Cover Spell (8 page)

I
STOOD
frozen in place in the doorway of my New Orleans hotel room.

“Are you going to invite me in?” Finn’s voice was cool but tainted with a hint of come-hither playfulness. I looked out into the hall. He was empty-handed. “I just checked in; thought I’d stop by for a night cap. But it looks like you were expecting someone else.” He breezed past me, eyeing my short shorts and midriff-bearing shirt.

“Sure, come on in.” The initial shock of seeing Finn out of context started to ebb. “What are you doing here? I rolled my eyes as the door closed behind him. He stretched out his fit frame on the bed, looped his hands behind his head, and crossed his feet. I planted myself at the foot of the bed, ready to pelt him with questions.

“I guess I thought you’d be a little happier to see me. Surprised?”

“Surprised is not actually the word I would use.” The beer was still numbing little parts of my mind, and I had fleeting thoughts that all of this was a mirage.

Finn was devilishly handsome propped on my bed. His dark blond hair looked like he had run his hands through it a few times. He was wearing a dark gray fitted T-shirt and jeans. I knew under that shirt was the sexiest tattoo inked on his perfectly sculpted abs. I sighed as I felt the undeniable draw to him start to surface below my skin.

“Seriously, Finn, what are you doing here?” I felt a little steadier with my hands on my hips.

“You don’t know?” He cocked one eyebrow up. “It is your movie after all. The star is missing. Of course they called in the most highly skilled professional to find her.” There was that scandalous smile.

“You’re here because of Emmy Harper? But she hasn’t even been gone a full day. She’s probably out sightseeing or something. I hardly say that calls for you to be brought in on the case. That doesn’t make any sense.”

I watched his grin slow, and he looked up at me. Sometimes it felt like his eyes could pierce my soul, and simultaneously heat up every inch of my body.

“Wait, wait. How did you even hear that Emmy was missing? This isn’t big news yet. Finn?” I sounded like a scolding schoolteacher. “What did you do?”

“Just relax. I heard she was off the set. Maybe I bumped into your cousin. Anyway, I convinced my boss to recommend me to the New Orleans Police Department. I always want to be of service to our citizens.”

I really was going to have to talk to Holly about our confidentiality code. Finn always had his way of getting information, but prying it out of my cousin was ridiculous.

“By ‘convinced’ and ‘recommend’ you mean you used your
Charm Spell
on your boss?” I didn’t let him answer. I already knew that was exactly what he had done. “Finn, seriously! You can’t use magic like that.”

My words and mind were steaming. How could he keep ignoring the rules we were supposed to live by?

He rocked forward and placed his feet on the floor. “Don’t be mad, Ivy. I wanted to see you.” He wasn’t laughing this time.

I sank into the seat next to him on the bed and took a deep breath. “Don’t.” My mind was still cloudy, and being so close to him always made my head spin. Those eyes, that voice, that body all pulled me toward him.

“We never talked. After, you know—the Proxy. We never talked.” He turned to face me, and ever so slowly, my body was responding to the nearness of him, no matter how I tried to ignore the sensation.

“Talk? Since when did you want to start talking about serious things? And now? This isn’t the time. I’ve got to get up early for the shoot and I’m tired.”

“You don’t give me enough credit, gorgeous. I’m hurt.”

“No, you’re not. I know what you’re trying to do. Distract me. Throw me off balance.”

“Is it working?”

I ran my fingers through my hair and tucked a few pieces behind my ear. With Finn in the room, it seemed like it was days ago that Evan had touched my hair, not mere minutes.

Finn’s eyes were unrelenting and I caught my breath. My body felt like it was suspended, floating in that space just within his reach. One by one, tiny electric surges raced through my blood, penetrating every part of me as he touched the place above my neck. He pressed his palm into the back of my head, tugged on my hair, and pulled me toward him. My eyes closed, and I let my body revel in the heat of his lips. Instinctively, I kissed him back, drinking in every part of him.

He whispered, “Ivy?” My eyes fluttered open, and I saw him staring at me. He put his hands on either side of my face. “I want you back.”

He let his palms slide from my cheeks. He stood and looked down at me. Silently, he walked out of the room. The door locked into place behind his hushed exit.

I sat on the edge on the bed in disbelief. I ran my fingers over my lips and took another deep breath. My body was still tingling from Finn’s touch, but my mind was reeling from his words. After everything that happened, Finn wanted me back.

Two Years Ago

I watched the white curtains billow in and out of the open window of our Savannah room, letting the early morning light dapple on our bed. Finn had booked a last-minute weekend trip for us, and managed to snag a room at a boutique-style hotel that was on the Travel Channel’s top ten hottest accommodations list. He was always full of the unexpected.

