“Lawson.”
He nodded at Stefan. “Now? How sure?”
“Eighty percent. Sorry to interrupt. I didn’t realize you would have… company.”
Between Ryan and Stefan, Ava was getting a little bit tired of being talked about like she wasn’t standing right there. “Hello, Stefan.”
He nodded. “Ava. Now, Lawson.”
Another pop sounded, and Kim appeared. “Come on. You two. There’s movement.”
“Sorry, Ava.” And just like that, he popped away. All three of them were gone.
Ava took a second to catch her breath. Well, that was going to be the reality of dating Lawson. She stood by the bench, with the wind hitting her hair, and wondered what she was exactly supposed to do now. This wasn’t a town she’d ever been in before. In fact, she didn’t even know the name of the place. There were a dozen towns spread out around her own. She was going to have to get home.
Despite his words about how she always got things done, not being able to fly was a huge problem. She’d have to find the transport.
And she wasn’t altogether sure how she was going to do that.
In the end, she found a stranger on the street to direct her toward the transport station. An hour later, she walked into her apartment, carrying her dinner for the night, which was going to amount to melted cheese, chips, and some human wine. Most witches didn’t have to actually visit the shop—technically they didn’t have to go to hers, although they did to browse the shelves—they could just spell their order and have it delivered, but Ava always stopped by. They’d gotten used to her, and sometimes they held back human alcohol for her so she could have the red wine she liked.
Owning a shop, Ava wasn’t sure she would even want to spell her customers’ purchases if she suddenly got powers and could. She couldn’t feel spells, so she didn’t know when she was out of stock or if she thought she had something and then didn’t. Her store was set up that people couldn’t magically spell their orders out of the store without her being aware of it, thanks to a spectacular work-around spell by Zoe. That was why she had more foot traffic than most.
Todd—she sighed even thinking of him—had appreciated what it did for the whole neighborhood. Or maybe he was just being nice.
She set down her groceries, then refrigerated the food. It was a good thing the humans had invented all these things. Now, she had to do something about the paint. A few hours later and some sweat dripping down her face, she’d accomplished a full on cleanup of her home. What she really needed was some new furniture. Thanks to Lawson, the shop had earned her enough to warrant some splurges. Of course, if she was leaving to go live with the humans, she might as well wait until she got there to do it.
Ava sighed. Seeing Lawson made things exciting, but it didn’t solve her problems. Taking off and leaving her in the middle of a town she didn’t know—and her subsequent two mile walk to the station—showed her that. Maybe he could come visit her in the human places. Ava sank into her seat and poured herself a glass of the wine. Most witches didn’t drink, or they did it secretly like her father. But she didn’t have any powers she had to worry about misusing. Maybe she could get nice and sloshed.
A knock sounded on her door, and she went to it. Looking out the peephole showed her Lawson. She swung open the door. “Well, this is a surprise.”
He grimaced. “I’m sorry, tiny. I didn’t mean to have to run off like that. Can I come in?”
“You need permission? You always just arrive.”
His grimace turned into a grin. “My mother did teach me some manners. I swear she did. She’s rolling over in her grave hearing that.”
His mother had passed away? Ava got out of his way to let him in, closing the door behind him. “When did your mother die?”
“Two years ago. She was never the same after my father got himself killed. For her, she loved him the way it should be. One day, she just perished.”
Ava nodded. This wasn’t that unique a story. Once a couple paired, they were it for each other. From what Ava understood, it was hard to live without that person’s presence. Maybe Ava shouldn’t hope for the ceremony. It had been hard enough to lose Mitchell, and they’d not soul bonded.
“I’m sorry.”
He touched the side of her face. “That’s okay. So, dinner. Did you eat?”
“Not yet. Did you get the man? Are we celebrating?”
Lawson walked over to the wine and stuck the cork back in it. “No, unfortunately. Put this up and come out with me. Let me take you on a date. A real date. I’m here. I can be present tonight. I think. I’d like to take you out.”
