Meave (Naughty Witches Book 1) Page 11

  “Always, but nowhere near what he is now,” I admitted after a few moments. “She reined him in. I heard them fighting sometimes about how much he had changed from the man she’d married, and she wanted that man back.

  “She supported him getting his law degree, but instead of helping people and saving the world like he wanted to do once, he went the darker path.”

  “Ouch.”

  I nodded. “Yeah, but he would never have cheated on her.” I took a few bites, mulling over the whole thing. “I think there was still a chance for him to turn back before she got sick. He wasn’t a bad dad, but wasn’t… He was always so focused on his image, and how I reflected on him.

  “I felt like a status symbol, like his BMW. Mom would smack him upside the head with that, but he didn’t seem to know what to do.

  “After she got sick, he checked out. All he cared about was his stuff, his work, his everything—like trying not to be an asshole backfired, and he got burned with her getting sick, and now it was okay to stop caring.

  “I don’t know. I was a kid, and I know I didn’t get it all but I won’t ever forgive him for checking out on her like that. He married Abby months after we buried Mom.”

  “Ouch, shit,” she whispered, reaching over and rubbing my arm. “I’m sorry. Your mom had to have been awesome, because even with all of that, you grew up so kind and wonderful.”

  “Your gram too.”

  She smiled sadly. “Yeah, she was pretty dark sometimes though. I know some doozies of spells, but in my heart I know she rode that line of using darkness to protect what the light can’t.

  “I know she’d killed people, and I can’t ever condone it, but the only one I knew of for sure was a guy who molested his daughter that was in my class. That’s a guy I’m fine with dying.”

  “Yeah, but it’s still dark for her to have done it—but that’s different than killing for fun or just for the magic,” I muttered, getting the conflict.

  She nodded. “Yeah, so I get a bit mixed on that. I also know some of that power went into the magic that protected me. So I might not have ever killed anyone or done blood magic beyond animals or my own blood, but I’m not truly clean either.”

  I nodded too, considering that. “What else is out there? I mean, are witches it?”

  She shrugged. “I don’t know officially, but I would assume we’re not alone. From what I’ve heard, it’s not something witches discuss.

  “We keep to us, and have enough secrets, we try not to let out so never carry others. From what I’ve caught from other witches, I get the feeling the general rules is, we all ignore what else is out there, and they’ll do the same for us.”

  “So weird,” I chuckled. “I think I’m shocked I’m not more shocked, you know?”

  “I’m trying to be gentle with you,” she purred before turning serious. “What do you want to do in the future? I get the feeling you play football because it’s expected of you, but it’s not where your heart is.” She smiled when I gave her a surprised look. “Witches can read auras if we want, and yours is a conflicted mix when you talk of football and your future.”

  When I didn’t answer right away, she waited until we were done eating before pulling me into her arms.

  “You can tell me anything. I know you have plans and a future, and I would never derail that. I just want to be a part of it.”

  I breathed her in as I kissed along her neck, my hands squeezing her ass. “I’m embarrassed I don’t have any plans. All I want is to wake up to you every morning, like I did today. That’s all I know, and it sounds… Not like the guy you deserve.”

  “Totally into me and devoted to keeping me happy? Yeah, that’s horrid,” she drawled as she ran her nails down my back. “I was pushed into modeling, and I only found my way later. I wouldn’t judge you for feeling lost at eighteen, Ash. I just want you to be open with me.”

  I nodded, hugging her like she was my safety blanket, and summoned the strength to admit what I’d never told anyone.

  “I don’t want to play college football. I think of intentionally fucking up so the scouts will cross me off the list, but I can’t do that to my team, who work so hard. I like football but it lost all its fun a long time ago.

  “From the moment my dad asked me about my stats instead of how I felt about Abby moving in, and how I was doing after Mom died, it’s been this cross I bear.”

  “I bet,” she murmured. “And college?”

