Dark Magic

by Cali Mann

  I frowned. “What do you mean?”

  “Dead animals on my porch.” He grimaced. “Rats and raccoons—of all things. I’m kind of afraid of what will show up next.”

  A chill ran down my spine. Someone was leaving the same gruesome corpses for Bash and his brother? Why would they do that? It didn’t make any sense. Not that the dead animals had meaning unless it was some kind of message. But what could a dark magic book and a bunch of dead animals mean? Maybe someone wanted them to break the spell or at least show Seb that he had a brother. “Do you have any enemies?”

  He shrugged, his eyes sliding away from me.

  What was with these brothers and their damn secrets? I crossed my arms over my chest and glared at him. Could this be the action of a friend? Is that why they were so hell-bent on protecting them?

  Seb sighed, tapping his fingers on the desk. “Maybe Fiona.” He looked like he wanted to bite his own tongue off for saying her name.

  So, even though I’d heard her name from Bash, I had to ask, “Who’s that?”

  “Just an ex,” he said, looking toward the large window and the sunny sky outside.

  “That’s an awfully vicious thing for an ex-girlfriend to do,” I said. What if Bash had hurt Fiona somehow, and she was punishing both of them? Or maybe she’d found out Bash was a vampire and assumed Seb was too. It just didn’t make any sense.

  “Leaving the animals?” He nodded. “Yeah. She lost it when she moved in with that rich guy.”

  “She left you?” I asked, pretending I didn’t know. “And she’s sending you these ghoulish ‘presents’?” My lips twisted at the word. What else did you call dead bodies on your front step?

  “Yeah,” he said, running a hand through his moppy hair just like Bash’s. “I don’t get it.”

  “Where’s the rich guy live?” I was being nosey but none of this made any sense. If she sent him the book, was she trying to tell him about the curse? But why the dead things? My stomach still rolled at the memory of the raccoon’s corpse.

  “Off Baker Street, just outside town.” Seb seemed to realize that he’d been going on and we were supposed to be studying. He pushed the dark magic book away and pulled over his notes. “Where did we leave off?”

  I stared at the book. What trouble could he get into with that tome? I didn’t want it but I didn’t want Seb to get hurt either. “I’ll take the book if you don’t mind?”

  “Have at it,” he said with an exasperated sigh.

  I didn’t know if he was frustrated with himself or me, but I slid the book over next to my bag and then flipped open my notes. “We were talking about the seven Celtic Nations.”

  “That’s right,” he said with a rare smile.

  He was just as cute as his brother, and a whole lot less dangerous. Now that I knew it was there, I could see that the magic fuzzies were from the curse. If I opened my third eyes, I was sure I’d see it laid over his heart like a lock. But I didn’t want to do it. I didn’t want to think about a mother who hated her son so much that she’d curse his brother into forgetting him. But I was here thinking about it anyway, and about Seb’s devilish ex. What was it about these guys that inspired such strong emotions?

  Seb

  My eyes darted to Greer as she peered at the history notes, biting the end of her pencil.

  So many weird things have been happening lately, what was one more? Besides the magic book, the dead animals, and suddenly waking up refreshed after months of being overtired—so much so that I’d asked the doctor if I needed vitamins—now I could have sworn I’d smelled Greer’s apple scent on my sheets. How was that even possible? I’d figured it’d been on my jacket, since I loaned it to her last week, but in my bed?

  I kept opening my mouth to ask her if she’d somehow been in my apartment, but then I’d close it again. It was stupid. What’d I do, sleepwalk to a date? But I’d been sleeping better. I hadn’t gone anywhere. It didn’t make any sense.

  But my nose rarely steered me wrong. My mother used to laugh at my “super sniffer” abilities. I wouldn’t ever eat anything that smelled the slightest bit off and I could tell. If she’d indulge in something I’d turned down, Mom would kick herself later when she felt ill. I wouldn’t mistake Greer’s smell for anything else, yet there was no way she could have been in my bed.

