“Go,” he mouthed with a knowing smile. Turning his back to her, he headed down the bar to serve the couple waiting on him.
Chapter Six
“The earnestness of her heart shall cleanse her spirit and renew her gifts by which she will build soldiers for God.”
The Prophecy
Day Three
9:00 a.m.
T he night before, after Jules’ amazing parlor trick, Toni decided to head up to the hotel room and try to see if the notes actually made more sense now that her spot had been removed.
Unfortunately, the only thing that happened was that she fell asleep on a pile of papers and slobbered on some of the research.
When she woke up early the next morning, however, she roused on day three of her investigation to a stern knock on the door and a bell ring, feeling completely rejuvenated.
Wow, that had been the best sleep she had ever had.
No dreams. No tossing or turning. No thoughts. Just a deep, fulfilling rest.
Somehow, she felt lighter, younger, smarter, if possible. The room was brighter than normal, the sounds and smells more pronounced. The world and everything around it seemed clearer.
Another knock on the door, hurried her from her moment of calm.
“Just a minute,” she yelled out, pulling herself reluctantly from the hold of the comfortable bed.
Slowly, she made her way from the bedroom to the parlor area.
“Who is it?” She had an idea, but she didn’t want to assume.
“It’s me,” Jericho said, waiting outside.
He looked back down the hall as a family of four stepped outside of their hotel room with their bags and closed the door. He nodded toward them and then glanced back at the door. What the hell was taking her so long?
Toni cracked the door open and leaned against it. Inhaling his personal scent of masculinity and sexiness, she bit her lip.
“What’s up?” she asked, trying to hide her possible bad breath.
She glanced out at him and saw that he wasn’t in his usual suit, but rather dark jeans that fit his long, bow legs and a soft-white T-shirt that highlighted his sinewy muscle.
Damn. He looked even better in casual clothes than tailored suits, which was virtually impossible.
Tousled locks of brilliant, black hair crowned his head. His face was flush with color, lips wet and red from licking and his stubborn square jaw was clenched tight.
The muscular column of his neck was tanned and inviting, his broad shoulders sprouted out like wings and his chest was a work of art – muscled and carved to perfection. He had a long torso with six perfect abdominal muscles and no fat anywhere. She caught herself before she hit is belt line. God only knew what was beneath that.
Strangely, his golden eyes were calm this morning like something had stopped the storm in his head. They were glimmering with speckles of silver-like confetti.
Upon seeing Toni, Jericho didn’t quite give her a smile, but more of a rueful grin. “Good morning,” he answered, tightening with each blink of her beautiful brown eyes.
“Morning,” she grinned back.
Jericho looked down to see her in a pink tank top and short pajama shorts. Those fucking nipples were pearled again. He licked his lips and tried to focus on her face. “I brought up breakfast for you. I heard from Jules that you worked pretty late last night on your investigation, and I figured that you could use the energy refuel.”
She covered her mouth and yawned again. “Excuse me.” Looking behind him, she saw a breakfast cart with a covered silver tray, a bowl of fruit, a carafe of coffee and juice. It looked absolutely delicious, just like him.
“How sweet of you. I love eggs benedict. Not too big on real bacon though. I’ve been on the turkey diet for years. Come on in.” She moved out of the doorway and left it open for him as she quickly darted toward the bedroom. “I’ll be right back.”
Jericho paused at her statement. “How did you know what was under the tray?” He looked back at it to make sure that the top hadn’t fallen off.
Toni was already headed to the bathroom as Jericho pulled the tray inside. She didn’t mind him seeing her in the cute little pajamas, but she did mind him seeing her with bed hair and bad breath. That was normally reserved for the morning after. No need to run him away beforehand.
Closing the door to the bathroom behind her, she quickly pulled her hair out of its ponytail and brushed it down, washed her face and brushed her teeth.
Grabbing the perfume on the countertop, she sprayed a little on her neck…just in case.
God, just the sight of him had her going again.
How sexy could one man be? She could smell him before she got to the door, feel him before she saw his face. He made her heart race, made her feel like a teenager.
“Calm down, Toni, damn!” she said to her reflection in the mirror. “He’s just a man.”
Impatiently, Jericho waited in the parlor on the sofa. He placed the food on the coffee table and went about pouring them both a mug of coffee, trying to find anything to keep him busy.
He wasn’t used to nervous energy, and he definitely wasn’t used to the effect she had on him.
He felt weak in the knees when she opened the door just a few moments ago. Her brown skin was like silk, her eyes a lazy brown hue of warmness and her lips curved into a kiss with every little word.
Pull yourself together, he chided himself quietly. She’s just a girl…a woman… a goddess. Okay, maybe he was overshooting, but he definitely wanted her to have his children.
When Toni emerged from the bedroom a few minutes later, she had pulled on a slinky little robe to cover her night clothes.
“Just needed to freshen up,” she explained with a nervous laugh.
Jericho looked up and felt himself going to mush again. Oh shit…
The sunlight from the windows danced off her fresh face and dark brown hair. Even with no makeup, she looked better than any woman he had laid eyes on. And considering how long he had been around, that was saying a lot.
