"I thought it added a realistic touch."
"Too realistic," she said. "Even over the top."
"Women on earth do not like being touched? Kissed?"
What could she say in response to that question? Because she liked his kiss very much. Too much.
"Oh no, we do, but that doesn't mean we do it with every man. Only ones we choose and I hadn't chosen you."
It was close to the truth. Except the Blanchet coven was unique. Years ago, a curse had been placed on their family that they could only have sex with their mate or risk dying. At the appropriate time in a witch’s life, she received the magic mirror that would reflect her mate's image and then she could mate with him for life.
If she had sex with the wrong man, she would die. She must mate by the age of twenty-five or her DNA would slowly turn on her and before she reached thirty, she'd be dead.
At the old age of twenty-four she was still a virgin. Yes, she was a rarity on earth. Oh, she'd been close several times to breaking the rules, but didn't want to die. She didn't like the curse, she hated the fact she had to mate before age twenty-five, but what could she do?
This was the hand the fates dealt her and she had to roll with the punches.
"Would you choose me, Petunia?" he asked, his voice deep, sending a tremor along her spine. "Our kiss showed there is a connection between us."
What could she tell him? Yes, she'd felt the tremor of desire that gripped her when he'd brushed his lips against hers, but she had up to another year before she could mate. She had to wait until her mate arrived. But would she choose him?
"Choosing my mate is out of my hands. I cannot copulate with any man except my chosen mate."
He nodded. "So you are a virgin."
Blushing, she raised her eyes to his. "Yes, I am."
"I'm pleased," he said, his voice deep, his eyes glimmering at her in that frosty way that sent a tremor up her spine.
Chapter 3
The next morning, Petunia began just like every morning since the death of her mother and sister: practicing her spells. Making her magic stronger in order to prepare for the fight to avenge the death of her mother and sister. She hated evil witches who used their magic to harm people. Warlocks who lured people in and gained their acceptance. Because of her trusting the wrong person, she'd lost people she loved.
While she didn't believe in harming others, she couldn't let her loved ones' deaths go unavenged.
Every day, she practiced and learned more and more spells that would protect her and she could use against the warlock Kaine. She would defend and rectify the great evil that had been cast against her coven. Peace loving, unity driven Petunia, would fight for her mother and Ianthe.
Her other sisters Daisy and Zinnia were not as focused on revenge, but still were affected by the death of their mother and sister. Zinnia had anger issues that frightened even Petunia. And Daisy liked to turn suitors into onocentaurs.
"What are you doing?" Jaqarg asked, walking into the room.
"I'm preparing myself," she said not wanting to explain her workout to him. A witch’s craft was best kept to herself. It made her magic stronger.
"What are you preparing for?" he asked, watching her move about the room.
"Why aren't you still sleeping?" she responded, not wanting to answer his questions.
He'd spent the night in her guest room. She'd seen a strange glow coming from beneath the door, but hadn't opened it not certain she wanted to know what he was doing. She'd already lost a microwave and feared what else he'd ruined.
"No sleep last night," he said. “I stayed awake investigating the talking box with the people in it. Interesting communication machine. Did you know there are drugs that can help a man with an erection?"
She turned and stared at him, shock halting her routine. "What are you talking about?"
"I saw them on that box in the bedroom. I wanted to order some, but couldn't find your telecommunication."
"Why would you want to order those drugs?" She blushed, her mind asking the question that begged to be answered. "I mean, do you have problems..."
He pulled his shoulders back and thrust out his chest. Walking toward her, he pulled her into his arms, his hips grinding into her pelvis. Gasping, she felt the hard ridge of him between her legs.
Heat flooded her center and she swallowed. The man was an alien. Why did he make her heart race and her hormones kick into overdrive? There was no time for this attraction.
"Does that feel like an alien who has trouble with his erection?"
"No," she whispered, her womanly center warming to the heat she could feel through the pants he wore. "So why would you try to order the drug?"
"If it can maintain an erection, I want to take it back to our wounded warriors. Maybe it could help them. Our healers could figure out the components of the drug and see its miracle cures."
Her chest ached at the kindness of his thinking about the aliens on his planet who had been injured and were no longer functioning. The alien wasn't a bad guy, but he was all wrong for her. Her sister had married an alien.
Shaking her head, she stared at him. "What else did you watch on television last night."
"I learned you are a mean race. You put people on islands with no food and water or clothing and they must either become strong and survive or be labeled the rest of their life."
She laughed. "It's called reality television. Believe me, they're fine."
He still held her in his arms and she used one of her spells to get away from him. The desire that seemed to burn within her at his touch frightened her. She'd never experienced this need for a man before and he was from another planet and she still had time before she located her mate.
But dang, he made her think of things she'd never experienced. Last night, images of him naked had her tossing and turning, wondering how it would feel to touch his hardened flesh.
Frowning, he watched her float out of his arms and across the room.
"Why did you do that? Just to prove to me, you can get away?"
