Too Hexy For Her Hat by Susan Hayes
4
Once again,his plans had gone to hell draped in streamers and strapped to a fucking rocket, but this time, he didn’t care. He had a beautiful witch curled up beside him, an unexpected delivery of destiny by Cupid himself, and he could still make his father happy. All he had to do was keep Luna distracted. That shouldn’t be a problem. Then, when his father had what he wanted, the two of them could slip away and make a life together, maybe even mitigate some of his father’s worst impulses. Luna was clearly a powerful witch. So powerful she’d managed to break the spells that should have suppressed her powers and blocked her memories until her birthday.
When she asked about her hometown, he had to make a decision. Lie, or tell her as much of the truth as he could.
It was probably the whammy water, but he didn’t want to lie to her. “I’ve heard of it. It’s a little coastal town north of here somewhere. Isn’t it?”
“Yeah. On the western side. I grew up there. Well, for the first thirteen years. Then my parents died in a boating accident and I got shoved into foster care. By the time I was seventeen, I’d left the system and was on my own.” She shrugged, as if to minimize the weight of that confession.
She remembered. That was unexpected. “That had to be rough. I lost my mom, too.”
Luna stirred tightening her hand around his. “She died? How old were you?”
“I was seven. And honestly, I don’t know if she’s dead. She’s just… lost.”
“How do you lose someone? You’re a warlock. You could use all sorts of spells. I mean, if you wanted to. I’d understand if you didn’t try.”
“We tried. She baked my birthday cake, iced it, and set it on the table with my present. Dad and I came back from the toy store and the cake was there. She wasn’t. Dad’s a warlock, too. We both tried to find her but never had any luck. She just vanished, poof. No more Dee-Dee.”
Some days he suspected his father hadn’t tried all that hard. Things between his parents had been strained enough that even his barely-seven-year-old brain had known something was wrong. It had taken years to convince himself it wasn’t somehow his fault she’d left.
“But your dad stuck around. Right?”
“Yeah.”
“And you’re close?” she asked, a hint of longing in her voice.
“Closer than I’d like, to be honest. I’m a grown warlock and he’s still double checking my work and questioning every decision I make, like I’m still a wet-behind-the-ears novice. He’s determined to have me follow in his footsteps.” That’s why he wanted to be free of his father. He’d spent most of his life involved in his dad’s mad plans and dreams, and he’d never been able to do anything for himself. It was something he and Luna had in common. They were both pawns in someone else’s game.
Fate really was a bitch… and his father was a cold-hearted bastard.
“Yeah. I know that feeling. I’m supposed to have some glorious destiny to fulfill. A legacy my parents left me. I don’t want anything to do with it. Why would I give up my life to go live in some town I haven’t seen since I was a kid?”
The solution to both their problems was obvious. “If that’s not what you want to do, don’t do it. Maybe that’s why we met today. Someone wanted to give us both another option.” He raised her hand to his lips and kissed her fingers, his eyes never leaving hers. “We can make another choice.”
The crystalline green of her eyes gleamed, and her sweet lips quirked up into a sexy little smile that tempted him to forego the getting to know her part of the evening and cut straight to the good stuff.
Only he wasn’t going to do that. At least he didn’t intend to do that. They’d only just met. Whammy water or not, Luna was special, and he really needed to treat her that way and not as another wham-bam-thank-you-witch hookup.
“Only this wasn’t our choice, either. Someone did this to us,” Luna said, her tone wry.
“They did. But what we do next is up to us. Tonight, tomorrow, and every day for the rest of our lives, we can make our own decisions. That sounds good to me.”
Luna touched a hand to her head and then a veil of crimson sparks swirled around her. When his vision cleared, her hair was unbound and spilled over her shoulders. The corset was gone, too.
Pity.
He’d seen pictures of her as a child, so he knew that her natural hair colour was red, not black or purple. She had powerful healing magic, just like her mother… and he suspected the hair colour was as much about denying that connection as it was a stylistic choice.
Her powers are necessary to save Wyrding Way and the friends she’s left behind. The thought came out of nowhere, hitting him with a full serving of guilt and a sizzling side order of regrets. He couldn’t tell her what would happen if she stayed out of the fight. If he did, he’d have to tell her everything. His real last name. What he’d actually been doing in the alley earlier. Not to mention the whole conversation where he had to admit his father was the one who had killed her parents.
He wasn’t sure even Cupid’s whammy was strong enough to keep them together if he ever told her the truth. Best he avoided that. It was one thing to spend forever with a hot witch with shared interests. Spending forever with a powerful spell slinger with a grudge was probably one of the circles of hell Dante hadn’t seen on his tour.
“You are beautiful,” he told her, meaning every word. “Rude Cupid and naked assholes aside, I’m glad I met you.”
