A Pinch of Kitchen Magic (9 page)

“
Oh, wow.” Aidan dropped
her hand as awareness of the pledge took hold. “If I mess up and
you have to come back to drain my magic, I’ll forget you, won’t I?”
Panic fluttered in her chest and she bolted from her chair so
quickly it tumbled back to clatter against the tiles. Her breath
came in short gasps as she stared at him.

“
It’s true.” Matteus
looked up at her. “If you don’t say the final words to the pledge,
I can’t give you the license.”

“
And if I don’t get the
license?” Her voice was little more than a scratchy
whisper.

“
I’ll have to drain your
powers anyway.” He fiddled with his pen. “You’re not allowed to use
magical energy without a valid license or permit.” He glanced away.
“I’m sorry. It’s my job.”

She drew a shuddering breath, quickly
said the last of the oath, and then retreated to the stove. “How
long?” She busied herself with filling the teakettle with water.
She needed a distraction from him.

“
Until you get your
license? Maybe a week. The Institute has a quick turnaround
time.”

In frustration, she slammed the
teakettle down on a burner then whirled to face him. “No, how long
will you be staying? I mean, your job’s done. Why would you stick
around?” Her body tensed as she waited for his answer. She wanted
him to say he would stay if she asked him. She wanted to throw
herself at him. The words danced on her tongue to ask him to
linger, but she didn’t do any of it. She had her pride, after all,
and he hadn’t indicated his interest in her extended to anything
beyond magic.

Matteus cleared his throat, and then
stood. “My job here is essentially over. I’ll be back for periodic
visits to check on your progress. Until then, call me at the
Institute if you should need me—for anything. I’ve already given
you my card.”

Did his eyes hold an
unspoken plea or was it dreaming on her part? She stifled the sob
that clogged in her throat. Why couldn’t she say anything? Why
couldn’t she forget about her shortcomings and admit she needed
someone in her life? “I wish you well then.”
Please just say you’ll stay for me
!

“
It’s been a pleasure
working with you.”

When he faded from view,
she crumpled against the counter, her shoulders shaking with the
force of her tears.
Why couldn’t I have
just asked him?

* * * *

Matteus cursed under his
breath when he realized he forgot to take his clipboard with him.
He wanted to make a clean break. He wanted to leave her and never
look back. She hadn’t asked him to stay. She didn’t say anything.
Just let him go without a word.
Of course
I didn’t say anything either.
She didn’t
understand why he couldn’t tell her he’d die for her if she
asked.
Have I made my magic more important
than everything else—anyone else—in my life?
He stumbled over an upended empty bucket on her back
doorstep. It reminded him of what his chest felt like. Hollow and
discarded. The downside to having magical powers sucked.

It was a foolish waste of time to
agonize over a female who didn’t know her own mind. Sure, he had no
doubts she’d do well with her magic, but everything else in her
life was chaos. He’d retrieve his clipboard and return to the
Institute then forget all about Aidan. It was the only way to move
forward. He tried the doorknob. Damn. She must have magically
enforced the locks. Determined to get his mission over with, he
attempted to enter the house by zapping himself inside. What he got
for his effort was a smart smack on the head from the
wall.

The woman had put up a force
field.

Not bad.
Annoyed her burgeoning skill had impressed him,
he banged a fist on the back door. “Aidan, let me in!”

When the door slammed open, he blinked
with confusion. She stood at the opposite end of the kitchen, right
where he left her. Apparently, her emotions made her magic so much
more powerful than he’d originally thought. If she practiced, she’d
be a force in the magical realm very quickly.

“
What do you want?” Her
eyes flashed. “I thought you made it perfectly clear you were
finished here.”

He flinched at the hurt in her voice
as he stepped into the kitchen. When the door slammed shut behind
him, he jumped. “You used magic for something other than
cooking.”

A ghost of a smile curled her lips. “I
guess I’m capable of much more than you give me credit for.” Her
eyes were red as if she’d been crying.

Does she know how powerful
she can be or how beautiful she is at this moment?
Matteus hesitated. His chest clenched with
sadness.

“
Aidan, I never doubted
your abilities. You know that.” He eyed the clipboard resting on
the table not three feet away. With a crook of his forefinger, he
commanded it to come to him. When the only thing it did was clatter
about on the tabletop, he frowned. A blanket of energy prevented
him from completing the request. Aidan’s energy signature kept him
from retrieving the paperwork.

His smile was one of
begrudging admiration. “Nice work.” A jagged flash of frustration
tore through him when she met his gaze, sadness and anger clouding
the chocolate brown depths.
Why can’t
I—for once—do what I want regardless of my position in this
community?
“Aidan… I…” He broke off, not
sure what to say to her. She wouldn’t understand and he couldn’t
change who he was.

She drew the clipboard to her with the
slightest wrinkle of her nose.

“
Please don’t read that.
It’s confidential information.” When her eyes widened, he sighed
with defeat.
Damn. This will be
messy.

“
What’s this? I thought
you were taking notes for my skills assessment.”

“
I was, but I, uh, got a
bit sidetracked and distracted.” His cheeks grew warm when she
stared at him, surprise etched across her face. “I did say I needed
to write something down before I forgot it. This was something I
didn’t want to ever forget.”

“
No boyfriend—excellent.
Magical skill level—beginner bordering on intermediate but will
increase exponentially once she realizes her confidence. Sense of
humor. Kissable lips. Curves a man would kill for. Strong sense of
self-worth once she finds a subject she’s passionate about.
Frustrating to argue with. Relationship possibility—hopeless.
Passed test for license.”

