Suddenly Sorceress (18 page)

Twenty-Three

“W
hose bright idea was this?”
I wondered.

“Yours,” Chloe reminded me, tugging the baseball cap down over my eyes. “I can’t get any more of your neon hair under this stupid hat. That is the most ridiculous shade of red I’ve ever seen.”

“I think it’s lovely. It reminds me of your father,” Mom said.

“Dad didn’t have red hair.”

“Not usually, no. But when he worked a lot of spells, it would turn. I swear we spent enough money on hair dye to own stock in Clairol.”

“Great.” I pushed a loose strand of hair under the hat. “That’s just what I wanted to hear. I’m doomed to look like a comic book character for the rest of my life.”

Jack chuckled and took Chloe’s place in front of me to zip up my blue windbreaker. I was glad I couldn’t see myself in a mirror. “Are you sure you want to do this?” Jack bent down and looked me in the eyes.

“No, but I have to do it anyway.”

“Let’s go.” Jon grabbed my hand and tugged me toward the concrete block building.

Jack followed close behind.

“Wait, I need a minute.” I pulled my hand away from Jon and my eyes flitted between the Blake brothers and the building looming in front of us.

Jack took a cautious step toward me. “Take as long as you need.”

“We don’t have time for this,” Jon said, backing up toward the entrance. “It’s show time.” In two long strides, Jon reached the door. With a wink, he yanked it open and disappeared inside.

Jack clasped my hands and gave them a squeeze. “Are you ready?”

Taking a deep breath, I gave him a quick nod and let him tow me around the side of the building.

I searched for any clues that would confirm we were in the right place. The cinderblock construction didn’t allow for any windows in the back, but the presence of chain-link dog runs told me that was the most likely spot. “Here?”

“It seems as good a place as any.” Jack shrugged, his lips tugging up to a half smile. He leaned in to give me a searing kiss before stepping clear of my eye line.

My eyes closed with a flutter, and I extended my fingers as I concentrated on the block wall. “Umm…” Licking my lips, I turned to take one last look at Jack. “I’m going to be super horny when I get done here.”

Jack laughed. “I have no doubt.”

“Well, just keep that in mind when I jump you later.”

“I will.” He winked.

Putting on my serious face, I went back to the task at hand, drawing energy from everything around me. My thoughts skipped between the block wall and the memory of Jack’s hands caressing every inch of my body. The stretchy band of my power tugged within me, straining against my natural inclination to suppress it. “Let go,” I whispered and exhaled slowly.

“I see it, Ivie. The blue light.” Jack spoke almost reverently as the current sparked from my fingertips.

“I feel it,” I said.

“You can do it. Try to create a door in the wall.”

Just as I had in Mrs. Camp’s basement, I imagined the wall opening. My mind conjured a heavy door as the heat pushed out from my fingers, curling and wrapping around the imaginary handle.

“I don’t know what you’re doing, but keep doing it,” Jack whispered. “The wall is shimmering in and out of focus.”

Jack’s voice buoyed me as I worked my magic. “Open.” I exhaled a breath and felt the band tighten before going completely limp. I blinked a few times at the new entrance before me. “Holy...”

“You did it.” Jack wrapped his arms around me from behind. “Now, let’s get in there before someone catches us.”

With a quick nod, I grasped Jack’s hand and let him lead me into the building. A cacophony of barking greeted us.

“This is an interesting development,” Jack said, staring at the locked kennel door in front of us.

We’d somehow managed to enter one of the stalls and were caged just as securely as the dogs around us.

“Hey, buddy. We’re not going to hurt you.” Jack spoke softly to the frightened dog in the kennel with us before turning his attention to me. “Do you think you can pick the lock with your blue light special?”

With a tight smile, I nodded. “I think I can pull that off without any trouble.”
Famous last words.
I pushed the tingling toward the lock, manipulating it until I heard the telltale click. “Got it!” Beaming at Jack, I gave the door a push.

Three things happened at the same time:

The door to the cage we stood in swung wide with a creak.

The doors on every other kennel—including Matt’s padlocked cell—opened in sync.

At least twenty-five dogs of various sizes, including my wayward fiancé, rushed out of their enclosures, knocking me over as they made a mad dash for the opening behind me.

“Oh no!” I squealed as Jack spewed a string of obscenities.

“Can you do some hocus pocus to get them back in their pens while I grab the Dane so we can get the hell out of here?” Jack asked.

