by Marie Mason
YOU LUCKY WITCH
Copyright 2015
MARIE MASON
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ABOUT THIS BOOK
Roark knew his brother was unhappy in the pit of hell but he never expected him to try and escape. Now it was his job to bring him home. Kayley was a witch whose DNA made it difficult for her to cast spells. Well, spells that worked. When she inadvertently helps Roark’s brother escape, he refuses to let her go in case she causes more trouble. Who was she to argue with a demon? Especially one as fine as Roark.
CHAPTER ONE
“KAYLEY, BE A dear and go to the store and pick up some milk and bread, please.”
Her mother’s voice called to her from the kitchen. She knew it wasn’t the daughterly thing to do, but she rolled her eyes at her mother’s demand.
“Can’t Hayley conjure some for you?” Her sister was visiting and could conjure things out of thin air, a skill Kayley had yet to master.
“Kayley.”
Witches should never use their power for personal gain. Magic was a gift not to be squandered for material gain, yada, yada, yada. She mouthed the words silently. She and her sisters had heard the lecture so many times before, her mother didn’t even have to say it anymore.
Knowing it would be useless to make any more excuses, she went to her room to get her purse then grabbed a sweater from the front hall closet. “Anything else?” she yelled down the hallway as she opened the front door. She never doubted her mother would hear her last minute question. Her mother heard, and saw, everything.
“No, darling, that should be enough.”
As Kayley walked down the front steps, she breathed in the cool, crisp air. The weather was perfect for an early fall day. Her favorite time of the year. All Hollow’s Eve was naturally her favorite holiday. Wild and wondrous things were said to happen for witches that night. It was Valentine’s Day for witches. It was still a week away and Kayley had no special plans.
She knew her mother and two sisters had each met their husbands on that night. So far, each year had come and gone without any man popping up on Kayley’s radar.
She didn’t hold out any hope she would find the man of her dreams at all. Marley and Hayley had everything going for them. They were tall, blond, and slim — just like their mother. They could be Stepford witches they were so perfect. Kayley had taken after her grandmother on her father’s side who had been part succubus, voluptuous and seductive. Somehow, that gene had gone a little wonky when forming Kayley’s DNA because she was curvy and cute.
Cute. Oh, how she hated that word. Most of her life she’d hated the other word just as much. Curvy. Just another word for fat in her opinion. In the last few years, she’d come to accept she was what she was — a big girl. Wide hips, thick thighs, and breasts that threatened to put out an eye if she ran.
Not that she ran very often. Okay, try never. Kayley was not an exercise type of girl.
She rolled down the windows of her beat-up old sedan, letting the cool, fall air inside as she cranked the engine. Yes, fall was her favorite time of year she thought as she made her way to the grocery store. She put her arm out the window, letting the updraft push against it, moving it at will. On days like today, she wished she could afford a convertible. She’d drive to the mountains, letting the wind blow through her hair and watch the colors of the tree go by as she drove higher and higher up the twisting and winding roads.
The trees in the neighborhood had turned and the blue sky was the perfect foil for their beautiful colors of red, orange, and gold. The cool weather was perfect. Yep, fall was definitely her favorite time of year.
She made it to the grocery store in no time at all. The store was only a few minutes down the road from the two-story brick house where she lived with her parents. She could have walked to the store, but hadn’t relished the idea of carrying home a gallon of milk in one hand and two loaves of bread in the other. Her good mood disappeared when she thought of her present situation. Twenty-five, no boyfriend, and living with her parents. Her life had certainly not turned out as she’d planned.
Parking near the front of the store, she noticed the parking lot was almost empty. Not really surprising on a Friday evening, but something about the almost empty lot made Kayley shiver as she walked inside.
“Hello, Wanda.” She waved to the woman at the register. Large stacks of boxes stood at the end of each aisle and she caught a glimpse of a lanky teenager restocking the shelves near the back of the store. Over the years, Kayley and her sisters had each worked at the store, earning extra money for clothes or building up their savings during the summer before heading back to college.
All three sisters held advanced degrees. Kayley had graduated in May with a Master's in public health. Luckily, she’d found a job as an administrator for a local nursing home. The job allowed her to stay at home, paying down her student loans and working with an age group she adored. The fact that most of the residents at the nursing home were supernaturals was an added bonus. Despite what humans might think, witches and shifters, even demons and angels were mortal. They aged slowly, but they did die.
The produce and bread were on the right side of the store, and naturally, the milk was to the left. Grabbing a cart, she decided to get the bread first. She got an extra loaf, knowing Marley’s children would be coming to the house this weekend. The twins ate like animals. This of course, wasn’t so unusual seeing how they were shifters. She smiled to herself. The boys were only six years old, but were already shifting thanks to their father’s alpha genes.
It was strange how DNA could work for you or against you. The pups exhibited extraordinspary power. Kayley’s DNA, which had already proven itself wonky by not shaping her into a Barbie doll-like witch as it had her two sisters, had decided to display even more abnormalities when it came to Kayley’s spell casting ability.
