Witch Way To Jingle

by Dawn Sullivan

  “I did,” Desi agreed, sending his brother a glance that Dominic found hard to decipher. “But that was then, this is now.”

  “Why?” He couldn’t get anymore than that one word out. His head felt so heavy, he could hardly keep it up to look at them.

  “Because, Dom,” Desi said, kneeling down beside his chair and meeting his gaze. “I care about you both, and I want to see you as happy as we are.”

  “That will never happen,” he muttered, trying to pry open eyes that had somehow drifted shut.

  “Why not?”

  Dominic heard the confusion in his sister-in-law’s voice, but couldn’t say anything more than a muttered, “Don’t deserve her.”

  “What’s he talking about?” Desi demanded loudly.

  “Let’s get you to bed, Brother.”

  Dominic grunted when Drake hauled him up out of the chair and threw him over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes in one smooth motion, but was unable to say a word.

  “Drake, what did he mean by that?”

  “I’ll explain later.”

  No! He didn’t need others knowing about that night. It was his personal demon. His cross to bear. His secret, dammit!

  Dominic felt Drake drop him on his bed, and someone removed his shoes.

  “Maybe the spell was too powerful?”

  What? What spell?

  “Naw, Dom’s just really tired, sweetheart.”

  His fucking brother had used a spell on him? Inside, Dominic seethed with anger, but he was unable to speak or even move. There was going to be hell to pay when he could, though. He and Drake had made a pact a long time ago to never use their magic on each other, unless it was in dire circumstances.

  “He’s going to be angry when he wakes up.” It was his grandmother’s voice, and she sounded more matter-of-fact than worried.

  “Well, we’ll let him think I was the one who turned him into Sleeping Beauty, so he doesn’t turn that anger on you, Grandma.”

  Wait, a minute. It was his grandmother who knocked his ass out?

  “Let him know it was me,” Victoria said. “Little shit deserves it after what he plans on putting that young woman through.”

  What?

  Dominic fought to stay lucid. He needed to know what his grandmother meant. What was he planning on putting Willow through? The only thing he was going to do was stay away from her so that she had a chance at a better life than she would ever have with someone like him.

  “Go home, Desi. I’ll stay with my brother.”

  That was the last thing Dominic heard before he succumbed to the darkness that was calling to him.

  Chapter Three

  “Oh, my Goddess!” Tilly gasped, tears streaming down her cheeks as she giggled uncontrollably. “I can’t believe you turned the toy Miata into an ice freaking cube! That’s golden!”

  “What happened after you unthawed the car?” Arabella asked, her golden-brown eyes lit with laughter.

  “I have no idea,” Willow said with a shrug.

  “None at all?” Desi asked, arching an eyebrow in disbelief.

  Willow let a grin spread across her face, knowing her eyes were filled with mischief as she replied, “Well, I may have peeked out the window a little later and I might have seen the wife throwing some clothes out on the lawn.”

  “And?” Raelyn took a draw from her beer as she waited for Willow to continue.

  Willow glanced around at the women—her coven and laughed. “Fine. The girlfriend…”

  “Miss Trampy Tramp herself,” Calla cut in, sticking her tongue out.

  “The one and only,” Willow agreed. “She’d already left, but the man was banging on the front door begging his wife to let him in, as she was throwing his clothes out of an upstairs window.”

  “And?” Leighton encouraged, shoving some popcorn into her mouth?

  “Well, he finally gave up on trying to get inside, and went to get some clothes to put on.” Willow looked over at the Christmas movie that was playing on her seventy-five-inch television, biting her bottom lip, before she said, “Let’s just say, the poor man had a hard time capturing the clothing that was flying all over the yard.”

  “You didn’t!” Brinley cried, her loud giggles ringing out in the room. “I would have paid to see that!”

  “Poor man, my ass,” Desi said, taking a sip of her white wine. “Stupid fool, if you ask me.”

  “I agree.”

  Willow swallowed hard, moving a hand up to lightly rub over the pain in her chest, right over her heart. It had started a couple of months ago, the night she met Dominic Hamilton. She knew what it was—what it meant. Desi had explained it to her. She also knew the only way it would go away was after they completed their bond, one designated by the Goddess herself. That didn’t mean she had to follow through with it. Hell, the man was frustrating and didn’t even hardly talk to her, much less act like he wanted to spend the rest of his life together, which was just fine with her. Even if it hurt, both physically and emotionally.

  “You okay?” Desi asked softly, while the others continued to joke about what had taken place the day before. When Willow looked over at her, but didn’t reply, Desi lowered her eyes to where Willow was still rubbing at that ache over her heart.

  Willow let her hand fall to her lap, looking back over at the TV. “Yes.”

  “Liar.”

  Willow shook her head, not wanting to discuss it in front of the others. They were all her sisters, but she wasn’t ready to share this with them.

  “This has gone on long enough, Willow. We’re talking tonight.”

  Before Willow could say anything else, like tell her bestie to mind her own damn business, there was a loud knock on the door upstairs. She jumped up, grateful for the distraction, and set her bottle of beer on the coaster beside her half empty bucket of popcorn. “I’ll be right back.”

