Hidden Magic

by Daniels, Wynter

  “Do me a favor and call the on-duty Crime Scene tech.”

  The officer blinked. “Um, okay.”

  “Thanks, Erik.”

  The deputy gestured at Jilly. “Need the EMTs?”

  “I think she’ll be okay.”

  Jilly nodded her agreement.

  “Find any tracks outside?” He prayed they’d catch the burglar but since the officer stood there without a suspect in tow, he doubted they would.

  The deputy shifted his gaze back and forth between Zander and Jilly. “No, sir. Nothing visible. Did he come inside?” Fowler asked Jilly.

  “Looks like it.”

  “Check for footprints where he broke in.” Zander didn’t want to leave Jilly’s side.

  “I think he came in through the storage room.” She pointed to an open door in the back left corner of the shop.

  The officer headed in that direction. “There’s some dirt on the floor, sir. Maybe the CS tech can get a print or two,” he shouted.

  “I hope so.”

  The crime scene van showed up about the same time as the owner of the store, the older blond woman Zander had first spoken to the day he’d met Jilly. While the tech worked, Zander took down Jilly’s official statement and Deputy Fowler helped the owner nail a board over the broken window.

  By the time everyone was finished, the ordeal was showing in Jilly’s slumped posture and the bags under her eyes. Zander led her to his car and helped her into the passenger seat. He crouched next to her. “I’m taking you to my place.”

  She started to object but he cut her off. “You’re obviously very shaken up. I won’t get any sleep unless I know you’re safe. And the only way to make sure you are is to have you with me. So don’t bother arguing. It won’t do any good.”

  She opened her mouth to say something then apparently changed her mind.

  “Can you honestly tell me you’re okay to be alone at your place? That you aren’t terrified to be by yourself tonight?”

  She huffed. “No, I can’t say that.”

  “I thought you’d see it my way.” He shut her door then circled the car and got behind the wheel. “Our crime scene tech didn’t find any fingerprints but there were a couple good latent footprints.”

  “Latent?”

  “Invisible to the naked eye.” He steered out of the parking lot. “We can tell a lot about someone by his shoe prints. Height, weight, the way he walks, maybe even what type of work he does.”

  “Do you always investigate break-ins to this degree?”

  He avoided looking at her. No need to frighten her any more than she already was. “Not always. But with an open missing person case that leans toward foul play, we’d rather err on the side of caution.”

  “And you think the person who took Hannah could be the one who broke into Mind’s Eye?”

  “Not necessarily.” Could be a coincidence that the news had run a story about her working on the Saxon case just hours before the store was broken into, but his gut told him it was related.

  “You don’t have to protect me. I know you think it had something to do with me working with you, but we can’t be sure.” She was staring at him but he refused to take his eyes off the road.

  “Quit barging into my brain.”

  She laughed, the first time he’d heard that musical sound all evening. “I’m not telepathic although that would come in handy. I can see your aura, though. And that tells me a lot about your mood at the time.”

  “I’ll keep that in mind.”

  When they got to his house Jilly lagged behind him on the walk then sat on the porch swing. “Mind if I hang out here a few minutes?”

  He dropped his keys into his pocket then joined her on the seat. “I promise to be a perfect gentleman. You can have my room and I’ll take the couch.” Much as it was going to kill him, he couldn’t push her. She’d been through enough tonight.

  “I won’t put you out of your own bed.” She pulled her black sweater tightly around her.

  “I insist. Besides, I sleep on the couch most nights anyway since there’s no TV in the bedroom.” Wasn’t true, but he wasn’t going to subject her to his lumpy sofa. Although if he had his way he’d join her in his bed.

  “Sounds like your life is about as exciting as mine.”

  He snickered. “Yeah, well, I’ve been working a lot. County’s been looking to hire another detective but until they do, it’s just me. Sheriff Van Horn helps with the most important cases, like Hannah’s, but he’s got a lot of other responsibilities on his plate.”

