“Not at all. It adds to the anticipation. So what are you doing here? I thought Seb wanted you until five?”
“I was so tired from the exercises that I had to take a nap and eat over there. He didn’t want to tax me too much, so he released me until tomorrow. I went to see Selby, and now I’m here.”
“How is he?” Leo entered the conversation with a clinical tone of voice.
“He’s very appreciative, and he doesn’t see me as betraying him at all like I thought he would.”
“You’re doing your best,” Dave mumbled between bites. “And spoiling us rotten.”
“I wanted to ask you a favor. Before I go back to witch school, I’d like to have a full night of sleep so I’m prepared for it. In other words, can you go home and rest before taking my night shift as well as yours? I’ll hold down the fort here.”
“Is all this protection really necessary?” Leo asked angrily.
“We don’t know. But we’d all rather have an annoyed doctor than a dead one.”
“Annoyed is certainly true. How long?”
“Seb, who is equally annoyed that his regular security presence has increased so much, has declared that if there’s not an incident in five days, we’ll stop. Today was day one, so you’re stuck with us until Friday night.”
“Damn it.”
“You don’t like my scintillating company?”
“You know I like you, man. But come on, all this protection is killer.”
“No, having you hunted down would be killer. And yeah, Skylar, I’ll take your night shift. But instead of staying here, can you go outfit the house some more? I know I don’t have a bed for instance.”
“You’re great. I’ll call Dymhna, and see what she’d like.
“Remember she’s only four floors down.”
“That’s right.”
“I’ll give you the money this time since she got it the last time. Four thousand again?”
“I can certainly get a lot for that, and even be home to make food.”
“Leo, please make sure we leave in time that we can eat her dinner.”
“No promises but I’ll try. I like a good meal as much as the next guy. Now I’m in surgery tomorrow, but I’ll get you cleared to be in the waiting room.”
“Perfect. Also, friendly advice: get rid of that receptionist. You don’t want her scaring away the customers before you get to meet them,” Dave commented.
“I’m so busy I don’t have time to get a new one.”
“I’ll have an agency send someone by. I’ll interview them Wednesday, and we’ll get someone better. I can handle it for the rest of the day; I’m pretty familiar with these systems.”
Leo was very unsettled. He was having a hard enough time getting Skylar out of his thoughts when she wasn’t there, but now she’d shown up again, looking sexy as hell. It reminded him how much he wanted her. He hated denying himself a taste of those lush lips, but he had to stay away. If he touched her, he’d just bind himself to her, and that’s what he had been avoiding his whole life. Worse, she was staying in his house.
He even tried to fill his thoughts with the physician’s assistant he had considered asking out. But he couldn’t even remember her name, and Leo found himself comparing her to Skylar and lacking. He didn’t want this, not at all. He wrote the check and wasn’t sure if he was glad she left or if he wanted her to stay.
He worked especially hard, as if to keep his mind off her. But in between discussing breast enlargements and tummy tucks, he thought of Skylar again and how she would never need something like that. As someone who made his money by examining the facial structures and bodies of his clients, he could see that she was perfectly made as far as he was concerned.
Dave was so efficient that he was sorry he hadn’t gotten a new receptionist already. At least that would change soon. By the end of the day, he was getting a number of little messages from Dave telling him that it was time to leave. Indeed, Leo did his paperwork and skipped most of the extra little things he did before going home. He had made most of his notes between patients anyway.
He and D reached the house at about the same time, and Skylar’s car was already there. She rushed to the door as the three of them approached.
“Damn. I thought you’d be the delivery men.”
“Delivery?” D asked.
“Leo wanted me to continue working on revitalizing the house. It’s amazing that when you buy enough and throw in a little tip how quickly they’re willing to bring all the furniture.” She was dressed in sweats, her blond hair partially out of the ponytail she had tried to restrain it in. She was still attractive, and he had to restrain the impulse to free her hair. The longer he was around her, the worse he wanted her.
“I’ve been cleaning more.” Indeed, the entry way gleamed.
Skylar had had an equally difficult time keeping him from her thoughts all day. She didn’t understand what was going on, but she really wanted him, and it just kept getting worse. He just seemed so uninterested, and so far she had resolved not to act on her desires if he didn’t return the interest.
Today, she had felt as if she were being watched, but she couldn’t be sure. It was probably nothing. Besides, the doorbell rang with her new deliveries, those that she hadn’t been able to fit in her car.
She had equipped another guest room, though not as nicely as hers. There were new leather couches, a new coffee table, and a large rug for the living room too. Skylar still had money to buy some art for the walls, but she had been too tired to choose it while she was out. She passed Dave his new sheet set and Leo all his dry cleaning. She set up a few strategically placed lamps and was done for the day on the decorating front.
Retrieving her chicken from the oven, she put the final touches on the homemade chicken Caesar salad and passed out the bowls.
“You’re a wonder woman,” Dymphna proclaimed.
“I’m also exhausted. I plan to go straight to bed, no matter how early it is.”
