Elf's Affection: The Witching Hour Series Book 3

by Joanna Mazurkiewicz

  "Pleasure to meet you, darling. I hope my Nate is behaving, he’s too harsh with all his clients," Meredith ranted showing off her perfectly white Hollywood teeth. For a brief moment I saw that ring on her finger and my chest heaved.

  "So, now that the small talk is over, let me give you a price for that painting, Mr.—"

  "Van Rooyen," Quentin cut him off not losing his cheerful voice. “I've been dealing with art for some time now and I know this is business, but this painting is sentimental and it’s not for sale."

  Nathaniel pinched his eyebrows staring at Quentin with reservation. My pulse was racing, and I could have sworn that I was having a heart attack. Nathaniel had his fiancé by his side, so what on earth was he doing? My magic was going crazy, a few glasses cracked and certain paranormals were staring at each other with confusion. I needed to calm down, otherwise I was going to blow this off and cause a scene in front of everyone. Fairies were glancing at the four or us, probably wondering why my ex was talking to my current boyfriend. There was no way I could cover this up. I tried to keep Quentin away from my drama and Nathaniel, but everyone in this area knew we used to date. Well, everyone apart from Meredith and Quentin.

  “That's understandable, Mr. Van Rooyen. When we treasure something it’s difficult to let go," Nathaniel muttered pinning me down with his eyes. My back was soaking with sweat, but I had to keep it together. Meredith was smiling moving the straw around in her glass.

  "I'm glad you understand, and please excuse my personal question, but have you guys set the date yet?"

  Meredith’s face flashed with anger for a brief moment and Nathaniel’s lips lifted in a smile. My energy was whipping through me fast and I knew I had at least a minute to get the hell away from him, otherwise something was going to blow up. Heavy tension hung all around us and I tried to breathe, but my fingertips started to sparkle.

  "Excuse me, I need to go to the ladies’ room," I gasped, rushing away. I couldn't listen to how he was lying to himself. Maybe he was still planning to get married? Maybe sex with me was just a phase that he was going through. I hurried upstairs to the bathroom and once I locked the door I slid down to the floor, breathing hard. My head was spinning out of control and my fingers were inflamed; sparks of magic danced all over the bathroom.

  Nathaniel crossed the line and I just stood there hot and flushed, unable to tell Quentin what I’d done. Then there was Meredith, the perfect fiancé who still thought that her wedding was going to happen.

  When I lifted my head, the mirror cracked. I had no idea how long I was in that bathroom, but I knew there was no other way. It was time to confess all my sins to Quentin, it was time to come clean.

  I loved Nathaniel so much that it hurt. For some time now, I thought that he was the love of my life, and now that he stopped hiding his feelings it was easier to think that we were made for each other.

  After some time, I gathered some courage and left the bathroom. My hair was in perfect order as usual and I needed to tell Quentin that we had to go home. I knew it wouldn’t be that simple. Nathaniel’s scent was all over me and as soon as I opened the door, hands swept over me, and I was pushed back into the small bedroom. I tried to fight but whoever it was pushed me from behind before shutting the door. I abruptly turned around when I was freed and saw Nathaniel blocking the door. From the look on his face I knew instantly that I was in trouble.

  "What do you think you’re doing talking to Quentin? Are you insane or just plain stupid?" I hissed feeling like I was ready to punch him.

  "Stop it, Julia. You make me so hard when you’re angry," he growled moving towards me.

  "No bloody way. We are not doing this here after our little conversation about your wedding!" I shouted ignoring the pulsation between my legs. I was wet for him and so ready to rip his clothes off and just make love to him here and now.

  "I'll tell her now if you want. God, Julia, don’t you get it? I can’t stand this anymore; hiding and lying. We both know you don’t love that giant. Fuck, I want you," he said pulling me into his arms. I tried to fight but his scent and desire was so intense that I couldn't bear to be away from him.

  "Nathaniel, please, we can’t do this. It's not fair to them, please," I pled as his lips were all over me, sucking my neck and grabbing my arse. He pulled away looking directly into my eyes and there it was: love and devotion, all the emotions that were lost before, were now there.

