witches of cleopatra hill 07 - impractical magic

by Christine Pope

  The bed was rumpled, messily made, but at least the sheets looked clean. A few more books and magazines lay in the middle of it, and Colin hastily gathered them up and dumped them on the nightstand. Something about him taking care to do that rather than pushing them to the floor made him seem that much more endearing. Most guys wouldn’t have cared if they messed up a couple of magazines if it meant they’d get laid more quickly, but obviously Colin did.

  He turned back toward her, his mouth finding hers once again. His hand touched the zipper at the back of her dress, and he did hesitate then. “Jenny,” he whispered. “Is it — is it okay?”

  “More than okay,” she replied. “I want you to.”

  That word was clearly all he needed to fling aside any doubt he might have been experiencing. He tugged the zipper down, and at once his fingers closed on the straps of her dress and pulled them down as well. She stood there before him in her bra and panties, and thanked the Goddess that this had been a special occasion, and so she had on a matching peach-colored satin bra and panty set that she’d bought to go with her bridesmaid’s dress.

  Maybe he noticed; he let out a breath, and his hands came around to cup her breasts, fingers strong and warm against the smooth fabric. She gasped — not in surprise, but because she hadn’t expected even that slight touch to feel so amazing.

  “You’re — ” He paused then, and shook his head. “You are way out of my league, Jenny McAllister.”

  His manner might have been diffident, but she’d seen the desire and admiration in his eyes, and so she wasn’t about to let him talk himself out of this. “No, I’m not. You’re insanely hot, Colin Campbell. So don’t try to tell me otherwise.”

  Those words appeared to crumble any further arguments he might have made, because he pulled her to him, devouring her mouth with those kisses that felt as if they were leaving scorch marks on her skin. In the next moment, they were falling onto the bed, and she was tugging at his jacket, tossing it aside with far less care than he’d shown his books. His shirt followed immediately afterward, and she found herself running her hands over his chest, reveling in the feeling of his warm, smooth skin, the firmness of the muscles beneath. No, he obviously wasn’t some muscle-bound jock, but it sure felt like he was in good shape.

  He fumbled with the hooks on her bra, then got it undone and threw it over onto the chair a few feet away from the bed. Before she could even think, his mouth had closed on her breast, his tongue moving over her flesh. Another moan escaped her mouth, while at the same time his hand slid up her leg, slipped under her panties so his fingers could sink deep into her.

  Oh, Goddess. It had been so very long, and her body was about ready to spasm in what had to be a world record when it came to how long it took a woman to orgasm. She didn’t care, though; she wanted him to know what he did to her, how much she loved his touch, so passionate and yet gentle at the same time.

  Her body clenched around his fingers, and she rode the wave as she clung to him, tears starting to her eyes as that amazing release seemed to echo in every cell, every nerve. He kissed her then, softly on the cheek.

  That felt good, but she knew she didn’t want soft. She wanted him…all of him.

  Her fingers closed on the waistband of his briefs, and she pulled them down so she could take him with her other hand, wrapping around him, feeling how hard and heavy he was, how ready for her. Well, she knew she was ready for him.

  Neither of them spoke, but as if by some shared signal they shifted their positions so she could straddle him. A stray thought went through her mind — oh, shit, we forgot the condom. Right then, though, she didn’t care. There was the charm of Brigit to protect her, a charm used by generations of McAllister witches to ward off unwanted pregnancy.

  So she slid down onto Colin, felt him fill her, and she had to keep herself from screaming out loud at the amazing sensation of their bodies locked together, the way everything seemed to fit perfectly even though of course they’d never done this before. But he was in an apartment, and she really didn’t want his neighbors knowing every intimate detail of this moment she was sharing with him.

  His hands slid up her stomach, caressing her breasts again. Truly amazing how strong and sensitive his fingers were, how they seemed to know exactly how to touch her. Another orgasm was building in her, and she hoped she’d be able to hold it off long enough for him to climax as well.