"No," she replied, floating a safe distance from him. But she didn't want to tell him the truth. "You came in during my practice session and unless you want me to use you during my workout, I suggest you leave."
His eyes turned a frosty blue and he stared at her. "Use your magic on me. I think I'm stronger."
She hadn't wanted to do this, but if he wished to experience her training, then maybe the exercise would benefit them both.
Suspended in the air, she whirled around, said the magical chant and hit him with a spell that would lock him up. The shackles appeared and snapped around his wrists and ankles. With a growl, he broke the snapping mechanism on the cuffs, his muscles rippling with the effort. The chains disappeared into thin air. She didn't hesitate, but zapped him again and jail bars surrounded him. Laughing, he bent the metal with his bare hands and stepped through.
"Your magic is no match for me," he said, walking toward her, an expression that said he would give her no quarter on his face.
And that was what scared her. If she couldn't stop someone who didn't want to harm her, how could she stop the evil Kaine who killed her mother and sister. How could she get her revenge?
"I'm working to get stronger," she said, and put a freezing spell on him. In disbelief, she watched as he blew his hot breath on the ice causing it to melt into a puddle around him.
"Is that your best?"
"No," she cried.
They stalked one another moving in the opposite direction from each other, her gazed locked with his, ready for his next move.
Maybe she was going about this all wrong. What if a simple spell could frighten her warrior? The man oozed strength and vitality. What if she tried something different?
Flying up out of reach, she spoke the words that would fill the room. Black ugly spiders began to pour from the walls, the floors, all racing toward her alien.
"Petunia," he said, his voice rising. He stepped on the spiders, smash
ing and grounding them into the floor. But there were too many of them for him to overcome. "Petunia! Stop, now!"
She let them go just a moment longer before she said the words that cleared the room.
When the room no longer had spiders, she drifted to the ground.
Jaqarg stood frowning at her. "You don't fight fair. I'm a strong fighter. But I don't like creepy bugs."
"They're spiders." She smiled.
"Why did you choose that spell?"
"Because my strength spells were not working."
She studied him. Could she have been going about this wrong? Instead of focusing on something that would restrain her enemy, did she need to find his weakness? Maybe it wasn't the strongest magic that would stop Kaine, but something as simple as spiders. Something that would cause him to lose his focus. But what was Kaine's weakness?
She had to learn what would cause him to become discombobulated.
"Why are you doing this?" Jaqarg asked.
Strength filled her and she clenched her fists.
"Because, soon I will face an enemy and must prepare for the battle to come."
He frowned at her. "I understand. I, too, will soon face an enemy. We will work together."
She wasn't used to living with someone. Leaving Jaqarg at her house alone, left her uneasy. What kind of trouble would the creature get into? He'd already discovered television, what other things did earth possess that would lure him into a false sense of security. And how long would he be here?
He'd gone searching through her house trying to find useful tools he could use to fix his pod, so that ship would fly again. All she knew was that the sooner he left, the better. And the quicker Magic would no longer be under the scrutiny of the NSA.
The NSA had not appeared again, but she felt certain they were near. Waiting. Watching for just the right moment to strike.
Walking into school, she made the decision to keep the children inside today, just in case there were eyes upon them. Eyes that had no business seeing her students practicing their witchcraft.
Sighing, she opened the door to her classroom and saw the eager, young students throwing paper balls at each other. The twins, Jonah and Joseph, chased Tabitha.
"Good afternoon, children. Everyone sit down and let's get started on today's lesson."
"Where's the alien," Jonah asked. "We thought he would be with you."
Frowning, she glanced around her class, assessing the eager eyes and ears. Maybe she should cast a forgetting spell on these kids, but decided that was unnecessary. They were accustomed to the strange creatures that sometimes arrived in the city.
"Let's focus on what we learned yesterday," she said, opening her spell book and hoping they would follow suit.
"Did the NSA pick him up?"
"That word should never be mentioned in this class. Who can tell me what spell we practiced yesterday?"
Joseph, one of the twins who could be a challenge, but who was a quick learner, frowned. His pet lizard Larry peeked out of his top hat to stare at her like she'd done something wrong. "We learned how to put people in a holding spell. I practiced last night on Jonah until Mom told us to stop."
Part of her wanted to laugh. She couldn't imagine what the parents of these two must deal with from these young, energetic children. They were a handful, even in her class.
"Did the spell work?"
"Yes, ma'am. We got that one down."
"Congratulations. Anyone else practice?"
Silence filled the room and she decided it was time to move on. They would return to the holding spell soon and there would be a test to see who passed.
"Everyone open their spells binder and turn to page seventy-five. Today, we're going to talk about the importance of making certain any spell we cast will not harm anyone. As witches and wizards and warlocks, we want to make certain our spells do no harm to the earth, or any creatures."
While she wanted her students to be good witches, she didn't want them using their magic for evil. Her job as their teacher was to make certain they understood the gift they'd been given. And the responsibility that came with that knowledge.
"So I can't zap my brother?"
