Magic Spark

by Sara Dobie Bauer

  “You know it.”

  Aster hung up and leaned on the counter. It was hard to be happy when he might lose his only relation that he could relate to. Not to mention that he couldn’t seem to say the right thing around Chandra. She’d come in early this morning, bubbling over with energy. By the time he’d set the oatmeal in front of her, she’d pushed it around with a spoon, staring glumly. It might have been the oatmeal, but he didn’t think so.

  Aster was trying to give her room to cope, but maybe he was overthinking this. Inhaling slowly before exhaling, he cleared his mind—but Chandra wouldn’t leave his thoughts. She’d been the last thing on his mind before going to bed and he’d been thinking about her even before he’d answered the door this morning. It brought a smile to Aster’s face. He shouldn’t be happy when his cousin was on the brink of extinction, but he’d never felt this good.

  His sweet neighbor’s door opened and he rushed to his own. Popping his head out into the hallway, he couldn’t see her face as her corkscrew curls obscured it while she concentrated on locking her door. Chandra jumped when she looked up.

  “Oh. Hey.” Had she been turning toward his door? Or could she just feel him watching her? Chandra pointed over her shoulder at the elevator. “I was going to the zoo and, well, normally, I never see anything when I go there. Like nothing. The animals all go hide. I thought I just had bad luck. But, maybe it’d be different now.”

  He shook his head. Poor Chandra. “Animals have more primitive instincts for the vibe you put off and can recognize they don’t want to get too close.” On the other hand, he avoided anything with animals also. “I once went to the zoo with my grade school class. My abilities were fairly limited back then but still present. The teacher was horrified at how many animals started mating when we showed up. I still remember one little girl asking why animals liked to give piggyback rides so much because they obviously weren’t very good at it.”

  Chandra giggled, covering her mouth.

  “So, I haven’t had pets over the years either really. Having two would mean having a constantly breeding pair and having just one, well, it’d be awkward.”

  Tilting her head, she squinted. “Hmm. It sounds like taking you to the zoo might be equally bad.” Had that been her intention, though?

  Aster shrugged. “I don’t know. At the very least, I can guarantee you’d see animals. You might see a lot more of animals than you’d ever want, but you’d see them.” Aster had been lounging in the doorway, but he got up and walked over to her. Following his own more primitive instincts, he pulled her into his arms and touched her lips in a quick kiss.

  She wrapped her arms around his waist, and her smile was immediate and bright as she opened her eyes. “What was that for?” she whispered.

  “That was a belated good morning and can I come to the zoo with you? I’ll take you to this great place for chowder in Green Lake afterwards.”

  “Will you behave?” There was a spark of mischief in her eyes that entranced him.

  “Probably not, but possibly better than the animals.”

  Laughing, she nodded. “Fine. Come along, but there will be no piggyback rides in the zoo.”

  “You say that now, but once you see how terrible some animals are at them, you’ll want to show them how it’s done. They don’t even manage to go anywhere.”

  She groaned and dropped her arms from around him. “Go! Get your shoes on! It’s about time I saw a bear in person.”

  “Just think, you might get to see two bears!”

  Chapter Four

  There was going to be a spate of out of season births at Woodland Park Zoo. They made sure their stops at each exhibit were short and they timed it so there weren’t too many children around, but, obviously, Aster’s powers weren’t as suppressed as one might hope—if they wanted a PG-rated experience at the zoo.

  “Maybe after we’ve spent more time together,” Aster said as they walked away from the orangutans. His words made Chandra’s pulse pick up. She didn’t know what this was between them, but her heart was investing itself more second by second.

  “Maybe no more primates.”

  He slid her an amused look. “Ready to poke your eyes out?”

  “I can see why you’re so good at your job.”