  “You aren’t getting out of this,” Desi called out, her voice trailing behind Willow as she ran up the stairs.

  She made it to the door in record time, opening it without bothering to check who was on the other side first, and froze. “What are you doing here?” Her question was abrupt and to the point, but seriously, couldn’t she catch a break? All she’d asked for was a few weeks off. That was it. Obviously, it was too much.

  Derek Johnson stood on her front porch steps, dressed to the nines in a black tuxedo and shoes that looked like they’d been spit shined. He gave her what she was sure he considered a bashful grin, but it just made her skin crawl. “Hey.”

  Crossing her arms over her chest, she raised her eyebrows and asked again, “What are you doing here, Derek?”

  This was her home. Her happy fucking place. Hers. No one came here unless she invited them, and he hadn’t been invited.

  “I just wanted to see you, Willow.” Shoving his hands in his front pockets, he lifted his shoulders in a small shrug. “Is that so hard to believe?”

  “Yes.”

  Willow was aware of Desi coming up behind her and watched Derek’s reaction when his gaze left hers to go to her friend. His eyes widened, along with his grin. Cocking his head to the side, he said, “Well, hello there. I’m Attorney Derek Johnson. And you are?”

  “Married to a billionaire,” Desi said dryly, ignoring the hand Derek held out to her. “Willow, Drake just called. He and Dom are going out and would like us to meet up with them. You in?”

  Willow stiffened at the mention of Dominic, her heart beginning to race. She hadn’t seen the man who supposedly was meant for her in a long time. Not since the end of November. Did she want to see him? The answer was an easy one, even though she knew it shouldn’t be.

  “Yep.”

  “Where are you going?” Derek interrupted. “I’d love to come.”

  “Sorry, but it would be kind of strange to take you on a date with us,” Desi said, giving him a tight smile as she grasped Willow’s upper arm and tugged her back so she could shut the door.

  “Wait! I came here to talk to W
illow.”

  “Sorry, she’s busy.” No sooner did the words leave Desi’s mouth, than she slammed the door in Derek’s surprised face.

  “Come on, Willow,” Derek called out, as Desi turned both the lock on the doorknob and the deadbolt. “Let’s talk about this.”

  When Desi turned to look at her, as if asking silently if she really wanted to talk to the man, Willow shook her head and mouthed, “Let’s go.”

  Nodding, Desi made her way down the hall toward the back door where their coven sisters now stood, putting on their coats.

  “Who’s riding with who?” Willow asked, grabbing her white parka and slipping her arms into the puffy sleeves. She slid her feet into dark brown boots that came up to just beneath her knees next and then grabbed the keys that hung next to the door.

  “We’re going to take my car,” Desi said, shrugging into her own coat. “I parked on the street behind your house. Everyone else is going home, so they’ll take their own vehicles.”

  “What? Wait, a minute. I assumed we were all going together.”

  Desi shook her head as she slid on a pair of gloves. “Nope, you’re stuck with me. They all have better things to do.”

  “Like what?” Willow argued, glaring at the other women.

  “Like sleep,” Arabella said, giving Willow a quick hug. “Tilly and I are parked in front. We are going to walk around the side of the house and distract the douchebag still waiting on your front porch.”

  “See you later, Willow!” Tilly sent her a grin before following Arabella outside into the darkness.

  “We’ll go around the other side of the house,” Calla said, slipping outside, with the others following her.

  “Seriously,” Willow murmured, looking around in confusion, “what just happened?”

  “We are saving you from the man out front,” Desi teased, catching her hand and dragging her out the door, then making sure it was locked behind them.

  “But…”

  “Shhh,” Desi whispered, putting her gloved finger up to her lips. “We need to hurry. He’s already looking for you.”

  Willow realized in surprise that her friend was right. The distraction of her coven didn’t seem to be working. Derek was asking rather loudly where she was.

  “What is wrong with him?” It didn’t make sense. Derek had flirted hardcore with her in the past, but always moved on when she shot him down. This was something altogether different, bordering on stalker material. If she was honest, it was starting to freak her out.

  “I have no idea, but let’s get the hell out of here.”

  Willow followed Desi through her back yard, realizing too late that her white coat had been a bad idea. It stood out brightly in the darkness. Derek rounded the side of the house just as they reached her back gate.

  “Willow, please, just listen to me.”

  “Look, Derek, I have no idea what’s going on here, but I’ve already told you how I feel.”

  “I just want a chance,” he said imploringly, making his way through a small snowdrift as he came up to her fence. “I think we could do great things together.”

  “Not a chance, buddy,” Desi cut in, tugging Willow through the back gate. “Willow already has someone to do great things with.” With a slight wave of her hand, she stopped Derek in his tracks long enough for them to make it to her car and slide quickly inside.

  “I can’t believe you just did that,” Willow groused, putting her seatbelt on, before glancing through the back window and waving her own hand to undo the spell.

  “That guy was starting to get on my nerves.”

  “That guy is one of my bosses.”

  “The dirty one who is always trying to get in your pants.”

  “Yeah, but…”

  “But what?” Desi asked, glancing over at her.

  “This was just… off.”