  She nodded but her gaze drifted away.

  “Thinking about the break-in? Had to be pretty frightening.” He should have been there to protect her, damn it. He draped his arm over the back of the swing, tugged gently on a lock of her hair.

  “It was…pretty awful.” She shuddered and her eyes darkened as they met his. He wasn’t psychic but the vibes she sent were unmistakable. She licked her lips and he couldn’t focus on anything but the sheen she’d left.

  He recalled the taste of those lips, that sweet tongue. All his blood headed to his groin. He pulled her to him until their mouths were a fraction of an inch apart. Her scent intoxicated him. He was addicted and he desperately needed a fix.

  How was he supposed to protect her when he couldn’t think straight around her? Being near her sent his head into a dizzying tailspin. He crushed his lips to hers, drank her in. Nothing soft or gentle about this kiss. It was all about unbridled need and mind-numbing passion.

  Their tongues wrestled and twisted together, igniting a fire that wouldn’t be quenched until he was deep inside her. He tangled his fingers in her hair. God, if he didn’t get her inside and into his bed, they’d be giving his neighbors a show any minute now.

  He broke the kiss and got up. “Let’s go in.” When he offered his hand, she wouldn’t take it.

  “I…we shouldn’t Zander.”

  His hopes came crashing down at his feet.

  Chapter Four

  Jilly couldn’t look at Zander. She knew better than to let her heart take over. But the attraction was undeniable, more intense than any she’d known. How was she supposed to get involved with him—a cop no less—when she wasn’t even who she said? Wasn’t fair to him. And it was downright dangerous for her.

  She’d kept everyone at arm’s length since she’d run away from New Orleans, even her closest friends and coven-mates. Dating was something she’d avoided, or more accurately, feared. Her instincts told her she could trust Zander, but they’d led her astray more than once when it came to men. She had to end this before there was no turning back.

  Headlights hopscotched through his yard and a dog barked nearby.

  He roughly grabbed her hand and hauled her up. “Let’s have this discussion inside.”

  She should ask him to take her home but the thought of being alone at her cottage made her cringe. If that was Jamal who’d broken into the store, she wasn’t safe anywhere by herself. Unless the break-in had to do with Hannah Saxon. Either way, she felt a whole lot safer with Zander nearby.

  He took her inside his house and turned on the lights. “Be right back. Make yourself at home.” He disappeared down a hallway.

  The open floor plan was bright and airy, decorated in half a dozen shades of gray. Despite the bland color scheme, there was a warmth to the place. Two walls were covered with framed pictures of smiling men, women and children. Some bore a resemblance to Zander—the emerald eyes and dark hair—others didn’t, but she suspected they were all his relatives. Several of the pictures group photos, candid shots that portrayed a family filled with love. One was a group of uniformed officers that appeared to have been taken at least twenty years ago. She picked out a man with an uncanny resemblance to Zander.

  The photos somehow made the empty house feel more alive, not lonely like her cottage. But even before she’d left her identity as Lauren behind, she’d never had more than one relative’s photo—her mom’s. Her life might have turned out ver
y different if she’d had a big, loving family as Zander apparently did.

  Between the sofa and loveseat there was a guitar resting upright on a stand. She ran her hand over the polished wood and a vision of a younger Zander filled her mind. Smiling at a group of friends, he played the instrument and she sensed his immense satisfaction. Music gave him a great deal of happiness, but it was also how he worked through negative feelings. It was almost as if she were reading his private diary. She moved her hand away and the vision dissipated.

  A granite breakfast bar separated the living room from the kitchen, which was so tidy it appeared to have been hardly used. An expensive looking coffee maker was the only thing on the counter.

  Zander returned minus his suit jacket.

  She could see way more of his muscled arms and shoulders now and it reminded her how attractive he was, how much she wanted him. But she forced the thought from her mind.

  Zander headed to the kitchen. Glancing back at the front door, she noted how many steps from it she was, something she now did every time she was alone with someone she hadn’t known long.

