Witch Way Out

by Kate Richards

  Blessed Lady, if I escape from this, I will clean up my act and not aggravate any trolls. Last time, she’d had to hitch a ride on an oil tanker from the arctic after traipsing over miles of tundra to get home. Trolls were not the most forgiving sorts at all. And the tornado in the desert...troll-generated?

  The only thing that would lift the curse, if indeed it was one, would be releasing her house to the foul creature and just no on that one.

  After considering her other options, she sighed and started up the stairs. Her purse was up there, and, if the curse hadn’t hit it, too, she’d just remembered had a package of Ding Dongs from that stop at 7-Eleven. A little chocolate and creamy filling to help her think out her next move.

  As she set her foot upon the first stair, Ralphie turned up to rub against her leg. If he hadn’t had such a glint in his eye, she might have mistaken his gesture for sympathy. “Why can’t you talk?” she berated him. “I need a sounding board and, as a familiar, you’re about as useless as a cat. A cat with attitude.”

  His expression changed subtly. Tragic, almost-round eyes and a twitching nose. Maybe she’d misjudged him. Then he lunged.

  “Ouch. You bit me! I’m taking you to the shelter first thing in the...owww!”

  Brriinggg.

  Rubbing at the spot on her thigh bearing the reddened marks of Ralphie’s teeth, she shook her head. He’d managed to find the narrow band of skin between high boots and short skirt. “I’ll deal with you after I answer the door.” As her hands closed on the knob, she blinked. “The door! It’s back. Did you do this, kitty? You’re such a good kitty, Ralphie. I’m going to cook you a whole salmon for your dinner.” She bit her lip. “Not tonight, because I don’t have a salmon, but tomorrow. I’ll go the store and get it for you. Unless we have salmon for dinner next door, in which case I’ll bring you a dog...kitty bag!” What would she feed the familiars tonight? If her neighbor had left anything for her to eat, she’d pocket a kitty bag’s worth for her brilliant associate. The harshams would eat anything, including her clothes, but she could also shove them out into the yard to graze. Where were those little dickenses, anyway? Hopefully not caught in the alternate reality of the curse, but they’d seemed immune to the troll’s previous shenanigans.

  Delighted to be back in the real world, she pulled the door open to face a huge, glowering bear shifter. Swallowing hard, she mustered a smile. “Hello, neighbor. I was just on my way over. I hope I am not too late.”

  “You are.” He narrowed his golden eyes at her, the furry critter dangling from his fingers, again, doing nothing to lower his level of ferociousness, despite their ultra-cuteness. “An hour. I have half a mind to rescind your invitation.” Turning away, he growled over his shoulder. “But I’m always an excellent host, and I want to set things on the right path between us. Coming?”

  “Yuvan?” she asked in her sweetest voice. “Did you forget something?” He still held her two lesser familiars.

  “Yeah. To eat instead of wait for you.”

  She shuddered at the images his words evoked then pulled it together and addressed the cat. “I’ll bring you something nice, Ralphie. I guess the kids are coming with.”

  Sounded like the food was still there to be had.

  Yuvan had stomped almost all the way home, listening to the rapid tap-tap of his neighbor’s sky-high sparkly purple boots, when he remembered the furry scarf and the other animal clinging to his leg. He’d intended to fling them at her and go home alone instead of revisiting his invitation to dinner. Something about that female got under his skin, and now he had the choice of turning around and having her take them back home or proceeding the rest of the way to his house as if he wore furry, sharp-clawed creatures as accessories every day.

  His bear wondered what they would taste like, but no matter how Miss Tina the Witch behaved, it was no excuse for him to lose his manners. Sorry, we’ll go hunt something regular in the woods after she goes home if you’re still hungry, okay?

  No response, but he’d learned long ago the bear didn’t like to be thwarted in his snack requests, so he let it lie.

  “Just stay on me, and I’ll let you play in the bathtub when we get to my house, okay?” he mumbled to the little burrs sticking to him, as if they understood, but their chittering sounded agreeable, so he continued on. “Just this once, though. I don’t have enough cleanser to clean up a third time.”

