Sticks and Stones (21 page)

          “Are you gonna
kick me out again?” he asked pointedly, lifting his head.

          “Nah.” Grace
ran a hand through his hair and their gazes locked. He looked at her with such
tenderness that her stomach flipped in response. “What are you thinking?” she
rasped.

          Rick shrugged,
“I meant what I said to you in the restaurant.” He lifted himself onto his
elbows and stared down at her, scowling. “How old is Jack Off anyway?”

          She giggled and
ran her fingers through his chest hair. “His profile said he was in his
forties.”

          “Looked old
enough to be your father for fuck’s sake!” Rick scolded. Then his face
softened. “Do you really want someone older like that?”

          Grace placed
her palm on the back of his neck and pulled him closer. “No, but do you?”

          His lips
brushed against hers briefly. “ ‘It happens that I want you, and so I just
haven’t room for any other desires.’”

          She pondered
the Fitzgerald quote before throwing one out herself. “ ‘Is kissing you
generally considered a joyful affair?’”

          Ricks mouth
formed a circle and he grinned. “My god, woman! Quoting Fitzgerald to me again?
God, you make me so hot when you do that!”

          “I aim to
please, Mr. O’Shea,” she replied, seductively grinding her sex against his.

          He parted her
thighs with his knees and plunged deeply inside her. “Me, too,” he rasped into
her ear.

Chapter
Eleven

      
Ratman crossed his
arms over his chest and gazed out the window. Janice tore her attention away
from the floor plan she was working on for Olga Cabot’s loft and shuddered
immediately when she spotted him.

          “Something on
your mind?” she asked, impatient.

          “Wanted to say
goodbye,” he mumbled, turning to gauge her reaction.

          Janice’s
eyebrows lifted. “You’re leaving?”

          “My work is
done. You have the witches clients, your own storefront and you’re on your way
to becoming successful.”

          “I suppose
that’s true,” she agreed. “So that’s it then?”

          Ratman nodded.
“You’ll not see me until I’m ready to collect my payment.”

          Janice’s head
jerked. “Payment?”

          “Surely you
didn’t think my services were free, did you?” he replied, running his rough
fingers along her arm.

          “I didn’t
realize I owed you anything,” Janice stammered. “I thought you helped me to get
your kicks!”

          Ratman cackled.
“Oh, I’ll get my kicks when your soul is mine for eternity. The Grey One
promised me.”

          “The Grey One?
Who’s that?” Janice whimpered.

          “Some call him
the reaper, others call him Satan,” Ratman shrugged.

*        *        *

          Grace wrapped
her leg over Rick’s and snuggled closer to him. He pulled her tightly against
him and planted a kiss on the top of her head.

          Lazily, she ran
her fingertips through his coarse chest hair, causing him to shudder.
“Ticklish, eh?” she teased.

          He flipped
over, covering her and lifted an eyebrow. “Just remember, you started it,” he
leered, grasping her hands. He dipped his head to just below her right breast
and began nipping along her ribcage.

          Rick was so
strong that she couldn’t push him off her. Amid Grace’s twisting, turning and
giggling, he stopped suddenly and gaped at her.

          “What?” she
giggled between breaths.

          He pulled her
up into a sitting position and sat crossed-legged beside her. Kissing the back
of her hand he began to stumble over his words.

          “The thing…what
I’m trying to say…”

          Grace chewed
her bottom lip, unsure if she wanted to hear what he had to say.

          “When Chase and
Emily first got together it was rocky as hell for them. He kept pushing her
away until she finally gave up on him.

          “He didn’t
realize what an asshole he was until she left him. We used to call him Chaser,
short for skirt chaser because he’d date a woman for seven days and dump her.”
Grace’s brow arched and he continued with a shrug. “It was his way of
self-preservation. Anyway, long story short, I always told him that if I met
the right woman, I’d tell her right away how I felt.”

          Rick took a
deep breath and held her hand tightly. “Grace, I know you’re skittish…about me,
well, my age mostly. But I gotta tell ya, my head is telling me what my heart
already knew a while ago. I’ve fallen in love with you.”

