“Your peanut and almond butter obsession.”
Shawn grimaced. “I haven’t been to the grocery store lately. “Would you prefer to go out for a traditional dinner?”
“No, I like your idea of cooking, and the pantry scavenging thing is kinda fun.”
“I’ve got a canned ham my elderly neighbor gave me a few years ago, but I didn’t have the heart to throw it away.”
Jill shuddered. “Okay, that’s just…no.”
“Good, I’m using it as a doorstop in the laundry room.”
*******
The smell of food cooking filled Jill’s apartment. She and Shawn had worked well together in the small kitchen sharing kisses whenever they had to move around each other. When Shawn went to the bathroom, Jill pulled her own vial of Theo’s powder from her pocket, and after a moment’s hesitation, poured all of it into the baked beans.
What could it hurt? she wondered as she watched the mixture dissolve. “That’s a loaded question since it did come from Theo. It’ll probably make us gassy…or worse.”
Jill sighed as she opened a bag of bite-sized candy bars. After she removed the wrappers, she arranged them on a plate in the shape of a Christmas tree, all the while feeling guilty for dropping the potion into the beans. She wasn’t willing to concede that there were such things as magic powder. But if by some chance Theo’s powder was real, then their love wouldn’t be. If there was an expiration on the spell, what would become of them when the effects wore off?
“Are we done?” Shawn asked as she opened the oven and peeked in at the hen, then spied the candy. She snatched the base off the tree and was about to pop it in her mouth.
“Don’t you dare.” Jill grabbed Shawn’s arm with a laugh. “No dessert before a meal.”
Shawn scrunched up her face. “Who made that rule?”
“Oh, hell, you’re right.” Jill grabbed one of the candy bars and shoved it into her mouth. “I think we’re ready to put the food into serving bowls.”
Both of them worked quickly, and before long, the spread was set. In the middle of the table was a tiny Cornish hen surrounded by bowls of baked beans, mashed potatoes, gravy, rolls, stuffing that came from a box, and the last can of cranberry sauce Jill snagged at a corner store that was about to close.
Shawn pulled out Jill’s chair. “Thank you for indulging me. It’s been a long time since I’ve had a home-cooked meal on this day.”
Jill gazed at Shawn as she took the seat beside her. “Thank you for making Christmas fun again.”
They filled their plates with food, and Jill couldn’t take her eyes off the baked beans. Sweat actually beaded on her upper lip as Shawn scooped them up on her fork and raised them to her lips. “Don’t eat those!” Jill screamed and slapped the fork out of Shawn’s hand. Beans rained down on her lap.
“Is that a Searcy family tradition or something?” Shawn asked calmly. “I’d like to do it with the mashed potatoes when it’s my turn.”
“I need to make a confession.” Jill groaned and pinched the skin of her forehead. “Theo gave me some crazy powder. She said you’d be mine forever if I fed it to you. It’s probably nothing but flour, but I still feel guilty.”
“Oh,” Shawn said as she slowly set her fork down. “If you believe it’s only flour, then why are you telling me this?”
Jill shook her head and looked away. “Just on the off chance it isn’t. Shawn, it feels so good to have you here, it seems so natural. I venture into dating like I’m buying a car. Normally, after I’ve spent this much time with a woman, I’ve picked her apart, and I’ve weighed everything I don’t like about her against the good. I can’t find one thing wrong with you. You’re everything I’ve hoped for, and it seems so foolish to admit that this soon, but I feel it. If that powder is more than flour, then I’ll never know if it was that stuff or us if things work out.”
“Do you think I may be your heart’s desire?”
Jill slowly met Shawn’s gaze. “It feels like you are.”
“I saw that slip of paper under the glass cat. I recognized my ticket number. Did Theo write that?”
“Yes, but she saw your—”
“When? Was it before I asked you out or after?”
“Before.”
Shawn held Jill’s gaze. “Is that why you agreed to go out with me?”
“It had absolutely nothing to do with it. I’ve admired you, too. You never flirted with me, so I assumed you were taken.”
