Love Potion #9

by Claire Delacroix

  “I’ll make it worth your while.”

  She ladled the bubbling green brew into her coffee cup. The last chorus of the song bounced off the kitchen walls. D’Artagnan lashed his tail as he watched from the doorway, his eyes bright. The potion smelled vile.

  Lilith held her nose. She closed her eyes. She held her breath.

  She took a sip.

  * * *

  Andrea sailed in at six, announcing that she had a massive chocolate cake, of all things. Jen and Jason were delighted. Mitch was not.

  Junk food was an old issue between Andrea and Mitch.

  “You have heard of the four food groups, haven’t you?” he demanded by way of greeting. He felt as grumpy as he sounded.

  Andrea, as usual, was unruffled by his attitude.

  “Of course! Chocolate, sugar, fat and caffeine, right?” She threw him a wicked smile as she strode toward the kitchen, the cake held high. Mitch rolled his eyes and flicked the door shut with his fingertips before following. “I thought the kids were a bit young for coffee, but otherwise I’ve got it covered.”

  Jen was already bouncing in anticipation.

  Mitch shoved a hand through his hair and gave it up. Andrea had a heart of gold, even if she was chronically late and more than a little disorganized. Mitch’s deceased father’s second wife was the only family Mitch had left, other than his own children. Despite their ongoing differences of opinion and style, Mitch liked Andrea.

  Maybe because of those differences of opinion and style.

  Andrea was nearing sixty, her short hair uniformly silver, her blue eyes invariably twinkling. Andrea could afford to indulge herself, after outliving three comparatively successful men, and indulge herself she did. Without apology. She dressed her short and slightly plump figure both expensively and exquisitely. She took lavish trips, often on impulse. She was beyond generous to her friends.

  And that generosity extended to Mitch’s kids. Never having had children of her won, Andrea adored Jen and Jason. The kids couldn’t have had a more indulgent grandmother.

  Jen was still clapping her hands with delight about the cake, while Jason surveyed it solemnly. Both licked their lips while Andrea kissed them hello. Mitch noticed that the cake’s icing was starting to melt.

  To her credit, Jen was much happier since Mitch had taken an hour to whack down a circle of grass and inflate her pink wading pool. And the break he’d had to take to watch both kids in the water hadn’t been that hard to bear either.

  Never mind the cold beer he’d treated himself to.

  Of course, then it had been back to the grind of moving. This day seemed as if it would never end. He returned to the box he had been unpacking and wondered how he had managed to accumulate so much apparently useless kitchen junk.

  Andrea considered the cake. “I could get mocha fudge next time, if you’d rather.”

  Mitch gave his stepmother the Eye. Unlike most people, she didn’t flinch. In fact, she smiled at him. “They’ll be up half the night with the sugar buzz, which is that last thing I need right now.”

  “Your problem is that you want everything nice and neat,” Andrea informed him with a shake of her finger. “One of these days, Mitch, you’re just going to have to admit that the world isn’t always going to play by your rules.”

  “And this was definitely in my plan,” Mitch grumbled. Raising his kids alone was a far cry from the ‘until death us do part’ that he’d always envisioned.

  Andrea took a deep breath, immediately catching his meaning, “Mitch, the only two decent things that woman ever did for you are sitting right – “

  “Hey!” Mitch straightened and glared.

  Andrea fell silent, although it was clear she had plenty more to say.

  Mitch glanced pointedly at the kids, noticing that Jen was stretching one finger toward the icing. “We agreed not to talk about that,” he said.

  Andrea sighed, grimaced, then served up massive portions of cake. The kids virtually dove in and soon were wearing more icing than Mitch thought they had eaten. Cooley circled, inhaling crumbs, his nose on full throttle.

  Mitch watched his kids for a long moment and decided they hadn’t understood Andrea’s comment. Fortunately, they were still too young to pay a lot of attention to adult innuendo.

  That would change.

  Mitch was dreading the day he wouldn’t be able to protect them from everything nasty in the world, or make everything come right with a hug and a Band-Aid.

