Willow: June (3 page)

W
illow stared
at the puzzling man in front of her. She didn’t believe he wanted to help out of the goodness of his heart. There was always an ulterior motive when it came to Cedric, at least in regards to her.

She gave him the perfect out, yet he wasn’t taking it. That perplexed her some, but she figured he was trying to make a good impression on someone, she just didn’t know who. Then, he had to go and kiss her, compounding her conflicting feelings about the man even more. She loved him. She hated him. It was a constant battle of wills.

What the hell was she supposed to do? She should be mad at him for that shit date, and numerous other things over the years, but she found it difficult. She had actually missed his stupid face, even though the only way she would admit it was if someone held a gun to her head…or a wand with bad intentions.

Edward shimmered again, his body vibrating with a deep purr. He only did that when he siphoned magic from someone, but he had never done it to her. It could have been a reaction from siphoning from Cedric. She’d have to make note of it in the “Magical World of Edward” book her family was compiling.

She had often wondered about his lineage, and how he came to be a part of the Davies family, so she suggested they start piecing his life together. She would jot down this reaction and get back to it later to add more details. She needed to deal with one too-handsome-for-his-own-good warlock first.

Edward lifted his head, his dark eyes flashing, a bright purple ring forming on the innermost part of his irises for a moment before turning back to their normal, eerie solid black. He meowed and wiggled in her hold.

She glanced at Cedric, who didn’t look like he would leave anytime soon. She had a ton of work to do, and she couldn’t stand out on the front porch forever. She might as well invite him in and then proceed to ignore him. Not that she ever had luck doing that. “I can’t believe I’m saying this but—do you want to come inside?”

Cedric grinned; flashing his straight, white teeth, and her heart skipped a beat. “I thought you’d never ask.”

She waved him through, and shut the door. “Let’s go to the kitchen, so I can get back to work. You can do…whatever it is you think you need to do.”

He nodded and walked ahead of her.

“Kitchen is straight back,” she reminded him, in case he thought to veer off course and poke around her house. The less space he invaded, the better. He had only been inside her home once before. He’d dropped by the previous month with the giggly eighteen-year-old he was banging. He had wanted Willow to teach the girl a couple of sex spells. Needless to say, it hadn’t gone well.

Thoughts of sex had her focus dropping to his ass. He had one of the finest asses she had ever seen. His jeans molded to his backside as if custom made strictly for him. The smooth pockets were in the perfect position, broadcasting to the population the exact spot to grab on to. She caught herself imagining sliding her hands into his pockets and wondering if he wore boxers, briefs, or went commando. She shook the thought from her head. She didn’t need to get caught staring. It would only give him something else to tease her about.

C
edric glanced
at the clock in Willow’s kitchen, the huge monstrosity slowly ticking the seconds by. Had they really only been sorting through the proposals for two hours? It felt much longer than that, and he was bored out of his mind.

He’d taken a seat at her kitchen table with the burn of her stare lighting him up. He doubted she knew he’d seen her staring. Hell, he’d felt it before he glanced back and saw her eyes lowered and riveted to his ass. It was good to know she wasn’t immune, since she hadn’t mentioned the kiss on the porch.

Now, though, his ass was numb and he wanted to kiss her again. Ignore all of the papers and find a way to get her naked and writhing beneath him. Maybe take things to the bedroom where he could, once and for all, lay claim to the one thing he’d wanted since high school.

He cast a glance in Willow’s direction. She poured over another proposal and snorted in disbelief. It was probably another asinine one. He now understood her frustration about his kissing booth idea. What the hell were people thinking when they came up with the stuff they wanted to do during the annual celebrations?

A toad-changing contest: from witch/warlock to toad and back. It was a recipe for disaster if a person changed someone they were pissed at. He could imagine exes going after each other and calling it fine…all in the name of fun.

Broom races. While entertaining for youngsters, this one was geared toward adults. After hours when the mead flowed freely, drunken witches and warlocks on magic highs were no fun.

Cedric flipped the two papers into the reject pile and grabbed the next one.

A witch pageant featuring spells casting, hexing, and…bikini and evening wear. He reread it to make sure he had seen it right the first time. He glanced down the long sheet listing each event in detail to see his name written in bold at the bottom.

What the hell?
How did his name end up on it?

He read a little further. The witch who proposed the pageant wanted him to be the judge
and
the prize. A witch he had dated in high school before he knew better. Her over-the-top flirting and entitled attitude left a sour taste in his mouth. She was also a witch who had teased Willow mercilessly throughout high school.

