got hate mail. It could be someone I cut off while I was driving.”
“You know it’s nothing that simple.” Evan took her hand and led her to the door.
She grimaced and silently admitted he was right. There had to be something more than a minor inconvenience behind this. This hatred came from something else. Geneva didn’t know what else to call it. The woman was risking everything she held dear to do this so the emotion behind it had to be intense. Geneva walked beside him down the hallway and out the door. She knew searching the files and mission records was necessary. The faster they found out who’d done this, the sooner the danger would be completely gone.
* * * * *
Geneva pushed back from the computer. She stood and stretched. Her arms rose above her head as she reached for the ceiling. The stiffness and tight aching in her back eased a little. It felt so good to be out of that chair. As plush as the cushion was, sitting in it for hours at a time was uncomfortable.
“Now that’s a beautiful sight.” Evan’s voice came from the open doorway.
Geneva turned and found him leaning against golden wood door jamb. His black hair was combed back strictly and he had a dark gray suit with dark blue and gold tie hanging loosely around his neck. He’d just returned from a business meeting.
She smiled. “I’ve always been admired for my fine ass.”
He laughed and came away from the door. As he walked, he pulled off the gray jacket. He tossed the jacket and his tie onto a chair as he passed. She watched as he unbuttoned his shirt. He strode over to her until he stood right in front of her. His body nudged against hers and his thigh slipped between hers. She looped her arms around his waist and leaned back to look up into his face. His big palms molded her hips for a moment before they slipped around to cup her ass. She felt the warmth of his body even through the sturdy material of her faded jeans.
He leaned down and brushed his lips over hers. “I want to see that beautiful butt without the clothes.”
“Well, then it seems to be a good thing that you have a home office. Although having sex with you and knowing someone might walk in as we’re in the moment…” She licked her lips and glanced up at him through her lashes.
“I never knew you had such a kinky side to you, Genny. We’ll have to see just what else you like.” He nipped her lips.
“I think you should have suspected something when you held me down and I only got more excited.” She slipped her hands underneath his shirt, tickling him a little.
“Maybe I should have suspected. I always thought you were such a straitlaced good girl,” he teased.
“Ah, how sweet—” she began but stopped as feeling of lightheadedness hit her. A tingling heat swept up her spine. Her nails dug into Evan’s skin as she held onto him. Her eyes locked with his as the feeling swept all the way down to her toes.
“Evan…” She knew that that sensation had been caused by magic.
“I feel the magic, Genny. It’s another spell. This one didn’t take hold so you don’t have to worry about any possible effects from it.” Evan ran his hands up and down her arms.
“When will the witch know that the spell didn’t work?” She leaned into him. Relief seemed to have sapped the strength from her muscles.
“She will know almost immediately. She won’t be happy. Expect more magic or some kind of attack.” His arms tightened around her.
She groaned and rested her head against his chest. More attacks. More spells. When would it all stop? Would the witch ever be caught? A feeling of desperation hit her. Now that the spell had been broken, they were no closer to discovering the woman’s identity. Anger and fear rose within her. She just wanted it all to end. She knew her life wouldn’t go back to where it had been before, what she had called normal. The big man holding her didn’t seem inclined to let her go even if there hadn’t been danger. Evan definitely had something permanent in mind.
>
“We’ll be ready for her and she won’t get to you,” he soothed. His hands patted gently, if a little awkwardly.
Geneva wasn’t worried about the witch actually killing her. Whoever it was seemed to want her to suffer and Geneva didn’t think that was going to change. Whatever her reason, the witch wanted Geneva to pay. Geneva had racked her mind, but she couldn’t think of anything that would engender that kind of hatred.
