Witches Anonymous (3 page)

Chapter Four: Bed Buddies

Since I no longer had protection spells keeping my apartment off limits to demons and other magical creatures, it was no surprise Luc had wandered in.

“What the hell are you doing?” I shouted at him, even though I knew exactly what the hell he was doing. He’d been seducing me for years. I was familiar with his guerilla sex tactics.

He ran a hand through his shoulder-length, blue-black hair, mussing it into an even sexier look. “Thought you might be lonely since your boyfriend left you high and dry.”

“He did not…” I broke off, knowing it was useless to explain anything to him. Pushing myself off the floor, I grabbed my robe and shoved my arms into the sleeves, pulling the belt tight. “Get out.”

Luc threw the covers back and walked buck naked across the floor toward me. “I made your favorite breakfast.”

On cue, the tantalizing smell of French toast wafted by me. Breakfast. Adam was picking me up for breakfast.

I glanced at the clock. The blue numbers read seven-forty. Crap. I had twenty minutes to shower, make up my face and do my hair, not to mention kick a naked man out of my apartment. A naked,
supernatural
demon-man.

Who was not so surprisingly well endowed.

Taking a deep breath, I racked my brain for a non-supernatural way to take care of him
and
me. “I’m getting in the shower. When I get out, in like two minutes, you’d better be gone. Understand?”

He scratched the stubble on his chin. His eyes glowed with lust. “I could scrub your back. Massage your scalp while I wash it with that new herbal shampoo you just bought.”

How did he know about my new shampoo? Obviously he’d been snooping while I wasn’t home. “You have to leave. Now.”

“How about a pedicure? Or a bubble bath instead of a shower? Remember the bubbles I produced for you last time?” He advanced on me with each suggestion and I shook my head as I stepped backwards. The heat pouring off him made me want to shed my robe and the thought of those crazy, pheromone-laced bubbles made sweat trickle between my breasts.

Sticking my hand out to stop his advances, I hit his sculpted chest. Energy zigzagged through my fingers and up my arm. “Stop it.”

But he didn’t stop. He pried my hand off his chest and kissed the tips of my fingers. Panicking, I jerked my hand away and ran for the bathroom. Throwing the door shut and twisting the lock, I leaned against the solid wood door and prayed.
Uh, God?
Are you there?
Your old arch enemy is at it again. I could some help here, your Godship.
A little strength to resist the Devil?

“Amy,” Luc murmured to me through the door. “Come back to bed. Your breakfast is getting cold.”

I shook my head adamantly, even though he couldn’t see me. “No.”

The door warmed under my hands. “I brought your favorite boysenberry syrup.”

Oh, curses. Every cell in my body tingled. Boysenberry syrup and the Devil. What woman could resist such temptation?
Come on, God. Cut me some slack here.

“There’s fresh whipped cream.” His sexy smooth voice singsonged through the door. “You know what I want to do with that.”

In the mirror over the sink I could see my flushed face. My robe had fallen open and my nipples were rock hard.
Mercy
, my brain screamed.
Can you hear me, God
?
I’m crying
, mercy.

Lucifer chuckled low in his throat, as if he were listening to my pleading cries for help. His heat rushed over me like the wind and it was all I could do to form a coherent thought. I was almost ready to untwist the lock when I heard Emilia’s voice in my head.

“You’re pathetic.”

It wasn’t in my head, though. Emilia was on the other side of the door with Luc. Apparently my lack of a protection charm left me open to her as well. Wonderful.

The door’s warmth faded and the fire burning my skin evaporated.

“Em.” Luc’s voice held a hint of embarrassment. “What are you doing here?”

Casting a glance up at the ceiling, I rolled my eyes.
You sent my sister?
That’s the best you could do?

Turning on the cold water tap, I shed my clothes and jumped into the shower. As the last of Lucifer’s heat evaporated from my skin, I forced myself to ignore the yelling outside the door and the sound of crashing breakfast plates in the other room.

