“We sealed the bond. That was what let her save me from the blood magic taint. She risked her future by making the bond with me, and she risked herself when she did the spell to bring me back from the taint. I'm going to need my documents so we can get married.”
“You've got a bond-mate now? And you're going to marry her?” His mother's voice was in that calm and controlled tone that he knew meant she was trying to conceal her emotions. And she was doing it well.
“Yes. She's an amazing woman, and I'm dedicated to making this work.”
“Then that's that, huh?”
“I suppose so.”
“Do you want me to move to Boston?” She easily picked up on what he deliberately wasn't telling her.
“You'd do that?” He asked, startled.
“I would. You're my son, and you're important to me. I'm not tied to Miami beyond my job and you. I can find another job, and if you're in Boston, then I can be too. But I'll warn you, I want to stay away from the Coven there.”
“I'm honored you'd want to be with me at the sacrifice of your home. But why don't you want to meet the Coven?”
“They're the epitome of pure magic. The Coven, and in particular that Ward family, has declared war on blood witches. I'm a blood witch, and I always will be.”
“But you don't practice magic.”
“It's still who I am. I've killed people, and those Wards will never understand that.”
“Then you're really going to hate my next statement. The woman I'm bonded to is Dymphna Ward. She's sister to the Duke.”
“Damn, Gage, you never do anything by half measures, do you?”
“I told her what you are, and more importantly, what you are to me.”
“You told her everything?”
“Everything. And she wants to meet you. I told you, she's an awesome woman. She understands that you've done things you're not proud of. But she understands that you raised me and that I love you. So she wants to meet you. To be honest, I think she's a little intimidated that you won't like her. But don't tell her I said that.” He laughed. “I think you'll like her.”
“Then I'm happy for you. Let me make my arrangements here, and I'll get a truck to move all of our belongings north.”
“Thanks Mom. You're helping me more than I had any right to expect.”
“That's what I'm here for. Now go see your amazing woman, and I'll start packing.”
“Hugs and kisses.”
“Hugs and kisses.”
With his heart a lot lighter, Gage left to go join Dymphna downstairs.
“Good afternoon!' Skylar greeted him. “I'm so glad the spell worked for you.”
“Thanks Skylar. I even got all my memories back, thanks to Dymphna.”
“Indeed.”
“I'd like to see your magic if you get a chance, Gage,” Leo said calmly. “I'd bet that by having multiple types of magic you've got some different ways to achieve the same goals. I know Fiona does.”
“I don't use my magic,” Gage told them defiantly.
“What?” Dymphna asked, startled. “You don't use your magic?”
“No.” He tried to keep up his front, but by the narrowing of her eyes, he could see that Dymphna saw through him.
“There's more to that than you're saying,” she said, confirming his suspicion. “Why don't you use your magic? What aren't you telling me?”
He sighed. “I don't get any secrets, do I?”
Leo laughed. “Around these two, you never will. If you plan to stay.” Leo's second statement hung in the air. Gage wasn't ready to tackle that one yet.
“Alright, then, I'll spill. My mother knew that I could never be around elemental witches because she's a blood witch.” When Leo and Skylar weren't shocked, he realized that Dymphna must have told them. Good. That was one less thing to explain. He reached for the plate of food in front of him at the table. He sure was hungry. “She knew enough from her time before she became a blood witch to teach me how to control my magic and prevent any accidents. But she couldn't teach me how to use it. She barely even remembered that she had been an earth witch.”
“Really?” Dymphna asked. But he didn't get a chance to respond before Skylar spoke up.
“Excellent!”
“What?” Everyone asked, looking at her. She blushed.
“Well, I mean, I'm sorry you've been so isolated from your magic. But you can help me. I've been working on making magic manuals. I came to the Ward family similarly, where I needed to learn magic from scratch. I've been putting together handbooks on how to master your magic, techniques that might be helpful, etc. As long as you are where you are, I'd like to take advantage of that and have you be a test dummy for my books.” She looked embarrassed but unrepentant.
