Mark of the Witch (Boston Witches) (13 page)

“I think I know where Sabine might be, or at least I have a general idea.”

“I know too; Liza told me in a dream. She’s somewhere by the water, and she’s not acting alone.”

“Apparently we both had a visit from Liza,” William said dryly, an unreadable expression on his face. “I don’t have any idea who this other person is though, and I don’t like the idea of meeting whoever they are blindly.”

“Me neither, but I’m not sure we have much of a choice. I think we should memorize that spell before we go just in case. Did she show you Sabine’s conversation with the mystery person?”

“No, she just gave me a clue as to their whereabouts. What did they say?”

“I only heard Sabine’s side of it. Whoever this is wants Sabine to deliver me to them, and then Sabine gets you as a reward. And Sabine is very afraid of them; she was very quick to acquiesce to their commands.”

“Well, that’s interesting. I’ve never seen Sabine afraid of anything.”

“So you’re not nervous about Sabine claiming you as her reward?”

“Of course not,” William said, laughing. “I can take care of myself; I got away from her before, didn’t I? Let’s just concentrate on keeping you out of our mystery person’s clutches.”

“What was it like for you, seeing Liza?”

William’s smile shifted a bit. “Weird. She looked the same, but her eyes were so sad. I almost felt guilty for being happy for finding you. She told me not to feel sad for her; she knew that our love was never meant to be. She’d known all along that I was meant for you; she had the ability to see into the future, and she saw you shortly after she and I began to court. She told me that she was sorry she hadn’t told me, that she never would have married me knowing what she did. But she had loved me, and could be happy that I was finally complete.” He got up and headed to the door. “Get some rest,” he said as he walked towards the door, a touch of sadness in his eyes.

“William, wait,” Jilly said as she got out of bed and walked to him. “I don’t want you to go.” Her voice was thick with emotion.

He looked at her. She could almost see the internal war he was having with himself. “Jilly, I want to stay, but I don’t want to regret tonight in the morning.”

She smiled. “Screw regret, and screw the morning. We don’t have to do anything; I just need you near me.” She threw her arms around his neck and pulled him in for a kiss. She felt his hands move to her hips, pulling her into him. She grabbed his shirt, and pulled it over his head, wanting to feel his skin beneath her fingers.

After a few minutes, William took a step back, both of them breathless. “I’ll stay, but that’s as far as we’re going tonight.”

Jilly nodded and got back into bed, moving over to make room for him. She fell asleep wrapped in his arms.

*

Jilly woke up feeling blissfully happy. She was still wrapped securely in William’s arms, so she nuzzled in closer to him. She smiled when she felt him tighten his arms and kiss her neck.

“Good morning. How did you sleep?” William asked her as he rolled onto his back.

Jilly flipped onto her stomach so she could look at him while they talked. “That was the best night’s sleep I’ve had in a long time. No night time visits from Sabine.”

William frowned. “Have you had more?”

Jilly nodded, her cheeks flushing at the memory. “Um, yeah. Sabine showed me another of her memories.” He looked at her expectantly, waiting for her to finish the thought. “I don’t really want to talk about it,” she said, feeling embarrassed. She had enjoyed the feel of his lips and hands on her skin, and she didn’t really want to discuss his involvement with Sabine at the moment.

William sighed. “Just tell me. It can’t be that bad.”

“I think Sabine’s been trying to prove a point. She says that you are hers. She showed me a rather intimate moment between the two of you.”

Jilly’s cheeks turned a shade of pink William had never seen before, and he grimaced slightly. “I’m so sorry, Jilly, I hate that she’s getting to you this way.” Jilly nodded and looked away, trying to hide her embarrassment. William studied Jilly’s reaction for a moment. “There’s more to this, isn’t there?”

She nodded. “I was her in the dream,” she whispered.

William’s face drained of color, fury in his eyes. “She has no right to do this.” His voice was cold and angry.

“It’s ok William, it’s not a big deal. Besides, this is what she wants; she wants us to be upset about it. Let’s use this anger to fight her when the time comes.”

