Witch, Please! (A Sisterhood Enchantment Book 2) Page 7

  And then Drew lifted his head to the sky and roared. It was the sound of a mountain lion. His whole face changed, his eyes grew dark. The creature was laid bare before her. He growled, “You don't get it. I want to die. I want you to take this life away from me so I can rest.”

  And with that, he roared again and tossed the silver wand into the snow, where it sparked, hissed and sank all the way down through the snow, to the frozen ground.

  So he was after her because he was on a suicide mission. This man who sometimes acted like an overgrown frat boy, who loved to screw, who seemed to love life to the fullest, wanted to finally die after centuries of living his half-life. She finally understood.

  He stepped away from her and she studied his frame. He removed his coat, and his layers of clothing underneath. “Fucking kill me. If you won’t be with me, then just kill me. If you won’t fuck me to death, then let’s just get your wand and get this over with.”

  This whole thing called for a meeting with the high priestess. There were ethics to be discussed. There might even be a meeting of the holy order of witches. There would be a debate about whether it was more harmful to stay away from each other, screw him to oblivion as he wished, or simply assist him in suicide. Combined with all of the added messiness of her being Alice the First in a past life and him being a creature that craved blood to the detriment of humans and animals.

  But there Drew stood, naked in the snow, his washboard abs, his beautiful body shaped from perhaps centuries of hauling beer kegs around with his own two hands. Did they have beer kegs in the 1300s? Well, over this many centuries he did something right. His trim waist taunted her to come and take a nibble, despite a lifetime of guzzling beer. Those mighty arms that had carried her effortlessly through miles of wood at top speed. His full lips, strong jawline, and oh god, the dimples.

  Fuck ethics.

  Chapter 13

  Drew

  As soon as she twitched a muscle toward him, he was on her faster than a panther on a helpless little mouse. He backed her up against the tree again where they gave in to this calling, this seemingly divine destiny. It was more powerful than the two of them combined. He had wanted to fulfill her fantasy of being abducted in the woods like Little Red Riding Hood, and goddammit he was going to make it happen.

  He hoisted her up so her legs were wrapped around him. The sensation of their thighs pretzeled together was beyond gorgeous. He savored this as he planted the kisses between them that erased all the terrible words they’d spoken.

  He whispered, “Should we go home and do this? The tree has to be killing your back.”

  She smiled. “Trees don’t bother me. Quite the opposite. Same as home.”

  Drew sighed and rested his forehead against hers for a moment and let her words wash over him.

  The instant he was warmly sheathed inside her tight, welcoming sex, he began to feel the magic again. Darkness, hopelessness receded and light and mortality began to rise in their place. The need to be joined with her was now greater than his need to feast on her. But damn, he knew it would feel good to do both.

  “Drew, bite me. Feed the beast. I don’t want you to die.”

  He hesitated.

  “Drew. You’re a vampire. You came all this way alone, in the dark, in the cold, you must want to feed in earnest. How long has it been?”

  He thrust into her so hard she gasped. “It’s all right. I want you to bite me,” she urged.

  “I don’t want to leave a visible mark on you, love.”

  She breathed and teased his ear with her teeth. “I don't care what anybody thinks,” she said.

  She ground against him and held his head toward her neck. But he had a better idea. He grazed his way down her neck, raking his fangs along her soft, supple skin, deciding on the best place to bite as she rode his cock. He gently scraped his sharpness down her breastbone, her soft breasts heaving on either side of his face. He could end it here, simply expire, happily, buried in her pussy, his face bathed in her breasts, his soul restored and at peace.

  But she was right. He also wanted to feed. He flared his nostrils, found the vein that would suit him and be inconspicuous. His fangs gently scraped her breasts, raking over a nipple, and she gave a cry of pleasure. He took a moment to suck in her nipple and felt it grow even harder at the touch of his tongue. He teased her with his fangs, and she sounded like she may explode.