  Zander would never hurt me.

  But trust didn’t come easily to her.

  He rolled up his sleeves then opened the fridge and pulled out a bottle of beer. “Drink?”

  “No thanks.” Alcohol would only cloud her judgment. She was having a hard enough time resisting Zander even though she was perfectly sober. “This reminds me of a model home. Aren’t guys supposed to be messy?”

  “I gave one of my sisters some money and she insists on cleaning the place for me every week to pay me back. She was here today.” He popped off the top of the bottle then tipped it to his mouth and drank. Then he joined her in the living room.

  She pointed at the photo of the cops. “This man looks just like you. Is he your father or an uncle?”

  He didn’t look at the picture. “My father.” His face clouded.

  “So you followed in his footsteps, huh?”

  Muscles ticked around his jaw. “God forbid.”

  “What?”

  He shook his head. “Don’t want to talk about it. Sit. Please.”

  Last thing she wanted to do was upset him. Maybe his dad had passed on. She settled on the sofa.

  Zander lowered himself to the wood coffee table opposite her and set his beer down beside him. Then he closed his hands around hers.

  That delicious heat she felt every time he touched her washed over her again. She couldn’t bring herself to pull away.

  “I didn’t imagine that spark between us. Did I?” His voice was low and quiet and his eyes smoky with desire. The man could turn her into a puddle of a woman with just one look.

  She chewed at the corner of her mouth. Everything in her wanted to fall into his arms but as long as she was deceiving him about her identity, how could she?

  “Is it the break-in? Are you still too keyed up?” Concern etched lines around his eyes.

  She focused on some of the family photos on the wall. “There are things you don’t know…about me.” Telling him who she was, that she’d left behind her old self, was out of the question. She’d broken more than one law when she ditched her old identity and created her new one, something that could surely land her in jail.

  “Is this about the break-in? You have an idea who it was?”

  She looked into those green eyes and almost believed she could trust him. But she’d made that mistake before. And it had nearly cost her life. If Jamal had found her—if he’d been the one who broken into Mind’s Eye—she’d have to leave Freedom Bay, start over somewhere far away.

  How could she abandon Hannah?

  And Zander.

  Maybe she could tell him a little. Enough so if it had been Jamal who’d broken that window at the shop, Zander could find him and lock him away so he wouldn’t be able to hurt her or anyone else for a long time.

  Her head spun with indecision.

  Zander cupped her cheek and she leaned into his touch. “Talk to me.”

  She didn’t have much choice. If she didn’t open up to him she’d have no options but to go on the run again, adopting yet another new identity. She deflated at the prospect. Taking Zander’s hand, she silently asked the Goddess for courage. “The person who broke into the store, well…it could have been…”

  He shifted closer so their knees touched. “It’s okay.”

  She yearned to tell him the truth, to put her faith in his strong hands but she’d kept her secrets for so long. Her mouth was too dry to go on. “Can I have some?” She gestured at his beer.

  He handed her the bottle, waited as she took a sip, then another. She winced at the bitter taste. “It could be someone from my past. An old boyfriend.”

  Zander sat up taller. “Go on.”

  She swallowed, sensing distrust in his aura. He couldn’t help her if she didn’t tell him. “His name is Jamal Blanchard. He’s a fireman. Or he used to be. I have no idea if he still is.”

  “Why do you think he’d break into Mind’s Eye?”

  She hung her head. “He said he’d come after me, that…he’d hurt me. Again, but worse next time.”

  “Next time. Oh, sweetheart.” Instead of shoving her away as she’d expected, he scooped her into his arms and pulled her onto his lap, rocking her gently and kissing the top of her head. “I’m so sorry. I had no idea.”

  He tightened his arms around her, whispered soothing sounds.

  “I’m not who you think I am. I changed my identity and I broke a few laws when I did.” Her throat closed up with a sob. She gulped for air.