  When she reached over to get a pen out of her backpack, I traced the lines of her body with my mind. Not that I’d mind if she was there. Today was the first time I’d ever seen her in jeans and these ones fit her ass so perfectly. I could just imagine peeling them off of her and nibbling my way up her slim legs. I sighed. But I wasn’t the type to sleep with someone I just met, especially not one I was supposed to be tutoring. Wasn’t that against the rules somehow? Sleeping with my student?

  I pushed these thoughts out of my head and tried to focus on what we were studying. It was so odd because I loved Celtic History. I wouldn’t have TA’d for the class if I didn’t. But today I couldn’t concentrate and it seemed to have something to do with Greer. I adjusted myself in my seat and leaned forward, eyes on the page we were going over. My arm brushed hers and a tingle ran along it.

  Her eyes snapped to mine and her mouth opened in a little ‘o’.

  My heart sped up and I wanted to pull her into my arms and kiss her. Would she taste as good as she smelled? What was it about her that I found so attractive? She wasn’t my type at all.

  I shook myself. We were here to work. Hadn’t I already decided I wasn’t getting another girlfriend? What was I even thinking? I grabbed another book from the stack I’d brought and knocked my pencil on the floor. I extended my arm under the table to reach for it and closed my fingers around soft skin instead. My eyes flicked to Greer as I lifted her hand above the table. I turned it over in my fingers and kissed the palm. She trembled, her sharp gray eyes taking in my every movement.

  “What are you . . ?” she began, trailing off when my tongue darted over her skin.

  To be honest, I didn’t know what I was doing. I knew I shouldn’t for all the reasons that filled my mind, but I couldn’t seem to make my body listen to my brain. I kissed my way up her arm, pushing away her sweater. When I got to the crook of her arm, I stared at the beating pulse right under her skin. Wanting something, but I didn’t know what. I frowned.

  Greer took hold of my cheeks and kissed me.

  I drowned in her touch. It felt so familiar and yet so uniquely Greer. Her apple scent surrounded us, and I drank it in. Sliding my hands into her silky hair, I pulled her closer, needing more of her.

  Her fingers slid over my chest and fiddled with the buttons of my shirt. I pushed them away, undoing them, and her hand dropped onto my chest, just over the thumping of my heart.

  I groaned against her lips, reaching for her sweater. I lifted the hem, running my hands along her skin and up to her lacey bra. I needed her skin against mine. Something inside me called out for it, and I couldn’t think of anything else. I barely remembered that we were at the library. The study room was private, but there was a big window in the door. Anyone could walk by. But I couldn’t make myself care. I needed her against me. I broke our kiss, and pulled her sweater over her head, licking each inch that was revealed.

  I slid my hands along her thighs and between her legs, hating the denim that separated us. I’d liked the jeans before, but now they were just in my way. My fingers closed on the button and I looked into her gray eyes. My words stumbled over each other like a green schoolboy as I asked, “Do you . . . want . . ?”

  “Yes,” she said, her chest heaving and her breasts perfectly outlined in her almost sheer bra. Her hand passed over mine and the troublesome jeans were gone, replaced by a short skirt.

  “How?” My mind whirled, but my hand touched the velvety skin of her thighs and suddenly, I didn’t care how. I lifted her onto the table and shoved aside our papers and books.

  Her hand slid down my pants, stroking my hardening cock.

  I wanted her more than I’d ever w
anted anyone before. This crazy, maddening woman had gotten under my skin and I didn’t know how or why, but I couldn’t get enough of her. I divested myself of the rest of my clothes. Then I reached for her underwear and found only the wetness of her sex. I played my fingers over it, enjoying the little moans that came from her lips.

  “I need you,” she gasped.

  Happy to oblige, I lined myself up and paused. “I don’t have a condom,” I whispered.

  “No worries. I’m on birth control,” she said, wrapping her hands around my shoulders and pulling me toward her.

  I slid her skirt up, so it bunched around her hips, and she opened for me. I thrust into her, feeling her warm and tight around me. Our movements synchronized as pleasure radiated through me. She was like the ocean, pulling me along on every wave and every crest.

  “Harder,” she gasped. “Faster.”

