by Ashley McLeo
No wonder Vivienne hunted me down. She knows how fragile her relationship is and senses the end is near. Wouldn’t it cause everyone a lot less pain if they could follow their hearts?
And then, as if in answer, Andrew leaned forward, closing the gap between them and pressed his lips to hers.
Selma’s body caught on fire as their lips tasted each other's. Their hands roamed, unhindered over the other’s body. Hungry for more. Tickles and teases elicited shivers and moans. The sensations were intoxicating, all-encompassing, so much so, that Selma didn’t even notice her magic humming a victorious siren song low and deep within her.
The Fall
When Selma woke the next day Andrew was gone, leaving only a trace of his scent, lingering on her pillow. She sighed as images of the night flashed through her mind. Andrew caressing her stomach, his wild laughter, their bodies moving as one. Her magic, her body, appeased and free, after years of being as taut as a bow string from deprivation.
Leaping from the bed, her feet felt as if they barely touched the ground. She'd walked halfway to the bathroom when she stopped dead in her tracks. The morning jitters, the magic raging inside her which she’d grown used to dispelling later, was absent. She was dancing to the coffee maker when the phone rang.
Mary! She said she’d call when she wanted to come back. What will she say when I tell her about Andrew? Should I mention what happened?
The phone was on its third ring, the voice recorder would pick up soon and panic was creeping into Selma’s bliss.
No, I’ll wait to tell her until I see her, she decided and picked up the phone.
“Si?” Selma said.
Mary sighed. “I’m with the Americans on this one. You should answer the phone ‘hello’. It’s much warmer.”
“I’ll work on that. Are you returning today?” Selma asked not willing to beat around the bush. She wanted her friend back, to tell Mary her good news, how everything had worked out, so she’d needn’t worry. They needed to clear the air so they could get on with their time together.
“I was planning on it. I can take a cab to your place now. Then we can talk?”
“Sure,” Selma said. “I’m making coffee.”
“Oh, OK. I’ll see you soon,” Mary said, sounding astonished that Selma agreed to hash out their issues.
Selma raced through her apartment, trying to erase any clues Andrew had been there that would send Mary into a spin before Selma had even had a chance to explain. Stripping the sheets from her bed, Selma put new ones on and opened the windows to air out the room. She had just finished washing the wine glasses when the buzzer rang.
“Come on up,” Selma said, pressing the button to let Mary in. She opened the apartment door and poured Mary a cup of coffee.
Mary set down her suitcase and took the proffered cup. “Thanks.”
“Where did you go? I know you said Gwenn went there, but I didn’t know the name.”
“The Sisters of Salem house. It’s in Brooklyn. Looks a right mess on the outside but the inside is brilliant. You should visit. They accept non-witch and wizard members.” Mary raised her eyebrows and took a sip of coffee.
Selma had to admit the idea was enticing. Especially being so far from her family and not knowing any other magical creatures yet. “The Sisters of Salem,” she repeated. “I think I met a witch from that coven at a ball. Her name is Shefali. She had on the most gorgeous sari I’ve ever seen. Did you meet her there?”
“Yes!” Mary’s blue eyes lit up, her guard down for the first time since she’d stepped foot in Selma’s apartment. “She was sweet. Everyone there was; and they have an amazing library.”
“Sounds right up your alley,” Selma agreed. Her friend appeared every bit the blonde bimbo but Mary was a researcher at heart.
They fell into awkward silence both hesitant to bring up the hard bits they needed to work out.
“So, you wanted to talk about how I’ve been using my magic.” Selma said, uncharacteristically being the one to initiate the difficult conversation.
“And Andrew,” Mary added, setting down her cup.
“I have news on that front.”
Mary quirked her head.
“He came by last night and we talked.”
Mary sat up straighter.
“Did you tell him it wasn’t a good idea to see him? Talk about being reassigned in his company? Or quitting?”
“Actually, he told me he was leaving Vivienne for me. That he’d never felt this way about anyone else.”
