Writing Witchy (Witch Hunters) (12 page)

Imani frowned. She didn’t want to talk about the other woman so soon after they’d shared something so incredible. Elation built in her chest. She could finally have a normal relationship.

“Lately, she’s gotten it into her head that we should be together. I’ve told her it’s not going to happen, but she’s refusing to accept it. I don’t want to end our friendship, but she’s giving me no other choice. She forced that kiss.”

“Sh
h.” She pressed her fingers to his lips. “I’m enjoying the afterglow.”

He kissed her fingertips and then laced his fingers with hers. “I just wanted you to know that you had no reason to be jealous or insecure about me.”

She raised herself on her elbow so that she could watch his face when she asked her next question. “You were going to dump me, weren’t you?”

He blinked. “No.
Never
. I would never… Imani, I love you.”

She stroked the hair back from his brow. “You don’t have to say that because we had sex.”

“Correction. We made love, and I do mean it. I love you and I want to spend the rest of my life with you.”

Her fingers paused in his hair. “What?”

He closed his eyes and sighed. “Hell, I’m botching this. I planned to do this better.” He slid out of bed and went into his closet. Imani shamelessly enjoyed the view of his naked backside. After rummaging around, he came back to the bed with a small jewelry box in his hand. He opened the lid, revealing an emerald cut, two-carat yellow diamond. “I bought this the day I met you. I knew you were the one. Imani, will you marry me?”

She could see his uncertainty. But more importantly, she could see the love in his eyes. She didn’t think she could get any happier. “Yes,”
she whispered and threw her arms around his neck. Tears of joy pricked the backs of her eyes. “I really thought….” She couldn’t continue. Her throat was tight and her voice was thick with emotion.

He ran a soothing hand down her back and kissed her forehead. “Imani, I’ll admit, I was an ass this weekend. I
was
having trouble with our deal. I love that you were so trusting of me, but you were really testing my limits. I knew we’d be fantastic together. Abstaining from sex, while no fun, was doable until the foreplay grew more intense. You were a drumstick dangled before a starving man.”

Imani wrinkled her nose. “A drumstick? Really? You couldn’
t think of something less ordinary? Like cheesecake?”

“Forgive me. My blood flow has been otherwise diverted
, with you pressed up against me as you are.”

Sure enough, she could feel him hard and poking against her hip. “Oh.”

He tipped her chin up. Caressing her lips with his, he murmured, “I was thinking. Before could have been a fluke. I need to be absolutely certain you enjoy sex with me. Care to experiment?”

Chapter Eleven

Imani smoothed her slacks, sat down and then hopped up in the next instant as though his couch was on fire. Sh
e contorted her torso so that she could see the back of her body. Whatever she saw there must have satisfied her, because she sighed and marginally relaxed. She must have decided it was safer to stand, because she leaned against the arm of the sofa instead of sitting again.

Keith stood in the kitchen doorway as he observed his woman’s nervous behavior.
His woman. He grinned. He could beat his chest with masculine pride. After making love twice more last night, he’d prepared dinner. He’d convinced her to spend the night, but she’d had to leave early in the morning in order to go to work. “What are you doing?”

“I don’t want to meet your brother and sister-in-law in wrinkled pants.”

“They’re going to love you. What has you so apprehensive?”

“They’re famous!”

He shrugged. “So am I, and you were very dismissive of me,” he reminded her.

She rolled her copper eyes. “That’s different. You wanted to get in my pants.”

“I wanted so much more than that,” he said, crossing the room to take her hand. “And I got it.” He kissed her finger above the engagement ring.

“Stop being so sweet. You’ll mak
e me cry and I’ll ruin my mascara.”

Before he could respond, the doorbell rang. He kissed the top of Imani’
s head. “Relax. They’re going to love you as much as I do.” He greeted Sean and Mystique with hugs and invited them inside. He’d texted Sean last night and reminded him to drive to his home and not to teleport. It was a wizardly skill that Sean had grown adept at. His busy schedule, not to mention Mystique’s, often kept them apart. Since meeting his mate, his brother’s interest in magic had grown, even though as a teen, Sean had shown little interest in magic. Acting was his first love. But for Keith, developing his skills as a witch had been his passion.

Only a year separated him and Sean.
Though their personalities were drastically different, there was no denying that they were brothers. They looked too much alike. Occasionally, they had been mistaken for twins. They had the same good looks, thick black hair, and bright blue eyes.

Mystique was tall for a woman
and model pretty. She had pale, creamy skin the color of a latte and large dark eyes. Her normally curly locks were straightened, and hung down to her waist in a shiny raven curtain. It was easy to see why his brother had become so obsessed with her even before they ever met. And she was sweet to boot. Keith liked to think she’d been a good influence on Sean. Sean was more grounded and happier than he’d ever known him to be.

Bear, tail wagging so fast it was almost a blur, stood on hind legs and put his paws on Sean’s middle, demanding attention. Sean gave him a brisk rub and a scratch behind the ears. “Hey, Bear!
Aren’t you a good boy?” Having received the proper adulation, he sniffed Mystique’s shoes before flopping down in front of the television.

“Sean, Mystique, this is Imani.”

Sean was quick to fold her into a hug. “We’ve been hearing about you forever. I’m glad to finally make your acquaintance.”

When Sean released Imani, Mystique stepped forward for a similar embrace.
As they parted, she held Imani’s left hand. “Is this what I think it is?”

Imani’s smile was shy as she confirmed their engagement. “Yes, Keith
asked me yesterday.”

“Congratulations, bro!
Why didn’t you say anything? We would have brought you Champagne.”