  “Off how?”

  “I don’t know. I mean, he’s always been a slimeball, but right now I feel…”

  “Violated?” Desi asked quietly.

  “Yeah.” Willow glanced down at her hands before looking over at her friend. “He came to my home, Desi.”

  “Your sanctuary.”

  “After I just told him in no uncertain terms that there was not now, nor would there ever be, anything between us.”

  Desi was silent for a moment before she said, “I think you need to talk to someone about this, Willow.”

  “Like who?”

  “I don’t know. The police?”

  Willow shook her head. “No, there isn’t anything they can do about it. He hasn’t done anything illegal.”

  “Well, file a restraining order against the bastard.”

  “Kind of hard to do when he’s my boss,” Willow muttered, a short laugh escaping; although no part of her felt like laughing right now.

  “Willow, this is serious. I got a very fucked up vibe from that guy.”

  Willow sighed, leaning her head back against the car seat. If she was honest with herself, she’d been getting bad vibes from Derek for over a year now, but she shrugged it off. She had one goal at Johnson and Johnson, and that was making partner. She was so close; she could taste it.

  “I really think you need to tell someone about this,” Desi insisted. “Whether it be the police or someone higher up than him at your company. It needs to stop.”

  She was right. Everything Desi was saying, Willow had already thought. It was following through with the action that was bothering her.

  “It’s not as easy as you would think, Desi. You don’t understand.”

  “So, explain it to me.”

  Desi turned down the street that would take them into the business district of their city, and Willow realized she had no idea where they were going. Not that it mattered. The end result was going to be her, in the same room with Dominic Hamilton. If anything, it would ease the ache in her chest slightly so she could focus, and possibly figure out what to do about her current situation with her douchebag stalker.

  “Derek Johnson is the grandson of Henry Johnson, the owner of Johnson and Johnson Law Firm.”

  “Well, shit.”

  “Yeah, and it gets worse.”

  “Can’t get much worse than that.”

  “His father was the other owner of the company. He died a few years ago, right after they brough Derek on. Since then, Henry has been grooming Derek to take over the company when he retires in a couple of years.”

  “Wait, a minute. Exactly how old is Derek? Because the man I just saw looked like he had to at least be in his late thirties.”

  “He’s forty-two.”

  “So, that would make his grandfather how old?”

  “Henry is eighty-three. I think he would have retired already, except Derek is a little…” Willow paused, searching for the right word.

  “He’s an egotistical asshat who isn’t yet capable of running a law firm.”

  “That pretty much sums it up.”

  Desi pulled into the parking lot at Club Nightlife, cutting the engine before turning to look at Willow. “Why haven’t you told me any of this before? I mean, you told me a little bit about Derek, but not exactly who he was, or how much he scares you.”

  Willow could hear the hurt in Desi’s voice, and knew she’d messed up not sharing more with her friend, but that just wasn’t the kind of person she was. She tended to keep most things to herself, not wanting to involve anyone else in her problems. “It really wasn’t that bad until recently,” she hedged. And, for the most part, it was the truth.

  “Still, you should have said something.”

  “You’re right. I’m sorry.”

  Desi was quiet for a moment, then reached over to cover Willow’s hand with hers. “It doesn’t matter. The main thing is that you told me now.”

  For the first time in years, Willow felt tears prick the back of her eyes as she whispered, “Thank you.”

  “Just one thing, Willow.”

  “Yeah?”

  “If you refuse
to tell anyone, there is only one thing we can do.”

  Willow’s eyes narrowed on Desi, knowing she shouldn’t ask, but couldn’t help herself. “What’s that?”

  “Call the coven in, of course. Were gonna light that freaky bastard on fire. It will teach him to mess with one of us.”

  “Desi!”

  “Or,” Desi said, opening her door, “we can turn him into a drooling zombie. That could be fun.”

  “Desi, seriously!”

  Desi met her gaze steadily, her brown eyes taking on a golden, glowing tint. “I am serious, Willow. No one fucks with my sister.”

  Willow felt the woman’s vow deep in her soul. Desi was going to be the High Priestess of the Sapphire Coven someday, there was no doubt in her mind. And she would always protect them, no matter the cost.

  Chapter Four

  “What are we doing here, Drake?”

  It wasn’t the first time Dominic had asked the question, and he was still waiting impatiently for an answer. He’d finally woken up just a couple of hours ago from the long ass catnap his grandmother had put him in. Before he knew what was happening, his brother had shoved him into the shower, waited until he put on some clothes, and then dragged him out of the house and down to the bar. It had been months since he’d been to a bar, and he had no desire to be there now.

  “Meeting Desi and Willow for drinks.”

  Dominic slowly put the tumbler of whiskey he was holding down in front of him, leaned forward, placing his forearms on the table and growled, “You mind repeating yourself, Brother?”

  “You heard me.”

  “Just the four of us?”

  “Yes.”

  “Why?”

  “Because you are too bullheaded to pick up the phone and call the woman, you can’t stop thinking about. You need her.”

  He was right, and Dominic knew it. He’d fought against it for so long, but not only did he want Willow, he did need her. Still, that didn’t make it right. “She could do better.”