  He laughed and grabbed her hand again. “Actually, a lot of the time, I don’t do a damn thing. I’d put money on that when someone from the clinic calls the couple from last night, they’ll say thanks but they’re expecting or they’ll cancel the appointment for that reason before I can see them. It happens a lot with me and second appointments. Not always of course. There are still many couples struggling with infertility that’ll take medical science and not just magic, and that’s where I actually feel like I’m making a difference. The other cases are a byproduct of my existence.” He gestured toward a path. “Do you want to see wolves? Nobody ever gets to see wolves normally.”

  “Will I get to see too much of two of them?”

  “Maybe.”

  Chandra swung their hands back and forth. It was a strange date to say the least, but she was having a lot of fun. She’d never felt so alive. There was a laugh ready to burst from her at any given second. It tickled her chest and her smile was making her cheeks hurt. Her cheeks were also permanently warm from a blush that wouldn’t seem to go away. At least her skin tone hid some of it.

  To think, she’d been on the fence about asking him to come along. They entered the wolves’ exhibit right as a family was giving up. “You never see them,” the father complained.

  Aster smirked and winked at her.

  She squeezed his hand and stared through the glass.

  Sure enough, within a minute, a gray wolf popped its head up and stared straight at them. Aster seemed to draw their attention, but then they’d get within a dozen feet and something about her would repulse them. They’d look at her and, like a deer sensing danger, they’d go still before leaving to find a mate, and piggyback rides would ensue.

  “Gray wolves mate for life.” His thumb stroked the outside of hers.

  “I used to be wealthy,” she said. Out of nowhere. They both went as still as the wolf in front of them was now doing. “After my parents died twelve years ago in a car crash, my uncle was named as guardian since I was only fourteen. I’d only met him a handful of times. Then, I was in his house. It was amazing how you could live with someone but never interact with them. He’d only taken me in because of the money—I heard him tell one of his friends that. He also told them that I made him sick, like literally, caring for me was affecting his health and it wasn’t worth it.” She licked her lips. “I didn’t think that was true. I guess maybe it was.”

  Aster shifted behind her and traded hands so when he wrapped his arms around her in a hug, one of her arms was trapped between his. It was like she was part of the hug—a silly thought. He rested his chin on her head. “So, he embezzled your inheritance?” Tipping his chin down, he pressed a kiss on the top of her head.

  “He started the process. In the meantime, I thought at least I was making friends at this private school he was sending me to, but I also seemed to be the one everyone came to for loans—because I had more access to my accounts and I wasn’t spending it as quickly as they did. I started to think maybe friendship had a price, and I was paying it. I even paid for my prom date.”

  “Bastard.”

  She smiled. The tickling sensation in her heart, warmed to something more steady and constant. “When I was eighteen, I got away from my uncle and took control of my accounts, which he’d made serious inroads into, and I thought, ‘It’s fine. I’ll be careful about who I trust.’ But I was stupid and lonely.”

  “Being lonely is never stupid.” He hugged her tighter. “People do crazy things out of loneliness.”

  “Yeah, well, I did. I dated this guy in college. It got serious really fast, which should have been my first clue. We always spent my money, but I figured most people are a little poor in college. I was lucky not to
have any tuition costs. One morning, I woke up and he’d drained most of my accounts. He was gone. In the wind. I went to the police and found out that I was just another con for him. I was number six that they knew of. He had this system perfected on how to meet his targets, what to do to get them to commit. He had it all planned out—including an exit strategy. Then, he’d move on to the next target. Even his name… wasn’t his name. I’d been with someone named Terrance. No joke. Terrance Fletcher. I saw the files on the other women. Young. Old. Single. Divorced. Widowed. All races. The only thing we had in common… was money. I could have been anyone though.”

  Aster ran his hands up and down her arms, smoothing her skin. “He got everything with you and he didn’t appreciate it.”

  “I doubt he even noticed me. I was just number six.”

  Sighing, Aster turned her in his arms and tipped Chandra’s chin up with a finger. “You are powerful, gorgeous, and sexy. Your smile should have twisted his guts up so he couldn’t think of anything but seeing it again. He was a bastard, and I’d love to punch him in the face.” His gaze flicked over her shoulder before returning to meet hers. “Also, there are two wolves and piggybacks have commenced.”

