That was another order I was more than happy to follow.
Chapter Thirty-Eight
The Lover
Since our second kill less than a week ago, Zahrel had grown stronger. The bloody remains of our third kill were staining the stone floor in the basement of the church we’d used.
There was no denying Zahrel had a wonderful sense of humor. It had been his idea to use a church for this sacrifice, and I was certain the members of the church would be shocked to know what had happened here. We’d sacrificed a demon in the basement of a church to feed the power of a stronger demon. I’d probably laugh every time I thought about it for years.
“It’s a pity her body will disintegrate before anyone can find it,” I said, staring at the already fading remains of the demon. In her true form, she looked surprisingly human-like, except for her scaly green skin and the third eye on the center of her forehead. She’d been a weaker demon, so Zahrel had been able to drain her with little effort. Her body was sliced open from her pelvic bone to her neck, and her frail ribs had been broken to allow Zahrel access to her hearts, of which she’d had two.
Zahrel laughed, and I looked over to see him dressed in a black hooded robe. His skeletal hand pointed to the demon’s body. “It would only create problems if the preternatural police were to become involved.”
“True, but it’s still a pity,” I admitted with a sigh. “I would love to see the humans’ reactions when they found the body.”
Zahrel pulled his hood back to reveal his equally skeletal face and bald head. I had to admit that his Grim Reaper-like form was a little scary, even to me. “You need to rein in your need for drama,” he snapped. “If you want your warlock, then you must control your impulses and play this smart.”
“I summoned you, and I can send you back,” I hissed.
“Then do it,” he taunted. “Send me back and start over from scratch. I’m not interested in wasting my time. I want Melina Blackwood. With her bound to me, I can get anything I want.”
I seethed in silence, hating that yet another man was fascinated with that demon bitch. Granted, I knew Zahrel’s reasons were much different than Trevor’s. Still, I was angry that her name was always being brought up.
“The next kill has to be someone close to Melina,” I insisted.
Zahrel chuckled and pulled his hood back over his disturbing face. “You know, if it weren’t for your childish fits of temper, I might find your ruthless ways sexy.”
I was about to snap at him, but I paused when he turned on me and I saw the red glow of his. “I’m sure we can make our next kill more crippling to my little demon.”
I nodded, satisfied that we could hit the bitch closer to home this time. “It has to be someone she actually cares about,” I insisted. “No more killing minor players in her life.”
“Of course,” Zahrel agreed. “It’s best if she gets used to the misery now. Soon, she’ll be at my mercy, and she’ll learn the real meaning of suffering.”
“And soon, Trevor will be with me,” I added with a wistful sigh.
Chapter Thirty-Nine
Trevor
We were almost at the two week mark, much to Melina’s annoyance. I knew she wasn’t so much annoyed about us still getting along as she was about losing the bet. It hadn’t taken long to figure out Melina hated to lose. Even when we bet sexual favors, something she took great pleasure in both winning and losing, she always grumbled if she lost.
In the time she’d been at my house, we’d settled into a routine of sorts. It was hard to have a true routine with Melina’s schedule, which was more variable than usual lately. She’d explained that it was always like this while they were filming the season, but that things would settle down in the next month. Then, she’d mostly work from home on the scripts for the next season, meeting twice a week with the other writers and weekly with the director and producer. I was looking forward to that time. Melina didn’t believe she’d still be here, but I knew she would. What surprised me was how few people knew Melina was living with me. Other than my parents, Dylan’s parents, and the people at Night High, I didn’t think anyone knew. Apparently, my love life wasn’t nearly as big a topic of conversation as I’d thought it was.
I’d gotten up early to make Melina breakfast, something I did daily, even though that meant missing showering with my witch in the morning. I wasn’t completely missing out on shower fun with her; I just had to enjoy it at other times.