“Sure,” I deadpanned. “I’ll just wave my fingers and everything will go back to normal.”

Jack blinked at me, his face scrunched up in a pained expression. “Right. Let’s just grab Matt and get out of here before we get arrested again.”

“Good plan.”

The sound of keys rattling in a lock followed by a rush of air at my back froze me in place. My pulse thundered in my ears, almost drowning out the soft squishing of rubber-soled shoes behind me.

“What in the H. E. double hockey sticks is going on in here?”

Slowly, I turned to face a strapping young guy in a county uniform carrying a basket full of kittens. He came to a screeching halt, close enough I could smell the sour litter between their furry little toes. The heat was still sparking in my fingers, but I wasn’t about to turn my blue light on helpless kitties.

My eyes shot up to meet his as a slow smile eased across my face. “Hi.”

Kitten Guy stared at me with his mouth slightly gaping. His breath didn’t smell much better than the litter. “Peggy, get in here!”

I tugged the hat a little farther over my face and took a few measured steps backward toward Jack. My eyes darted to Jack’s, and I easily read the panic there.

“Can we help you?” a voice from behind Kitten Guy asked. “What on earth…” I guessed “Peggy” was surveying the situation.

“Oh, I was just looking for a dog.” I tilted my head down to hide my face, keeping my eyes glued on the basket of fur in front of me.

“Well, you should have checked in at the desk,” she scoffed. “People can’t just be comin’ back here by themselves. How did you get in here, anyway?”

“She’s with me.” Jon said from behind Peggy, and I couldn’t help but let out a sigh of relief.

“She’s with you? How did she get back here? I didn’t see her come in with you.”

“You were too focused on my stacked deck… of cards, I mean.” I looked up and saw Jon beam at Peggy. Her eyes glazed over. The Amazing Jonathan Blake was nothing if not captivating. Jon pushed past her, snaked his arm around my shoulders, and pulled me against him. “My sister.”

“Your sister?”

Jon leaned toward Peggy. “Yeah… Poor kid’s not right in the head.”

“Oh.” The woman nodded as if that simple sentence made perfect sense.

“Okay,
sis
, you should go back to the car with Mom while I take care of things.” Jon winked at me.

“Umm… okay.” My eyes flashed to Jack again, still unnoticed in all the commotion. He had Matt’s collar and was dragging him out through the new door in the wall. He gave a quick nod then flashed me a crooked grin.

I turned back toward Jon and the confused animal services employees. I guessed the new plan was for me to go out through the front door. My hand had barely touched the handle when I heard Jon call me back.

“Hey, sis…”

Careful not to look directly at any of them, I spun to face Jon.

“Thank the nice people for letting you play with their dogs.”

I had to hold back a laugh. He spoke to me as if I had a screw loose, and he wasn’t that far off if my whole plan was any indication. We had gone totally off script, and I had no idea what the new plan was.

“Thank you.” I bent my fingers in a pathetic little wave. “Okay, bye.”

Without looking back, I made my way to the exit, ignoring the strange looks from the other people in the lobby. I hoped Jon would be close behind. I heard Peggy and Kitten Guy shouting at the loose animals, trying to corral them back into their cages, and I almost felt bad.
Almost.

The brisk outside air hit me in the face, jolting me out of my trance, and I sprinted toward the car, scanning the area for any sign of Jack or Matt.

“Oh, thank God.” Chloe pulled me into the backseat with both hands. “Where’s Jon? What happened in there?”

“Where’s Jack?”

“Isn’t he still inside?” she asked.

“No!” I shrieked. “He went out the back before I left. He should be here.” I tried to push past Chloe to extract myself from the vehicle to look for my missing magician. I couldn’t bear for anything to happen to him because of me.

“You can’t go back there. Be patient. They’ll get out,” Mom said.

“How?” I asked, crawling to the opposite side of the seat. “How can you be so sure they haven’t already been caught?”

My fingers almost curled around the door handle before it was yanked open from the outside. “Miss me?”

“Jack!” Launching myself at him, I wrapped my limbs around him like a vine and crashed my lips into his in a heated kiss. A throat cleared behind me, and I pulled away, hiding my face in his chest. “I thought something happened to you.”

“Nope, I’m fine.” He kissed the top of my head then popped open the hatch to load Matt in the back. “Your ex just
had
to take a leak at every bush between the building and here.”