“Same.” Luna smiled up at him and for a moment all of existence vanished but for the two of them.
The need to have her in his arms pushed to the forefront of his thoughts, and his body acted without orders. He gathered her up and lifted her onto his lap. Oh Goddess, yes, that was better. Much better. Her warm, soft weight felt perfect nestled against him.
Most of the blood in his body surged south, bringing his wand of wonder to full strength and making it hard to think of anything but how much he wanted her. Luna. His witch. His ever-after… his assignment.
He pushed that last thought into a dark closet, slammed the door, and then mentally sealed the whole thing behind a brick wall of denial. He’d deal with that issue later.
Luna twined her arms around his neck and wriggled her lovely backside against his wand. “This is a better idea than talking,” she declared.
“We can do that later.” Chad slid a hand into her hair and drew her in close. “Right now, I need to kiss you again. A lot.”
“Oh good. I’ve had enough reality for a while.”
He didn’t say another word. He didn’t have to. He kissed her instead, and this time he barely noticed the saxophone solo that started the moment their lips touched. She tasted like sun-ripened strawberries and summer nights. He didn’t know how that was possible, but he liked it. A lot.
Lips parted, tongues tangled, and even the damned saxophone finally faded away and let him focus on the one thing that mattered.
Luna.
He might not have let her go until dawn if both their stomachs hadn’t started rumbling eventually. He hadn’t eaten since lunch, and he knew her meal break had been several hours ago. All he really wanted to devour was her, but food would give them a chance to talk again. And they really needed to do that.
Then more kissing. He was still determined not to get her naked on their first night together, though the reasons why that was important were fading fast. Something about not rushing because they had forever together? The logic now seemed dubious. Naked would be better. Much better.
Or was that the whammy water talking?
He lifted his head with a groan of protest that was echoed by one from his witch. “Why are we stopping?” she asked.
“Because I promised to feed you, and as much as I hate to say it, we really need to talk.” He kissed the end of her nose. “Besides, for what I plan to do with you, we should probably be somewhere with better sound proofing and a real bed.”
“Beds are overrated,” Luna said, and every part of him below his waist and some north of it cheered in loud agreement.
“Sand in unpleasant places isn’t,” he pointed out.
“That is an excellent point. Also, I’m hungry and I want to try this chocolate dessert pizza thing you mentioned.” She waggled her eyebrows and then licked her lips, causing his favourite bit of anatomy to immediately try and burst free of his pants to join the conversation. Fortunately, his wand of wonder didn’t talk and wasn’t quite strong enough to break loose and start commenting on his—or was that its?—appreciation of chocolate and whipped cream.
“Whatever my witch wishes.” Part of him was aware he sounded like a dopey, smitten fool. Other parts of him didn’t give a damn what he sounded like as long as Luna stayed in his lap.
He threw out a hand with an overly dramatic flourish and uttered a quick and simple spell. He didn’t often get to use his magic this way. His father disapproved of lighthearted spell-casting in general and rhyming spells in particular. Not to mention he’d go on a rampage if he discovered his son only used black magic when he had no other choice.
“After our kissin’,
For pizza we’re wishin’,
So deliver to us a grand feast.”
Pizzas appeared on the table in front of them. He wasn’t sure what Luna liked, so he conjured an assortment but made sure none of them contained pineapple or anchovies. No sense risking a full-out battle on their first night together. Pineapple on pizza was right up there with politics and opinions on Nickelback when it came to topics to be avoided on first dates.
Set out within easy reach was the promised chocolate pizza, the dough folded over to seal in the gooey glory of the chocolate and hazelnut spread with caramelized bananas. The top was piled with whipped cream drizzled with chocolate sauce.
Luna gasped and pointed to the dessert. “Holy Goddess dipped in guacamole. I’m not sure that actually qualifies as pizza, but I’m eating it anyway.”
Before he could comment, his little lunatic had conjured cutlery and plates for them both. Her magic was currently a brilliant crimson, the sparks whirling around their feast so fast it reminded him of the carb-eating fairy swarm he’d released near Wyrding Way before his father’s ill-fated attempt to attack the town and claim Fate’s magical power source.
Pizza cutters appeared and set to work in unison, gliding across the various pizzas in some kind of synchronized display that came complete with a small light show and musical accompaniment.
A large portion of the dessert pizza appeared on one plate, which soared across the gap and delivered itself into Luna’s outstretched hands, her fingers wiggling in eager anticipation.
She was adorable and surprisingly open. He’d spent his life hiding his thoughts and feelings from his father to avoid being punished for wrong-headed thinking. Given what Luna had been through, she should be guarded and cautious. She was the opposite. Honest. Open. Unfiltered.
