A Touch of Magick (17 page)

The phone rang just as she was leaving the bedroom. Her heart leapt and her breath caught in her throat. She thought about letting her answering machine pick it up. But maybe it was Ryland. He’d said he’d call.

It rang again and she pounced on it. “Hello?” Her voice was breathless. Expectant.

“Rhiannon?”

Disappointment filled her as she recognized Esther’s voice. “Good morning.”

“You okay? I woke up with you on my mind.”

Did she really want her friend to know what had happened last night? Maybe. At the very least, she needed to warn both her and Maggie about the possible ramifications of their magickal spell. There was no longer any doubt in Rhiannon’s mind that it had worked. And well.

“Are you working this morning?”

“No. I’m on the afternoon shift. Why?”

“How do you feel about pancakes and bacon?”

Esther laughed. “Personally, I love them. My thighs, on the other hand, not so much.”

“Your thighs will forgive you this one time. I’m going to call Maggie and see if she’s free this morning.”

“Okay. I’ll see you in a bit. And, Rhiannon, you didn’t answer my question.”

“I will when you get here.”

“Good enough. See you in a bit.”

Esther hung up and Rhiannon quickly dialed Maggie’s number. It rang four times before a groggy Maggie answered. “’Lo.”

“I’m sorry I woke you.” Rhiannon glanced at the clock and winced when she realized it was just after half past seven. Esther was a morning person, but Maggie wasn’t, not by any stretch of the imagination.

“What’s up?” Maggie asked before she let out a huge yawn. “Sorry ’bout that.”

“Esther is coming over for pancakes and I was wondering if you wanted to join us.”

“Sure.” Fabric rustled in the background. Rhiannon could easily picture Maggie rubbing her eyes and shoving her mass of hair out of her face. “Wait.” Her friend’s voice was sharper. “Did something happen? Are you okay?”

“Something did happen, but I’m fine. I’ll tell you everything when you get here.”

Maggie sighed and yawned again. “Okay. I need a shower and a hit of caffeine before I get in my car. Be there in about forty.”

The line went dead and Rhiannon replaced the receiver. Ryland might not be able to handle what she was, but she had good friends who loved her. To be fair, they’d known her for almost a year before she’d sprung her secret on them. Ryland had known her all of two days.

She raked her fingers through her short hair. Nothing she could change about it now. What was done was done. She had company coming and pancake batter to mix and bacon to fry.

“Okay, spill.” Maggie finished her last bite of pancake and pushed back her plate.

By silent agreement, they’d kept the conversation light as they’d each plowed through a stack of pancakes and a mound of bacon. Well, Maggie and Esther had plowed through it, but she’d mostly picked. Nothing like man trouble to make you lose your appetite.

Rhiannon shoved her still-full plate aside and took a sip of coffee, letting the caffeine slide through her system. “Ryland came over to dinner last night.” She placed her mug back on the table and fiddled with the handle.

“And?” Esther prompted.

“I told him I was a witch,” she blurted.

“I take it that didn’t go over so well.” Maggie’s obvious sympathy made Rhiannon’s cheeks burn with humiliation.

“No. It didn’t go over so well. He didn’t believe me. For a minute or two, I thought he might just call for the men in the white coats.” It still hurt her to think about it. “He thinks I’m crazy.”

“I’m so sorry, honey.” Esther reached out and covered Rhiannon’s hand, squeezing it gently. “I know that had to be hard, but better to find out how he really felt about it before you slept with him than after the fact. Right?”

Rhiannon glanced away from her friend. Staring out the dining room window, she could see the patio stone in the center of the garden where they’d cast their spell and let loose the candle magick.

She could sense her friends’ growing unease. “You didn’t sleep with him, did you?” She could hear the disbelief in Esther’s voice.

“She slept with him.” There was no question in Maggie’s voice.

Sighing, Rhiannon turned back to her friends. “Yes.”

“How the heck did that happen after you told him you were a witch and he freaked out?”

How could she explain the intense physical attraction between her and Ryland to her friends? “It just did.” Her skin tingled just thinking about the man. “The attraction between us is…” She shrugged. “Anyway, we had sex.”

“What was it like?” Leave it to Maggie to get down to the nitty-gritty.

