Bewitching Fire

by Sheritta Bitikofer

  Slowly, Devin eased away and lightly pecked at her lips, both of them breathless and yearning for more. If there was anything comparable to this, Krystal didn’t know it. Earth-quaking, world-shattering, utterly flawless. Was this really happening?

  “You should probably go inside,” he whispered.

  Krystal leaned forward in his embrace to kiss him again, but he denied her.

  What had she done? She opened her eyes, but the sight that met her told her that she had done nothing wrong. He wanted her too. That hunger she had seen after dinner had reemerged and it made her even more feverish.

  At least one of them had enough sense to pull away before it got too serious. She certainly wasn’t the kind of girl to have sex with a man on the first date and he didn’t seem like the kind of guy to push her into it, even if it was consensual.

  Krystal nodded and let her hands fall onto his thick, muscled chest. “I’ll see you tomorrow?” She absolutely hated the way her voice quivered and how the rose hung so loosely in her hands that she might drop it.

  “Without a doubt,” he promised, then gave her one last kiss to help her along.

  Krystal smiled and turned to start up the walkway, only occasionally looking over her shoulder as she went, to see if Devin was watching her. He stood by the brick terrace, his hands thrown back into his pockets and waited for her to step inside before he finally strode back in the direction of Johnston Avenue.

  Once the door was shut, she let out a contented sigh and slumped against the wood panels. The rest of the house was dark and quiet. She half expected for Sierra to come bounding down the stairs, begging for details, but she heard nothing. It was likely that her sister was still awake. The reason she hated getting up early in the morning was because she was always up late at night watching makeup and hair tutorials on YouTube.

  At the moment, Krystal didn’t care if her sister was sleeping or not. She dropped her purse by the door and flipped the rose in her hand like a music composer would as he prepared his orchestra for a phenomenal performance.

  All the lights in the downstairs turned on.

  With a grin, she pointed toward the family room through the wide, cased doorway to the right of the foyer.

  The stereo system whirled to life and the volume cranked up as loud as it could go without blowing out the speakers. Poppy Latino music with its quick drumbeats, trumpets, and guitar blared across the house. She could feel the vibration of the rhythm through the floorboards. She saw a flash of tan and black skitter across the floor and straight up the stairs. Artemis never liked the loud music.

  Krystal danced with each step she took down the foyer, shaking her hips and shoulders like she always did when she was ridiculously happy. That didn’t happen often, but Devin made her this incredibly, absolutely, and stupendously joyful. If she wasn’t careful, she would start levitating. She was that happy.

  She slipped off her coat and tossed it toward the hall butler. It floated through the air for a couple of feet before finding its home on the hook. Krystal belted along with the Spanish words that she didn’t even understand as she salsa-ed her way into the kitchen. She treated herself to some well deserved chocolate truffles that she had been saving for a special occasion. With the taste of Devin’s kiss still on her lips, this was cause for a celebration.

  This just might have been the best night of her life, and there were many more to come. Devin was everything she secretly hoped he would be. Perfect, charming, and an expert panty-soiler if there ever was one. And he wanted her, which made it all the better.

  Krystal lifted the rose and box of candies into the air as she danced the conga around the kitchen island, smiling and singing like an imbecile.

  She was vaguely aware that Sierra was making her way down the stairs and into the foyer, but Krystal refused to let her sister ruin this for her. She’d come in and probably yell at her about waking the dead with her crazy music.

  Suddenly, the music died down and she looked to the entryway of the kitchen. Sierra was standing there, still in her pajamas and hair a little mussed. Obviously, she had been sleeping – or at least trying to.

  “I take it the date went well.”

  Krystal plucked a white chocolate drizzle delight from the packaging and popped it in her mouth.

  “Better than well!” she said with her mouth full. “It was amazing!”

  Sierra laughed. “I can tell. You haven’t come home that happy since you aced your math finals in college.”

  Krystal offered out the box to her. “This is way better than acing my finals.” She waited until Sierra took her own coconut cream filled favorite before going into every detail of how absolutely wonderful the date had been.

  “I mean, there were some things I had to fudge a little, like about mom and dad, but otherwise, it was so great to be with someone that I could be honest and candid with without having to worry about him blowing up.” She showed Sierra the rose he had given her when they met outside the restaurant. “I even blatantly told him that I didn’t like cut flowers and he took it so well. Do you know how many guys would have thrown a fit and had their egos bruised for that?”

  Sierra looked to the rose, eyes wide. “Wow. I’m surprised you even called him out like that.”

  “Well,” she said as she slipped another morsel into her mouth. “I did it tastefully, you know. I explained to him why I didn’t like it, and I told him that next time, he can just get me seeds.”

  Sierra gave her a look. “Next time?”

  Krystal’s smile waivered. “Yeah, next time. Haven’t you been listening? This guy is a dream! A prince straight out of a storybook and you ask me if there will be a next time?”

  Sierra made a twirling motion in the air and the music turned completely off. “Krystal, he’s non-magic. What if mom and dad find out?”

  Krystal dropped the box to the kitchen counter, but held tightly onto her rose. “So what if they find out? This is the twenty-first century. If I love him, they shouldn’t have a problem with it.”

