How was I now in bed with Antony? I had to find the man who was going to help me, and there I was, cuddling up to an ordinary man that worked for my father.
Pushing the judgemental thought out of my head, I shut my eyes in an attempt to calm myself. It didn’t work.
I drifted in and out of consciousness for hours. Being so close to someone I hardly knew, didn’t help me rest easily.
The feel of his breath on my cheek made my eyes flicker open as the thud of a door in the distance woke me up. His head was turned towards me, his face inches from my forehead. I should’ve stayed completely still, but in my grogginess, I tilted my head back to look at him.
He was much closer than I realised and his eyes were open. My arm tightened around him without my consent. The light from around the curtain told me it was morning. However, I couldn’t bring myself to move.
We were so close, our breath mingled together. My gaze was glued to his, the blood rushing in my ears when he brought his head forward and our lips met. The caress sent tingles flying over my skin.
A rush of air pulled through his nose and into his lungs as he held me against his side. The kiss deepened and he licked my lips, requesting me to open my mouth. In my sleepiness, I couldn’t deny him.
He couldn’t hold my head with his good arm, being that it was around me, but he didn’t need to. I opened to him and his tongue touched mine, teasing it gently. I gasped at the unfamiliar caress, shuddering from the contact.
Tracing my hand up his chest, I cupped his jaw. He squeezed me against him and kissed me harder, bending my head back. Our breath grew heavier, and after a moment, he let go.
“Sorry.” He panted.
My senses reeled. My body hummed with a vibration that I had never felt before. He set me alight, igniting something in me that I never knew existed.
However, I was relieved that he had pulled away. I wasn’t sure if I would have been able to resist him if he had chosen to take things further.
“It’s okay,” I replied, going to pull away.
He held me tight, making it impossible for me to move. I nestled into his neck, unsure what had just happened. My nose brushed against his skin and the smell of him made my heart beat even faster.
“I…”
He couldn’t speak, and I didn’t want to say anything. The kiss had blown me away, opened something within me. However, it shouldn’t have happened. He was my bodyguard. We weren’t supposed to be in bed together, although the thought didn’t worry me enough to move. It was comfortable and cosy lying with him.
“Don’t speak,” I whispered.
“But there’s something I have to tell you.”
My muscles froze. His words sent shock through me, even though I had no idea what he was about to say. I knew it was bad. The way my stomach clenched told me that whatever it was, it was going to sting.
“I can’t be your soul-match, I don’t have witch blood in me.”
The words confused me. I had been convinced that he would say that he had a girlfriend or something similar.
Pulling away, I looked into his eyes. He winced as the movement hurt his wounded shoulder. Luckily, he looked a lot better. Only a light sheen of sweat covered his forehead.
“I didn’t think you could,” I said.
He wasn’t my soulmate. There was supposed to be an amazing feeling of butterflies and an instant recognition when we first met. I didn’t have that with Antony. But there was something else. Something I couldn’t explore, even if I wanted to.
“That’s good, then. I promise this won’t happen again. We’ll start to look for your soul-match today.”
I stayed still, not sure whether to get out of bed, or stay where I was. It surprised me how much his words stung. Okay, so I might have known that he wasn’t my destiny, but he had just kissed me and now he pushed me away.
“Yes, I better get started,” I replied.
He pulled me down so that we were face to face. “I would really like to be friends, Penny. Let’s forget this ever happened.”
Forcing a smile, I climbed out of bed. I wasn’t going to show him that my heart burnt at his words. Was I that insignificant? Did he just take advantage because I was a woman in bed with him?
As I picked up my things, I vowed to never let a man do that to me again. It felt like crap, and I had to bite my lip to stop it from trembling.
“The doctor will be here soon. I’ll send Derek in to see if you’re well enough to get up.”
Leaving without looking back at the bed, I took a deep breath. I didn’t want him to know how hurt I was by his rejection. It was ridiculous really. I needed to find my soulmate, not waste time with Antony. It was time to distract myself from my bodyguard by going back to London to start my search.
