The Cat's Meow

by Stacey Kennedy

  Without another word, look, or acknowledgment—we both knew something brewed between us—I left Kale and his wicked intentions behind and approached Edwin. The loud music simmered over me, pulling me into the crowd. Bodies banged on my arms as I pushed through, focusing on Edwin. He still ground himself against the brunette. Not like it mattered. I had a leg up on this chick and I’d use it to my advantage.

  Once I settled in front of him, I closed my eyes, listened to the beat of the music, and swirled my hips. Someone at my back pressed in against me so I stepped forward to close in on Edwin. With the loud music around me and the crowd’s hypnotic excitement to fuel my moves, I did my best rendition of a striptease without the removal of my clothes. Even though Edwin continued to dance with the woman, he zeroed in on me, but his intent wasn’t nearly as absorbed as I wanted.

  I needed to do better.

  With his focus on me, I trailed a finger over the swell of my breast and felt ridiculous doing it, but hoped it looked sexy. A warm body pressed against my back again, and no doubt someone tried to garner my attention. Yet Edwin’s eyes widened as he followed the trail of my light touch along my skin, still hot from all that Kale business.

  When I hit the swell of my breast, Edwin leaned down and whispered a few words to the woman staring in adoration at him. Then she kissed his lips and left the dance floor. I almost rolled my eyes—almost—at how women responded to him without pause. Ridiculous. I’d play along for now, but if this were a real situation I’d kick him in the junk and be on my way lickety-split.

  Edwin closed in on me, pressing his slender frame against mine, and his voice lifted over the music. “I must say, Libby”—the musk of lust wafting off him made all my defenses rise— “this is quite unexpected.”

  I fought against my desire to punch him and pushed my breasts out, drawing his focus down to my cleavage. His way-too-strong aftershave crinkled my nose, but I put on a charmed smile. “I’ve had a change of heart.”

  “Over me?” He sounded incredulous. “You want to take me up on my offer?”

  The offer was him and me, in bed, naked and very sweaty. Edwin had tried on more occasions than I could count to get me into his bed. All of which resulted in a flat no. “I might be more agreeable now to discuss the offer.”

  He braced my lower back and yanked me into him, his erection pressing against my lower stomach. “This, I have to hear.” A wicked grin stole over his features and his eyes darkened. “Why after all this time have you decided to let me in?”

  I nearly barfed on him since he meant let me in literally. “I saw you here tonight and you look so sexy, Edwin.” I put on my most seductive soft purr. “And it’s been so long since I’ve had a warlock.” That wasn’t a lie.

  As I trailed my fingernail over his cheek, his features intensified and his breath deepened. I could’ve gagged. “I don’t want to deny my needs any longer.” Half-truth; I did have needs and those needs hadn’t been met in a very long time. “Are you interested or should I look elsewhere?”

  He all but trembled with wicked delight. “When and where?”

  Win for Libby!

  “Now.” I grabbed his hand, yanking him forward.

  On my way out of the club, I glanced to the corner where Kale stood, but he was gone. My lips thinned—he had better follow me out, because if I had to make out with this warlock, it was game over.

  I made quick time exiting the bar and headed around the side of the building toward the back alley. The parking lot resembled the inside, but stuffed full of cars instead of people. I quickened my steps, weaved in and out of the cars toward mine parked at the back, and prayed to the Goddess that Kale waited close by.

  To my left, a thin tree line blocked off the parking lot behind the bakery. To my right stood a large coffee shop. I stayed focused on my SUV while Edwin squeezed my hand, running his thumb over the back.

  Once we were covered by darkness in the corner of the lot beside my SUV, I dropped his hand and scanned the area for Kale. Sadly, I didn’t find him. The lot remained empty, which I appreciated since I didn’t want any onlookers to give us trouble.

  I turned to Edwin, and immediately grunted. He grinned from ear to ear and approached in a somewhat funny walk, which I suspected was due to the hardness ever so evident in his pants. “You really want it that bad?”

  I’d rather be hexed! “Don’t make me wait, Edwin.”

  He inhaled a sharp breath and the arousal in his features made me suck air into my lungs for a different reason. Where the hell was Kale?