He glanced at Willow out of his periphery. She was immersed in whatever she was reading. Thank goodness. He folded the paper and shoved it in his back pocket. If he wanted her to see he was serious about her—when he got around to telling her his feelings—the last thing she needed to see was something that looked like he designed it with an ex-girlfriend. Willow would assume he and Gemma had come up with it together as a way to taunt her. His showing up and
volunteering
would be construed as a way to get around her.

He made a show of shuffling the pages around to cover up what he was doing and snatched up another proposal.

Transfiguration demonstration—okay that was a good one. He handed it off to Willow. “This one looks promising.”

Without looking up, she took it from him, her fingers gliding over his in a light caress, which sent heat flaring between them. Her breath hitched, and she brought her head up.

“What the hell was that?” He asked, wondering if it had to do with the moonstone or if it was their natural chemistry. He needed to know the purpose of the stone; there was no way around it. He needed to confirm the nagging thoughts in the back of his mind.

Willow’s large green eyes zeroed in on him briefly before she bit her bottom lip and dropped her gaze, looking everywhere but at him. It was her
tell
for when she was nervous. He’d figured it out in high school. She did it around him all of the time, but he didn’t think anything of it. When he noticed she did it after teachers called on her, or if she had to speak in front of the class, it clicked into place. He then made it his mission to see her do it all of the time. There was something about her teeth sinking into that lush red lower lip that entranced him. “I don’t know,” she said, her voice almost too low to hear.

He narrowed his eyes, his gaze dropping to the moonstone dangling from her necklace. “What did you do?”

Her hand went up automatically, and her eyes skittered back to his face. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“Yes, you do. You’re wearing a moonstone, Wills. Don’t act like you don’t know what that means, or think that I don’t know. Did you enchant it? Put a spell on it? Are you trying to find true love?” A ball of tension knotted in his stomach at the thought. If she had cast a love spell on it, there was a good chance it would go horribly wrong. None, and he meant
none
, ever went how they were supposed to.

She licked her bottom lip and her face flushed. “No.”

There was too much denial in that one word…paired with the reddening of her cheeks…shit, it didn’t look good. “Oh god, you did,” he groaned. The ball of tension turned to panic. It rose up into his chest like bile, hot, burning pain that made you want to throw up. “Take it off,” he demanded. “Take it off now and undo whatever you did before it’s too late.”

“No.” Willow pushed away from the table and scurried over to the stove. As much as he enjoyed watching her backside when she walked away, he needed to see her face. She was horrible at lying to him. The truth always played out on her face, and he needed to see it now.

Cedric took a deep, calming breath and got up from his chair. He walked over to her and placed gentle hands on her shoulders, turning her to face him. He couldn’t stress how much of a bad idea it was to place a spell on the moonstone. He never thought he would have to. “Talk to me, Wills.”

Anger and embarrassment drifted over her features. The lines around the edges of her mouth pinched, and a flash of pain reflected in her eyes. “Why? What do you care if I’m trying to find someone?” She pushed his hands away and took a half step back. That was all the room she had behind her otherwise she would have kept moving.

He edged forward, closing the distance between them. “Because I do care. I don’t want to see you get hurt.”

“I won’t,” she said, tilting her head up imperiously like a queen. “The Goddess will protect me.”

“I wouldn’t put that much faith in them. You know playing with Mystics and humans is a game to them. They’ll promise you one thing and deliver it, but it will be skewed.”

“Like you,” she mumbled, but he heard both words. He knew she hadn’t meant to say that out loud, by the look on her face. Her eyes rounded and she clamped her lips shut.

“I’m not skewed,” he frowned.

She wrinkled her cute nose, and he was tempted to run his thumb over it to smooth it out. “That’s not what I meant.”

He chose to ignore what she meant in favor of proving he was right. “So, you’re saying you
did
do something to the moonstone?”

“We’re back to that?”

“We never left the topic. This whole thing has been about that stone hanging from your neck. What did you do, Willow, so I can fix it?”

“I don’t need it fixed. She promised me I would get what I want.”

“She who? And what did you want?” Her answer would dictate what he needed to do. Pray. Plead. Invoke. The options were endless so he needed it narrowed down. Because whatever was needed, he would do it. He would do anything for her.

“I invoked the Goddess Aphrodite. I’m sure you can figure the rest out from there.” She crossed her arms over her chest in a protective manner. Unconsciously shielding her heart. “There. You happy?”

Her answer surprised him, even though it shouldn’t have. He had suspected she wanted to find love. It was a good thing Aphrodite was known for helping those who worshipped her. It was a coup for the Goddess that humans and Mystics still held her in high regard. That they offered their fealty and undying love. Many of the other Gods and Goddesses didn’t have such luck, having been forgotten over the centuries.