William nodded and sat up, pulling her onto his lap. The fierceness of his kiss surprised Jilly, but she decided to just go with it. She pressed herself against his hard chest and devoured his mouth with her own. He yanked her shirt over her head and kissed down the column of her neck to her collarbone. She felt his teeth scrape against her skin and moaned into his hair. His hands were everywhere. Her skin burned at his touch; every part of her felt alive. She pulled his face back up to hers and kissed him again.

They heard a knock at the door, and Caroline’s voice asking to come in. Both of them groaned and frantically put on the clothing they had just shed.

“You can come on in, Car,” Jilly called as they lay back against the pillows, both a little flushed but none worse for the wear.

Caroline swept in, and a smile spread across her face when she took in her sister’s disheveled appearance. “Am I interrupting?” she asked innocently.

“No, we just woke up. William slept in here last night. We both had dreams from Liza and we fell asleep after talking about them.”

Caroline nodded and shot a knowing look at Jilly, “I was just headed down to make some breakfast and wanted to know what you wanted.”

Jilly looked at William. “Whatever you want to make will be fine,” she said, and William nodded.

Caroline chuckled and headed down to the kitchen, leaving Jilly and William once again alone.

The moment had passed and they both knew it, so they got up and made the bed, laughing the entire time like they had been caught ditching school.

William leaned in and kissed Jilly. “I’m going to get a shower. I’ll meet you downstairs in a bit,” he said before leaving. Jilly smiled and headed into her own bathroom to do the same thing.

Jilly and William emerged from their rooms at the same time, and headed down to the kitchen together giggling like children. Caroline looked up from the griddle with a smile on her face when she heard them. “Eggs, pancakes, bacon, and hash browns for breakfast. Grab a plate and I’ll be over in a few minutes.”

Jilly went to grab a few plates out of the cupboard and accidentally bumped into William, who was doing the same thing. She blushed. “Sorry,” she said with a smile.

“Why don’t you get the plates and I’ll get the coffee?” he said, and planted a kiss on her lips before making his way over to the coffee pot.

Caroline arched a brow and winked at her sister before returning to her task.

Five minutes later, everyone was seated and enjoying their food. “What are your plans today?” Caroline asked her sister between bites.

“I don’t really know. We’ve done everything we can do for know,” Jilly replied. She looked at William to see if he had anything to add.

“I think we should have a movie day,” he said, and both girls grinned at him.

“It’s a good way to take our minds off of things for now, that’s for sure,” Jilly said.

“What should we watch?” Caroline asked as she put her plate into the dishwasher.

“You ladies can pick, as long as at least one of them has some action in it,” William said as he pushed his chair away from the table.

The girls ran into the living room to look for something to watch, and William did the dishes. Fifteen minutes later, they came back into the kitchen holding a stack of DVDs. They decided on watching the Jason Bourne movies and Sherlock Holmes. Everyone went to their rooms to change back into pajamas.

Jilly and William were curled up on the big sofa in front of the fireplace, and Caroline was on the love seat. They had finished the Bourne movies, and were almost done with Sherlock Holmes. William’s phone buzzed in his pocket. He checked it and excused himself to take the call. Jilly was anxious the entire time he was gone.

She looked at him expectantly when he came back. He chuckled when he saw her face. “Don’t worry, nothing’s wrong. That was my friend Nikolai. He asked if I wanted him to come and help with the Sabine situation.”

“What did you say?” Jilly asked.

“I told him I’d let him know. But honestly, Jilly, I think we’ll be ok. It’s nice knowing we’ve got help if we need it though.”

“I think you should let him come, William. I know you aren’t worried, but I am. The more people we have on our side, the happier I’ll be.”

William pulled Jilly into a hug, smoothing her hair down as he spoke. “I’ll tell him to come then. Don’t worry, everything is going to be fine.” He took out his phone and punched in Nikolai’s number. “Nik, Jilly would like it if you and Kat came.” He laughed at something Nikolai said, and after a few more instructions he hung up. “There now, do you feel better?”

Jilly smiled sheepishly and nodded.

“Um, can we finish the movie now guys?” Caroline asked.

Jilly and William laughed. “Sorry, Car,” Jilly said as she turned the movie back on.

