Seductively Spellbound (Spells That Bind Book 3)

by Cassandra Lawson

  Gryph cursed under his breath but said nothing about her presence. I had no clue why it bothered him, but he didn’t seem happy about Evie being there.

  “You aren’t going to convince Gryph it’s good to have you around if you don’t stop talking that way. He might call you a liability and send you away,” I teased Evie.

  “I’m not that bad,” Gryph argued before studying Evie and adding, “How bad are you in a fight? Do I need to get extra security outside in case there’s a problem?”

  “Don’t listen to her, Gryph,” Mel began. “My older sisters are all evil bitches. She knows how to fight dirty.”

  “How am I an evil bitch?” Evie asked innocently.

  “As I recall, you recently pretended to be dating a warlock so you could avoid being harassed by our aunts,” Mel pointed out. “I was forced to endure double the harassment from our aunts as a result of your lie.”

  “How do you know I was pretending?” Evie asked.

  “You don’t date,” Mel stated.

  I could have sworn I heard Gryph muttering something about how it was good Evie hadn’t brought a date.

  Evie and Mel stopped arguing long enough for us to order drinks, so I used that opportunity to steer conversation away from Evie’s dating habits. I wasn’t sure why Mel had brought it up. Dating was a touchy subject with Evie. “I can’t believe I picked a night when Floating Darkness is playing. I haven’t seen them in years.”

  Floating Darkness was a local demon band that had been playing since the nineties. They preferred to avoid living in the demon realm. From what I’d heard, their loving fans could be more than a little scary over there. They didn’t just try to steal shirts or locks of hair. They often tried to steal body parts. I could only imagine what they did to really famous bands in the demon realm.

  “As soon as I heard you were coming here, I begged Mel to let me tag along,” Evie admitted. “Have you seen the drummer for Floating Darkness?”

  “He’s nothing compared to the lead singer,” Mel argued.

  “I used to have a huge crush on the guitarist,” I admitted.

  “Me too,” Trevor added. “I even tried to talk to her once.”

  “She bought me a drink,” I bragged. “I get the impression you’re not her type.”

  Trevor chuckled. “You just have to one up me, don’t you?”

  “Julia’s just better looking than you are,” Gryph added.

  “Who else did you get to come tonight?” Trevor asked Gryph. “I was so busy worrying about things from my end that I didn’t even think to ask.”

  “I didn’t know you invited anyone else,” I remarked.

  “Yeah, I didn’t know Evie was coming,” Gryph began hesitantly. “Rainer came by the office again when I was setting things up. He offered to help out. I figured he’d be good back-up.”

  The entire group fell silent. Evie looked truly horrified.

  “This is going to be a mess, isn’t it?” Gryph asked.

  “I need to leave,” Evie said in a panic, looking ready to climb out the bathroom window and escape through the alley.

  “You can’t leave,” Trevor told her.

  When she glared at him, Mel interjected. “He’s right. We can’t afford to send any security with you, and plenty of people could have seen you come in with us. The police detectives who followed us here certainly saw you. Besides, you rode here with me and Trevor. Like it or not, you’re stuck here until we’re ready to leave.”

  “What police detectives?” I asked, annoyed that no one had mentioned anyone being followed.

  “There were two following us from the time we left the office,” Trevor told me. “I didn’t recognize either of them.”

  “How do you know they’re police then?” I asked.

  “I suppose they might not be,” Mel agreed.

  “Regardless of who followed you here, we all need to stay together when we leave. I understand that this is a safe zone, but that safe zone ends the second we walk out the door. We all need to leave at the same time.”

  “He’s right,” Mel agreed.

  “You already said that,” Evie snapped before flashing a sheepish smile. “Sorry. I shouldn’t be taking this out on all of you. I know Gryph made these plans before he knew I was coming. Maybe I can hide in a corner somewhere.”

  “That probably won’t work since Rainer just walked in the door, and he hasn’t looked anywhere other than you,” Mel remarked with a pleasant smile.