Gage smiled slowly. “I'd love to help. I'll admit that I've wanted to use magic. But I didn't know how to find someone to teach me, and my mother was adamant that teaching myself was too dangerous. If you need someone to try to learn magic with your books, I'm your man. I can even try out all four,” he chuckled.
“Great!” Skylar's grin was worth it.
Dymphna reached under the table and took his free hand in hers. She squeezed in silent support, and he knew that helping Skylar meant a lot to Dymphna. He was beginning to realize that he'd do anything for Dymphna, and this was to his benefit as well as Skylar's.
He watched his bond-mate interacting with her family as he silently ate his late lunch. The things he was feeling over the past few days finally fell into place. It just clicked for him that the reason he was so happy here was because he had fallen in love with Dymphna already. There was no hope or help for him now, he was too far gone for that. But that was exactly how he wanted it. The entirely new experience had come on in mere days, but that didn't make it any less potent.
She was precious, and he was more determined than ever that he'd make her love him too. Whether that happened in terms of days or years, he didn't care, as long as it happened.
After lunch, Skylar and Leo excused themselves. They said they wanted to spend the afternoon watching TV in their bedroom, but both Dymphna and Gage could tell they were just giving the other couple alone time. Skylar commented that they'd start working on her manuals the next day, and that was just fine for everyone.
“We're going to have to get you some clothes of your own,” Dymphna said, indicating how Leo's shirt didn't reach all the way to his hands.
“When I called her, she promised to start packing some of my things up to send to me here.”
“I think we need to get you some new clothes faster than it will take her to pack and move your things here.”
“You're probably right. Leo's clothes don't quite fit, and I would like to not impose on his generosity any longer than I need to.”
“I'm not as much of a shopper as Skylar, but I know where the mall is. Get one of Leo's coats from the closet, and we'll head out.”
“If there's a proper time to move from Miami to Boston, this is not it.”
“No, it's really not. I love this area, but it does get wicked cold. Come spring and summer, though, you'll see how beautiful it all can get. Eventually you get used to the cold.”
“So that means I'll have to stay here in Boston, won't I?”
She clearly hadn't thought about how quickly she had assumed he would be living with her permanently. She blushed red enough to coordinate with her sweater, and she didn't answer.
Gage hadn't thought about it until they got to the cash register, but since he didn't have any form of ID or payment, Dymphna had to buy everything for him. His mother would mail all of his important documents and cards to him overnight, but it would still be a while before they got it. She had been extra-suspicious that something had gone wrong when both his wallet and his phone had been left behind when he disappeared.
He was embarrassed by the whole situation where Dymphna had to pay.
“I'm sorry about that, Dymphna.”
“About what?”
“About making you pay for my clothes and things. I'll pay you back when I get access to my money.”
“You shouldn't worry about it. For one thing, I'm sure my lawyer's fees draw more money than your teacher's salary does. And you don't even have a teacher's salary anymore. It's the least I can do after all you've been through to pay for some new clothes for you.”
“You do make a good point that I'll need to call my school and quit. They won't be pleased, though.” He said it as if they had discussed their future living situation and decided that he would stay in Boston. But they hadn't, and she didn't seem to notice that in the comment.
“Either way, I have plenty of money. As you can tell, the Manor is only partially furnished, but that's more because Leo and I can't figure out what to do with it more than dealing with a lack of funds. I've had precious little that's needed me to use my bank account lately, and buying you clothes is a good cause.”
“Then I guess I'd better just say thank you and be grateful.”
“I think that would indeed be the wisest move.”
“Then thank you.”
“You're welcome. What else do you need besides clothes?”
“I don't have underwear, socks, or shoes yet. And I could use some of my own toiletries.”
“Then let's keep moving.”