  That didn’t seem to be much of a problem, though. His eyes had shut, and his thrusts were getting stronger, pushing deeper into her. She’d never been with him before, but she thought she could tell that he was getting close. Good, because she knew she was, too.

  He came hard, pounding into her, a wordless groan wrenched from his lips. Jenny’s own orgasm followed only a moment afterward, and once again she had to squeeze her eyes to prevent tears of ecstasy from rolling down her cheeks. She’d pretended that she was fine, that she didn’t need this amazing closeness with another human being, but she knew she’d been lying to herself.

  An endless moment while they rocked together, each spent, but not quite ready to end their joining. And then he took her by the waist and helped her slip down to lie at his side, their bodies pressed together, warm and damp from their exertions. For the first time, she realized the room was close to being hot. Probably he’d shut off the air conditioning while he was out for the day. She didn’t mind; something about the heat felt right, felt good.

  His arms went around her, and he pulled her even closer. That felt good, too. It seemed like most of the guys she’d been with had wanted to get out of bed as soon as the act was over, to head to the bathroom or to the kitchen to get a beer, to go to the living room and turn on the television. Anything to avoid this moment of heartbreaking closeness when a person was at their most vulnerable.

  Colin didn’t seem to mind feeling vulnerable, though. He held her, and she could feel the way his chest rose and fell against hers, the way his heart was pounding. Maybe she was reading the signs wrong, but she thought that this had meant more to him than just a one-night stand.

  It sure meant more to her. She wasn’t sure what she should do about that.

  Should she say something? Her head felt swimmy with champagne and the lush heat of their lovemaking. If she said something, she might just screw everything up, and she didn’t want that. She wanted things to remain as they were right now, beautiful and close and intense. Neither of them seemed too concerned about the unprotected sex they’d just shared. Jenny knew she didn’t have much to worry about, because in addition to having Brigit’s charm to protect her, she’d been on the pill for years because she liked how it worked to reduce the effects of her periods. Anything else, well, the McAllisters didn’t have a healer, but the Wilcoxes did, which meant she didn’t have anything much to worry about on that front, either.

  Besides, she was so very tired. The day had suddenly caught up with her, and though she knew she should get out of Colin’s bed and put her clothes back on, have him drive her to the hotel so she could get up the next morning and act as if nothing out of the ordinary had happened, she knew she was physically incapable of doing such a thing.

  She laid her head against Colin’s shoulder, and slept.

  5

  He didn’t want to move. He was afraid if he moved, he’d wake her up, and then this whole amazing dream would vanish into thin air like the fairytale it must be. Girls like Jenny McAllister did not come home with guys like him.

  But there she was, a stray beam of sunlight pushing past the closed mini-blinds and touching her hair, turning it to purest gold. Her beauty astonished him, especially now, with her hair tumbled and the mascara she’d worn for the wedding smudged under her eyes. That didn’t matter. Smeared makeup couldn’t hide the fine lines of her cheekbones, the straight, perfect nose, the curve of her mouth. Its corners were turned up slightly, as if she smiled at something in her dreams.

  Was she dreaming of him? It seemed pretty presumptuous to think that he occupied he
r thoughts, even in sleep, but he was glad she looked happy. She’d done her best the day before to make it seem as if everything was just fine, but he’d seen the strain that lurked in those big blue-gray eyes. She hadn’t been fine. She’d just put on a public face and made sure her cousin’s big day had been as happy and trouble-free as it possibly could be.

  As Colin looked down at Jenny, a pang of guilt flashed through him. Last night had been blurred by too much lust and alcohol, but now, in the not-so-cold light of a Tucson morning, he realized what he’d done. He’d gone to that wedding on false pretenses, lied to everyone around him, and then gone to bed with the sister of the girl whose spectacular murder had occupied a good deal of his professional life not so very long ago.

  Jesus.