* * * * *
Evan watched Geneva swim in the indoor pool at his gym. She’d wanted to go over to one of her friends’ apartments and swim. The idea of her being out in the open and vulnerable had sent chills down his spine. Getting her to agree to this compromise had been difficult. She’d been getting more adventurous lately and it was making him a nervous wreck. He didn’t know if she’d decided that the witch had backed off or what. She wanted to go out with her friends. Evan had been able to get her to settle for them coming to her. He knew that wouldn’t last forever. She wanted the freedom too much and was beginning to get too confident. He didn’t have much hope that she’d calm down and see the danger on her own. He’d probably have to stop her before she was hurt by one of the witch’s ploys.
She’d been working hard on finding some kind of connection, but hadn’t been able to find anything yet. Her frustration had been building with every dead-end she found. Maybe that was part of the problem. Compromise wasn’t going to work forever, for either of them.
“You know sitting there and frowning at me doesn’t seem all that interesting. Don’t you think you could have more fun if you got into the water with me?” She rested her chin on the arm braced on the edge of the pool.
“It’s a public pool, Genny. We’ll both want more than we can have here.” He knelt in front of her, keeping his voice low so that only she could hear the words. “And they have cameras here. I’m not going to have your sexy body plastered all over the internet.”
“Possessive, aren’t you?” she smirked, pushing away from the pool’s edge. She lazily back-stroked the length of the pool.
He’d have loved to haul her out of there and show her just how possessive he was, but the reasons he was keeping his distance hadn’t changed. He waited until she once again came to the surround.
“I never did share very well.” He smiled.
“Well, since you don’t like public pools so much, you might think about having a pool put in. I like to swim.” She stretched, raising her hands above her head.
He rose to his feet and extended his hand down. “You’ll get to swim. I spend part of each summer at a cabin near the ocean.”
She smiled. He saw the wicked light burst into her eyes. He knew what she was going to try even as her slick cool fingers slid over his palm. He tensed, his muscles tightening to pull her out of the water. She planted her feet on the pool wall and tried to tug him off balance. His fingers tightened, holding her. His weight shifted back and his muscles tensed. After a few moments, she relaxed, letting her feet drop away from the wall. He lifted her out of the water. She stood in front of him, beads of water running down her body. She just shook her head at him.
“Nice try. Now go dry off. We’ll go to the store and get some food before we go home.” His hand stroked down her back. His palm settled briefly on her buttocks before delivering a firm swat.
She laughed and scooped her towel off the bench. Padding across the tiles, she went to shower and get dressed. He watched the sexy sway of her hips as she disappeared into the dressing room. He didn’t have to wait long for her to come out of the dressing room. Her hair was lightly damp and she wore only a bit of gloss on her lips.
“Now let’s go. I’m getting a little hungry.” She strolled over and slipped her hand into his.
He led her out of the gym to the car. As he backed out of the parking slot, he spotted two men sitting in a small gray car. That was strange, but he pushed the thought away and maneuvered the vehicle to the lot entrance and onto the street. Stopping at a light, he glanced in his rearview mirror and two cars back saw the gray car with the two men. The SUV’s height allowed him to see over the two sedans between them.
“Geneva, grab my phone.” He pulled away from the light. He couldn’t be sure, but he had a feeling those two men were following them.
She did as he asked, but shot a curious glance at him. “Is something wrong?”
“Maybe. We might have someone following us.” Evan flicked his eyes up to the rearview mirror again.
The car was still there, maintaining pace two vehicles behind them. He turned onto another street, wanting to get a better idea of if the car was really following them. All the same, he didn’t want the men to know they’d been spotted just yet. He looked in the mirror and saw the gray car turn onto the street. He headed for a large store he knew in the area. When the gray car pulled into the lot behind them, he was fairly sure it wasn’t a coincidence.
“Call Mark. Don’t look around when we get out. Just head straight for the store,” Evan instructed. He couldn’t keep the growl out of his voice.
She nodded, already finding Mark’s number in his contact list. He took the phone from her just before she opened her door. She frowned at him, but didn’t say anything about it. He knew he’d probably hear about it later. Mark answered just as she shut her door with a distinct slam and headed for the store.
