To Wrangle A Witch (Southern Sanctuary Book 3) (16 page)

Locke
tensed.  “You spoke to my mother?” 

“Sure,
she was over at Hadleigh’s dropping off a couple of bags of fresh peaches.”

“Where
was she headed next?  Is she coming here?  Did she have anyone with
her?”

“Jeez
dude, get a grip.  As a matter fact she had a young lady with her, one of
those arty types, wouldn’t keep her hands to herself, I kind of felt
embarrassed for her.  I thought they were headed over to Erik’s but the
woman wouldn’t leave me alone, I think Aunt Lucy said something about dropping
her off somewhere instead.”

“Phew,
Erik owes you big time.”

“Whatever,
now about my evaluation form?”

In
the kitchen the oven timer sounded, time to take the lamb out of the oven so it
could rest.  Which reminded him.  “Don’t you have some where you need
to be?  Cedric’s farm?  Handling the peace talk agreements?”

“It’s
a waste of time, he’s never going to agree to be a vegetarian.”

“You
know what I do when I can’t get two clients to agree, I lock them in a room
together until they do.”

“Are
you kidding.  Those invisible sheep will kick Cedric’s ass.”

Locke
smiled.  “Exactly, now go be all that you can be young apprentice.”

Declan
smiled and nodded.  “Simple yet devious, I should have asked for your
advice weeks ago.  Okay, I’ll probably see you tomorrow night, I
understand the big smack down is scheduled for then.”

Locke
looked around his immaculately clean house and heaved a sigh.  “Yeah,
looks like it.”

Chapter
Nineteen

“I
like your cousin.”

“Which
one?”  Locke looked up from the kitchen counter where he was the process
of cutting the meat.

“Well
I was talking about Darcy but I like Declan too.”
 
Serena stood back watching Locke work… hmmm,
the man had such capable hands.

“I’m
not sure there isn’t a woman alive who doesn’t like Declan.”
 
Locke muttered dryly.

“I
was talking about the man, not the package.  He’s funny, witty, a bit of a
tease and a flirt I’ll grant you, but considering what he could be doing with
those powers of his… well I suppose it’s a good thing he’s a happy
well-adjusted member of your community.”

“As
opposed to?”

“Well
cutting a swathe through the female population, uncaring of the devastation he
leaves behind.”

Locke
scoffed a derisive laugh. “According to Darcy he leaves quite the trail of
broken hearts behind in his wake.”

“Oh
I’m sure there are any number of women who take one look at the golden boy and
imagine they are in love but I highly doubt that he encourages them actively or
makes promises to them that he has no intention of keeping.  For all his
dimples he has a noble heart, I suppose he has growing up amidst such a large
number of righteous warriors and enforcers to thank for that.”

“I
suppose.”  Locke mulled over Serena’s words. True for all his good looks,
charm and hideously unnatural good luck with the ladies Declan rarely went on dates,
he never strung his admirers along and had certainly never boasted of his
conquests to Locke or anyone else for that matter.  Funny, now that he
came to think of it as far as he knew Declan had never even had a girlfriend.

Serena
bustled around behind him, opening a new bottle of wine and fetching fresh
glasses.  “And Darcy… she’s a hoot.”

“You
don’t want to get on the wrong side of Darcy.”  Locke warned, drizzling
his made from scratch gravy over the perfectly cooked lamb.

“Oh
you don’t have to warn me.”  Serena placed the glasses on the dining room
table and took a seat.  Moments later Locke joined her, passing over a
plate that smelled divine.  “Thanks, it looks delicious.”  She took a
bite, boy she could get used to Locke Valhalla’s cooking.  “She seems a
little…”

“Unstable?”

“I
was going to say intense.   Those eyes of hers, it’s like she can see
straight through to your soul.” 

Locke
shrugged.  “Either that or she’s just contemplating whether to kill you
quick or kill you slow.”

Serena
laughed.
 
“Still, I‘d love to see her in
action.”

“You
hang around the Sanctuary long enough you’re bound to see Darcy blow…” 
Okay that wasn’t awkward at all.  Of course Serena would be leaving
soon.  Maybe even as early as tomorrow night when the final sucker battle
took place.

“Ahh…
sure.  Oh, I don’t suppose you’ve see my sneakers have you?  I
thought I left them outside.”

Locke
shook his head not trusting himself to lie convincingly.  Of course he
knew where her sneakers were; at the bottom of the trashcan, exactly where he’d
placed them earlier. 