Chloe poked my arm. “We don’t really have time to catch up out here. Jack, do you know what happened to Jon? As far as I can tell, he hasn’t come out yet.”

Jack didn’t respond, but the look on his face told me we were in trouble. “Start the car.” Jack pushed me into the back seat.

“What? What’s wrong? Is it Jon?” Chloe asked.

Jack slammed the door and hopped into the front. “Go. Drive,” he barked, and my mother obeyed.

“Wait!” Chloe cried, pressing her hands to the glass. “We can’t leave him.”

“We can’t stay here. Look.” Jack tipped his head toward two police cruisers. “Cops.”

“Oh my God. What if they arrest him?” Chloe said.

“He’s the Amazing Jonathan Blake; he’ll talk himself out of it.”

Chloe narrowed her eyes at Jack.

“Don’t worry.” Jack’s expression contradicted his words. “What would they charge him with? He was in plain view of employees the entire time. He had nothing to do with the chaos inside the building. Worst case scenario, he gets arrested and we bail him out again.”

“Every single thing that has happened in the past few days has been ‘worst case scenario
,
’” Chloe said, echoing my thoughts.

“Well, I guess we’d better hit the ATM.”

Twenty-Four

“R
eally, little brother? You just
drive off and leave me there? I swear to God, if I see my face on TMZ tonight—” Jon climbed into the Wagoneer, wheezing as he brushed muddy paw prints from his jeans and adjusted his zipper.

We’d picked him up twelve blocks from the animal services building. He was out of breath, slick with sweat, and had been running like a kid who had just knocked over a candy store.

“Collateral damage,” Jack said, his face devoid of emotion.

“Collateral damage?” Jon echoed, the same inscrutable look on his face.

Jack nodded. “That’s what I said.”

Jon blinked at his brother’s serious expression. “You left me there to fend off at least two bitches in heat—not to mention several overexcited dogs. I’m lucky I got away with my damn pants. Did you see that crazy old chick, Patsy?”

“Peggy,” I said.

“Peggy, Patsy, whatever. The woman was all over me, that’s all I know. Christ.” He blew out a breath, and we all broke into hysterics. “Don’t laugh! I’m not kidding. When she realized my ride had bailed on me, she tried to lure me into her car and practically shoved her mangled, arthritic hand down my pants.” Jon grimaced at Jack, holding his hand up like a claw. “Dude, I swear, she’s older than Grandma Carol.”

“You would have done the same thing if it had been me in there,” Jack said.

“No way, not true.” Jon shook his head. “I would never
violate the bro-code.”

“What about the time we
borrowed
Dad’s car and went for a joyride down by—”

Jon barked out a loud laugh. “Don’t even go there.”

“My point exactly.” Jack smirked.

Chloe poked Jon’s arm. “What are you two going on about?”

“Nothing,” they said at the same time.

“Well, good,” I said. “We don’t have time for a walk down memory lane. We still have to go back to the house to get something of Matt’s.”

“No.” Jack shook his head.

“Jack, I have to.” My hand slipped into his. “The spell won’t work without it.”

“
Ivie
…” Jack looked as if he was in pain. “It’s too dangerous. Have you forgotten what happened last time?”

“No, I haven’t forgotten. But this time we have Jon, Chloe, and even Mom. We’re not going in there on our own. Someone can keep watch.”

“Fine. You can keep watch while someone else goes in.”

“Jack, no, that’s completely ridic—”

“I’ll go,” Chloe said.

I spun around to stare at my friend. “What?”

“I said I’ll go. I mean, I’m the most familiar with your house. I know where Dr. Doggybreath keeps his stuff, and we both know you don’t want your mom to accidentally run across your vibrator.”

“Chloe!” I choked on my saliva as she giggled.

“Vibrator?” Jon sat forward in his seat. “Now we’re talking.”

When I groaned, Jack leaned in, whispering against my hair, “We will
be revisiting this later.”

I changed the subject. “You’ll need to find his hairbrush, toothbrush, or his razor.”

“Toenail clippings would be ideal,” my mother added as if she hadn’t heard a word of the previous discussion.

“Forget that. I’m not digging around the trash for someone’s nasty toe clippings.”

“They just seem to work better in—”

“Forget it, Rose. A hairbrush I’ll do. Even a razor. But”—Chloe’s face scrunched up in disgust—“I’m not touching his toenail clippings. I love you, Ivie, I really do. But even I have my limits.”