Ava looked down at herself. “I’m a sweaty mess. I had to walk miles to the train and then back here. Then I cleaned. Lawson, I stink.”
He clapped his hand on his forehead. “Shit. Shit. Shit. I didn’t even think. You had no idea where you were. Anything could have happened.”
Ava shrugged. Well, that had been more extreme a reaction from him than she’d intended. Her point had been about sweat, not guilt. “You had to go. It’s okay. I worked it out. I deal. That’s what I do.”
Lawson walked toward her. “I won’t leave you places again. It won’t happen.”
She waved her hand. “People forget my limitations all the time. I’ve been left before. The good news is with my father on the board, they’ll never pass that legislation that limits the trains. But even my family has forgotten me on occasion. You’re missing the point. I’m sweaty.”
Lawson shook his head, slowly. “You will never be left again. Not by me.”
“You’re saving the world. I am sweaty. I can’t go to dinner.”
He pointed toward the bathroom. “Go shower. I’ll wait. I want to take you out tonight. Now even more than before. Please.”
Well, she supposed that worked. Ava turned and ran to the bathroom. She’d never showered so fast in her life.
The restaurant was noisy, but not so much they couldn’t hear each other. She’d never been inside before, having only passed it when she came to see her parents. But Lawson seemed to know the owner. They gave each other a look, and the older man nodded. For a second, Ava wondered if she saw the look—the one she’d now always associate with Enforcers. Was it right there between the older man’s eyes? Did Enforcers get to retire?
“I just asked Tony to feed us. Well, he knows that’s what I want. No menu. He’ll just bring whatever he is most proud of tonight. Unless you’d rather not.” Lawson raised his eyebrows.
She shook her head. “I’m pretty much starving, and I eat everything.”
“Awesome.” Lawson stared at her, an unreadable expression in his eyes.
Ava cleared her throat, her collar suddenly feeling warm on the back of her neck. “Did you miss your man because you were with me? Did you get held up?”
“I shouldn’t answer. But you’re already involved. If we can make this work between us, most of the time I won’t tell you. It would be better if you just didn’t ask.”
Well, she wasn’t at all sure she would like that. Okay, that was something else to think about. But not right then. She liked the atmosphere of the restaurant and how Lawson leaned back in a relaxed way. She wouldn’t spoil her date. Worries could come tomorrow.
“How about we just don’t care about that right now?”
He gave her a side smile. “We caught a hexer, just not the right one. Don’t get me wrong, the world is better off now that he’s handled. But he wasn’t our guy.”
She reached across to take his hand in hers. “I’m sorry.”
“Yeah… well. I will get him. I always get my guy.”
Ava breathed in the moment. This was so normal. People did this. They ate, they slept, they cried, they spent time together. They loved. She could have these things, maybe with the man in front of her, if she could just be okay with what limitations there had to be based on his lifestyle. He was going to have to adjust to her, too. Not everyone could deal full time with her lack of spells. Time
would tell how Lawson adjusted.
The food arrived, a mushroom dish in a red sauce. It was delicious and played with all of her senses when she ate. Ava laughed. When was the last time she’d eaten anything so delicious? Lawson grinned at her.
“Think you like that?”
She pointed her fork at him, a move that would have her mother scowling since it constituted bad manners. Instead, it made Lawson laugh, which turned out to be infectious so she laughed, too. “I more than like it. I love it.”
“Best place in town.”
Although she’d only had a little bit to eat so far, she was pretty sure that at the end of the evening she was going to agree with him wholeheartedly.
By the time dinner was over, Ava was so stuffed she wasn’t certain she’d ever eat again. Except, of course, she knew she would the next morning. If she was addicted to anything, it was food.
Lawson put his arm around her. He’d flown them to the restaurant, sparing her the popping, which suited her just fine. That had been nausea inducing. She didn’t need to experience it again quite so soon.
“Want to walk for a bit?”
