Of Witches and Warlocks: The Demon Kiss (11 page)

“Sorry. I’m all sweaty,” he apologized with a
grin.

“No problem,” I said, smiling. “Shelly and I
are going to run on the treadmill while the two of you finish your
competition, uh … workout.”

He chuckled at my remark, and he winked at
me, before turning to walk back over toward Brad.

Shelly and I enjoyed the view of the ocean as
we ran in front of the floor-to-ceiling glass windows that stared
out over the scene. We put in a good thirty minutes before the guys
were done, and then we all headed back up to the room together.

The four of us got showered and dressed
before we met back in the kitchen. We had decided to make up some
more goodies before the coven was supposed to arrive today.

As it turned out we had piles of brownies,
crispy rice treats, chocolate chip cookies, and coconut macaroons
by the time my mom, dad, and grandma walked in.

“Everything looks so great and smells so
good!” my mom exclaimed as she rushed up to give me a hug.

“Merry Christmas, Mom.” I laughed as I
wrapped my arms tightly around her.

“Hey, pumpkin!” Dad said, coming forward to
give me a hug also, wrapping his arms so tightly around me I could
barely breathe.

We were soon all chatting loudly together as
the family toured the condo. They commented on everything, loving
all that they saw. When we stepped out onto the balcony, they raved
over the beautiful scene in front of us.

“Would you look at that view!” Dad exclaimed
as he leaned over the railing. “This is gorgeous!” he added as he
turned and pulled Mom into his arms.

“It really is pretty!” Mom agreed, as she
leaned her head back against him.

“Shelly and I thought you two could take the
master bedroom,” I said to my parents. “We’ll move into Brad’s
room, and he can share with Vance.”

“Nonsense!” Mom replied. “We booked the room
right next door. The rest of the coven members have their own rooms
all over the hotel. We figured your condo could be our home base,
since it’s the largest.”

“All right,” I said smiling.

“Pumpkin, these brownies are divine!” Dad
said through a mouthful. “I’ve been starving for some good
Christmas goodies!”

“Did you make all this stuff?” Grandma asked
as she too bit into one of her own.

“Yes, Shelly and I did. And it was
old-fashioned style, you know … no magic,” I replied, with a grin,
knowing it would please my mother.

“The boys didn’t help out?” Grandma
prodded.

“Of course we did! We were the official taste
testers,” Vance said with a little laugh.

“Ah! I see,” she said, patting him on the
shoulder. “So how’s everything else going? Any news?”

“No, No!” my dad said, stepping between them
and waving a finger at Grandma. “There’ll be no talking about that
tonight. Tonight we celebrate the holiday!”

Christmas morning dawned clear and
beautiful.

My family, Brad, Shelly, and the rest of the
coven gathered together at the base of the tree to open the few
presents we all had for each other. The wrapping paper was soon
piled up around us, as we laughed and smiled over each other’s
gifts.

Vance seemed to really enjoy the pullover
sweater I had bought for him, though I felt completely cheap when
he surprised me with a diamond tennis bracelet.

“You really shouldn’t have,” I said to him,
as we had a private moment together.

“Why not?” he asked as he smiled softly at
me. “I love you, and I enjoy showering you with beautiful
things.”

“Yes, but all I got you was a sweater,” I
complained, feeling badly.

“That was exactly what I needed,” he said. “I
love it! It’s perfect!” He grinned brightly at me.

“Whatever,” I mumbled as I turned away from
him.

“Hey,” he said, as he reached out to turn me
back to him so he could look deep into my eyes. “I have never
received a bad gift from you. I absolutely treasure everything
you’ve ever given me, whether it’s a physical gift or an emotional
one.” He lifted my hand and ran his finger over the diamond ring
there.

“You agreeing to marry me was the one thing I
really wanted,” he said smiling. “Nothing I could give you could
ever trump that,” he added as he reached out to stroke a hand over
my hair. “I love you, Portia.”

My eyes watered slightly at his words, and I
threw my arms around his neck, hugging him close to me.