  Finally, he lifted her breast and pierced her there as he gave one more push into her. She cried out in pain and pleasure, all at once, and slammed around him in a convulsing orgasm that drew out his climax and filled her with his cum just as her blood filled his veins.

  When he closed his eyes and felt the heat of her sweet blood fill him, he saw the beast. It was as if he were looking into a mirror, but all he saw was a face transfigured into a shriveled, ancient bloodsucker, permanent fangs, living underground, murdering and feeding, living in secret. And at his feet, in his vision, lay a dead Alice.

  It took every cell of humanity in him to pull back from the bite.

  Alice

  He pulled out of her and set her down.

  Weak-kneed and cloudy from her orgasm, she asked, “Do you have to leave?”

  “Yes,” he said. “You were right. This is wrong. I’m only going to end up hurting you.”

  She cleared her head of the sex fog and demanded to know what was going on. “What did you see, Drew? You owe it to me to tell me the truth.”

  “You died. From me feeding on you. You were dead and I was evolved—or maybe devolved, I don’t know—but you were right, and I was wrong. The two of us together makes no sense. I don’t want to hurt you.”

  And then as quickly as he had appeared out of nowhere to abduct her, he was gone and she was alone again. Only this time, by some miracle, she was dressed and standing on her front porch. Alice reached down to her holster, where her wand had been restored to her.

  Tears welled up. A knot formed in her throat. So that was that. So this was the pain of heartbreak.

  Just then, Fern was passing by after a nightly walk in the woods. It did not appear that she had seen or overheard the rendezvous with the vampire. As her friend floated by, she called out to Alice, “Night-night, Sister! Tomorrow is Lupercalia Day! Time to purge the bad spirits and bad habits! Aren’t we excited?!”

  “Sure am, Sister.”

  Maybe she’d feel better about that idea tomorrow. Tonight it was her and a pint of Cherry Garcia.

  Chapter 14

  Drew

  The winter slumped its way into a cold, wet, slushy, gray March. The season hung around Drew’s neck like a dead fish. The sky and the earth matched his mood. Nothing looked good. Nothing tasted good. Nothing smelled good.

  He had tried to move on. He had told himself over and over again that it was no use. He could not control the beast. He would only end up destroying the woman he loved.

  Alice came outside the shop less often to sniff at his crude beer names on his sidewalk board. He had even thrown a raucous Fat Tuesday party, but it felt hollow. There was nobody around to march across the street and yell at him like a misbehaving school boy. Even Stubby was a little less into his job at attracting the pretty ladies to the pub.

  In fact, Drew was seeing less and less of Alice bustling around the coffee shop. She seemed to have been hiring a whole lot of interesting new baristas and delegating all the work to them. This was the only thing that kept him from closing up his pub and retreating into a hole of despair. He didn’t like those guys. He could tell each and every one of them were vampires. He wondered what they were after. Despite his melancholy, he stayed alert.

  So what if she wouldn’t listen to him. So what if she wouldn’t even come three feet from him. But he would be damned if he would let anything happen to his girl. Because that’s what she was. Even if they couldn’t be together, he’d rather live in this torment protecting her until she died than off himself for his own peace and rest.

  Eventually it was time
for the spring equinox, and they could no longer avoid each other. The Sisters were once again putting on a big to-do, and all the downtown boosters were going to have to participate.

  Drew was not looking forward to it, but Jenny, his surrogate sister and head server at the pub, insisted he get out. “I’m tired of seeing your bummed-out face. You’re bumming out the regulars. Get out. Go. Have fun. Go talk to her and then get laid,” she said.

  If only he could.

  He pulled his hat down over his brow and wandered to the town square to grudgingly help do whatever last-minute thing needed to be done. Volunteers were buzzing around the square. After the Samhain and lunar eclipse brouhaha last fall, it was decided that the equinox would be a low-key affair. It was still cold and slushy out in late March, so the town leaders decided to commemorate the spring equinox by prepping all the empty flower beds on the square, followed by s’mores and a weenie roast after christening the new community fire pit. It was a small fire pit, and not at all conducive to brainwashed villagers erecting stakes on which to burn witches.