She leaned up against him, letting him wrap her in the side of his coat. The temperature had dropped significantly while they’d been inside. Why was the weather suddenly so unpredictable? “Sure, if you want to.”
“I like to walk.”
She loved the sound of his voice. “That’s all I can do if I’m not driving. Or sitting in a moving transport vehicle.”
Lawson kissed the top of her head. “You could probably run. Crawl. Jump. Skip.”
With how they were walking, elbowing him was easy to do. He laughed instead of yelped when she delivered the blow. “Smartass.”
“Sometimes.”
“Well, if it isn’t Ava Blakely. And is it Lawson Abramowitz?” Monica’s voice called out into the night, and Ava froze. She closed her eyes for a second, wincing on the inside. If ever there was anyone she didn’t want to run into right then, it was Monica. And where there was Monica, there was Mitchell Sharpe.
Ava turned slightly. Sure enough, her ex stood with his hand cupping Monica’s in that unique way he did that. They both had on coats, but Ava was sure if they took them off, they’d both be dressed perfectly and look like fashion models.
“Evening.” She nodded to them. “Let’s go, Lawson. Please.”
She’d had enough of the Ms. They weren’t going to spoil her night.
Chapter 9
“Night.” Lawson nodded to her ex and his fiancée before he tugged her tighter against him.
That should have been the end of it, except Mitchell was apparently in the mood to try to cause her pain. Again. “This is really something. You’re a powerful Enforcer, Abramowitz. Why are you spending time with the worst witch in witching school?”
Ava groaned, and Lawson rolled his eyes. “Because she was never the worst witch in witching school, you pompous piece of shit. You and people like you were the worst witches. You still are. Have a good night, asshat.”
She snorted and then covered her mouth. In her whole life, she had never, ever, heard anyone speak to Mitchell Sharpe like that. The Sharpes were pretty much royalty, and Lawson was completely unafraid of them.
“Yeah, judge me now, Enforcer. But you’ll see. The closer you get, the more you’ll start to think about it. About how she can’t do anything, ever. You’ll say to yourself, I don’t want those genes anywhere near me, or my offspring. Trust me. Damaged goods. Keep it casual.”
These weren’t new words to Ava. She’d heard as much, a lot, when he first left her. The genetic problem of being with Ava Blakely. She sighed. After Lawson insulted him, Mitchell still went after her? What had she done to be so completely…
She never got to finish that thought. Lawson raised his hand. It was the first time she’d seen him do it to use a spell. Mitchell grabbed his own throat, his hand coming to his neck before he slammed into the wall behind him.
Monica cried out, lunging for Mitchell. Ava’s date strode toward them slowly, as if he weren’t magically strangling Ava’s ex to death on a wall in the middle of the city. As though he was completely unconcerned with the whole thing.
Her mouth fell open. “Lawson.”
“You aren’t going to talk to her like that anymore. Do you understand me? Never again. Not ever. Because I’m always going to be watching, and you’re always going to remember this. I could kill you so easily. You have enough air. Just enough not to die. But I could cut that off.” Mitchell made no noise, but his nostrils flared.
“Lawson.” She grabbed his arm. “You can’t kill him.”
“I could, actually. But I won’t.” As Lawson lowered his arm, Mitchell slid to the ground, coughing violently.
Monica grabbed onto Mitchell’s body. “He’s a Sharpe. You’re finished.”
“That’s not how this works. Outside of your five-block radius, no one gives a crap what your last name is. I could be fired, but it wouldn’t be because I taught Mitchell Sharpe a lesson. Go back to your parties. Go back to your homes. Try and touch me. See what happens.” Lawson knelt, making eye contact with Mitchell. “You’re always going to remember this. You’ll know what it feels like to almost die. It’s happened to me more than once. And the feeling doesn’t get better. Over the next few weeks, you’ll wake up panting, covered in sweat. You’ll wonder, am I really dead? And somewhere inside of your thick, worthless head, you’ll know—you can’t ever, and I mean ever, speak to this woman like that again.”