The corners of her mouth turned upward. “It was incredible.” Both women were staring at her with rapt expressions on their faces. “I didn’t know sex could be that good.” Her nipples tightened in agreement. Rhiannon was glad her sweater hid the fact she wasn’t wearing a bra or she’d be telegraphing her arousal in front of her friends.

Esther picked up her napkin and waved it in front of her, fanning rapidly. “You should see the look on your face. You’ve got it bad.”

That brought her crashing back down to Earth with a thud. “Doesn’t matter.”

“It didn’t end well?” Maggie asked.

“Depends on what you consider ending well.” Rhiannon could still feel the flood of her intense orgasm, the rising tide of her magick bursting forth, the weight of Ryland’s body covering hers.

Rubbing a hand over her forehead, she took a deep breath and continued. “I, um, I lit all the candles in the room when I orgasmed.”

Neither woman said anything. Esther’s forehead wrinkled as she frowned. Maggie tilted her head to one side as she absorbed what Rhiannon had just told them.

Suddenly, Esther smiled. “Your magick.”

“It broke free.” Maggie jumped up and grabbed Rhiannon by the shoulders, pulling her out of her chair. “You did it.” She hugged her friend. “You set your magick free.”

Esther joined them and the three women laughed and hugged. Rhiannon closed her eyes and once again gave thanks for her amazing friends. Maggie was the first to pull away. “Can you do it? I mean, I know you don’t do parlor tricks and stuff, but can you light a candle for us?”

Rhiannon could see the genuine interest in both women’s faces. She had unleashed her magick, but wasn’t certain about her control. She had to start sometime. And there was no time like the present.

“Okay. I can do that.” They all took their chairs again and Rhiannon concentrated on the candle sitting in the center of the table. Unlike the red votive that had started this mess, this candle was a cheerful orange. Festive.

Her gaze narrowed until she could see only the wick. She didn’t force the magick. Instead, she let it flow slowly up from within her. Like a gentle trickle at first, it began to rise. She stared at the wick, pictured it glowing. A short flare of power burst forth and the wick seemed to come alive from within, bursting with a flame that shot six inches in the air.

“Wow.” Esther leaned back in her chair, her eyes wide.

Maggie’s face was pale, her green eyes huge. “That was incredible. How much effort did that take?”

“Hardly any.” Rhiannon rested her hand on her stomach, feeling the steady hum of her magick. She was shocked herself by how easily she’d done it after years of struggling.

“How’s the control?” Esther asked.

Both women knew that had been a concern of hers. “So far, so good. I’m going to have to practice until I get used to it.” This small test had done a lot to build her confidence. That, and the fact she’d had years of watching and studying her Grammy, Momma and sister, Gwen. They all had great control. If they could do it, so could she.

A new sense of confidence welled up within her, a sense of pride. “After all these years, I finally did it.”

“Thanks to Ryland,” Maggie reminded her.

All her pleasure fled. “Yes, thanks to Ryland.”

“Give him time, Rhiannon,” Esther counseled. “It must have all been a complete shock to him.”

“That’s an understatement,” Maggie said. “For a man like Ryland, it would have probably been more than he could compute. He’s so…” She knocked on the table. “Hardheaded and black and white.”

He was also smart and funny and kind and wonderful. Rhiannon’s tummy jumped and her heart began to beat rapidly. Ryland had his faults, but so did she. The thing was together they worked. She could see it. Why couldn’t he?

“Doesn’t matter.” She figured if she told herself that enough then it would be true. He knows what I am. I can’t make him accept me. It’s his choice.” As much as she wanted to deny it, a small part of her heart still held out hope. Her head was telling her to get on with her life, which she planned to do. But Ryland’s absence would leave a big hole in it. For a man she’d only known a couple of days, he’d changed her life completely. It was hard to imagine not seeing him, not hearing his voice.

She had to stop this. Both her friends were watching her with concern in their eyes. “I’m fine. Really.”

“No, you’re not.” Esther was nothing if not honest. “But you will be.”

“We’re here for you, Rhiannon,” Maggie added.

Rhiannon soaked up the love pouring from her friends and wondered where Ryland was and how he was doing. Was he even thinking about what had happened between them or had he already moved on?