  Now he was talking to strange animals. Not shifter animals with their intelligence at least equal to humans but odd little crossbreeds who hung out with witches and did unspeakable things to porcelain.

  “Wait up, Yuvan!” The rat-tat of her steps sped up as she came even with him. “Don’t be mad. I really am sorry to be late, and I promise next time, when we go out, to be ready at least ten minutes early.” Her voice rang with false sincerity. “Honest.”

  Never trust someone who says “honest.”

  As he reached the top step of his porch, Tina said, “Detach. Go home,” and his accessories released the spikes digging into his flesh and disappeared. “Thanks for being so tolerant of the harshams. They don’t like most people. It’s quite a compliment that they keep coming over to spend time with you.”

  “I can do without that kind of compliment,” he growled, opening his door and standing back to allow her to precede him inside. “Please keep them home from now on.”

  “I’ll do my best.”

  “You know, it was the weirdest thing. I got the impression they were trying to get me to come over, like to rescue you or something. But that’s silly.”

  “What? Oh, yeah. Silly. Why would I need rescuing from my own house?” She stood in the middle of the foyer, the living room laid out before her. “Oh. My. Goddess. This is what you make for a casual last-minute dinner invitation?”

  He felt the grin turning up the edges of his lips despite his intent to be strict with her. She’d broken a couple of his rules. All that noise and not showing up. Had she planned to come at all? If he hadn’t arrived on her doorstep, would she still be home? Of course not.

  Look at her outfit.

  “Is this what you wear for a casual last-minute dinner at a neighbor’s?” he echoed.

  She twirled, and the short skirt rose even higher, widening the tantalizing strip of pale flesh between her skirt and her boots. If he’d been wolf, he’d have howled. As it was, the bear rumbled within him, that word he didn’t want to hear. The M word.

  No way. Even if we wanted a mate, which we do not, it would not be her. She’s everything we despise.

  Beauty, power, and she needs us. We have already rescued her once.

  Rescued her? Maybe from our wrath at her tardiness, but I hardly think that’s—

  “Excuse me?” Tina batted her extra-long eyelashes at him, emerald eyes shining. “I think our dinner is getting cold.” She hovered next to the rug until he waved her to be seated.

  “It’s already cold. At least some of it.” He settled across from her, managing not to jump for joy at the parts of her the position on the floor revealed. And the lust it engendered. Hungers of all kinds swamped him. “I hope you like Moroccan food.” Lifting the tall chimney-like lid off a cherry-red tagine, he displayed the still-hot lamb inside.

  “Silverware?” She eyed the feast with eagerness, her pink tongue slipping out to swipe over her full lower lip. His cock throbbed.

  “Nope. We eat with our hands.” He passed her a damp towel. “To wipe your fingers. Sorry it’s not warm, but you understand.”

  “An hour late. You mentioned that. Well, thank you for not gobbling it all down.”

  Wiping his hands on his own towel preparatory to digging in, he paused. “What are you implying?”

  She batted her lashes again and offered a wide smile, revealing teeth whose white straightness was interrupted by the sexiest slightly crooked eye teeth he’d ever seen. “That the food looks so delicious it would be hard to resist?”

  He hmphed and reached for a flatbread. “Let’s just eat.
” Lifting an etched silver teapot, he held the spout over one of a pair of small cups. “Mint tea? It’s from my own garden. Or wine?”

  “May I have both?”

  “A woman after my own heart. A two-fisted drinker.”

  “I didn’t mean...” She looked so dismayed, her lips parted.

  “Teasing. Of course you may have both. You can have it all.” If only he could.

  Chapter Four

  Tina flopped back onto the thick pile of the rug and groaned. “I’ve never been so full in my life. Thank heavens you don’t have dessert.”

  “I have a couple of them, but if you’re not interested...” Yuvan arched a brow. A challenge.

  She patted her belly and slapped her hand over her mouth to cover a delicate burp. Or maybe she only hoped it was delicate. “I wouldn’t want to be rude after all your hard work.”

  “No, it’s okay. I am happy to eat them myself.”