  Drew was about to look around for a shovel to start turning over some dirt when someone handed him a flyer.

  He looked down and saw a hand he recognized immediately.

  “Hi,” he said, feeling dumb.

  “Nice of you to join us at zero hour. We could use some help with the sound system at the coffee shop.”

  “Sure,” he said with a nod. “After you.”

  Once inside Kava, Alice gestured over to the stage. Drew looked. It was a pretty modest set up.

  “It’s not Foo Fighters, if that’s what you’re wondering,” she said. “Think folk, bluegrass, poetry, and…what did you call it? Oh yeah. Vagina music. So, I guess, try not to turn it up to 11. Lots of old people coming out tonight.”

  Drew smiled at her. Goddess, she looked more beautiful than ever. “I take it that includes me?”

  She gave him a hint of a smirk, but her pride shut it down. Still, it was something.

  “I don’t know if you’d be at all interested. It’s another open mic night. We’re going to do some healing spells on the down low, put it in some smoothies, and give people a safe space to come up to the mic and do whatever they want.”

  He grinned at her. “You still trying to push the hippie-dippy stuff?”

  She huffed. “Come. Don’t come. Whatever you want. I just thought…you could use some healing. If you’re not too busy at Stubby’s trying to blast everybody’s eardrums out.”

  It wasn’t intended to hurt. In fact, he was sure she was inviting him as a gesture of kindness, but it may as well have been a holy relic stabbed right into his heart.

  He watched Alice walk away and he got lost in thought. There wasn’t a party going on at Stubby’s tonight. It had been more than a month since Drew had tried brewing anything new or thought of any reason to celebrate. He had even let Saint Patrick’s Day come and go without a drunken celebration. A sacrilege for a bar owner, to be sure. He was hemorrhaging money and he didn’t care. Jenny should take over; the place needed a younger face and a hipper sensibility anyway. Maybe then it would attract a more savory customer base that the other downtown boosters would appreciate. Yep. His time was up. Drew was played out.

  Chapter 15

  Alice

  She didn’t know who or with what, but someone had spiked the smoothies with something more than just a healing spell. Someone had added an extra bit of magical relaxation herbs, because Alice was feeling funky with a capital “F.” She didn’t know who, but she suspected Birdie. She was a devious one.

  The open mic hadn’t started yet, and Alice hesitated to start it because everyone seemed to be having a wonderful time. It appeared that everyone she knew in Birchdale was here, drinking, talking, and laughing. She would have loved to let her guard down and join in, but Drew was there. He wasn’t drinking any coffee, and he didn’t look like he was there to enjoy himself. He was standing by the entrance, arms folded over his chest, staring at her.

  She still didn’t know how to act around him. She couldn’t let him know, but he was in her thoughts day and night. So she got busy busing tables, wiping counters, warming up people’s coffee.

  It didn’t take her mind off of him. She hated that they couldn’t be together. She hated that two fucked-up people had fallen so hard in a matter of two days, and then burned out like a lightweight junkie.

  But had they burned out? For real? Not when he stared at her like that. When would they get over this?

  They probably never would.

  But then, maybe tomorrow, the first day of spring, would bring them all a fresh start. Wasn’t that what this was all about? That there was always hope?

  She looked up again but saw that Drew now was focused on somebody else. He was watching Jordan and the new baristas, and he didn’t look happy. She guessed Drew was still under the impression that Jordan was a vampire. But it couldn’t be true. The kid was way more perky on his morning shift than a vampire should be. Even if she was now informed that they wouldn’t burst into flames at the first ray of sunlight on their skin, Drew had still proven he was nocturnal and deeply uncomfortable in the daylight hours except when he was around her. That’s what he had told her, anyway.

