Page 9

CHAPTER 9

“A guy. Lilianna is a guy.” Charissa stopped pouring the lime green powder into the crystal bowl and stared at Elora. It was only about the twenty-seventh time she had made the statement since Elora started work three hours ago.

“Yes,” Elora said.

“And he’s hot,” Charissa said.

“So freaking hot,” Elora sighed. “The hottest dude I’ve ever seen.”

Charissa flipped her curls out of her eyes and read the spell before adding a little more powder to the bowl. “Who you kissed.”

“Technically, he kissed me.” Elora leaned against the counter, staring out the big front window at the people walking past. They were bundled up against the cold, a swaying sea of brightly coloured knitted hats, scarves, and mittens.

“Lucky girl,” Charissa said.

“Are you forgetting the part where he made it clear it was a mistake and he should never have done it? Because I can’t forget it,” Elora said glumly.

“Is it all that surprising? Shapeshifters don’t do relationships,” Charissa said.

Elora straightened. “I never said he was a shapeshifter. Why would you think Jonah’s a shapeshifter? He’s not. He’s a… human.”

Charissa laughed. “Wow, you are so bad at lying.”

Elora slumped against the counter. “Ugh. I know. How did you know Jonah is a shapeshifter?”

Charissa just shrugged before adding some shrivelled frog legs to the potion. “Not many witches are powerful enough to turn a human into an animal, but trapping a shapeshifter in their animal form? There are witches here in the city powerful enough to do that.”

“I don’t understand how she’s gone undetected by the WWC. If she’s that powerful and practicing dark magic, they should have hauled her in by now.”

Charissa added a drop of dark liquid to the bowl, and Elora wrinkled her nose at the smell, waving her hand in front of her face. “What is that?”

“Beetle shell mixed with rat feces and compounded into a liquid,” Charissa said.

“Oh God,” Elora said. “Do I even want to know what this potion is for?”

“Nope,” Charissa said.

“Seriously, though, why hasn’t the WWC caught her? I doubt turning Jonah into a crow permanently is the first bit of dark magic she’s done. It’s addictive, and once you start, few witches can stop,” Elora said.

“The Witches and Warlock Council have been busy with more important things as of late. They have a huge backlog of dark witch accusations to get through,” Charissa said.

“What’s more important than bringing in a dark witch? That’s literally their main job,” Elora said.

“Yes, but you know as well as I do that there are bigger problems in the witching world right now,” Charissa said. “Anyway, for all we know, this witch who cursed Jonah could have given up the dark arts or could be dead.”

“Yikes, that’s a bit extreme, don’t you think?”

“Witches who practice the dark arts don’t usually live long,” Charissa said. “Either a spell goes wrong and kills them, or they get on the wrong side of another dark witch. The best a dark witch can hope for is the WWC catches them and imprisons them for life.”

She stirred the potion slowly as Elora inched away to escape the smell. “Anyway, my point is - don’t take it personally that Jonah said it was a mistake. Shapeshifters don’t do relationships.”

“I know,” Elora said. “And I also know the only reason he kissed me is because he was a crow for years, and now that he’s a dude again, he’s horny as fuck. I just happened to be the first pair of lips he came across.”

Charissa laughed hard, nearly spilling some potion from the bowl onto the counter. “Oh my God, Elora.”

“What? It’s true, which sucks because, Charissa, I am seriously attracted to that guy. Even though he knows every embarrassing thing about me and has seen me scrubbing my naked ass in the shower, I still want to bang his brains out, which is also freaking weird because that’s not me. I usually like to get to know someone first.”

“To be fair, you haven’t been laid in a long time,” Charissa said. “Thanks to Jonah.”

She paused in her stirring and gave Elora an assessing look. “That’s a little weird, don’t you think? Jonah spent his entire time as a crow preventing you from sleeping with other guys, and one of the first things he did once he was human was kiss you.”

“He said it was a mistake,” Elora said.