  “Let's go and tell them. I can't stay away from you any longer. Julia, you’re the woman I want to spend the rest of my life with. Please, let me love you."

  My heart was melting as I buried my face in his chest. He was the man I’d been dreaming of; there was not point denying that I didn't want this.

  "No, wait, it’s too complicated. I'm going to tell him but not like this—not here—so don’t do anything right now. There’s something going on with me."

  Nathaniel’s heart was beating like crazy and I didn't want to let go of him, but Quentin was downstairs, probably looking for me.

  "Firecracker, I’ve been trying to stay away, but I can’t. Your ex-coworker was murdered in my factory. Please, tell me that you let your father deal with the investigation?"

  I didn't plan on telling him anything. I didn't even want to be in this room with him, but I was afraid that if I were to get arrested Nathaniel wouldn’t understand.

  “I’ve been having blackouts; the first one happened almost two months ago. Then I woke up in my apartment covered with blood, having thoughts about Jennifer, violent memories of me stabbing her over and over. I couldn’t remember what happened that night. It was like I had this black hole in my memory."

  Nathaniel brought me back to his chest.

  "That doesn't mean anything. You two were close and you were the one who discovered her body—"

  He was still talking, telling me how everything would be all right and dismissing the facts about my blackouts, so at that point I decided to withhold the rest of the facts. Nathaniel and I, well, we had history, but we weren’t together, and I didn't want to worry him with my problems. At the moment, I was still the other woman, the hot mistress that men kept just to prey on their ego.

  "Yeah, you’re right; it’s going to be fine, but I need to get back downstairs to Quentin," I said swallowing tears.

  "So, he doesn't know about me, about the fact that we were together?" he asked. I took a sharp breath.

  "No, and I presume your fiancé doesn't know about me?"

  "Stop calling her my fiancé," he hissed running his hand through his sandy hair. "It’ll be over soon, I promise."

  "Okay, I have to go, and please stop calling me. Let me solve this.”

  I opened the door and left the room. I didn't expect anyone outside, but my heart gave me a giant smack in the chest when I saw Jasper walking towards me.

  "Julia, hey, nice to see you again. What a coincidence," he said. I panicked when Nathaniel came out of the same room a few seconds later. Jasper took a step back moving his eyes from me to Nathaniel, and his wrinkled clothes.

  "Hey, Jasper. What are you doing here?" I asked but my voice was rough. I sounded like I’d just been caught stealing sweets. Jasper shot Nathaniel a murderous look and put two and two together within a second. Nathaniel didn't look too happy, probably with the fact that I was talking to my ex like we were on great terms.

  "I need to go, remember what I said, Julia," he barked, squeezing my hand, before he shot Jasper a warning look and walked away.

  Right then, I literally wanted the floor to open up and swallow me whole. This was not how this evening was planned out.

  "So, what? Now you’re sleeping with him too? Fuck, Julia. You always had class, but this is—"

  "Jasper, I'm warning you, this is none of your business!" I hissed trying to figure out what to do. "Can you please keep this to yourself. I'm going to tell Quentin when the moment is right."

  He was breathing hard and I was expecting him to start screaming or rush downstairs to tell everyo
ne that I was a whore. Jasper was unstable, reckless and unpredictable but he didn’t do any of those things.

  "I thought you were happy. You looked happy when you came to visit me?"

  My jaw dropped, and my fingertips stopped sparkling. It seemed that my ex-boyfriend truly was going through some kind of transformation. Maybe he was telling the truth after all and was ready to change for me.

  "I can’t talk to you about this, not right now, not ever. Please, just let it go. I'm going to deal with the situation the best I can."

  Chapter 19

  Pressure.

  I went to Yoga before I had to get back to work in an attempt to wash off my guilt. It didn't work and yeah, I should have known better. Quentin was going to spend the night with me tomorrow, so I knew I had to tell someone what kind of monster I’d become. It was Nathaniel who ended up coming over and we were only supposed to talk. Then came sex and my plan was crushed just like the bulbs in my bedroom during the night we spent together.