*        *        *

          Ratman faded,
leaving Janice all alone. She began to shake uncontrollably. “Wait! I’ve
changed my mind! I’ll do anything to put things back the way they used to be!”
She ran her hands through her hair. “I’ll even give Grace back her clients and
Ben, too!”

          A loud,
maniacal cackle echoed in the room, filling Janice with dread. “Too, too late,”
Ratman’s disembodied voice crowed.

*        *        *

          A lump formed
in Grace’s throat. She opened her mouth to speak, but quickly clamped her mouth
closed. Instead, she squeezed his hand.

          His eyes
pleaded with her. “Say something…please.”

          She lifted a
shoulder and batted a tear from her cheek. “I don’t know what to say,” she
warbled. “It feels like we’ve just met, but then, it doesn’t.” Shaking her head
she sighed, “Does that make sense?”

          Rick nodded,
“Yeah, it does.”

          Grace pulled
away and walked to her dresser for a nightshirt. “Aunt Tilda saw you in her
crystal ball, the night I ran into you at Gatsby’s.” Rick pulled his legs over
the edge of the bed; his eyes encouraged her to continue.

          She leaned
against the dresser and knotted her hands in front of her. “She said that you
were the love of my life.”

          Rick leapt from
the bed and whisked her off the floor and twirled her in a circle. “With
Tilda’s vision and Zee confirming my feelings are true…”

          Grace cut him
off. “Wait! What about Zee?”

          He gently
placed her feet on the blue carpet. “She came to my condo with Blake earlier
tonight and checked if psycho bitch placed a spell on me. I’m clean. Although
she did say I had a protection spell covering me.”

          “Yeah, that was
me,” Grace replied, sheepishly. “I performed it the same time I cast a spell
for you to see spirits.”

          He crept
towards her, a mischievous smile on his face.

          “Stop!” she
commanded. “Look, just because Aunt Tilda saw you and Zee gave her stamp of
approval doesn’t mean shit, Rick!” She held her head between her hands and
moaned. “This is all happening so suddenly! Don’t you think that too?”

          Rick shook his
head. “Nope. I’ve already told ya. I was smitten with you the first time we
met. Why’s that so hard to believe Grace?”

          Grace shrugged
sadly. “With all the rotten shit that’s happened to me in the past year I guess
I’m surprised something good is finally happening.” She frowned, “I just hope
the bottom doesn’t fall out.”

*        *        *

      
The sunlight
filtered through the curtains awaking Rick. He turned over slowly and gazed at
Grace.

          Her lips were
slightly parted and her long eyelashes feathered softly against her cheeks.

          His cell phone
rang and he slid from the bed in search of his jeans. He found Chewy curled
into a tight ball atop his clothes. She protested when he pulled his pants out
from under her.

          “O’Shea,” he
whispered into the phone.

          “Your flight is
scheduled to leave at four today. Mrs. Jacoby, the caretaker, has been
instructed to clean the house and purchase supplies for you. A messenger will
bring you an envelope with keys and a code to enter the house. It’ll also have
the information for the plane tickets. Emily and I also jotted a few notes for
you regarding great places to eat and entertainment sort of shit. Around two
your limo will arrive at your condo and take you to the airport,” Chase took a
breath and continued. “Once you land in West Palm Beach a driver will be
waiting for you. I don’t have a car there, so you’ll have to use the limo
service to get around. I think that covers everything. Any questions?”

          Rick shook his
head. “Chase, I’m not quite sure how to thank you for this.”

          “I can.”

          “Whatever you
want, bro.”

          Chase laughed,
“Don’t fuck this up. Em and I really like Grace.”

          “It’s not my
intention to let her go,” Rick replied, passing a glance at his sleeping
beauty.

*        *        *

          Grace’s mind
whirled. One minute she’s sleeping peacefully then a few hours later, she’s
sitting on an airplane headed to Florida. She gripped Rick’s hand tightly and
kissed the back of it.

          He shot her a
lop-sided grin. “What’s that for?”

          “I was only
kidding when I said I wanted to run away.”

          “Ah, but I aim
to please, Miss Ryan,” he grinned.

