Seductively Spellbound (Spells That Bind Book 3)

by Cassandra Lawson

  “Are you okay?” Allie asked. In the background, I heard Sam’s complaints about being woken up, followed by Dylan’s curse. If I had to guess, Sam had just dug his claws into Dylan. While adorable and generally sweet-tempered, Sam didn’t handle being woken up very well.

  “I’m fine, but it’s been one hell of a night,” I replied with a weary sigh.

  “I suppose it has if you’re calling me at three in the morning,” she stated. When Sam began to meow loudly, Allie scolded him. “That’s enough, Sam. Dylan has an early conference call, so his alarm was going to wake us all up in fifteen minutes, anyway.” Her attention returned to the call. “Sorry about that, but you know how Sam is.”

  “Yes, I do,” I agreed. “I wouldn’t have called you at this hour if it weren’t important.”

  “You know I’m always here for you,” she assured me. “What do you need?”

  “I need to hide someone in the demon realm,” I began before giving her a brief rundown of the council meeting and what Beatrice had revealed about her brother. I finished when I got to the part about Beatrice being at Gryph’s house.

  “This might be a good solution for you, too,” Allie suggested when I was done with my explanation.

  “No,” I replied without hesitation. “Bliss is still a new business, and you can’t handle all of our clients on your own. If we start letting people down, our business could fail. I won’t let that happen.”

  “Your life is a lot more important than our business,” she argued.

  “Fine. There’s more to it than me not wanting to leave you alone at Bliss,” I admitted.

  “Like what?” she asked.

  “What if Desmond decides to go after you to get even with me when I’m not around?” I asked, wondering why we hadn’t considered that.

  “It’s always possible,” she agreed. “That’s why Dylan has been working in the extra office at Bliss so often, especially when I’m there without you and Gryph.”

  While I’d noticed Dylan was there more often, it hadn’t occurred to me it was to protect Allie.

  “There’s another reason I don’t want to leave,” I admitted.

  “Could this reason have something to do with a certain werewolf and the many rumors flying around about you performing a bonding ceremony with him?” she asked.

  “I still can’t believe that happened,” I told her. This was the first time I’d discussed it with anyone other than Gryph or my father.

  “Do you regret it?” she asked hesitantly, and I knew she was worried about Gryph’s feelings.

  “No,” I assured her. “I don’t regret that or letting Gryph bite me.”

  “Why did he bite you?” she asked before adding, “Is this just some kinky sex thing he’s into?”

  “It’s a werewolf thing,” I explained. “When they claim their mate, they bite them. It’s supposed to leave a scar.”

  “Ouch!” she exclaimed, and I could picture her cringing. “That must have really hurt.”

  “It did, but it was also wonderful,” I admitted. “I didn’t realize how much magic werewolves possess before I started getting closer to Gryph.”

  “They’d have to be powerful to contain two souls without losing their minds,” Allie added. “Even demons and shades can go insane if they share a body with another for too long.”

  “Have you ever wondered why that doesn’t happen with familiars?” I asked. It had always bothered me, but no one could explain how the two souls merged into one with familiars. A soul was created by magic and added to an unborn animal in most cases.

  “Maybe it’s got to do with the soul being created by witches,” Allie suggested. “I tried asking one of my professors in school how it was done since his family was involved in that field, but he refused to tell me. I guess it’s some big secret they don’t share with anyone.”

  “That’s really annoying,” I said on a sigh before continuing. “Sorry for getting off topic. It’s hard to stay focused when I’m this tired.”

  “It’s fine,” she assured me. “I’m not going to hold it against you.”

  “Do you have any suggestions on where we could hide Beatrice?” I asked.

  “I may have an idea,” Allie began hesitantly. “It would involve her staying with my family. Do you think that would be a problem?”