“Fine. Get a hairbrush,” Mom said. “But make sure it has plenty of hair in it.”

“What about this one?” Chloe asked thirty-five minutes later as she shoved a bright pink razor into my hands.

I screwed up my face and stared at her. “Does this look like something Matt would use?”

Chloe shrugged. “What do I know about Dr. Doolittle and his grooming habits?”

After picking through the items in front of me, I turned to Chloe. “None of this stuff belongs to Matt. I told you he was packing his bags just before…” I wiggled my nose. “Did you look for that?”

“I didn’t find a bag. Haven’t the police been through the whole house? Maybe they took his stuff. Hey, what about these?” Chloe pinched the waistband of a pair of red Betty Boop boxers.

“He never wore them.”

Chloe smiled. “Sweet, then I’ll keep them.”

“I’m going to need to go in myself.”

Jack grabbed my upper arm, sending a shiver of need through me. “It’s a bad idea.”

“Then you tell me what I should do.”

“I’ll go,” Jack said with an air of finality.

“You just want to dig for buried treasures.” Chloe waggled her eyebrows, and I felt a blush creeping up my chest.

“He doesn’t even know what he’s looking for.” I stuffed the items Chloe had salvaged back into the black garbage bag before turning to Jack. “If it makes you feel better, you can go with me.”

“I don’t like it, but I guess we don’t have a choice. Someone needs to distract the crazy lady next door before we go anywhere though.”

“I’ll do it,” my mother said. “I’ll pretend to be a Jehovah’s Witness or something. Who would be suspicious of a sweet old church lady?”

“Wait, so ‘Mrs. Kravitz’ doesn’t know what your mother looks like?” Jon asked.

“Well, if my daughter had ever bothered to invite me over, she might.” Mom glared in my direction. “But in this case, that does seem to work to our advantage.”

Jack gave half a shrug as my mother climbed out of the front seat and made her way to Mrs. Camp’s door, mumbling the entire way.

“Okay, let’s go.” Jack hopped out of the car, pulling me with him, and we slunk around the house. “This time, let’s not get caught, okay?”

“Deal.” I stuck my hand out for him to shake, but he grabbed it and pulled me in for a quick kiss, stoking the flame I struggled to suppress. “Hey there, Houdini, I warned you earlier. Don’t start something you can’t finish.”

His lips quirked into a crooked grin, and he gave me another quick peck. “Later.”

After I’d climbed in through the laundry room window, I let Jack in the back door. We set out on a quest to find the missing piece of our magical puzzle.

“What about this pair of Converse sneakers?” he asked.

“Oh, gross. Matt’s basketball shoes. I can smell them from over here. They’re probably teeming with his essence.”

“Well?”

My shoulders pushed up. “I’m not sure if sweat counts, but go ahead and throw them by the door. They can be our last resort.”

Jack nodded and tossed the Chucks toward the door. “It doesn’t look like anyone actually lived in this house.” Jack opened the refrigerator. “I mean, look at the stuff in here. Did he seriously organize his food by color?”

I shrugged. “Matt was always a bit anal, I guess.”

“An asshole, you mean?”

“Right.”

We both laughed.

“What did you ever see in this guy, anyway?”

As I watched Jack glide around the kitchen, tugging drawers and cabinets open, I asked myself the same question. The way Jack’s long fingers curved around the door handles, his lean muscles bunching across his back and upper arms as he pushed and pulled made my mouth water.
I could just eat him up.

Nothing about Matt had ever elicited the same visceral response in me.

“Jack?” I sidled up behind him and stepped out of my jeans, leaving me in nothing but white lace panties and a chunky blue sweater. “What are you looking for?”

“Uh, I’m not sure. Just snooping, I guess.” He chuckled but continued to flip through the Rolodex cataloguing Matt’s wine collection. “Maybe I’m channeling Chloe.”

“I have a better idea.” I walked my fingers up his back until both hands rested on his shoulders.

“Hmm?” He shuddered.

I leaned in until my lips brushed his ear. “Let’s get naked.”

Jack spun around, and his eyes panned down my body to my bare legs. “Ivie, we—”

“Please, don’t tell me we can’t.” My fingers coiled around his forearm. “Just let go.”

His Adam’s apple bobbed. “You’re only saying this because you’ve been working magic. It’s like you’re doped up on some sort of magical Viagra.”