  Oh Goddess, he’s not going to…

  Edwin yanked me forward and kissed my mouth with such force that I stumbled. I tried to kiss him back to play along, but his tongue was like a damn sword stabbing at my mouth. I groaned in disgust and he moaned like he enjoyed himself. I turned my head to get away from his horrible kiss and he attacked my neck on a devilish mission to give me a hickey. He grabbed on to my breasts and I shut my eyes, trying not to deck this warlock as his fingers grazed over my nipples through the fabric of my tank top.

  This, I had not signed up for.

  A sudden low whistle echoed through the parking lot, and I opened my eyes to Kale, who wore an expression that said he was not to be trifled with. Edwin jerked his head up and glanced toward Kale, and in the same second Kale punched him in the nose.

  Blood rushed from Edwin’s nose right before he dropped to the ground into a heap.

  He didn’t get up.

  I glanced between the unconscious Edwin to Kale a few times over before I managed, “You did not just knock him out?”

  Kale stretched out the fingers he had used to pummel Edwin and lifted a lazy shoulder, but his body radiated with tension. “It got him off you. Now you can get the hair sample without argument.”

  “But, but, but…” I sucked in a loud breath to stop my stammer. His force had been unnecessary. “You seriously knocked him out?” With a single punch that seemed to speak to my very libido.

  “Yes…,” he glanced down at Edwin with a deadly look, “I certainly did.” He gestured toward the unconscious warlock with an arched eyebrow. “Time is wasting, Libby.”

  Why had Kale’s reaction not seemed job-related, but more like he, in fact, despised seeing Edwin touching me? The tension still coming off him seemed extremely personal and motivated by anger.

  I shook my head to force the shock to subside, and squatted down to pluck a strand of hair from Edwin’s head. “Put him in the SUV. I don’t want to get caught with him knocked out and have another situation to deal with.”

  Kale grabbed Edwin’s arm and dragged him—not so carefully, I might add—to my SUV. He tossed him into the backseat, and then slammed the door and joined me. “How will you get him to talk?”

  I held the strand of Edwin’s hair between my finger and thumb as I opened my hatchback. “A compelling bracelet should do the trick.” I grabbed one of my bowls from the side compartment and an already-prepared bottle of “command and compel” oil in the spare-tire holder, and added Edwin’s hair to the bowl. I plucked out one of my own—which stung like a bitch—but I could ignore the pain so long as the spell worked.

  “I’ll admit I’m somewhat intrigued.” Kale’s voice deepened and his eyes sparkled, which as of yet I hadn’t seen from the stony warlock.

  “Somewhat?” I snorted. “You should be awed by the Goddess, warlock.”

  “Truth is…” he said softly. “I’m not intrigued by the Goddess.” When I glanced over my shoulder at him to give him a firm lashing, he continued. “I’m intrigued by you.”

  Was this warlock from a different world? He gave compliments? But intrigued by what—to ruin my career or simply for personal reasons? Unaware of which it was, I murmured, “Err…thank you.”

  “Ah, not a snippy response.” He winked. “We’re getting somewhere.”

  I rolled my eyes, frustrated he was right—I should’ve thrown a snarky remark his way. Forgetting about him for the moment, I grabbed my bott
les of oil of bergamot and vetiver, and added a drop of each to the mixture. Once finished, I drew in a deep breath, collected myself away from the strong presence of Kale beside me, and focused on the magic simmering around me.

  The sweet citrusy scent of the bergamot mixed with the woodsy hues of the vetiver engulfed me, and the hot burn to my veins indicated the readiness of the magic. “Goddess, force this warlock to tell no lies.”

  I paused for a moment to allow the spell to absorb into the hairs, and then I grabbed a piece of black thread out of the hatchback and twisted Edwin’s hair with mine. I then used the black thread and tied nine knots to combine it all together.

  After I formed the bracelet, I wrapped it around my right wrist and held out my arm to Kale. “Can you tie it?” It wasn’t often I had a sidekick, and this step always took forever when alone. Maybe his company wasn’t so bad, because I didn’t doubt I’d prove myself to my coven, and really, the extra hands did help.

