Charmed & Dangerous

Acknowledgments

Prologue

Chapter One

Chapter Two

Chapter Three

Chapter Four

Chapter Five

Chapter Six

Chapter Seven

Chapter Eight

Chapter Nine

Chapter Ten

Chapter Eleven

Chapter Twelve

Chapter Thirteen

Chapter Fourteen

Chapter Fifteen

Chapter Sixteen

Chapter Seventeen

Chapter Eighteen

Chapter Nineteen

Chapter Twenty

Chapter Twenty-one

Chapter Twenty-two

Chapter Twenty-three

Chapter Twenty-four

Chapter Twenty-five

Chapter Twenty-six

Chapter Twenty-seven

Chapter Twenty-eight

Chapter Twenty-nine

Chapter Thirty

Chapter Thirty-one

Thank you to my agent Sha-Shana Crichton for being so brilliant, and to Gail Fortune, Gina Bernal, and the incredible team at Berkley for much the same reason.

I so appreciate the critiques and the friends at DFW Writers’ Workshop, RWA, and the North Texas Romance Writers. My beloved West Texas Divas and the Secret Divas, I could not have done this without your encouragement and your wisdom.

Jodi Thomas, thank you for your generosity. To my friend Britta Coleman, this has been a mind-boggling ride, and I’m happy we took it together. Shannon Canard, you came in late in the game, but have become a major player. Thank you, my friends, for reading the multitude of drafts and for listening.

I’m lucky to have such an incredible family. Steve, Jeff, and Parker, you believed in me from the beginning and have held my head above water through it all. Mom, Dad, and Grandma Irby, you taught me to follow my dreams and to pursue them. I know how blessed I am to have you all in my life.

And finally a big thanks to Joss Stone, Sheryl Crow, Mindy Smith, Martina McBride, Faith Hill, Melissa Etheridge, and the Domestic Science Club. Music has become a huge part of my creative process and I couldn’t have done it without your tunes.

Sunday, 5:30
A.M
.

Sweet, Texas

T
his day has great possibilities. Actually every day does, but this one is special because I woke up next to the man I love. Oh, it took me a while to realize it, but he’s the one.

For months he told me we belonged together, but I refused to believe him. What he didn’t seem to realize is witches don’t have boyfriends. It never works out.

The intimidation factor alone usually stands as the biggest turnoff. A lot of men can’t handle a woman with power. The whole reading-minds thing and the ability to turn them into toads sort of makes them insecure.

Even my clients are afraid of me, but they want to use my talents just the same.

Don’t get me wrong. I love being a witch. My world’s filled to the brim with exciting adventures and people.

But this love thing is all new. My heart’s full of an emotion I’ve rarely experienced. I’ve cared for people in the past, but loving is something I hardly ever allowed myself to do.

This man changed all of that. I must love him because there are no other possibilities. It’s much like being a witch. It is what I am and what I must be.

Look at him, lying there so peaceful. That jet black hair waving around his face and those bulging biceps. Ooh, baby! He’s a human cupcake and I could just eat him up.

Now if only I can get him to come back to life it will be a great day. Because lonely as I get sometimes—I don’t fuck dead guys.

Months earlier

Tuesday, 7
A.M
.

Sweet, Texas

Dead guys: 0 (But I’m having evil thoughts about a certain twitty Brit)

M
iles called.
Ugh
. I was in the middle of one of those terrific dreams where you don’t really know who the guy is, but there’s like this major connection. We were in a wild bedroom with a huge round bed. Doing the nasty in front of a big fire. So real, my face felt hot and my sheets were wet with sweat when I woke up.

Argh
. Leave it to Miles to interrupt something really fantastic.

He’s such a snippy little twit. No, “Bronwyn, how are you? So nice to hear your voice….”

Nope, with Miles it’s: “Get your ass out of bed. The prime minister wants you here.”

“Well, hello, Miles, how are you?” I pulled the twisted sheets off my legs and pushed myself up on the pillows.

He ignored my sarcastic tone. “Be at the airport tomorrow at noon for a flight to Oslo. That’s in Norway. He needs you to read the room.” Click. He hung up.

Norway? I hate Miles, but I detest cold weather even more. It’s the middle of friggin’ winter and the PM and his buddies run the world. Couldn’t they pick a warmer climate? Somewhere with a beach? I could glamour up a tan, but real ones look so much better.

Cold or not, doesn’t matter. I’ve gotta go. The money’s good and it’s the easiest way for me to know where the world’s headed. If the prime minister knew I got as much out of these meetings as he did, he wouldn’t invite me. Lots of other witches out there don’t have the ability to read minds, only emotions. But I’ve used that talent to save his life so many times from assassins that we’ve lost count. So it all evens out in the end.

Yuck, I’ve got to get out of this sweaty T-shirt and grab a shower. Oh, darn, and the laundry. I’ll have to wash lingerie and dig some of my warmer clothes out of the cedar closet before I go.