Serena
shook her head in puzzlement. “Weird, well they can’t have gotten too far.”

Silence
fell between them, awkward and heavy.

Locke
reached for his wine.  “So have you decided whether you’ll head back to
Atlanta with the Chippendales once the vamps are all done and dusted?”

“Er…” 
Serena put her knife and fork down.  Why did his question cause her
stomach to lurch uncomfortably and dread to flood her system?  It’s what
she’d been planning to do all along so why did the thought of returning to her
old life suddenly make her feel queasy? 

“With
Sek and Mot still out there looking for revenge and needing your blood, you’re
welcome to stay you know… here.”

“That’s
a very… kind offer.”  Though she would have preferred Locke ask her to
stay because he wanted her too.  She pushed her half eaten dinner
away.  Earth Serena, get it through your thick skull that you and Locke
Valhalla are not compatible.

“Finished?”

Twirling
a dangling lock of hair around her finger she nodded. “Yes, thanks… I guess I’m
just not hungry after all… nerves maybe.”  She shot him a grateful smile
as he cleared the plates away.  Neither of them having done justice to the
wonderful meal Locke had organised.

Picking
up her wine glass she wandered over to the open doorway leading outside. 
For a moment she hesitated before the pull of the garden gently wrapped around
her senses and beckoned her forward, promising peace. 

It
was like coming home, the grass under her feet, the caress of a nearby hibiscus
along her arm and the warm summer night air playing over her skin, causing the
fallen tendrils of hair around her neck to dance.  Earth and Stars she
loved it out here.
 
Moments like this she
could understand how her Grandmother and Mother could connect to their little
parcels of heaven on earth and choose to stay in one place, forming a permanent
bond with their gardens.
 
Not only did it
grant them a greater sense of peace but the deeper connection heightened their
powers, it was heady stuff, and her bond to Locke’s garden was only temporary,
imagine if she formed a permanent one… whoa, what was she thinking?

“Nice
night.” 

The
words sounded right in her ear causing her to gasp and spin only to find Locke
standing a few feet away from her.
 
“Oh,
you scared me.”  She dropped her hand from her chest, her heart continuing
to beat fast, not in fright now but at Locke’s close proximity.

“Sorry.” 
Funny he didn’t look it as he took a sip of his wine and studied her with dark
tantalising eyes that reminded her of the night sky above her head.  “So
what’s the decision?  Does reality TV stardom beckon?  I suppose you
could always change your name and your hair colour.  Or back on the road
as a magician’s assistant?”

“I
hadn’t really thought that far ahead.  I tend to make decisions on the
fly... following my instincts.  They’ve got me this far.”

The
edges of Locke’s mouth quirked up. “I suppose it would be impolite of me to
mention the five month stay in the mental hospital, the vampire contract out on
your ass and the Chaos demi-gods who want you dead or worse.”

Serena
chuffed a husky laugh.  “Hey I never said my instincts were perfect. 
Just that I was still alive to talk about it.”

“And
I think we’d all prefer it if you stayed that way.  Maybe re-think heading
out into the big wide world quite so soon.”

“Well
I can’t stay here forever.” 

Her
words didn’t quite ring truthful to his ears… or was that wishful thinking on
his part?  No, you don’t tie down a rolling stone.  You be thankful for
the time you’ve spent with them... make every moment count.  With that in
mind he reached over took her glass away and placed it and his own down on a
flat section of nearby moss.  Serena’s eyes were wide with surprise as he
grabbed her by the hand, tugging her into his arms.

“Dance
with me?”

Even
if she’d had a choice she wouldn’t have said no.  She’d been dying to
dance with Locke Valhalla from that very first night.  Okay so they were
fully clothed and they weren’t moving to the rhythm of the night garden but to
the soft sounds of a jazz number playing in the living room.  It was still
heaven, this close she could feel the heat of his body, the hard corded muscle
of his arm under her light touch.

“You
smell nice.”  He murmured softly, almost whispering.

“Funny.” 
She smiled up at him, likewise keeping her voice soft.  “I was thinking
the same thing about you.”

“Finally
something we have in common.”  Locke laughed softly under his breath.

“I’ve
always found having things in common to be vastly overrated.”  Okay, no
she didn’t, but tonight she was definitely an advocate.

