To Wrangle A Witch (Southern Sanctuary Book 3) (6 page)

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“Earthy…
EARTHY!”  Serena closed her eyes, stepping directly under the flow of hot
water.

That
man was infuriating, not to mention a complete enigma.  One moment he’s
teasing her. The next he’s interrogating. Taunting her with insults... she did
not smell earthy.   Then he goes completely above and beyond to have
this gorgeous ridiculously decadent outdoor shower built.  That must have
been what all the noise was about just after dawn.  

Set
up at the base of the palm tree, surrounded by ferns the discreet wooden
structure was shaped like a barrel, leaving only her head and lower legs
exposed to any prying eyes.  Stocked full of hellishly expensive all
natural made products she’d given in to the immediate temptation to indulge in
an outdoor shower… despite the fact that her ego still stung from Locke’s last
crack.  In a word the experience was heavenly as the warm water flowed and
the dappled sunlight played over her skin. 

He’d
done this for her?  He was kind of hard to stay mad at.  Though she
needed to try she reminded herself… she was only here as a temporary
guest.  He had a highly suitable doctor girlfriend for Moon’s sake. 
Earth, if only there was a bed out here her world would be complete.  Hey,
she laughed, accidently swallowing some water, she’d just had the best idea
ever.

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Locke
Valhalla was sweating bullets.  He’d already adjusted the air conditioning
in his office twice in the last five minutes.  The only amusing thing
about the whole situation was that Bernie Schaefer, head honcho of Schaefer,
Bederman and Luski, appeared to believe Locke’s discomfort was due to the fact
that he was finally had that slick Valhalla killer shark on the ropes in
regards to the contract merger they were working on.
 

Poor
deluded fool. 

If
only Bernie could have seen what Locke was privy to… but then again Bernie was
obscenely overweight an unhealthy.  If he could see what Locke could, he’d
probably be turning his toes up heavenwards with a dreamy smile on his face and
a song in his heart.  Death by skyclad Earth Witch.  There were worse
ways to go. 

Watching
her shower had been bad enough.  Her head tilted back in pleasure, her
eyes shut, a smile of delight lighting her features, his mind filling in the
blanks hidden from view by the wooden shield.  And he, stupid bastard that
he was, thought the shower would be the worst of it.  Oh no, he was
forgetting who he was dealing with. 

No
towels for this girl.  When she’d finished showering Serena had walked out
onto one of the grassy areas bare butt naked, no dim moonlit shadows this time
to shield even an inch of her glory from his eyes.  There was no denying
that she was a natural blonde that was for sure.

He’d
almost choked on his own tongue when she proceeded to lie down, raising her
arms languidly above her head, stretching out like an open invitation to the
world.  And it was an invitation he soon realised, but not to the world
and not to him.  It was to the butterflies, as first one, then ten, then a
hundred multi-coloured butterflies landed on her, drinking the moisture from
her skin as if it were nectar.  He’d never seen a more erotic….more
disturbing tableau in all his years. 

Thank
the Goddess for his magic, as his inner truth bell rang loudly shattering the
hypnotic spell that Serena had cast over him.

“Hold
it there Bernie.  Let me just close the curtains in here and then we can
go back over that last point again.” 

Chapter
Eight

The
summer evening breeze danced soothingly over Serena’s skin as she made her way towards
the kitchen, following the divine scent of something spicy an enticing. 
With all the glass doors to the courtyard wide open, Locke’s beautiful home was
the perfect blend of indoor and outdoor living.  Though come to think of
it not once had she seen him step into the great outdoors. 

Speak
of the devil. 

She
paused in the corridor to watch him expertly cut up a tomato and add it to a
bowl already full to bursting with salad ingredients.  He looked as cute
as hell, a tea towel draped casually over one shoulder, his suit jacket
discarded, the sleeves of his shirt folded back to his elbows, and would
wonders never cease, he’d even loosened his tie.  The man was positively
casual, even if he still had on the waistcoat that matched his suit trousers. 

She
was glad she’d gone to the trouble of dressing up herself.  After her day
spent resting in the garden she’d been reluctant to wear his t-shirt again so
she had used an old trick her grandmother had once shown her, weaving natural
materials into clothing.  The summery dress she had on with the thin
spaghetti straps and flirty hemline ending mid-thigh was courtesy of the red
hibiscus in the courtyard.  The petal material, divinely soft against her
skin. 

“Evening.”
On bare feet she padded forward to take a seat at the kitchen bench so she
could watch him work.

“Hey
there.  You look like you had a good day.  I hope you didn’t get too
much sun?”

“Not
possible.  And you?  How did the lawyering go?”

“I
continue to reign supreme, my enemies cowering in fear and subjugation at my
feet.”  He flashed a knee melting grin her way, thank the Earth she was
sitting down.
 
Locke held up a cocktail
shaker.  “Drink?”

“Sure.”