It was as refreshing… and oddly sexy. Or maybe that was just the whammy water and the fact she was in his lap. More than likely it was all three.
“You’re not eating?” she asked with the first spoonful of her meal halfway to her mouth.
“I’m going to wait and witness your reaction to dessert. Then I’ll eat.”
Her lovely eyes gleamed with mischief. “You’re going to watch me?”
“I am.”
The little minx lifted the spoon to her lips and held it there. Her gaze still locked with his, she licked a bit of whipped cream from the top and drew it into her mouth.
“So far, so yum,” she declared and swiped at the spoon with her tongue again.
This time she moaned, and Chad was hit with a surge of totally illogical jealousy for an inanimate object.
His brain blanked and the next thing he knew, he had her empty spoon in one hand and the gooey chocolate treat rested on his index finger near her sweet, sugar-glazed lips.
“Ohh, this is even better,” Luna crooned. She didn’t take a delicate lick this time. Instead, she took his finger and the rest of the dessert into the heat of her mouth, sucking hard enough he saw stars.
The stars doubled, tripled, and then turned into fireworks when she closed her eyes and moaned again, the vibration of it starting at his fingertip and rolling through him like a crystal glass struck by a tuning fork.
“Do that again and you’re not going to get to enjoy your dessert,” he warned her.
She nipped his finger and then released it with a sassy smirk. “You’re the one who took my spoon away.”
“And I have no regrets.” He removed his finger, kissed her quickly, and then handed her back the spoon. “So, was it as good for you as it was for me?”
Her laughter filled the room. “Oh yeah. Maybe we can go there for dinner sometime and try the original. Just so I can compare the two.”
“Is that a challenge?”
She didn’t answer him until she’d eaten several more bites, all while emitting noises of pleasure so carnal they should be banned by the Geneva Convention. “It might be. It was also me asking you out for dinner.”
“According to Cupid himself, you’re my ever-after. You don’t need to ask me on a date.” He took her free hand in his and interlocked their fingers. “I’m happy to go anywhere you want me to go, anytime you ask, Tic. Oh, I uh, gave you a nickname, too.”
“Just like that?” She frowned. Her tone was darker than the traces of chocolate drizzle at the corners of her mouth. “Cupid waltzes by with a super soaker and an hour later I’ve got a nickname and a man willing to do anything for me?”
“I’m going to blame the whammy water for the anytime, anywhere comment. The nickname was all me, though. You’re a chocolate lunatic. Luna. Tic. Tic. Ta-da, nickname created.”
The frown line faded from between her brows. Not all the way gone, but mostly.
“I’m good with enjoying this insanity for now, but I’m not ready to talk about long-term plans. This is all very fucking sudden. You know?” She squeezed his hand. “But you can keep calling me Tic.”
He wasn’t sure it was Cupid’s fault he’d said those things. He was like a kid set loose in a candy store with no adult supervision. Everything he’d dreamed of but wasn’t allowed to have had suddenly come within reach, and he wanted to run with it—with her—as hard and as fast as he could.
“Okay, Tic.”
“Does this mean you’re Tock?” The moment she said it, Luna shook her head. “Hell’s bells and wishing wells, no. No cutesy matching nicknames.”
“Oh good. Because those lead to matching onesies, holiday sweaters, and other things I’m really hoping to avoid.”
He zapped himself a plate stacked high with various pizza slices and settled back on the divan to eat.
They didn’t leave until every plate was empty and even their overclocked magical metabolisms had finally reached their limits. They kept the conversation light for the most part, sharing stories of their lives, dreams, and plans mixed in with discussions about the weather and what was happening on their favourite TV shows. Many of which they had in common.
It was after midnight by the time they gathered up their sleeping familiars from their little shelter and dismissed their magical constructs. The moon had reverted to its normal shape and brilliance, and the saxophone soloist had wandered off to serenade some other love-struck couple… at least for now.
“I’ll teleport us back to the alley and then walk you the rest of the way home,” he said.
“That’s not necessary.”
“Necessary has nothing to do with it. I’m hoping to steal a goodnight kiss before I see you inside.”
“Is that so? Well in that case, by all means, walk me home, good sir, and I shall reward your valor.”
He should have paid more attention to the spell, but Luna’s words had sent all his blood south again, and his mind wasn’t functioning at its best. Instead of the simple spell he’d used to bring them here, his brain defaulted to his usual magical approach—the one that had more illusions than a weight-loss magazine cover. A couple of shadow serpents appeared at his feet, and then a wave of darkness swirled up from the sand to envelop them.
“Nice trick. What’s with the snakes?”
Shit. He had no idea what to say next, so he went with a version of the truth while Hissy snickered from her place in his pocket.
