Shamelessly Spellbound (Spells That Bind Book 2) (18 page)

Getting my brain to function well enough to respond to what
Melina had said was a challenge. To be honest, I was having trouble processing
her words, but she seemed really upset. Struggling to focus, I was baffled when
I realized she’d apologized.

I slid out of Melina’s body, ready to pull her close, but
she jumped off the bed and scurried across the room. If she hadn’t looked
terrified, it would have been sexy watching her boobs bouncing across the room.
I seriously had no clue what had her so frightened. We should both be basking
in the afterglow of our incredible sex. I’d been with witches who were okay
with spanking before, but they’d all acted shy and embarrassed to admit they
liked it. Not Melina. She’d not only agreed, she’d asked me to spank her. The
witch was totally comfortable with her sexuality, and I loved that about her. I
loved knowing I could ask her to try things without worrying that she was only
agreeing to make me happy. If she didn’t want to do it, she’d tell me. Things
had been incredible and only gotten better when she’d fully let go for the
first time. Until that moment, I hadn’t realized she’d been holding back. From
my perspective, everything had been perfect, but apparently, something had gone
wrong.

“Calm down, honey,” I soothed. “I’m not sure why you’re so
upset, but give me a minute and we’ll talk.”

I climbed off the bed to dispose of the condom before
buttoning my pants, not taking my eyes off of Melina. She was still at the far
end of the room, and it looked like she was going to run. If that happened, I
had no idea what I was going to do. Something told me chasing her would be a
bad idea, but I couldn’t let her leave either, which meant I needed to talk her
out of running.

“Why are you so upset?” I asked, sitting on the edge of the
bed so she wouldn’t think I was going to come after her.

“I lost control of my magic,” she admitted softly, her
explanation doing nothing to help me figure out what had gone wrong.

“It’s no big deal, Melina,” I tried reassuring her. “That
sort of thing can happen during sex. You know that already. Come sit with me.”
When I reached out a hand, she shook her head and stayed pinned against the
wall.

“No big deal?” she demanded. “I attacked you with my demon
magic! I hurt you! How can you possibly say that’s no big deal?”

Laughing was not the best reaction when she was this upset,
but I couldn’t help myself. It was funny as hell. “Melina, honey, you didn’t
hurt me.”

“If I didn’t hurt you, then why did you scream?” she asked,
looking skeptical.

“Because I’d just come harder than I have in my entire
life,” I explained before adding, “You had to notice my dick jerking around
inside of you.”

“That’s why you cried out?” she asked hesitantly, and I
could see this was a genuine fear of hers. Suddenly, I had a much better
understanding of the warded jewelry she wore and the dampening spell on her
condo. Melina was afraid her magic would hurt someone, and I had no doubt it
could, but I also knew her magic was complimentary to mine.

I needed to tread lightly. “Yeah, honey, that’s why I cried
out,” I assured her. “Your magic is violent and raw. It also turns me on so
much I’m already dying to touch it again. Every time it lashes out at me, it’s
like fire licking along my skin. It’s hot, almost to the point of pain, and I
can’t get enough of it. Today is the first day you’ve really let it go, and I
fucking loved it.”

“It’s demon magic,” she said quietly. “I can’t control it
when my emotions run high. That’s always been the case. What are you going to
do if it seriously injures you?”

I decided she was calm enough to approach her, so I stood
and walked slowly across the room. “Your magic is not going to hurt me.”

“How the hell can you possibly say that?” she demanded.
“You’ve had a couple weeks’ experience with my magic, and you’re confident it
won’t hurt you? You’ve only had one experience with my power at its full force.”

I was standing in front of her now, and I reached out to
stroke her cheek with the back of my knuckles. “I know our powers are
compatible. Before you start arguing with me, remember that this is what my
family does. While there’s some training involved in what we do, most of it is
a gift we’re born with.”

“I think we’ve established that you’re lacking in that
skill,” she argued. “If you weren’t, you wouldn’t have been convinced so many
witches were right for you. Sorry. That sounded bitchy, but you do see my
point, right?”

This part was tricky because I still wasn’t sure how Melina
would react to what I’d done, but not telling her now was lying. I was already
lying by omission. Taking a deep breath, I prepared to piss her off; pissed off
seemed better than afraid. “I tested my power with yours the day we made the
bet.”