“I love you too, Vance. Thanks for being so
good to me,” I replied, as my mom interrupted, calling out that it
was time for the blessing on our Christmas breakfast.

We had a lovely meal, which Mom, Grandma,
Shelly and I had prepared for everyone. It was complete with eggs,
ham, sausage, biscuits and gravy, and hash browns. We also had
eggnog and orange juice to drink.

When the meal was over, everyone just spent
the day hanging around visiting, watching movies, and eating way
too much food.

“I feel like a stuffed turkey,” Vance
commented later, with a laugh, as we lounged together on the couch
that afternoon. “See? Look how fat I am!” he added, patting his
sculpted abdomen.

“Whatever,” I said rolling my eyes. “I could
scrub laundry on that washboard stomach of yours.”

He leaned over to give me a quick peck on the
cheek, flashing his baby blues at me in the process.

“So you still find me attractive even when
I’m fat dogging it on the couch?” he asked, his eyes sparkling in
amusement.

“I always find you attractive, no matter what
you’re doing.” I smiled back at him, meaning every word of it.

“Good to know,” he said, nodding his head.
“And I wouldn’t be too horribly opposed to watching you try to wash
stuff on my abs.” he added in a whisper, his expression clearly
hinting that he was flirting with me.

I blushed furiously at his remark, the image
of me scrubbing wet material across his chiseled stomach burning
into my mind, but I didn’t get a chance to answer him as our
conversation was interrupted.

“Portia, Vance?” my dad called to us from out
on the patio where he was sitting with Mom. “Could the two of you
come out here?”

I stood up, turning to pull Vance up to his
feet. The two of us walked hand in hand out onto the balcony.

“Close the door,” Mom said, gesturing to the
sliding one that we had just walked through.

Vance turned and shut door before walking
over to join me at the outdoor table.

“Have a seat, kids,” Dad said, as he patted
the chair next to him.

“What going on?” I asked, as I sat down.

“I thought maybe you could tell us,” Dad
replied, giving me a questioning look.

I was at a loss to figure out what he was
referring to.

“I asked her to marry me,” Vance piped
up.

Suddenly I realized what was happening, as I
followed their gazes. I still had my engagement ring on and my
parents had noticed the bejeweled finger.

“It’s a little early for that, son, don’t you
think?” my dad asked, staring up at Vance, his expression
unreadable.

“I had every intention of asking you before I
gave it to her,” Vance said politely. “I’m sorry that didn’t go as
I’d planned, but I want you to know this is not something that I
did lightly. I love Portia, and I know that our love is the real
deal. We’ve been through a lot together, and I wanted to give her
something tangible that signifies my commitment to her.”

“And what about her safety?” my mom
interjected, frowning slightly. “I understand that even though
you’re no longer going through a demon conversion the desire is
still there for you. Isn’t that a threat to her?”

I could see he was struggling with his answer
for a moment.

“It could be,” Vance agreed, nodding his
head. “Portia has been trying to help me see that I’m still
responsible for my own actions, though. She has really helped me to
learn to exercise control over my cravings.”

“So, can you say for a certainty that there
will no longer be any danger from you toward her?” my dad asked,
looking at him with a hard expression.

I watched the emotions on Vance’s face as
they warred with each other before he replied.

“No, sir. I cannot,” he replied
truthfully.

“Well, you must understand our concern,” my
dad replied, leaning back in his chair and folding his arms across
his chest. “I had sworn to myself you would never lay eyes on her
again, after I had to sit there helplessly and watch you feed on
her. I was very angry with you. I feel you broke my trust in every
sense of the word that day.”

I couldn’t take anymore.

“That was my choice,” I spoke up loudly,
defending him. “He had nothing to do with it.”

“He could have killed you, Portia!” my mom
complained, throwing her hands into the air. “In fact, he almost
did.”

“Exactly!” I said, standing up suddenly. “He
almost did, but he didn’t. He was able to stop himself.”

“After which he basically begged you to
surrender your virtue to him,” my dad reminded me.

I walked over to the railing, looking out at
the sea before me. I took a deep breath before I spoke my next
words, knowing they would spark a discussion I didn’t really want
to have.

