With a quick wave, both her friends were gone.
“I made blueberry cheesecake and strawberry pie for today’s specials.” Ada interrupted her thoughts, reminding her it was time to get her mind back on business.
Over her lunch hour, she’d run to the grocery store and pick up something to cook for dinner tonight. Something simple but delicious. She’d have to think about that. Whatever she cooked, there wouldn’t be any chocolate on the menu for dessert.
Chapter Seven
For the second day in a row, Rhiannon was running late. Usually she had no problem leaving Amy to handle the store on her own for the last hour or so of the day. She was confident her full-time employee was more than capable of handling just about anything.
But not today. Like yesterday, the store had been filled with people who wanted to talk about the vandalism. Small towns were wonderful, but there was no denying that gossip was rampant and everyone knew everyone else’s business.
She’d hoped to run out to the grocery store on her lunch break and pick up something for dinner. At the very least, she’d planned to leave work early to allow herself plenty of time to get dinner started and prepare for her date. But a bus tour had put an end to that idea. The large group of women had descended on A Touch of Magick late in the afternoon and run her and Amy ragged. Normally, she would have kept the store open an hour or so later to accommodate such a large shopping group. But today was not a normal day.
By the time she’d said goodbye to the last customers and shut the door behind them, she was exhausted yet strangely exhilarated. Her stomach clenched. Their second date. She and Ryland would be at her house tonight, all alone, with a bed only yards away from where they’d be eating. She had to stop. She’d driven herself crazy all day with possible scenarios of what could happen tonight.
With that in mind, she’d gone through her closing routine in record time, printing off register reports and readying the bank deposit. As soon as she was done, she slipped on her coat and purse and rushed to the grocery store. Once there, she grabbed a cart and proceeded to hurry up and down the aisles, throwing what she needed into the basket. That done, she raced to the checkout.
She almost groaned aloud when she saw who was manning the cash register. Mrs. Eaton was a wonderful lady, but she loved to chat. And tonight was no different. “I heard the outside of your store got spray painted. Nasty thing.”
“Yes, it was. The police are looking into it.” Trying not to encourage her, Rhiannon packed her own groceries and made as little eye contact as possible. It took all her control not to yell at the woman to hurry.
“Clancy’s Bakery was hit too.”
“That’s too bad.” And it was. For most small business owners there was a fine line between being in business and folding. Unnecessary expenses, like having to repaint your storefront, pushed you closer to that line.
“It is.” Mrs. Eaton continued to chat while she ran items over the electronic scanner.
Normally, Rhiannon enjoyed chatting to people while she shopped. Tonight, she just wanted to get home. She was already frazzled and running way behind. Finally, she had her groceries paid for and bagged and she hurried back to her car and then home.
Thankfully, traffic was fairly light as she drove home, which was a good thing since her mind was wandering to what she was going to wear tonight. She pulled into her driveway and, as always, the sight of the tiny house made her smile. She loved this place. Had from the moment she’d laid eyes on it.
Taking a deep breath, she grabbed the grocery bags from the seat beside her, gathered her purse and climbed out of the car. She hurried up the pathway and climbed the two stairs to the porch. Abigail was waiting for her as she stepped into the house and shut the door behind her.
“Hello, Abigail. What have you been up to today?” She hurried down the short hallway to the kitchen and dumped her purse and the grocery bags on the counter. She pulled a package of lean ground beef out of one bag and strode to the stove. Rummaging around in the drawer beneath the stove, she dug out a frying pan. She set it on the stovetop, drizzled some extra virgin olive oil in the pan and emptied the ground beef on top of it. Spaghetti sauce was always quick and easy to make.
She paused to organize her thoughts and realized she was still wearing her coat. She slid out of the garment and tossed it over the back of the nearest dining room chair. She had so much to do and hardly any time in which to do it.
What had possessed her to invite Ryland to her home?
“Sex,” she informed Abigail, who had followed her into the kitchen and taken up her usual seat on the window ledge in the dining area. “All this is because I wanted hot, sweaty sex.” The cat tilted her head to one side, listening intently.