  Staying with Allie’s family in the demon realm meant staying with succubi. I didn’t have much experience with any succubi other than Allie. Succubi were perfectly capable of coming up with their own fantasies, so they didn’t come to Bliss for help. From my understanding, Allie’s family made her uncomfortable at times. I honestly didn’t know Beatrice well enough to say how she’d react. For all I knew, she could be one of those witches who believed her power was stronger if she remained pure. The Virgin Witch movement was currently popular among young witches, much to the dismay of young warlocks.

  “I can check with her in a little while to see if she’d be okay staying with your family,” I replied. “She went upstairs to shower. Are you sure one of your relatives will agree to let her stay with them?”

  “I’m positive I could get one of them to take her in. My cousin, Delilah, would be the best choice,” Allie mused. “She shared an apartment with me while attending a human college, so she’s a little better at reining in her succubus side than most. If she says no, I’ll ask my grandmother and hope she doesn’t try to drag Beatrice off to an orgy.”

  “Maybe you could tell everyone Beatrice is a virgin witch so they don’t try to involve her in anything that might make her uncomfortable,” I suggested.

  Allie snorted at my suggestion. “You’re suggesting that because I’m the only succubus you’ve spent time around. Telling them she’s a virgin witch would only make her seem like a challenge. The poor girl would wake up with an incubus in her bed every night. What am I saying? It would be a miracle if it was only one incubus.”

  I giggled at the image. “Your succubus family certainly is entertaining.”

  “That’s one way to describe them,” she muttered. “As much as I love my family, I’m glad they don’t come for visits too often.”

  “The shower just turned off, so I should be able to talk to Beatrice soon,” I began. “I’ll text you to confirm she’s okay with all this.”

  “I’ll call Delilah. If Beatrice isn’t comfortable staying with my family, we can always figure something else out, but I may as well start arranging things on my end now,” she stated.

  “Thanks, Allie. I really appreciate your help.”

  “Any time,” she assured me before ending the call.

  Chapter 57

  Gryph

  “Are you doing okay in there, Beatrice?” I called out through the door to the guest bathroom. The shower had been off for nearly twenty minutes, and she still hadn’t emerged.

  “I’m fine,” she replied in a sleepy voice just before stepping out of the bathroom in a pair of borrowed sweat pants and a hoodie. Julia’s shoes were too big, so her feet were bare.

  Julia stood beside me. I’d been sensing her unease for the last ten minutes. “Are you sure you’re okay?” Julia asked.

  “I had to change forms too many times. It takes a lot of energy,” she explained. “I’m just really tired.”

  “I’m sure the stress isn’t helping,” Julia said in a kind voice.

  “We have some good news,” I began. “Julia found a safe house for you.”

  “Really?” Beatrice asked, and I immediately picked up on the doubt in her voice. “I’m not sure there’s a safe place in any witch community. Staying in the vampire community is smart, but eventually, Desmond’s going to follow you back here.”

  “He’s tried,” I remarked casually.

  “He has?” Julia asked.

  “More than once,” I admitted. “I’ve lost him each time. Too bad he wore a disguise. It would really help to know who he’s impersonating.”

  “We have something even better than the vampire community in mind,” Julia b
egan. “We want to hide you in the demon realm.”

  Beatrice blinked twice but said nothing.

  “It would be in the area where succubi and incubi live,” I added.

  “I like that idea,” Beatrice said with a decisive nod.

  “You have to understand that, while the succubus you’ll be staying with lived in the human realm for several months, most there don’t have much sexual restraint,” Julia explained.

  “I was friends with a half-succubus in high school,” Beatrice told us. “I spent some time around her sex demon family, so I know how they can get. It honestly doesn’t bother me. I just needed to firmly remind my friend’s family I wasn’t interested. Failing to respect a person’s sexual boundaries is really frowned upon among most sex demons. Consent without any pressure is incredibly important to them.”

  “Then it sounds like you can take care of yourself,” Julia said with a sigh of relief.

  “When do I leave?” Beatrice asked.

  “Delilah should be here to pick you up in about an hour,” Julia replied. “She’s bringing a disguise to help you get there undetected. When I was planning this, I hadn’t even considered you could take another form, but I suppose it’s best if you don’t when you’re already this drained.”

