Chapter Thirty-Five
Dylan
I’d just finished with my last client of the day, so I made my way over to Trevor’s office to tell him about my plans for the rest of the week, and to see how he was doing. He’d been moody all day.
“You got a minute, Trev?” I asked.
“Sure,” he said, looking up from his computer screen. “Whatcha need?”
“I’m mostly going to be working from home for the rest of the week. I’ve only got a couple of face-to-face meetings on Thursday and a court appearance on Wednesday. The rest I can handle remotely.”
Trevor nodded. “Sounds like a good plan. I’ve been worried about Allie being alone. That’s why I asked Melina to stop by your house for a couple of hours before she heads to the studio.”
That shocked me for many reasons, mostly because I knew Trevor wasn’t Melina’s favorite person. Hearing Allie hadn’t been alone all day was a relief. When I’d talked to her at lunch, she’d still been on her own, and I hadn’t found a minute to call her since. “Good thinking. I know there haven’t been any attacks during the day, but I’m still worried.” While vampires and certain types of demons could only go out at night, most preternatural creatures didn’t have the same limitations.
“I agree we shouldn’t let our guard down during the day,” Trevor said. “Although, I will admit that it’s unlikely the killer will be looking for Allie.”
“You’re right,” I agreed reluctantly, and Trevor laughed.
“I love that look on your face,” he said.
“What look?” I asked in mock offense, even though I knew what he was seeing.
“You have the look of a warlock who’s found the right witch and is willing to do anything to keep her,” Trevor teased with a smirk.
“Allie thinks I’m crazy,” I told him.
“She hasn’t spent much time around witches since school,” Trevor said. “I’m pretty sure she ignored all the information about affinity tests and marriage back then because getting involved with any warlock was the last thing on her mind.”
“I can’t blame her, considering what happened with her father and uncle,” I said with a sigh. Hell, there were more examples of warlocks cheating than being faithful in her life, even if that wasn’t the norm. It was not going to be easy to convince Allie I could be faithful to her. “She thinks any relationship between witches is bad, not just the arranged ones.”
“I’ve tried talking to her about happy couples, like my parents or yours, before,” Trevor said, surprising me.
“What did you tell her?” I asked.
“I told her that if a couple passed all aspects of the affinity test then they weren’t going to be unfaithful,” Trevor explained.
That I didn’t understand, since I’d known plenty of unfaithful warlocks who had passed the test with their witch. My expression must have told Trevor how skeptical I was.
“You do realize it’s not just a pass or fail kind of test, don’t you?” Trevor asked with a raised eyebrow.
Actually, I didn’t know that, probably because I’d never witnessed an affinity test, or even considered being part of one. “It’s not?” I asked.
With a shake of his head, Trevor continued his explanation. “There is one test, but it’s rated on several levels. Each couple is tested in a different way, depending on their abilities. After the test, the results sometimes indicate that the couple might be compatible and suggest they test again later, but some witches assume they can just take that as a pass, which is a huge mistake. My grandfather presided over the affinity test between Allie’s father and the witch he married. He said they had potential to be a good match, but Julian was holding back. Their families wanted the match, so they pushed for things to proceed anyway.”
“I didn’t know that,” I said, but it shouldn’t surprise me. “So, they might not give me a yes or no answer?”
“When you first started flirting with Allie, I wasn’t happy about it, but I’m pretty sure she’s the witch for you.” Trevor was studying me, watching my reaction closely.
“I’ve never felt like this before,” I admitted, because I figured Trevor would understand with as many times as he’d been infatuated with a witch.
“Yeah, I know. Don’t fight it,” he said simply. “Trust the answer you get during your test. Despite what Allie believes, the affinity test is flawless. If you’re meant to be with Allie, the test will tell you. If you have areas to work on, it will tell you. In some ways, it was better back in the days when all marriages were arranged.”
“How do you figure?” I asked.
“It all came down to the test back then,” he said. “The problem was that people couldn’t test with someone outside of their rank, and there was a lot of bribery to get certain results.”
“That doesn’t sound better,” I muttered.
“My point is that when the couple really did pass the test, they were happy, and most families only proceeded with the marriage if the witch administering the test recommended it. Why do you think there are so many older witches who’ve been in happy relationships for hundreds of years?”
Listening to Trevor talk this way was strange since I’d always pictured him as more of a romantic. Instead, he was talking about the whole thing like there was no romance or falling in love. You were just meant to be with one person, and it could easily be determined by a test. It’s not like I’d never heard this before, but I’d never expected to hear it from Trevor.
“Do you think we’re going to pass the affinity test?” I asked, trying hard not to look like his answer meant too much to me.
He shrugged. “I’m not sure, but my father is convinced you will, and that’s why he volunteered to administer the test.”
“Your father?” I asked, only mildly surprised.
“Yep, and he’s heard all about what happened at the last meeting. You and Allie are big news among the other witches. My dad is really looking forward to the test.”
“The scary thing is that I really hope he’s right,” I admitted, which was met by a laugh from Trevor.