  I shrugged. “I want to go. I have no idea what I want to study. I know I don’t want to be a lawyer like Dad—fuck no—but he’s decided I’ll get a business degree before law school, and after touring a few schools and looking at course catalogs, I don’t hate the idea of learning about business. I like it even.”

  “But it’s got an aftertaste, because it’s what he wanted, even if it’s not his path you wanted,” she surmised, sighing when I nodded. “I get it. That doesn’t make you lacking, Ash.

  “Life is confusing for all of us. I was terrified to pick here, and confused about what came next for me. But the good news is, you aren’t locked into that decision forever. You can switch majors or schools. You can change your mind.”

  “You’re such a damn adult,” I chuckled.

  “Well, I am thirty-one,” she teased me.

  “Thirteen years isn’t too bad,” I muttered before I realized what I’d admitted, kissing her neck to take the sting out of it.

  “Yeah, not too bad.” She cleared her throat and leaned away from me, waiting until I looked at her to speak. “Especially when witches stop aging at thirty, unless they stop practicing magic. Then it’s a drain on our bodies. I hear they age and die then.”

  I blinked at her. “And if they keep practicing magic? They live forever?”

  She slowly nodded. “We’re not indestructible, and we can die, but not of heart disease or anything that kills people when they get older.” She let out a slow breath and gave me a worried look. “And we share that with our familiars if bonded.”

  “Holy shit, Meave,” I whispered.

  “Yeah, it’s heavy,” she sighed. “It’s a lot to wrap your mind around, and it took me a while too. I didn’t want to make human friends, as I would outlive them, and that would hurt—but so would being alone forever. I have some witch friends that believe as I do, but we’re not the majority.

  “And then there’s the whole reinventing myself every lifetime or whatever. That’s—that’s going to be tough in the age of social media.”

  “Yeah, but we could actually be together forever,” I breathed, loving the idea which was insane for how short of a time I’d known her.

  She smiled at me. “Yeah, but if something happens to me, you’d die too. It’s how the bond works. A familiar won’t survive the loss of his witch, and vice versa. I would die if I lost you.”

  I opened my mouth but then closed it. “That’s horrible and beautiful. I would hate it if you died because I did, but the idea I could go with you sounds peaceful and romantic.”

  “Oh dear, you are really in love with me,” she teased, beaming at the idea. “There’s no rush, and I would never jump into the decision lightly.”

  I frowned. “But you can keep doing that one time familiar spell, right? I can help you build more power?”

  “Well, um, yeah, but—”

  I kissed her quiet. “I think we should do it like Saturday date night. I had a dream that you put in a large shed, and in the front was all shed stuff, like the mower and whatever for your property.

  “But after that is a sliding door, and behind there, you have everything for tempting the right spirits, like that guy said. Something to tie you up, or me, and you summon a female spirit maybe?”

  She moved her fingers over my lips. “I had the same dream.” She studied my eyes, hers beaming with emotions. “That’s not supposed to happen. A witch doesn’t share dreams like that with her familiar unless long bonded, and even then, most don’t. I’ve only heard of it when fate blesses the u
nion as two souls that were meant to be together.”

  “Yeah, I think fate likes us together,” I whispered, pulling her to me. “I want to protect you too, Meave. We can be the badass team of life, love, and light, and keep you safe and do good. Be together on our terms.”

  “Does that mean you’d consider going to college locally? Where does your dad want to go?”

  “Any Division 1 school. He doesn’t care as long as I play football.”

  “Fuck him.”

  I nodded, but that was easier said than done. With playing football, which he required of me, I had next to nothing saved for college.

  I brought up not playing football once so I could work for college, and he said he’d disown me, laughing at how stupid I was. Which was a joke with my grades, but whatever.

  “Stop worrying,” she whispered gently. “Nothing needs to be decided or handled today besides making you a charm to keep you safe. I just need to know about how Abby interacts with your dad so I don’t make her change too much to protect you, and make it seem odd.”