Chapter Five: Welcome to Temptation

Adam took me to Eden’s arboretum for breakfast. Breathing in the fresh air and soaking up the beautiful scenery, I imagined the landscape was, in many ways, like the original Garden. Leaves on the trees were edged with red and yellow. Birds sang and dipped under the soft blue sky.

The morning’s earlier fiasco with Luc and Em seemed like a distant memory as the sun soaked into my clothes, warming them.

From a white bakery bag, Adam handed me a cherry turnover and a foam cup filled with espresso. His own bag contained a chocolate-covered donut and a carton of white milk.

As we sat on a bench, mainlining sugar and watching a pair of swans glide around the edge of the arboretum’s small, man-made pond, Adam’s leg leaned against mine with easy familiarity. “I figured you for a steak-and-eggs-breakfast kind of guy,” I said, licking cherry filling off my finger.

A mischievous look passed over his face. “And I figured you for something lighter, but no less satisfying. Hence, a sweet pastry and strong coffee for a most interesting woman.”

Heat rose in my cheeks and I enjoyed it, sipping my espresso to hide my smile. “How did you know I love cherry turnovers?”

He swung his gaze around to look at me. It bounced off my hair, down to my eyes, and came to rest on my mouth. “You just seemed like a cherry-turnover kind of gal. Pretty and delicate on the outside, and full of rich, delicious filling on the inside.”

Certain parts of my body tingled in response to his obvious flirting. When was the last time a guy used a food metaphor to describe me? When was the last time a guy actually stopped to think about what I might like, for that matter? I couldn’t keep the grin off my face. Breaking off a corner of the turnover, I held it out to him. “Wanna bite?”

My heart galloped at the sudden heat in his eyes. His answer was to lean forward and take the piece of turnover out of my fingers with his mouth. Warm lips closed over the tips of my fingers and my breath caught at the cool electricity sliding up my arm and into my chest.

His gaze stayed locked on mine as he chewed and swallowed. “Yum.”

Exactly what
I
was thinking.

I was suddenly hungry for more than breakfast. Maybe my libido was still in overdrive from Luc’s unexpected and unwelcome visit. Or maybe the new, improved Amy was also horny. Dropping my shaking fingers to the turnover, I jerked my eyes away from Adam’s so I wouldn’t jump him right there in the arboretum.

“How about we catch a movie tonight?” he asked around a bite of his own breakfast.

I nodded without thinking and then remembered my WA meeting. “Darn, I can’t. I have another meeting tonight.” And the way things were going with both Lucifer and Adam, I needed the reinforcement of Witches Anonymous to keep me on the straight and spell-free path I’d chosen.

“What kind of meetings are they?”

“Um,” I stammered, searching my brain for a plausible, non-magic type of meeting. I couldn’t claim AA or any other substance-abuse group without throwing water on the fire we were building between us. I needed to shine a nice light on myself, keep Adam’s interest piqued. He needed to think I was a good person. “It’s for Halloween. A bunch of downtown business owners are working with the Chamber of Commerce to sponsor a trick-or-treat festival this year.”

“Cool.” He finished off his donut. “I hadn’t heard about that.”

“Oh, it’s top secret. We haven’t actually decided on anything yet, so we’re keeping it under wraps. A few of the women in the group are…” Marcia’s hard-set face popped into my mind and I had to temper the word that popped into my mouth, “…challenging.”

Nodding his understanding, he sipped his coffee. “Know-it-alls, huh? Bossy?”

“You can say that again.” I wiped my mouth with a napkin. “It’s their way or the highway. I’ll probably just end up doing something on my own at the ice cream shop, but I should still go to the meeting tonight and see what they’re going to do.”

He shifted, making a small production out of cleaning up our wrappers and napkins and crumpling the paper bag. Before I knew it, his full leg was up against mine. He stretched his arms over his head and one came down on the back of the bench around my shoulders. “Maybe I could help you out.”

Of course he could. He had no idea how many ways he could help me. “That would be nice of you. I could show you how to make ice cream witches and spiders and such.”

His head bobbed once. “I love Halloween.”

“Me, too.”

