Damned and Cursed (Book 2): Witch's Kurse (30 page)

She finally laughed.
 
"You're a goofball."
 
She clapped her hands together and did a sexy little dance.
 
"Okay, I work late tomorrow, but I've got all night tonight.
 
What are we doing?
 
Should we get a movie?
 
Go for a walk?
 
Order something to eat?"
 
Her eyes lit up.
 
"Hey, when is Tiffany coming back?"

Kevin checked the time.
 
"After dinner at her friend's house.
 
So maybe another hour."

"We can have sex on Jack's bed!"

He laughed at the ridiculous thought.
 
His amusement turned to apprehension when he saw the look in her eye.

"You're serious—"

"Do you know how many times we can do it in an hour?"

"Uh, Leese, Jack said we can't have sex on his bed."

She frowned in confusion.
 
"Really?
 
He actually said that?"

"Yeah.
 
He was real specific—"

"Well, he isn't here, is he?
 
And Tiffany's gone."

Leese took a step toward him, the look on her face revealing her intention.
 
Kevin wasn't sure what amazed him more, the fact that Leese wanted to have sex on Jack's bed, or that he was taking a step backward.

The last case Kevin worked on involving Jack, he'd killed fifteen men in Victoria's mansion.
 
He'd made a game out of it, trying to see if he could kill everyone without making a mess.
 
That was the kind of man Jack was.

The scary part was he actually succeeded.

Leese wanted to have sex on his bed.

She took another step forward.
 
Kevin backed up, bumping into the kitchen counter behind him.
 
She laughed and brushed hair from her eyes.

"Ooh.
 
You're so cute when you play hard to get."

"This isn't playing, Leese.
 
This is Jack we're talking about."

"Don't worry, he likes you."

"No, he doesn't."

"Well, I won't tell him if you don't.
 
We'll be real quiet.
 
The neighbors won't even know.
 
I'll just whisper and moan in your ear."

Kevin glanced down and took a deep breath.
 
Leese was making it very hard to say no.
 
He needed to stall for time.

"Let me put everything back in my coat."

"Nope.
 
Magic time's over.
 
Forget your potions and play with me."

Leese was upon him.
 
She pinned him against the counter and pressed her hips against his.
 
Rolling her eyes, she grabbed his hands and placed them on her breasts.

"We should be past nervous by now, Kevin."

She wiggled against him and forced his mouth open with her tongue.
 
His hands moved on their own, and Leese moaned in his mouth.
 
She grabbed at the bottom of his shirt.
 
A sudden surge of bravery ran through him.

What could Jack possibly do to him?

The courage left as quickly as it came, and he caught both her hands in his.

"Leese—"

A noise rang out across the room.
 
Kevin recognized it as an incoming Skype call.
 
They crossed the living room and picked up the tablet from the couch.

Jack's face glared back at the two of them.

"Glinda.
 
Blondie."

"Hey, Jack."

"Where's Tiffany?
 
Put her on."

Leese shook her head.
 
"Nice to see you, too."

Jack wasn't amused.
 
"I'll say it a second time.
 
Where's Tiffany?"

Kevin blinked in surprise.
 
Jack was obviously in a bad mood, more than usual.

"She's not here.
 
She's over her friend Melissa's house, eating dinner over there."

He nearly snarled.
 
"Alright.
 
Tell her to call me before bed…wait a second."
 
His stare traveled between both of them.
 
"You two want to screw, don't you?"

Kevin and Leese glanced at each other, their jaws dropping.
 
They spoke over each other.

"That's none of your damn business."

"No!
 
We aren't doing anything."

Jack held up a hand.
 
"Quiet.
 
The top of the washing machine is probably cold.
 
Just put a towel over it."

He ended the call.
 
Leese wrinkled her nose and looked at Kevin.

"What the hell does that mean?"

"He told me…never mind."

"Okay, well, let's continue."

She pulled his shirt off in one motion.
 
He was so startled he didn't have the chance to stop her.
 
She gave him a light push, sending him over the arm of the couch, landing on his back.
 
She pulled her shirt over her head, exposing that white bra and gorgeous upper body.
 
His mind drifted to the photograph, to the turquoise panties, and Jack was forgotten for a moment.

Leese climbed on top of him.
 
His mind was running away, but his body was staying exactly where it was.
 
The skin to skin contact drove him crazy.
 
She flipped her hair back and kissed him deeply.
 
Kevin didn't resist, instead wrapping his arms around her.
 
Leese, pleased with the direction the night was heading, reached for the snap on his jeans.

Only then did sense return to Kevin.

"Leese, hold on," he managed to say.
 
"Jack
specifically
said not the couch."

She unzipped his jeans.

"Come on, Kevin," she said, impatience in her tone.
 
"Let's live a little dangerously."

Kevin frowned in amusement.
 
He wasn't far removed from having a hand in saving the world, along with Alex, Victoria, and Jack.
 
He thought he'd earned a break from dangerous living.

Still, Leese made excellent points, especially when she left kisses across his chest and stomach.

The front door opened.

Kevin and Leese both shouted in surprise.
 
She pressed herself to him and turned her back to the door.
 
He held her close, trying to keep her breasts hidden.
 
Any other time, the closeness and heat would have been thrilling.

Tiffany scowled at both of them as she closed the door.

"I remember you," she said.
 
"You're…Alicia, right?
 
You're Alex's sister."

Leese spoke over her shoulder without turning around, her face turning red.
 