Chapter Nine
The music thumped through me as I swayed my hips in time to the beat. I had only been to the clubs in London a few times since turning eighteen, preferring the quiet life. My siblings had arranged a night out as soon as I’d arrived, excited to help me get started on my mission. I had figured that I might as well let my hair down.
Father had agreed that I didn’t need Antony to protect me whenever I was with my brothers, so I had left him at the house to recover.
“Here’s your boring drink,” Lee shouted as he handed me a bottle of water.
“You know I don’t like alcohol,” I replied, punching him on the arm when he stuck out his tongue.
Clarie was on the dance floor, grinding against a stranger. His hands were all over her, a smarmy grin on his face. Shuddering, I looked away. How could she stand it?
“I got Clarie another wine,” Lee shouted in my ear.
The overloud sound made me cringe as much as my sister’s behaviour.
Clarie was drunk. That was why she was allowing random men to touch her. She had guzzled at least four glasses of wine, claiming that she was only a little tipsy. I had often warned Mother that her repression would make the witches crazy when they finally got their freedom. I had been proved right.
Alex joined us, a grin on his face and lipstick on his mouth. He laughed as I shook my head at him.
“You pulled already, mate?” Lee pointed to his own lips.
Misinterpreting him, Alex leant in and pretended to give him a kiss. Laughter escaped me as Lee shoved Alex away, causing him to bump into a short girl. Alex apologised as he looked down at her. She melted under his gaze, her eyes becoming all sultry. Reaching up, she wiped the lipstick away from his mouth and pulled his head down for a kiss.
“How does he do it?”
I couldn’t answer Lee. I really didn’t know. Maybe his magical residue was heady to women? Lee had his fair share of them too, so I didn’t know what he was worried about.
He was antsy, tapping his foot on the floor and looking around. Smiling, I shook my head as I realised why he was looking like he urgently needed a pee.
“Lee… go dance!”
He glanced at me and then back to the dance floor, hesitating. He was so lovely. I could tell that he didn’t want to leave me on my own. However, his dancing shoes called him. He was useless at dancing, always bumping into people. He didn’t let that stop him, he loved to get lost in the music.
“Go on! Theo will be back in a minute,” I called.
He nodded once and plunged into the crowd. Fanning my hot face, I turned to go to the bathroom. As I pushed through the heaving bodies, someone bumped into me, and I tumbled to the floor.
“I’m so sorry,” a voice shouted as arms reached around my waist and hoisted me to my feet.
Almost stumbling again, I came face to face with a pair of green eyes. His hair was dark and styled into a French crop. He wore a suit, which was odd in the middle of a club.
“I’ve come straight from work,” he shouted, obviously noting the way I looked at his clothes.
His gaze travelled down me, studying my frame. I glanced down at my long bare legs. The dress I wore was Clarie’s. She was shorter than me s
o the dress looked elegant on her. On me, it looked short. Very short. The black lace over the top half of the dress had made me feel bare at first. The longer I had worn it, the more comfortable I felt. Until now.
“Nice dress,” he said, grinning at me.
My heart triple jumped, and I gripped my water bottle hard.
“Do you want to dance?”
We were idle in the middle of the dance floor, gazing at one another. Others dancers were gyrating to a sexy song I didn’t recognise. I rarely listened to the radio or kept up with the trends. Dancing was a favourite hobby. In my bedroom, away from others eyes.
“Yes!” I shouted, throwing caution to the wind.
Taking my hand, he tugged me deeper into the throng of people. He started to sway his body back and forth, inviting me with raised eyebrows. Taking a deep breath, I licked my lips. He grabbed my hips as I moved them, grinning down at me. Letting the music overtake my muscles, I smiled widely, enjoying the freedom. He pulled me against him, putting a thigh between my legs as our hips moved in rhythm together. My eyes closed briefly at the heady contact between us.