“Me
too.”  Which was an outrageous lie since he’d always dated women who
mirrored himself; driven professionals who valued style and the very best
things in life money could buy.  But tonight with Serena in his arms he
couldn’t get past how beautiful the night sky was, how exotic the garden smelt
and how wild and sexy the barefoot woman in his arms was.  Damn he knew he
was going to regret this in the morning and double damn him he knew he’d regret
it more if he didn’t. 

So
he did the one thing he’d been dying to do again all afternoon, he kissed
her.  Crushed her to him and took ownership of those bee stung rosy
lips.  And she, Goddess be praised, sank into his kiss like she was made
especially for him.

Serena
went up on the balls of her feet to meet his lips.  Thank Earth he wasn’t
Maat warrior tall otherwise the logistics of this would have been a
nightmare.  Running her fingers along the silky material of his waistcoat
she appreciated the rich fabric whilst at the same time loathing its very
existence.  The man was wearing too many clothes. 

“We…
probably shouldn’t be doing this.”  She plucked at the material in
frustration wanting it gone… wanting to feel him, run her fingers freely over
his body.

“No.” 
He nuzzled the velvet soft skin along the side of her gorgeous throat. 
“Worst idea ever.”

“I
don’t normally do….”  Earth, what was he doing with his teeth? 
“…corporate types.”

“And
I don’t usually do…”  He bit down lightly on her earlobe.  “… tree
huggers.”

Serena
swallowed a moan. “I don’t get attached…”  Earth, that felt good. 
“To places or to people.”

Locke
sank his fingers into the glorious mass of her hair.  “Good… because I’ve
always found attachments to be annoyingly complicated and exceedingly
tiresome.”  He captured her lips with his, melting into the warmth and
softness of her pillowy lips.

Breaking
their kiss she swooped lower placing a soft hot kiss against the side of his
neck and then another one on the throbbing pulse point at the base of his
throat.  “You know what else I’ve always found tiresome?”  Her nimble
fingers found the buttons of his waistcoat and flicked open three in quick
succession.  Her hands splaying out over the silky thin barrier of his
expensive shirt, loving the feel of his warm hard chest beneath her
touch.  Her mouth dipping to place a soft kiss at the top of his sternum
just before she magically parted all the buttons of his shirt down to his
trousers.  “Clothes… I’ve always found clothes to be ridiculously
tiresome.”

Locke
shrugged out of his shirt and waistcoat dropping them with a careless disregard
onto the grass.  “I had kind of guessed that about you the first
night.”  He pulled her back close, finding her lips as her inquisitive
fingers created havoc with his senses as they trailed over his chest, ribcage
and lower.  “It was a bit of a giveaway when you twitched that gorgeous
naked ass of yours in my face barely four hours after we’d met.”

“You…” 
Her eyes practically rolled back in their sockets as he tilted her head to the
side and nuzzled hot teasing kisses down the side of her neck.  “Think my
ass is gorgeous?” 

“Face…
breasts… legs… shoulders…”  He continued to kiss his way down her
throat.  “You name a body part and I’ll wax lyrical about how Goddess
fucking sexy I find it.”  His large hands ran up over her body, gripping
her in close.  “I hope you meant what you said about clothes.”

“What…
oh.”  There came a distinct sound of material ripping as her dress fell
away leaving her in nothing but a strapless pink bra and matching lace
knickers. 

“Fuck
you’re gorgeous.”  Okay it wasn’t exactly an eloquent compliment from such
an educated man, but it was decidedly heartfelt, sending a thrill of excitement
down her spine.

“This… 
us, it…”  She gasped as he pulled her back into his arms, his lips finding
hers, drugging and confusing her with his intensity and passion.  Earth
what had she been going to say?

“Can
only be…”  He took up the rest of her sentence, bringing her in closer
still, running his fingers across the sensitive skin of her lower back. 
Enjoying the way she arched into him in reaction.

Their
lips broke contact for a brief moment as they in unison finished the
sentence.  “Temporary… right?”

They
both frowned in surprise for a split second before nodding and reclaiming each
other’s lips.  She moaned as he lifted her all too easily into his arms,
throwing her head back as he trailed hot kisses down her throat. 

“Tonight.” 
She gasped out between soft breathless pants.

“All
night.”  He agreed. 

Toeing
off his shoes, Locke didn’t even wince as his feet came into contact with the
soft grass he was that distracted by her wandering hands and even better
wandering lips as she found his right nipple and laved it with attention. 
Goddess she was going to kill him and he’d die a happy, happy man.