A breeze came up suddenly whipping around the three of them, but not extinguishing the flames. Esther shivered as the hairs on the back of her neck stood on end, but she didn’t break the circle. She wasn’t sure she believed that what they were doing was going to accomplish anything, but she wasn’t convinced that it wouldn’t either.
The breeze subsided and the candles suddenly flickered and died. As one, the women slowly lowered their hands back to their sides. The night seemed darker and thicker. Esther crossed her arms across her chest and rubbed her arms to warm them.
“Did it work?” Maggie glanced nervously around the yard.
“Only time will tell.” Rhiannon’s uncertainty eased Esther’s anxiety. Taking a deep breath, she felt herself relax slightly.
Tonight was really about three good friends sharing an experience. It was just for fun. Rhiannon had admitted that she wasn’t a very good witch. What Esther had felt was probably no more than a product of her surroundings coupled with the wine she’d drunk at dinner. None of this really meant anything.
Something brushed her leg and she shrieked. Her friends both jumped and gasped as they whirled to face her. Esther gave a weak laugh as Abigail calmly brushed up against her ankle again and meowed. “You scared the life out of me,” she scolded as she lifted the cat and tucked her under her arm. The cat just purred.
The intense mood was broken and they gathered their candles and took them back in the house. Esther felt almost let down by it all. Not that she really wanted a lover. If she did, she could certainly get one on her own. She didn’t need to cast a spell to get one. She just hadn’t wanted to bother. Still, she hurried her step and was glad when the heat of the house welcomed them as they trooped inside.
“Should we keep the candles?” Maggie laid her candle on the table, but Esther’s fingers tightened around hers. For some unknown reason, she was reluctant to release it.
“Only if you want to,” Rhiannon told them.
“I think I’ll keep mine.” Not questioning her reasons, Esther picked up her purse from the floor, and tucked the candle carefully inside.
Chapter Two
Esther rolled over in bed and sighed, falling back into sleep and the dream world that never seemed to be far away these days. Images flitted through her brain of a place and time that were unfamiliar to her, yet felt very familiar.
She frowned as she tried to recognize the landscape and the people, but the images were moving too fast, like a DVD on fast forward. By the time they slowed, her stomach was roiling and she was slightly nauseated.
The room she found herself in was familiar. She was home, in her little house. Safe. The familiar down-filled comforter wrapped around her.
Sighing, she snuggled her pillow. A spicy scent tickled her nose. It was delicious. Male and aftershave mixed together. Rubbing her face against the pillowcase, she inhaled deeper.
“You’re awake.” The deep male voice didn’t startle her at all even though she knew she’d gone to bed alone.
“Dreaming,” she muttered.
He laughed, a low sexy rumble. “Maybe you are.” The mattress dipped and a hot male body tucked in behind her. “If you’re dreaming, you won’t mind if I do this.” Warm lips brushed the back of her neck, working closer to her ear.
Esther moaned and tilted her head to the side, giving him better access. Strong, male fingers skimmed down her spine to her butt, over her hip and back up her side. Goose bumps rose on her flesh and she shivered, not with cold, but with intense longing.
This was right. This man. Her. In bed together.
She started to turn, but he stopped her by pinning her with his muscled arm. “No, don’t turn around.” His hand slid over her stomach, making small circles as he worked his way upward. “Let me touch you.”
“Yes,” she breathed, unable to deny him anything.
He made another rumble of pleasure as he cupped her left breast. His hand was large and her breast wasn’t, so he covered it easily. She pushed forward, pressing the mound more firmly into his palm.
“Perfect,” he murmured. He nipped at her earlobe before swirling his tongue over the delicate whorls.
Esther gasped as heat suffused her body. Every nerve ending was alive, electric with anticipation. Her heart beat faster, her breath coming in short, hard pants. She shifted her legs, restless. Her core was hot and wet, aching to be filled by her lover.
She frowned, a sudden anxiety pushing aside the sexual need pulsing within her. Something wasn’t right.