Sitting beside him on the sofa, she gave a curt little smile and shrugged her thin shoulders.
Her proximity immediately started to work on him. The heat started to boil again, and the migraine returned.
Taking a deep breath, he tried to play it off. After all, he was a seasoned man. He had seen it all- done it all- there was no reason that he should be acting like a little boy.
“So, what news did you find out?” he asked, pulling the silver top off the platter. It was eggs benedict served with purple and orange potatoes and cantaloupe. He had asked the chef to make it special for her. In fact, he had not asked at all, but demanded. He wanted nothing but the best for her, although he could not explain why.
She wiggled in place, happy to eat breakfast. “I’ve found out a few things, but not as much as I had hoped.” Her heart skipped a beat being so close to him. He smelled divine, looked divine…
“Do tell,” he said, anxious to know if she had uncovered anything that he had not.
Toni wasn’t ready to talk about the story just yet, so she redirected. “This really looks amazing.” She picked up the steaming plate and put it on her lap. “Thank you so much. I’m starving. I went to bed with a grumbling stomach and woke up feeling like it had caved in.”
Jericho raised a brow. He hadn’t gone hungry in the slightest way for a century, but he still remembered this one time during the Civil war when…
“I did, however, sleep like a baby. I don’t know what kind of mattresses you guys buy, but they are a godsend. I didn’t dream. I didn’t do my normal twisting and turning. I just slept.”
Jericho’s head popped up at her statement, but he didn’t speak on it.
Just as she put her fork in the food, Toni stopped and looked up at him. Blinking fast, she gave him a disapproving frown and pulled away from the food.
“What? What’s wrong?” he asked.
Toni placed the plate back down on the coffee table and retre
ated from it. “Someone spit in the hollandaise sauce.” It was the craziest thing. She wasn’t sure how she knew, or how she could see the flash vision, but after seeing it, she couldn’t bring herself to believe that it was her imagination running off with her again.
Jericho picked up the plate and inspected it. “I promise you I did not spit in your food.” His heart sank. After their kiss the night before last, he had spent the entire next day avoiding her, in order to get his thoughts together. This was supposed to be a peace offering, not a slap in the face.
Toni could see his disappointment. She quickly tried to soothe him. “Oh, it’s not you.” She touched the plate again and closed her eyes. “A small, petite man with a limp works in your kitchen. He did it.”
She was amazed that she knew, but she did.
Jericho knew exactly who she was talking about and would deal with him accordingly, but for now, there was something more pressing.
“How did you know?” he asked softly.
She swallowed hard, remembering her promise to Jules. “I just know.” She took a deep breath. “Something happened to me yesterday, and it made me see things…differently.”
Well that explained the sleep. Only his kind didn’t dream when they slept. “Someone removed the spot on your brain,” he said, sinking back in the sofa. So, his suspicions had been right. She wasn’t just a reporter, after all. She was something much, much more.
“Yeah,” she said, voice trailing off.
“And you allowed them to remove it willingly?” he probed.
“I was curious,” she said, waiting for what she expected to be an explosion.
He sucked his teeth and turned to her. “Who did this?”
Jericho wasn’t completely shocked by her gift, just pissed. Someone had been messing with her head. That could be a dangerous thing, if done carelessly.
“I can’t tell you.” She remembered her promise to Jules and refused to break it. She very well might need him again later. “I promised someone to keep it a secret, and I never break a promise.”
“Someone I know?” he asked, thinking of his brother.
He had seen Jules late last night, and they had spoken about Toni, but he could not bring himself to believe that Jules would ever do something so stupid.
It was against coven rules to play with a human’s mind. But then again, it was also against the rules to cast a spell like he had summoned Jules to do when he served her the drink.
It was clear that he could not reprimand his brother without taking responsibility first for what he had done.
Stalemate.
Toni could see he was battling internally with something, so she quickly spoke up. “Jericho, whatever happened to me, I asked for it,” she said, sitting up straight. “And it’s none of your business who did it. So, let’s just drop that now.”
The cocky, independent Manhattan woman he had first met emerged, and he could see that she wouldn’t budge.
There was only one way to be sure, however, that she had the sight.
“Very well. Here. Use me. What else can you see?” Jericho asked, reluctantly offering his own hand. He wasn’t sure how strong her powers were, and if she saw too much, she might very well shy away from him forever. But he still had to try.
Hesitation laced her trembling voice. “What do you want me to do with your hand?” she asked, clueless. She had a few ideas, but they didn’t have to do with her brain.
“Read it,” Jericho answered with a frown. He thought that was obvious, but he had to remember she was new to all of this.
“So, you believe me?” she asked, unsure if she even believed herself.
Jericho’s voice tightened. “Why would I not?”
Okay, so I’m not in this alone, she thought to herself.
He wiggled his fingers at her. “Go on.”
Toni took his smooth, large hand in hers and closed her eyes. She felt like one of those dime-store fortune tellers right now, but she’d give it a shot. Relaxing her shoulders, she inhaled a deep breath.