  Evie tensed. I was standing beside her, so I hadn’t seen Rainer enter either, but Mel and Trevor had. Mel looked far too delighted by her sister’s distress. While I was under the impression Mel didn’t have many more details than I did about Evie’s past with the infamous Rainer Vigil, she didn’t seem to think he’d mistreated her. If Mel had suspected such a thing, she’d only be grinning at the prospect of ripping Rainer’s balls off.

  Gryph turned to greet Rainer. “Thanks for coming tonight,” he said, extending a hand.

  Surprisingly, Rainer immediately took his hand and shook it with a wide grin. “The pleasure’s mine. I’m off for the next two weeks, so you can let me know if you need my help with anything. One would think I’d want to relax, considering the stress from my job, but it seems I don’t do well with idle time.”

  “I can relate to that,” Gryph told him. “Your boss must keep you busy.”

  “Always,” Rainer replied.

  While he was making polite conversation with Gryph, Rainer’s eyes kept drifting to Evie. I’d turned to my side so I could watch both of them. Rainer looked like he wanted to devour Evie. I wasn’t sure how to read her expression. While she still looked like she wanted to run, there was also a strange longing in her eyes.

  “How are you, Evangalina?” Rainer asked.

  Evie tensed. “I’m fine,” she replied in a voice that barely carried over the loud music.

  “How have you been?” Mel asked Rainer.

  “Melina Blackwood,” Rainer mused with a shake of his head. “I don’t believe I’ve seen you since your father took you on a tour of the demon realm. You were barely twelve at the time.”

  Mel laughed at the memory. “I’m surprised I wasn’t banned after that day.”

  “That surprised me, as well,” Rainer admitted. “Even with your family heritage, I was certain Lucifer wouldn’t welcome you back after you released twenty dangerous demons into the human realm.”

  “How was I to know they were evil?” Mel asked.

  “You were specifically warned to stay away from them,” Rainer reminded her.

  “Melina isn’t good at following orders,” Trevor stated.

  “In my defense, they all seemed very nice,” Mel argued.

  “Since we were able to recapture them before anyone was hurt, everything turned out fine,” Rainer added. His eyes drifted to Evie again, and he looked like he was about to say something to her. His gazed moved across the room. “I’m going to grab a drink.” On those words, he walked off toward the bar.

  “I can do this,” Evie said to herself. “There’ll be loud music, and it won’t be hard to avoid Rainer. This isn’t a problem.”

  Mel smiled and shook her head. “Just keep telling yourself that until you believe it.”

  Chapter 69

  Gryph

  Part of the reason I’d been so resistant to agreeing when Julia had insisted we go to the club was I’d never done anything like this. There was definitely my fear for her safety, but I was also stepping out of my comfort zone. At my age, that wasn’t nearly as easy as it had once been.

  Despite all that, I was enjoying myself. The band was good, and I agreed that all members of the demon band were attractive in an inexplicable way. Now that the band had finished their set, the music was much quieter than it had been when we’d arrived. That meant we could finally talk without shouting.

  Despite the initial tension between Evie and Rainer, there’d been no issues. They’d avoided each other all evening.

 
I liked Rainer. The first time he’d come to Bliss, I hadn’t spoken to him, so I’d had no strong opinions either way. I’d also been distracted by the fact that Lucifer had been standing in the Bliss offices.

  The second time Rainer had come in, he’d looked almost embarrassed to be asking Allie if she and Julia would reconsider helping his boss. I was still having trouble believing Lucifer had trouble finding a date, and I’d been unable to keep that thought to myself. Rainer had laughed and told me all the problems Lucifer dealt with when it came to dating. It seemed he hadn’t dated in many decades. When I’d mentioned our outing and my concerns about Julia’s safety, Rainer had offered to come along. Having already arranged werewolf security outside the club, I had enough muscle on our side. My concern was more of the magical variety. I needed someone who was extremely powerful and respected in the witch community. Rainer Vigil was more than just Lucifer’s assistant; he was also a high-ranking warlock.