“Don’t think.” His warm breath caressed her neck. “Just feel.” He shifted closer and his erection brushed against her bottom. It was hard and thick and throbbed with life.
He rubbed his thumb over her distended nipple, drawing a groan from her. Reaching behind, she tangled her fingers in his hair, trying to pull him closer.
He laughed and she shivered again. “Don’t worry. I’ll keep you warm.”
His dark promise made her pussy clench. She twisted her head, wanting to see her lover.
Panic flared, momentarily pushing aside sexual desire. That’s what was wrong. She didn’t know who she was in bed with.
“Shh,” he whispered. “You know who I am, Esther. Remember me. Remember us.”
She frowned, trying to make sense of his words. He took advantage of her momentary distraction and began nibbling on her neck. She moaned as his teeth dragged over a particularly sensitive spot.
“That’s it,” he crooned. “Give yourself to me. I’ll take care of you, Esther.”
She couldn’t fight her growing desire or the need echoing in his voice. “Yes,” she whispered. She wanted him to touch her, to fill her, to make her his.
He groaned deep in his throat. His hand slid down her stomach toward her throbbing core—
The phone rang, jerking Esther from her dream. She swore and pulled the cover over her head, trying to grasp the threads of her dream, but it was too late.
The phone rang again. She didn’t want to answer. She wanted to try to fall back into sleep and find her dream lover.
Still, habit and a sense of responsibility had her reaching for the telephone. It might be work.
She fumbled for the phone and put the receiver next to her ear. “Hello.”
“I woke you, didn’t I? I’m sorry, Esther.”
Esther shoved the pillow off her head and squinted at the clock. It was early. Way early. “It’s okay,” she mumbled. “Is everything all right?”
There was silence on the other end and she was starting to get worried. She sat up and rubbed her eyes.
“I don’t know,” came Rhiannon’s reply.
“What happened?” She was wide awake now. Obviously something serious was wrong if her friend was calling her this hour of the morning. “Rhiannon?”
“It’s a guy,” she blurted out.
Esther let her head drop back to the pillow and heaved a sigh, wishing she were still asleep. Curiosity finally got the better of her as she glanced at the red votive candle sitting on her bedside table. Two nights had passed since they’d cast the spell in Rhiannon’s back yard. Had the spell worked? Had Rhiannon found her lover?
Esther listened, feeling slightly envious as her friend went into the details. A date, something about chocolate and phone sex. She couldn’t keep up with Rhiannon or take it all in. She was still half-asleep. “Slow down, Rhiannon. Are you home or at the store?”
“I’m at work.”
All thoughts of being able to roll over and go back to sleep were gone. Obviously her friend needed her, and Esther wanted to know the details of what had happened.
She didn’t have to work until later. Mind made up, she threw back the covers and sat up on the side of the bed, keeping the phone tucked between her shoulder and ear. “I’ll be there as quick as I can. And I’m calling Maggie.” Maggie would definitely want to be there.
Esther promised to be there in twenty minutes. That was probably optimistic, but it was something to shoot for. When Rh
iannon hung up, she hit the second number on her speed dial and waited while it rang several times.
A groggy voice answered on the fifth ring. “’Lo.”
“Maggie, wake up. It’s Esther.”
“Wha—?”
She sympathized with Maggie, but this was too important for her to allow her friend to go back to sleep. “Maggie,” she said the name more sharply.
“What?” This time she sounded more awake.
“Get up and get dressed, we’re meeting Rhiannon at A Touch of Magick.”
Something fell in the background and Maggie swore. “Do you have any idea what time it is?” she demanded.
“Unfortunately, I do. But Rhiannon called in a tizzy and it has to do with a man.”
“What?” Maggie was definitely wide awake now. “What happened?”
Esther tried to remember the conversation, but could only grab pieces of it. “I’m not sure. She said something about a date and chocolate and phone sex.”
“Holy smokes.”
Esther laughed. “That about says it all. She needs us and, I don’t know about you, but I need details.”