Jericho almost snorted. “Closing your eyes isn’t necessary. See it out of your mind’s eye,” he instructed with a feather-like caress of her hand.
“Right.” Opening her eyes, she gripped his large hand. It was smooth on the surface, but his palm had calluses from long hours in the gym. “Okay. I’ll try.” Immediately, she felt ridiculous.
“Settle your mind. Accept that you have the sight. Don’t question it,” he said, trying to help.
Toni nodded in submission. Fighting the urge to close her eyes, she focused on the table across the room. Taking another deep breath, she felt herself drift.
“That’s it,” Jericho said, voice ebbing through her emotions. “Give in…to it.” He reminded himself of what they were attempting to do, not what he wanted to do to her.
A flash of two nights ago when they were together flashed through her mind. She smiled at the vision, remembering his mouth slanted over hers.
“What do you see?” Jericho asked.
“We kissed,” she said, surprised. How did she miss that? “It was here at the front door of the hotel room, and then you brought me to the bed and laid me down after I passed out.” She smiled again glad that he had not tried to take advantage of her. That would have been creepy. “You covered me up, and you checked the balcony door to make sure it was locked.” She closed her eyes despite his previous instruction. “Wait. There is something else.” She scowled – a grimace crossing her face. “You also had my drink spiked by Jules before I came into the bar.”
Jericho’s left eye twitched. “I had hoped you’d remember the kiss, but not the rest,” he said, sure that bringing her breakfast would make a lot more sense now. He had worked the day before and missed her at every opportunity, but he simply could not stay away for another 24 hours.
Toni focused harder. “It was a potion, something potent. It was supposed to make me sleep, forget…leave.” She frowned.
Did he want her to go away?
Pulling his hand away before she could see anything else, especially something private and embarrassing, Jericho threw his head back on the sofa and looked up at the ceiling, contemplating her condition.
She opened her eyes and peered at his side profile. “Okay. Was I right?” she asked, knowing that she was.
“Yes, on all accounts.” His voice croaked.
There were a million questions in her mind, but she focused on the main one first.
“So, what’s wrong with me?” Toni asked, a little afraid of her new trick. Was she going to see everything in life like this now, and if so, for how long?
“There is nothing wrong with you, per se,” Jericho said, glancing over at her sympathetically. His eyes sparkled like freshly cleaned diamonds. Trailing his eyes down to her mouth, he thought of kissing her again. “We can’t make magic where there is none, no different than any other barren thing or place. Your gift was there at birth. Believe it or not, you’ve had it the entire time. It was just under the surface, waiting to be brought out.” He was surprised that it had taken so long for her to find out, and he was as curious as she to discover what she was capable of, however, he also understood the inherent risk of such a thing.
Dark gifts could be dangerous.
“I know this can be upsetting,” Jericho said, unable to read her face.
Toni swallowed hard, feeling a lump in her throat that refused to go down. She wasn’t sure what she was most upset about – Jules and his little trick, the fact that Jericho had tried to run her off, or the fact that breakfast had been ruined by the mystery chef’s special sauce.
She shook her head and looked down at her hands. It was amazing how little she knew about herself…if all this were true.
Jericho grew uncomfortable in her silence. “Why can’t you tell me who did this to you?” he asked, sitting up. “Who would want you to know what you are? What do they have to gain by it?”
But Toni had other questions.
“What is
it that I know, Jericho?” she asked, nervously smoothing strands of hair down behind her ear. She hoped that he couldn’t see the truth hiding behind her eyes, that his brother had done this to her only because she had asked him to.
“What am I?” she asked softly, afraid to even hear the words aloud.
“Toni, you’re a witch,” Jericho said, bracing for a dramatic response. Humans never took bad news well, but witches were even worse.
However, Toni, regardless of her new condition, had never been the dramatic type - having seen all manner of things in her life and her job.
She tilted her head and narrowed her eyes on him, but she didn’t freak out, not externally at least.
“You’re telling me that I’m…I’ve been a witch for how long?” The inflection in her wispy voice let him know that while she wanted to believe him, there was a part of her that rejected his reasoning all together. “Was I born a witch, did I catch witch?” she asked facetiously.
“You were born a witch,” Jericho answered quickly and emphatically. This was no laughing matter, though she tried to avoid taking it too seriously. He wouldn’t let her. “Made witches can cast spells…at least, the ones that they are taught. They spend years at the feet of others learning their craft. But born witches have gifts that they were born with. They are there inherently. However, the only time that a born witch is usually able to use those gifts is if the spot is removed early in life, normally by their parents or their coven.” He cocked his head. “I had mine removed before my first birthday.”
“So, I’m a late bloomer. That’s not a surprise.”
“Some people go their whole lives not knowing who they really are. They just feel unusual. They never really fit in. They see things, feel things, but there is no rhyme or reason in it and no one to tell them. But I’ve never really met one of you.”
“I’m a born witch?” She raised a brow, hanging on to his every word.
“I believe so…yes.” He licked his lips, knowing if she was a witch and had this effect on him, then there was more to their story than this. It was more than possible that she was also his mate.
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