  She stirred then, opening eyes that reminded him of the sky over the ocean. He’d only seen it once, when he was in junior high school and his parents had taken him and his sister Kate to California, but even so, the colors of the sea had haunted him ever since.

  For the barest moment, their gazes locked while Jenny was still sleepy and relaxed. Her mouth began to curve into a smile.

  And then the realization of where she was and what she’d just done seemed to awake in those big blue eyes, and her whole body went stiff. No, she didn’t pull away from him, but she might as well have.

  Then she did smile, but he could tell it was forced. “What time is it?”

  He glanced over at the clock radio on the nightstand. “Almost eight-thirty.”

  “Shit. I mean — ” She broke off there, this time moving away from him so she could push herself up to a sitting position. “I’m supposed to meet my parents for breakfast at the hotel.”

  “What time?” he asked, trying to sound casual. His first instinct was to think she was brushing him off as politely as she could, but he told himself that her story might very well be true. After all, she was down here for a wedding. Getting together to do family stuff made total sense.

  “Ten o’clock.” She slid over to the edge of the bed and reached downward, presumably attempting to find her discarded panties.

  “Well, that’s plenty of time.” Colin did his best not to stare at the her bare back, at the way the covers had slipped down to reveal the rounded curve of her ass. He had a feeling Jenny wouldn’t much appreciate the ogling. “We’re less than ten minutes from the hotel here. I’ll drive you as soon as you’re dressed.”

  That offer made her throw a startled glance at him over her shoulder. “Oh, no, I couldn’t ask that of you. I’ll call a cab.”

  A cab? Seriously? “You don’t need to call a cab. I don’t mind driving you. Really.”

  Apparently she’d located her underwear, because she didn’t answer at first, was instead doing her best to slip into it without showing off every inch of her body. He didn’t know how successful she was, because he was trying so very hard not to stare. Anyway, if he really was going to drive her, he needed to locate his own clothes and get himself together.

  He slid off the bed and went to the chair where most of his things appeared to have landed. After he’d gotten into his own underwear and started buttoning up his shirt, he figured it was probably safe to look over at Jenny. By then she was mostly covered, had just finished zipping up the back of her dress.

  Her expression was dubious. “I don’t know.”

  Despite his guilt over not being entirely truthful with her, Colin couldn’t help experiencing a flare of anger. Was she really that determined to do the walk of shame, complete with early morning cab ride back to the hotel? Maybe he was reading too much into the way she’d responded to him the night before. Maybe she really didn’t have any emotional investment, now that she’d gotten her itch scratched.

  Voice hardening, he said, “I mean, if you just don’t want to spend any more time with me, I get it.”

  At once her eyes widened, and she shook her head. “No, that’s not what I meant. I — ” She floundered for a few seconds, then said in a very small voice, “I just didn’t want to push myself on you.”

  Oh, well, time to banish that notion. In two strides he crossed the room, then pulled her into his arms. Her mouth opened, as if she’d intended to say something, but he kissed her, stopping her words, just in case they might have prevented him from tasting her again, feeling her body up against his.

  They broke apart, and she pulled in a deep breath. “Okay. That is — okay. You can drive me back to the hotel.”

  He wished he could go with her to breakfast, but that probably wouldn’t be a very good idea. It was just that he knew she’d have to head back to Jerome at some point, and he didn’t want to give up any opportunity he might have to spend time with her. “Great. On one condition, though.”

  Her look became guarded. “What?”

  “You have dinner with me tonight. You will still be here, won’t you? When do you go back to Jerome?”

  “Not until tomorrow,” she replied. “My parents are heading up there this afternoon, but I wanted to stay on a little longer just to wrap up any loose ends. I figured I’d go shopping or something after they left.”

  “I can take you shopping,” he said. I can take you anywhere you want to go, he added mentally, but he didn’t dare say that out loud. It was just a little too impetuous, a little too romantic, for this early stage of the game. Better to start with dinner and see where things went from there.