There wasn’t much in my suitcase: a bikini, my favorite flip-flops, and a brand new piece of black lingerie my sneaky boyfriend had slipped in through the side zipper. His arms wrapped around the pillow under his head as he lay on his stomach, inhaling then exhaling slow, rhythmic breaths. My heart was on fire every time I looked at him. I was so in love with Finn—in love with his rebellious attitude, his fun energy, his amazing body, his magnetic charm, everything that made him Finn.

I smiled and pulled the sheet up over my chest, thinking about last night. I thought I spied that piece of lingerie hanging off the end table on Finn’s side. I laughed then covered my mouth with my hand. I didn’t want to wake him.

I slipped off the side of the bed and tiptoed to the bathroom. The coolness of the marble tile surprised my feet, and I hopped onto the fluffy rug in front of the shower door. I looked at my reflection in the full-length gilded mirror. My hair was a mess. I ran my hands along my neck. There were light pinkish bite marks on my fair skin. My adrenaline started racing as I remembered Finn pinning me against the shower wall and using his teeth on my neck to keep himself from screaming out. I slid my fingertips over the marks again and smiled. They didn’t hurt, but I couldn’t walk around Savannah with visible bite marks. I knew they would draw more than one suspicious stare.

“Glamour.” I pointed at the indentions, and slowly, the pink, puffy marks faded. My neck looked freshly unbitten. I wrinkled my nose in the mirror.

Between the utter bliss I experienced with Finn last night, I remembered I had promised to show him how to
Time Spell
today. I had never shared my special spell with anyone before. Actually, no one had asked me. It was my gift spell, but unlike most gift spells, I had to practice and perfect the
Time Spell
until I could use it seamlessly. There were all kinds of complications that could arise from time travel, but I kept it as uncomplicated as possible by not interfering in the past. I strictly traveled for the sake of observation.

I had a slight sinking feeling in my stomach when I wondered whether Finn would or could adhere to the rules I had in place. I brushed them aside when I looked at the shower wall and remembered us from last night. Of course he would respect the spell’s boundaries; he would do anything for me. He loved me.

I opened the glass door of the shower and twisted the handle to the hottest setting. I stepped in, and closed the door and then my eyes as the water washed over my body. I turned to soak my hair under the steady stream of water, when I heard the clicking sound of the shower door as it latched into place.

“Don’t open your eyes.” Finn’s voice carried through the steam-filled shower. Even through the burning heat of the water, his voice could still set every part of me on fire.

I kept my eyes closed and let the curves of my body align with the form of his disciplined, athletic body. I felt the smoothness of his wet skin touching my back as the stream of water searched for a way to trickle between us. I gasped as Finn wrapped his arms around my waist and nuzzled his face into my neck. I laughed. I had a feeling we weren’t going to get much accomplished today, much less a time-intensive, focused, hard-as-hell, witchy spell.

Hand in hand, we strolled down the streets of Savannah, window shopped, and stopped in for ice cream to cool down. We lounged at the pool all afternoon, and I was excited to show off my new turquoise bikini. Finn’s constant stares convinced me I should wear it more often. After a quick change in the room, we finished off the day with cocktails and dinner at a new restaurant. The reservation list was months long, but Finn had charmed his way into a romantic table for two. The waiter took our orders, and headed to the bar to pick up a mojito for me and a gin drink for Finn.

Finn winked at me and I giggled. I had on a cream-colored asymmetrical dress. The bodice was dotted with little bits of sparkle and accented with a short pleated taupe skirt. Finn always loved my legs, and I looked for clothes that would give him a little eye candy too. He looked sexy in everything he wore, so it was the least I could do.

“Ok, spill, babe. How do we
Time Spell
?” The waiter had just dropped off our drinks, and Finn downed a few sips of his.

“What? Now? We’ve had all day to talk about it, and you never mentioned it.” I picked up my mojito, tasted the light sugar rim with my tongue, and sipped the minty drink. Talking hadn’t been on the day’s agenda. “I thought maybe you had let it go.”

“Why not now?” He shrugged. “Tell me. What do I do?” He leaned forward with both arms on the table.

I hesitated, but those damn sparkly blue eyes lured me in every time. I couldn’t turn Finn down. “Can you do a
Fade Spell
?”

“Me? Fade? Absolutely. Put a check in that box.”

He finished off the drink and motioned to the waiter to bring another one to our table. I could tell he was feeling confident.

“Um, ok. Well, you need something that links you to the past.” I spun my sapphire ring on my right hand and held it up to him. “This is what my grandmother gave me. This is what allows me to open and close the seam.”

He eyed it. It wasn’t the first time Finn had seen the ring. Several times, I had caught him studying the stone on my finger. “Can’t I just use yours?”