  “I feel bad for Evie,” Julia said as she looked over at the others. We were near the bar, away from the rest of our group.

  “Why?” I asked with a raised eyebrow. I knew Evie was uncomfortable around Rainer, but he didn’t seem to be pushing things.

  Julia rolled her eyes and regarded me as if I’d said something really stupid.

  “He hasn’t harassed her, and he’s been extremely polite the entire time we’ve been here,” I pointed out.

  “He’s constantly staring at her,” Julia argued. “That makes her uncomfortable.”

  “It’s hard to avoid looking at the woman you love,” I pointed out.

  Julia considered what I’d said before responding. “What makes you think he’s in love with her?”

  “It’s just the way he looks at her,” I explained with a shrug. “I’m sure I used to look at you that way before I understood I was falling for you.”

  Julia’s smile was sweet and warm. “So, you think you were falling in love with me months ago?”

  “I’m pretty sure I was falling in love with you from the day we met,” I admitted.

  “This is really hard for you, isn’t it?” she asked.

  “I just worry I’m going to say the wrong thing,” I admitted.

  “You are,” she assured me.

  “That’s not comforting, Sass,” I grumbled.

  “It should be,” she began. “I already know you’re going to say the wrong thing, so I’ll be prepared when it happens. Even more important than that, I know you’re going to say the wrong thing, and I’m still here.”

  “That’s because you’re a crazy witch,” I accused.

  “Wrong thing to say,” she told me.

  “The truth is wrong?” I asked.

  “Never call a witch crazy, or she’ll cast a binding spell and do something horrible to you,” she warned.

  I laughed at her response. “You’re doing nothing to disprove my point,” I teased. “Before you consider following through with your threat, keep in mind, I like your brand of crazy.”

  She snorted. “Not helping, Gryph.”

  Before I could dig myself into a deeper hole, all my claims that Rainer was behaving himself around Evie flew out the window. I had no idea how the argument started, but when I looked over, Rainer was looming over Evie. He looked seriously pissed. Since Evie’s back was to me, I had a harder time judging her emotions. With her rigid posture and her hands on her hips, I’d say she was telling him off.

  “Damn,” I muttered. “Those two need to get it together.”

  I stalked across the room with Julia at my side, ready to remind them both we didn’t have time for petty drama. There was already too much going on. Since we were leaving in an hour, I needed everyone focused.

  “What the hell is going on?” Julia demanded as soon as we reached them.

  I frowned when I looked over at her. That had been my line.

  “Evangalina seems determined to rewrite the past,” Rainer ground out. His eyes had turned an unnatural shade of silver.

  “Now isn’t the time to talk about this, Rainer,” Evie snapped.

  “When should we talk about this, Evangalina?” Rainer demanded. “You’ve avoided me for more than a decade. This may very well be my only opportunity to discuss this with you.”

  “I need you focused on keeping everyone safe,” I told him.

  Without taking his eyes off Evie, Rainer visibly struggled with his control. Since I was no stranger to those types of internal struggles, I gave him time to pull himself together.

  When Rainer looked over at me, his eyes were back to normal. “I’m going to get a drink,” he announced before heading off to the bar.

  “I’ll be right back,” I told Julia before giving her a quick kiss and following Rainer to the bar.

  When I got there, he let out a frustrated sigh. “I’m sorry about what happened back there. Evangalina has always had a strong effect on me.”

  “Do you want to talk about it?” I asked.

  He considered my offer before responding. “Yes, but this really isn’t the place. Perhaps, we could get together another time,” he suggested.

  “Sure,” I agreed.

  “I like you, Gryph,” Rainer said thoughtfully. “I get the impression you know how hard it is to get the two halves of yourself to work together.”

  “That’s pretty common with werewolves,” I told him. “I’ve met half-demons before, but I never realized you also struggle with that.”

  “I’m not exactly a half-demon,” he admitted. “While I’m a demon lord, I got that title because my mother is a fallen angel.”

  “So, does that make you an angel?” I asked. Other than my brief meeting with Lucifer, I’d never met an angel, fallen or otherwise.