Dymphna hadn't been lying when she said she wasn't as big of a shopper as Skylar was. In fact, if it weren't for Skylar, she wouldn't have a lot of the things in her closet at all. Since her sister-in-law had been so nice about doing laundry for the whole family, Dymphna had taken her up on her suggestion to get some new clothes to replace the ones that were getting worn down. Most of the things that went through the dry cleaners were fine, but she did have a lot of casual clothes that had needed to be tossed.
Luckily for her, Gage knew what he liked, and shopping with him went by quickly.
“Since we're here, do you want to look at anything for you?” He asked as they walked past the women's department. “I hear you're on sabbatical, and maybe you need some more relaxing clothing.”
She looked down at what she was wearing. She had on tan slacks and a business casual blue top. “I think you might have a point. I think I only own the one pair of jeans, and all the casual shirts I have came from some free promotion or other.” When she ever wore one of them, which was rarely. She just hadn't bothered to get casual clothes because she spent so much time in what she was now thinking of as lawyer-mode.
“Then let's fix that. I'd like to see you model some clothes for me, if you have no objections.”
“Alright.” She blushed. He was awfully sweet in the way he just took so quickly to being comfortable around her. She was still rather unsure how to act around him, but he seemed pleased to be with her, which was gradually wearing down her sense of awkwardness.
Gage clearly enjoyed himself as she tried on outfits, coming out to show him each, even the bad ones. He'd add some to her stack, too. Some of what he had her try was just plain silly, but some of it really did look good on her. It was nice to think that he put enough effort into thinking about her that he could tell what clothes and colors would do well with her features. It was like a compliment that was so genuine he didn't even need to say it.
Dymphna gathered up the stack of clothing she'd be buying and added it to Gage's stack of the same from this store. But rather than head toward the cash register, he pulled her off to the left. Blushing, she realized that he had brought her to the lingerie section.
“I'm told that a little bit of sexy lingerie can do a lot for self-confidence, and the only ones who would need to know what you've got on under your clothes would be me and you,” he whispered into her ear. “Besides, now you have a strong reason to wear something like that, even though you are stunning no matter what you've got on. Or what you haven't got on.”
Still red, she smiled. It was hard to get offended when he put it like that. “You're more of an expert on this than I am. Point me in the direction of something you'd like to see me in.”
“Oh no. This is for you. I want you to go in there and choose what you'd like to wear and have them bag it up. I don't want to see it until you're wearing it later.” That brought back in spades the blush that was starting to fade.
Dymphna nodded resolutely. She could do this. Gage retreated back to the bench near the women's changing rooms where he had waited earlier, and she pressed forward. Since her underwear had previously been bought in packs and her night wear was generally just one of those promotional t-shirts she had mentioned before, she had a dearth of the kind of lingerie one wore when one had a boyfriend. Or, in this case, a husband.
She eventually decided to try a bit of everything, and she'd see how Gage reacted later. And she had also heard from others, including Marie and Jackie, that sexy undergarments increased self-confidence. She'd see if they were right while she was at it. So Dymphna picked out a variety of bras, panties, and teddies that she thought would work well and paid for them. She tied the top of the opaque bag for emphasis and returned to Gage, who was waiting patiently.
“Did you find what you were looking for?”
“I think so. We'll see for sure later. Let's pay for the rest of these clothes and get out of here.”
On the way back to the car, Dymphna texted Skylar to see if she wanted them to pick up something for dinner. She must have been feeling her pregnancy because she actually said yes. Dymphna called in an order to the Chinese restaurant she and Leo had always liked, and they made a detour to pick up the food. By the time they got home, Dymphna was starving.
Skylar's assessing gaze took in the five shopping bags they brought home. “Did you get enough stuff?” She asked with a smile. “I knew I'd make a shopper out of you somehow.”
“I sure hope we have enough. Gage even talked me into getting some things for me. I didn't really have clothes appropriate for my sabbatical, and now I do.”
“Good for you, Gage,” Leo said, looking up from the medical journal he was reading on the couch. “Pleasing Skylar is always a good plan. She's both hormonal and opinionated, but she keeps the rest of us here in check.”