And yeah, he was happy. He got his answer and was pretty fucking pleased. Since his realization that he loved her, he had been wracking his brain to find a way to get close to her and tell her. Coming right out and saying it would lead to her laughing in his face in disbelief. That’s when he thought to partner with her; but that would only last for so long, a week at best. He could finagle more time during the week before the big bonfire; after that, he was out of ideas. As much of a ladies man people seemed to think he was, when it came to Willow, he knew she wouldn’t fall for a pretty line wrapped with a bow. She would need convincing. The stone and invocation gave him a place to start. Depending on when she performed the rite. “When did you invoke the Goddess?”

Worry creased her forehead. “Last night.”

“I see.” And he did. She might think his showing up was because of the rite. He knew differently, but pointing out that she wanted love, and he was the man to show up might just work in his favor.

Willow’s eyes narrowed dangerously. “What do you see?”

A slow smile curled his lips. “You asked Aphrodite, the goddess of love, to help you find love, and here I am. Like I said before, the man of your dreams.”

“No.” She shook her head and licked her lip. Her eyes widened with alarm. “Not the man of my dreams. We’ve already had this discussion.”

He moved into her personal space again, cupping the sides of her face with his hands. He brushed his thumbs along her heated cheeks. “You’re lying. You’ve had it bad for me since kindergarten, when you punched me in the face.”

Her green eyes flashed silver and her mouth dropped open. “You deserved it, and…and I have not, she stammered.” She protested, but he knew the truth. He read it in her eyes, and with each flash of silver; he knew he had her heart. He just needed to get her to admit it.

“No need to deny it, babe. I’m more than happy to fill the position.” He lowered his head and brushed his lips against hers. She whimpered softly, and
wholly fuck
, it made his balls ache.

W
illow didn’t know
what happened. One minute she was trying to get away from those all-seeing eyes of his; the next, she was melting against him, turned on like never before.

The moonstone heated against her skin, the warmth pulsing through her chest and down through her extremities. Fire built in her veins. Her blood bubbled and thickened. She could hear her heartbeat pounding in her ears. It was the single most overwhelming and addicting feeling in the world.

That’s when one thought, one very important thought tumbled to the forefront.

Oh shit! He’s the one!

Her brain scrambled and told her to push Cedric away, to make a scathing remark and toss him from her home. He couldn’t be the one she was looking for. The one who filled the hole in her heart and sang to her soul. He was her mortal enemy. Her nemesis. The boy that never once said a kind word to her without some devious thought behind it: A favor, a sick thrill, or a cheap laugh. But her body disagreed with her mind and was ultimately the one in charge at the moment. She slid her hands up his chest, getting her first feel of the body she’d only glimpsed through the tight-fitting T-shirts he favored. The play of muscles beneath her fingers was better than she’d imagined.

She moaned against his lips, urging him on. Knew if she had to say the words, she wouldn’t be able to. As it was, she cursed the sound that escaped and for falling into him so quickly. He really was the man of her dreams, even though in them, he whispered sweet endearments and was the one protecting her heart, not breaking it.

Her entire relationship with him, the anger she felt toward him was really anger with herself. For falling for a man who would never see her as more than the girl he liked to torment throughout their school years and well into adulthood.

Cedric groaned and slipped his hands down her neck and over her shoulders. They coasted down her back until he cupped her ass, pulling her close. Her body tingled all over, goosebumps danced across her flesh. The proof of his arousal pressed insistently against her belly. She didn’t know he could have that reaction to her, but it thrilled her nonetheless.

She broke for air and rested her forehead against his chest. “This is crazy,” she panted, running her hands down his sides, sliding them into the back pockets she had obsessed about earlier. Her left hand came up against paper, crinkling as her fingers brushed over it.

She leaned back to look him in the eyes. “What’s that?” When she’d followed him into the kitchen earlier, she hadn’t noticed a paper sticking out. No outline or any indication he’d had anything in his pocket. And believe her, she would have known.

He gripped her wrist and held her hand in place. “It’s nothing. Something I stuffed in my pocket before I came over.”

“You’re lying. There wasn’t anything back there. I would have noticed.”

He grinned like a delighted schoolboy seeing his first pair of boobs.

It distracted him enough she was able to pluck the paper out of his pocket and break his hold on her wrist. She unfolded it quickly and edged away from him. It was one of the proposal forms. “Why do you have this?”

“Give that back,” he said, trying to snatch it away.