  “You can’t ignore the truth forever,” Andrea said, taking a bite of cake.

  “I can sure as hell try,” Mitch growled. He dug determinedly for the coffeemaker. “And where does it say that your interpretation of events is the truth?”

  Andrea rolled her eyes. “Let’s just agree to disagree on the subject of Janice, shall we?” Mitch said nothing – he thought they’d already agreed to that. She moved a box to the floor and perched on a kitchen chair. “I like this place,” she said, then ran a finger across the counter and grimaced. “Although it could use a good cleaning.”

  “There’s a sponge in the sink and cleanser in that box,” Mitch said.

  Andrea laughed. ‘I don’t do windows.”

  “Nana makes cake,” Jen confided around a mouthful of chocolate.

  “Nana buys cake,” Jason corrected.

  Andrea leaned forward, eyes shining and Mitch sensed trouble. “Have you met your neighbors?” she asked, to his surprise.

  Mitch grinned and gestured to the chaos around himself. “You missed the big social tea this afternoon. I was up all night making watercress sandwiches. Cutting off those crusts was really a pain.”

  Andrea playfully threw a wad of packing paper at him. “I never know when to believe you,” she complained, then pointed to the house with the cat and the garden. “You have a fortune teller for a neighbor.”

  “Go on. Here I thought this was a good neighborhood.”

  “It’s quirky, dear. She has the most darling little neon sign out front.”

  “Eenie meenie jelly beanie, the spirits are about to speak.” Mitch wiggled his eyebrows and the kids giggled, recognizing the line from the classic cartoons they all watched together.

  “But are they friendly?” Jason asked.

  “Just listen!” the kids crowed together.

  Andrea rolled her eyes and shook her head.

  Jen took a chocolate hit on her chest and pulled up her bathing suit to lick it off. Cooley sniffed with disappointment, and she dropped her spoon for him. She went after the rest of her cake with both hands.

  Mitch didn’t have it in him to argue with her. Too bad they didn’t’ make a spin cycle just for kids.

  “Lilith’s Lovematches is what it says,” Andrea said. “Isn’t that lovely? So romantic!”

  “Visa and Mastercard accepted,’ Mitch said. The coffeemaker wasn’t in the box he’d just emptied so he opened another. He was going to need it in the morning. Might as well find it now and make life easier.

  “Don’t be silly,” Andrea chided. “I’m sure it’s not really like that.”

  Mitch didn’t bother to hide his skepticism. “You mean she does it for free?”

  “Of course not!”

  Mitch shook his head and dug beneath spatulas.

  “Do you think she’d do a reading for me?” Andrea asked.

  “Andrea!” Mitch spun to face his stepmother, wishing yet again that she wasn’t so trusting. “How many times have I told you that all of that stuff is garbage?”

  “It’s not.”

  “It is. These people are all charlatans looking to make a quick buck.”

  “You don’t even know her.”

  “I don’t have to.”

  “And where’s that open mind of yours?”

  “These operations are a cover for opportunism, if not more. I don’t even know how many frauds have been uncovered.” Mitch shook a pair of tongs at his stepmother. “You should be more careful about going to these places, let alone abou
t giving them your credit card numbers.”

  Andrea folded her arms across her chest, the glint in her eye revealing that she was digging in her heels. “Nonsense. There’s bad in every kind, but lots of these people have a genuine gift. You should go and meet this woman, just to prove yourself wrong.”

  “Because I have nothing else to do?”

  “Because she’s your neighbor.”

  “Cooley’s going to eat her cat any day now, so even a remote acquaintance is doomed to failure.”

  Andrea laughed. ‘You’re just afraid you could be wrong.”

  Mitch’s head snapped up. “I am not!”

  Andrea smiled at him.

  No. She smirked, a dare in her eyes.

  “Daddy’s not afraid of nothing,” Jen declared. She tapped her chocolate-smeared fingers on Andrea’s wrist with a confidential air she’d obviously copied from that woman. “Nana, we went swimming.”