We sat in silence for a few minutes, watching the swans. A light fall breeze played with the tree leaves hanging over our heads. Discreetly, I snuggled closer to him, enjoying the warmth his body generated.

“Tonight, after your meeting…” his thumb rubbed the side of my shoulder, “…I’d like to turn in my rain check on the Sin City.”

My body hummed with sugar, caffeine and Adam. I was nearly purring with contentment. If things continued at this pace, I’d be spoon-feeding him decadent ice cream before midnight. “We’re open until ten,” I said, giddy with the prospect. “I’ll be home from my meeting by nine-thirty.”

The swans eyed us as they swept by. I could almost feel Adam’s heartbeat against my other arm. He turned his face so his lips were next to my ear. “I’ll be there at nine-thirty-one.”

Goose bumps rose all over my skin. “Oh…ah…” I stammered. “Good.”

His lips dropped to my earlobe and then made their way south, their touch so soft and gentle I squeezed my thighs together and clenched the tops of them with my fingers. “Very…very good.”

Adam sunk his hand into my hair at the back of my neck. He tipped my head a fraction to the side and lightly ran his lips back up to my ear. Nibbling my earlobe, he massaged the back of my neck with his strong hands. “Yum,” he whispered in my ear. “I just discovered my new favorite breakfast.”

Yum
, my mind echoed.
Me, too
.

Chapter Six: The Devil Wears Armani

Just so you know…the Devil does not wear Prada.

For business, he wears an Armani suit The Donald would kill for. Otherwise, he’s like any other mortal guy…comfort above all else.

When he entered the ice cream shop at six-thirty that night, he wore his usual casual attire—faded Levi’s, a rich, chocolate-colored leather jacket, and calfskin cowboy boots.

At the sound of the bell tinkling above the door, Keisha looked up from scooping a double dip of Bubble Gum ice cream for a four-year-old. At the sight of Lucifer standing there in all his raw maleness, her mouth dropped open like a nutcracker’s.

Handing my customer—the child’s father—his banana-split mixer, I snapped my dishtowel at Keisha to bring her back from fantasyland before I went to deal with Marlboro Man.

“What do you want?” I pulled him toward a corner booth, away from my customers.

His voice dripped innuendo. “What do I always want from you, Amy?”

Sex in a public place. An ego stroke. Free ice cream. The same thing all men, mortal or supernatural, seemed to want from me. “One chocolate shake, coming up.”

Marching back to the counter, I bit the inside of my cheek to keep from mumbling curses. Mechanically, I went through the motions of preparing a shake for him, reminding myself I’d feel more in control after my Witches Anonymous meeting and an ice cream treat with Adam.

Keisha shut the cash register and sidled up to me. She worked at drying her already dry hands on her apron. Her multiple silver bangles jingled softly against each other. “What’s he doing here? I thought you gave him his walking papers.”

Digging deep in the bucket for a scoop of ice cream, I released it into the cup in my hand. “He was in the mood for a chocolate shake.”

Keisha made a sound in the back of her throat that suggested she knew I was lying. “I know what he’s in the mood for and it ain’t chocolate. He’s bad news,” she conceded, eyeballing him. “But, damn, he is a fine-looking man.”

“He’s a demon.”

“Aren’t they all?”

Adam’s face flashed in front of my eyes. “No, they’re not.” I pointed the ice cream scoop in Luc’s direction. “But he is. King of the demons, right there.”

Keisha twirled her stack of bangles and waggled her eyebrows at me. “Fun to play with, though. You have to admit.”

Rolling my eyes, I stuffed the cup under the mixer and tuned out any further comments. After the shake was finished, I set it on the table in front of Luc and held out my hand. “Five dollars and fifty cents.”

He shifted to pull a stack of bills from his back pocket. “Prices have gone up, I see.”

“You get what you pay for.” I took the dollar bills and used them to point at the shake. “I made it with premium ingredients.”

His eyes narrowed with a hint of suspicion. Using the plastic spoon, he scooped up a bite. Then another. “Not bad. How come you’re being nice to me?”

“Yelling at you to go away doesn’t work. I’m trying nice instead. You hate nice. Is it working?”

