Cajun Magic 02 - Voodoo for Two (22 page)

The sheet had slipped below his waist, allowing her a glimpse of his magnificent cock, slack now in slumber. How she’d ridden him through the night, climbing the peak to bliss more than once, only to fall back into his arms. He caught her every time and snuggled against her, spooning her in his embrace, his shaft pressed to her bottom only to rise for another round of beautiful sex.

She ached to touch him, awaken him tenderly with a gentle caress, a kiss, her hand sliding down his body to grasp him.

Her own body quickened and oozed liquid desire. She wanted him again, and again—to wake beside him for the rest of her life. But she couldn’t, knowing she had unfinished business to take care of, a spell to undo, and apologies to make to her almost-fiancé.

With costly determination, she remained hands-off, choosing to admire without disturbing his sleep. Dark shadows smudged the skin beneath his eyes. He hadn’t been asleep long. Their unwanted swim in the swamp and their to-die-for mattress calisthenics had taken their toll on his body as well as hers.

With the gray light of dawn squeezing through the cracks in the blinds, the room lightened.

If she planned to make a break for it, she’d have to go soon. He was likely to wake at the slightest sound and expect to find her lying beside him.

She padded barefoot and naked across the room to her dresser. Easing drawers open, she selected the appropriate undergarments, jeans, and shirt, and quietly made her way into the living room. After dressing in record time, she ran a brush through her tangled mop, tied her tennis shoes, and peeked one last time at the man she’d always loved, wishing things had turned out differently.

He slept on, blissfully unaware of her stealthy escape. Next time she saw him, he’d no doubt wonder why the hell he’d slept with her in the first place.

Unable to live another day with the lie she’d created, she knew she had to find a way to break the spell. Eric deserved to find someone he really loved. As nice as he was and as much as she liked him, she didn’t love him.

And as much as she
did
love Ben, she couldn’t continue a relationship with him, knowing he might only return her love because of a selfish spell she’d concocted. If she couldn’t have him with his love given freely, she didn’t deserve to have him at all.

Having screwed up her own chances, she prayed she wasn’t going to ruin Maurice and DeeDee’s chances at love and a happy life together.

Either way, Lucie had to break the spell. But first, before her guilt overwhelmed her and the reporters got wind, she had to officially break off her engagement.

Chapter Twenty-Two

“You put out an APB on the guy?” Ben wanted to get his hands on the bastard who’d tried to kill Lucie last night and almost killed Eric and him.

“We did. I’ll let you know as soon as we have him in custody.”

“Good.” He scrubbed a hand through his hair. “Get Ron to conduct the interrogation. I bet he’ll spill his guts in fifteen minutes flat.”

P.J. laughed into the phone. “I bet he doesn’t last ten.”

“You’re on for twenty bucks.”

“Get anything back from forensics on that slug you found at the girl’s apartment?”

“Not yet. I’ll give them a call this afternoon.

“Let us know. If the two incidents are related, we’ll have more evidence to nail the guy with in court.”

“You bet.” He would use every talent in his arsenal of detective skills to catch the guy from last night and whomever he worked for.

Ben clicked off his cell phone just as he pulled into the hospital parking lot. He felt as if he had a wad of swamp silt sitting at the bottom of his belly. How could he face Eric when he’d slept with his fiancée last night?

How could he not?
He’d been assigned to protect Eric, and report on what little he’d found out about the murder attempt.

But if he could slip in a little plug for Eric to reconsider his engagement, more power to him. Although, how he’d bring up the subject, he didn’t have a clue.

But more than anything, he wanted to bust up the engagement and take Lucie for himself. He just wished he didn’t like Eric so much. If it were anyone else, he could just punch him out and tell him to get the hell away from his girl!

Eric was sitting up in bed, his ear pressed to a cell phone, when Ben walked in. “Yeah, I think the doctor would have released me this morning, but my father insisted I stay around for additional observation. I think he wanted the press to have time to cool their heels and me to get my strength back before I’m bombarded with questions.”

He listened for a moment and grinned. “Yeah, he’s probably right. After swallowing a bayou full of swamp water, I didn’t feel like facing a media swarm. I should be right as rain by tomorrow, so don’t cancel my Daughters of the American Revolution speech. They’ve been real good to me and I’d hate to let the ladies down. Look, Neal, I got company.” He nodded at Ben. “We’ll talk later.”

“
Sorry to interrupt.” Ben hesitated in the doorway. He’d never liked the antiseptic smell of hospitals. That, and the huge amount of guilt he had weighing him down, made for a nasty combination in his gut.

“Not at all.” Eric waved him in. “We’d been at it for fifteen minutes. I was getting cauliflower ear.” He rubbed at the ear he’d had plugged into the cell phone. “I don’t know which is worse, being on the phone for hours, or having to wear a hospital gown that doesn’t quite cover my ass.” He tugged at the strings behind his back, but soon gave up and leaned back against the pillow.

Ben forced a smile. “The gown, definitely.”

“Noticed you had some of the local cops guarding my door. What’s up with that?”

“After last night’s attempted murder, I didn’t want to take any chances.” He leaned against the wall, just inside the door.