  He held her face against his. The stubble on his cheek scratched her skin but she found it comforting. “I know exactly who you are. You’re a beautiful woman, inside and out. A woman who protected herself by escaping from a son-of-a-bitch. You’re not the criminal, baby, he is.”

  But he didn’t know what she’d done to Jamal before she left. She grabbed a fistful of his shirt. It was wet with tears she didn’t realize she’d cried.

  Cuddled in his arms, listening to the steady thump of his heart, if felt as if nothing could hurt her.

  Neither said a word for several minutes. He just rocked her. Finally, he got up with her in his arms. He knew what she’d done and he hadn’t shoved her away. His desire was plain to see, to feel.

  She couldn’t deny what she’d wanted almost since she’d laid eyes on him. He was more of a man that anyone she’d known, someone who’d protect her rather than hurt her. “Make love to me, Zander.” She hooked her hands around his neck.

  He widened his eyes for a moment, told her how much he wanted her, everything she needed to know without uttering a word. Her heart pounded. She’d always been the caretaker in every relationship, from her mother to her girlfriends to each of the men she’d been involved with. Allowing herself to depend on anyone was foreign to her, but her shoulders couldn’t take any more, not now. Part of her screamed run and hide, but another, stronger side told her it was okay to trust him, to lean on him.

  She snuggled against him as he carried her down a hallway and into his bedroom. Yeah, she wanted this, craved it.

  He set her on his bed. “I have to make a phone call. I’ll be back in a minute. Bathroom’s right through that door.” He tipped his chin toward it. Then he kissed her lips so softly, more gentle than she’d ever imagined such a big strong man could.

  The door clicked shut as he left. She got up to wash her face and found a Florida Gators jersey hanging on a hook on the back of the door. Holding the fabric to her face, she breathed in his scent. It reminded her of something homey and comfortable yet irresistibly attractive. She glanced at the door then quickly stripped off her clothes and pulled on Zander’s shirt. Then she stretched out on top of the covers.

  He knocked before coming inside. A wicked grin lifted one corner of his mouth. “I like your outfit. Very sexy.”

  Kicking off his shoes, he started unbuttoning his shirt and she couldn’t bring herself to look away. He pee
led it off to reveal tan, toned arms and six-pack abs. His shoulders and chest were broad and thickly roped with muscle.

  Her temperature spiked. She longed to touch him, to feel every inch, every hard ridge and plane of his body.

  He dropped his shirt in a wicker hamper then closed the distance to the bed and sat on the side of the mattress staring down at her. “If you want me to sleep on the couch, I will. I don’t want you to do something you’re not ready for. But if you are ready, I want to make love to you. Have since the moment I saw you.”

  She couldn’t manage to choke out anything coherent so she just shook her head. He stood, took off his belt then shucked off the rest of his clothes. A clear red aura surrounded him, indicative of his raw, sexual power. Lush sensations stole through her.

  His eyes sparked with arousal as she took her time drinking in the sight of him. Everything about him screamed male from his pine scent to his long, muscular legs. His erection curved up to his belly and confirmed that he wanted her as much as she did him. He came toward her, climbed onto the bed, naked and divinely masculine.

  Every cell in her body hummed with high octane arousal. She felt the powerful desire he emitted and it chased all doubt from her mind.

  He knew what she’d done, at least the worst of it, and he still wanted her. Yet she automatically flinched when he lay next to her and wrapped his arm around her waist. “I’m sorry. It’s been a while since…”

  He shushed her with a finger to her lips. “Don’t you dare apologize for anything. How could you not be leery after suffering abuse? Men who put their hands on women are cowards, the lowest of the low. The only worse kind are those who hurt kids. No one would blame you for being afraid after an experience like that.”

  Her throat thickened with emotion. Zander was nothing like Jamal or any other man who’d abused her. She was safe with him.

  “We can take this as slow as you need. I’m a patient man.” The honesty in his eyes loosened up that part of her she always kept so tightly knotted.