When I opened them, I looked straight into his eyes. His gaze was intense. We didn’t speak. There was no need for words. Our bodies were dancing the talk for us.
“What’s your name?”
Smiling, I debated whether to tell him. The idea of keeping it a secret made the game more fun. Or maybe I was just afraid of how easily I had stepped into his arms. I had the habit of allowing men to do what they would recently.
“Penny.”
His eyebrows rose as he smiled. “That’s quite an old fashioned name.”
I almost stilled. His hands on my hips kept me swaying as he pulled me closer. The warmth of his breath on my face made me shudder. Was he going to kiss me? I wasn’t sure if I wanted him to.
“Penny!” someone shouted.
Pulling away from my partner, I turned to see Theo close by. Was he going to interrupt my first ever dance with a handsome man?
“We’ve got to go,” he shouted when I made eye contact with him.
I shook my head as my dance partner tightened his grip on me. Not because I didn’t want to go, but because Theo was rarely flustered. As he approached, he towered above us, his tight T-shirt emphasizing his strength by clinging to his muscles. His gaze darted around, searching for something.
“Do you know him?” my dance partner shouted.
Nodding, I stepped out of his embrace. I wasn’t sure why I moved away from him, I just knew that something was about to happen.
The gunshot was drowned out by the music. No one else noticed, too wrapped up in the music. However, it had only been a few days since I had last heard the sound.
My stomach churned as I looked around at the dancing figures. The crowd hadn’t realised that there was a gunman in the club.
“We have to go,” Theo shouted again.
My new friend held my hand, a frown on his face. The music cut off suddenly and the DJ told everyone to evacuate.
“Is everything okay?” the man asked, glancing at Theo suspiciously.
It was nice that the man was so concerned for my welfare. Theo’s shaved head and gruff approach made people wary, so I didn’t blame him for wondering if I was safe. However, there were bigger problems.
Squeezing his hand, I smiled, trying to reassure him. Another gunshot sounded nearby. Ducking down, I swore, grabbing Theo’s hand too. His palm was dry, unlike mine, which was slick with sweat. Did he know who the shooter was?
Screams rang out as people started to run for the doors, shoving one another. Everyone had heard the second shot.
“What’s going on?” I turned to Theo.
He eyed my new friend, his gaze narrowing on our joined hands. His throat moved in a swallow. Blinking, I looked down to where my fingers were being held. It had been nice to have a man who was happy to dance with me, I had to admit it.
“Penny, get out of here,” Alex called.
He came into view as the crowd thinned. I gasped as he wrestled with a man that had a black mask over his face, trying to keep him pinned to the ground.
“Where’s Clarie?” I shouted, searching for her.
Theo put a hand on my shoulder, a scowl deep in his face. “She’s used her magic to disappear. She’ll meet us at home.”
My new friend steered us out of the crowd, pulling me when I tried to watch Alex. It was pushing it calling him my friend when I didn’t even know his name but you know.
Glancing over my shoulder, I made sure that Theo followed closely behind.
Tucking me into his side, the new man shielded me from the crushing crowd. “Your friends are…” his sentence trailed off when Theo caught his eye.
Making our way through the rest of the crowd, we stumbled into a separate corridor. My heart thumped in my chest as I paused. A part of me wanted to stay and make sure that Alex was okay. Had he been attacked? Had anyone else been shot?
“We’re her brothers.” Theo growled behind us, nodding at me to keep going.
“That explains it,” the man said, opening an emergency door.
We fell onto the street, gasping as the cool air rushed around us. Theo ripped my hand away from the stranger as soon as we came to a stop, shaking his head and scowling.
“What are you doing?” I exclaimed.
“Mate, if she’s taken, you should’ve said inside.”
What the bloody hell did Theo think he was doing? He wasn’t my keeper, how dare he get involved in my choices?
“She’s not taken, but I’m very protective of my sister.”
The man’s green eyes were no match for Theo’s intense gaze. Theo stared until the man backed down, glancing at me. Lifting his hands in surrender, he started to move away.