  This time she just looked amused. “You’d be bored out of your mind.”

  “Not if I was with you.”

  She was quiet then, watching him. Something shifted in her expression, but he didn’t know her well enough yet to determine what it was. “All right. How about I text you after I’m done with breakfast and my parents are on their way out of here?”

  “Sounds perfect. Let me give you my number.”

  They progressed into the mundanities of exchanging their contact information, and then it was time to hurry her down to the car and get her back to the hotel. She probably wouldn’t have time to wash her hair, but she should be able to slip in a quick shower.

  Best not to dwell on that, though. He knew he’d get himself in trouble if he started imagining what she might look like in the shower, water cascading over her perfect body.

  Besides, if he was really, really lucky, he might just get a chance to experience that for himself…if all went well tonight.

  * * *

  An awkward kiss — thank God for the mouthwash Colin had thoughtfully left out on the bathroom counter — and then he was driving off in his ten-year-old Honda, leaving Jenny to hurry into the hotel before anyone could see her wandering around in the same dress she’d been wearing the night before. Thank the Goddess that her parents had been assigned a room in a different wing of the place.

  A quick check of the clock radio told her that she had about forty-five minutes to go before she was scheduled to meet her parents in the restaurant downstairs. She peeled off the sheath dress and flung it on the bed, then grabbed a clip from where she’d left her cosmetics bag on the counter in the bathroom and pulled her hair up and out of the way.

  The hot water felt good. It washed off some of the night before, although Jenny didn’t know if she really wanted to completely get rid of the scent of Colin’s skin, which seemed to have invaded her senses. But it also wasn’t a good idea to show up at a familial breakfast while smelling of the hot sex you’d had the night before, so she scrubbed herself down as thoroughly as she could in the limited time available, then hurried out so she could get dried off and do at least a rudimentary makeup application. If she hadn’t made plans to see Colin again, she probably would have made do with just some mascara and lip gloss, but she wanted to look as good as she could. So…shadow and blush, a bit of liner, gloss in a soft raisin-wine shade. Then to get dressed in jeans and an embroidered peasant blouse, and her favorite nude flats.

  It was just a hair past ten when she came downstairs and headed toward the restaurant. At the same time, the elevator doors ope
ned, and Jenny’s brother Adam and his wife Mason emerged into the lobby.

  Jenny slowed down so they could meet up with her. They both looked fairly casual, too, although Mason was also wearing a nice top with her jeans and low-heeled boots.

  Her dark eyes twinkled as she greeted Jenny. “So, what happened to you last night?”

  “What do you mean, what happened to me?” Goddess, that didn’t sound defensive or anything….

  “Well, you were talking to that mystery man, the one who didn’t seem to be related to anyone, and then you just disappeared.”

  Apparently Mason had been paying more attention than Jenny had thought. If it had been just the two of them, she might have told the truth, but no way was she going to confess to a one-night stand with her brother Adam looking on. “Nothing happened. We talked for a while, things were winding down and I was tired, so I went up to my room.”

  Mason’s eyebrow lifted, but right then Jenny and Adam’s parents appeared, and she abandoned the topic. Luckily, it didn’t seem as if either Marcus or Lysette McAllister had noticed their daughter’s disappearing act from the night before, as they greeted her normally enough, then said their good mornings to Mason and Adam.

  The dining room was crowded, but they had reservations, so in no time the party was escorted to a table off in one corner, where they had a fine view of the grounds and the swimming pool. Jenny looked at the blue water, shimmering in the sun, and wondered if anyone had fished the champagne cork out yet.

  But that memory made her think of other things, activities she probably shouldn’t let enter her mind while she was sitting at a table with her parents and her brother and sister-in-law, and so Jenny picked up her menu and pretended to be absorbed in its contents. What really sounded great right then was coffee, lots and lots of it.

  As if picking up on her unspoken request, their waiter appeared and took their drink orders, then headed off toward the kitchen.