“Is that so wrong?” she asked the cat as she continued to unpacked groceries. “Maybe it was the ceremony the night before last that got me thinking about sex so much. Or maybe it’s all Gwen’s fault with all her talk of releasing my magick with sex.” She paused. “You don’t think Gwen cast that spell, do you?”
Abigail meowed and Rhiannon agreed. “Of course she didn’t.” As she talked, she opened a large can of tomato sauce and dumped it into a pot. She opened the refrigerator door and pulled out several onions and some mushrooms. She bumped the door closed with her hip, dug her cutting board out of the cupboard and began to chop vegetables.
She’d purchased garlic and sweet peppers at the store, adding generous amounts of both to the pot. Spices were next, and she added basil and oregano to the mix, stirring and tasting as she went. The meat was browned by this time and she added it to the large pot, stirring all the ingredients together. When she was satisfied, she turned the pot on low and popped the lid on to allow it to cook slowly.
She set another pot of water to boil on the stove. That would cook the fresh pasta she’d bought. A loaf of garlic bread, already in a foil pouch was in the oven, ready to heat when the time came. Flying around the kitchen, she washed down the counter and stacked dirty dishes and utensils into the dishwasher. When she was done, she glanced at the clock. Fifteen minutes until Ryland was due to arrive.
Swearing under her breath, she turned back the heat under the pot of water and hurried off to her room. She needed a quick shower and a change of clothing.
“Keep an eye on things, Abigail.” The cat curled up on the wide windowsill and began to lick her front paws. Taking that as a yes, Rhiannon hurried off to her bedroom, pulling off her clothing as she went.
She jumped in the shower and washed as fast as possible, careful not to get her hair wet. She didn’t have time to fiddle with it. Within minutes, she was doing a replay of the night before—standing in front of her closet clad only in a towel, wondering what to wear.
“Casual. Keep it casual.” This was a simple dinner at her home with an interesting man she’d just met. “No pressure.”
She was lying to herself. Somewhere between having phone sex with Ryland last night, talking to her friends this morning and going to the grocery store this evening, she’d decided she was going to take the leap and sleep with Ryland. That is, if he was still interested. This might be a simple dinner, but she was hoping it would definitely lead somewhere. Straight to her bed if she had her way.
“Hussy,” she muttered under her breath. Opening her underwear drawer, she scanned her options and opted for panties and a bra in a vibrant red. The sexy color matched her mood. She grabbed a pair of jeans and pulled them on. Then socks and white canvas sneakers. She wanted to have sex with him, but she didn’t want to be too obvious.
The front bell chimed as she rifled through her tops. Rhiannon grabbed her favorite black sweater and yanked it over her head. It was made of cashmere and dipped into a vee, showing off her cleavage. It always made her feel sexy when she wore it.
Ignoring the chime, she took a second to stroke on some lipstick. The deep red color made her lips look plump and inviting. She looked good even if she did say so herself. The bell rang again. She dropped her
lipstick onto the top of her dresser and hurried toward the front door.
Taking a deep breath, she pulled the door open.
Anticipation thrummed through Ryland as he pressed the bell again. While he waited for her to answer, he looked around her yard, admiring her home. The front was decked out with bales of hay stacked with pumpkins and gourds. Very festive. The front of his house was bare.
He shifted his weight from one leg to the other. He had it bad. He hadn’t been able to get Rhiannon out of his mind all day.
Every time he kissed her, he wanted her more. She tasted sweet and spicy at the same time, and he couldn’t get enough of unique flavor. He wanted to lick her skin and between her legs to find out if she was just as sweet everywhere else.
He licked his lips and groaned. His jeans grew uncomfortably tight as his erection grew harder. He reached down and adjusted himself as best he could. It helped some, but not much. Ryland figured the only thing that would ease the ache would be when he finally sank his shaft deep into Rhiannon’s welcoming heat. The thought of her inner muscles clutching at his cock was almost more than he could bear. His skin was hot and he was starting to sweat in spite of the cool air flowing around him.