  “Did you, dear?” Andrea’s gaze never wavered from Mitch’s. “I’ll bet you’ve never even talked to a psychic.”

  “There’s a yawning hole in my life. You probably haven’t ever talked to a real one either.” Mitch spied his prey at the bottom of the box, beneath a collection of faded Tupperware. “Ha!” He set the coffeemaker on the counter triumphantly.

  Could he possibly be so organized as to have packed the filters in the same box?

  “Some investigative reporter,” Andrea scoffed. “I thought journalists were supposed to base their conclusions on facts.”

  That statement caught Mitch’s attention as surely as it was meant to do. There was nothing he held more sacred than his journalistic integrity.

  Except maybe his natural ability to hone in on the truth. Mitch was a damn good reporter and he knew it.

  But Andrea had found a telling niche in his armor. He knew that all this paranormal stuff was bunk, but he’d never actually proved it.

  That was not a welcome realization.

  “Are you insinuating that I’m making a biased judgment?” he asked.

  “No.” Andrea smiled. “I’m saying you are.” She held his gaze. “Afraid to find out you’re wrong, Mr. Hotshot Reporter?”

  “I’m not wrong,” Mitch said. His low tone should have warned Andrea that she was on dangerous ground.

  If she knew it, she apparently didn’t care.

  She shook her head. “Your father always said you were too stubborn for your own good. I thought he was too hard on you, but…”

  “That’s it!” Mitch slammed the box closed and marched to the front door. He turned back to glare at his stepmother. “Watch the kids for a few minutes, would you?”

  He would go and meet the flake, prove that she was a charlatan, and be home in five minutes. Mission accomplished.

  It wasn’t exactly rocket science.

  “Of course!” Andrea said, laughing at him. “Let us know what you learn.”

  He ignored her as he strode down the steps and across the lawn. The neon sign on his neighbor’s house blinked in candy cane pink.

  Lilith’s Lovematches.

  Right.

  * * *

  Lilith prowled through her house restlessly, noting how the light coming through the back windows had turned golden. Soon the twilight would creep over the sky, the time she found more and more difficult to bear. Twilight was the moment it seemed anything could happen.

  But nothing ever did, not now.

  She had first seen Sebastian in that strange light. The sun had been sinking on the horizon, the moon rising opposite, the first stars lighting in the sky. And in that one moment, with one glimpse, Lilith had been smitten.

  And later, on the night that they’d shared everything, he’d come to the Rom camp at the same magickal time of day. Looking for her. Lilith hugged herself, remembering the heat in his eyes, the slow smile that had been just for her. Her heart pounded in recollection and her mouth went dry.

  She was fed up with memories. She wanted him back!

  The doorbell rang and Lilith jumped.

  Sebastian?

  But a wink of neon caught the periphery of her vision and squashed her hope. She’d just left the sign on.

  The last thing she wanted to do was provide advice – especially as she was aching herself.

  The doorbell rang again, more insistently this time.

  It wouldn’t be right to not answer.

  She’d just say that she couldn’t do a reading tonight.

  Lilith trudged to the door, haunted by her memories. D’Artagnan wound around her ankles, but she ignored the cat and opened the door.

  “I’m sorry, but…” she started to say, then stared in disbelief.

  Sebastian was on her porch.

  His chestnut hair still curled slightly. His eyes were still the same golden brown. He was taller than she remembered and more powerfully built than he had been before. He was a little older than he had been, but then, so was Lilith.

  Neither of them were impetuous teenagers anymore.

  Sebastian wore a red T-shirt that clung to his chest and denim shorts that still hid too much of his muscled legs. His feet were shoved into faded running shoes and his hair looked as if he had just pushed his fingers through it. Certainly the tinge of impatience in the set of his lips was new, but then Lilith was pretty much out of patience herself.

  Obviously, he had had trouble finding her again.

  But he was here! Just the sight of him on her very own doorstep sent a spark racing through Lilith’s veins. He was all man. He was her man. He was her beloved.