“And did you tell him why that may be? Were you honest with him Selma? That he might be enchanted? Certainly he is magically influenced, and unable to think properly around you. Or did you let him believe you were like him? That his feelings were natural?” Mary’s tone was calm, though the line of her jaw was hard set.
“He didn’t give me time,” Selma reeled at the unexpected turn their conversation had taken. She’d thought Mary would be happy, accepting at least. She felt so happy, why couldn’t Mary see that and let it be? A low, thrum of power awoke in Selma as her heart rate quickened. “He—”
“You slept with him.” Mary leaned back and folded her arms across her chest. “No wonder this apartment is well aired out. You didn’t want me sensing it. You wanted to hide it so you could tell the news in a way that suited you, didn’t you?”
“No!”
“Well, I hate to break it to you Sel, but Andrew lied.”
“How could you say that? This only happened last night. You have no idea!” Selma shot up from the couch, her magic rising within her, rearing its head to protect.
“Then why did I see him on the news this morning hand in hand with his wife?” Mary’s gaze fell as she spoke the words.
“What did you say?”
Mary wrenched her eyes from her hands to meet Selma’s. “At the coven house. Shefali and I were watching a morning program. There was a grand opening of a building downtown—one Andrew owns. He and his very blonde wife were there, hand in hand, cutting the ribbon. They were smiling and even kissed. It didn’t look like he’d told her a thing about you.”
Selma’s hand flew to her mouth.
Andrew ran straight from my bed to Vivienne’s side! And he kissed her in public!
“How can you be sure? You've never seen them.” She dug deeper, hoping Mary had made a mistake.
“Come on, Selma! Like I would forget his name after you told me. It was there, in big bold letters across the banner at the bottom of the screen. I’m only sorry I had to be the one to tell you. I had hoped you’d taken care of the Andrew issue on your own.”
“Apparently not, but I will now.” Her body began to vibrate uncontrollably, and Selma turned on her heel and stormed out of her apartment.
It’s About Who You Know
Selma marched down the street, only marginally aware of Mary speed walking behind her.
“Wait! Where are you going?” Mary wheezed.
“To talk to Andrew.”
“But . . . where?”
“The office. It’s a workday.”
“Don’t you think you should relax a bit first? I can feel your magic vibrating off you, Sel. You’re temper is fueling it and we’re becoming a spectacle walking down the street. You have to rein it in.”
Selma scowled. She hated that Mary was right. That she’d loosened her control on her power after hearing what Andrew had done and someone could call her on it. “Then don’t follow me. Here are my apartment keys. You don’t want to be around for this anyways.” Selma slammed the keys into Mary’s hand and before Mary could argue, jogged down the street.
She wished the cadence of her feet pounding the pavement was actually the sound of her hands slapping Andrew across the face. Selma’s magic was now fully aroused, positively enraged at being jilted by a man it had given itself over to just one night prior. Acquiescing to Mary’s wishes, she strengthened her control and pulled her magic back, but it still ran wild through her, parallel with her fury of being
manipulated and used. Fuel for her righteous temper and ready to rain down upon anyone who might smite her at a moment’s notice.
She’d gone only three blocks when somewhere in the distance—she didn’t care where—a voice called her name. Focusing on the ground, Selma pretended she hadn’t heard the caller and kept moving. Not a half minute later her body slammed into a wall.
What the hell?
She tore her gaze from the leaf strewn concrete. The wall was actually a well-built man by the name of Gerard Smith; a casual acquaintance Selma had met at various social gatherings. A man she now knew from her months as Andrew’s secretary was a good friend of Andrews.
“Selma! Are you alright? I saw you marching down the street. You looked to be in distress so I called your name, but you didn’t notice so I ran over and you collided right into me.” Gerard, a man well over six feet tall appeared mystified as to how anyone could miss him.
“Pardon me, Gerard. I’m in a hurry.” Selma made to push past him, but maddeningly Gerard moved in front of her.