“Do you think that candle spell actually worked?” Maggie voiced what Esther had been wondering.
“I don’t know.” She didn’t know how she felt about Rhiannon being a witch. She loved and respected her friend, but wasn’t sure she wanted to believe. If her friend really was a witch, then maybe reincarnation was a possibility. Maybe her family legend was true and someday James and the other Esther would be united.
Maybe her dreams were more than just dreams.
No, she refused to believe that. She was the master of her destiny. Not some legend in a book and not some candle spell they’d cast. If she wanted a lover, she’d find one on her own.
It was closer to forty minutes later when she parked in front of A Touch of Magick. To save time, she’d picked up Maggie. They’d also swung by Clancy’s Bakery for chocolate croissants. Esther didn’t want to think about the calories, but she needed something to kick-start her morning and, since she didn’t drink coffee, chocolate was it.
Plus, ever since Rhiannon had mentioned chocolate, she’d had a craving.
“Sorry we took a little longer than I thought.” She held up the bakery box as an offering. “I figured Ada wouldn’t be here yet and you sounded like you could use something.” She glanced at Maggie. “Plus it took a bit of work to get Maggie out of bed.”
“Hey, Rhiannon.” Maggie yawned but smiled as she gave her greeting.
It didn’t take them long to settle at a table with large mugs of coffee for both Rhiannon and Maggie and a fragrant mug of tea for Esther. The chocolate croissants were piled on a plate in front of them.
“Okay, spill,” Esther ordered.
Rhiannon told them everything, starting with her finding graffiti on her store the morning before. Esther had heard about that. Working as a police dispatcher, she knew most of what went on in the community. Even though it hadn’t been serious—vandalism, but no break-in—she’d expected Rhiannon to contact her to talk about it. When she hadn’t, Esther had planned to call her later today.
Rhiannon was obviously tense about the graffiti and what had been written. Why anyone would write such nasty things on someone’s place of business was a mystery to Esther. Having words like witch and devil written on her wall had visibly upset Rhiannon.
Both she and Maggie did their best to reassure her, but there was really nothing they could do about it. The hurt had happened and it would take Rhiannon time to get over it.
The only upside of the entire affair was Rhiannon had met an interesting man—Ryland Stone.
Esther sat back in her chair with a smile on her lips. “I know Ry. He’s not exactly hard to look at.”
Rhiannon made a noncommittal noise, but Maggie wasn’t fooled anymore than Esther was. “You like him.” Maggie picked up her croissant and took a big bite off one end, chewing as she talked. “I know him from when I lived here as a kid. He’s a couple of years older, but he used to do chores for my grandmother during the summer months.”
They talked about Ryland some more. Esther sat back and watched Rhiannon as Maggie spoke of him. There was no doubt in her mind that her friend was seriously interested in the deputy.
The rest of it came out in a rush. The first meeting between Rhiannon and Ryland. The sparks when they touched. The fact that he kissed her and asked her out on a date.
“Uh oh.” Esther stared at her friend. “From the look on your face, I’d say it was one heck of a first kiss.”
“It was.” Esther and Maggie exchanged knowing looks as Rhiannon gathered her composure and continued her story. “It might have gone further if we hadn’t been interrupted by a colleague who’d come to examine the crime scene.”
“Bad timing on Jed’s part.” As a dispatcher, Esther knew which deputies had responded to the call.
“Jed Bearson?” Maggie’s voice sounded strained, but her face was composed.
“Yes. He seemed very nice.” Rhiannon studied her friend. “You okay, Maggie?”
She nodded. “I’m fine. Tell us what happened with Ryland.”
Esther freely admitted she was curious. Rhiannon hadn’t dated anyone since she’d moved here. For her to go out on a date with a man she’d just met was a huge deal.
“It was wonderful. It was awful.” Rhiannon continued. “He took me to The Seaside.”
Maggie let out a low whistle. “Not cheap. Kudos to him.”
Rhiannon laughed, but quickly sobered. “He kissed me in the parking lot before we went in.” She hesitated for a second before plunging onward. “Every car alarm in the lot went off.”