  “In the meantime, I’m fixing everyone breakfast,” I announced.

  “You don’t have to go to any trouble,” Beatrice assured me.

  Julia just shook her head. “He’s going to be cooking two dozen eggs and five steaks, anyway. He may as well fix a little more for us.”

  Beatrice laughed. “I thought the stories about werewolves and their appetites were exaggerated.”

  “If anything, they’re understated,” Julia told her.

  I decided to leave them to discuss how much werewolves ate. I’d only had a small snack since we’d been woken up by the police, and I was starving. Five steaks? I practically laughed at Julia’s suggestion that I’d make five steaks. That was crazy talk. I’d need six.

  Chapter 58

  Julia

  Delilah wasn’t at all what I’d pictured. One never expects someone who looks like they’re the star in a porno featuring Catholic school girls to turn up at the front door.

  When Gryph let Delilah in, I opened my mouth to greet her and had to close it and try again before the words came out. Delilah had brown hair that likely went past her hips when she wasn’t wearing it in two high pigtails. Her eyes were an unnatural shade of turquoise—unnatural in humans or witches, at least. It was her attire that truly threw me off. She wore an extremely short plaid skirt with a black blazer that opened to reveal a red leather corset. The heels on her red boots were so high, I’d need a balancing spell to stand in them. I wasn’t sure I’d be able to walk even with a balancing spell, but Delilah practically skipped into Gryph’s house.

  “You must be Allie’s cousin,” Gryph stated, not sounding at all affected by her appearance.

  “That’s me!” she chirped. “I’m Delilah.”

  Allie definitely should have warned me about her cousin. “Hi, Delilah,” I finally said. “I’m Julia.”

  “It’s nice to meet you,” she replied politely before turning to Beatrice and walking over to hug her. “You must be my new roomy!”

  Beatrice awkwardly hugged her back. “That’s me. I’m not much of a hugger,” she explained.

  Delilah flashed a sheepish smile. “Sorry. I know I should check boundaries first. I’m not usually a big hugger. Why touch if we aren’t going to have sex? It always seems crazy to me, but I figured after all you’ve gone through, you could use a hug. Sometimes, touch can be for comfort and not end in orgasm. If you need a hug, let me know.”

  “Thanks,” Beatrice replied with a genuine smile.

  Delilah seemed really sweet and worried about Beatrice, which made me feel better about Allie’s choice.

  “I brought you a disguise,” Delilah added as she held out the bag she’d had slung over her shoulder.

  Beatrice took one look in the bag and gasped. “I can’t wear that.”

  “I understand your concern,” Delilah began with a nod. “Allie didn’t send me any pictures of you, so I had no idea what color hair would work for you. We can always do your makeup so the blonde wig doesn’t make you look too bad. Besides, you won’t be in it long.”

  “All this is about a wig?” Gryph asked.

  “A wig?” Beatrice began. “I hadn’t even noticed the wig. It must be buried under the pom-poms.”

  No matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t hold back my giggle. It seemed the porn star Catholic school girl would be traveling with a porn star cheerleader.

  “Do you need me to help you with the corset?” Delilah asked, still oblivious to the real reason for Beatrice’s distress.

  “I’m a shapeshifter,” Beatrice pointed out. “If we wait a few hours, I’ll have enough energy to disguise myself. I could travel with you as a cat.”

  “That is so cool!” Delilah practically screeched. “You totally have to show me later, but we can’t stay here long. The demon portal I need to use closes in an hour. I know the corset can be intimidating, but I’ll help you.”

  “I can handle it,” Beatrice replied with twitching lips. “I learned from a succubus friend years ago. I also learned how to walk in something like this.” Beatrice pulled out the high-top sneakers with four inch heels.

  “Great!” Delilah replied. “This is going to be so much fun! I haven’t had a roommate since I moved out of Allie’s place. I can already tell you’ll be more fun than Allie. She was forever telling me to control my sex drive and try to dress more human. You don’t strike me as a nagger.”

