Something Wicca This Way Comes Page 3

  The moment he touched her the world trembled and tilted beneath her. A rush of heat and electricity raced up her spine and sent her heart skidding up into her throat.

  She could hardly breathe, much less think clearly, which must be why she didn't pull away.

  Instead, she watched with dizzy amazement as he slowly entwined his fingers with hers, mating their palms, and sending a flood of pleasure through every nerve ending in her body.

  "I probably should have waited until you were asleep," he murmured, stepping so close she could feel the heat radiating off from his body. "Then I could have slipped away without you ever knowing my secret."

  The breath she was holding escaped in a whispery moan as he lifted her hand to his lips and kissed each of her fingertips in turn.

  "But after I saw you tonight, laughing and dancing in the circle with your friends, the firelight whirling in your eyes. I think I fell a little in love with you. I needed to talk to you. To touch you... To taste you."

  For one heart-stopping second she thought of the hungry, almost predatory way that he had looked at her when they'd first met at the drive-in.

  Then his lips were closing over hers and she could no longer think at all.

  His kiss was agonizingly soft at first. Just a feathery caress at the sensitive corner of her mouth. But as she helplessly leaned closer, he deepened it.

  With his teeth and tongue he nibbled and seduced her into opening, then he eagerly thrust inside, devouring her tremulous moan.

  Liz had been kissed before. But nothing like this. He was stoking a fire inside her with every flick and swirl of his tongue. Making her forget everything but the heat that filled her body and awakened a storm of desire in her soul.

  When he finally freed her lips, she was weak and trembling in his arms.

  Dropping her forehead to rest upon one strong shoulder, she fought to catch her breath and rein in her racing heart.

  But it was an impossible task so long as her held her this way, wrapped within the protective circle of his arms, embraced by the heat and the earthy sweet scent of his skin.

  She had to force herself to brace shaky hands against his chest and push him away.

  "I don't really know you," she whispered, putting some necessary space between them. She couldn't trust herself not to rush back into his arms.

  It had felt so good to be held that way. As if she were a cherished treasure that he would readily fight to protect.

  "Then let me show you who I am," he offered in a husky voice. "Give me a chance to prove that I am worthy of you, my beautiful witch."

  "I'm not really a witch," she frowned. "I haven't been initiated yet."

  He laughed softly and the deep, male sound of it sent her heart racing once more.

  "You've cast a spell on me," he argued with a smile. "From the moment that I saw you at that drive-in. I knew that somehow, some way, I must get to know you better. If your friend hadn't run into me, I would have found another way to track you down."

  Liz thought of Beth and the napkin stolen from the trash. Then felt a cold trickle of dread beginning to knot itself in her stomach.

  "The stranger’s token," she gasped. "The ritual... Oh no!"

  His brows drew together in concern.

  "What is it? What's wrong? Did you forget something in the meadow? Whatever it is, I'm sure it will still be there in the morning."

  She shook her head, but couldn't find the words to explain.

  "I... I think you should go. It's late and my parents may come to check on me. I don't want them to find you here."

  His frown deepened.

  "Liz, what is it? Did I say something wrong?"

  She shook her ahead again.

  "No, I promise. You didn't say or do anything wrong. I just really need to get to bed. But we'll talk tomorrow, okay?"

  Tomorrow, after she had a chance to talk to Beth and find out if this was real, or if it was all because of the spell they'd cast.

  "Alright," he agreed slowly. "I guess I'll come back in the morning."

  "No," she interjected, feeling a wash of guilt at the confusion and concern that filled his eyes. "Wait until tomorrow night. Around six. Okay?"

  That should give her time to track Beth down and get some answers.

  "Okay," he agreed, but he didn't look happy about it. "I'll see you tomorrow at six."

  She turned and rushed over to the bedroom window, unfastening the lock and swinging it open.

  By the time she looked back, the man was gone. Standing over the rumpled dress on her floor, was the large grey cat that she'd intended to adopt.

  He blinked dark sapphire eyes at her, then leaped up onto the windowsill, and vanished into the night.

  She waited and listened for a minute, already missing his company and warning herself not to call him back. Then she slowly closed the window and locked it again.

  It was only one day. If he really did case about her, as he claimed, then one day wasn't going to change anything.

  At least she hoped it wouldn't.

  Spell or not, she'd been attracted to him from the moment she'd first looked into his eyes. And it had felt so incredible to be held in his arms.

  As she turned out the lights and crawled into bed, she wondered what she would do if his professed feelings for her turned out to be the work of magic rather than the heart.

  A Spellbound Heart

  "Lizzy? Are you awake?" Her mother's voice cut through the fog of sleep and brought Liz awake with a jolt.

  Yanking back the sheets, she peered over the edge of the bed, her eyes locking onto the rumpled dress lying near her open closet door. It wasn't a dream. She'd actually watched a cat turn into a man last night.

  Even more unbelievable, that incredibly sexy man had kissed her and told her that he wanted to see her again.

  "Elizabeth?" Her mother called again.

  "I'm awake," she yelled back. "Just a minute, I'll come out."