“One moment. While I have you, I wanted to congratulate you on your promotion. Andrew told me he’d hired you as his secretary. As I always say, it pays to network.”
“Yes, you—” Selma stopped attempting to push past Gerard and looked into the eyes of a man Andrew trusted. Trusted like she had trusted him. A man Andrew talked to nearly every day and respected. An idea sparked and Selma softened her stance. She inched closer to Gerard and looked up from under lowered lashes. “You know Gerard, I never realized how savvy you were when it came to networking.”
He tilted his head at her unexpected advance. “I, like most New Yorkers, was raised on the idea of an active network. Something you may not have been familiar with before moving here?”
“No.” Selma put her hand on Gerard’s shoulder, near his chest, and let her magic—so close to the surface already— pour into him. “You’re more than an average New Yorker. You’re a man who really knows how to work the system. I find that so attractive.”
Gerard’s lips parted.
“In fact, I’d love to learn more of your ways. You know, spend some time, one on one?”
Gerard’s eyes widened. “Um, I have an afternoon meeting with Andrew tomorrow, but other than that I’m open.”
Perfect.
“Darn,” Selma gave Gerard her best pouty look. “Tomorrow afternoon is the only slot I have free for a long time and I don’t want to wait so long before seeing you again.”
“No! Me either! Tomorrow afternoon will work. I’ll tell Andrew something came up.”
“Tell him it’s with me. I’ve proven valuable around the office. I’m sure he’ll understand if you say you’re canceling to spend time with me. Tutor me one-on-one.”
“Undoubtedly,” Gerard was leaning closer to her, and mere inches separated their skin. It was time to release her hold on him, she didn’t want to nurture an enchantment more than she had to. Selma removed her hand and Gerard’s torso whipped back to straight.
“Good, until tomorrow then. Make sure to tell Andrew it’s a favor to me, please?” Selma gave him a sultry glance and slithered past him. She walked away with an exaggerated swing in her hips, well aware that Gerard was watching her.
Screw going to Andrew, yelling, making a spectacle of myself. Let him discover the hard way I do not like being toyed with. I’ll turn all his friends against him. Have them eating out of my hands. Maybe even convince them to back out of a few deals. Let’s see, whose office is closest to here?
She ran through the mental list of Andrew’s acquaintances, friends, and partners she’d accumulated since becoming his secretary.
Ready or not, I’m coming for all your friends, Andrew. Be prepared to pay.
A Siren Show
“You’re not really going through with this, are you?” Mary frowned.
Selma repositioned the large, floppy hat on her head. “I have to. There’s a charity polo match put on by one of those fancy boarding schools. Andrew is an alumni, and all his friends’ kids attend. I need to get a few more of his friends’ attention. It’ll drive him mad.”
Mary shook her head. “I’m not trying to tell you what to do, but—don’t you think you’re going a little overboard? Misusing your power? What are you going to do when your vacation is over and you are in the office together again? Didn’t you say you needed this job?”
Selma puckered her lips and applied another coat of bright red lipstick. “I don’t think I’m overreacting at all. Andrew is getting exactly what he deserves. He lied, used me, and now, maybe for the first time in his life, he’s paying the price. He can’t even use being enchanted as an excuse, Mar. His eyes were clear as day the night he came to my apartment. As for losing my job,” she shrugged, “if Andrew has the balls to fire me after what he pulled, I’ll make sure he’s in my thrall. Then I’ll stay there doing nothing until I have a comfortable savings. If he’s going to screw with me, I’ll screw with him.”
Mary raised her eyebrows. “I’m just saying, maybe you should forget about him. Even if he’s not enchanted and still behaving badly, it’s clear being around him does something to you. Come to the Sisters of Salem house with me, meet some supernaturals in the city. Having a strong community would be good and make all this mess with Andrew seem less important.”
Selma completely disagreed. What could be more important than keeping her pride? “I’ll make it there one day. Are you sure you don’t want to come with me? Abby backed out again last night—said she had something going on. But it’d be nice to have some company. Plus, Gerard is sending his car. He has to be at the office, so we’ll have it to ourselves.”
