Sharon Karaa The Last Challenge (Northern Witches Series #1)

by Unknown

  “Get away with you now, before you’re late,” she said, flicking me with the tea-towel and turning away.

  I arrived at work in time to get one of two remaining parking bays, but without any recollection of having actually driven the car, my thoughts were so confused. Daniel still hadn’t shown up, but after what I’d heard that morning, I was glad. Why the hell was he flirting with me if he wasn’t interested?

  Mad as hell, I pulled the key from the ignition and took a deep breath, trying to pull myself together. God, why are men such shits?

  I actually thumped the steering wheel in frustration. “You fucking lousy bastard, Daniel Hunter. You are so full of shit. ‘I’ll be here if you need me’, my fucking arse. Well I don’t need you, dick-weed. Fuck you and the horse you rode in on.”

  I climbed out of the car and slammed the door, still muttering to myself. If the spirits decided to come now, they could bring it on.

  As I opened the door to the office, Lucinda was ‘having a word’ with Kelly, the receptionist. I overheard her talking about ‘professional appearance’ and ‘black nail varnish’. I gave Kelly a small smile of support as I rushed passed.

  I took the two flights of stairs to my office. Jack, the web developer, was pouring himself a coffee from the open kitchen at the end of the corridor. Ignoring him, I marched into the office, throwing my coat onto the stand and reaching for my mug so I could make my first real brew of the day. I was so pissed off, even the slogan on my cup couldn’t make me smile today. ‘Talk Nerdy To Me!”. It had been a present from Selina and I loved it. Today, I could have cheerfully used it to cave a certain witch’s head in.

  I joined Jack in the kitchen and proceeded to make my coffee, pulling the utensil drawer open with such force I almost dragged it completely out of the unit.

  Jack was originally from Ireland and had worked for the company for three years longer than I had. A fitness fanatic with a wicked sense of humour, he attracted more than his fair share of female attention but while I enjoyed his company, I did find him a tad self-obsessed and saw him more like an annoying younger brother than the older, sexy man he was. He was also a total slut and I really couldn’t understand how women could fall for his shite. But they did. In droves.

  “Mornin Lauren, how are ya? Did ya enjoy da party on Friday?” he asked, smiling. “You disappeared really early; I tort you must have got lucky!” he said, wiggling his eyebrows at me.

  I considered, just for a moment, telling him what had actually happened just to see how far up his face his eyebrows would travel. Instead, I gritted my teeth and forced myself to be pleasant. There was no point in taking my bad mood out on everyone around me.

  “Yes, Jack, I was swept of my feet by a deliciously sexy stranger and we went back to his place” I said, smiling.

  His eyebrows shot up in surprise. “Really?”

  “No, you idiot! I got sick and went home.” I slammed my cup down on the bench.

  “Ahh man, that’s a shame. So does that mean you’re still young, free and single?” he grinned as he took a step towards me.

  “Sorry Jack. I don’t do man whores, but if I ever change my mind, I’ll let you know.”

  He laughed at me as he walked away, coffee in hand. “Love, you need to learn ta let yer hair down once in a while! Nottin wrong wit a bit of free love now and den!” he laughed as I threw the spoon down the corridor after him. As he rounded the corner, I heard a crash and the laughing stopped. I ran over to find out what had happened only to find him flat on his face, his coffee spilled all over the floor.

  “What da feck!” he exclaimed.

  I bent down to help him up. “Bloody hell, Jack! What happened?” I said as I tried to heave his six foot three frame and two-hundred pounds off the floor.

  “No fecking idea. One minute oi was walkin to me desk, and da next I was arse over tea kettle!”

  “You daft sod, be more careful!” I told him as I went back to the kitchen to get a cloth to soak up the coffee. When I returned with the cloth, Vaijayanti, our team leader, was taking off her coat and cursing Jack out for the mess.

  Vaijayanti is a twenty-nine year old, sometimes practising Hindu, with a mouth like the Tyne tunnel. Don’t get me wrong, she had a heart of gold, but when this woman got over-excited about anything she talked like a chipmunk on speed. This was one of those times.