Making it to the two week mark tomorrow would be a big deal to me, and even though Melina hadn’t said anything, I knew she felt the same. Today, I was going all out with bacon, eggs, and waffles to remind her how good things were between us. The shower had turned off a few minutes ago, so I was expecting Melina. What I was not expecting was the front door to slam open, followed by my sister, Julia’s, voice.
“Trevor?” she called out. “Where are you? Please don’t tell me you have some bimbo in the kitchen cooking for you.”
I’d talked to Julia earlier in the week, but she hadn’t mentioned stopping by to see me. Julia walked into the kitchen at the same time as Melina, and it was no exaggeration to say my sister’s jaw dropped.
“You’re cooking!” Julia exclaimed, pointing to the bacon on the grill, and I almost laughed. Apparently, my cooking shocked her more than Melina’s presence.
I looked down at the bacon before flashing a sardonic smile. “I always said you were the most observant of my sisters.”
“Since when do you cook?” my annoying little sister asked.
“I cook,” I argued, giving her a warning glare. She was quickly moving down on my list of favorite sisters, now sitting at number three.
Julia snorted.
“When did you start cooking, Trevor?” Melina asked. “I’ve noticed your cooking keeps getting better, so I have to assume this is a recent skill.”
The most annoying thing happened; I felt myself blushing. “Annoying witches,” I grumbled, pulling the bacon off the grill before it burned.
My sister’s eyes looked like they were going to bug out of her head as she looked between me and Melina. “You learned to cook to impress Melina!” she screeched.
“Melina, this is my sister, Julia,” I introduced. “She’s an insufferable brat. Julia, this is Melina Blackwood.”
“We’ve met,” Melina told me.
“When?” I asked. Neither of them attended many council meetings, and they didn’t run in the same circles.
Now, it was apparently Julia’s turn to blush.
“I ran into Julia at Bliss,” Melina told me. “I was stopping by there on a regular basis before the wedding.”
“I still don’t understand why Julia was there,” I explained.
“She’s there all the time,” Melina replied. “Why are you so surprised that Allie’s partner would be at the office?”
The plate I’d been carrying to the breakfast bar slipped from my fingers, and I cursed as waffles, eggs, and bacon splattered across the floor.
“Did I forget to mention that?” Julia asked with a sweet smile.
“Have you told Mom and Dad?” I asked, knowing they weren’t going to be thrilled, which was partly my fault. I was the oldest, and I’d shunned the family business, but my parents had hung onto the belief that their daughters would follow in their footsteps. Julia was the most attune with the bonds of magic between couples. My father often said he’d never met anyone with such a natural gift. While I could sense them and knew when people were right for each other, I’d never been able to pick up the nuances in cases where it wasn’t as obvious the way Julia could. Julia taking a different path would not go over well with my parents.
“I told them this morning. That’s why I’m here,” she began. “I need a place to stay until I get an apartment. Before you ask, Mom and Dad did not kick me out, but I think it would be best to give them some space to process this. Mom seemed fine, but Dad freaked out a little.”
“When did this happen? Why am I just hearing about it?�
� I demanded, annoyed that my sister would drop this on me.
Melina moved to help me clean up the food and broken plate, reaching out a hand to pat my shoulder. “You’re just pissed that Julia didn’t ask your advice, aren’t you?”
“That’s ridiculous,” I scoffed before letting out a sigh. “Yeah, I’m pissed that my baby sister didn’t ask for my advice.”
Then both annoying women laughed at me. My scowl did nothing to lessen their laughter. “It’s not funny,” I grumbled, tossing the pieces of the broken plate into the trash.
“Actually, it is funny,” Julia insisted. “You do realize that I’m twenty-seven, don’t you?”
I let out a sigh and looked at my sister, trying to remind myself she was all grown up. That wasn’t as easy as one might think. Julia resembled my mother, with blonde hair resting at her delicate shoulders, pale blue eyes, and a heart-shaped face. Dressed in jeans and a much too tight sweater, she looked like an adult, but my mind kept going to memories of her as a gap-toothed little girl in mismatched shoes. Julia had thankfully outgrown her unfortunate tendency to lose her shoes. She’d followed me and Dylan around constantly when she was a kid, and I’d always pretended to be annoyed while secretly loving the fact that Julia idolized me. I still blame her for my ego being so big.