  I snorted. “He normally stays at his apartment in Denver unless he’s got a case here. He’s barely home.”

  She hopped up on the counter and pulled me to her, cradling my face. “I’ll take care of it. I’ll take care of everything, I promise.” She shook her head when I tried to object. “You really think I wouldn’t take care of my good boy, especially after coming up with such a crazy idea to let me summon spirits once a week so I have power and to be safe? Of course I will.”

  I searched her eyes. “I want to be your greedy boy too, Meave, but I won’t ever take advantage of you.”

  She snorted. “I will have tons of work you can help me with instead of hiring a PA. Fuck, they can always use extra hot guys on shoots, and I could tell Jamison to bring stuff for you too.

  “I’m not offering to be your sugar momma. I’m saying if we’re together, we’re together, and it’s a partnership.” She cleared her throat. “But if you do decide to leave me, that spell will erase all the witch everything from your memory.”

  “I would need my memory erased to ever want to leave you,” I promised, knowing this was a serious fear for her. That was fine—I had my own too.

  We headed for the bathroom, and she let me do more than wash her. I showered her with attention and affection. It seemed hard for her at first.

  It was intimate on a different level than sex—and that made it hard for me too, since I was new to it as well—but then she relaxed and let me, and I felt like I was receiving the greatest gift.

  “You should go see what we did last night while I do some laundry and prep for your charm,” she told me with a smirk. I tried to ask, but she wouldn’t answer besides saying I had to go see for myself.

  Which made me seriously curious to know. I nodded and went out the back, shaking my head how the woman could get me to do anything so easily. Probably because she never asked for anything she shouldn’t. It was building a deep trust, and it meant everything to me.

  I reached the end of the property, where I thought we’d been last night, but… I couldn’t be right. Was she teasing me? I glanced around and flinched when I saw the footprint in the mud when I’d sunk into it last night.

  Slowly, I turned back to the four-foot tree and realized it was a cherry tree. Her magic had made a fucking tree grow overnight. It looked like a nursery had been there and planted a young tree.

  “Un-fucking-real,” I whispered, checking it out from all sides. “So cool.” I stared at it a bit more before turning and jogging back towards the house, needing to see her, needing her to tell me it was real and we’d done that.

  She smiled at me as I hurried through the door. “By early June we’ll be swimming in cherries if you don’t mind some fun under the moon when it’s cold.”

  “It’s real.”

  “It’s really real,” she confirmed. “They’ll be the best cherries you’ve ever had. The tree won’t rot, bugs won’t touch it, and it will give gobs of fruit. It’s Mother Nature’s thank you for giving to her and living in the light. I plan on having a whole grove back there.”

  “You are a miracle,” I whispered, storming over to her and kissing her with all I had as I wrapped her up in my arms.

  She chuckled when I finished jumping her. “Technically, it was your seed that did it. My magic just offered what we shared, but your spunk did it.”

  “So weird,” I chuckled, lowering my forehead to hers. “I so fucking love you. I want to be with you and be this happy, full of joy and life like this.”

  “Me too.”

  I hoped she really did.

  10

  Meave

  The addition progressed nicely, given I was a fill-in and overtime job. It looked like everything outside would be done by the end of October, which was great because now, at the middle of the month, the temperature was dropping and fast.

  Plus, that tarp as a wall freaked me out, and didn’t feel all that secure. Ash hated to leave me alone in the house while it was like that, but even with the charm I’d given him, his stepmom was still the adult of his house, and started trouble if he never came home.

  Something woke me—and not just like realizing I wasn’t sleeping or rolling over and blinking into the dark. No, I was awake, and given it hadn’t been a loud noise, that meant it was my magic. Something was wrong.

  I rolled out of bed and went for my gun I kept ready in one of the top moving boxes until the house was done and I had a more secure place. I flicked off the safety and listened, my heart racing when I heard footsteps downstairs.

  Shit.