  I took her at her word and drove into her over and over again. Her hands gripped my arms, her nails marking me. I smiled, enjoying her fierceness, and then frowning. I’d never liked Fiona to scratch me. Why was I into it now? I plowed into her again and she cried out. Was I hurting her? I blinked. Despite the pleasure surging through my body, my mind was swirling, images filling my mind. Greer crying out when I sucked on her clit. Her fingers squeezing the sheets on my bed as I thrust inside her.

  I shook myself. We were here. In the library. Her body opened to me and arched against me. I grasped her hips, holding her still, as I plunged inside her. Sensation radiated through me and I forgot the library, forgot the tutoring, it was just our bodies merging again and again as we’d done the other night. My brow furrowed. The other night?

  I was so distracted by my weird thoughts that when the orgasm hit me, I yelled. Pleasure cascaded through me and I collapsed on top of her. Still nestled within her, I caught my breath. My eyes darted to the door and I pulled her clothes over her. “I’m sorry,” I said standing up. “Anyone could have come by.”

  “It’s okay,” she said.

  I gazed at the table and the mess that we’d made. I’d just lost control and I’d attacked her. I never did that. Had she come? I frowned. I didn’t even know. I’d always prided myself on being a considerate lover and I had taken her roughly on a study table at the library. What was wrong with me?

  A cold chill swept through me. Had she even wanted it? I glanced at Greer. She’d sat up and was pulling on her clothes. “Are you okay?”

  She smiled. “I’m good.”

  “I didn’t mean . . .” My heart thumped against my chest. What had I been thinking? She was my student. I had taken advantage. I shoved my books into my backpack. “I’m sorry.”

  “Seb, “ she said, her hand reaching for my arm. “What’s the matter?”

  I shook my head. “I shouldn’t have . . . taken advantage of you like that.”

  Greer shook her head. “You didn’t. I was willing.”

  Pushing her arm away, I headed for the door. I couldn’t think. I’d done wrong and she was letting me get away with it. I’d had sex with my student and now I was just running away. I knew it was wrong. I knew I was wrong, but I couldn’t seem to make it okay in my head. She didn’t deserve to be treated like that.

  “I’ve got to go,” I muttered. I didn’t look back.

  Greer

  I stared after Seb’s retreating figure, my mouth gaping. He was as bad as his brother. We’d just made love, and he had the nerve to say he was sorry? What had just happened? Why had he left?

  I hopped down from the table and gathered up my things. I hadn’t meant to sleep with Seb, but I didn’t regret it. He certainly hadn’t taken advantage of me in any way. I’d even magicked the window on the door so no one could see in, but he didn’t know that. It’d been cute how he’d worried about it after, too lost in the moment to think. I frowned. Did he regret it? Was I that bad a lay? He’d certainly seemed like he’d enjoyed himself.

  My hand froze on the dark magic book. He’d left it behind, and I’d said I’d take it. The darkness on it made my skin crawl. Best to do it fast and get it over with. I grabbed it and shoved it in my bag. Yuck.

  Maybe I should go by and see Seb’s ex. See if she really did send it. Did she know about Bash? Perhaps she really was trying to save the brothers. Then I remembered what Bash had said. Fiona lived in a house with bad vampires. Was she one too? Had she turned?

  I turned to leave the study room, wondering which was worse—looking through a dark magic book or visiting a house of evil vampires? I wasn’t sure I could even trust myself to make the right choice. Maybe there wasn’t a right choice.

  Really I should turn my back on both of them—Seb and his brother. Both of them had used me and ran away, even if I did run out on Bash first. I’d slept with both of them, and neither had been a good choice. I couldn’t even say I hadn’t realized this time. I’d walked into both relationships with my eyes open. How did these go from one-night hookups to relationships?

  When I decided to help them, I guessed. When I picked up the dark magic book and decided that undoing the brothers’ curse was my mission. Pushing out the library doors, I turned my face up to the weak New England sun, trying to soak it in. I was going to need as much good magic as I could muster before I did this.