  Chandra’s eyes had filled with tears at his words, but she blinked them away and laughed.

  His searching expression made her chest burn. Finally, someone who noticed her, cared about her. “If I kiss you, will you think I’m turned on by animals mating?”

  She laughed again. “Probably not.”

  “I’ll chance it.” His mouth swooped down and captured hers.

  Invisible sparks flew like static electricity as she opened her mouth to stroke his tongue with hers. She wanted to laugh due to the pounding excitement pulsing through her and when he bit her lower lip it was curved into a smile. Then, his hands lowered to the curve of her ass, pressing her into the heat of him. Excitement exploded into passion and she moaned and lifted onto her tiptoes to get closer. More. The word screamed into her brain. She was addicted to the slide of tongue against tongue, the nip of teeth, the friction of lips.

  More.

  The exhilaration of kissing him was an addiction. She couldn’t get enough. They were still too far apart, even with their bodies pressed tightly together.

  More.

  This magic inside was bottled lightning. So incredible. Her arms snuck around his neck and her fingernails dug into his skin. He moaned and she moaned and oh wow.

  Aster froze, drawing away from her, inhaling raggedly.

  “What?” She opened her eyes and literally couldn’t see straight. The world was a bright fog of glittering sensation. Maybe she should have taken a breath now and again.

  He dropped his forehead against hers, moving his hands up to her back. “There’s a group coming, and I didn’t want them to see us uhh…”

  She huffed out a laugh. In the distance, there was definitely a rather large amount of people heading their way. It sounded like they had a guide and everything.

  “We should slip out the other door,” Aster said, nodding to the one farthest from where the guide’s voice could be heard.

  “Now, we probably won’t see anything,” the guide was saying, the sound tinny as she used a mobile mic. “The wolves here are notoriously shy.”

  Chandra looked back at the wolf enclosure as Aster dragged her by their joined hands. Hopefully that wasn’t a youth group she was leading. The wolves were all there and they were definitely not being shy.

  “Wow,” she said. There was no other word for it. They’d obviously been there long enough for Aster’s mojo to do its thing. “That’s… wow.”

  Aster pulled her out the exit.

  “I think that was easily the most inappropriate date I’ve ever been on,” she said in the elevator.

  “Lunch was very tame,” he said.

  “It was a distinct counterpoint to the rest of the time that’s for sure.” She wrinkled her nose. “Is that why you shook hands with those people at the Ferris wheel?”

  “What do you mean?” Where was she going with that? He’d just shaken hands with them. Compared to animals humping…

  “Well, is that how you actually use your powers? Through contact? It seemed like you made a point of shaking their hands after we got off the gondola. I thought you were being extra polite and nice, but…”

  “Yeah, my powers are stronger with contact but I’m inspiring even without it.”

  “Everyone can feel what I feel when you touch them?” Her wide eyes suggested that this was a significant sensation.

  “No. When demigods come in contact, they absorb power from each other. The life span of my abilities from start to zenith without balance is a longer stretch than most so I stayed with my cousin, Corbin, absorbing some of his pain to slow him down. When he realized what I was doing, he moved out. So, you’re absorbing the positive kinetic energy from me, and I’m experiencing more of the stagnating effect of your powers.”

  “Stagnating?” she asked, with raised eyebrows.

  He cleared his throat. There wasn’t a better word for it really. “What specifically do you feel?” Maybe he could get her off-track and learn valuable, ego-building information.

  “So, when you kiss me, it makes you tired and your heart slows down?” She wasn’t going to let this go. The elevator opened and they walked toward their apartments. She didn’t get out her keys. Hopefully, that was on purpose.

  “No. Well, my heart might slow down at first. But I’ve had what equates to a static charge running underneath my skin for my whole life and it’s intensified every year. Your touch is like binding me in silk and, trust me, sleeping is the last thought on my mind.” He opened his door and stepped back so she could go in ahead of him.