Esther stared at her friend. “Surely you don’t think you had anything to do with it.”
Rhiannon rubbed her forehead and drank another mouthful of coffee “Do you remember me telling you I had problems with my magick?”
When they both nodded, Rhiannon continued.
“My sister called and she thinks my problem is that my magick is trapped inside me. According to Gwen, I need to have sex with the right man to release it.”
Esther couldn’t help it, she laughed. “It’s certainly justification to have a hot affair with a sexy guy.”
“This is serious.” Rhiannon jumped out of her chair and began to pace.
“I’m sorry,” Esther offered the sincere apology. “It just sounds so crazy.” She didn’t want to believe it was related to Rhiannon’s magick or the spell they’d cast in her back yard. If it were true then both she and Maggie could expect to find lovers and soon.
She tried to shove that thought aside as she listened to Rhiannon. Finally, she asked the question she knew they were all thinking. “Do you think this has anything to do with the candle ritual we did in your garden?”
“I don’t know.” Rhiannon propped her elbows on the table. Her bracelets jangled. “It feels like Ryland was drawn to me.”
Maggie talked, but Esther had stopped listening. She didn’t want to think about a lover. Every time she did, Ryan popped into her head and that wasn’t happening.
She started paying attention again when she heard Rhiannon mention chocolate. She couldn’t help but laugh when her friend told them about the disastrous end to her date.
But the talk quickly turned serious again. Rhiannon obviously believed her magick had drawn Ryland to her and was afraid he might be the one to unleash the magick from deep within her.
Esther was worried about the whole lover thing. As much as she wanted a night of hot sex, she wasn’t a one-night stand kind of girl. Not that she really believed that their candle spell had any bearing on Rhiannon’s date. It was coincidence, nothing else. After all, Rhiannon had been on one date. That didn’t mean she and Ryland were going to end up in bed together. And even if they did, so what? They were both adults.
Maggie let out a huff of frustration. “I haven’t had anyone approach me since the candle ritual.” She turned to Esther. “Have you?”<
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“No. Not unless you count Ryan, which we can’t because he’s always trying to get me to go out with him.”
“Okay then.” Maggie nodded. “That settles it. It’s coincidence that you met and fell into lust with Ryland. Enjoy it. If it helps you get over your problem with your magick, you won’t need to form a therapy group or start a twelve-step program to get past the obstacle that has haunted you for most of your life. Right?”
That made sense to Esther. Ryland coming into Rhiannon’s life was a coincidence. Her friend should simply enjoy herself. Shouldn’t she?
Esther left her friend with a final warning, begging her to be careful. She didn’t know why she felt that way. She should be happy for Rhiannon. And she was. She simply didn’t want to see her friend get hurt.
“What do you think?” she asked Maggie as they climbed into the car.
“I think she should go for it. Have some hot sex and enjoy herself.”
Esther put the keys in the ignition and started the engine. Checking for traffic, which was still light this early in the morning, she pulled out and started toward Maggie’s house, which was on the outskirts of town. “Really?”
“Yes. Why is it okay for a guy to have sex simply because he wants it, but not a woman?” Maggie crossed her arms over her chest and stared out the window.
“It’s not that, not really.” Esther wondered what was really bothering Maggie. She’d gotten tense several times when they were having breakfast, especially when Jed’s name was mentioned. Esther wondered why. Jed was a great guy.
She gave a mental shrug. There was something Maggie wasn’t telling her, but Esther let it alone for now, sensing her friend wasn’t ready to talk about it. “Do you really think it has anything to do with that candle spell? Be honest. Rhiannon’s not here.”
Maggie nibbled on her bottom lip. “I’m not sure. The practical side of me says hell no, but I just don’t know. It’s an awful coincidence coming so close to when we did the spell.” She shook her head. “It has to be a coincidence. There is no such thing as magick or the paranormal.”
Love in Flames: Spells, Secrets and Seductions, Book 3 Page 2