Charissa shrugged. “Or maybe he wants to bang you as much as you want to bang him.”

“Then he should just say that,” Elora said. “I’m not looking for a relationship from him or anything. I’m young, and I haven’t been laid in two years, and there is nothing wrong with a woman just wanting casual sex, Charissa.”

“Didn’t say there was,” Charissa said before adding another mysterious dark liquid to the potion.

Elora knew Charissa wasn’t judging her, but she could feel herself getting worked up anyway as her voice rose and the magic pulsed in her veins. “All I’m saying is that it’s kind of a dick move on his part to assume I would even want a relationship with him in the first place. I don’t really know Jonah, and he could be an asshat for all I know.”

“Maybe. Also, you don’t have to yell. I’m standing right here,” Charissa said.

“I can’t help it. I’m fired up!” Elora said, her voice going even louder. “But just because neither of us wants a relationship doesn’t mean I can’t bang him, right? Jonah’s probably amazing in bed, so why shouldn’t I get a piece of that? He basically owes it to me after cockblocking me for two years, right?”

Charissa glanced up from the bowl, her dark brown eyes widening as she stared at someone behind Elora. “Uh oh.”

“What?” Elora said.

“A handsome man is standing behind you,” Charissa said. “I’m guessing it’s Jonah by the amused look on his face.”

“No, he isn’t,” Elora said as panic settled in her bones. “If a customer had come in, we would have heard the bell over the door, Charissa. I didn’t hear a bell. Did you hear a bell? We didn’t hear a bell. Therefore, no one is standing behind me, and even if there were, it is definitely not Jonah.”

“I think your very impassioned speech drowned out the bell, little witch,” Jonah’s deep voice said behind her.

Elora sucked in a deep breath and closed her eyes. “Hello, Jonah.”

“Hello, Elora.”

She opened her eyes as Charissa stepped out from behind the counter. Knowing her face was beet red, Elora spun around slowly, the flush turning even hotter when Jonah grinned at her.

“So, you’re the guy who’s been shitting on my floor for the last two years,” Charissa said.

Jonah bellowed laughter before stepping forward and, ignoring Charissa’s outstretched hand, scooped her up in a hard hug. “Hello, Charissa.”

He released her, and Charissa eyed him up and down. “She’s right. You are hot.”

“Thank you,” he said before grinning at Elora.

She rolled her eyes and tried to salvage the situation. “I don’t think I said hot. I think I said you’re okay looking.”

“You still want to bang me, though,” Jonah said.

“Jonah, you can’t bring up the conversation you were eavesdropping on,” Elora said. “That’s rude.”

He just laughed and turned to Charissa. “Thank you for finding the spell to release me.”

“You’re welcome,” she said before glancing at Elora. “Don’t make me regret it.”

“Never,” he said solemnly.

Charissa returned to her potion as Elora said, “Did you see your brother?”

“He wasn’t home,” Jonah said.

“Oh,” Elora said. “I’m sorry. Why, um, are you here?”

“It’s almost your lunch break,” Jonah said. “I thought I’d take you to that deli you like down the street for lunch.”

Elora glanced at Charissa, who made a shooing motion with her hand. “Go on. And take an hour instead of your usual half an hour.”

“What? No, I can’t do that.”

“I’m your boss, and I say you can,” Charissa said with a raised eyebrow before turning to Jonah. “Consider it my ‘congratulations, you’re a human again’ gift.”

“Thank you, Charissa.” Jonah held his hand out to Elora. “Ready, little Elora?”

Fifteen minutes later, she sat on a stool at the long table in front of the Hearty Eats Deli window, her favourite soup before her and Jonah’s comfortably solid bulk on her left.

To her right was a thin man with long blond hair and an overbite. He was a warlock. She could tell by the shimmery orange aura that surrounded him. He whispered an incantation and pointed his finger at his soup. Orange light glowed from his fingertip, and the soup bubbled wildly.