She gave a polite backwards wave.

"Uh, yup.
 
That's me.
 
But you can just call me Leese.
 
That's what my friends call me."

"Why are your shirts on the floor?"

"They…were dirty."

Despite the humiliating and potentially life-threatening situation, Kevin nearly laughed.
 
He lowered his head to hide the smile.

"The washing machine and dryer is downstairs," Tiffany said.
 
She headed for the stairs.

"I thought you were eating dinner over your friend's," Kevin said.

"Melissa's mom has a date, so she didn't want me eating dinner over there."

Kevin could hear the sadness in her voice, and actually felt bad for her.

"I'll cook something.
 
What do you want to eat?"

"I'm not hungry."

She stopped at the top of the stairs when she saw Oscar sitting on the breakfast bar.
 
The cat stared at her with his green eyes, never blinking.

"Awww!" Tiffany said.
 
"Did Dad get me a cat?"

"Nope.
 
His name's Oscar, and he's actually
my
cat—"

Kevin's sentence was interrupted by Oscar sprinting across the living room.
 
He ran up the stairs and stopped at Tiffany's feet, rubbing against her leg.
 
Tiffany gingerly petted him, and Kevin could hear his companion purring from the couch.
 
Oscar vanished up the stairs, and Kevin knew he was turning into Tiffany's room.

"Bye, Leese," Tiffany said.
 
"It's nice to see you again."

Five seconds later they heard Tiffany's bedroom door closing.
 
Kevin and Leese were alone once again.

"So much for witch's best friend," he muttered.

Leese playfully slapped a hand on his shoulder.

"So?
 
Movie?"

Kevin smiled and nodded.
 
"Movie it is."

Jack stood in the doorway to the bar, studying the environment.
 
Ten mortals, six men and four women.
 
Two of the mortal men tended the bar.
 
A lone man bordering on alcoholism sat alone, watching the nightly news.
 
A young couple, on date number three, played a game of pool.
 
Judging by the longing looks, and the way she posed during a shot, Jack figured the man had a good chance at scoring some time in the bedroom.

The bar itself was actually nice, much to his surprise.
 
Whoever put it together had excellent taste.
 
It reminded him of something out of the mid-twentieth century.
 
Old, but with some modern touches, such as the televisions.
 
There were only a few booths; it wasn't exactly a restaurant type setting.
 
It was booze first, dining second, which was a shift away from how things worked in modern times.
 
There seemed to be very few places a mortal could go with the simple goal of getting drunk.

The love mortals had for alcohol and being inebriated was the main reason Jack avoided bars.
 
Mortals were difficult to tolerate as it was.
 
Adding alcohol to the mix only made matters worse.
 
A drunk mortal once put his arm around Jack on New Year's Eve.
 
That mortal rang in the new year in the hospital.

Jack found himself nodding in approval as he stepped inside.
 
He could imagine himself in the corner in the dark, far away from everyone, relaxing with a glass of water.
 
If only the place had an actual jukebox, and not one of those insulting digital ones, the place would be perfect.

The two men tending bar were young, mid-twenties.
 
One of them was a new hire, not looking comfortable at all.
 
The other had experience, and flirted with two women as he served drinks.
 
Jack recognized the type immediately.
 
Affable, charming, always trying to put a smile on someone's face.
 
Always seeking to win the popularity contest.

Jack sat at the bar, equidistant from mortals on both sides.
 
The experienced bartender finished collecting a tip, along with a phone number, from the women and winked at Jack as he approached.

"Evening, friend," he said.
 
"Whatcha buying?"

"Information.
 
Did Erica Hernandez work here?"

The young man's face fell.
 
He looked to his partner, who inched a little closer while tending to the alcoholic.

"Look, friend.
 
We've already had the police here, and every reporter in town.
 
Every time we think we're starting to put that whole mess behind us, another of you fuckers show up.
 
Why don't you just move on along, find something else to do?"

Jack looked down at the bar, trying to control himself.
 
He was already in a bad mood.
 
Tiffany wasn't available to talk to him, and he missed her.
 
Instead he had to look at Glinda and his blond girlfriend's flush faces.

He pulled out a hundred-dollar bill and placed it on the bar, sliding it forward.

"We're not friends.
 
Did Erica Hernandez work here?" he repeated.

The bartender grabbed the bill and shoved it in his pocket.
 
Jack wasn't surprised.
 
Money could buy many things, such as the key to a murdered woman's apartment and her police report.
 
However, he was surprised when the next word out of the bartender's mouth wasn't a yes or no.

The other man slid over a little more, his hand disappearing under the bar.

"I guess you didn't hear me.
 
Let me make it clear.
 
If you don't leave, right now, my friend and I are gonna jack you up."

Jack frowned in confusion.
 
"Jack me up?
 
Like a car?"

A hand grabbed his shoulder from the side.
 
A third man sat next to him, nodding at the two behind the counter.
 
Either another employee off the clock or simply a friend.

Not that it mattered.

"What he means is you have ten seconds to leave.
 
When the count hits eleven, we beat you within an inch of your life."

Jack nodded and smiled, finally getting it.

"Ah.
 
Slang.
 
Violence.
 
You'll have to excuse me.
 
The only slang I've been around lately is elementary school.
 
I swear, I think those little cockroaches have their own language sometimes.
 
Anyway, you guys weren't very clear, so let me try, and we'll keep with the whole counting theme.
 
You have one second to take your hand off me, or I'll kill you."