Gage laughed and sat down next to Leo. Dymphna had a moment of surprise when she realized that she liked how comfortable Gage was with her family already. She was still getting used to the fact that she had a husband, but he was doing all the right things to get himself into her life without being too pushy.
Skylar came up to her side, and, perceptive as always, whispered in her ear. “I know you're working on adjusting to married life. It was hard for me too when I realized that I was married without really even dating Leo. But you've got a good man there, and I can tell he cares about you. Leo and I care about you too, albeit in an entirely different way, so if you ever need advice or just need to talk, we're both here for you. You're my family, I trust you, and I take that very seriously.”
“Thank you.”
That trust meant a lot to Skylar in particular because her aunt and brother had been involved in kidnappings for the Dark Order. They had been born without powers and had been acquiring magic through blood magic. They nearly sacrificed Skylar for their own gain not long ago during the same time Fiona had been kidnapped. It had been hard for her to deal with the fact that her family had betrayed her and that she had been instrumental in putting them in jail.
“What other video games did you pick up?” Skylar asked louder so that the men could hear as well. The women went over to where Dymphna had piled the games she hadn't tried yet.
“Skyrim is supposed to be a pretty amazing game,” Gage said, picking one up. “I played the others in the Elder Scrolls series, but I didn't get a chance to try this one.”
“Then put it in and let's see if we like it,” Dymphna said as she unwrapped the plastic. Skylar looked like she was about to retreat again to give them privacy, but Dymphna stopped her. “We'll all check it out. Skylar's pretty good at Street Fighter, so maybe she can give me some pointers for this one as
well.”
Skylar smiled and sat down again. Dymphna realized once again that she had not been taking advantage of the friendship Skylar had been offering for the past year and half. She certainly needed to work on improving her relationship with her sister-in-law. Then, when she saw Leo also smiling at her, it occurred to Dymphna that she hadn't been as close to her brother as she should have been either. When they were kids, they had been nearly inseparable, but she hadn't been letting him in like she used to.
Maybe by creating a relationship with Gage, Dymphna would learn to open herself up to the people who cared most about her. It looked like that was something she should have done long ago.
Finally the game stopped updating, and everyone's attention was drawn to the screen. Since it was Dymphna's game and Dymphna's sabbatical, they unanimously agreed that Dymphna should be the one playing, and everyone else would watch her and give out pointers.
She started out slowly, trying to get her head around the controls, but by putting the game in Easy mode, she got the hang of it quickly enough. Since tomorrow was Monday, Leo and Skylar eventually excused themselves to go to sleep, but she was having too good of a time to give up yet.
Gage gamely stayed up with her until about one. “Dymphna, I've got to call off. There's been a lot going on, magically and otherwise. I need to get to bed.”
She saw the clock for the first time in hours and laughed. “I don't think I've had such a late night doing anything but studying in a long time. But you're right that we need to go to bed. After all, I've got nearly another three months of doing nothing but what I want to do all day. Let's go to sleep.”
Even though there was no one else awake, much less near enough to hear, Gage leaned in and whispered in her ear, his breath tickling her cheek. “I believe I said I wanted to go to bed. I don't believe I said anything about sleeping.”
Dymphna blushed and giggled. She had blushed more in the past few days than she had done in years. And as far as giggling went, she didn't know that she could honestly say the last time she'd done that.
He took advantage of her discomfiture to pick her up off the couch, cradling her in his arms. Her perfunctory protests made no matter to him as he carried her easily up the stairs. There was something to be said for strong men, that was for sure. Instead, she eased an arm up over his head and leaned in as they went up the stairs and he gently kicked open her door. When he laid her down on the bed, she caught and reveled in the tender look in his eyes. She'd never had a man look at her like that before. She'd never had a man do a lot of the things and give a lot of the looks Gage had for that matter.
The Responsible Witch (The Ward Witches) Page 7
