To Love A Witch

Chapter 14

  

Romy stepped out of Jake’s shower and smelled the ends of her hair. Much better. She didn’t smell quite so fire-roasted any more. Wrapping a red terrycloth robe around herself twice, she walked out into the hallway. A glorious smell was calling her name.
Jake grinned as she came into the kitchen. “Carla delivered a care package. She figured you’d be hungry after playing with that kind of power.”
Hungry didn’t begin to describe it. For food, first, but she had more than one screaming need in her belly. “Thanks for the robe.”
“Please keep it. My mother sends one every Christmas. She swears I’ll need it one day.”
She didn’t really want to think about his mother’s ability to see the future right now. Every hormone in her body was singing.
Jake carried two plates to the table. “Carla also left a message. She said to tell you ‘totally normal’. She said you’d understand.”
Romy tried not to blush. If the way her insides felt right now was the totally normal result of working magic, Franco was a very lucky man. She scooped up some of the linguine as her stomach growled loud enough for Jake to hear.
He just grinned and handed her a slice of warm garlic bread.
“I called the hospital while you were showering. Aylen is fine, and she gave birth to a beautiful baby girl. Molly and Jolie are with her.”
Romy grimaced. “Did Jolie experience all the labor? I’ve heard that can be pretty intense.”
Jake shook his head. “Molly says no; the connection shut off right after the rescue. And she says Jolie’s already angling to bring Aylen and the new baby home with them.”
Oh, boy. Jolie was a force to be reckoned with. “How does Molly feel about that?”
“She has a heart bigger than Tabletop Rock. I’d imagine Jolie just managed to procure herself a baby sister.”
Romy could feel a soft, goopy glow sinking into her belly that was more than just good food. Jolie was one small witch who wouldn’t fall through the cracks. And whatever Aylen’s past, a friend like Molly seemed like a pretty good turn for anyone’s life to take.
“You do good, important work, Jake.”
She saw him start to shake his head, and then stop. “Yeah. I do. And I don’t work alone.”
No. He knew an awful lot of people, from Molly and Carla to people on the end of a phone, willing to do whatever he asked. He was the kind of guy that made a lot of lives better.
Even if he bent a few rules. “So when were you going to tell me about your career as a teenage computer hacker?”
He spoke around his linguine. “It’s a longer career than you think.”
“People go to jail for that kind of thing.” And no one like Jake should ever have to spend a moment in lock-up.
He leaned over and kissed her cheek. “Only if they get caught. In my young and stupid days, that was a distinct possibility. It isn’t any more. Sometimes what’s right and what’s legal aren’t the same thing.”
She could hardly argue with that. Several lives had been on the line tonight.
Including hers. She knew that now. Calling the fire had been an act of sheer, stupid bravery.
She suspected, however, that her bravery couldn’t hold a candle to his. “What was that spell you cast? Sounded like a rap song.”
He shrugged. “I always thought old-fashioned rhyming was boring.”
She closed her eyes and tried to pull the words up. He reached for her hands and saved her the trouble.
“Take her magic, make it mine
Two into one, by love’s design.”
Romy was a novice with spells, but she was pretty sure she had this one worked out. “You weren’t just calling my power, were you.”
He shook his head. “It wouldn’t have been enough.”
Reaching inside, Romy pulled magic to her fingertips until they glowed softly. She stood up and held out her hands. “Love me, Jake.”
He got up from the table and touched his fingertips to hers, moving their hands up until they stood, palms touching. She could feel the magic pulsing. This time it was she who spoke the words.
“Take our magic, his and mine
Two into one, by love’s design.”
She felt the buzz run through her. His grin lit. “Not bad for an amateur.”
The needs she’d managed to quiet down over dinner were back and screaming for an outlet. What was she, a teenage boy?
Her magic might be under control, but her hormones definitely weren’t. “I need you to know two things. One, you matter to me. A lot. And two, I’m fighting a really big need to rip your clothes off. Carla says it’s a side effect of the magic.”
He put his hands on her face. “One. I love you. A lot.” He kissed her gently.
“Two—Franco seems to be a very happy man, so I’d suggest you stop fighting with yourself.”
She ran her hands up under his T-shirt and felt the earth rumble, just a little. He pulled the shirt over his head and sent whatever self-control she had left careening into the ditch. Her shirt followed moments after.
He swooped her up and started walking. When cool air hit her skin, she stopped kissing him long enough to look around. “This isn’t your bedroom.”
He shook his head. “The back yard’s private. And given the tenuous control I have right now, I’d say we’re likely to float sometime this evening. I’ll bang my head on the ceiling if we stay inside.”
It took Romy a moment to figure out what he was saying. “You fly during sex?”
He grinned. “I was sixteen the last time it happened. If it does, don’t let go.”
She couldn’t stop the giggles as he plunked her feet on the ground and pulled her down to the cool grass. His eyes darkened. “Don’t let go.”
Then her need to touch and claim blew all words away. She reached for him with magic, need, and the love she wasn’t quite yet ready to speak.
His hands ran over her body, peeling clothes and leaving her screaming for more. When he finally slid a hand between her legs, she wasn’t sure whether the quaking started inside or out.
Rolling on top of him, she reached for his hands and laced their fingers. Then she rode and fed the fire in both of them.