Chapter Eleven

Ryland tossed and turned the entire night and finally rolled out of bed just after sunrise. It was a good thing he didn’t have to go to work today. He doubted he’d be much use to anyone. He couldn’t get a certain witch out of his head. She’d tormented him all night long, keeping him from sleeping.

If he was the type to believe in such things, he’d wonder if she’d cast a spell on him. But no, she’d removed a spell from him last night. At least that’s what she’d said. And the words she’d spoken last night had certainly sounded as if that was what she was doing.

Candles and magick. He shook his head as he padded naked into the bathroom and turned on the shower. When the water was at the right temperature, he stepped beneath the spray. Planting his hands on the wall in front of him, he lowered his head and let the water pummel him.

Last night had been a roller coaster ride. Rhiannon’s confession had blindsided him. The last thing he’d expected to discover was that a seemingly intelligent, strong woman like her believed she was a witch. It was crazy.

Ryland grabbed a bar of soap and worked it over his arms and chest, building a thick lather before shifting lower. Then there was what had come after that. His dick twitched and shot upright. “Traitor,” he muttered as he looked down at himself.

There was no doubting the sexual chemistry between him and Rhiannon. It was explosive. Even after her confession, he’d wanted her. Was this how his dad had felt with his mom? Christ, he couldn’t think about it. Not now.

Ignoring his hard-on, he rinsed off, shut off the water and stepped out of the shower. He quickly toweled off and headed to his bedroom. He’d get dressed, have some breakfast and throw himself into his chores. With all his crazy hours lately, his laundry had piled up, his cupboards were almost bare and he’d noticed a dust bunny in the hallway that resembled a tumbleweed. It was past time to do some cleaning.

Hours later, the laundry was done and he’d cleaned his house from top to bottom. Hell, he’d even scrubbed the bathroom. But nothing he did could make him stop thinking about Rhiannon.

The feel of her soft skin, the sweet floral scent that enveloped her and her breathy sighs as he touched her all haunted him. Images of Rhiannon flashed through his brain. Rhiannon, serious as she told him about being a witch. Rhiannon, her eyes soft and passion filled as he made love to her. Her tiny, curvy body accepting his as he pounded into her, taking them both over the edge. Always Rhiannon. No matter what he did, his thoughts always brought him back to her.

Why? Why was she so special?

It was hard to pinpoint. She was smart, funny, kind and sexy as hell. The corners of his mouth turned upward. Sexy came first and last and a few times in between. No matter what he thought of her mental state, there was no denying he wanted her.

Usually, he had no trouble walking away from a woman, away from anything that smacked of a permanent relationship. From the first, he’d known Rhiannon had permanent stamped all over her. But that hadn’t deterred him.

He tossed the mop into the utility closet and slammed the door. He had to get out of here. He looked at his watch and realized the time for lunch had come and gone. Not that he had much in the house to eat anyway. It was time to remedy that.

Grabbing his keys and a jacket, he strode toward the door. He’d go grocery shopping first. Maybe even stop somewhere for a bite to eat when he was done. Anything to get his mind off Rhiannon.

He turned on the radio as he drove to the local market. The station was playing a country song about a love gone wrong. He flicked it off again and made the drive in silence. He took a deep breath and swore as he caught a whiff of Rhiannon’s perfume or soap or whatever it was. He’d forever associate that light floral scent with her. It made him hard almost immediately.

He rolled down the window to air out the truck and just as quickly rolled it back up again. The woman was driving him crazy. He didn’t want to be reminded of her, yet he couldn’t bring himself to let go of her sweet scent.

He was swearing under his breath by the time he pulled into the parking lot of the grocery store. The cool air helped him get his body back under control as he strode into the store. He was grateful. The last thing he needed was to have a hard-on while shopping. He could only imagine the gossip that would fuel.

Grabbing a cart, he headed down the first aisle. He tossed in a few packages of chicken, a steak and a package of ground beef. That reminded him of the pasta Rhiannon had cooked last night.

His fingers clenched the handle of the cart as he wheeled it down another aisle. But it was what had happened after dinner that he couldn’t get out of his mind. The mere thought of her sexy, hot body wrapped around him had his cock stirring to life. Thankfully, the cart and his jacket covered the telltale bulge. He swore as he grabbed a box of rice and threw it on top of the growing pile.