  Kate would curse me out, but I could handle that, what I couldn't deal with was her disappointed face and the loss of respect she had for me. Kelsie would probably high-five me for finally seducing Nathaniel. She couldn't help it, although after everything was said, she might yell at me for being irresponsible. I knew that I had to take responsibility for my actions, but I needed some friendly advice, so I dialled Nicky’s number.

  "Hey, Julia, please tell me that you’re going to call Ella?" she asked before I could even get a word out. My chest tightened, and I wanted to cry. I was so worried about sleeping with my ex, that I’d forgotten about my poor friend who I abandoned because I had to.

  "I can’t, she won’t understand, and I won’t lie to her anymore."

  "Julia, I can’t tell you what to do, but she’s confused. One minute you go to her house trying to sort out the friendship you used to have and the next, you’re not speaking to her. Ella needs an explanation."

  Maybe I was wrong and from Nicky perspective it seemed like I had no soul, but I couldn't keep this to myself any longer.

  "I'm sleeping with Nathaniel again, and I'm cheating on Quentin!"

  A couple of people on the street looked over at me but I didn't stop and there was silence on the other end of the line. My pulse was racing, and I bared my teeth, waiting.

  "What did you just say?" Nicky asked. I cleared my throat and took a deep breath.

  "You heard me, I'm cheating on my perfect, loving boyfriend with my ex-boyfriend who is engaged to someone else." I didn't expect Nicky to start shouting or crying. I also didn't expect her to be silent.

  "How did this happen? I mean, you’re pranking me, right?"

  Then I went and started explaining how I bumped into him at the gallery first, then on the street, then again outside my apartment. Nicky didn't say another word until I was done. Then she told me straight to end it before anyone else got hurt.

  "Oh, my God Julia, he’s only doing this to you because you’re unavailable, giving himself over to you because he knows nothing is ever going to happen."

  Nicky had never met Nathaniel, but she was married and like me, she believed cheating was never good. She knew about each time Nathaniel had broken my heart in the past and she was only looking out for my best interests.

  "I was going to do that last night but then everything went wrong when he started taking his clothes off." I looked to the sky wondering what I was doing and if I’d ever be able to escape from the love I held deep in my soul.

  "Meet with him in a public place and tell him. I know you still love him, and all this time you wanted to hear him—"

  "Nicky, I'm going to tell Quentin tomorrow. I can't do this. Me and Nathaniel… we’re just screwed up."

  "You have to do one thing at the time, then fix things with Ella. Julia, I'm your friend and I'm not judging you, but you’re a fool. Nathaniel was never available, and he never will be. I can't tell you what to do but you’ll know when to make the right decision."

  I thanked her and promised that I would sort something out with Ella. Nicky was right to an extent, but I had to make my own decisions. I felt a little better because I’d finally gotten this off my chest, but I needed to get a grip, put on my big girl panties and stop being such a coward.

  I went to work that day with daunting emotions clouding my mind. The day at the agency wasn’t one of the easiest and Nathaniel kept sending me emails, telling me that he was planning to talk to Meredith tonight. I knew that I should have let him do it, but first I had to explain everything to Quentin. He deserved to know what’s happened, so I texted Nathaniel to hold on.

  I covered my head with my hands trying to understand how I dropped myself in such a shit storm. Yeah, I still loved him, and I wanted him, but I kept wondering how we were going to get through this without hurting other people. The answer was clear: we weren’t.

  A few vampires arrived asking me about work at La Caz Corporation. Throughout the night I was trying to erase the images of me and Nathaniel, but it didn't come easy because his name was everywhere.