“I’ll try to be at your house the times you can’t,” Trevor said, changing the subject. “If not, I’ll get Melina to stay with Allie. That witch is more than a little scary, so I’m pretty sure she can take care of herself and Allie if there’s a problem.” There was an almost dreamy look in Trevor’s eyes.
“Are you seeing Melina?” I asked, because that was the second time he’d mentioned talking to her about staying with Allie.
“Define seeing,” Trevor answered hesitantly.
“Dating,” I said, and then added, “or just sleeping with her.”
Trevor let out a frustrated sigh and looked back at his computer screen. “Nope. Miss Melina Blackwood would never even consider dating me. She told me she’d rather give up sex forever than get involved with an immature man-whore warlock.”
That was pretty harsh, but I wasn’t surprised, considering what I knew about Melina. “You wanna talk about it?” I asked. The good thing with Trevor was that he’d be over his infatuation soon, but he was bound to be extra moody for at least a short time.
“Not really,” Trevor said as he ran a hand through his already messy hair. I was shocked because Trevor always wanted to talk about his witch problems.
“How about if I call Melina?” I asked. “Then you won’t have to talk to her.”
“Nah, I’ll call her after I figure out which times I can fill. Maybe we won’t need her at all, and it won’t be a problem.”
Except I knew Trevor was planning to call her. I could see it in the way he refused to meet my eyes.
“She must not hate you too much if she gave you her number,” I said in hopes of cheering Trevor up some.
“She didn’t exactly give it to me,” Trevor admitted without explaining how he’d gotten the number. I chose to keep my mouth shut, considering I hadn’t exactly gotten Allie’s number from her.
“Well, she didn’t change her
number when she found out you had it,” I added.
Trevor’s face brightened. “You’re right! She must not mind me calling too much or she would have changed her number or blocked mine.”
“Just don’t piss her off, Trev,” I warned. “You don’t want to cause more problems for Allie by having her cousin get a restraining spell against you.”
“What are you planning to do about Allie?” Trevor asked. “I mean, what are your intentions toward her if you get the results my father expects?”
When I opened my mouth to give some vague answer, I ended up deciding to just be honest with both of us. “I have no fucking idea. Allie has completely changed my life in the short time I’ve known her, and I want her with me.”
“This isn’t just about sex, is it?” Trevor asked. “If it is, I might be forced to kick your ass. Allie is a very complex woman, and she’s not your normal succubus.”
“Yeah, I figured that out,” I admitted. “The truth is, I really care about Allie. She’s fun and sweet, not to mention sexy as hell. When I dragged her off to stay at my house for her own safety, I kind of figured it would be a major pain in the ass to have her there. I pictured us bickering over everything and me getting annoyed about losing my privacy.”
“You don’t seem too anxious to get rid of her.” Trevor grinned knowingly.
“That’s the scary part. I get that we don’t know each other very well, but I still kind of want to go through with a marriage ceremony just so she can’t leave me. This must make me sound like I’ve lost my mind.”
Trevor chuckled. “Sounds like my father is right. Any other warlock, I might worry was just infatuated with her, but you aren’t the type to get infatuated.”
“None of this is going to matter if she refuses to give me a chance,” I said. “She agreed to date me, but I’m still afraid she’s going to bail as soon as her life’s not in danger.”
“Just give her time,” Trevor said. “Allie definitely has feelings for you, but she’s going to need time to get past her hang-ups before she can commit.”
“I really fucked up when I agreed to the affinity test, didn’t I?”
Trevor shook his head. “Actually, this might be good for her, as long as your mom doesn’t try pushing you to take the next step until Allie’s ready.”
“Maybe I should have another talk with my mom,” I said thoughtfully.
“Good luck with that, my friend.” Trevor chuckled at my expense. “In your mother’s eyes, Allie is as good as pregnant with your child.”
I groaned. “You’re right. For the most part, my mom will probably just be happy that I’m dating, but I still worry that she’ll push things and scare Allie off.”
“Your mom may be crazy to get you to settle down with a witch, but she has to realize Allie’s half-succubus,” Trevor said.
I grinned. “Good thinking. Allie could break ties with the council and be free from their rules. My mom’s smart enough to realize that.”
“Exactly,” Trevor confirmed with a nod.
“Just to be on the safe side, I’ll call my mom on the way home to make sure she doesn’t push for anything that will send Allie running. I’ll also call Nick and see if he wants to hang out with us tonight. That way Allie can get used to doing normal stuff at my house without me being tempted to carry her off to my bed the second I walk in the front door.”
Trevor’s lips thinned. “You’re really going to just let Allie adopt the vampire?”
“Nick’s not like other vampires,” I told Trevor. “In fact, they’re not all assholes like the ones you’ve had experience with.”
“I guess you’re right,” Trevor admitted with a sigh.
“Did you want to come over tonight?” I asked.
“Thanks, but I have something to take care of,” Trevor said before returning his attention to his computer screen, his fingers flying across his keyboard.
Since I’d just been dismissed, I decided to head home to Allie—a thought that brought a huge smile to my face.
Sinfully Spellbound Page 36