“Don’t worry about your shift: I’ve got it,” Dave helped.
“Thanks.”
Sure enough, as soon as her head hit the pillow, she was out.
Soon after, Dave also went to find his new bed so that he could wake up for his shift.
“Don’t even think about it,” Dymphna told her brother when it looked like he was about to walk out.
“About what?”
“Escaping. We’ve got to talk about Skylar. You know we do.”
“Yeah, I know. Let me guess; you’ve changed your mind about the whole situation.”
“You and I both know that there is one person whose magic calls to yours, but we both know that Skylar’s the one. She’s your other half.”
“D, you’re my other half.”
“Don’t be a jackass, Pants. We both know that if you gave her a chance, you’d likely be pleased with how things turn out. Remember, I knew you first. Which means that I know you’re attracted to her. But it’s not just that, is it? You’re starting to be swayed by her warm and friendly personality,” she grinned cheekily.
“I can’t believe you. A few days ago you were warning me to never trust her, especially since we’re aligned.”
“When was the last time you listened to me? You’re nothing like our father, and Skylar is nothing like our mother. For instance, you have your work. She clearly respects that. Plus, unlike our father, you have me, Justin, and Seb. You’ll have to put a lot of trust in us, but understand that the three of your siblings will never let you go off the deep end.”
“What changed your opinion?”
“To be totally honest, I got to know Skylar. She’s a caring woman and a perfect match for you. I shouldn’t have been so quick to judge what magic has wrought. Who do you not trust? Magic, Skylar, or yourself?”
“I don’t know, D! That’s an unfair question!”
“Then trust in your magic, Pants. Let her in.”
“I don’t know that I can. I mean, she’s been here for only
a few days.”
“And you’ve studiously avoided her for most of that time. Is it because you know what I’m saying is true? Is it because you know that something in your magic, something in you, resonates with her magic and with her?”
“Damn it, you don’t understand!”
“Then explain it to me.”
“You and I both know I’ve never had a particularly successful relationship. The women say I’m too caught up in my work, or not giving enough or just not fun to be around. And you are indeed right. I feel it, the pull to mate my magic to hers. I barely know her. I’m just all twisted up inside.”
“Calm down, and let’s take this point by point. First, you say you’ve never had a successful relationship, and hell knows that’s true. You push women away before they even have a chance to get close to you. It’s somewhat understandable, given our parents, but you know enough about psychology to know that it’s bull to keep that resentment or whatever it is going on this long.”
“And you’re going to say you aren’t scarred by it?”
“I’m not the subject of this discussion. Anyway, the first point is also partially because you’ve never felt connected to a woman before.”
“Exactly. Now that I’ve found someone who I like, and I want to see where this leads, I don’t want to screw it up like I’ve screwed every previous relationship up.”
“She means a lot to you already, doesn’t she?”
“Fine, I’ll admit that she does.”
“Then don’t screw it up. I truly believe that if you try to win her, that you’ll be fine. Moving on to your second point, that you barely even know her. That’s actually one of the things I’m telling you to do: go get to know her. I’m not urging you to go sleep with her right away, that wouldn’t be good for either of you. Win her over while you get to know more about who she is. In other words, woo her.”
“You make it sound silly.”
“It is, the way you’re dancing around this whole thing. Finally, the fact that you’re twisted up inside when you’re thinking of her just proves that she’s special to you and that you should go after her. At least give it an honest shot, Pants. Then you can at least say you tried. Now let’s talk about something else while I do my guard dog shift.”
That night Skylar dreamed about Leo. She was walking in some kind of forest with thick evergreens. It was pleasantly warm, and the sun beat down on her face. When she looked around, she saw him. His long hair was blowing in the breeze, and his green eyes flashed. With the sun framing him at his back, he looked like an angel. Well, more like some kind of avenging angel, but just the same.
But when she tried to step toward him, he ran. Through the tree cover, which had gotten worse since she started trying to catch him, she couldn’t see him at all, just hear his feet. Then she couldn’t even hear that anymore.
She woke up gasping for breath. What had just happened? She went into the bathroom for a drink and tried to calm her nerves. She even tried to get back to sleep, but what she did get was restless and full of images she couldn’t quite make out.
The next morning, she woke up a little less than ready to face the day. She had gotten up especially early so she wouldn’t have to see Leo, especially not after that dream, which was still as vivid as if she had actually run through the forest. She packed a simple lunch of a prosciutto and chicken sandwich with a homemade sauce on the side, with a side dish of carrots. She left a note next to a pile of pancakes, and she set off for the Coven House.
She knew she was really early, but Justin still answered the door before she knocked. “You realize lessons start at nine, right?”
“Yeah.” She blushed.
“Then why are you here at seven thirty?”
“More to the point, why are you up at seven thirty?”
“I was going to the gym before the rest of the house wakes up.”
“Fair enough. If there’s somewhere I can sit, I’ll just wait until nine. I brought a book.”