  “Do you? Love him, I mean.”

  She snorted. “It’s only been one date. How am I supposed to know if I love him? I’m only saying, ‘if I love him’. Besides, mom and dad aren’t going to find out about him until I want them to.” Krystal pointed a harsh finger at her sister. “Right?”

  Sierra propped her hand on her hip. “What am I supposed to do if they call and ask for you and you’re out on a date?”

  “Just tell them I’m out with friends. It’s not that hard.”

  “Lying to mom is impossible, you know that,” Sierra said. “She’s got the second-sight, remember?”

  Krystal rolled her eyes. That had to be one of the most useful, passive specialties any witch could have. Some could levitate, some could conjure storms, and some could see through time and space like their mother. She could tell if someone was lying just by searching their hearts. Krystal and Sierra could get away with nothing when they were children.

  “Fine, then tell her I’m having dinner with a guy. It’s telling the truth, but it’s not giving any details.”

  Sierra nodded. “And then she starts asking for details and the shit will hit the fan. You know they want us to marry warlocks. Wealthy, notable, influential warlocks.”

  Krystal’s mood might have been officially killed. “No one said I would marry Devin.”

  “What if it goes that far?”

  She couldn’t believe that her sister was thoroughly tainting this night for her. “Why didn’t you say anything about this before I left? I was being Miss Downer and you were trying to pep me up. What changed?”

  Sierra was quiet for a long moment and Krystal could sense the heaviness settle in the kitchen. “Mom called asking if everything was all right.”

  A twinge of fear snaked around Krystal’s heart and squeezed. Another thing she could do was sense when something wasn’t quite right in the universe, especially with her daughters. When Krystal got turned down for her business loan the first t
ime, her mom was there in an instant to pick up the pieces and encourage her to keep trying, though she wasn’t all that thrilled about the idea of her daughter being a businesswoman in the first place.

  “What did you tell her?”

  “I told her that you had an important thing tonight that you had been stressing about, but not to worry.”

  Krystal let out a tight breath and moved toward one of the cupboards to find a tall glass for the rose. “Did she pry?”

  “No, but she certainly sounded like she wanted more details. I danced around the truth as best as I could, but I don’t know if I could cover for you a second time.”

  She found an old glass soda bottle and ran some water into it. “Thank you anyway. Next time, just tell her to call my cellphone and I’ll try to lie to her myself, so you won’t get in trouble.”

  Since that catastrophe was taken care of, Krystal spun her finger toward the living room again to rekindle the peppy Latino music again. “For now, I’m going to enjoy Devin while I can.”

  She found her rhythm again and bobbed to the beat. Sierra, probably knowing that she wasn’t going to win this battle, simply threw up her hands and danced with her sister. She might not have known the words, but she could be happy that Krystal was happy, even if they narrowly avoided getting busted by their mother.

  Devin was in their lives now, for better or for worse, and though they still had a long way to go before love could even be a possibility, Krystal somehow knew nothing would ever be the same for her again.

  Chapter Five

  “I’m not telling you shit,” Devin replied when his partner tried to winkle out the details about last night’s date with Krystal.

  “Come on, man!” he exclaimed as they managed to find a parking spot just across the street from the coffee shop. “You go on a date with someone as straight-laced as Krystal Hayden and you expect me to just drop it?”

  Devin’s heart was pounding a mile a minute, knowing he was about to see Krystal again. The night before had been nothing short of fantastic. Despite the way she passed him half-truths about certain things, he thought they really hit it off. And that kiss in front of her house… there were no words to describe how absolutely perfect it was. He didn’t make a practice of kissing a girl on the first date, but Krystal’s lips had been calling out to him all night long. When the opportunity presented itself, he couldn’t pass it up.

  Though Devin wasn’t going to tell Aaron any of that, his comment about being straight-laced made him wonder.

  “What do you mean someone as ‘straight-laced’ as Krystal? She seemed pretty laid back to me at the restaurant.”

  Aaron checked his mirrors as he parallel parked between a hunter green minivan and a blue Nissan. “Ever since I’ve known Krystal, she’s been pretty… how can I say it without being mean…”

  Devin shot him a wicked glare. “If you’re going to be mean, I’d rather you not say anything at all.”

  Aaron waved him off and angled his wheels before turning off the engine. “No, it’s not a bad thing. She’s just cares a lot about her business and she can be a little anal about it, I guess. Like, obsessively dedicated. I’m surprised she even agreed to go on a date with you when she could have been working. I’ve driven by the place long after closing and I see her inside with the lights on, working on paperwork at a table or cleaning something. She’s just pretty one-minded when it comes to running that coffee shop. That’s all.”

  Devin shrugged. He already knew all of that. The way she had talked about her business the night before, he would have expected nothing less. “So, the shop’s like her baby. She’s just trying to do a good job.”

  “Right,” Aaron said as he slid out of the driver’s seat. “Which is why it doesn’t make any sense that she would take time off from her business to go out on a date with you. No offense.”

  He had to smile. “None taken. I can’t help it if she’s into me.”