“You did what?” she demanded.

“I tested your magic with mine that day, and I know we’re
compatible,” I confessed. “I already knew we’d pass an affinity test when I
made the bet. Then again, I knew it without testing our power.”

Melina said nothing, but she didn’t pull away, so I
considered that a positive sign.

“Are you mad?” I asked, needing to know if I’d screwed up.

“Yes,” she replied curtly. “Don’t you dare tell me you’re
sorry, because we both know you aren’t. You’d do the exact same thing all over
again.”

I simply nodded. “Are you going to get over being mad at
me?” I asked, still worried I’d screwed up big time.

“Of course, I’m going to get over being mad at you,” she
said, sounding annoyed by my question. “For now, I need to get to my sister’s
baby shower.”

She moved around me, heading toward the bathroom, and her
freshly spanked ass with its pink glow had me so hard, I was dying to join her
in the shower.

“Can I help you get ready?” I asked.

Melina looked over her shoulder and laughed. “I should tell
you no, since I’m mad at you, but why punish myself for your mistake?”

I grinned and grabbed a condom as I followed her into the
bathroom. Damn, I loved that woman, even if she wasn’t ready to hear those
words.

By the time I was ready to leave, I had seven text messages
and four voicemails—all from my sisters. They should have known I’d be looking
for any excuse to be late. At baby showers, my meddling aunts went overboard in
their efforts to convince every single witch in attendance to find a nice
warlock to settle down with. Two of my six sisters already had nice warlocks,
which meant my aunts had more time to focus on the rest of us. My single
sisters constantly insisted I take my share of nagging from the aunts, which I
managed to avoid most of the time. My aunts had only sons who had grown immune
to the nagging of their mothers, leaving my aunts free to nag me and my
sisters. Lucky us—not!

I was tempted to ignore the call from Ravie, but she was the
most tenacious of my sisters, so I knew she’d call me back over and over again
until I answered my phone. I was actually surprised she’d waited this long to
call me, since she’d been the most insistent I be there on time.

Thankfully, this new baby was a boy because I was convinced
my family had some sort of impairment when it came to naming female children.
My mom, Viviana, had two sisters, Liliana and Muriana. That’s not too bad, but
my mom had seven daughters, and for some unknown reason, she’d felt she needed
to follow the family tradition of names ending with the same sound. That was
the biggest reason I went by Mel rather than Melina. All my sisters had
nicknames. Madelina was Maddie, Ravina was Ravie, Evangalina was Evie, Sabrina
was Brea, Filomina was Mimi, and Devina only answers to Amelia, her middle
name. It was Amelia’s baby shower I was attending. She already had one child, a
sweet little girl by the name of Zoe Marie. If you called her Zoe, she would
ignore you. That girl had more attitude in her two-year old body than most
adults did, and I adored her.

“I’m on my way,” I answered as soon as the speakerphone in
the car picked up the call.

“You promised you’d be on time,” Ravie accused, and I could
tell by her panicked tone that things weren’t going well.

“I was planning to be there, but something came up.” My
cheeks heated at the memory of what had come up, and I squirmed in my seat,
which made my backside sting a little.

Ravie snorted. “Let me guess. There was an emergency with
Night
High
that you had to take care of.”

I said nothing. I hadn’t talked to my family about my
current living arrangements, and it was a miracle no one had caught on to what
was happening yet. My family tended to meddle in my life more than they should,
but they’d all been focused on getting things ready for Amelia’s baby shower,
and then Maddie had announced her first pregnancy. Both pregnancies were
keeping everyone out of my business for a short time.

“I’m beginning to think the aunts are right about you
needing to find a warlock,” Ravie told me. “You need something other than work
to keep you busy.”

“You’re just mad because I have an excuse to be late,” I
pointed out, wondering how my family would react if they knew the real reason I
was late. My aunts would probably be thrilled and insist I head right back to
Trevor’s house. Now, I was tempted to tell everyone the real reason I was
running late.

“Are you ignoring me?” Ravie asked.

“Pretty much,” I admitted. “I’ve got a lot on my mind.”