“I asked you how your day was going every time I came in. That was my version of flirtation,” Shawn said as she picked up her fork, filled it with beans, and stuffed it into her mouth. “Theo gave me a vial, too, and I put it into our pancakes.”
“How are we ever going to be sure we work? That whatever happens between us is real?”
“I believe in love and magic. We have the magic, and I know we’ll have the love.” Shawn scooped her fork into the beans and held it to Jill’s lips. “To us.”
Jill knew she was in trouble because she didn’t think twice about opening her mouth.
After they cleaned up after their Christmas dinner, Shawn said, “I’ve got to get something out of my car, I’ll be right back.” She raced out the door before Jill could reply. From her trunk, she retrieved the meticulously wrapped gift and tore up the stairs two at a time. Jill looked stunned when Shawn walked in with the huge present tucked under her arm and set it on the coffee table.
“What’s this?” Jill asked, looking a bit nervous.
“Open it and find out because it’s yours.”
“Shawn, that’s a big box.”
“Uh-huh, yeah,” Shawn said, unable to stand still. “Rip it open.”
Jill sat on the couch and released a breath before she started tearing at the paper. “It’s the train! It’s the freaking train!”
“I hope that we have a lifetime of Christmases together, and I’ll get to see that expression on your face on every one,” Shawn said as she sat next to Jill.
“My gift isn’t as spectacular as yours, but there’s meaning behind it.” Jill got up and took a small box from her bookshelf and placed it in Shawn’s hands.
Shawn opened it as Jill reclaimed her seat next to her. She stared at the silver watch pendant in her palm knowing that it was something that Jill had crafted with her own hands, which made it incredibly special. “I love it.”
“I was going to add a crack to the face to represent your watch, then I realized it would just look broken or scarred. So I came up with a new idea. There are twelve months in a year, same as twelve hours on a clock. The number one has a diamond on it because it represents January, which is the first time I saw you.”
“You’re wrong, this is far more spectacular than a train,” Shawn said before she kissed Jill. “I will always treasure this. Put it on me.”
Shawn placed the pendant in Jill’s hand, turned, and held her hair up. The skin of her neck tingled everywhere Jill touched. She closed her eyes, basking in the connection. “Are you ready to put the train together?”
Jill’s reply came in a whisper. “Not yet.”
“I can’t turn around. If I do, I’m afraid that I’ll try to take you further than you’re ready to go.” Shawn touched the pendant on her chest. “I’ve desired you since the day I first laid eyes on you.”
Jill ran a finger down Shawn’s back, then moved closer. “What makes you think I’m not ready to go anywhere you want to take me?”
They knocked half of the decorations off the tree in their haste to get to the bedroom. The shrunken head tree topper rolled into the room, and its glowing eyes watched as Shawn’s sweater, T-shirt, and bra went flying. “Wait, wait, wait,” Jill said as she untangled herself from Shawn’s arms and took a step back.
“Change your mind?” Shawn asked as she folded her arms over her chest.
“No, I just want to look at you a moment.” Jill bit her bottom lip as she circled Shawn. “Wow.”
Shawn laughed and grabbed Jill by the arm.
“You’re making me self-conscious,” she said as she pushed her down onto the bed and crawled on top of her.
“You have no reason to be, you’re…” Jill moaned as one of Shawn’s thighs settled between hers.
Jill’s lips were tender and yielding, her hands felt hot against Shawn’s bare shoulders as she gripped them. Shawn kissed every bit of exposed skin as she unbuttoned Jill’s shirt. She reveled in every shudder, each sigh her attentions received. “I love bras that clasp in the front,” Shawn whispered as she released Jill’s. “So beautiful.”
Jill’s eyes closed as Shawn’s tongue teased her nipple, and she released a soft moan when her lips closed over it. Shawn was taking her slowly, steadily stoking the flame burning inside of her. Jill felt Shawn’s affection in each kiss and stroke; she longed to reciprocate.
The loose jeans Jill was wearing slipped easily down her hips and thighs. She squirmed away the minute they fell to the floor. She turned down the bed and sat on the edge of it. “Come here,” she said with a sultry smile. She stared unabashedly into Shawn’s eyes as she unfastened her jeans and slid them down her thighs.