          Her lips
curved. “Trust me, you do.”     

*        *        *

          Janice arrived
at the Wicked Wand when the shop opened. She couldn’t find any damn spells on
the internet to undo the spells she cast with Ratman’s help. That fucking high
priestess had to help her…she just had to!

*        *        *

          Grace squealed
in delight as she ran through the Storm’s home. It was a white bungalow with
sea blue shutters situated in front of the Atlantic Ocean. Opening the sliding
glass door to the lanai she gasped.

          Rick placed his
hands on her shoulders and peered around. “Damn, Chase never does anything
half-assed.”

          Not only was
there a hot tub in the corner, but a round swing for two with a plush cushions
hung from the ceiling in the opposite corner.

          “Oh my! The
beach is just a short walk away, too,” Grace gushed.

          “Would you like
to go for a swim?” he asked.

          “Nah, not yet.
We have a week, right?” she asked, turning into him.

          Rick wrapped
his arms around her and kissed her on the forehead. “Yep. So, what would you
like to do?”

          “Snuggle with
you on that swing over there.”

*        *        *

          “You
have
to
help me!” Janice whined.

          “Actually, I
don’t. You’ve done this to yourself, Mrs. Weinberg. Now you must reap what
you’ve sown,” Zee replied smugly.

          Janice knotted
her hands on her lap and bit her lower lip. Tears of frustration and fear
seeped from her eyes. “I promise, if you help me, I’ll do right by Grace. I’ll
fix everything for her! She can have Ben back…her clients. Whatever she wants
she can have!”

          Zee steepled
her fingertips beneath her chin. “I think you may have already helped Grace.
Ben wasn’t much of a catch and she’s much happier with someone who’ll treat her
better.”

          “The hockey
player?” Janice sniffed, indignantly. “He’s already betrayed her. She just
doesn’t know it yet.”

*        *        *

          Snuggling
turned into a two hour nap for Rick and Grace. She woke first and peppered his
cheek with moist kisses.

          He slowly
opened his eyes and shot her a grin. “Well, hello, beautiful. What a nice way
to wake up.”

          “Thank you,”
Grace responded seriously.

          Rick lifted an
eyebrow. “For?”

          Grace sat up,
causing the swing to sway. “For taking me away. It’ll help clear my head and
prevent me for doing something stupid. Plus, I haven’t been away from the
Chicago area, for pleasure, in a long time.”

          Rick leaned on
an elbow. “Didn’t Three-piece take you anywhere?”

          “He always had
his nose buried in a law book. Said we’d have time later to take vacations,
after he made partner at the firm.”

          Rick’s jaw
clenched. “Not sure what you saw in him Grace. Sounds like the two of you had
very little in common.”

          “Yeah. Looking
back, I’m not sure either. Bleh! I don’t want talk about him.” She glanced at
the beach then back at Rick. “Wanna go for a walk?”

          “Perhaps later,
in the moonlight. Why don’t we get gussied up and check out West Palm Beaches
night life?”

          Grace giggled.
“Why Mr. O’Shea, you’re gonna make me swoon.”

          His kissed her
lightly on the lips and murmured, “I’m gonna make you do more than swoon,
sweetheart.”

*        *        *

          After dinner
and a night of dancing at one of the city’s hottest night spots Rick and Grace
returned to the bungalow in the early morning hours.

          He pulled her
through the house, pausing to grab a blanket from the back of the couch.

          She couldn’t
contain her giggles. “Where are we going?”

          “Why, for a
walk on the beach,” he crooned, draping the blanket over his shoulder.

          They walked
through the lanai, out the screen door and onto wooden steps towards the beach.
She gripped his shoulder while she removed her sandals.

          “It’s so quiet
here,” Grace whispered.

          Rick nodded.
“What a great night.” He laced his fingers with hers and gripped it tightly.

          She stopped and
placed a hand on his chest. “It’s one of the best nights of my life.”

          Rick waggled
his eyebrows. “Wanna make it even better?”

*        *        *

          Grace giggled
nervously while Rick placed the blanket on the sandy path, between the
ornamental Maidengrass that grew alongside the sand.