His humiliation was complete. “I can
explain.” He moved toward her a few steps before his feet became
stuck to the floor. “Aidan…” His voice held a sharp warning. When
he couldn’t move his feet at all, he glared at her. “Release me
from the spell. Your magic is not for people
manipulation.”

She shook her head. “No, I’m tired of
you disappearing before we can resolve things between
us.”

“
This isn’t
funny.”

“
It’s not intended to be.
I’m quite serious.”

When she tossed the clipboard onto the
table then advanced on him, a slow, sexy grin lighting her face, he
swallowed hard. “Before you get all hot and bothered, I need to
explain something to you.” His mouth went dry as she drifted to a
halt in front of him, twelve inches of space separating
them.

“
I have one question.” She
traced a finger along his jaw. “If you feel so strongly for me, why
did you leave and keep leaving? Don’t I deserve a chance—don’t
we?”

He stiffened, knowing once he told her
the reason, she’d hate him. “It was the only way. I had
to.”

“
That’s not good enough.
Why?” She undid the first two buttons on his shirt. His skin blazed
when she pressed her lips to his bare chest. “I can feel your
response, Matteus. Why do you run?”

He headed for unchartered
territory but he ignored the warning signs. The temptation she
presented was too much. He slid his arms around her waist and
pulled her against him. “You wouldn’t understand, and it would
definitely change your opinion of me.” His lips barely brushed hers
before she pulled away. He groaned with frustration: at her, at his
paralyzed feet, at the whole situation.
Why can I never have it all?

“
No kisses until I get
some answers.” Aidan brushed her fingers against his cheek. “Tell
me why you left.”

“
My position with the
Institute for Magical Instruction is in flux at the moment.” He
considered his options and decided he didn’t have many since he was
stuck to the floor. “I’m being considered for a promotion to the
Director Liaison for Universal Intelligence.” He swallowed around
the lump of dread lodged in his throat. “If I get the promotion,
the rules state relationships with novices are strictly prohibited.
Security could be compromised. Even if I weren’t in the running for
the promotion, I couldn’t become involved with you.”

“
Why?”

He thought he’d die from
need when she dropped a chaste kiss to the corner of his
mouth.
I want so much more.
“As an employee of the Institute, I’m banned from
forming attachments or relationships with any student of magic I’m
tutoring or testing.”

Aidan shrugged. “I don’t understand
what the big deal is. I’m not a minor and we’re two consenting
adults. Plus, once I have my license, you won’t be my teacher any
longer.”

Matteus took a deep breath. It was now
or never. At least she’d be kept safe this way. “The Institute is
my life. I won’t jeopardize my whole career for a woman who may or
may not want to enter a new relationship. You said yourself you’d
choose magic over a man.”

“
Just as you’ve apparently
done the same.” She cocked an eyebrow.

“
True, but I’ve worked too
hard to get to where I’m at to throw it away for something as
fleeting as a few sexual encounters.” Loathing sliced through him
when she stepped away, anger stirring her gaze into a molten
chocolate torrent.

“
Is that all I am to you,
then? A potential one night stand?” Her cheeks were stained red
from humiliation or fury, he couldn’t tell. Her chest heaved. “You
wouldn’t think that something between us might deepen?”

“
I—” What to say when he
didn’t know for sure?

“
Why did you kiss me? Was
that a game too?”

He stared at her, the only woman to
crack his arrogant, mocking barricade and make him feel wanted as a
man. He needed to make sure she forgot about him. It was better
this way. It was the only way to keep her safe. “I never could say
no to a beautiful woman. A few stolen kisses isn’t that high of a
price to pay.” He knew it was coming but he wasn’t prepared for the
force of her slap. Pain ebbed across his cheek and into his jaw.
His ears rang with the blow.

“
Bastard.” She spat the
word at him as if it were a poison-tipped dart. “Get out.” She
pointed a forefinger at him, her eyes flat and lifeless as he
stumbled backward, his feet immediately releasing from the binding
spell. “If I catch you here again, I won’t be responsible for my
actions.”

Self-disgust churned in his gut as he
stared at her. It was on the tip of his tongue to tell her the
truth, but her next words stayed his confession.

“
I thought you were
different from all the rest, but I was wrong. No wonder Aunt Hettie
never married. It’s too hard to separate romantic feelings from
magical energies.” She wrapped her fingers around the handle of her
chef’s knife. “I could have cared for you, but you turned out to be
no better than a snake.”

“
Aidan, I…” The sorrow in
her voice ripped through him.

“
Get out!”

His last act of magic in her home was
to halt the chef’s knife she threw at him. As it fell to the tiled
floor with a metallic clatter, he vanished into the air, his heart
a twisted lump of despair. Never had he regretted his career choice
until today. Never had he met a woman who could match him in every
way except magical skill level. Never had he wanted it all until
now.

Sometimes, if a project simmered too
long, it went bad.

Chapter Six

Sexy as Chocolate
Mousse

Forty-eight headless gingerbread men
lined the butcher-block island like macabre castoffs from a party
hosted by Henry the Eighth. Aidan stared at them with gruesome
fascination. They didn’t start life headless. She only snapped
their heads off every time her thoughts wandered to Matteus. She
tossed the last decapitated body onto the platter. The head landed
on a plate of heads. No more cookies. What would she do
now?

Since his departure two days ago,
Aidan focused all her energies on cooking. The irony was she
succeeded. Without him to distract her, for the first time in her
life, her cooking was flawless. A pot of creamy, pale yellow
polenta with parmesan cheese rested on the stove like a satin
pillow, honey-glazed carrots winked at her from the counter top,
and her carving knife sliced perfectly roasted, garlic and rosemary
infused pork tenderloin into blush-tinged medallions. A bowl of
chocolate mousse waited in the refrigerator.