Locke
had just added two olives to her martini when his mobile rang, sliding Serena’s
glass over before he pushed the connect button.  “Hey Kitten.  What’s
the news? ........ No I distinctly remember Vaughn telling me Kitten was
perfectly acceptable. …….. Ah-huh……… Okay…. No we’re good.  Nell came over
earlier, clean bill of health. …… Ah-huh.  Sure stay safe… Kitten?………What?
…. Well I suggest you take that up with your husband.  I’m more than happy
to revert back to Gigantore… No? Then Kitten it is.”  He hung up abruptly,
a pleased expression on his face.

“You
shouldn’t tease your sister like that.”  Serena stirred her drink
absently.

“Please,
you have seen her right?  If anyone can take care of herself it’s
Hadleigh.  I have the scars to prove it.”

“I’m
not surprised.  Is everything okay?  Has something happened?”

“Hadleigh
says something or someone has been testing the building security defences at
regular intervals but nothing overt yet.”  Locke picked up two oversized
spoons and tossed the salad.  “I hope you’re hungry?”

“Starving,
whatever you have in the oven smells wonderful.”

“Thai
whole baked salmon.”

“Wow,
a man of many hidden talents.  Is it just the two of us tonight?” 
She turned her head noting the nearby heavy wooden dining table had just two
settings laid out. 

“I
did ask Nell if she wanted to join us but she’s on call at the hospital.” 
Locke didn’t look upset by the news he imparted, just carried on bustling
around the kitchen; wiping down counters, adding dressing to the salad, pulling
out two plates in readiness.

“Is
there anything I can do to help?”  She asked, kind of in awe of the man, watching
as he opened the oven door, lifting out the fish wrapped in banana
leaves.   He cooked, he cleaned, he had a house to die for that he
clearly loved and decorated himself.  Was there anything he couldn’t
do? 

“Just
grab the salad would you?  I’ll dish out the fish.”

Five
minutes later Serena sat at the dining table across from Locke.  The smell
of lemongrass, chili, ginger and coriander wafting upwards from her plate to
tease her nostrils.     “I only hope this tastes as good as
it smells.”  She lifted a forkful to her mouth, closing her eyes as
sumptuous flavours burst over her taste buds.  “Hmmm, even better. 
Kudos to the chef.”

Damn,
Locke swallowed hard quickly averting his gaze, the gorgeous witch in the sassy
red dress was way too tempting for her own good.  And when she made those
hmming sounds of pleasure all he could picture was her writhing under him
making those exact same sounds.  Reaching over he found his glass by touch
alone, abruptly draining the contents.

“I
can’t believe I’m really out of that hell hole.  I keep wanting to pinch
myself but then I’m scared I might actually wake up back there.”  She
shuddered at the thought.

“What
Marcus said, about the medical file on you… was that true?  Were you
dying?”

“Yes
I think so.  My strength was depleted when I got there and then with
nothing to sustain me but some mold and the african violet, I don’t think I
could have held on much longer.”

“Sek
and Mot didn’t visit you to gloat or check up on you?”

“No.” 
She took a big sip of her drink, giving Locke a grateful smile as he lifted the
cocktail shaker and re-filled her glass then his own.  “I assumed they
were too busy out in the world with Xander trying to find a replacement witch
for their little ritual to bring their father back.”

“They
kidnapped Hadleigh you know, almost killed her thinking she was a witch.”

“No,
what happened?” 

“Vaughn
saved the day.”

“He
would, those guys are pretty darn wonderful.”  Serena smiled. 

“You
must have started to get a bit worried there for a while, thinking they’d
forgotten about you?”

“No,
at first I was worried they’d taken seriously the note Xander made me write
that said I was resigning and needed some space.  Then as time passed I
started to think… well I was kind of worried that they might be dead.” 

“So…”
Locke searched around for another topic, anything to take away the sudden gloom
that filled Serena’s eyes.  “So if being an Earth Witch requires nothing
more than a propensity to run around wearing no clothes, why aren’t more
strippers witches?”

Serena
laughed loudly.  “If only it were that easy to add numbers to our
ranks.  I come from a long line of Earth Witches, my mother, grandmother.”

“Have
you called them, told them you’re safe?”

“They
know, we spoke last night… the dance in the garden, the earth passed the news
onto them.”

“But
they’re not coming?”

“It’s
not safe.  During my first escape attempt from Mot and Sek I got word to
them to set up barrier and protection spells.  Until the threat is gone
they’ll keep their distance.”

“Tough. 
But at least you have the Goddess Maat and the Warrior Elite on your
side.  How did you end up working for them?”

“When
I finished college I sort of drifted for a while.  Waitressed in New York
for a bit, travelled with a circus looking after the animals, then I landed a
job on a cruise ship as a magician’s assistant.” 

Locke
chuckled softly.  “Isn’t that a series of way too many
contradictions?  An Earth Witch going to sea?  A magical being acting
as an assistant to a non-magical being?”

Serena
smiled.  “Being at sea was different, good but different.  And
working for the Great Ronaldo was a blast.”