  Jack’s first line of defence were the earphones he had stuck in his ears. He was smiling broadly at Vaijayanti, as she got more and more agitated.

  “It is always the same with you, you moronic man. You make a mess, and you never clean it up! No! Lauren, put down the cloth! In fact, put the cloth back in the kitchen and let this god-forsaken Neanderthal get his own,” she said, cursing him out.

  Jack just kept grinning then tried to shout over the loud music now leaking from his headphones. “Ahh, now away with you Vaji, but you’re a handsome woman when you’re angry!”

  “Don’t you call me that, you pervert! My name is VAIJAYANTI!” she screeched in response.

  I gave up, dropped the cloth, and made my way to my desk. I didn’t have the patience for this shit. I switched on my computer and loaded Outlook to check my emails, humming to myself in an effort to drown out the sound of their voices.

  By lunch time, things had basically returned to normal. Normal in that no one spoke and the only noise was the clicking of keys as we all beavered away. Vaijayanti had taken to muttering to herself, which was a big improvement on the screeching she had subjected us both to for the last hour, and Jack continued to surreptitiously gaze across at her with a grin on his face. For myself, I was finding it almost impossible to focus on what I was supposed to be doing as my mind continued to dwell on the events of the weekend.

  Clicking his browser closed, Jack jumped up from his chair and shouted across the desks.

  “Fancy coming out for a bite to eat, Lauren? I’m meeting me brudder but I’m sure you’d enjoy his company.”

  I looked over at him, half considering, before deciding I needed to try and catch up with the work I’d not done all morning.

  As soon as he was gone, Vaijayanti started in on me. “I don’t know why you bother with that asinine, misogynistic, toilet plunger!”

  “Oh, I don’t know. I think he’s kind of cute,” I smiled at her, waiting for the explosion.

  She looked at me, shocked, and I could almost see the cogs turning. Does she fancy him? You bet your arse she does! Nothing like a little competition to whet an appetite! Vaijayanti stormed off, grabbing her coat and still muttering under her breath.

  No sooner was she out the door than words started appearing on my computer screen with no input from me. I jerked back in alarm and watched the keys pressing on the keyboard as butterflies started in my stomach.

  “HAVING A GOOD DAY MISS RUTHERFORD?”

  I looked at the keyboard dumbfounded, undecided as to whether to reply or not. Could this be Daniel or was it some other supernatural force?

  “WHO IS THIS?” I eventually typed in response.

  Daniel appeared, kneeling behind my chair, his arms over the top of mine and his nose inhaling the scent of my hair. He sniggered.

  “Miss me?” he asked, throatily.

  “You think too much of yourself, Daniel Hunter. I missed you about as much as I would miss a wart on the end of my nose.” I pushed my chair backwards and knocked him over, his comments from earlier still very fresh in my mind. “I don’t know what game you’re playing Daniel. As for needing to protect me, I’ve done quite well without you, thank you very much. I’m still not entirely convinced this isn’t some elaborate hoax.”

  I jumped out of my seat as he lay on the floor, looking up at me in surprise. Deciding to leave him there, I grabbed my coffee cup and made by way to the kitchen. He was behind me as I spooned a sugar into the cup.

  “I’ve been with you since you left the house this morning, Lauren. Protecting your sweet arse, whether you believe you need it or not!”

  I r
efused to turn around and continued to pour water into the cup.

  “It’s easy to say that when I can’t prove you weren’t.”

  I picked up my coffee, still ignoring him, and made my way back to the office. He followed and perched himself on the end of Jack’s desk, folding his arms and studying me.

  “Who do you think tripped that Irish wanker up, then? Hmm?” he said.

  I looked at him for the first time, eyes wide. “That was you? Now why the hell would you do something like that?” I asked. Was he jealous because Jack had been flirting? No, jackass, you’re not his type, remember?

  “The man thinks he’s a jock. He had it coming. Besides, I was bored stiff and a little pissed at the insults coming my way from the person I’d spent the better part of seven years protecting!” he snapped.

  “Bored? Bored?” I demanded. “You could have seriously hurt him because you were bor…” my words trailed off as something subliminal clicked. “Seven years?”