  He’d returned, just as he’d promised.

  And she’d been waiting a long long time.

  This wasn’t a moment to waste on conversation.

  She had, after all, vowed to make his return worth his while.

  Lilith grabbed Sebastian’s shirt and hauled him into her foyer. She slammed the door behind him, locked it with one hand while she curled the other around his neck and kissed him hard.

  Sebastian jumped a bit in surprise – maybe he’d forgotten how passionate she could be – but she backed him into the hallway, rolling her tongue into his mouth.

  The man was going to know that he’d been missed.

  He tasted so good, and smelled even better. Lilith ran her hands over his muscled shoulders and savored.

  Sebastian made a sound of protest, but Lilith gobbled it up. She didn’t care if this was too fast – she was burning with desire.

  Next time, they would take it slowly.

  And the next time and the next time after that. They could spend all night reaffirming their love, a glorious repeat of the passion that had sparked between them before.

  But first, she wanted him fast.

  Right here and right now.

  Lilith pressed her breasts against Sebastian and felt the heat of his erection. She rolled her hips against him and loved how he caught his breath. He was still trying to tell her something, but she didn’t care.

  It could wait.

  Lilith unzipped his fly, her fingers closing quickly around him. Sebastian moaned and caught his breath as she began to caress him. He still tried to talk, but Lilith kissed him with even more enthusiasm. It might have been centuries, but Lilith hadn’t forgotten anything her lover had taught her. She loved his little sound of defeat, the moment he surrendered the attempt to talk, the way his hands landed on her shoulders and pulled her closer.

  Lilith slid her fingers into his hair to pull him closer. She slanted her mouth more determinedly across his and he kissed her back with an answering heat that made her heart race. She lifted her dress and rubbed his erection against her bare belly as she wiggled out of her underwear. His hand slid over her buttock, his fingers slid across her heat and he shuddered.

  He was all hers.

  Of course, she’d always been all his.

  His erection grew as he touched her. His kiss turned ravenous and Lilith arched against him, demanding more and more and more.

  He felt so good.
<
br />   She pushed him down to the Persian rug, kissing him hungrily all the while. She rolled on top of him as soon as he hit the floor and he pulled her closer. She kicked her underwear aside and straddled him.

  He might have said something then, but she kissed him to silence, urging him into her heat.

  He was bigger than she remembered and that news was welcome. He gasped, then they kissed with even greater passion. The heat rose within her as they drove each other wild.

  It only took a moment until Sebastian clenched her hips and bellowed in his release. Then he touched her with those strong fingers, sending her over the brink even as she felt the warmth of his release. Lilith cried out in turn, then tumbled into the haven of his arms, content.

  Sebastian was back.

  This time Lilith wasn’t going to lose him.

  For any price.

  * * *

  2

  The High Priestess

  Mitch was quite certain that he had never had a beautiful woman pounce on him before.

  He definitely would have remembered that. He felt as though he had just tasted single malt scotch for the first time. Even his toes tingled.

  But people didn’t just do stuff like this.

  Did they? Mitch leaned back against the hardwood floor and kept his eyes tightly closed. He moved his fingers and found the curve of a perfect bare, luscious buttock beneath his hand. The woman’s perfume - something warmly seductive and completely alien to Mitch’s life - wound into his nostrils.

  His mouth went dry.

  Mitch frowned as he reviewed the course of events. He had knocked on the door, he remembered that. And an exotic woman had opened the door. She was dark-eyed and dark-haired, curvaceous, and wearing a dress as red as cherries. He’d never seen a woman like her, outside of Italian fashion magazines.

  Mitch had gotten no further than that before her dark eyes flashed in welcome, she hauled him into her foyer, locked the door and started kissing him like there was no tomorrow.

  This neighborhood had one hell of a welcome wagon.

  Mitch was unable to rationally explain what had just happened, yet for the moment, he didn’t really care. After all, it had been a long, long, long three years since Janice had packed her bags, and even longer than that since she had slept with him.