As she walked down the almost deserted produce aisle, a sense of something otherworldly washed over her. She looked around, but saw no other patrons. She shook off the feeling as she came across a sale on fresh Georgia peaches. She grabbed two cans of condensed milk conventionally displayed beside the fruit. Maybe she could convince her mother to make her famous peach cobbler for dessert tonight. Kayley, unfortunately hadn’t inherited her mother’s cooking skills either.
She was a witch who couldn’t follow a spell or a recipe.
Since she was here already, she decided to pick up a few more things. She took her time going up and down the aisles, throwing in the items she knew they’d need for the weekend. Her father had mentioned something about a cookout on Sunday. As she lifted a bag of charcoal, a wave of energy washed over her, making her head spin. She had to grab a shelf so she wouldn't fall.
She dropped the bag of briquettes as the floor in front of her undulated and shimmered. She screamed when her buggy fell into the giant hole that had formed in the middle of the aisle, almost pulling her down with it.
“What the fu—” Bef
ore she could utter the word that would have had her mother washing her mouth out with soap for a month, a large, fiery shape pulled itself from the edge of the abyss. Well, technically, it wasn’t an abyss; it was still just a portal. She could tell by the flashes of blue lightning striking from side to side.
A creature emerged, its body and head flaming as it straightened. It was well over six feet tall and reminded her of the lead character from Ghost Rider. Unfortunately, as the flames burned out and a masculine shape formed, it didn’t look a thing like Nicholas Cage. It looked like something from the Black Lagoon.
She screamed again.
Before she could even think of the first word for a spell of protection, another figure jumped from the portal. This one wasn’t sporting any flames. It was rocking a pair of leather pants and a matching vest that had her pussy clenching. Damn, but he was something else. Her heart sputtered as she took all of him in, the hell creature completely forgotten. He reminded her of a fallen angel his features were so perfect. He wasn’t just handsome though; he was rugged, masculine. His hair was the color of night. She couldn’t see the color of his eyes but imagined they would hold the same darkness since he was a creature of the night.
Or more accurately, a creature from hell.
Even so, he called to something inside her. Something she hadn’t known existed until that very moment — her libido.
This was just her luck. As usual.
Since all her attention was on Mr. Tall, Dark, and Take-Me, Kayley didn’t see the other creature move until it was too late. His char-colored hand grabbed her upper arm and pulled her to him. The smell of rotten eggs invaded her lungs and she started coughing. As she tried to regain her breath, the thing pulled her further and further from the hole in the floor and her possible rescuer.
No one else seemed to be around. Kayley sensed they were hiding behind the shelves, waiting to see if she was eaten or tossed into the portal. She couldn't blame them, she would have done the same thing.
“Let her go, Rafe.”
What? Kayley tilted her head back in order to see the creature holding her. Rafe? This thing actually had a name? And it was Rafe? Talk about surreal. As she watched, more of the black soot covering his flesh faded as if someone was using an invisible washcloth and wiping it away. Or was it his charred flesh being replaced by unburned skin?
For some odd reason, Kayley found the whole process fascinating.
“You know I can’t do that.” He answered the leather-wearing man with a scratchy voice. No doubt, courtesy of the fire that had only moments ago engulfed his body.
Oh, yes, you can, Kayley answered silently. She tugged on the hand holding her just in case he was getting distracted. He wasn’t and proved it by tightening his grip until she winced in pain.
The other man frowned and if she wasn’t mistaken, let out a small growl.
Rafe’s features slowly returned and damn, he was a fine looking specimen of manhood — or demon hood.
Her eyes dropped down his chest and unconsciously she compared the two males. Her vest-wearing demon’s chest was broader, thicker, but this man — her captor — was no slouch in the muscle department.
Her eyes dropped further down. She didn’t know what she’d been expecting. The man had stumbled from the hole, a living flame. It shouldn’t have surprised her that he was naked. Stark naked.
And hung like a —
“Let her go, Rafe. I’m not going to tell you again.”
Kayley’s eyes righted themselves and she focused on her captor’s face. She found herself gazing into the deepest blue eyes she had ever seen. They reminded her of a blue glacier she’d once seen on a nature channel. Pure and cold.
At least she thought they were until they blazed with warmth and he gave her a small wink. WTF? Was he flirting with her?
“Come on, bro. You need to come home.”
“You know I can’t, Roark.”
“You’re going to chance death for a piece of ass? Come on, I thought you knew better.”
Kayley’s captor made a noise that sounded like the snarl of a large predator on the hunt.
“She’s not a piece of ass.”
“The fuck she isn’t. Women are good for one thing only — a hard, fast fuck. You and I both know that.”
Before Rafe could respond, a large plume of smoke exited the hole from hell. Kayley’s eyes widened at the creature emerging. It crawled out, having no discernable arms, just leg, after leg, after leg. A centipede on growth hormones.
