Wickedest Witch (10 page)

“Stop grinning,” she snapped.

“Who says I am?” he replied smoothly from right behind her.

“I can feel your smugness.”

“Can you blame me? You want me.”

“Do not.”

“Liar.”

“Compliments will get you nowhere.”

“What will?”

She almost stumbled at his sincere
-sounding query. What would it take for her to revert her opinion on him?
Nothing because shifters and witches should mix.
Not even for a few minutes—hours…days…of sex.

Catching sight of his bike outside, Evangeline wanted to groan.
I can’t go back on that thing.
She’d barely made it here without latching onto that tempting neck of his and leaving him a permanent hickey. The willpower required to resist on the ride back might be more than she could handle. In an effort to delay, she whipped out her cell phone and dialed Rumpelstiltskin’s office.

The line rang a few times and went to voicemail.

“Merrily the feast I’ll make, today I brew, tomorrow I bake. The day after that trouble will wake, and all will know whom to blame for Rumpelstiltskin is my name. Leave your message after the tone.”

Beep.

“Listen, you little mischief maker, you’d better have a good excuse for why you led us on a merry chase. We know Heidi’s not the problem, so either you tell us what’s really going on or you can double my rate if I have to go digging for myself.” Annoyed, she snapped her phone shut and looked up to see an incredulous Ryker staring at her in shock.

“Did you just give an ultimatum to one of the most powerful beings in our world?” He sounded almost choked.

Evangeline frowned at him. “He lied. I don’t like that. And I meant what I said. If I’ve got to work harder because he’s dicking me around, then he’s going to pay for it.”

The laughter that came roaring out of him took her by surprise. Most people ran away when she got into one of her black moods.
Usually screaming.

“What’s so funny?” she asked crossly
, not getting his mirth.

He stopped laughing long enough to say, “You have got the balls of a man
.” Then he roared again.

C
ompliment or not? Judging by his laughter, probably not. Irritated and aroused at his lack of fear, she wet her lips slowly and sensuously with her tongue. Ryker instantly stopped laughing. His blue eyes glinted with gold as his gaze turned smoldering.

Smiling at him, and pleased at his reaction, she sashayed close enough to put her hands on his chest and tilted her head back to look up at him. As if mesmerized, he simply stared down at her, a move she found unnerving for she could see his beast reflected in his eyes, and it
appeared hungry.

“Oh, Ryker,” she whispered
in a singsong voice, standing on tiptoe.

“Yes,” he said
, dipping his head down lower.

“I don’t like it when people laugh at me.” Before he
had time to register her warning, she hooked her foot around his ankle and pushed on his chest, toppling him.

Damn his feline reflexes. While taken by surprise, h
e didn’t hit the pavement as hoped. He recovered with only a slight wobble and Evangeline took a step back because the gleam in his eyes and the tilt of his lips promised retribution.

Uh-oh.
She couldn’t help but shiver.

He wagged a finger at her. “Naughty little witch. For that
, you owe me a kiss.”

“
You wish.”

“Not for long.”

“Are we going to do this the easy way or hard way?”

“What’s the difference?” Oh how devilish he seemed with the naughty grin that stretched his lips.
Evangeline swallowed hard and warm liquid soaked her panties.

“The easy way, you just get your ass here and pucker up. I kiss you. We’re done.”

“And the hard way?”

“You make me chase you. I get really hot and bothered. I drag you into the nearest alley and show you why you should
n’t taunt men bigger and stronger than you.”

“You wouldn’t dare.”

“Then you obviously haven’t done your research. I’m not a tame little boy. Nor do I like to follow the rules. I want a kiss and I will have one. The only choice you have is the how. Make your choice, witch, or I will make it for you.”

The usual methods she employed involving magic wouldn’t work on him. Damn his shifter genes. And he was right. His size did give him an advantage. She’d really need to look into carrying around a silver dagger to avoid situations such as these.
In the meantime, though, she had a choice to make.

T
aking his kiss like a woman—and enjoying it—or running and getting even more than a simple embrace.

It seemed she was more cowardly than she knew.
She chose to give in to the simple kiss
.
Only there wasn’t anything simple about it. One touch and she wished she’d taken option number two.

She gave in without a fight.

Ryker couldn’t believe it when her face softened and her lips parted.
An invitation if he ever saw one. Not one to waste an opportunity, especially when he’d expected her to run, he quickly folded her into his arms, her plush frame a perfect fit against him. He restrained himself from crushing her velvety lips, instead tasting them gently, her arousal rising in a musky cloud around them and making his primal instincts come forth.

Inside his mind,
his beast paced restlessly, the urge to mate—to
claim
—the woman in his arms almost overwhelming. He molded her body against his, his firm erection pressing insistently against her stomach, but instead of shying from his evident excitement, she dug her nails into his back and squeezed herself closer. He cupped her perfectly rounded ass with his hands as she opened her mouth, her sinuous tongue venturing forth to duel with his.

Had sanity not suddenly prevailed in the form of a catcall—“Get a room!”—and reminded him they still stood—barely—on a city sidewalk, he would have taken her right there and then. He could even picture it. She’d have her pants around her ankles with her rounded tush bent and presented to him.
Or, even hotter, he’d sit sideways on his bike, she’d straddle him and ride him, her sweet bottom bouncing up and down on his lap. He’d cup those cheeks, impaling her, while kissing her neck, preparing her for his mark.

Oh fuck!

With a curse, he broke off the kiss and moved back in an attempt to regain control of his hormones. A move his beast disliked judging by its snarl of frustration.