  Daniel’s face flushed as he met my eyes then looked away, jumping up from the desk. “I meant days!”

  He looked me up and down as though seeing me for the first time, his eyes gravitating to my low cut top. When he met my gaze, his face was hard.

  “You know, if you stopped dressing like a tart, men wouldn’t think it was ok to come on to you.”

  I gasped in surprise and picked the stapler up from the desk, stotting it towards his head. He disappeared just before it reached its target, which was a little unfortunate for the window.

  If I got little work done during the morning, I got none done in the afternoon as I sat alternating between seething anger and hurt confusion over Daniel’s insults. I looked at the clock on my computer screen and realised it was five already. How did that happen? Last time I’d looked, it had said one-thirty and that felt like five minutes ago.

  Jack was switching off his computer and looking at me, concerned. I stared back blankly, wondering what I had missed. I wasn’t feeling particularly kindly towards men at the moment, particularly flirty sluts.

  “Lauren, I’ve spoken to you tree times and ya haven’t answered me. What’s up?” he asked, getting up from his desk and grabbing his coat.

  “Nothing for you to worry about, Lothario,” I joked, trying to make light of his comments.

  “Come on missus, we’re going fur a drink at the Dog and Duck and you’re coming,” he said resolutely as he put on his coat. I glanced over at Vaijayanti who was eyeballing me evilly. Oh yes, she had it bad.

  “Thanks for the offer but I’ve got something to do.”

  “What, going home to your cat? Not happening, poppet,” he grinned as he pulled the plug on my computer.

  “What the hell?” I jumped up, annoyed. Jack ignored me, grabbed my arm and my coat, and started marching me towards the door. I gave in gracefully and shook his hand off. Maybe a drink would help me to relax and put a certain pair of brown eyes firmly out of my mind.

  “Ok, you win, but just for one,” I conceded, shaking out my coat and putting it on as we headed out the door.

  “You fancy coming Vaijayanti?” The casual way Jack posed the question wasn’t fooling me. He hadn’t been able to keep his eyes off her all day. Christ, I wish they’d just get it on and we could all go back to normal.

  “No, I’m meeting friends. Real friends.” She glared at me. I winked and linked Jack’s arm as we sauntered out of the office. I’d give her an hour, tops, and she’d be at the pub. The woman just couldn’t help herself.

  The Dog and Duck had about a dozen patrons, all office workers judging by the suits. Bryan Adams’ ‘Run To You’ belted out from the speakers as we made our way to the bar and Jack ordered a round. As we waited for our drinks, a taller, blonder version of Jack slapped him on the back. He turned around and then grinned.

  “Samuel!” he shouted over the music, slapping the now smiling man’s back in return and half hugging him. “Lauren, this is me brudder Samuel. Samuel this is Lauren.” he introduced us.

  Hmmm. This was starting to look suspiciously like a setup. Not that I was objecting, Samuel was really cute with a sexy smile and dimples. Boy, was I a sucker for dimples. And after the bashing my ego had taken lately, I could do with a little pick me up!

  Samuel smiled at me, his green eyes looking at me in appreciation. Then Daniel’s comments came back to me and I froze. I wondered if perhaps Daniel had been right and the top was too revealing. Then I realised I was still wearing my coat and no one could see. Why did I let that man get to me?

  “Hi Samuel, it’s nice to meet you.” I smiled back at him and extended my hand to shake his. He ignored my hand and pulled me to him in a one-armed hug.

  “Lovely to finally meet you, Lauren,” he said as he released me, still smiling. Jack added another pint of Guinness to his order, and I stood, a little self-conscious, waiting for the drinks to arrive.

  Samuel turned to me. “Jack’s told me so much about you, I feel like I know you already.”

  I looked at Jack suspiciously.

  “Only the good things, honest!” Jack assured me, laughing.

  We made small talk until the drinks came, and then we moved to a corner table, escaping the worst of the music. Samuel took the seat right beside me. Jack, about to sit down himself, spotted Vaijayanti as she came in the door with two female friends. Yes, she definitely had it bad and by the looks of things, so did Jack.

  “Ya know, you two seem to be fine witout me. I’m just going to pay my respects to Vaji and her mates.” he hopped out of his chair.