  She dressed quickly and headed for the kitchen where her mother was flipping pancakes onto a plate for her father.

  "Donna called for a few minutes ago," her mother offered as Liz skirted the table and headed straight for the front door. "Something about your cat running out in front of her car this morning."

  "Uh oh," her dad looked up from his newspaper. "Sounds like I may be digging another grave under that old elm this afternoon."

  Liz felt the blood drain from her face as she skidded to a halt and spun to face her parents.

  "Was it a gray cat, with blue eyes?" Her voice sounded thin and harsh with horror.

  "I didn't ask her to describe the cat, Liz. I can never keep up with all the cats you bring in and out of this house. When are you going to stop playing with your pets and find yourself a husband?" Her mother sighed as she poured a tall mug of coffee for herself. "You should be cuddling babies, not looking after strays."

  Liz couldn't even begin to argue her position, because her parents would have thought her insane.

  Nobody would ever believe that her latest pet was actually a handsome man in disguise.

  She had hardly believed it herself, even after watching him magically transform.

  Only now he might be...

  She couldn't bring herself to even think the word as she ran for the new rotary phone that sat on the far end of the kitchen counter.

  Cranking the dial with shaking fingers, she desperately for an answer, but the phone simply rang and rang.

  Punching the disconnect lever, she tried Beth's home, and received an answer on the third ring.

  "Hello?"

  "Hello Mrs. Farren, could I please speak to Beth?"

  "I'm sorry dear, she just left. I believe she is walking down to the mercantile to meet Judy."

  "Thank you!"

  Uttering a hasty goodbye, she turned to her father.

  "Daddy, can I borrow the car?"

  "Sorry kiddo, I'm heading down to the club after breakfast. You'll have to ask your mother to use hers, or I co
uld drop you off somewhere along the way."

  "Please Mom, it's an emergency."

  "A cat is not an emergency," her mother argued.

  "I met a guy last night," Liz countered, concocting a small lie to help her cause. "The cat is his. I shouldn't have let it out of my sight. Please Mom, I'll never forgive myself if something bad has happened to him."

  She was on the verge of tears now, imagining a broken gray body lying helpless alongside the road.

  "Alright, but have it back before dinner this time."

  "Thank you!"

  Grabbing the keys off their peg she was out the door before her mother could change her mind.

  "Please don't be hurt," she prayed to any god or goddess who might be listening.

  There was a wide main street that ran through the center of town and was crisscrossed by a few dozen smaller roads.

  She could search for hours and never find the right one without some idea of where her friend had been going.

  Donna would likely be at the mercantile with the others. And if not, they should know where to find her.

  The mercantile was within easy walking distance, but she might need the car later to search for the cat or make an emergency trip to the veterinary clinic.

  Her heart was in her throat as she pulled up in front of the old red brick building, which held a central location in town, making it a common gathering point for her friends.

  Judy and Beth were sitting at one of the small tables out front, each of them sipping a soda and watching some boys working on a truck at the garage across the street.

  The girls waved at her as Liz jumped out of the car and hurried towards them.

  "Have you seen Donna? Do you know where she is?" Liz gasped, fearing that every lost second might cost her dearly.

  "Sweetie, what's wrong? You look as if you're about to cry." Beth was instantly at her side, ready to offer her support in whatever crisis Liz might be having.

  But how did you tell your best friend that you'd fallen in love with a cat, and now he might be seriously injured or dead?

  "I need to find Donna," Liz repeated through her tears. "Do you know where she is?"

  "I think she was just doing some errands around town," Judy offered, looking uncomfortable. As a rough-around-the-edges tomboy, the poor girl was always unsettled by tears.

  "She was going to the library first, then dropping of some clothes at the dry cleaners. I'm not sure what else, but she's supposed to meet us for lunch at Skippers. You could catch up with her then."

  "That will be too late!" Liz wailed, but it might already be too late. She had no idea how badly Johnny might have been injured, and here she was wasting time trying to track down the one person who might be able to tell her where he was.

  Turning she ran back to her car, ignoring the calls of distress from her friends.

  She had to find Johnny. She had to do share she could to save him.

  Making a sharp U-turn in the street, she raced back down the road in the direction of the library, keeping a sharp lookout for a feline form lying at the side of the road.

  But Donna wasn't at the library, or the dry cleaners. Half an hour later, Liz was no closer to finding her friend than she was to finding the wounded feline who might have someday embodied all her hopes and dreams.

  She was reduced to driving up and down all the roads that Donna might have traveled, but there was no sign of Johnny, or of anything feline.

  Trying to force herself to think calmly and rationally, she debated on what she might do if she were a cat and were hit by a car.

  "I'd try to get home, to get help," she gasped out loud and cranked the steering wheel back in the direction of her neighborhood.

  Johnny had told Beth that he was renting the old Bailey house on her street. He might have been able to drag himself that far if he was hit on Main Street or somewhere else close by.

  She nearly rammed into a truck that was backing out of a driveway and had to force herself to slow down and pay closer to the road.

  Then she screeching to a stop in front of the Bailey house, her mouth falling open as her eyes widened in surprise.