Shawn clamped her teeth tightly together when Jill pulled her closer and kissed her stomach while running her fingers up the inside of her thighs. “Oh, Shawn,” Jill breathed against her skin when she reached her destination and felt the wetness there.
Her name on Jill’s lips and Jill’s fingers exploring her sent shivers down Shawn’s spine. Her legs stiffened as Jill slowly entered her. “Not yet,” Shawn said weakly and pushed Jill back.
“I want you right now.” Jill stuck her fingers into her mouth and closed her eyes when Shawn slipped her underwear off.
Shawn pushed her legs wide and sank down between them. The sight and taste of Jill was imprinted on her brain as she lost herself in heat and wetness. Jill wasn’t shy about expressing what she wanted, and it drove Shawn wild.
“Touch yourself while you do this to me, Shawn. That’s what I’m going to be thinking about,” she said breathlessly. “I can still taste you on my lips. Don’t make yourself come.”
Shawn was on the verge, hit by a barrage of sensations, her own fingers between her legs, Jill beneath her mouth, and her words were tearing her apart. She’d wanted to bring Jill to the point of ecstasy slowly, but her own body wouldn’t allow it. Jill’s hands were in her hair guiding her, making it clear exactly where she wanted attention.
Shawn’s fingers were wet when they clasped Jill’s thigh when she could no longer control her hips. Knowing how aroused Shawn was pushed Jill to that last step to the edge. Her back cleared the bed as the waves of an intense orgasm took control of her.
“Oh! You’re up already, I’m in trouble,” Shawn rasped as Jill pulled her up and forced her onto her back. Jill’s face hovered close to Shawn’s as her hand moved between her legs. Shawn slipped her hand between Jill’s legs. “Together…I’m close.”
“I can’t take the direct contact—yes,” Jill breathed out when Shawn cupped her. She pressed down on Shawn’s thigh and rode her while she stroked Shawn at the same time.
“Don’t close your eyes.” Shawn shuddered against Jill’s touch. “Just…”
Jill swallowed hard as she watched Shawn. It broke her concentration and forestalled another orgasm that was steadily building. Jill’s fingers covered Shawn’s clit, and she gasped when Shawn moaned. Shawn’s gaze became unfocused for a second before her eyes closed, and she threw her head back. Her cry was Jill’s undoing.
*******
Shawn drank greedily from the glass of water Jill handed her and fell back against the headboard with a sigh. Perhaps it was because neither of them had sex for a while, but Shawn found Jill to be just as insatiable as she was. They took breaks, talked about going to sleep, then they were back at it again.
“Do you think Theo’s powder has some sort of aphrodisiac in it?”
“No, sweetie, I think that’s all us.” Jill ran a finger along Shawn’s jaw. “I could very easily have you again.” She pursed her lips and cocked her head. “What did you go see her for?”
“Confidence. I wanted to be able to ask you out.”
Jill’s brow furrowed. “Did she make you eat or drink something?”
“No, she poured powder all over my head and beat my face with a feather while I chanted, ‘I’m a confident woman.’ Then I confidently left in a hurry because whatever she poured on my head set in my hair like cement.”
“Did it work?”
Shawn smiled. “Yes, it did.”
“I’m gonna ask her tomorrow what was really in the powder we ate.”
Shawn pulled Jill into her arms and kissed the top of her head. “This feeling isn’t going to wear off. If anything, it’ll grow stronger, I’m sure of it.”
Chapter 10
Vera propped her hand in her chin and gazed at Shawn with a smile when they met for lunch. “You look happy.”
“I’ve had the most amazing two days. I brought her the tree on Christmas Eve, and we’ve been together ever since. She’s exactly like my dream—she is the dream.”
“Just go slow and—”
“I can’t…I don’t want to.” Shawn folded her arms. “My heart is pounding just thinking about her.”
“If I were in this situation, what advice would you give me?”
Shawn shook her head. “I don’t wanna do this. Please, don’t drag me back to earth. I know this is the woman I’m going to fall in love with.” She smiled. “Besides, I’ve got the voodoo in my corner.”