  Beatrice laughed on her way up to the guest bedroom to change. Delilah followed along behind her, talking about all the fun they were going to have.

  “She seems to be taking this well,” I told Gryph with a yawn. “Sorry. I’m exhausted after last night. We should take a nap after they leave.”

  Gryph chuckled, the sound moving along my skin like a caress. He definitely wasn’t thinking about going to sleep. As he leaned in to kiss me, I put a hand up to stop him.

  “We should wait until Delilah and Beatrice leave,” I insisted.

  “Don’t stop on my account,” Delilah breathed out. Beatrice must have sent her back down. “Your sexual energy is really intense. I could feed on this for hours.”

  It was then that Gryph realized he was trying to seduce me in a room with a succubus. “I hope Beatrice is faster at getting dressed this time,” Gryph growled.

  Chapter 59

  Gryph

  We’d just sent Beatrice on her way with Delilah. Julia had sent a few of her clothes so Beatrice wouldn’t be forced to wear what Delilah picked out all the time. Despite the grumbling, Beatrice had seemed more amused than annoyed with her outfit.

  Now, I was alone with Julia, and fuck me how I wanted her.

  Julia was exhausted, and I should let her sleep. I might be capable of doing that if the scent of her arousal wasn’t wrapping around me. As I prowled toward her, her eyes remained locked with mine.

  “You look tired, Sass,” I murmured when I was standing directly in front of her. I wanted to reach out and touch her, but I controlled myself.

  Julia gave me a saucy grin before responding. “Don’t tell me you’re unable to take care of my needs,” she teased.

  “You better watch that sassy mouth of yours,” I warned playfully.

  Julia giggled at my threat.

  “Woman,” I began in a stern tone. “You will respect your mate.”

  “Or what?” she asked sweetly.

  “Or I’ll have to teach you a lesson,” I replied with a grin.

  I’d noticed Julia edging back since we’d started talking. She was getting ready to run. I was hoping she’d run.

  “You’ll have to catch me first,” she taunted as she turned and sprinted away from me. What I’d failed to notice while my eyes were darting to her feet as they inched back, was her lip
s moving. Julia had managed to mouth a binding spell, so I couldn’t move. I had to laugh at her cunning. “You are in serious trouble, witch.”

  Her laughter floated toward me from the stairs. It was rare a witch or warlock could get a binding spell to hold once they weren’t looking at the person affected by the spell. It said a lot about Julia’s power that I still couldn’t move. I wasn’t worried. The magic would wear off soon enough. I could definitely be patient.

  The spell held longer than I’d expected, but eventually, I was free to run after her. I took the stairs two at a time. When I got to the top, I was met with silence. She was hiding from me. My lips curled into a grin as I called out, “Come on out, Sass! We both know I’ll find you.”

  My command was met with silence. I could easily have followed her scent, but I decided to play along and try to ignore that sense. I wanted to enjoy this game a little longer.

  First, I checked the guest room, figuring Julia wasn’t going to run to my bedroom. She’d try to be more clever than that. Her scent was really weak in the guest room, so I could have moved on. Instead, I called out, “Where are you, my sassy witch?”

  When I got no response, I moved on to the guest bathroom. I smiled when I noticed her scent was stronger. I’d only said I was going to try to avoid using my sense of smell. It wasn’t as if I could turn it off.

  “I know you’re in here,” I murmured softly before moving toward the bathtub where her scent was the strongest. I pulled back the shower curtain, fully expecting to find my mate hiding in there, but all I found was a pile of dirty laundry.

  I laughed at her ingenuity. That had been a clever move, not that I was surprised. She was a smart witch. “Good one, Sass,” I murmured to the empty bathroom. Julia would be close by because she’d want to hear my reaction to her trick. That meant, I’d guessed wrong. She’d gone to my room, probably assuming I wouldn’t look for her there.

  When I opened the bedroom door, I found Julia lounging on my bed in nothing but a red lace thong. “What took you so long?” she cooed.