A witch’s work is never done.

9
P.M.

Casper, the unfriendly cat, is missing again. I don’t know what her problem is these days. She won’t stay put. Since I moved to the new house in November, she’s found a hundred ways to sneak out.

I wonder if she has a boyfriend. It’s not like her to take off for days at a time. She’s always considered herself my great protector, even though I’m certain she hates me.

Maybe she feels like we’re safer here away from the big cities. I love living in a place where I don’t have to keep my shields up all the time and no one cares who I am.

People in Sweet, Texas, don’t give a hoot who you are. Strangers wave to one another and everyone always wears a smile.

After bouncing around between New York City, L.A., London, and Paris, this West Texas town has been a welcome respite. I love the town square with its funky gargoyled courthouse and short, funky trees.

The whole place has this gothic revival feel that’s something out of eighteenth-century Prague. Vampires feel right at home in Sweet, Texas.

But I don’t think they put up with any kind of deviant behavior here. There’s no sign that says “No Demons Allowed” but you get the feeling that people here like to keep things on an even keel. The sheriff and his deputies are always on patrol, and I haven’t heard much about any mischief.

Of course if there’s trouble near, it will find me.

The great thing is I’ll see it before it gets here because everything is so flat. And unlike the big cities, where demons, warlocks, wizards, and witches feed off of the hustle and bustle, here in Sweet it’s all about fresh air and peace.

This town is protected by a strong coven of witches, it’s surrounded by powerful white magic, and I don’t think anything would get through without the coven detecting it.

I’ve actually been able to sleep through the nights for weeks now without worrying about some assassin coming after me while I rested. This was definitely a smart move.

11:30
P.M
.

I’ve been out looking for Casper again and fell down in the blustery winds. Some days I hate that damn cat as much as she does me. I hope she freezes.

Gotta pack. Miles wants me in Norway on Thursday so I’m flying my Cessna to Dallas tomorrow and then hopping an international flight.

My brain just flashed to the prime minister. Something big is going down because I didn’t even have my mind open to him. Guess I’ll find out soon enough. Hope the bad guys show up. I’m really itching for some fun.

Now I’m off to finish packing and I need to grind some medicinal herbs. A witch never knows when she might need help from Earth’s bounty. I’ve let my little black bag get shamefully low on everything from acacia to rosemary.

I also need to do some research on Norway at the library so I know their magical customs. Kira’s the librarian in Sweet and she’s become a great friend. She’s also one of the best researchers I’ve ever known.

Wednesday, 11
P.M
.

Somewhere over the Atlantic

Spells: 1

Dead guys: 0 (But the guy next to me is a candidate)

I’m so tired, but I can’t sleep on planes. The guy next to me is adorable, but he just started sawing logs and I find that extremely unattractive. The sound is a cross between Casper coughing up a hairball and a nuclear explosion.

Time to put him in a deeper sleep. What was that spell I used on Dad? Have to shut this cute fella up. No way I can take six more hours of this.

Earlier tonight I tapped into the PM’s mind a bit and discovered he’s worried about the meeting. He didn’t directly think about the problem, so it was more a feeling I picked up than fact. But he’s definitely got some big-time anxiety going on.

Miles sent me files on the rest of the attendees. It’s an eclectic group. There are scientists from Norway, a sheik from Dubai, several ambassadors from other Middle Eastern countries as well as Europe, and the American vice president. Supposedly this meeting is to discuss the world’s energy crisis, but I have a feeling there’s a lot more going on.

Writing all the stuff down helps me sort it all out. After last month when those stupid warlocks tried to use me as a sacrifice to bring back Orne, the King of the Dead, I decided to write everything down. That way if some creep knocks me off, someone will know what happened.

If you’re reading this, it probably means I’m dead. Don’t worry. Death doesn’t scare me. I know what happens afterward.

I also know my purpose: to rid the world of evil. Oh, not in a save the world in a Buffyesque kind of way, but in a destroying bad guys one day at a time way.

When I turned twenty and took the oath to protect, I decided that day I would do whatever it took to rid the world of all this nastiness floating around. For the last five years, I’ve kept that promise. Unfortunately, I’ve made some enemies along the way and it’s made it difficult to travel anywhere without some magical assassin trying to do me in.

Hopefully, this diary won’t be all about maiming and killing. (Although, I really like those stories best.)

I’d eventually like to write down some sexy bits. Geez, it has been a really long time since I’ve been with a man. I’m not sure I’ve been through a sex drought this long before.

My job takes me around the world and that makes dating difficult. I don’t mind one-night stands, but I haven’t had one yet that’s gone well. Somehow they always find out I’m a witch and it scares them off.

No sex is making me cranky.

Oh, goody, snore boy is stirring. Wonder if he’s interested in some mile-high fun.