“We still can,” Mystique said.

Catching her meaning, Keith was swift to object before she could conjure a bottle of wine. “Whoa! That won’t be necessary. We’ll celebrate some other time.” They were all staring at him as though he’d lost his marbles. Mystique and Sean exchanged a look and he knew they were conversing through their bond.

Imani frowned at him. “Are you okay?”

“Fine. Um, why don’t you check on the roast while I show Sean and Mystique my garden?”

She shrugged.
“Sure.”

Mystique and Sean followed him outside. Before he could say a word, Sean laid into him. “You haven’t told her?”

Keith winced at his accusatory tone. So he was a trifle defensive in his response. “When was I supposed to tell her? When she was refusing to date me or after she finally agreed, with the understanding that we would never have sex?”

Sean choked. “You haven’t bonded with her?”

Keith led them farther into the garden and away from the house. He was uncomfortable talking about anything so intensely private with even Sean. “We’ve begun the bonding, but she’s human. It may never reach the level of what you have with Mystique.”

“But you’ve asked her to marry you! When do you plan to tell her the truth?”

He never intended to, so he didn’t reply.

“You can’t go into
a marriage with secrets, Keith,” Mystique added in a soft voice.

“What would be the point in telling her? Who kno
ws how she would react? She has no experience with witches.”

“That’s one whopper of a secret to keep from your wife,” Sean pointed out.
“Magic is a big part of your life. It would be like you’re pretending to be someone you’re not.”

“Trust me, Keith. Women don’t like feeling as though they’ve been deceived,” Mystique said. “Plus, there’s the added security of the bond, of knowing that the man you’re with will always be true to you. You can’t underestimate the lure of that for a woman.”
She held her hand out and Sean took it. “You talk about the supernatural bond Sean and I share. That bond is strengthened by the way we share our feelings, our goals, and our thoughts. How can you expect to be close to Imani if you’re partitioning off what truths you tell her?”

He wanted to be close to her, but if all they could have was what they had now, he’d be satisfied with that. Not once had he considered revealing his abilities to Imani.
She was human. What if she couldn’t accept what he was? What if she was afraid of him? No. He wasn’t taking that chance.

“Mystique, I appreciate your advice, but the situation between Imani and
me is different than it was for you and Sean.” They looked doubtful and he knew he would hear more from Sean on the matter, but he changed the topic and began pointing out features of his garden.

Dinner went smoothly, though Keith could tell when Mystique and Sean were communicating through their link. It made him ache for that kind of closeness with Imani. It wasn’t that he wasn’t happy with her. He couldn’t imagine himself with anyone else. They were engaged. She seemed to be over whatever hang-ups she’d had over sex.

So what
if he would have to tell her the occasional white lie to hide his magic powers? If he had a lifetime of happiness with her, how could that matter? He would be a faithful and supportive husband. She would never want for more.

After dinner, Keith and Sean closed themselves off in his home office while Imani and Mystique watched television. Keith was glad to notice that they seemed to like her as much as he did.

“She’s great, Keith,” Sean said, confirming his thoughts. Sean took a seat on the couch along the wall, the only other seating in his office aside from his office chair.

Keith opened his desk drawer and pulled out the manuscript Sean had sent him
and then joined his brother on the couch. “Yeah, she is. She’s confident and intelligent.”

“Intelligent enough to figure out that your garden is totally impossible?”

He frowned. “What do you mean?”

“You plant like a
warlock. You totally disregard the natural seasons or zones for your plants. Suppose she happens to find out. I mean, she does work in a library.”

“She likes the look of them
, but she’s not interested in gardening.”

Sean scoffed. “
And when you live together, suppose she has a friend over who does know plants? What then?”

“You’re borrowing trouble.”

“And you’re being thickheaded, shortsighted, and unreasonable. That shit’s my forte.”

“
Ha, ha. Sean, I’m doing what I believe to be best.”

Sean ran his hand through his hair. “I want you to be happy, but I’m afraid you’re going to fuck this up. Did you even listen to Mystique? Women don’t like being lied to.
”

Keith clenched his jaw. He knew he was right. “Sean, can we just discuss the script?”

“Depends. Are we making a movie or not?”

“Depends on how you answer my questions about your script.”

Sean growled. “Whatever happened to good old fashioned nepotism? You can’t just give me a break already?”

Keith laughed. “No.
You take your craft seriously, and so do I.”

“All right
, but let’s be quick about it. Mystique and I are practicing making a baby. I can’t wait to get started.”

“Are you guys really thinking of starting a family?”

Sean’s shrug was nonchalant but his smile was excited. “Maybe.”

“Good luck.” Keith shook his head. Viewing Sean as a responsible adult was still new to him. And now he was talking about raising a kid of his own.
“Wow.”

“What?”

“I was thinking, you’re the same guy who used to go to parties with one woman and leave with another. Mom and Dad were beginning to despair of you ever settling down.”

“As you know, I needed to meet the right woman.
” He paused, smiling. “Congrats again on your engagement.”

“Thanks, bro.” Keith flipped through the pages of the script, stopping at the first area he’d flagged.
“Okay, here I was wondering what type of special effects you were thinking of using to bring this scene to life. It’s a pivotal scene and it has to be exactly right if you want the story to be believable.”

It was close to eleven when Sean and Mystique left for their hotel. Imani helped Keith to clean his kitchen despite his protests. He could have set it to rights with a mere thought, but he wasn’t going to turn down the opportunity to spend more time with her. Even if that involved hand-washing dirty dishes, with food stains she deemed too tough for his dishwasher.