My hand slid down his side and brushed across his hip to cup the bulge pressing against his zipper. “It feels pretty real to me. I’m almost positive I’d want you even if I hadn’t been working spells.”

Jack grabbed my wrist, slowing my ministrations but not stopping them. “You don’t know that.”

“No, I guess I don’t. But I know I like you. Even when I’m
not
doped up on magical Viagra.”

“We should be looking for something of Matt’s.” He stepped away, effectively detaching my hand from his body.

“It can wait for just a few minutes. Come on…” I stepped forward, closing the gap between us. “Have meaningful sex with me.”

He laughed. “You know, it should really take us a lot longer than a few minutes to have meaningful sex. I mean, it would if you’d ever let me take my time.”

“Next time.” I brushed my lips against the shell of his ear. “I promise I’ll let you take your time next time. This time, for old time’s sake, let’s go hard and fast.”

“I should say no.” He nuzzled my shoulder before lifting his face to meet my eyes. “I should run in the other direction, but I don’t think I can. You’ve bewitched me, Ivie McKie.”

“I put a spell on you.” I slid my hands up his chest.

Jack’s voice dropped an octave. “Because I’m yours.”

My thighs clenched at his eager tone.
Damn right, he’s mine.
“So you’re saying yes?” My heartbeat picked up at the prospect of getting some action. All it took was a single look from Jack to put me on the edge of an orgasm.

“I guess I am.”

My lips tipped up slowly, and I clutched the front of his shirt with both hands. One hard yank sent his buttons clattering across the floor. “Mmm… much better.” A naked Jack was a good Jack.

Jack’s breathing picked up, but he stood still, as if in shock. I took advantage of his stunned silence and lifted the hem of my sweater, tugging it over my head and dropping it beside me.

He groaned. “No bra?”

“Nope.” I flashed him a cheeky grin. Who would have guessed getting such a positive reaction would become addictive?

Jack growled, grabbed the back of my head, and pulled me in to capture my lips. His warm chest pressed against mine.

“I want you.”

“I thought we’d established that.” Jack smirked, his long fingers slipping under the waistband of my panties and into my slick heat. “God, you’re so wet.”

My responding moan spurred him on as two fingers slid into me. I purred, grinding against his hand. “Take me.”

My impatience took over and I went to work, forcing the button on his jeans through the eye then skating the zipper down as I walked him backward toward the stairs. When his heels hit the first step, he sat, pulling me down with him. He lay fully prone against the stairs and I was lying on top of him, my hand shoved into his pants, stroking his hardness.

“Does that feel good?”
Like silk over steel.

“Straddle me,” he hissed, gritting his teeth as my fingers curled around his length to free him from the confines of his jeans.

With a leg on either side of his hips, I rocked against his hardness. “Are you grinding your teeth?”

“Maybe.” He kissed across my shoulder and pushed my panties aside. He positioned himself at my entrance, then in one smooth movement, he plunged into me. “You’re making me crazy, and I’m trying not to lose it.”

“Matt used to grind his teeth.”

“Christ,” Jack grunted, thrusting his hips in a jagged rhythm. “Can we not
talk about your ex while I’m inside you?”

“No. Wait.” I froze. “Matt used to
grind his teeth
as in grinding his teeth in his sleep. He used a night guard. He kept it in the drawer of his nightstand!”

Jack’s hips pivoted as he tried to maintain the friction between us. “Can this discussion wait just a few minutes?”

“No, you don’t understand.” I threw my leg over and dismounted him, then pulled myself to standing as Jack crumpled.

“No, I guess I don’t.” He banged his head against a step, over and over again, with a resounding thud.

“His night guard would have his saliva in it.” I took the stairs two at a time. “That would work for the spell.”

The bedroom was in worse condition than when I left it. Dresser drawers were upended, the contents spilled over the floor. Photos were missing from frames. The clothes Matt had been wearing when I turned him were no longer where I’d left them. In their place were our pillows.

I crawled across the mattress to Matt’s side, digging through the nightstand, looking for the clear plastic case holding his night guard.

“Did you find it?” Jack stepped up behind me, fully dressed, and tossed my clothes on the bed beside me.

“Yes!” I squealed, holding up the case. “We’ve got it. The last piece of the puzzle. Now where were we?” I reached for him.

Jack laughed. “Ah, no. Sorry. Moment lost.” He wrapped his arms around my shoulders and kissed my temple. “Let’s get out of here so you can change him back.”