  Maybe.

  Kale grabbed the ends and tied the bracelet, his fingers caressing the sensitive spot on my wrist. My breath became ragged. How did a man, filled out with a body like that, have a touch so soft?

  When he finished with the knot to enclose the bracelet, I recoiled from his touch, trying my damnedest not to notice how my body yearned for his fingers to return. He looked at me in such a heated way, as if touching me affected him as much as it had me, and I shifted uneasily on my feet. As much as my head told me all the negatives about Kale, my body couldn’t ignore the magnitude of appeal he provided, and certain places long dormant ached.

  He cleared his throat and his voice had lowered. “What next?”

  I gulped and forced my voice not to waver, demanding that my body chill out and reminding myself who was in control. “I need to talk to him.”

  Leaving all that nonsense behind, I opened the driver’s side door and dropped into the seat. Kale slid into the passenger side and his expression became questioning, but before I could provide my next steps, Edwin moaned.

  I glanced between the front seats at him, and he stirred, rubbing at his nostrils, which were coated in blood. “Sit up. Listen to me,” I commanded.

  Edwin sat up in a split second, stiff as a board and with his eyes glazed over. I’d seen it before while using this spell and I doubted it would be the last time I made a request of the Goddess in this manner. Truth spells came in handy often. “Have you heard of trouble in Charleston?”

  In a robotic voice, Edwin replied, “Just recently, Bryon Holt contacted me in search of help. It looks like he’s gotten himself into a bind and joined some group called Sorcerers Rebellion. They plan to revolt against the Alchemy.”

  I seriously did a double take as slow horror drifted over my body. That name registered with such force I could only hope Edwin was wrong. If he wasn’t, that meant my ex-boyfriend was right in the heart of this trouble.

  But for now I focused on the larger problem. “The Alchemy?” Where Charleston’s magical folk had the coven that led them, the Alchemy was the higher power—the leaders of warlocks and witches in the United States. “A rebellion?”

  Kale frowned.

  “From what I heard,” Edwin continued as if I hadn’t interrupted, “the leader of the Sorcerers Rebellion has a means to destroy the High Priests.”

  I blinked. “Pardon me?”

  “Bryon said the one who rules over the group is rich with power,” Edwin explained. “But Bryon got scared, wanted out, and he booked it.”

  “What made him so scared?” Kale asked in a tight voice.

  I repeated the question since Edwin wouldn’t acknowledge Kale under my spell, and he answered, “He said whoever this was—he didn’t know him by name—indicated that the time for new leadership in the Alchemy has arrived. He desires to destroy them all.”

  My mouth gaped open, totally stunned speechless. In all truth, I had expected there to be talk about some warlock after a higher power, and the reasons the cats were killed had revolved around a mini-plan. I hadn’t once thought we’d hear of a huge plot to destroy the world as I knew it, and I wasn’t sure I wanted Edwin to proceed.

  Kale’s lips thinned into a firm line. “Did Bryon say why he’s after this power?”

  After I asked his question, Edwin said in the same bland voice, “Time for a new world. For a new power to reign over the covens.”

  “Harrumph” was Kale’s reply.

  I nodded in agreement. As much as I preferred to stay away from this kind of trouble, it seemed important to get as much out of Edwin as possible. I cleared my throat to remove my heart from it. “Are you sure it was the Bryon Holt from our coven?” At his nod, I shook my head. “No, that can’t be true.”

  Kale studied me with a hard look, making me feel all too examined under his hard stare, and finally asked, “You know this warlock?”

  “I do.” I once loved him. “He’s an ex-boyfriend.”

  Kale’s eyebrows rose before his gray eyes blazed with a hot emotion. “When did you break up?”

  I got stuck in his obvious wrath and tried to understand; was he angry that I knew the warlock, or was it the mention of an ex-boyfriend? Furthermore, why did he seem so interested in when the relationship ended?