His lips pulled down in one corner. “Oddly enough, nice is a turn-on coming from you.”

I gritted my teeth to hold in the retort pushing against my lips. “You. Are. Un-
believable
.”

The corner of his lips turned up. He continued to spoon ice cream into his mouth. “You’re going out with Adam tonight, aren’t you?”

Again, I bit the inside of my cheek. He was keeping tabs on me. Being the Devil, he knew a lot of things I didn’t want him to. Rotten, dirty demon.

Ignoring the set of my closed lips, he sunk his spoon back into the shake. “He’s going to invite you to a Halloween party Saturday night at the fire station. Say no. You can’t go. You’re busy.”

I worked at unclenching my teeth so I could speak. “I am
not
busy.”

A wicked expression I knew only too well lit up his entire face. “I’ve got something for you to do, my dear witch. A whole lot of somethings. Keep you busy the whole night.”

“No. Way. You can’t stop me from going to a party with Adam if I want to go, and, newsflash, I want to go.”

“You don’t want to go. Trust me, Amy.”

Trust the Devil. Sure. That had gotten me far. Still, I was curious to find out what he knew that I didn’t. “And why don’t I want to go?”

Luc licked his spoon and I heard Keisha moan under her breath behind the counter. I shot her a look of pure disgust and she shrugged her shoulders in an
I-can’t-help-it
gesture.

He tipped his spoon at her before returning his gaze to mine. “The explanation is beyond what you can comprehend. Let’s just say, if you attend that party with Adam, you could change the history of the world.”

I slid into the booth opposite him, unable to ignore such an opening. “The history of the world? That’s overdoing it a bit, isn’t it? Even for you?”

He coughed as if something were caught in his throat. “Overdoing what?”

“This is obviously another of your ploys to keep me from seeing Adam. Admit it, you’re jealous.”

Setting the spoon down, Luc cleared his throat. “I need some water.”

Knowing what was about to happen, I gladly went to the sink and filled a plastic, disposable cup with water.

“Put ice in it,” he croaked from across the room.

My customers and Keisha stared at him, gawking. Returning to the seat across from him, I smugly noted his red face. He gulped the water, but I knew it would do nothing to soothe his throat. Another coughing fit followed, just as I expected.

“What did you put in that shake?” he choked out when he finally got his breath back.

“Organic ice cream,” I said, smiling. “Natural, pure, and good for you. Well, maybe not
you
per se, since you hate anything pure and good.”

His face hardened. He raised a finger and pointed it at me. “You’ll regret this.”

“Why? Is it going to
change the history of the world
?” I mimicked his finger-pointing. “Personally, Luc, I think that might be a good thing. I’m not too impressed with this version, since you’re in it bothering me.”

He grabbed my wrist and pulled me out of my seat and toward him so we were nose to nose over the table. “You’ll never get away from me, Amy. Deal with it. You belong in my world, not Adam’s.”

The bell above the door tinkled and in walked my sister. “Well, well,” she said to Lucifer, planting her hands on her white, Versace-clad, Wiccan hips. “I should have known I’d find you here. Running back to the Wicked Witch of the West yet again. What is it with you and her?”

Like she was Glinda. My customers switched their gawking to her, their eyes dilated, their ice creams melting. Pulling my wrist from Luc’s grip, I rose from my seat and faced Emilia. “I’m not wicked anymore, sis. That’s your department, now, remember? You wanted to play with fire, and now you’ve got it. He’s all yours. Please, take him home and keep him there.”

Emilia’s pale lips curved in a rueful smile. “He
is
mine, Amy, and don’t you forget it.”

Lucifer stood up, eyes blazing. “I’m not some dog that you own,” he yelled, or tried to yell. His voice came out squeaky, like a pubescent boy’s. Emilia frowned at him. Rubbing his throat, he shot daggers at me again. “I want you to stay away from that freak Adam, do you hear me?”

He grabbed Emilia’s arm above the elbow and ushered her out the door. As the bell’s tinkle faded away, I smiled to myself. “And people in hell want ice water.”