“No thanks, I’d rather not be around to watch you piss off dozens of women. Plus, Shefali promised to show me the Sisters of Salem archives today. The high priest will be there so we may get access to a few rare manuscripts.” She paused. “At the risk of sounding like a broken record, you should really stop by the coven house soon, Sel. They flat out said they couldn’t wait to meet a de Avila siren last time I was there.”
Selma rolled her eyes. “Stop acting like your family is less well known than mine. Those witches probably pissed themselves when you told them you’re a McKay.”
Mary shrugged.
“Anyways, it sounds like we have our days planned. But we’re still doing dinner tonight—seven o’clock? The restaurant owner is one of Andrew’s friends I paid a visit to yesterday; it’s a very exclusive place. You can tell me about the research you get done at the coven house then.”
The phone in the kitchen rang. Selma shimmied across the room as fast as her tight sheath dress would allow her to and picked it up.
“Yes. I’ll be right down. Thank you.” Selma hung the phone up. “Gerard’s car is here. See you tonight!” She gave herself one final glance over in the mirror, grabbed her purse, blew Mary a kiss, and shot out the door.
Gerard’s car pulled up to the polo field and Selma spotted Andrew, surrounded by a crop of men immediately. So far, her plan to make Andrew jealous had gone off without a hitch. She’d been on three marvelous dates with men she knew would blab about taking her out. In truth, they’d likely exaggerate the goodnight pat on the arm she’d given them, but such was life. Andrew had even called four time, though Selma had deleted the messages on “hello”. No doubt her magic wanted her to give into Andrew’s charms, Selma’s pride, however, could not bear it.
The driver parked the car and came around to open her door.
“Miss Selma,” He said, offering his hand. “I’ll park it right here for whenever you’d like to leave.”
“Thank you, Ricardo.” Selma said and glided into the party surrounding the match.
Her magic was already trickling from her and every man’s head turned as Selma walked down the wide path cutting through manicured green grass. She passed a group of women who glowered as she walked by, her hips swaying. A man with a tailored blue suit and white top hat tripped over his own feet and landed face f
irst on the polo grounds.
Vivienne stood out, diamonds glinting around her neck and wrists, high heels sinking into the grass, and blonde tresses falling in curls around her shoulders. She was surrounded by a group of women, also lavishly dressed and sneering at Selma.
“Hello, ladies. It’s nice to see you,” Selma said, joining the clique. She was not concerned that Vivienne would lash out at her. In truth, she wasn’t concerned about Vivienne at all. It was clear to Selma that Vivienne was a woman entirely capable of taking care of herself and as far as she was concerned, Vivienne, was Andrew’s problem. Approaching Vivienne was purely a tactical move. Selma wanted Andrew to see her with Vivienne, wanted him to worry, to sweat. Then, she wanted Vivienne to bring Andrew the pain he deserved—no doubt she was better suited to it than Selma ever would be.
“I wish I could say the same.”
Selma smiled as if she had not heard Andrew’s wife. She was pushing her magic, a mix of hormones tailored to men behind her, sending it on a mission to enchant as many men as it could. Setting the stage for what would soon be a dramatic show.
“Now, now, Vivienne. I thought we’d mended our differences after that nice little chat we had at The Rockefeller Ball?”
Vivienne’s scowl deepened and Selma beamed.
“No? That’s too bad. We have a lot in common. In fact, I’d say I fit in well with all of you.” Selma’s tone was all confidence and bravado as she wound them up tighter.
One of Vivienne’s lap dogs laughed.
“What on God’s green earth could we have in common with you?” A woman with a southern drawl exclaimed, taking Selma’s bait.
“We’re all here aren’t we?” Selma gestured to the plush polo grounds and finery surrounding them. “We all get our hair done and put our makeup on every day, so we’re still relevant to the rest of the world. We’re women who know how to get what we want. However, whether we are as skilled at holding onto whatever power we accumulate remains to be seen.”