  In the early hours of the morning I left the agency and stepped into a dark night wondering what to do. I always promised my dad that I would take a taxi but tonight I felt like I needed to clear my head and just walk. The streets of Croydon were completely empty, and I knew that it was stupid, walking into the night alone with unstable magic, but hey, maybe I needed to get in trouble tonight, just to understand what was going on. I said my goodbyes to the ladies and started walking, feeling charged with thoughts about Nathaniel. Thoughts of Nathaniel consumed my mind and I wanted to dig a grave for myself because I felt so incredibly guilty sleeping with him behind Quentin’s back. Why couldn’t I just do the right thing? Why was I continuing to hold back the truth? I knew I didn’t want to hurt him, but it was already too late for that. I wanted to slap myself for being such a coward. Nathaniel was ready to tell Meredith straight away, yet here I was stalling. Why?

  For a few minutes I was completely lost with my thoughts but the footsteps behind me alerted me on the spot. In a moment of déjà vu, I turned around thinking that maybe it was Jasper.

  "Let me tell you, Julia, this was incredibly stupid," a familiar voice said. The colour drained from my face when I didn't see anyone. Thoughts and feelings began racing fast and I considered running but my legs went numb. No one was near me—I was alone. Then out of nowhere Tron and Alex appeared knocking me off my feet. Somehow, I didn't fall on my bum, because Tron caught me.

  "Oh, my God, are you guys insane? Do you want to me have a heart attack?" I shouted while my heart pounded way too fast.

  Alex cleared his throat and glanced at Tron, who looked freaking amused.

  "Sorry, we were just trying a new spell," Tron shrugged. "Besides, I thought you were cleaver. Walking home alone in the middle of the night?"

  I rolled my eyes. It was like I was listening to my father.

  "Oh, chill out. I needed to clear my head, so if you’ll excuse me, I want to go home because I'm tired and pissed." I then turned around to walk away.

  “It's time for another session. We have something more exciting in mind."

  Alex didn't usually talk much—well, he never talked unless it was necessary—that’s why I stopped and took a deep breath before I turned around.

  "Okay, what’s so exciting; the fact that I'm a killer and my parents are next?"

  “Let's go, Miss Taylor, we have a bit of a drive," Alex muttered. I opened my mouth to start asking more questions, but they were already walking away. Their limousine was a few blocks away and I jumped in straight away. They weren’t talking to me while we drove, and I was eager to ask questions but for some reason I couldn't, and I had a feeling it had something to do with Tron’s magic. He just didn't want me to say anything.

  It was five a.m. by the time his car stopped; a few more minutes and I’d have been snoring like crazy.

  "So, is anyone going to tell me where we are?" I asked while we sat in the car. It was dawn bu
t there was only blackness outside and I couldn't see where we were.

  “It's a massive spell, Julia—mind blowing—and we want to see if you’re capable of creating such power," Tron said stroking his chin.

  "I don’t understand. What do you want me to do? This would be so much easier if you would have explained."

  "Pulsing, we are pulsing right now," he added. I lifted my hands with the expression that I still had no idea what he was on about, however they were already getting out of the car. When I noticed where we were it kind of hit me. My jaw dropped noticing that we weren't at Tron’s fancy home, but in the middle of nowhere surrounded by trees and darkness.

  "What the hell is pulsing?" I asked but then I remembered Ella, so I added. "And when are we going to talk to Ella? She’s freaking out and I hate treating her like she doesn't mean anything."

  "The princess doesn't need to be rushed and tonight is a perfect night for beautiful magic. You’re stronger than you think, that’s why we need to try this."

  Okay, I didn't like the sound of that, or the way those two were looking at me. They made me stand further away from the car, a couple meters away from them. Tron was using his magic on me, forcing me to stop talking. This whole idea was outrageous. My work day ended, and I had a busy day tomorrow.

  I walked through the wet grass until they told me to stop. Sparks started flying across my fingertips and the tingling in my back was annoying. My magic was calm, and now all of sudden I was getting these impulses, strikes of colour spreading all over me.

  "What’s going on, Tron? Why am I feeling all these things?" I asked staring at both of them.

  "We want you to pulse your magic and bring thunder and lightning," Tron requested, leaning against the limousine.

  My head was splitting with the surging energy. I looked at them wondering what the hell they were talking about. This kind of magic was only accessible to fairies. I had half elf genes inside me, so there was no way I was even capable of doing such a thing.