“You’d better not try to find an excuse to leave early,” she
warned. “I am about to lose my mind.”

“Why don’t you hide for a little while?” I suggested “You’re
not the only single witch the aunts have to harass today.”

Ravie snorted. “Did you even bother to listen to your
messages?”

“Nope,” I replied, pulling my car into the line for the
transport tunnel. “I was a little tied up.”

“Mimi claims her familiar isn’t feeling well, so she’s
staying home today. Evie is here, but she had a nice warlock drop her off, and
she even made a big production of kissing him goodbye. Naturally, the aunts are
thrilled to see Evie practically married. Before you ask, Evie said nothing
about marriage, but you know how the aunts are.”

“Since when is Evie dating?” I asked. Evie was very much
against settling down with any warlock, for reasons she refused to share with
me. Something had happened while she was away at college, and none of us had
any clue what it was. Ravie was convinced Evie had met the perfect warlock and had
her heart broken. As for me, I was convinced she’d met the perfect guy, and he
wasn’t a warlock, so she’d screwed it up by sending him away. Evie could be a
real stickler for the rules of society.

“She’s not dating him,” Ravie huffed. “That witch found some
guy to play the part to save her ass. I saw him checking Amelia’s husband out
before leaving. Evie hired a gay warlock to pretend to be her boyfriend. Why
didn’t we think of that?”

“It wouldn’t have worked,” I told her.

“You’re right,” she agreed with a sigh. “If too many of us
suddenly showed up with warlocks, the aunts would suspect we were up to
something.”

“I’ll be there in twenty minutes,” I reassured her. “You’ve
still got Brea to take some of the attention away from you.”

There was no loyalty among sisters when it came to avoiding
matchmaking aunts. Brea was a lesbian, and my family was supportive of her,
except that my aunts still didn’t understand why she couldn’t find a nice
warlock and have babies with him. They could be somewhat clueless at times.

“Your dad explained artificial insemination to the aunts
using a pastry bag and an éclair,” Ravie replied.

I shuddered because hearing that brought back memories of
the sex talk with my dad. I still couldn’t eat cream-filled pastries. For
whatever reason, my father thought pastries were necessary for any sex talk,
not to eat, but to help him demonstrate the mechanics. “So, now they’re okay
with Brea and Sonia not finding a nice warlock?” Brea had been with Sonia for
the last four years, and my aunts had suggested they find a warlock to share so
they could have children. Actually, my aunts had gone way beyond suggesting
they share a nice warlock; they’d introduced them to warlocks who were very
interested in the idea.

“They’re fine with them not finding a warlock, but I suspect
the aunts will be sending them profiles for sperm donors,” she said with a
giggle, and I couldn’t help but laugh, too.

“Profiles?” I asked. “I’ll bet the aunts have sperm donors
showing up at Brea and Sonia’s house to interview for the job. Listen, Ravie,
I’m almost at the front of the transport line, so I’m going to lose signal
soon,” I began, wondering why demons could make a tube to transport us from one
place to another, up to five hundred miles away, but they couldn’t get cell
service in the transport tubes. “Why don’t you ask Brea when she and Sonia are
going to get pregnant? Maybe even suggest they both get pregnant so they can
have two babies.”

“Oh, Mel,” Ravie squealed. “That is evil. I’m going to do it
now, and then I’ll hide in the room the familiars are playing in.”

I laughed and ended the call, wondering if I could make it
to the room with the familiars and hide with Ravie.

“I want out. I’m bored.” Mr. Whiskers’ complaints were
getting louder and more insistent by the time I neared my parents’ house. I was
actually impressed his patience had lasted as long as it had. He hadn’t started
complaining until I’d hung up with Ravie. Mr. Whiskers didn’t like riding in
the car. He hated being crated, but it was the safest way to transport him.

“We’re almost there, baby,” I crooned, hating how upset he
sounded.

“Why couldn’t I stay with Trevor?” There was no missing his
pout. Mr. Whiskers had been enjoying staying home with Trevor on the nights I
worked. Trevor even set him up with a movie and snacks before he came to bring
me dinner so my familiar wouldn’t have to ride in the car. That was great,
except it meant my familiar was crankier on car rides now, and I couldn’t
always wait to leave for work until Trevor got home.