  She pushed herself back up to sitting and took another sip of wine from the gorgeous ruby-toned glass he’d provided her with. “Everything is so wonderful. I don’t want to miss a bite.”

  He picked up the last of the delicious flatbreads, tore off a triangle, and wiped up the final smear of the white bean hummus. For such big hands, he ate with surprising delicacy. Sure, he’d put away a great deal of food, but unlike her scramble to consume, he’d done it without a single spot on his white Moroccan shirt with gold and silver embroidery. Dressed for the occasion. “I’m glad you enjoyed it.”

  Tina watched him chew and swallow, the dark-golden-brown shadowed jaw moving slowly and with purpose. “What kind of bear are you?” she blurted then slapped a hand over her mouth. “I’m sorry! I’ve heard you’re not supposed to ask questions like that, and there I go and do it the first time we get together.”

  He blinked at her. “No, it’s okay. I wasn’t sure if you knew I was a bear at all. Most people don’t.”

  She shrugged. “I might not be so aware, but I just spent time at the home of the Shifter Whisperer. Zelda. She’s got every kind of shifter coming and going from her home at all hours of the day and night. I didn’t even know there were so many kinds. Where I come from, we usually only saw coyotes, a few road runners, once an eagle.”

  “Really? Sounds pretty desolate. Where was it?”

  “The Mojave Desert.” Remembering her destroyed home brought up more pain than expected, so she shrugged it away. “But I liked it there. It was all right. Let’s talk about you. Have you lived here long?” It was really starting to bother her that she couldn’t remember where she’d heard his last name before. Ursa. Meant bear, for sure, but wasn’t there a family...

  “Six months.” He smiled, and she forgot anything but his face. “Beautiful area, isn’t it?”

  “Yeah.” She flashed him a grin. “I couldn’t resist the house. Having such a nice neighbor makes it even better. I hope we’ll be good friends.”

  Because she wasn’t looking for more right now, despite what her libido insisted on. She had a lot to do to get her business up and running again, not to mention finding a spell to undo the curse on her house. What if her cat hadn’t been handy? Ralphie spent a lot of time out hunting and didn’t even come home every night. Yuvan hadn’t answered her question, but it didn’t really matter what kind of bear he was. Hot bear. Hot man. Golden man, in his eyes, skin tone, and hair, which curled luxuriously on top of his head, spilling over his ears and onto this forehead.

  “Excuse me a moment.” He disappeared into the back of the house and came out again. “Let’s have our dessert and coffee outside.” His deep tone sent shivers down her spine. Would it be so terrible to indulge her senses just for one evening?

  “Sure.” She pushed to her knees then wobbled onto the heels of her boots without falling. A win! “Lead the way.”

  He strolled down a long hallway leading from the front to the back of his home, paused in the kitchen to pick up an elegant silver coffee service, and out into the backyard. A gazebo stood in the middle, lights twinkling from its rooftop. Benches piled with cushions lined the interior, and, as they neared it, she could see yet another silver tray, this one laden with pastries and a bowl of orange slices. The man had quite the tray collection.

  Tina sank onto one of the benches and watched as Yuvan filled tiny cups with steaming coffee and passed her one.

  “You really go all out,” she said, taking a sticky diamond-shaped pastry from a plate he offered her. “How often do you entertain?”

  “Not often.” He sat next to her and lifted his own cup. “My first time at this house.”

  Amazed, she sipped the coffee. “This is incredible. So rich and not a trace of bitterness. I don’t know why you don’t have people over several times a week. You have a gift for this stuff.”

  He nodded. “I know. But I moved here to find peace and quiet.”

  “Well, thank you for making me the exception to your solitude.” Not only the coffee smelled good. And the sharp scent of autumn leaves and freshly cut grass. He sat close to her for the first time and she smelled...a deeper woodland scent. Not like here, with its maples and other deciduous trees but like an older forest, something with big trees and thick underbrush. Redwoods and cedars, moss and ferns. Where did he come from?

  “You’re very welcome.” Yuvan placed a couple of orange slices onto his plate and offered her the bowl. “Oranges with cinnamon. Very traditional Moroccan dessert.”