“If it makes you feel any better, I already
offered to give myself to him. He refused to take it,” I said
softly

“Uh, no!” my dad said, sitting up straighter
in his chair. “That doesn’t make me feel any better. Why would you
do something like that?”

I turned around to face them all, as my tears
began to run down my face.

“I love him,” I said, with all the emotion I
could muster. “I’d do anything for him. Anything! I just don’t want
a life without him.”

I looked straight at Vance, letting my words
sink in. I needed him to understand the depth of my feelings for
him.

“So you haven’t been intimate together?” my
mom asked, softly this time.

I shook my head. “No. It’s not because we
haven’t wanted to, though. Vance feels that part of our
relationship is best saved for marriage,” I replied.

“I can live with that,” my dad said, with an
obvious sigh of relief.

He looked at Vance then, who had quietly been
observing our interactions.

“So what are your intentions exactly?” Dad
asked him.

“Well, right now pretty much everything in my
life is hinged on the fact that something needs to be done about my
dad. If we can get it all worked out, I would like to ask your
permission to marry Portia before her senior year of high school. I
figured I could look for a job in Flagstaff and we could get a
little place there. She could still drive to Sedona for school,
while I start at Northern Arizona University,” he explained.

“Before her senior year?” my mom asked with a
little gasp. “And how do you know that you’ll be able to provide
for her adequately, or yourself for that matter? It’s hard to work
and go to school at the same time.”

“I’m guessing you don’t know about the money
then either?” I asked, with a sardonic smile.

“What money?” Dad asked, looking
confused.

“Vance happens to be a millionaire,” I said,
enjoying dropping the bomb on them.

“What?” they said in unison, looking at
Vance.

He shrugged modestly.

“I had a trust fund,” he offered as a simple
explanation.

“The trust fund Marsha had told us about?” my
dad questioned.

“That’s the one,” he replied, looking
completely unaffected by the subject change.

“I had no idea it was anything like that!”
Dad said in shock. “I thought maybe a few thousand ….” He trailed
off.

“We didn’t want to advertise it,” Vance
explained simply. “We didn’t know if my dad would try to trace the
money. Besides, we were both quiet, down to earth people who liked
living things out in a small, comfortable way.”

“Wow!” was all my dad said in response, his
eyes wide as he shook his head slightly from side to side.

We sat together in silence, letting things
sink in, before Dad finally spoke up again.

“Vance, you’re already like a son to me. It
has been hard to watch you go through the trials that you’ve had to
lately. That being said, though, Portia is my flesh and blood. Our
flesh and blood,” he amended, reaching over to grasp my mom’s hand.
“We want the best for her. I know she wants you, and I know the two
of you are linked in a special way that has been pretty much
unheard of before now.” He paused for a minute, as he looked Vance
over again, as if considering his next words carefully. “I guess
I’m saying if things work out okay then Portia’s Mom and I will
consider your request to marry her early.”

“Thank you, sir,” Vance replied, unable to
stop a smile from spreading across his face as his gaze moved from
my dad to me.

“I do have a couple of stipulations, though,”
Dad added, causing Vance to redirect his attention back to him.

“What’s that?” Vance asked, leaning forward
to listen.

“I don’t want to let her get married before
her senior year, and I’d like her to be seventeen first. She’ll
have her birthday just a few weeks after school starts. And second,
if I see you’re going to be a threat to her in any way, I’ll call
this whole thing off. Binding spell or not, it’s her safety first,”
Dad was clenching and unclenching his fist, and I wondered if he
realized he was doing it.

“I understand,” Vance replied, looking back
over at me. “Her safety should always come first, Sean.”

“Do you understand, Portia?” my mom
asked.

I nodded my head.

“Very well then,” my dad said. “The two of
you have our permission to officially announce your
engagement.”

“Really?” I asked, a smile that I couldn’t
possibly hold back breaking across my face.

“Really,” Dad said.

I ran over and threw my arms around his neck,
squeezing him in a giant bear hug.