“Do you remember where we’re going?” I asked, figuring he
must have forgotten if he was asking about staying home with Trevor.

He gave me the condor version of a long-suffering sigh
before responding. “Work. Always work. I hate work.”

“Nope. Today is Amelia’s baby shower. Most of your friends
will be there,” I told him. Mr. Whiskers loved hanging out with the other
familiars. The baby shower would be like a big play date for him.

“Will Sam be there?” he asked excitedly.

Mr. Whiskers had hit it off with Allie’s new familiar, Sam,
right away. Since Allie’s mom was a succubus, there hadn’t been a female
relative to get her a familiar, so she’d only recently gotten Sam, a very needy
kitten, thanks to Dylan.

“Not today,” I told him. “We’ll plan a play date with Sam
soon.”

“My other friends will be there?”

“Most of them,” I assured him.

I had to park pretty far down the street and walk to my
parents’ house, which wouldn’t have been so annoying if they didn’t live in
Mesa freakin’ Arizona. When it’s well over a hundred degrees outside, the last
thing I want to do is walk with a condor tugging at the back of my skirt. Since
my parents live in a witch neighborhood, I don’t have to worry about anyone
seeing me with my familiar. Now, I was only worried about everyone seeing my
granny panties. It was bad enough Trevor had already seen them.

“Stop, or you’ll end up pulling my skirt down,” I told him.

He ignored me, and by the time I rang the bell, my skirt was
down around my hips. I tugged to try to get it out of Mr. Whiskers’ beak, but
he wasn’t letting go, so when the front door opened, my skirt was halfway down
my ass.

Maddie took one look at me and started laughing and trying
to scold Mr. Whiskers. “Let go of Mel’s skirt, you naughty condor.”

He ignored her and continued to pull on my skirt.

“We are not going in the house until you let go of my
skirt!” I said in a firm tone, and he immediately let go. I started to try to
fix my skirt before heading into the house.

Maddie’s giggles stopped, and she suddenly looked more than
a little green. Having seen this enough times with Amelia during both pregnancies,
I knew Maddie was about to suffer the effects of the inappropriately named
morning sickness.

Forgetting the fact that my granny panties were exposed, I
grabbed Maddie’s arm and worked to clear a path through the living room to the
nearest bathroom. These were the things I was willing to do for the love of my
sister. Once I had Maddie in the bathroom, I turned to pull my skirt up as I
smiled at the room full of annoying gawkers, most of them family members.

“I’m going to take Mr. Whiskers back and get him settled in
with the other familiars,” I said, but my mom stopped me.

“I’ll do it, sweetie,” my mom insisted. “Why don’t you grab
something to eat?”

“Thanks, Mom,” I said with a tight smile, knowing she’d
intentionally thwarted my plan to hide.

The aunts descended on me.

“Melina!” Aunt Lil greeted me with a hug and a warm smile.

“Hi, Aunt Lil and Aunt Muri,” I greeted them both. “Sorry,
I’m late.”

“We understand,” Muri assured me. “That job of yours keeps
you much too busy.”

“Actually, I was trying to leave on time, but a sexy warlock
used a spell to tie me to his bed so he could spank me with a riding crop and
pleasure me multiple times.”

“If you took some time off from work to find a man, you
wouldn’t have to joke about something like that,” Lil scolded me.

“I dare say a good spanking would do you some good, young
lady,” Muri added.

“Don’t look so shocked, Melina Blackwood,” Lil said. “It can
add a lot to a woman’s sexual experience.”

“And the man’s,” Muri pointed out.

It’s not often that I’m speechless, but my aunts are usually
to blame for those rare occasions. Retreating from this conversation seemed
like my best option. The last thing I wanted was for my aunts to start talking
about sex with my uncles. I’d been in that position before and preferred to
avoid it.

“I’m going to get something to eat,” I told them to excuse
myself, and I almost groaned at what my aunts said as I was walking off.

“It’s a shame she doesn’t have a warlock yet,” Lil lamented.

“Yes, at the rate she’s going, she’ll end up with cobwebs up
there,” Muri said with a sigh.

Conversations like this were the biggest reason I preferred
to avoid these types of events. Cobwebs? Where the hell did my aunts come up
with this stuff?