“Hang on, Mark. I have to go after Genny.” Evan didn’t wait for a reply, before shoving open his door.
He growled and jumped out of the car. He clicked the remote lock on the as he slammed the car door. Gritting his teeth, he chased after her. The woman should have known to wait for him. He caught up to her near the crosswalk.
“Genny, stay close.” He leaned close so that only she could hear him. His palm cupped her elbow.
“Mark, we need some men here. I think we’re being followed.” Evan gave Mark the address and name of the store.
“I’ll send Jay and Dan out to help you. They’ll be waiting when you get out of the store,” Mark said. “If the car follows you again, they’ll be there.”
“Good. I want to know who’s behind this.” Evan felt a little satisfaction at the thought. This could be the chance they needed to catch the person responsible for the spell and the attacks. He snapped the phone closed as they stepped into the store.
“Well, what are we going to do?” she asked.
“Shop. What are you hungry for?” His slid his hand down and tangled his fingers with hers.
“Fish or chicken. Don’t change the subject.” She scowled.
“I’m not changing the subject. We’re going to shop and then we’re going to drive around and see if we still have someone following us.” He tugged her closer and they began walking down the aisles.
They shopped companionably and walked out of the store, pushing a cart loaded with more food than they could possibly eat in one meal.
“What are we going to do if they are still following us?” she asked.
“We aren’t going to do anything. If they are following, Dan and Jake will stop them. I’ll go question them after you’re safely at home.” He looked directly into her eyes. He didn’t want her to get even the slightest idea that she’d be going near those two men.
“The attacks are on me. I deserve to be there, to find out who’s doing this and why.” Her chin lifted and her eyes narrowed.
“You’re not getting near them.” Each word was evenly spaced and hard as iron.
“Damn it, Evan. I have a right to know who it is. And you don’t tell me what to do.” She put her hand on his chest and pushed just to let him know she was serious.
He laughed. “I’m your alpha, little witch. You do as I say. If you need proof, I can give it to you.”
“I’m not a werewolf. So you can’t be my alpha.” She crossed her arms over her chest. “Stop being so overprotective. You’re going to be there. Dan and Jake will be there. Nothing’s going to happen to me.”
“Nothing’s going to happen to you because you�
�re staying at the house. If I have to put guards on you while I’m gone, I will.” He cupped her chin briefly and then urged her into the car while he loaded the groceries.
She gritted her teeth. He would put guards on her. She glared at him as he started the car. There wasn’t much she could do about it. She couldn’t change his mind and as for following him, he’d probably spot her before they got two blocks from the house. If she thought she’d have a chance, she’d give it her best shot. Hell, if she thought he’d just continue on to the meeting after spotting her, she’d do it. He wouldn’t lead her to the two men. He considered it too dangerous and would keep her away from it if he could. The man was consistent in that area.
“I’ll stay, but we’re going to have a long talk when you get home,” Geneva conceded with a nod. She hated being shut out of the details, especially when he and others would have everything under control.
“Yes, we are, but probably not the talk you’re expecting.”
Chapter Seven
Evan drove toward the address Jake had given him. The men had definitely been following. They hadn’t even been subtle about it. Jake and Dan had stopped them. Evan had driven Genny back to his house and escorted her to door. He’d stayed long enough to make sure she’d locked the door. He’d called his sister and she’d agreed to come over to be with Genny. Evan was sure she’d be safe for the short time she’d be alone. The fact that the witch was after her was always on his mind. She hadn’t been happy. Her parting shot hadn’t been at all comforting. What if it was all a trap? What if the witch had hoped he’d leave her alone? He’d almost hauled her out of the house right then. Anne would keep any trouble away from Genny and it would only take a minute for Anne to get there. He pulled into the parking lot where Jake and Dan had the car stopped. Evan picked up his cell phone and started dialing as he stepped out of the car. Geneva answered on the first ring.
“Hello, Evan, I’m still fine.” She sounded annoyed.
“Has Anne arrived yet?” he asked, smiling now.
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