  Into him was an understatement. Krystal seemed just as entranced as he was, maybe more. All night long, he replayed their long, open conversations and the way she responded to his kiss. There was no doubt in his mind that she wanted more and if he hadn’t pulled away, they might have taken it inside. The only reason he did pull away was because he didn’t want the evening to end awkwardly. They both had work in the morning, and he was sure Krystal wouldn’t have appreciated her sister being in the next room while they had wild sex all night long.

  The coffee shop wasn’t quite as crowded as it had been the day before, which he counted as a blessing. Now, he could stand at the counter and chat with Krystal without the reminder that there were other customers waiting in line to place their order. Maybe there was an advantage to coming a little later in the morning, rather than right after they opened for the day. Though, the wait to see her again had been killing him slowly.

  Krystal was working one of the espresso machines instead of manning the register. Her back was turned to him, but he savored the view. She wore a gray, lightweight sweater that hung off one of her shoulders and he could just spy a tiny piece of the tattoo he had seen the night before. The tank top she wore underneath covered up most of it.

  He followed Aaron to the front counter, though his eyes were glued to Krystal as he watched her pour grounds in and work the handles on the machine like a pro.

  “Hey Aaron,” Valerie greeted as they approached. Immediately, Devin saw Krystal go still and she slowly turned her head. Her black ponytail swayed with the movement and he caught sight of her lovely brown eyes looking at him.

  If he didn’t have any sense at all, he would have moved around the end of the counter, took her hair in his hand and kissed down her neck until she begged them to go into the back room for some privacy.

  “Good morning, Valerie,” Aaron replied. “And how is your mood today?”

  From the corner of his eye, he saw the sassy barista flip him the bird, and there was a completely black ring on her finger that she didn’t have a problem showing off. “I don’t know. You tell me.”

  “Looks like you’re not happy.”

  Devin turned his attention away just for a second to watch the show. Aaron had a crafty smirk on his face, but Valerie was in no mood to play along. Was she wearing a darker eyeshadow than the day before?

  “Bingo,” she snarked with a sneer.

  “What do I win?” he laughed.

  “Play nice, Valerie,” Alexa scolded as she made her way around the counter with a tray of dirty mugs.

  The other owner of Perfect Books and Brews wiped the frown off her face and pretended like she was glad to be working that day. Wonder what got shoved up her ass.

  “The usual?” she asked.

  “Yes, ma’am.”

  Valerie’s eyes narrowed, though she kept the smile on her face for her business partner’s sake.

  “Call me ‘ma’am’ one more time and I swear I’ll spit in your coffee.”

  Aaron held up his hands in surrender. “No need to threaten my life,” he laughed.

  “I’ll have coffee. Black,” Devin told her.

  She rang up their orders, but Krystal was already there with his cup, ready to go. “I expected you two to come in a lot earlier,” she commented as Valerie stepped away to prepare Aaron’s drink with his special mug.

  “We got held up at the station for a morning meeting,” Devin said. He didn’t realize how much he missed the sound of her voice until she was actually speaking to him again.

  “In that case,” she said softly, leaning forward, “I hate morning meetings.”

  “Me too, especially when I’d rather be elsewhere.”

  It didn’t occur to him that Aaron was still standing there until his partner slapped him on the back. “I’ll let you two talk,” he said before walking away.

  Seconds ticked by, but Devin hardly noticed as they gazed at one another, silent and publicly unacceptable feelings communicated with just a single look.

  “Did you sleep well?” he asked.
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br />   Krystal smiled and he almost forgot to breathe. Damn she had a way with him. “Yeah, I did. Why? Do I look tired?”

  Devin shook his head. “No, not at all. We just got back to your place pretty late last night.”

  She giggled. “It wasn’t that late. Besides, I can go to bed at midnight and still wake up at five in the morning. Silly biological clock.”

  “That’s good to know,” he said with a furtive grin.

  Krystal leaned forward onto her elbows, the collar of her sweater dipping just enough that he could see the smooth skin of her chest. “Why is that?”

  He copied her movement, their noses just inches away. What he would have given for them to be alone right then. “Now I know that if I keep you up all night, you won’t suffer for it in the morning.”

  That slight rosy shade plumed in her cheeks. “And what about you? Are you a night owl?”

  Suddenly, it felt as if the air in the coffee shop jumped ten degrees hotter. “I can certainly last all night, if that’s what you’re asking.”

  Krystal moved away a little and bowed her head to her forearms before letting out a string of giggles. Her black hair fell over her shoulder and Devin couldn’t resist the urge to reach out and toy with the tips of the strands.

  Just like the morning before, Valerie interrupted them and delivered Aaron’s drink across the counter. Before he had a chance to apologize for breaking her friend, Valerie moved away to leave Krystal with her laughter.

  “I’m sorry,” she said after she composed herself. “It’s just been a really long morning and you’re making it so much better.”

  Devin grinned. “I’m glad I could be of service.” A devilish idea popped in his mind and he lowered his voice to a whisper. “But my services come with a price.”

  “Is it affordable?” she asked in a hushed tone. “Because I don’t pay myself until next week.”

  “I think it’s a reasonable price. And don’t worry, you don’t have to pay a dime out of your pocket. What are you doing tonight?”