Elemental Enchantment
Elemental Enchantment Copyright © 2014 Bronwyn Green
Also Available from Resplendence Publishing
www.resplendencepublishing.com
Elemental Enchantment
A
Witch Way
Story
By Bronwyn Green
Resplendence Publishing, LLC
http://www.resplendencepublishing.com
Elemental Enchantment
Copyright © 2014 Bronwyn Green
Edited by Michele Paulin and CJ Slate
Cover Art by Les Byerley
Published by Resplendence Publishing, LLC
1093 A1A Beach Blvd, #146
St. Augustine, FL 32080
Electronic format ISBN: 978-1-60735-759-9
Warning: All rights reserved. The unauthorized reproduction or distribution of this copyrighted work is illegal. Criminal copyright infringement, including infringement without monetary gain, is investigated by the FBI and is punishable by up to 5 years in federal prison and a fine of $250,000.
Electronic Release: April 2014
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and occurrences are a product of the author’s imagination. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, places or occurrences, is purely coincidental.
Photographer Meaghan Boulton thinks a steamy one-night stand with a member of the bridal party seems like a great idea. And it is…until the ghost of a missing child shows up in the wedding photos and her one-night stand turns out to be a cop who suspects her of being involved in the child’s abduction.
Eli Jones is having a rough week. The woman of his dreams—the woman he’s been infatuated with since high school—skips out of his hotel room after the hottest hook-up of his life. Worse, she’s got information on a kidnapping that she couldn’t possibly have—unless what she says is true and she’s a witch.
Despite the cloud of suspicion that hovers between them, they need to work together to find the missing child. When it’s over, will anything be left of their passion to salvage?
For Carolline Greene—my Green(e) Sister. She’s a lover of books, animals and life, and she always makes me smile.
Huge thanks to Heather Newbury Almendarez for answering my photography questions.
Huge thanks also to Cussy Bimbleberry for sending me inspiration via email.
Chapter One
“No. Just…no.” Meaghan Boulton sighed as she interrupted Rowan, her best friend, again. “I know that you and Gwydion are the picture of freaking domestic bliss. And hell, so are Emma and Ian, but it’s not for me.”
“C’mon, Megs,” Rowan coaxed. “I just want to see you happy.”
“I
am
happy.”
“I know, but—”
“Honey, I adore you, but no love spells. They never work the way they’re supposed to, and besides, what I really need is to get laid. That’s it.”
“What about—”
“Shit!” From the corner of her eye, Meaghan saw the black streak tear into the street, and she slammed on her brakes. Almost immediately, she lurched forward. The seatbelt tightened uncomfortably across her chest, and her head smacked the upper edge of the steering wheel as the truck that had been following her hit the back of her car.
A rush of adrenaline flooded her body, and her breath caught in her throat.
“Are you okay?” Rowan demanded, her voice suddenly shrill. “Meaghan? What happened?”
“I’m all right,” she murmured. “But I need to call you back.” She disconnected the call then ran a shaky hand through her hair, blinking slowly. She waited a moment for her vision to clear before glancing into the rearview mirror. The guy behind her looked pissed as he scrubbed a hand across his face before motioning her forward.
Of course. A virtually deserted road and she still managed to get into a car accident. Lifting her foot off the brake, she steered toward the side of the road then put the car into park. At least, the impact hadn’t been hard enough to set off the airbag. Meaghan took a deep breath, pushed the door open and got out.
She was already late for a photo shoot. She didn’t have time to wait for the cops to show up. Her boss would kill her. Toby was great, but she had a thing for punctuality. Not that Meaghan could blame her.
She turned toward the other driver at the sound of gravel crunching. Anything she might have said died in her throat at the sight of him. The guy was gorgeous. Definitely not her type, but gorgeous, nonetheless. Her gaze skittered over him—tall, broad shouldered, piercing blue eyes and full, firm, bitable lips. His sandy blond hair was short—not quite military short, but close. Yeah, so not her type.
“What the hell were you thinking?” the guy demanded as he stalked toward the front of his truck.
And he just lost points for attractiveness. “I’m so glad you’re all right,” she snapped. “I’m fine, too. Thanks for asking.”
He frowned then leaned closer. “You’ve got a mark on your forehead. Did you hit it?”
Her hand automatically lifted to her face. It felt tender to the touch. Oh yeah. That was going to bruise. Wonderful. “I’m fine. Are you all right?”
He nodded absently, still studying her. “What happened?” he asked. “Why did you brake like that?”
“A cat ran out into the road. I was trying not to hit it.”
He rubbed a hand across his eyes then glared at her. “A cat. You caused a car accident because of a cat.”
Meaghan took a step forward and pointed at his truck. “It’s fine. Look. You don’t have any damage. No big deal.” Her rear bumper was pretty well crunched, but whatever, she’d driven worse. “I’ll give you my information, and if something ends up being wrong, you can call and file a claim with my insurance company.”
He scowled at her then pulled his phone out of his pocket and punched in three numbers.
“Seriously? You’re calling the cops over this?”
Scowling at her the whole time, he reported the accident. When he hung up, he said, “They’ll be here as soon as they can.”
Meaghan fought the urge to roll her eyes and leaned against the side of her car. “Fabulous.”
His lips pulled downward, and she forced herself not to stare at his mouth. “I don’t know what you’re complaining about. I’m the one who’s going to get the ticket.”