Eric nodded. “That’s what I figured. Thanks.”

With a nod, he dismissed Eric’s gratitude. He didn’t deserve it. “Ever heard of a guy named Robert Davis?”

“No.” Eric shook his head. “The name doesn’t ring a bell. Why?”

“The car that bumped you into the swamp last night was rented by a man named Robert Davis.”

“I haven’t heard of him, but maybe my campaign manager has.” Eric lifted his cell phone. “Want me call him back and try the name out on him?”

“In a minute.” Ben strode across the room and stared out the window, struggling with how to broach the subject of Eric’s engagement.

“Lucie left a few minutes before Neal called.”

Ben swung back to face Eric. “She did?”
Dilemma solved
. Since Eric had brought her up, he might as well plunge in and get it over with.
Okay, smartie, how?

Eric’s eyes narrowed slightly. If Ben hadn’t glanced up right when he did, he wouldn’t have noticed.

“Ben, are you still in love with her?”

When he should have felt a rush of relief for the opening, his throat clogged. He wanted to shout, Yes! Yes, he still loved her, more than life itself.

But the frown on Eric’s face brought him back to reality. As far as Ben knew, Lucie still planned to marry Eric.

“You don’t have to answer my question.” Eric looked away. “It’s just that you get tense every time she’s around or I mention her.”

“Yes, I still love her.” Ben turned his back to Eric and stared out the window, without seeing the parking lot below. “I don’t think I ever stopped.”

“She kinda gets under your skin, doesn’t she?”

“Yeah. I let her get away once and I’ve regretted it ever since.” He spun toward Eric. “If you love her half as much as I do, you’ll hold on as tight as you can. Don’t let her get away. Because if you don’t snap her up, I’m going after her. And this time, I won’t let her go.”

Eric’s lips twisted into a wry half smile. “Yeah. She’s pretty special.”

Images of Lucie’s naked body flittered through his thoughts. Her teasing smile and gentle touch still tingled along his nerve endings. “You don’t know the half of it.”

“I just wonder if she can handle being a congressman’s wife.” Eric scratched his chin and slid a glance up at him.

Lucie? A congressman’s wife? Although he’d told her differently, he knew she could do anything she set her mind to, and do it well. “Lucie’s tough, she can handle anything, and she’ll make a beautiful addition to your campaign and life.”

Had he really told her she wasn’t cut out to be a congressman’s wife? No wonder she’d been so mad. It ranked right up there with his stupid, angry words of seven years ago, when he’d called her a bayou bimbo. He’d said that to draw blood. To match the blood she’d drawn when she’d given him his ring back and told him he wasn’t good enough for her. She’d struck him right through the middle of his heart.

“I don’t know.” Eric rubbed his chin.

His heart leaped. “Are you having second thoughts?”
Please say yes!
He held his breath.

Eric shook his head. “I love her, and I’d marry her in a heartbeat.”

“But?”

“But nothing.” Eric crossed his arms over his chest and grinned. “She’s terrific.”

“Yeah, she is.” Ben sighed.
So, it was over
. Lucie was going to marry Eric, and he would go back to Baton Rouge and try to piece his life together for the second time. “Congratulations.”

“Don’t congratulate me yet,” Eric said. “I haven’t gotten her to the altar. Who knows, she may change her mind, like she did with you.”

Ben could only hope.

…

“Bless my wrinkled ol’ soul! I swear I be seein’ de ghost of my granddaughter, Lucie.” Gran LeBieu clutched her ample breast and staggered backward.

“Gran, I’m in trouble, and I need your help.” Lucie stepped past her grandmother and strode through the door that hadn’t seen paint since 1957.

Despite the shabbiness of the furniture and the curling paper with the roosters and hens on the kitchen wall, Lucie loved this house. It had always been her safe haven, her home when no one else wanted her. She and Lisa had come here as little girls and grown up with the bayou as their playground. When she’d sent Ben away, she’d retreated to her grandmother’s house to grieve her loss. And God bless her wise old soul, Gran LeBieu hadn’t pressed her for details, but let her tell her story when she was ready.

She ducked her head into the small guest bedroom, searching. “Where is she?”

“Who?”

“Lynette.”

“Your mama was very upset de night before last.”

“She’s not my mama, and I’m not responsible for her happiness. She never felt responsible for mine.” She stood facing her grandmother with her fists propped on her hips. “Is she here?”

“Dere be many things you don’t know about your mama.”

“I don’t want to know her. She didn’t bother to get to know me.” Although she’d come for her grandmother’s help, she couldn’t stand the thought of facing her biological mother. The pain was still too fresh.

Gran LeBieu rested a hand on her shoulder. “She had her reasons for staying away.”

“There’s no reason good enough for a mother to dump her daughters and not come back for twenty years.” She jerked away and searched the other room.

“Did you bother to ask her?”

She chose to ignore her grandmother’s question. “She’s not here.”

“She took de boat to Bayou Miste for a few groceries. She won’t be back for an hour.”