“I am so fucked if I have a daughter someday,” I muttered.
“I’d say she’ll be the one with problems,” Julia added.
When I looked over, I caught an almost wistful expression on Melina’s face, but she quickly masked it and gave me a stern look. “Don’t act like an ass about this, Trevor. Julia is an adult, and working with Allie is a good fit for her.”
“How could this possibly be a good fit for Julia?” I demanded. “Allie’s business involves creating sexual fantasies for couples. My baby sister doesn’t know anything about sex!”
Now, they were both looking at me like I was a moron.
“Even Dad didn’t say anything that stupid,” Julia told me with a huff. “I partnered with Allie so we could offer our services to a wider range of clientele.”
“Seriously, Julia, I’ve seen you with only a couple of boyfriends,” I sputtered. “What do you mean by catering to a wider range of clientele?”
That’s when I felt like an idiot, as well. In my defense, I never thought about my sisters having sex. Julia hadn’t had many boyfriends, but she’d had roommates—female roommates. Sure, I’d seen them kiss on the mouth, but it had been a quick peck on the lips, and girls did that, right? I really was an idiot.
“Do Mom and Dad know?” I asked.
“Know what, Trevor?” Julia’s lips twitched.
“That you’re a lesbian,” I explained.
“Bisexual,” she corrected me, “but most of my relationships have been with women. Of course, Mom and Dad know. I honestly thought you knew. How could you have missed it?”
“So, Katherine wasn’t just your roommate?” I asked.
Julia rolled her eyes and shook her head. “I introduced her as my girlfriend.”
“Women do that. It doesn’t mean they’re dating,” I argued. How could I have been this clueless?
“Does my sexual preference bother you?” Julia asked.
Thankfully, Melina answered for me, because I was still having trouble coming to terms with the fact that my sister had sex. It honestly didn’t matter who she had sex with; I hated it.
“Trevor’s upset that you have any preference involving sex,” Melina explained and handed me the plate I hadn’t dropped. “Why don’t you go eat breakfast? I’ll finish cleaning up and make something for me and Julia.”
“Are you worried about me?” I asked Melina.
She snorted. “Hardly. I just don’t want you to say something even more stupid to your sister. Go eat your food and call Dylan. He and Allie are on their way back today, so he’ll have time to talk.”
Feeling like I was being sent to my room, I grabbed my plate and left. Melina was right about talking to Dylan. At least, he’d be as shocked that Julia was working with Allie as I was.
Chapter Forty
Melina
As soon as Trevor left the room, I shook my head and laughed quietly with Julia. It was funny and endearing that Trevor hadn’t figured out Julia was bisexual. It wasn’t a secret by any stretch of the imagination. Even I’d known, and we weren’t friends. Don’t get me wrong, I liked Julia, but we didn’t know each other that well.
“So, Trevor finally won you over,” Julia began with a grin.
“I wouldn’t say he won me over,” I argued.
“You’re in his house,” Julia pointed out. “For Trevor, this has to be a huge victory. How long have you been here?”
“Two weeks tomorrow,” I admitted.
“Two weeks?” she screeched, making me cringe at her ear-piercing tone. “You’ve been here two weeks and Trevor hasn’t been bragging to the world that he got you into his house?”
“Is that what he normally does when he’s got a new witch in his life?” I was trying to sound casual, but I didn’t like thinking about Trevor with other witches.
“Hardly,” Julia said with a snort. “Trevor having a witch in his house was always a given. We found it shocking on the rare occasions when he wasn’t involved with someone. I’m not one to judge, since I’ve been known to go overboard with new relationships, too.”
“Since you already know Trevor’s pattern, you’ve probably also figured out this won’t last much longer. I’m almost two weeks in, and if I remember correctly, that’s when Trevor’s interest usually wanes.”