“I’m the one who’s going to piss off her boss by being late to work. And don’t get bitchy with me. You’re the one who was riding my ass.”
His gaze dropped briefly to where her ass rested against the car then returned to her face. He didn’t say a word, but his eyes flared brightly as they held her motionless.
Awareness sparked to life in the pit of her belly, but she tried to smother it. “Whatever,” she muttered, waving her hand in his direction. “You’re the one who insisted on calling the police.”
He narrowed his eyes at her. “This is Michigan. It’s illegal
not
to report an accident if the damage is over three-hundred bucks.” He glanced at her bumper. “That qualifies.”
“Oh good. A Boy Scout.” Turning away from him, she reached into the car and pulled her phone from the cup holder. Punching in Toby’s number, she watched the other driver pace up and down the side of the road as she listened for her boss to pick up.
“Where are you?” the other woman said by way of a greeting.
“I’m on Eighty-Fourth Street, waiting for the cops to show up.”
“Oh my god! Are you okay?”
Meaghan sighed. “Yeah. Just a little fender bender. I promise I’ll be there as soon as I can.”
“It’s okay. The family isn’t even dressed, and the dogs they insisted on having in the pictures just took off after a rabbit.” The sound of shrieking on Toby’s end filtered through to Meaghan. “
Aaaaaaaand
never mind,” her boss said. “The youngest two kids just jumped in a huge mud puddle. This one’s going to have to get rescheduled. Just go home and rest when you’re done, okay?”
“Okay. Thanks.” Meaghan stifled a laugh. Family picture shoots were usually nightmares. It sounded as if this was worse than most. Shoving her phone in her pocket, she glanced over at the truck to see what Captain Crabby was up to.
Arms crossed, he leaned against the front fender of his vehicle, head tilted back and eyes closed. Oh, he
really
wasn’t her type, but her fingers itched for her camera. She ached to capture the delineated lines of muscle running along his forearms, the long column of his throat as the sun shone down on him and the way his T-shirt stretched snugly across his wide chest. In the bright light, his hair looked more gold than blond, and she couldn’t help but wonder if it was as soft as it appeared.
She mentally shook her head at herself. Maybe, she’d hit the steering wheel harder than she’d thought. She went for shaggy-looking guys who played the guitar and wrote poetry—not ones who looked as if they could be poster boys for the American middle class.
A small squeak near her feet pulled her attention from her ill-advised attraction. Looking down, she spotted a small black cat—little more than a kitten, really—peeking out from behind her front tire. Wide, gold eyes stared warily up at her. The creature looked as if it would bolt at any moment.
Murmuring softly to it, Meaghan slowly lowered herself to the gravel and reached for the tiny animal. As soon as it rubbed its head against her hand, she scooped it up and stood, cradling it against her chest. It squirmed for a minute, but as she petted it, it began to calm, purring loudly. It even closed its eyes as it relaxed.
“So this is what caused all the trouble?”
At the sound of the guy’s voice, the cat’s eyes flew open and it hissed loudly.
“It’s okay,” she murmured, holding the cat tightly so it wouldn’t run away. “He’s not going to hurt you.”
The guy met her gaze and held it. The earlier awareness flared to life again in the pit of her stomach.
“Nope. I’m a nice guy. Promise.” The low rumble of his voice did nothing to calm her fluttering nerves.
She watched mesmerized as he reached toward her and rubbed the kitten’s head with his long, tanned fingers. It was impossible not to imagine his hands on her body, and she swallowed hard. There was something vaguely familiar about him, but she couldn’t place it. Maybe, he’d been in a wedding party she and Toby had photographed. But, if that was the case, she was pretty sure she’d remember him.
The sound of tires on the road broke the weirdly discomfiting spell that had fallen over them, and they both took a step back. Meaghan had never been so glad to see a cop in her life.
A police officer parked behind the guy’s truck and turned on his flashers before getting out of the car. As he walked toward them, a smile split his face and he shook his head. “Eli. I wasn’t expecting to see you out here. What happened?”
Just lovely. The guy, Eli, was apparently friends with the responding officer. Wasn’t that just peachy?
Still holding the kitten, Meaghan approached the two men.
“Ma’am.” The officer nodded at her. “Why don’t you go ahead and tell me what happened.”
She sighed. “Look, officer. The whole thing is my fault. This cat ran out in front of me, and I braked to keep from hitting it. And Eli, here…” She glanced briefly at the man in question to find him watching her intently, and again, she had the feeling that she should know him. “He wasn’t able to avoid hitting me.”
The cop looked at Eli as if looking for confirmation.
Eli nodded. “To be fair, I was following her too closely. If I’d been back farther, I probably wouldn’t have hit her.”
The other man shook his head and scratched a few things on his notepad. “Well, this definitely doesn’t happen every day—both parties insisting they deserve the ticket. Why don’t you get back into your vehicles and get out your licenses and proofs of insurance?”
Meaghan kept hold of the cat and got back into the car, watching in her rearview mirror as Eli climbed into his truck. He handed his information to the cop, laughing at something the other man said. His smile was just as blindingly beautiful as the rest of him. She stifled a sigh. Rowan was all about the love spells—maybe Meaghan should talk her into a
Get Meaghan Laid
spell instead.
Just as quickly as that thought popped into her head, she pushed it away and thunked her head against the seat rest in frustration. She needed to focus on the cop approaching her window, not fantasize about the guy who’d rear-ended her—the guy she’d never see again after they left this deserted stretch of road.