  Stepping up to the cart, I ordered another coffee and turned to head to class. The brothers deserved to know one another and loosening the knot on Seb’s curse might just open his eyes to the world he’d been missing. Not looking where I was going, I slammed into Professor Cantrell. My coffee dumped down his jacket and I dropped my bag.

  “I’m so sorry,” I said, trying to dry off his jacket with a tiny napkin.

  “Just leave it,” he said, exasperation in his voice as he pushed by me.

  I stared after him, feeling like I’d come out of a daze. I’d been considering dark magic? To help Bash and Seb? What was wrong with me? I knew better than to mess with that stuff. And after they’d both slept with me and abandoned me. They didn’t deserve my help, especially something so dangerous. I’d be putting my own life on the line.

  I reached for my bag and I stopped just before my fingers closed around the handle. The dark magic had been working on me, from my bag. Imagine all the damage it could do if I’d actually opened it. I pulled my hand back, clutching it to my chest.

  My eyes darted around at the busy walkway that surged with people. I couldn’t let this book fall into anyone’s hands. Why it might even affect a mortal. Remembering the study room, I wondered if it had somehow affected both of us. Had it made us have sex? What possible purpose could a dark magic tome have for binding me to Seb? It seemed unlikely that we’d have been overcome by our urges like that otherwise.

  I needed to call my dads. Stepping back, I left the bag where it was and cradled my hand to my ear, pretending I have a cell phone. Mine was in my bag but I didn’t dare touch it. “Papa,” I whispered, sending out the family distress signal, and I waited.

  Warm hands came down on my shoulders and I turned into Papa’s arms. His shirt smelled of sea air and cappuccinos, and I breathed it in as if it were my lifeline. “You came.”

  “Of course I did, Greer.” His brown eyes were full of concern.

  Tears brimmed in my eyes as I was overwhelmed by homesickness. I wanted to be in our house, watching old movies or cooking together, or sitting out on the patio under the warm California sun. Not here, friendless, studying and making bad choices.

  “What is it, ma fille?” Papa asked. His voice was low and calm, but with the slight accent of his native French tongue.

  “I have a dark magic book in my bag,” I said pointing. “And it’s influencing me.”

  Papa didn’t ask any questions. He murmured a few words under his breath and the bag disappeared.

  “Where did it go?”

  “To the containment vault at the coven. We’ll extract your things for you and decontaminate them before sending them back.”

  “Okay,” I said, nodding and wiping my eyes.
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br />   “Shall we go somewhere and talk about it?”

  “Please.”

  He walked with me up to town. We didn’t say much, just strolled together. We went into a little restaurant tucked in between the bar and the yoga studio. I hadn’t even noticed it before.

  We settled into a small booth and ordered coffees and french toast.

  “I’m not hungry,” I protested. My nerves felt frayed and sharp.

  “Best to eat to restore your lost energy.”

  When the coffees came, Papa whispered over them, turning them into my favorite cappuccinos from home. I almost started crying again when I smelled the sweet milk.

  ”So what happened?”

  I stared at him, wanting to spill out everything but not even knowing where to begin. Well, maybe not everything. “I met two brothers. One has been cursed to forget the other exists because his brother is a vampire.”

  Papa was so good. He never yelled until he had the whole story. “And?”

  “I think someone is trying to break the curse or get them to break it. They sent the human brother the book.”

  “And you took it, why?”

  “Because it seemed dangerous in the hands of a mortal.”

  “Who would have not been tempted by its evil . . . ”

  I frowned. “Does that mean he’s not mortal? If he was tempted?” I remembered Seb’s fingers tracing the cover of the book.

  Papa grimaced. ”It’s possible. How long has he been cursed? Has the dark magic crept into his soul, twisting it?”

  I shook my head. “No, he doesn’t seem like a bad guy.”

  “Appearances can be wrong,” Papa said. “Regardless, I don’t think you should see him anymore.”

  My stomach curled tighter. “I have to he’s my tutor and I’m failing—”

  “Then you’ll just have to fail this course,” Papa said, reaching out and squeezing my hand. “It’s too dangerous for you to be around dark magic . . . with your genes.”