  “Half-angel,” he replied. “Most with only one fallen angel parent are demons. I’m not, and neither is my brother.”

  “What’s the difference between fallen angels and demons?” I asked curiously.

  “Fallen angels are much more powerful. We also have wings,” he explained.

  “Now, that’s something I’d like to see,” I told him.

  “Unless you’re interested in taking a trip to Hell, I’m afraid that won’t happen,” he replied.

  “I think I’ll avoid Hell,” I stated. “I’ve always wondered why some call it Hell and others call it the demon realm.”

  “Hell creates a more negative image in the minds of most, so we started calling it the demon realm,” Rainer explained. “I suppose you could call it rebranding.”

  I chuckled at his response. “You make it sound like the marketing team from Hell worked on this.”

  “They did,” he replied before looking across the room. “Based on the angry looks your witch is sending my way, I’d say Evangalina has nothing nice to say about me.”

  Chapter 70

  Julia

  “That man is the most annoying person I’ve ever met,” Evie muttered angrily without looking over at Rainer. “I can’t believe he’s here. He did this on purpose.”

  “Gryph didn’t even know you’d be here when he invited Rainer,” Trevor argued.

  “That doesn’t mean Rainer didn’t know I’d be here,” she insisted.

  I glared at Rainer Vigil, angry with him for upsetting Evie. I didn’t know what he’d done, but it must have been pretty bad if Evie was this worked up.

  “It seems unlikely he could have figured out you were going to be here,” Mel pointed out.

  “He has his ways,” Evie insisted.

  “Go have a drink with the boys,” Mel told Trevor.

  He raised an eyebrow at her command, to which she glared at him.

  It was always amusing watching my brother with Melina. He was generally a very good-natured person. Mel could be more than a little bitchy with everyone. My brother seemed to find her bitchy ways endearing. His lips twitched as he failed in his attempt to glare back at her.

  “Fine, I’ll leave you to talk to Evie alone,” he relented as he made his way to the bar.

&n
bsp; “This has gone on far too long,” Mel began. “I need to know what you did with that warlock.”

  If Mel was playing bad cop, it seemed I had the role of good cop. “What did he do? Do we need to get some shovels and a tarp?”

  My question earned me a weak laugh from Evie. “I’m not sure it’s a good idea to kill one of Lucifer’s right-hand men.”

  “Are his closest minions really all men?” I asked. “I know that’s a weird question, but I’ve never heard of him having women working in his inner-circle.”

  “They’re all men,” Mel answered for her. “It’s the craziest thing. Lucifer is such an old school sexist that his daughter dresses like she attends Catholic school.”

  “Not always,” I argued. “I’ve seen her dressed like a British governess.”

  “Did Lucifer really come to you looking for help finding a date?” Evie asked.

  “We might not want to talk about this in public,” I cautioned. “I’m pretty sure he wouldn’t appreciate this getting around.”

  “You should fix Lucifer up with your receptionist,” Mel joked. “That would be hilarious.”

  “Why?” Evie asked.

  “Her name is Persephone,” I explained.

  “As in the Persephone who was dragged down to the underworld by Hades?” Evie asked.

  “That didn’t really happen,” Mel argued.

  “I know it’s just a story the ancient Greeks made up,” Evie assured her.

  “You can still see why that would be weird,” I added. “There’s also the fact that she was a homeschooled witch who led a very sheltered life. I’m not sure she could handle Lucifer.”

  “I’m not sure Lucifer could handle Persephone,” Mel added. “That girl is sweet, but she is as curious as cat. Every time I go to Bliss, she has a million questions for me. I’m worried she’ll end up getting herself in trouble.”

  “I wouldn’t worry that much,” I told her. “Her parents taught her plenty of defensive spells. Persephone can take care of herself, and I’ve seen her interact with our more dangerous clients. She knows when to tone things down.”

  “Let’s get back to talking about the demon lord who’s been eye-fucking you all night,” Mel told Evie.