“Good, ‘cause I need your help.” Lucie let out a sigh and let her hands fall to her sides. She might as well jump in. “Gran, I’ve done something stupid.”

“And you think stupidity belongs only to de young?”

“No. I believe it belongs only to me.”

“Come sit, girl.” Her grandmother grabbed her hand and led her to the threadbare sofa and sat, motioning for Lucie to sit beside her. “Unburden your soul with ol’ Gran LeBieu.”

“I really need
Madame
LeBieu’s help.”

“Dat bad?”

She hung her head, bracing herself for her grandmother’s wrath. “Worse.”

“And what could be so bad you are afraid of your
Mamère?
” She held Lucie’s hand in her chubby brown fingers, stroking her in a gentle, soothing rhythm.

Lucie took a deep breath and held it. “I cast a spell.” She squeezed her eyes shut and waited.

The older woman’s hand stopped in midstroke. She didn’t say anything for a few moments—long enough that Lucie risked a peek from beneath her eyelids.

Gran LeBieu sat with her lips pressed together and turned downward in a slight frown. When she met her gaze, she shook her head. “You know how I feel about you practicing de magic.”

Her grandmother’s disappointed tones were more lethal than her wrath. Lucie’s eyes clouded and tears spilled down her cheeks. “I’m sorry, Gran. I know I shouldn’t have done it. But I couldn’t stay in Bayou Miste. Especially when he came back.”

“Ben?”

“Yes, Ben.” Her tears trailed down to her chin and dropped into her lap. She scrubbed at them, but they wouldn’t stop.

Her grandmother lifted her chin, forcing her to look her in the eye. “Voodoo be powerful magic, something not to be taken in vain or for selfish reasons.”

“I know.” She pressed her cheek against her grandmother’s hand. “I was so wrong, and I couldn’t have made a bigger mess if I’d tried.”

Gran LeBieu pulled her into her arms and hugged her close. “Tell me.”

Between sobs, she poured out all the sordid details of her magical mess. Her grandmother kept her supplied with tissues until her story and her tears ended.

The Voodoo queen sat in silence for several moments, her forehead creased in a frown. When she looked up, her potent gaze seared into Lucie’s most secret thoughts. “Who do you love?”

“Oh Gran, I don’t know who I should love.” She wrapped her arms around her belly and rocked back and forth. “Eric is everything a girl could want for a husband.”

“But you don’t want him.” Her words were a statement, not a question.

“No, I don’t.” She sighed. “I’ve tried, but I can’t love him.”

Her grandmother’s gaze had the same effect as pinning her to a wall. “You can’t because you still love Ben.”

Lucie buried her face in her hands and cried tears she didn’t think she had left. “I do.”

“Then why do you think you have to undo this spell? If Ben loves you, you have what you be wantin’.”

She looked up. “I’d thought about that, but I can’t leave the spell in place.”

“Why?”

“I have to let Eric go to live his life and find a woman to love. One who is more deserving than me.”

“But if you undo the spell, Ben may or may not be in love wit’ you anymore.”

Lucie pushed off the couch and walked to the window where sunlight and warmth spilled through. Closing her eyes, she soaked in the rays, hoping to thaw the chill in her heart. “I know.” She turned to her grandmother. “I can’t have Ben if he doesn’t love me of his own free will. If he only loves me because of a spell, I won’t find the happiness I’ve always wanted.”

“Looks to me like you have all de answers den.” Gran LeBieu stood. “You have to undo de spell.”

Lucie nodded. “That’s why I came.”

“You want Madame LeBieu to fix what’s broke?”

Hope and dread filled her chest. “Could you?”

Mamère
crossed her brown arms over her chest. “No, I cannot.”

Her heart thumped around in her chest, then fell to her stomach. “You can’t or you won’t?”

“Both.”

All Lucie’s hopes crashed around her ears. Her grandmother had always helped her through tight spots. Why not now? “Then what am I to do?”

“You have to find de bug.”

“I’ve tried, but it’s been all over the place.”

The old woman smiled. “That’s where I might be able to help.”

“Oh thank you, Gran.” She hugged her grandmother. “How? How will you help?”

“I have just de potion you need to catch de bug.”

“You do?” She clapped her hands together. “How soon can I have it?”

Her smile faded to a stern line. “As soon as you make me a promise.”

“I promise not to play in Voodoo without your permission from now on.”

“Dat’s not de promise.”

She frowned. “What do you mean?”

“I want you to promise me you’ll talk with your mother and actually be listenin’ dis time.”

Her gut clenched as if she’d been sucker punched. “I can’t.”

Her grandmother cocked an eyebrow at her. “Can’t or won’t?”

“Both.”

“No talk, no potion.” Gran LeBieu turned her back on Lucie.

How could her grandmother ask her to do this? “She left me,” she said in a hoarse whisper. “Twenty years ago.”

Gran LeBieu turned back to her, one eyebrow raised. “Is it a deal, or not?”

Lucie pushed a hand through her hair. She didn’t know which was harder, forgiving her mother or losing Ben. But she knew she couldn’t live her life regretting the choices she made.

She reluctantly stuck her hand out. “It’s a deal.”