Twisted Magic (4 page)

“How much did you miss me?” Slade
breathed. He
kissed me, his kiss
deepening. I
moaned against his mouth. “Let’s hear how much.” He took hold of my hair tugging my head backwards. I let out a
blissful
moan, close to letting go and losing it. He thrust harder not letting me give up, forcing my body
to surrender
to him.

I
bit my lip, falling apart around him. He crushed my hand in his grip, pinning it down into the mattress as he
released
,
his body slowing. There was a tap on the door. I pushed into Slade’s chest trying to gain his attention. But he wasn’t interested in the door. He was ready for another round.

“Knock
knock
.” A strange girl said from the doorway
in a cheerful tone
. She was wearing
jean shorts and a pink tank top
,
with
a head full of really
blonde hair.

Slade closed his eyes, pressing his head int
o my forehead. He sighed loudly.
Clearly,
he was
disturbed
with the
unforeseen
visitor. He pulled out
,
getting up—naked. The petite blonde didn’t blush or even bother to look away. She concentrated on me now. I covered myself with the comforter.

“Could we get some privacy, whoever you
are?
” I snapped, really
,
someone needed to learn some manners.

Slade zipped his jeans and shot her a warning glare. She threw up her hands and left the room. I dropped my feet off the side of the bed. I wasn’t sure what to say. Some blonde just caught us in the act, some blonde also found it okay to traipse right into Slade’s home and check on him. Who was she?

I turned around, slipping my arm through my shirt. “Who is that?”

Slade lifted the blanket searching for his shirt. “
Audrey
. That is
Audrey
.”

“Who is she?”

“A friend of the family,” Slade replied, taking off out of the door. Leaving me to collect my shoes, it got under my skin that he was so short with me once
little miss
Blondie
came bounding into the room.

I sucked it up and headed outside. There she stood,
toying with her shiny
blonde
hair, o
ne hand gripping her tiny hip, the other extending a finger in the direction of Slade as he sauntered toward her with very little enthusiasm. “What do you want
,
Audrey?”

She pursed her pink lips together. “A girl isn’t allowed to say hello?” Her voice was smooth and sweet sounding. But the haughty
glean
her eyes danced with told me there was nothing sweet about her. I took a seat on the stairs.

“Barging in, and hello are two different things.” Slade crossed his arms, his biceps straining under his
T-shirt.
She smirked at the sight of them proving she noticed them just the same as I had.

“Oh how I missed your attitude
this week since you’ve been behind bars
. So mean and brooding.
It’s
very fitting,” she said with a dazzling smile. “I’m
Audrey.
I’m not sure if Slade told you about me.” She looked between the two of us. “Or if he’s had the time.
Audrina
as in the daughter of the coven that gave Slade and his family their lives back. He likes to forget that sometimes.”

I swallowed.
“I thought those men were all dark and creepy?” I shut my
mouth,
as soon as I noticed the evil glare Audrey was giving me. She wasn’t amused. “I mean…
no,
he never told me about you.”

Audrey winked. “Witchcraft
is
dark and creepy.
However,
I have always been a fan of femininity. Just because I am a witch doesn’t mean I am going to embrace the dark side of fashion.”

I shook my head. Slade sighed
,
cutting into the showdown going on between the two of us. “So cut to the chase and tell me what you’re here for.”

Audrey nodded toward me. “I hear
d the girl
who
you thought wa
s worthy of our witchy ways
rolled into town
.
I had to see for myself.
”

“It wasn’t like that,” I cut in. I wasn’t sure why I felt it necessary
to explain myself.
I just didn’t want Slade getting in trouble for what I had become.

“It doesn’t matter what it’s like. What’s done is done. And now I am here to show you the rope
s
. Teach you the rules.” Audrey smiled.

“What do you mean
rules? I wasn’t informed of rules.” I stared at Slade. He kept his mouth shut.

“Of course there are rules. There are rules to everything in
life, right
Slade?”

I laced up my running shoes on the front porch
of my house
. It was super early. Everyone I knew was still asleep. And after a night like last
night,
there was no way that I was going to be in my bed.

I had taken up running while I was away at college. It was a way to break free from the monotony and to clear my head. Being away at school I felt more alone than ever before. I had no parents, no friends, and no loyal furry friend. It was just me in a sea of kids
whom
I never met before in my life.

Aside from the
late-night phone calls
from Slade and the occasional drunk dial from Nona, life was boring. Dad only called when he was checking up on me. He didn’t call to talk or see how I’d been. He just wanted to make sure that I wasn’t mugged or lost on campus.
It was his way to keep me from feeling bad for being away. He wasn’t trying to hurt me.

I shoved the ear buds to my
loyal
iPod
into my ears and headed down the porch steps.
Turning on
my favorite running tunes, Kelly Clarkson, my feet hit the runner’s path in sync with
Stronger
as it flowed
through my
ear buds
.