“I might have said that, too, if you’d given in when he was first chasing after you. Back then, we all figured you’d either give in or he’d get tired of being turned down. Either way, I thought his fascination with you would pass. Then, Trevor shocked us all by becoming a virtual recluse for six months. He stopped having parties and ignored the witches throwing themselves at him. Eventually, he started dating again, but he didn’t move any of them into his house. From what we could tell, he didn’t even have a second date with the few witches he went out with. That dating period didn’t last long before he went back to being a recluse.”
I’d already heard this from Trevor, but it was still hard to believe. It also made it harder to remember that this wouldn’t last. Even knowing we shouldn’t be together, Trevor was damn near irresistible. It wasn’t even all about sex, like I kept trying to tell myself. I felt comfortable being myself around Trevor. He didn’t have an issue with me being bitchy, and he was one of the few people who actually got my sense of humor. The man had learned to cook for me, and he’d been embarrassed enough to blush when I found out, not that I hadn’t already realized he was only cooking for me. “I’m sure things won’t last much longer,” I insisted, trying for a light tone.
“I wouldn’t bet on that,” Julia said with a snort, and something in my face must have given me away because she started laughing. “You bet Trevor this wouldn’t work, didn’t you?”
“Under duress,” I insisted, making Julia laugh again.
“Yes, I know how hard it is to make intelligent decisions under duress. When a woman is horny enough, she’ll agree to almost anything.”
If I were the shy type, I might try to deny that was the kind of duress I’d been under, but I’m not that type of woman, so I shrugged. “Your brother can be very convincing.”
“Please don’t give me any details,” Julia said with a hand up to ward off the images. “I’ve heard more about my brother’s sex life than any sister should have to. It’s why I feel no guilt over my brother’s current discomfort. I suppose I should find somewhere else to stay.”
“Why?” I asked. “Trevor isn’t going to refuse to let you stay here just because he’s uncomfortable with the realization that you aren’t a virgin.”
“Yes, but I’m sure I’ll be uncomfortable hearing you scream my brother’s name. That could turn me off sex for months, and my new career involves thinking about sex all
the time.”
I considered insisting we could be quiet, but I’d never been a good liar. “You have a good point,” I told her. “Allie will be pissed if my sex life interferes with the new business.”
Julia giggled. “Are you saying you’re afraid of Allie? As I recall, you’re some badass demon.”
“That’s true,” I conceded. “I no longer need to be nice for fear of being stuck in an ugly bridesmaid dress, but I’m still going to try to avoid traumatizing you. Something tells me it’s going to be a lot of fun watching Trevor’s reaction the next time he sees you with a woman, or a man for that matter.”
Julia giggled. “I really like you, Mel.”
Chapter Forty-One
Trevor
I polished off my breakfast before dialing Dylan’s number. It was an asshole move to call him on his honeymoon, even if he was on his way home, but he should know about Julia working with Allie, too. I also figured it would be best to tell them about Melina staying with me before they got back. That last thing I kept going back and forth on, but in the end, I didn’t want to shock Dylan.
“Hey, Trev,” Dylan answered, and I could tell by the background noise that he was in the car with the call on speaker. “What’s up? Is everything okay at the office?”
“Everything’s fine,” I assured him. “How was the trip?” I didn’t want to make small talk, but I didn’t want to be rude either.
“Fantastic!” Allie answered.
“What she said,” Dylan added, and I could hear the smile in his voice.
“Hey, Allie!” I greeted her.
“What were you calling about?” Dylan pushed. “I’m sure it wasn’t just to chat.”
“Julia is at my house,” I explained.
“Uh oh,” Allie said softly.
“I can’t believe the stuff she told me,” I continued.
“About working with Allie?” Dylan asked.
“You knew?” I demanded.
“He drew up the contracts for Bliss,” Allie reminded me. “Since Julia is my partner, her name is on all those contracts.”
Shamelessly Spellbound (Spells That Bind Book 2) Page 16