“What? Did you really have the old lady cast a spell on her?” Vera asked with a laugh as she grabbed a breadstick from the basket between them and bit into it.
Shawn chuckled, too. “No, she gave me some powder to sprinkle on Jill’s food. It’s supposed to make her mine forever.”
Vera was smiling and chewing, then stopped. She swallowed with a gulp. “Are you serious?”
“Yes, it was in an amber vial with a cork in the top, very voodooey.”
“Did you put it on her food?” Vera practically screamed.
Shawn looked around, then nodded. “I put it in the pancake batter, so we both ate it.”
“Okay, okay okay…” Vera pointed at Shawn with the breadstick. “You don’t see anything wrong with this?”
Shawn picked up her fork and poked at her salad. “Yes and no—you know what, no.”
“Oh, girl, you are so wrapped up in what you want. Personally, I don’t believe in potions, but there’s no telling what you two ingested. You could’ve poisoned the woman you think you might fall in love with, not to mention yourself.”
“I don’t think Theo would give me something that would be a danger to anyone.”
“Do you believe in love potions?”
Shawn pursed her lips as she thought. “I want to.”
“Let’s just say for the sake of conversation what Theo gave you was real. Things are going great with Jill, that’s wonderful, but what if she’s really a bitch in hiding? What if she’s all the things you didn’t like about former lovers times ten, and this so-called potion welds you to her for life?”
“Are we talking figuratively or literally?”
Vera slammed her breadstick on the table. “Shawn, you’re an intelligent woman, stop playing dumb.”
Shawn was getting aggravated. Jill had voiced similar concerns. She didn’t care what was in the powder, what she felt for Jill was real. “Well…this conversation is dumb. You don’t believe in potions, so it makes this discussion moot.”
“Okay, well, let’s get really stupid. What if it makes her—and you—some…horny beasts that can’t stop doing it?”
Shawn flashed a saucy grin. “I’m totally good with that.”
Vera shrugged. “Yeah, I would be, too. I should go see Theo.”
*******
“Yo man been cheatin’? It’s time for a meetin’. Come see Theo,” Rene read as she stood in the window. She whirled around when Jill actually giggled. “You’ve b
een humming. You went out and got the really good coffee with the whipped cream on top.” Rene narrowed her eyes. “The last time you did that—you had sex!”
“I did, hours of it. This was the most awesome Christmas ever.”
“Oh,” Rene said with a dreamy-eyed sigh. “You’re falling in love.”
“Well, not yet, but I could.” Jill smiled at a customer as he walked through the door. While Rene waited on him, Jill stared at Shawn’s watch. Her head swam with thoughts of Shawn, and it made her dizzy. She was completely smitten. Shawn’s entrance into her life did feel like magic. She felt as though some external force was at work. The watch fell from her grasp onto the pad as she considered the powder that she’d slipped into their food. After a life of hard knocks, she didn’t have faith in much, especially not potions, powders, or even Theo’s abilities, yet she was starting to believe in love again.
“Rene, I need to talk to Theo about something,” Jill said as she tucked the watch into a drawer and locked it. “I’ll be right back.”
Rene nodded as she continued to assist the customer.
Jill jogged across the street, and when she entered Theo’s store, she found it empty and quiet. “Theo?” A muffled cry met her ear as she moved past the counter. “Where are you?”
“In the back. Oh, thank God.”
Jill followed the sound of Theo’s voice and found her lying at the bottom of the stairs surrounded by cardboard boxes scattered on the floor. “What happened?” she asked as she knelt down next to her.
“Marie! She shoved me down the stairs. I’ve been lying here for an hour.”
“Oh, Theo,” Jill said sadly and inhaled sharply. “Your foot’s on backward!”
“Which is why I’m still on the floor!”
Jill pulled her phone from her pocket. “I’m gonna call for help, don’t move.”
Theo frowned up at her. “That was a joke, right?”
Jill paid her no mind as she spoke to the 911 operator. “They’re on the way. I’m not supposed to try to move you. Are you in pain? Why didn’t you call me?”
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