The sun at my back was glorious. Its warmth made me feel safe and secure. Like nothing else in the world mattered.

I steadied my
breathing,
the wind
whipped
my hair against my back. I picked up speed dodging seagulls gathered
on the path as I ran.

I still was upset that my homecoming was ruined by jail breaks and uninvited guest.

Who was this Audrey? Why did she think she had the right to fill me in on
anything?
She knew nothing about me. So what if she was the daughter of the witch who brought Slade back to life. What did that have to do with me and my current situation?

I swore the next time I saw
her,
I would tell her just that.

I lifted my head, my breath catching in my throat
as my eyes fell on the one person I did not want to see
.

She smiled. Audrey. There she stood on the runner’s path. I tugged the ear buds from my ears. Oh how I hated her sweet little smile.

“Good morning,” she said.

“What are you doing here?” I asked. I
walked
around her, letting the
ear buds
sway
as I started jogging again.

“It’s nice to see you too.” She kept pace. I gave her a once over. She was wearing short shorts of the hot pink hue and a white sports bra. Her hair in a high pony tail and her cheeks dashed with a soft
salmon-pink
blush. If it wasn’t for her
odd
personality,
I would have admitted she was angelic.

“The ropes, don’t you remember I said I would show you them?”

I frowned. I was hoping she was kidding. I didn’t want to learn magic from a girl like her. I didn’t trust
her;
there was only one person I trusted when it came to magic. And that was Slade.

“
It’s
okay. I understand your apprehension with me. You have absolutely no idea who I am
.”
This
grabbed my attention. I stopped jogging, standing in the middle of the path waiting for her to say more.

“Your right I don’t. All I know about you is that you like barging in on people in awkward situations,” I replied
dryly. She
ruined my
moment with Slade. The first
sexual
encounter I had with him in months.

“There’s always next time.
Right?”
She winked.
“How about breakfast?
My
treat."

I tugged the rubber band from my hair. Did I really have a choice in eating with her? I wasn’t sure.

“Tell me about
yourself
,” Audrey said, she caught the end of her straw between her glossy lips, her eyes pinned on me. “I want to know every juicy detail.”

“Not much to
tell,”
I shrugged, cutting into my
pancakes,
so I didn’t have to look at her. She was so
chipper,
and I was not.

“Well then, let’s start with me. I’m the youngest of my siblings. I have two older
brothers, one sister.
And I come from a very powerful family.” She tilted her head to one side. “A family that likes to
welcome new members when they join us, even if they weren’t the ones offering the invitation,” she said, she fixed her attention on the waitress walking past us, waving a hand so subtly
it looked as if
she was popping a bubble. A loud crash sounded behind
me,
and I jumped. I didn’t have to turn to know she dropped her order on the floor.

“Fun isn’t
it,”
Audrey asked, a smile pinned to her lips. “What else do you want to see?”

“Nothing,” I said immediately. She found this amusing, toying with others without any of them knowing.
Even so,
it didn’t matter what I said, she pointed toward the kitchen. Two cooks worked busily on flipping pancakes and laying bacon. With another flick of the
wrist,
a
blazing
inferno shot up on the griddle. A chorus of screams rang out, along with her giggle.

I shoved my hair away from my shoulder uncomfortable. “Just tell me the rules.”

“
Ahh
...
I see now I have your attention. Don’t worry I wouldn’t burn this place down. I really like their pancakes.” She dropped her hands down on the table making my heart slow to
a
suitable
beat. But the
twinkle
in her eyes made me nervous. She was different, with just a little magic her entire aura
changed,
and I felt like I was staring at evil head on. Her soft blue eyes were dark. Her sweet smile was now a straight line.

She leaned in, gazing intently at me. “I want to know all about you.”

“I told you, there isn’t much to know.”
I looked away.
I wasn’t the girl to open up to strangers.

She offered me her hand.
I stared at
her
palm confused. My fingers inched toward her and seconds later her fingers were wrapped around my hand. She shut her eyes.

“What are you doing?” I whispered
,
staring at the passing staff as she sat
unmoving
with my hand in hers. I was sure we looked as odd as I felt.
Finally,
after several agonizing minutes she opened her eyes and leaned back against the leather booth.

“My mother left my father too.” Her eyes shifted nervously
, but only for a split second
. I shook my head in disbelief. She nodded that all I was thinking was true. “You don’t talk to her anymore do you?”

“That’s none of your business,” I
snapped. I
collected my
iPod
from the table and got up. A thick anger coursing
through
my veins as I shoved the café door open and escaped into the sunlight, I stared down at my hand.

“I saw
a lot,
” Audrey said quickly catching up with me. “I even saw your first kiss. You’re so innocent, how did you get tangled up with Slade?”