  Well, if Jordan tried anything, she was in good company. Besides, he was a skinny, soft-spoken kid. If he was a vampire, he wasn’t a very threatening one.

  Shortly, Alice’s thoughts were back on Drew. Maybe it was time to move on and get the open mic started.

  But as she was about to go up and quiet everybody down, suddenly she stopped dead in her tracks. Magda Corey, high priestess and mother of Morgan’s fiancé, Adam, had just walked into her shop. Morgan leaped to her feet and went to hug her.

  Alice was in shock to see her. “Blessed be!”

  But Magda skipped right over the formalities and got right into Alice’s face. “What’s this I hear about you having visions and schtupping a vampire?”

  Alice didn’t know what else to do but lower her face in shame. “I’m sorry you came all this way. We've already broken up and—”

  Magda cut her off. “Are you kidding? Honey, I’m here because my granddaughter spoke to me in a vision last night and told me to come.”

  “Excuse me? I was not informed of this,” Morgan said, her hand moving to her stomach. “My fetus is speaking to you now?”

  She took Morgan’s chin. “Sweetheart, it’s a full moon, tomorrow is the first day of spring, and you are at your full powers. I need to keep an eye on you. Something’s cooking. Where’s Adam?”

  Morgan smiled at the mention of his name. “He gets off at 11, he should be here to pick me up.”

  Alice handed Magda a smoothie, “Here, I think Birdie made this. It’s got some kind of good juju in it. I don’t know what. I may even go up and sing a song later.”

  Chapter 16

  Drew

  That was unexpected. He had no idea she could sing. Or play an acoustic guitar! Of course, how could he have known? He’d only dated her and had his heart ripped out after what…two days? And he had barely even bothered to get to know any part of her other than her body and her blood.

  Alice, his amazing girl, took the stage at the end of the night. Everyone in the room was more or less plowed, but they all got quiet. As she sang, she locked eyes with Drew and he felt it all over again. Her blood was calling his name like a box of Little Debbie snack cakes calls out to a pot head. His whole being ached for her. He was a junkie and she had the good shit. She was singing a song about light and darkness, the triumph of love over evil. The basic lighthearted kind of number that ended with nary a dry eye in the place.

  To Drew’s mind, there was only one way to end this night and send everybody home on a high note. It was time to roll the dice.

  Alice brushed past him as he made his way up to the stage. She was clearly feeling emotional and was going to busy herself with some chores and whatnot so she didn’t have to look at him.

  He scanned
the audience. They all looked a little too emotional and, if he was honest, kind of lethargic. He took that as free license to say what he needed to say.

  “I have a poem I’d like to recite. It doesn’t rhyme. You will probably hate it. Here goes…” His mind raced and finally he said,

  “It doesn’t matter what the books say, Alice.

  You can’t hurt me and I can’t hurt you

  Any more than we already have hurt each other.

  Unless you’re into that kind of thing.

  Which I think you are, and it’s pretty hot.

  We can choose our own adventure.

  So let’s do that, and you can come live in my palace.

  What do you say … Alice?

  Side note, I do not own a palace, but I thought of a rhyme at the last minute.”

  Alice was behind the counter, arms folded, shaking her head.

  “Well?” he said into the mic, watching her. “What do you think?”

  “I think that was the worst poem I’ve ever heard,” she replied.

  “Yeah, well, we’re all drunk from Birdie’s hippie juice or whatever, so I don’t think it matters if it’s good poetry. Did it work?”

  Then Birdie, who had been off chatting with the other Sisters, shouted, “Listen. I don’t know what you dummies are talking about. These are not my smoothies! Somebody dumped some bathtub gin up in there, that’s what I think.”

  Magda, now feeling fairly funky, came forward to the foot of the small stage and put her hand out. “Give me your hand, old man.” Drew had no choice but to listen.

  Then Magda turned to Alice. “Young lady, come up here, please.”