He swore and raised his hand to rake his fingers through his hair and almost clunked himself in the head with the wine bottle he was carrying. He swore again and took a deep breath. “Get a grip,” he muttered to himself.
But it was getting harder to do with each passing second as he waited to see if Rhiannon was going to shut him out or let him in. Neither of them had admitted it last night, but they both knew if she let him into her home tonight, they’d end up in bed together.
The chemistry between them was too explosive for either of them to deny.
He felt connected to Rhiannon in a way that defied logical explanation. He’d only just met her, but he felt as though he’d known her forever. She was intelligent and quirky and sexy as hell. In short, she was special.
And last night’s date had been amazing, in spite of a few strange occurrences. They’d enjoyed the meal, lingering over dinner for several hours. He’d enjoyed talking to her, learning more about who she was.
Every time he thought about the mishap with the dessert cart and the spray of chocolate, he had to smile. Most women would have been screaming about having their outfits ruined or the fact their first date had ended so abruptly. Instead, she’d handled the situation with grace and humor, putting both the waiter and the manager of the restaurant at ease. Rhiannon was a classy lady. The more he learned about her, the more he found to like.
Then there was the phone sex. Ryland had never done anything like that in his life. Rhiannon’s breathy moans and sighs had driven him crazy. Being able to hear her but not see her had been pure torture. He’d almost hauled on some clothing and driven like a bat out of hell to her place. In the end, common sense had prevailed. But it had been close.
Instead, he’d wrapped his hand around his shaft and pumped hard as he imagined what Rhiannon looked like spread across her sheets, all wet and hot. His balls tightened and he sucked in a deep breath. He had to stop thinking about last night. The last thing he wanted to do was greet Rhiannon with a raging hard-on.
Ryland had a very healthy sex drive and had never lacked for female companionship. Not that he’d ever had a serious relationship. All the women he dated knew going in that he wasn’t a settling-down kind of guy. If that’s what they wanted, they needed to look elsewhere. Some women didn’t like it, and that was okay. He respected that. But just as many were fine with a casual sexual relationship, which was why he always used a condom and was cautious. Just because he didn’t want to get serious didn’t mean he was stupid.
He usually didn’t have any trouble controlling his dick. He was a grown man, not a teenager with raging hormones. Unfortunately, his body seemed to forget that fact every time he was within a few feet of Rhiannon. Hell, all he had to do was think about her and he was hard as a spike.
That worried him and almost had him calling her to cancel their dinner date. In the end, he hadn’t been able to stay away. Something about Rhiannon called to him on a deep, basic level. He knew he wanted her sexually. Of that there was no doubt. But he was afraid it went much deeper than that.
That had his radar screaming at him to proceed with caution. He wasn’t looking to get serious about a woman. Any woman. Not even one as seemingly special as Rhiannon. It wasn’t anything personal. It was just that he didn’t want to settle down and get married. After seeing the hell his father had gone through with his mother, he wasn’t in any hurry to allow any woman to get that close to him.
He’d be cautious and let Rhiannon know the score. Then it would be up to her whether they slept together or not. That way she couldn’t cry foul at some point down the road. Feeling more confident and in control of the situation, Ryland reached for the bell again. Before he could ring it, the door slowly opened and Rhiannon was standing there with a smile of greeting on her lips.
His heart stopped for a brief second and then began pounding. His entire body clenched with need and he was filled with the almost overwhelming urge to toss her over his shoulder and carrying her off to bed. Now. Immediately. He felt primal and hot and dangerous.
Tonight she was dressed more casually in jeans and a sweater. But there was nothing casual about the way she made him feel. The jeans hugged the curve of her hips and the soft black sweater clung to her breasts like a second skin. His fingers itched to touch them.
He caught a whiff of her soap. The flowery scent made his cock twitch and Ryland knew he’d always associate that particular perfume with Rhiannon. Her lips were slicked with red, making them appear even more kissable, and curved into a smile of welcome.