  Instantly, I chastised myself for thinking those thoughts when hell unfolded at the moment. “Years ago, and I haven’t talked with him since.” All this rubbed me wrong—Bryon had never been evil. A jackass, yes, but he worked for the Alchemy. Sure, we had bad history together, yet as much as I tried to believe this, I couldn’t. “He has to be wrong. Bryon would never be involved in anything like this.”

  Kale studied me for a long moment before his expression softened. “You have done a truth spell on Edwin; he can’t lie to you.”

  True enough, and that acknowledgment deepened the pain in my chest. Had Bryon gone bad? Even if I liked Bryon as much as I did Edwin, the thought of someone I once cared for being involved in this was a hard pill to swallow.

  Kale nudged my arm—apparently I’d been lost in my thoughts. When I lifted my head, he asked, “Why did the relationship end?”

  While I understood his need to drill me about my spells because maybe the coven had ordered it, my personal life did not concern him. Besides, I didn’t like how I could still feel the heat of his touch on my arm. “What business is it of yours?”

  “It’ll give me insight into him,” Kale replied, all too coolly. “Perhaps your reasoning for ending the relationship relates to how he ended up going down this road.”

  I supposed that made sense, though it seemed more than that. Kale’s intense regard of me appeared more personal, as if he wanted to know my history. He did have a point, though, and maybe my past with Bryon would cloud my judgment. “On my first case, I hunted a nasty witch who had been responsible for the death of one of the High Priestesses.”

  On a deep sigh, I glanced down at my hands, pulled back into the horrible memory that had never faded from my mind, and my voice got quiet. “It was my assistance that led to finding her, yet Bryon had killed her. Seeing that the case was high profile because the death was a High Priestess, the Alchemy came to reward those involved in the case.” My heart still ached from that day he stomped on it, but my misery had long ago turned into hatred. “Bryon took all the credit, played up his part in it all, and never once told the Alchemy I had discovered the witch. They offered him employment in the Alchemy. He took it, and I’ve never seen him since.”

  “You didn’t tell them?”

  I blinked out of the memory because Kale’s question hadn’t been one I expected. “Pardon?”

  Kale’s eyes were gentle, his voice equally tender. “You never told the Alchemy you were the reason the witch was discovered?”

  Goddess, had I just told him—or showed him by my expression—how much pain the event had caused? How betrayed I’d been that Bryon, a warlock who said he loved me, put me down to the leaders of the magical world to look better than me? I fought with myself to shut back down,
and shook my head. “I don’t need approval from anyone and I didn’t need a promotion. If he wants the glory, he can have it.”

  Kale hesitated, his eyes searching mine, and his face was unreadable. Dammit, why couldn’t he share my flaw, show his emotions? He finally said, “From what you’ve told me, it appears you didn’t know him that well, and he’s after power.”

  While I could agree that I thought I had known Bryon but didn’t after all, I didn’t see his desire for anything bigger than the Alchemy. “Power?”

  Kale nodded. “Seems even then he sought to look stronger than the others around him and that’s why he showed you such disrespect. Maybe that need has grown.”

  The statement appeared accurate, and all I could do was nod. For whatever reason, I didn’t mind hearing that Kale’s opinion on Bryon matched my own. Not allowing myself to go down that road of personal attachment, I focused back on Edwin. “What else can you tell us?”

  Edwin still hadn’t blinked, and stared out the front window with a blank look. “Bryon said there’s quite the group that has rallied in this rebellion. It grows daily and now has hundreds of followers.”

  Kale grunted. “Did he mention where they gathered?”

  Once I asked Edwin the question, he said, “He never went into specifics. He appeared too frightened to say more than what he told me.”

  I couldn’t believe so many had joined this crazy-ass plan, but knew with my magic Edwin couldn’t lie. Still, were warlocks really so stupid? To overtake the Alchemy was unthinkable. “What did you tell Bryon to do?”

  “I told him to run and get as far away as possible,” Edwin answered. “After that day, he hasn’t returned, and I haven’t heard from him.”

  Shit! “Guess talking to him is out of the question.” At Kale’s nod, I exhaled a long breath, relieved Kale agreed since it meant I didn’t have to find Bryon. Truth was, if I wanted to find him, I could, but my emotions led the way and until I needed to, I would take an alternate route.