  Johnny was standing in the front yard - in his very attractive human form - water the lawn with the use of a long garden hose.

  For a moment she could only stare at him in shocked wonder. He looked perfectly fine. She'd expected blood and shattered bones.

  The adrenaline and fear that she'd been feeling abruptly started to morph into something else. An all-consuming blend of hot anger and intense relief.

  The sound of her car door slamming shut brought his sapphire eyes up to focus on her. Then he smiled in that ultra-sexy way that would have turned her into a whimpering puddle of goo, if she hadn't been running on sheer panic all morning.

  "I have been looking all over town for you!" Liz snarled as she stormed across the wet grass to meet him.

  His brows crashed together in a confused look that just made him all the more sexy and ratcheted up the emotional storm building inside her.

  "I've been here, where I live..."

  Whatever else he might have said was lost the moment she laid hands on him.

  Stretching up onto her toes, she wrapped both arms around his neck and kissed him fiercely, savagely, as if she were punishing him for how frightened she had been and how relieved she was to find him still alive and whole.

  This time it was Johnny who reeled on shaky knees as their lips parted and their eyes met.

  "Wow," he grinned, "does this mean we're going steady? Because I'm going to want a lot more of those kisses."

  "Maybe," she answered, trying not to answer his smile with one of her own. She was still mad at him for scaring her so badly. "But only if you promise to remain in human form. At least whenever you intend to cross the road. You have extremely bad luck with cars and roads."

  "I do?"

  "Just promise me.""

  "Okay, I promise."

  Now she did smile, but she quickly hid it by kissing him again.

  A Happy Ever After

  What happened then, Grandma?"

  Liz smiled down at the little girl in the bed.

  Morgan looked just like her mother had when she was six. Precocious and secure in her world, knowing that she was loved. With the same warm brown eyes and light brown hair that had once tormented Liz.

  Her hair was gray now, and not nearly so long and lustrous as it had once been. But she didn’t mind. She’d earned every one of those gray hairs and she treasured all of the memories she’d made along the way.

  "Why, they got married and lived happily ever after, of course," she told her little granddaughter. "With lots of beautiful little babies and grandchildren, just like you."

  There had actually been only one baby. A daughter. Morgan’s mother. But Liz knew that the little girl liked it better when her fairytales ended in large families.

  Morgan beamed sleepily up from her pillow.

  "Tell me another story, Grandma. I like your stories."

  "Tomorrow, sweet one. It's time for you to sleep now," Liz told her. "What would your parents say if they knew I'd let you stay up so late?"

  "They won't mind," the little girl fibbed. But Liz only laughed and shook her head.

  “Go to sleep. I’ll tell you another story tomorrow night.”

  “Will grandpa come in and tuck me in too?”

  Liz looked at the grizzle haired gray cat curled up beside Morgan’s pillow.

  “Do you hear that, Mister? You better go get your master. His granddaughter is asking for him.”

  Moving much slower than he had in his younger years, the gray cat offered a gravelly old meow and jumped down off from the bed. He padded out the door and down the hall, where a moment later Liz knew her husband would emerge.

  “Are you looking for me pumpkin?” John asked as he finally made his appearance. He was finding it more difficult to get around these days, but he loved spending time with their granddaughter whenever Morgan’
s parents took one of their many business trips together.

  “Grandpa!” The little girl beamed. “Will you tell me a story?”

  He offered a gruff old chuckle.

  “Sorry angel, but Grandma would swat my ears if I kept you up any longer.” He crouched beside the bed and brushed a kiss to her forehead. “Go to sleep now. Tomorrow is Halloween and I’ll take you up to that spooky old mill that your grandmother told you about in her story. Would you like that?”

  “Yes!” The little girl cheered, quickly pulling the covers up to her chin and closing her eyes to feign sleep.

  “That old mill should have been torn down years ago,” Liz grumbled and she turned on the little night light in the corner and flipped off the bright overhead lamp. “It’s a hazard now, despite their attempts to renovate.”

  “But then where would the kids go on Halloween to tell each other ghost stories and devour sickening amounts of sugar?” John returned with a grin, following her to the door.

  As they stepped out into the hall his blue eyes sparkled and he gave her a flirtatious wiggle of his brows. “We should be getting to bed too, don’t you think?”

  Liz gave him a look of mock horror and put a finger to her lips. A quick look back into the room assured her that the child had rolled over and was likely already asleep. Oh, to be a child again and find a peaceful sleep so easily.

  “Will the coven be meeting tomorrow night?” John asked as they made their way back down towards their own bedroom.

  “Perhaps,” Liz mused. A few of her dear friends had married and moved away, but those that remained still loved to gather for their occasional Sabbats. “Do you think that Morgan will someday grow up and be curious about our rituals? After her mother married, she would never even discuss coming back to the circle.”

  “Every child has to find their own way,” John soothed her. “Just like we did.”

  Liz smiled wistfully back down the hall.

  “She reminds me so much of Mary at that age.”

  “She reminds me of you,” John corrected, capturing her cheek against his palm. “I love you, Liz. Have I told you so today?”