After the movie was done, Caroline went up to bed, but Jilly and William stayed down by the fire. “You look so beautiful in the firelight, Jilly,” William said softly. She blushed and turned her face away, feeling embarrassed. He turned her chin back and looked into her eyes. “Don’t be embarrassed by the truth. I will never lie to you.” He kissed her softly, running his hands through her hair. She shivered involuntarily and melted into his arms.

After a few minutes, they turned and looked into the fire. “Tell me about Nikolai,” Jilly said as she got comfortable against the pillows.

William smiled. “Nik is my best friend. I’ve known him for one hundred and fifty years. I met him soon after I left Sabine. He and his wife Katya took me in when they realized what I was. As I said before, they are marked as well. Katya may be able to help you understand everything a little better than I have. Nik is probably the nicest person you’ll ever meet. He’s the kind of man that would give you the shirt off his back in a blizzard if you said you were cold.”

Jilly smiled. She could see why they were friends with William; she would describe him the same way. “Do you think they’ll like me?” she asked, suddenly feeling kind of awkward about meeting them.

William laughed. “Of course they will. What’s not to like? Besides, they’ve seen me alone for over a hundred years; they’ll just be happy to see me together with someone.”

Jilly threw a pillow at him. “Thanks for that,” she said wryly. “Are you really not worried?” she asked seriously.

He sobered. “I’m wary of the situation, but no, I’m not worried. I’ve handled Sabine in the past, Jilly. I won’t let anything happen to you or Caroline. Plus, we’ll have Kat and Nik to help now. Rest easy, we’ve got it covered.” Jilly tried to smile, but she ended up at a sort of grimace instead. William hugged her close. “Trust in me, Jilly. I will never let you down.”

William walked Jilly to her door and kissed her goodnight. He arched a brow in silent question. Jilly smiled. “I’m going in alone tonight,” she said, and instantly regretted it.

“I’m right across the hall if you need me.” His tone held an invitation that his words didn’t speak.

Jilly kissed him one last time and closed the door behind her before she could change her mind. She went into the bathroom and brushed her teeth and washed her face. She was so tired, she could barely keep her eyes open on the way to the bed. She was out like a light in seconds flat.

She opened her eyes and she was in Sabine’s room again. William was lying next to her on the bed, gently stroking her leg. When she looked down, she discovered she was only dressed in a sheet again.
Wonderful
, she thought as she pulled the sheet up higher.

She had a sudden thought. “William, do you love me?”

William looked up and smiled. “Of course I do, my darling. What would make you ask such a question?”

Jilly wanted to vomit. That was so not the answer she wanted him to give. She shook her head and turned over on her side, not willing to look at him right now. That was a mistake; he began to kiss upwards from her toes to her ears. Her mind tried to tell her this wasn’t really happening, but her body won out. She rolled over onto her back again and pulled him on top of her. She couldn’t get enough of his mouth on hers. The taste of him was like heaven.

“I love you,” she whispered as their bodies joined together as one.

“Sabine” he called out to her at the height of his passion.

A tear slipped down her cheek and she turned away, willing herself to wake up.

Ten minutes later, she was still very much in the dream lying next to William, both of them spent and panting. “That was amazing, my love,” he whispered into her hair. Jilly just nodded, afraid that if she spoke her voice would betray her. “You make me so happy, darling.”

Jilly blinked, and everything was black. She heard Sabine laughing in the darkness. “Mine.”

She woke feeling rested despite her nighttime antics and shuffled into the bathroom to shower. Emerging from her room thirty minutes later, she walked down to the kitchen in search of coffee. She found William and Caroline already there. William looked up and smiled when she walked in, and he handed her a big mug of coffee. She smiled back at him over the cup and nodded her thanks as she took a swig of it. She instantly felt happier; just the taste of coffee in the morning makes everything better. She plopped down at the table and drank her coffee in silence for a while, the next week’s events weighing on her mind. Caroline could feel the undercurrent of tension in the air, and quietly excused herself and went upstairs.

“I hope we didn’t scare her away,” William said as he grabbed a few bagels from the fridge.

“I’m sure she just wants to give us time to plan. I wouldn’t worry too much about it.”

“Do you want yours toasted?” He gestured to the bagel in his hand.