“Look, Mr. McHottie, I don’t know what the deal is between the two of you, but you might want to pay attention to that thing behind you.”
Her would-be-rescuer stepped away from the edge and cursed. In a flash, a sword materialized in the man’s hand. Before he could swing it at the creature, Rafe pushed her away.
Straight into the leather-wearing demon.
Roark cursed as Rafe shoved the curvy woman he’d been holding hostage straight at him, making her stumble. On reflex, he pulled her to him. He and his brothers could open portals at will. They’d been given the power when they’d signed on as Satan’s bounty hunters. Rafe had that skill taken from him when he’d refused to come back to hell after his last recovery mission. That was the first time Roark had hunted his ass down. When he’d gotten wind of Rafe’s plan today, Roark had broken protocol and gone after him, hoping to prevent his brother from making a mistake that could end his life. His brother had already paid a very high price to enter the human realm. In order for a demon to leave hell without permission, he had to set himself on fire. It was agonizing feeling the skin melt from your body. A man had to be highly motivated — or horny as hell, pardon the pun. As young demons, he and his brothers had left hell on more than one occasion for that very reason.
To get a little ass.
Or a curvy ass, he thought, feeling the press of the woman’s butt against his front.
“Damn it,” he cursed. His momentary distraction of the woman’s curves had allowed his brother to vanish and the slug to escape from the hole. He pushed her behind him and swung the sword. With one, clean strike he beheaded the creature. The big body, balanced on the edge of the portal, fell back down the gaping hole. A black cloud of smoke rose as it tumbled down the flaming walls and burned. He turned his face away. Nothing smelled worse than a burning slug. He kicked the head and it bounced down the walls, bursting into flames as it fell.
With a few muttered words, he closed the portal before it could expand. If it grew too large, he’d need help from another supernatural being to close it. No way was he going to ask the curvy witch standing behind him for help.
Roark hated witches. They were deceptive and untrustworthy. His family had suffered centuries of pain and imprisonment because of a witch. The hole closed and the floor slowly grew solid as the magic did its work. Some of the slug slime remained and it looked as if someone had dumped tubs of green Jell-O in front of the frozen food aisle. Leave it to Rafe to find the coldest spot to emerge from hell.
“Which way did he go?” The sword vanished in the blink of an eye. He had several skills and the ability to materialize any weapon of his choosing was one of his favorites.
The woman stood behind him with a somewhat stunned expression on her face.
“Speak up, woman. Which way did he go?”
Kayley suddenly felt like she’d stepped into a bad Bugs Bunny cartoon with Elmer Fudd whispering in her ear, which way did he go, which way did he go. She shook her head to clear away the fog and saw the man frown yet again.
Granted Kayley could be a little grumpy herself some days and he was apparently a demon from hell — that could ruin anyone’s good mood she was sure… but still. She placed her hands on her hips and confronted the man with all the ire she had in her slightly Irish soul.
“Okay, you need to rein in the attitude, mister —”
“I believe that was Mr. McHottie.”
She couldn’t believe it when a grin lifted one corner of his m
outh. He seemed too stoic to smile.
She ignored his teasing to continue with her rant, which was losing steam by the second. The decrease in her irritation had a lot to do with Mr. McHottie standing there, his legs spread, arms crossed, biceps bulging, staring at her.
Trying to give herself more confidence, Kayley flipped back her hair, copying the move she’d seen her friends use on Saturday nights at the bar when they wanted to attract a man’s attention. And you certainly want to attract his attention, a devilish little voice sounded in her ear. She turned her head and swatted into thin air as if there really was a little imp whispering to her, urging her to do naughty things.
Before she could say anything else, she heard footsteps behind her. Since Mr. McHottie — was she ever going to live that down? — didn’t materialize a sword, she’d didn’t start shaking in fear, figuring whoever was approaching wasn’t a danger.
She turned, seeing Wanda and a teenager she assumed was a stock boy slowly rounding the corner. “Oh, Kayley, are you all right?” The woman almost ran the last few feet and took Kayley in her arms for a warm hug. Kayley returned it, rubbing her hands up and down the woman’s arms trying to calm her. Kayley, unfortunately, was used to crazy things like this happening. Usually, she caused the disturbance. For once, it was nice someone else was in the middle of the trouble.
“I’m fine, Wanda. Are you? No one was hurt, were they?” She had seen where the other demon had gone. He’d headed straight out the door and now, somewhere in the small suburban town was a naked man who looked like he had a very severe sunburn.
“Yeah, we’re great. Aren't we, Wayne?” The lanky teen nodded his head, his attention focused on the demon.
She had the urge to introduce everyone, which was a ridiculous thought since a giant hell slug had almost eaten her. Taking a deep breath, she muttered a few words to calm everyone. Feeling the tension ease in the room, she was just about to congratulate herself on her success when the demon behind her growled.