“You’re nice” he said to me. “…but I only wanted a dance.” Smiling apologetically, he spun and jogged away.
How could Theo do that to me? Heat flamed the skin on my arms as I stared up at him. Okay, so the man wasn’t my soulmate, but it was up to me if I wanted to get involved with him. He had been right, it was only a dance. So, why had my brother been so hostile? If he was going to act like that with every man I met, he could potentially scare the right man away.
“Why did you do that?” I snapped.
In general, I wasn’t a violent person, but an urge to hurt him overtook me as fury laced my veins, making my cheeks go hot.
Grabbing my arm as I went to hit out, Theo gritted his teeth and looked down at me. “If he’s the one, he’ll find you. We have to be careful. Warlocks are good at hiding their true selves. Their lack of magic makes it easy for them to pretend to be human.”
I gritted my teeth as the scorching bubbling energy drained from me. He was right. If we were meant to be together, the universe would make sure we came into contact again. Not that I’d enjoyed the five minutes of his company that much. It was just the principle.
“I still can’t believe you did that,” I muttered, turning as Alex and Lee fell out of the door behind us.
“We need to go.” Alex puffed, grabbing my arm.
Sirens sounded nearby, making me jump as Alex urged me to run with them before letting go. Father had said that the warlocks would try to stop me from achieving my mission. I really hoped the shooting hadn’t been because of me. The thought of gunfire heading my way whenever I was with my possible witchy match made me sick to the stomach. I never imagined falling in love could be so dangerous.
“I can’t keep up, wait for me!” I shouted as the others ran ahead.
They couldn’t hear me as they rushed, too in their heads to remember that my legs were much shorter than theirs. It sounded like the police were nearby, the sirens growing louder. Sucking in a breath, I pumped my arms, trying to go faster. There was no way I was able to catch up to them, they had forgotten I was even there. Their adrenaline had taken over, forcing them to hurry ahead.
We usually grabbed a cab home. Searching for one, I cursed as I ducked aro
und the corner, out of the busy street. All the cabs were taken by the scared clubbers.
I carried on running, hoping that by following the boys, they would remember me and come back.
Coming out of the side street, away from the shadows, I paused, trying to get my breath. The Thames was ahead of me, the water glistening from the lights on the bridge nearby. A road ran alongside it, trees dotted on the small patches of grass.
To get home, I just had to get over the bridge and hop on the night bus. Easy peasy.
“There you are!”
The shout made me yelp.
A man in a black mask came out of the shadows, a chuckle coming up his chest. I backed towards the railing that lined the River Thames and stopped when I bumped against it. At least we were near the river. I didn’t want to swim in the Thames after dark, but if I had to, I would.
“What do you want?” I yelled, my voice squeaky as I tucked a strand of hair behind my ear.
He approached me slowly, each step measured. “We can’t allow you to be with your soulmate,” he said, his voice muffled by the material over his mouth.
“Why not…?” It was a stupid question, a crazy attempt to distract him.
“Because if you succeed, you’ll bring witches back. Some of us like the dark of the world. Violence and greed feeds the black magic on Earth. It’s waiting to be revived by the warlocks. If you succeed, a whole race of pure magic users will jeopardise our work.” Tilting his head to the side, he chuckled again. “Poor Penny. So clueless about what’s actually going on. You all are.”
His words found their way into my soul. I had been around a few times apparently, in an endless cursed cycle of trying to revive the witch race. Something about the man’s energy was familiar, which meant we had probably met before.
“You don’t remember me, do you?” he asked when I refused to answer.
He was powerful, whoever he was. I could feel his dark energy pulse across the London road. There were hardly any cars and the street lamps emitted a low glow, only just illuminating the distance between us.
My fingers shook violently as I grasped the railing behind me. Sliding away slowly, I took a few steps, swallowing the fear that threatened to erupt from my stomach. I didn’t want him to get too close. There had to be enough time to run.
Chasing Magic: The Last Witch Coven Book 1 Page 8