Ava’s heart pounded so hard she felt like she’d been in the moment and not just observing it from the outside. Lawson took her hand in his. “Come on.”
She followed him without a word, leaving Mitchell and Monica right there on the street. Mitchell clutched his throat, and Monica wept, loudly.
Her walk with Lawson was in utter silence. She kept waiting for him to say something, anything, but he didn’t. Eventually, without a word spoken, he pulled her against him and took to the sky. Flying was much faster. The fifteen-minute walk was flown in five and soon she was outside of her apartment.
Lawson looked down at his feet. “I know. That was too far. I know. I’m sorry. I wasn’t going to kill him. I was never out of control. I just wanted him to feel it, what it was to know that for a few seconds he wasn’t in charge of his destiny. I wanted to make him hurt for what he did to you. Ava, I’m not going to lie, I have done things in the course of my career that are not above board. Enforcers do what we have to do. But I never would have actually killed Mitchell.”
Ava threw her arms around his neck and held on. She must have surprised him because he made some oomph noise before he wrapped his arms around her. “Are you okay?”
“Am I okay? Sure.”
She shook her head. “No, that’s a tremendous amount of power you just used. I’ve read about these things.”
He kissed her cheek. “I must have scared you half to death, and you’re asking if I’m okay? Ava, that was not much power for me. Power grows like a muscle, the more the witch uses it, the more they have. Some people do have a limit, but most will never know their potential because they’re lazy.”
“You didn’t scare me. I mean, for a second, I did think you might kill him.” She drew back to look at him. “But then you lowered your arm. The thing is, Lawson”—she just loved to say his name—“no one has ever done that for me. I’ve been alone in this. Even my family still treats him nicely because of that last name. I… Thank you.”
He kissed her, hard, right on the lips. This was different than his other kisses. Ava tasted this for what it was, a claiming. Right then, she didn’t care about the danger of his job, his schedule, or what he couldn’t talk about. This man cared that she’d been through hell, he didn’t talk down to her, and he was sexy as hell. She could see that underneath his tough exterior, he had a huge heart.
She kissed him back, not chasing him but joining him. They popped into her apartment. She didn’t even worry. The n
ausea never came, and soon she was in her bedroom, her body wrapped around him like she couldn’t get close enough. He kissed her everywhere he could reach, her face, her neck, the tip of her nose.
Lawson laid her down on the bed. “You’re sure? This is fast.”
“I want this. You. Unless you’re uncomfortable?” There was, of course, that possibility.
He raised both his eyebrows. “Are you kidding?”
He kissed her again as he moved his hand to travel down to her stomach. Her shirt had come up slightly, and he palmed her stomach, touching her skin-to-skin. Goosebumps broke out on her skin, and she bit down on his lower lip.
Lawson made a sound close to a growl and jerked his hips against her. She sighed at the movement. Yes, she wanted more like that. Lots and lots more. Her body was on fire.
“You’re going to kill me, Ava, and it’ll be a great way to die.” He tugged at her shirt. “Off.”
She sat up just enough to do as he instructed. She rid herself of the shirt and watched as he gazed down at her breasts. She was still clothed in her bra, but it didn’t matter. There was so much passion in his gaze. She shuddered from watching him look at her alone.
“I just… your breasts. Wow.”
Ava didn’t know that she’d ever given anyone a slow, sexy smile before but that was what she did. And it wasn’t even hard. The way Lawson looked at her? It made her feel like she was the type of woman who could pull off alluring and not think twice about it.
He unhooked her bra. “I can’t wait to…”
The pop sound was the only notice she had that someone was arriving in the room. Lawson must have heard it the second she did, too. He grabbed her, pulling her to his chest and with a blink of his eyes covered her back in her shirt.
“Lawson…”
“Stefan, I’m going to kill you.”
Hexed and Vexed Page 10