  As the door shut, she turned to face him, slipping into his arms though her pursed lips and expression of consternation implied she wasn’t on the same “alone! finally!” page as him. “Last night, when we walked in here, you said you needed to tell me two things. Did you tell me two things?”

  Hell. “No. Not quite. The second thing was that, well, I suppose a lack of experience is more significant with a woman due to her physical makeup, but let’s just say I’m new to this.” Why did he think he needed to tell her that? It’d seemed important at the time.

  Chandra’s expression didn’t clear. “What do you mean a lack of experience? In dating?”

  “Well, I suppose I don’t have a lot of experience in that, but that was primarily because I didn’t want to lead anyone on.” Aster cleared his throat. “Contraception with a fertility demigod is especially unreliable unless it’s used with their matched demigod.” They’d probably have the same odds as a normal couple with her canceling him out.

  “Oh.” Chandra’s mouth rounded as her eyes widened. It was still an adorable expression even when they were discussing this. “You mean that you’re a… a…” She blinked.

  “A twenty-nine year old virgin? Yes, and I was heading toward extinction up until I met you.” Which would have been a shame.

  “Oh. Wow. I guess you’re really not a player then.”

  “With great power comes great etcetera, etcetera.”

  “But you’re a doctor of fertility.”

  “It turns out practical knowledge of how that’s accomplished isn’t actually necessary.”

  “Oh.”

  He kissed her. Just like before, his kinetic energy caused a frenzied reaction in her. His sweet, quiet, adorable Death went wild. Within seconds, she was insatiably pushing him against the wall while her hands slid under his shirt.

  “Mmm,” she moaned as her fingers skimmed up his chest.

  He tore off his shirt.

  “So, you’ve never…?” she asked, in between kisses.

  Hooking his hands under her thighs, he picked her up as she wrapped her legs around his waist. “No. Is that a problem?”

  When he dropped onto the couch with her on his lap, she brushed her hair from her eyes. “No. A surprise. You’ve been flirtin
g with me from the first word. I just figured you were like that with everyone.”

  “No. I didn’t want children with a woman I wasn’t matched to. In medical school, I dated a woman who’d had a hysterectomy after an accident and I nearly went ahead with it—I wasn’t even attracted to her, but she was there and fit the parameters. She said she didn’t mind us using each other to scratch an itch, but I didn’t want that relationship, such as it was, leading to any emotional strings when I was already searching for my match.”

  Her skin went gray—there was no other word for it, and her mouth dropped open.

  A shaft of fear pierced his heart. What the hell had he said? “What?”

  Her gaze dropped to her hands on his chest and she yanked them away like they’d been burned. “Then I came along… no, you found me… you found me because I fit all the right criteria—the parameters.” She said the word like it was a profanity. “I turned up in your internet searches so you moved in beside me to make sure I’d work for your plan. I was part of a plan. Everything was.” She scrambled off his lap. “How could I have been so stupid? Matching powers—check. Female—check. Unlikely to get pregnant so I can finally ditch my virginity—check.”

  Aster jumped to his feet. “No, Chandra. That’s not how it was.”

  “It’s exactly how it was! I literally could have been anyone. If I’d been a man or the wrong age, you’d probably have just moved in beside me and we’d see a movie now and again. But, no, you struck the jackpot. You got a bed buddy too.”

  The fact that he’d had a similar thought to that pained his conscience. Even worse, the cavalier tone of what he’d said about the woman in medical school made him sound like just another bastard in line to use the woman in front of him. Damn, that was stupid. He could still save this. “How we met doesn’t matter as much as how we feel about each other now, does it? I’m not that guy. I’m not planning an exit strategy.”

  She was too far gone for his words to have any impact. She was staring at a point on the floor as her mind moved a mile a minute, collating his offenses. “You moved in beside me to meet me. You started flirting with me, and I thought you were interested, but really you’d just moved on to stage two—encounter. What was three? Dating me? Then, stage five was us moving in together because that’d make stage four sex more convenient.”