“No way. Now that there’s a beautiful woman here, I’ll leave the gym for tomorrow.” He winked and brought her back to the room they had been in the day before. “Really, explain why you’re here so early,” he led her into the sitting room they had been using yesterday.
“Why don’t I meet my potential teachers first, and I’ll explain it on the way out?”
“No way, babe. Your evasion makes me wicked curious. Besides, I doubt they’re awake and ready to go this early.”
“That’s a good point.”
“So spill. It’s just you and me.”
She didn’t know how much to tell him.
“I don’t need to be an air witch to tell what’s going on in your head. You’re torn, wondering whether you’re in love with me and should just confess or if you should just kiss me and let me figure it out myself.”
She laughed and jabbed his arm. “You wish.”
“Alas, you wound me.” He made a show of grabbing his chest and leaning back in the chair.
“Seriously, though, I’m having a hard time puzzling out some strange emotions. It’s not just when I’m awake, either, but when I sleep as well. You know,” Skylar jumped upon an idea. “You may actually be able to help me.”
“That’s what I’m here for.” He was all seriousness now, knowing that she needed an ear to talk to more than she needed jokes. He sat down, and she did the same, perched on the edge of the couch.
“I’m having guy problems. I’m not used to having guy problems, either. I hate to be like this, but I usually have a few dates, some sex, and a month later, I’m ready to move on. So I do, and I don’t look back. Yet I’ve never really, you know, meshed with any of them, no matter how much I tried. So I don’t understand what’s going on with him at all.”
“It’s because you’re a witch.”
“Come again?”
“Part of being a witch means that you have an instinctual need to find someone who calls to you magically. It could be another witch, or even a non-witch. But this attraction is strong. I hate to be like this, but you’ll really never be satisfied with anyone whose soul doesn’t align with yours. There is usually only one out there for each person, so the likelihood of meeting one of them is rather slim, and the odds of meeting more than one are practically minuscule. It can be a fulfilling relationship or a harmful one, but it’s a strong bond. Then there’s the fact that once you have sex with this person, the bond will be complete and even stronger. You won’t even want to be with anyone else, for one thing.”
“That’s hardly fair. So people, or non-witches, can find love with a whole variety of people, really. But I can’t even have a normal relationship without unintentionally sabotaging it? Is that what you’re saying? You mean that Jeremy left me because I was too cold because something about my magic was off when we were together?” Her voice got louder and shrill, but she didn’t even care. He covered her hand with his.
“Sadly, yes. And indeed, it isn’t fair; I agree. Speaking from personal experience, it sucks. I am old enough that I feel I should have found someone already, but even my flings don’t work out. If you’ve found someone whose magic is aligned with yours, you’re about three steps ahead of me.” He kissed the back of her hand. “Not to say that I won’t still flirt with you. I flirt with all pretty women.”
She smiled. “How do I know if it’s true?”
“I think you already know. I imagine, and correct me if I’m wrong, that you’re already thinking about a lasting relationship with this lucky man when you’ve never wanted one before.”
“That is true.”
“Would you like my advice?”
“Please.”
“No matter how your body and your magic is making you feel, don’t sleep with him yet. Make sure you’re compatible in other ways as well. It’s better to live without the bond than it is to have a destructive relationship. Remember that, Skylar.”
“I see.”
“If you don’t now, you will later. There aren
’t many destructive relationships like that, but any number of them is too much. There’s a few of them in our coven’s quadrant, and it’s painful to see. Now look, I’ll bring you to the practice room then go round up your potential teachers and we’ll see who’s right for you.”
83
CHAPTER FIVE
They went down a labyrinth of hallways and down to a basement with no windows. There were mirrors on all four walls, with many doors, and padded blue mats on the floor. Other than that, there was nothing out, making the room look especially large.
“There’s another part of the basement through that door that leads to the gym.”
“Then why were you leaving the Coven House to work out?”
He didn’t answer, but deflected the question with a comment about finding people. Sure enough, about fifteen minutes later, he showed back up with five people.
“Now this is a weird part,” Justin explained.
85
THE DOCTOR WITCH
“As if any of this wasn’t weird,” she grumbled under her breath.
“They will send out a kind of finger of their magic to touch your core, or the seat of your magic that you were working with yesterday. If it feels right on both sides, you’ll work together. If not, you’ll try the next teacher. Sound good?”
“Sure.”
The first woman, a middle aged lady with dyed black hair introduced herself as Margarita, and soon enough, Skylar did indeed feel something questing around in her chest. But it felt invasive more than anything. She shook her head when Justin looked at her.
The next, Carlos, was Margarita’s husband. His hair, at least, was showing its gray. The problem was that his magic felt similarly invasive, and she wasn’t comfortable with it at all. After another shake of the head, she moved on.
Surprisingly, it was Suzy next. The magic tendril sent out felt flighty and light, much like the woman. They both shook their heads, and Suzy gave Skylar a large smile.
The fourth was an attractive man with short black hair and welcoming brown eyes. His name was Timothy. When his magic touched hers, she felt warm and calmer.
The Doctor Witch (The Ward Witches) Page 6