  “Don’t antagonise her, Jack. And don’t hit on her friends!” I warned him a little sternly.

  As Jack left, I took a sip of my Guinness and looked through my lashes at Samuel. He was openly staring at me, and I had to admit, he was devastatingly handsome.

  “So, what are your feelings on the current political situation in Thailand?” he asked, his eyes twinkling.

  “I am ashamed to admit I haven’t got a clue what’s going on there. But please tell me you’re not an activist; I couldn’t cope!” I exclaimed in shock.

  He laughed. “Nah, I’m just pulling your leg. I overheard some bloke in a suit spouting off about it on the way in. I’m ashamed to admit it but the only cause I actively care about is the price they charge now for a season ticket – its daylight robbery!”

  “Oh no, you’re a football supporter!” I looked at him with mock disapproval.

  “Shite, I’ve blown me cover! Would it help if I said I was an avid fan of Desperate Housewives?”

  “I don’t know, I might have to test you on it to gauge your level of commitment.”

  “Ask me anything.”

  “Who’s your favourite female character? If you say Bree I am walking out the door right now.”

  “Erm….the blonde one?” he laughed.

  “….and her name is…?”

  “All right, you’ve got me. I’ve only ever seen half of one episode, but it was good! If I wasn’t so afraid for me reputation, I could have gotten in to it.” He laughed again, dazzling me again with his perfect teeth and dimples.

  “So you’re a man’s man? Football, beer, girls?”

  “Two out of three,” he admitted.

  “Which two?”

  “Well you got me on the football and I’m in my local, so you figure it out.”

  “Oh my God, are you gay?”

  His eyebrows shot up and he almost dropped his pint. I laughed loudly.

  “No! Not at all, I love girls! Girls all the way!”

  “Ahh, so you’re a Lothario, like your brother,” I accused, smiling.

  He chuckled and stood his pint on the table. “He wishes! And no, I’m a one woman man, cross me heart! What about you, what are you interested in?”

  “I rock climb on weekends and do a lot of charity work. When I get the time, I campaign for world peace.”

  “You know I had you pegged as an Angelina Jolie type the minute I set eyes on you.”

  “What
, for the rock climbing or the desire for world peace?”

  “Do I lose points if I say no, it’s the sexy pout? Do you have any tattoos, by the way?”

  I laughed. “Watch it, your nose is growing, Pinocchio.”

  “Really?” He fingered his nose. “You know what they say about big noses, don’t you?”

  “They smell good?”

  “Ahh shite, you heard that one already,” he laughed. “So come on then, what are you interested in?”

  “Well I hate to burst your bubble but I’m a couch potato. I love to read and can’t cook for toffee.”

  “Ahh, my kind of woman!” he smiled.

  The conversation turned to top ten favourite things and top ten hates, and before I knew it, we were getting on like a house on fire. Samuel told me about how his family had come to England when he was only fourteen and Jack was ten, and then talked about growing up in Ireland. In return, I had told him about my upbringing although I left out the death of my parents. I didn’t want to have the awkward moment where someone just doesn’t know what to say to you. He was really entertaining. So entertaining, I lost track of the time. We’d made our way through two more rounds of drinks and I was feeling decidedly drunk, not having eaten all day. When I finally looked at my watch, it was almost seven. I jumped up, remembering I had promised to be home by six to continue my training with Agnes and Selina.

  “I really need to go now,” I told Samuel as I pulled on my coat, almost knocking my glass over in my haste. Samuel looked at me in surprise.

  “Was it something I said?” he smiled nervously.

  “Oh no, nothing of the sort,” I replied, grabbing my bag off the floor. “I have erm…. family staying over, and I promised to have dinner with them tonight.” I felt slightly guilty for lying to him, but I could just see the alternative – telling the truth and him breaking the world class record for vaulting over tables in his haste to get away from me.

  He smiled in relief then stood up. “Lauren, I’ve really enjoyed your company. Would it be out of turn to ask you out to dinner?”

  I’d really enjoyed his company and even when I’d taken off my coat, he hadn’t spent the night talking to my chest. I remembered Daniel’s comments and made a decision.