"No, Jonah, you cannot harm anyone or you will have to face the Federation of Witches and explain your actions."
"Have you ever had to face the federation?" he asked, his eyes wide.
"No, thank Merlin. They have the right to banish you forever if what you do is harmful."
Yet, they had never extradited Kaine for what he'd done to her mother and sister and that knowledge burned within her.
"Today, we're going to learn how to--"
The door opened and Jaqarg stepped into the room.
The class erupted with the children yelling their greetings and waving at him. He'd made quite the impression with her students and from their hellos, she could tell they liked the alien.
"You're still here," the twins said excitedly.
"I'm not going anywhere, just yet," he said, clapping Jonah on the back.
A rush of warmth seemed to flow from the top of her head all the way to her feet. Her body, moistening and opening like a flower. Stopping herself, she took a deep breath. They were in her classroom with children. Now was not the time for her to acknowledge that he was a very handsome alien. One that seemed to arouse the woman in her.
Walking up to her, he stood in front of her. "I got bored."
"Jaqarg, I'm teaching."
"What's your name?" Tabitha asked.
"This is Jaqarg."
"Were they looking for you last night?" one of the children asked. "I'm glad they didn't find you."
Somehow she had to get the children off the memory of the NSA. That was something she didn't want them to worry about.
She glanced at Jaqarg. "Tell the children what you do on your planet."
"I'm in charge of security for the high priestess," he affirmed.
He grinned. "I would be happy to show you what I do and to teach you some defense moves."
For the next thirty minutes, he had her class up on their feet, instructing them how to defend themselves and talking about always being aware of their surroundings. It was a great lesson and one she would never have thought to teach her children. And seeing him working with the kids made her like him even more. How many earth men would have spent the time with a class of pre-teens showing them how to defend themselves?
How many men would have looked like sex on a stick during the process?
It was getting close for the class to end and he seemed to sense she was ready for him to stop. Walking up beside her, the children watched the two of them closely.
"Is he your boyfriend," Tabitha asked, smiling at him, like a flirt in training.
Blushing, Petunia didn't know how to respond. There was this connection between them. An awkward silence filled the room. She glanced up to see him grinning at her like he wanted to consume her right there on the spot.
"Kiss her," the twins yelled and then all the other children started to chant, "kiss her, kiss her, kiss her."
Like a stone statue, she watched as he pulled her frozen body to him and kissed her lightly on the lips. It was the second time he'd given her a casual peck on the mouth, but this time, it felt different. This time, it seemed to expand, and spread, the passion flowing through her body.
Out of the corner of her eye, she watched one of the devilish twins cast the holding spell on her and Jaqarg freezing them together with their lips on each other. They couldn't move. And while she knew the kids’ magic wasn't strong and couldn't last long, she also knew that she could feel Jaqarg's penis swelling against her.
This was not the time or the place, and yet, heat swirled between them, his eyes seemed to glow with the desire she could feel encircling them into a cocoon. Her body was calling out to him, her womanly center wanting to connect with him in ways she'd never considered before.
Time was up. Class was over and the twins ran out the door. The spell was broken
and the children were gone.
Next time, she would punish them for using a spell on the teacher, but for the moment, she had to deal with Jaqarg.
Stepping out of his arms, an emptiness settled in her center and her body wanted to return to the warm, safe sanctuary it had previously occupied. Licking her lips, she took a deep breath to regain control and focus on her surroundings.
He grinned. "I like your kids. But I like kissing you even more. We should do that again."
She held up her hand. "Not in school." She took a deep breath. "My mating season is not yet upon me and if I choose the wrong mate, I will die. So beware, alien."
"But who is to say I'm not your mate."
Shock coursed through her at the very idea that he could be the man for her.
From another world, he had no idea what he was saying. Mate could mean something entirely different on his planet.
Besides, she still had another year before she would be forced to choose her man. Only one person could help her understand. Her mother.
Arriving at the house, Petunia stared at the box sitting on her front porch. She picked it up before she walked inside, wondering who had sent her a package. She saw her grandmother's name on the label and a tremor of fear scurried along her spine.
Even weirder than Petunia, Grandmother Astor was known for her eccentric ways.
Jaqarg went into the house and she heard him tinkering around in the kitchen. When she walked in with the box, she realized he was building some kind of contraption.
"What is that?"
"I'm trying to rebuild the tyrochromaticon," he said, picking up her screwdriver and screwing a steel plate.
He must have returned to his spaceship before he'd come to the school and brought the part back to the house.
"What would that do?"
"Hopefully, it will get me home," he said. "I must return to Bierilla."
Sighing, she turned away. She could not fall in love with an alien because sooner or later he'd go back to his planet and she could never leave earth. And her reason was simple. Her mother. After Daisy, her sister, relocated to Tesceanus, her mother had made her promise to never leave Magic. It was here she could communicate with her.
Magic, New Mexico: Touch of Deceit (Kindle Worlds Novella) (The Magic Mirror Book 2) Page 3