The man wanted to snarl, too, as he saw her eyes heavy
-lidded with desire and her lips swollen and inviting. However, she deserved better than a public rutting—well, at least not for their first time.
So, what the hell am I waiting for? Let’s get her back to my place. She is ripe for the plucking.

S
traddling his bike, Ryker held his hand out to her. Asked her without words to come and finish what they started.

She swayed where she stood, her eyes
blurred with passion, her lips red and full from the kiss, her nipples hard points through her thin shirt. Indecision warred on her expressive face. He gestured for her to join him on the back of the bike and in return, his bed, but she shied back on unsteady feet.

Her forehead creasing, he saw the passion in her eyes fade, replaced with reality. That never boded well.

“Come with me, Evangeline,” he said, still hoping she’d let her hormones do the talking. Fat chance.

Adopting a smooth, expressionless mask, she hid the remaining signs of her capitulation to him. “And just where do you want to take me?” She couldn’t hide the breathiness in her voice and Ryker inwardly smiled. She could pretend all she wanted. He could still smell
her arousal.

“I don’t suppose you’d like to see the ceiling in my bedroom?”

Expecting the slap that came flying his way, he caught her hand and used it to jerk her close. Again, unlike any other woman who would have been frightened by such rough treatment, her eyes smoldered with restrained passion. “Pig. Just because I enjoyed the kiss doesn’t mean I am going to screw you.”

“
I don’t know why you keep stubbornly denying the chemistry between us.”

“Because you’re an animal.”

“I am. In and out of bed. And if you ask me, I think that turns you on.”

“
Arousal or not, I won’t be looking to you for the solution. There are other men out there suitable for the task.”

Did she just threaten to fuck another guy? Oh hell no. He couldn’t help the menacing growl. “Don’t you dare.”

“Or what?”

“Or you’ll see what happens when you piss a large cat off.”

“What I do in my spare time and with who is none of your affair.”

“
That’s what you think.” Before he did something stupid, in plain sight of curious humans who watched their altercation, he kicked the parking stand off his bike and turned the key in the ignition. “This isn’t over, witch. I’ll be seeing you—
all of you
—soon.”

He gunned the bike before peeling away from the curb, a jealous rage simmering along with ball
-aching arousal.

Cold shower and five-fingered shag, here I come.

Late again. It seemed she’d spent the last few days arriving everywhere late. Getting started on her day late. Going to bed late. She who hated tardiness, now the queen supreme of it.

This is all his fault. Him and that damned kiss.

The hottest, panty
-wetting kiss and the fact he kept calling and calling. Cajoling her to meet him. Threatening to come see her. Sensually asking her to let him in. Demanding she answer.

Idiot that she was, she kept replaying his messages over and over. Sometimes masturbating to the sound of his voice. Other times standing with chattering teeth under a cold shower spray. Nothing she did could stop the temptation he posed. The arousal he evoked. The longing she couldn’t stem.

This turmoil and the solutions she kept attempting screwed with her time management. Case in point—he’d just called, again, describing in vivid detail what he’d enjoy doing to her body.

Forget the fact she was expected for a dress fitting, her body required attention. Not that it helped the underlying problem.

I want him.

And she didn’t think she had the willpower to fight it any longer.

Walking into the bridal shop, she wondered for the umpteenth time why he hadn’t come knocking on her door—or kicking it dow
n—
as her body had avidly hoped he would do. Did he have some kind of shifter code that wouldn’t allow him to force entry? Did his pride demand she capitulate? A better question was,
what would I have done if he had shown up in all his masculine glory?

Too easily, a
vision came to her of licking her way down his chest, following a triangle of hair that led to...

Damn, another pair of fucking panties to wash.
Stupid, oversized...
She didn’t even realize she grumbled aloud until her sister Isobel said, “Who’s too hot for his own good?”

Blushing,
a much too common occurrence nowadays, Evangeline glared at her sister, whom she’d not even noticed, too caught up in her own internal ranting. “No one.”

“So
Mr. No-one has you threatening to drop his hot ass in a South Antarctic crevice?”

Unfortunately, her mother and sister had both insisted she go au naturel to the wedding, which meant she couldn’t hide
behind her usual mask. “It’s nothing.”

“Doesn’t sound like nothing.”

“Just some annoying stalker guy who won’t go away. Don’t worry about it.” Figured her sister would note her heightened color as she tried to avoid replying.

“Ooh, have you been hiding things from me, Eva?”

Evangeline scowled, which only deepened Isobel’s grin. “Can we just get this over with? I have a job I need to do some research on.”

“Wow, whoever he is, he’s really got your panties in a twist,” said her shockingly beautiful—
and skinny, the bitch
—sister. “Anybody I know?”

“No.” A statement she had to revise given her upcoming job. “Kind of. He’s a groomsman and he’s going to be my partner for the wedding.”

“Oh, the man Rumpelstiltskin wanted you to have to help you guard his little girl.”

“You know about the job?” said Evangeline
, surprised. She’d assumed her mother would keep it a secret so as to not stress Isobel before the wedding from Hell.

“
Of course I do. Christopher and I don’t keep secrets from each other,” said Isobel smugly.

So it wasn’t
Mother who tattled. Of even more surprise was Isobel’s belief that Christopher didn’t belong in the same category as every other lying, scum-sucking male on the planet.
I mean, come on, my sister’s fiancé is the heir to Hell.
But hey, if it made her happy to believe he told her everything, Evangeline wouldn’t ruin it. She might act abrasive with her sister, but the truth she’d deny if anyone asked? She loved her sibling deeply. Although she’d kill anyone who suggested it. She did have a reputation to maintain.