  I picked up my phone and was glad I had checked if the area had 911 for text. I sent a message giving my address and that someone was in my house. Relief filled me when I got a response to stay hidden and help was on the way.

  I wasn’t going to stay hidden, but knowing the police were coming was great.

  I snuck out of my room and moved along, hugging the wall as I locked on the person. He wasn’t Ash, even if he was bigger, like him. There was too much anger in his aura. Even when furious, Ash could never have this dark coloring.

  He cursed under his breath and shook his head, giving me the chance to get closer.

  “Do not move,” I said firmly, but not loudly so I didn’t startle him too much or into doing something stupid. “I’m armed, and a good fucking shot.” He flinched, but then stood still. “Slowly raise your hands above your head.”

  “Well, which is it?” he demanded. “Don’t move, or raise my hands?”

  “We’ve progressed to the next step of raising your hands, asshole,” I snapped. What a stupid thing to get upset about when he broke into my house. I waited until he raised his hands. “The police are on their way, so don’t be stupid.”

  “The police? What the fuck are you thinking?” he growled, moving like he was going to turn around.

  “I will shoot you,” I warned, glad when he froze again. “I was thinking someone broke into my house and called the police. Crazy, right?”

  “You’ll regret this,” he seethed.

  I bit back a sigh when I heard the sirens, guessing a patrol had been pretty close for that response time. Moments later, there was banging on the front door, announcing it was them and they got a call.

  “Come around back to the construction,” I called to them. “I’m armed and holding him here.”

  Flashlights lit us up moments later, and I slowly raised my gun when they got closer as they directed. The one came and took it from me, following safety procedures until they got the full picture of the situation.

  “Ma’am, are you the owner of this house?” the first officer asked as the other went to cuff the guy.

  “I am,” I confirmed. “My name is Meave Washington, and I own the property. I sent the text asking for help.” I smiled at him as he called it in. “That was some awesome response time.”

  “We weren’t far on patrol,” he told me. “Normally getting out here takes a b
it longer.” He nodded to the others. “You know this guy?”

  “Yeah, that’s Donovan,” I sighed, scrubbing my hand over my head.

  “That’s Mr. Donovan to you,” he snapped.

  I gave him a look like he was nuts. “Seriously? You’re pulling that elitist Dom shit with me after you broke into my house? I’ll be calling you asshole for life, so shut the fuck up.” I noted amusement dancing in the officer’s eyes. “I met him once when he came out to give me his… Proposal for my renovations.”

  “You paused,” he muttered, jotting down notes.

  “Yeah, because it wasn’t really a proposal, but a lecture, and really unprofessional, so I have a hard time calling it a real meeting.”

  “Excuse me?” Donovan seethed. “Who are you to judge how I handle my business?”

  “Literally the person judging who I would hire,” I reminded him. “You didn’t give a fucking proposal, but rambled for an hour about all I needed to do for all the babies I would birth and how to be a good wife and woman. Fuck and you. It was disgusting, and the fact you have any business shocks me.”

  The officer cut off whatever he was going to reply. “What are you doing here, Mr. Donovan?”

  He looked down his nose at me, and clearly thought he pulled it off, even in handcuffs. “I heard she’d started renovations without even discussing it with me. I came to see for myself on how much had been done.”

  “Right, because I owe you answers,” I drawled, rolling my eyes at his idiocy. “You did a walk-through, and I told you I’d call if I was interested. I wasn’t. How does that lead to you coming to my house at midnight and just fucking waltzing in like you own the place? Are you insane?”

  “It’s a simple misunderstanding,” he growled. “You know who I am, and none of this is necessary.”

  I didn’t need the look from the officer that he disagreed the situation was ended and way over the line to make my decision. I did, however, appreciate the back up. “I’m pressing charges. I met this man once, and if this is how he acts, I’m not taking chances with my safety.”

  “Understood, Ms. Washington. I need to ask you about the gun.”