“But
you moved on?”

“Ronaldo
was the one who moved on.  He got a job offer in Vegas. Me and deserts,
not the greatest of combinations.  I was looking around for a new
opportunity when my agent mentioned a new reality show that could use a female
presence.  And I ask you, knowing what we know, how could I turn down the
opportunity of working on a show trying to prove the existence of the paranormal? 
Imagine my surprise when I walked into Maat Enterprises and stumbled across the
seven warriors of the Goddess Maat.  It only took a small leap of
deduction to understand they were using the show to debunk paranormal sightings
for the norms whilst searching out and dealing with real magical threats. 
I thought it would be fun, and all the travel involved was just the cherry on
top.”

“And
you didn’t have a problem with the costume, the sparkly short-shorts as my
sister referred to them?”

Serena
laughed huskily.  “Just like everything else on the show they were meant
to be a distraction for the audience and for Xander.  Interspersing wobbly
footage with strobing lights and pictures of my butt kept everyone looking left
when the real action was happening right.”

“Very
clever.”  Locke acknowledged.  “More fish?”

Serena
looked down in surprise to find her plate empty. “Thank you no.  Wow, that
was really good.”

“I’m
glad you liked it.”

Serena
pushed back her seat, grabbing her plate and then his.  “Since you cooked
it’s only fair that I….”  She stopped as she eyed the state of the
kitchen.  Every counter was immaculately clean.  “Well so much for
that offer.”

Locke
moved past her, deftly taking the plates and cutlery.  In less than a
minute he’d placed the dirty dishes out of sight in the dishwasher, and the
left over salad in the fridge.  “How about a glass of wine?  We can
have it in the living room.”

“Sure.” 
Serena moved to stand by the open doors, taking a deep cleansing breath. 
“I meant to ask you earlier, are we near the ocean?  I keep thinking I can
feel and smell it.”

“The
nearest town and the beach are a ten minute car ride away.”

“And
it’s so quiet here.”  Serena accepted a glass from Locke with a smile of
thanks.  Moving over to take a seat on one of the comfy sofas she
collapsed back into the gold, yellow and saffron cushions. 

Locke
took a seat on the sofa directly across from her, stretching his long legs out
in front of him casually.  “My nearest neighbour is three miles
away.  Being who… what we are, my family tends to like a lot of
space.  Some of my eccentric older relatives still farm the land.”

“I’m
surprised some development company hasn’t swooped in and made a land grab.”

Locke
smiled, an appreciative look on his face as he took a sip from his glass. 
“My family tends to exert a lot of influence on who comes and goes in the
region.  We’re understandably wary of strangers with agendas.”

“And
no one… outside, gets a little suspicious by your reclusive enclave?”

“Not
really, the land tends to be family owned and remains that way from generation
to generation.  Plus the real attraction in the area is one town over
further inland, an artistic community that we’ve encouraged to flourish. 
They have quite a few well known galleries and a big market every Saturday,
people come from miles around.  For some reason tourists no matter how
hard they try to go elsewhere in the region they always end up there.”

“Tricky.” 
Serena gave a contented smile, curling her bare feet up under her.  “So… I
haven’t thanked you yet for the shower outside.  I know I’ve come here,
disrupted your life… not to mention your garden.  But I promise as soon as
I’m a hundred per cent I’ll put everything back the way it was and get out of
your hair.   I really do appreciate everything you’re doing for me.”

Locke
knew mentally he should be rejoicing, soon she would be long gone and his home
and life could return to normal.  So why then did his gut clench at the
thought of her disappearing from his world?  “Will you go back to working
on the show?”

“I
don’t know.  I heard one of your cousins has replaced Xander.”

“Daniel.” 
Locke supplied the name.

“And
Hadleigh fills in for me occasionally?”

Locke
laughed loudly.  “She would be the first down on bended knee pleading with
you to return.  Life as a faux paranormal hunter is not for her, she’d
much rather be out there for real, beheading and not bothering to take names or
have to worry about camera angles.”

“Sounds
like she’s a perfect fit for Vaughn.  How did they meet?”

“From
what I gather my Great Aunt Alma set it all up.  She’s the family match
maker.”

“You
have a family match maker?”

“It
would seem so.”

“And
did she work her magic on you yet?”  Perhaps it had been his Aunt who’d
introduced him to Nell.

“Why
would she meddle with perfection?”  Locke held his arms out wide.

“Right.” 
Serena smiled, turning her head slightly to look out at the inner garden. 
With only the fountain lit up this evening the courtyard looked shadowy and
mysterious.

“You’re
like an addict aren’t you?  That look on your face.  You spent most
of last night and all of today out there and still it wasn’t enough, was it?”

Serena
felt colour flood her cheeks.  “I can’t stop thinking about the
hospital.”  She took a sip of wine.  “I’d never really thought about
the source of my magic before I was sent to that place.  I can’t believe
how much I took for granted.”