  “They smell lovely.” She helped herself. “I’ve always wanted to travel somewhere like Morocco. Faraway places, but somehow I never do. I have an online herbal business and taking care of my plants has made it hard to leave for very long.”

  “I can imagine.”

  “This is a good place for peace, I guess, but don’t you have family? People who would like to come and visit? Friends?”

  “I do.” His face was serene, but his jaw ticked. “Far too many.”

  Maybe direct questions like, why do you smell like the Pacific Northwest, and who are your people, were not going to work, but her curiosity was up. And on a full belly, she was proud to consider herself unstoppable.

  “So, why don’t they visit?”

  “I don’t invite them, and they are busy with the family business.”

  Oooh. This was getting good. “And you don’t want to be part of the family business.”

  “Right.”

  Going in! “And the family business is...?”

  He tipped back his cup and sighed. “Look, can we agree not to ask each other a lot of questions about our pasts?”

  “You have a past?”

  He growled.

  Yuvan clamped his lips closed too late. His neighbor’s eyes were rounded, her lips open in an O.

  “Did you...did you just growl at me?”

  He shrugged, cheeks heating under his late-day scruff of beard. “I might have.”

  Instead of shrinking away like so many women did, she shifted closer. “Can you do it again?”

  He breathed slowly, pushing the bear, who always reacted to his irritation, down and counting to ten under his breath. “Lady, you don’t want a bear growling at you, don’t you know that? It’s not a good thing. Bears are known to bite.”

  Tina rested a hand on his knee, and he cringed. A simple touch shouldn’t set off sparks like an electric shock. “Are you going to bite me?”

  Every ounce of his self-control went into his response. “Not right now.”

  She leaned back. “Oh. Okay.” Was she disappointed? How ridiculous would that be?

  “Maybe it’s time to call it a night.” His level of frustration and sexual tension rose until he didn’t know if he could control it any further. “I hope you had a good time.” Taking her hand, he lifted it off his knee and set it on hers, trying to ignore the charge up his arm at the contact. “I’ll show you out.” Yuvan stood.

  She surged to her feet and banged right into him, her curvy body flush to his. He grasped her shoulders to steady her. Despite his care t
o keep things on a cordial basis and keep her at arm’s length, no way could she miss his cock jutting out behind his loose slacks.

  Tilting her head up, she looked straight into his eyes, unblinking. “I should go.”

  “Yes.” But he didn’t move. Just returned her stare. “You should go.” And he should help her go. Rather escort her. But instead, he bent toward her, noting on some level that even with her high platform boots she still required him to bend to reach her lips. Then he had, and no other thoughts occupied his mind except those concerning her soft, plump lips, her arms twining around his neck, and her full breasts pressing into him and covered by far too much cloth. Funny, he’d thought her rather underdressed before. Now, as he kissed her deeper, harder, sending a message of the passion coiled inside him, he wanted to lay her down on the cushioned bench and peel her clothing from her one piece at a time. To worship her skin with his lips, his hands, to plunge inside her and possess her.

  His hands slid from her shoulders to her sides then to her bottom, lifting her higher, closer to him, digging his fingers into her rounded globes. She whimpered but continued to return his kisses, making no effort to stop him. She tasted of the honeyed pastry, the freshness of the mint tea, the headiness of the wine she’d consumed with dinner. All things he’d made for her or shared with her.

  The pleasure of providing the meal heightened his desire and his satisfaction at having this woman in his arms. This witch who had him under her spell. No, that wasn’t right. He had her on his property, in his embrace. Grasping the hem of her skirt, he pushed it up, exposing her bottom to his caress. Thong. He loved it even more now.

  Their kisses grew more frantic, her whimpers more frequent, and his cock so hard it verged on painful. What an incredible woman, sweet and heady. With a little assistance, she wrapped her legs around his waist, her damp center fully against the bulge in his trousers. He fumbled with his fly, wanting inside her more than he’d ever wanted anyone or anything before. It made no sense. She was still the dancing noisemaker from next door, but she felt perfect in his arms. Like she’d always belonged there. Like his...