“Hi.” Her soft voice broke the silence between them.
He held out a bottle of wine. “Hi, yourself. I brought this to go with dinner.”
She opened the door wider. “Come on in and make yourself at home. I was just finishing getting dressed.”
He handed her the bottle of wine, took off his coat and hung it on one of several hooks by the front door. Rhiannon headed down the short hallway and he followed close behind, admiring the way her jeans cupped her heart-shaped ass.
They passed a small living room that looked comfortable and inviting and stepped into an open kitchen and dining room area. The smell of spices and tomatoes coming from the stove made his stomach growl. She set the bottle of wine on the counter, dug through a drawer and drew out a corkscrew. “You can open the wine while I finish getting ready.”
“You look fine to me.” She looked better than fine. He was already fully erect, his cock straining at the front of his jeans. He’d worn jeans and boots, but had donned a gray dress shirt, wanting to be casual, but not too casual.
Pink bloomed on her cheeks and he could tell his words had embarrassed her. “Thanks. That’s Abigail.”
He whirled around, surprised he’d missed seeing another person in the room. Disappointment filled him. He’d wanted Rhiannon to himself tonight, but he wasn’t shocked she’d invited someone else to join them. After all, they’d just met and he was virtually a stranger.
It took him a moment to realize there was no one there, and then he saw the cat perched on the low windowsill in the dining area. Her green eyes studied him with an intensity that was almost unnerving. He stared back, not blinking. Finally the cat dipped her head and started to purr.
“I’ll leave you two to get acquainted.” Before he could reply, Rhiannon hurried out of the room and down a short hallway that had to lead to her bedroom. His entire body clenched at the thought that her bed was a mere few steps away.
Shaking himself, he walked toward the cat. He wanted Rhiannon, but he didn’t want to rush her and frighten her away. Deep in his gut, he knew this was a woman worth waiting for.
Reaching out slowly, he let the cat sniff his hand. When she was satisfied, she butted her head against him. Taking the hint, he began to scratch behind he
r ears. “Hi, Abigail.” She meowed again and purred harder. “I hope your mistress will give me the opportunity to make her purr with pleasure.” As he continued to pet the cat, he looked around the room, curious about Rhiannon’s home.
A large oak cabinet dominated one wall of the dining area. The doors were carved with symbols and it appeared to be an antique. Chairs that were mismatched, yet somehow seemed to go together, surrounded a trestle table. A wind chime made of pewter stars and moons graced the window that was also filled with sun catchers of various designs. The windowsill had several large chunks of stone. If he wasn’t mistaken, one was an amethyst and another was quartz. He had no idea what the yellow one was. Orange candles graced the table, but a lone red one sat in the center.
The kitchen was homey and inviting as well. It opened into the dining area, the two spaces separated only by a counter. The kitchen windowsill was covered in pots of herbs that scented the air. The counters were surprisingly clutter free, but there were heavy glass canisters covered in suns and moons against one wall, with a coffeepot next to them. A large green glass ball hung in the center of the window in a macramé holder. He imagined it would pick up the light in the daytime and look quite spectacular.
It was obvious that Rhiannon used a lot of the items she sold in her store. He’d noticed the chimes, candles, rocks and the like in the shop yesterday morning.
He sensed her behind him. A slight rustle of clothing and a whiff of her floral soap. He turned slowly, taking in the sight of her framed in the doorway. He’d thought her a fairy the first time he’d seen her. She captivated him more than any other woman he’d ever met. It was as if she’d cast some sort of spell over him, bewitching him.
“Are you some kind of a witch?”
Rhiannon felt all the blood draining from her face and her body swayed. Ryland sprang forward, his large hands wrapping around her shoulders, holding her upright.
“Are you all right? You look kind of pale. Maybe you should sit down.” He urged her over to one of the dining room chairs and she sat.
A Touch of Magick: Spells, Seduction and Secrets, Book 1 Page 9