He realized Elora was watching him and grinned sheepishly. “I like the soup extra hot.”

She smiled at him, and he picked up his phone, scanning the screen as he spooned the extra hot soup into his mouth.

She turned back to see Jonah dip his bread into his soup and eat a big bite, making a low sound of delight that shouldn’t have turned her on but did. How the hell did he make eating soup sexy? How?

“Was your brother happy to see you?” she asked.

“He wasn’t home,” Jonah said.

“Oh.” Elora stirred her soup.

“So, you want to bang me, huh?” Jonah said with a devilish grin.

“Nope,” she said immediately, spooning soup into her mouth. “You are never to bring that up again, Jonah. Do you hear me? Never.”

“Never?”

“Never.”

“What if we’re captured and forced to participate in a sadistic game show, and the only way for me to survive is by mentioning that you want to bang me? Am I allowed to bring it up then?”

“One, that would never happen. I’m a witch, and you’re… you, and we would never be captured for some dumb game show. And two, no, you are not allowed to bring it up, even then.”

“Harsh but fair,” he said before eating more soup.

They ate their soup in comfortable silence. Elora was too aware of how good Jonah smelled, of how ridiculously handsome he was now that he wore jeans that fit and a leather jacket that clung to his broad shoulders.

She studied the scruff on his jaw, and when she caught herself wondering how it might feel against her inner thighs, she hurriedly looked away and spooned the last of her soup into her mouth.

“Thank you for buying me lunch, Jonah,” she said.

“You’re welcome.” He finished his soup and carried their empty bowls and utensils to the garbage before returning. “There’s something else I want to give you, Elora.”

“What’s that?” She was not picturing him giving her his dick, not imagining how good it would feel sliding into her, not wondering if he would be rough and demanding or gentle and coaxing.

“Behave, little witch.” Jonah gave her a look that made her flush.

“I am.”

“No, you’re thinking naughty thoughts, and if you continue, I’ll find it difficult not to make those naughty thoughts come true right here in the deli.”

She stared wide-eyed at him. “I… right here?”

“Right here,” he confirmed.

“We’d be banned for life, and it’s my favourite deli,” she said.

He laughed, that wonderfully deep and boisterous one she was already addicted to. “Yes, so behave yourself.”

He reached into his jacket and withdrew an envelope from the inside pocket. “Here.”

She took the envelope and peered inside, nearly sliding off the stool when she saw the stack of cash. “What is this?”

“It’s your savings,” Jonah said. “The money you spent to save me.”

“What? No,” she tried to push the envelope back into his hands, “Jonah, I don’t need this. I didn’t spend that money with the expectation that you would owe me or -”

“I know,” he said. “I want to do this, Elora.”

“It’s a lot of money,” she said.

“Not for me,” he said with a remarkable lack of arrogance.

“I don’t feel right taking it,” she said.

He leaned closer, cupping her face and rubbing his thumb across her cheekbone in long, slow sweeps. “Little witch, I want to do this. You wiped out your entire savings to free me. I know how this sounds, but believe me when I say that what’s in this envelope is the tip of the iceberg for me. I can afford to do this. Please let me.”

She licked her lips, a bolt of heat running through her body when Jonah’s gaze immediately dropped to her mouth. “I… okay. Thank you.”

“Thank you ,” he said before kissing her.

It was a barely-there brush of his mouth against hers, but she was immediately hot and horny and more than willing to be banned from her favourite deli.

He leaned back and like he hadn’t just rocked her world with nothing more than a soft kiss, said, “So, how’s your morning been?”

“Fine,” she said, resisting the urge to grab him by the collar and kiss him again. “Not that busy. Did you get all your personal stuff sorted?”

He nodded. “Mostly. I still have to get a car out of storage, but everything else has been taken care of.”

“A car?” she asked. “How many cars do you have?”

He grinned. “Several.”

“Define several.”

“Five,” he said.

She clutched at the counter to stop from falling off the stool. “Why do you have five cars?”

“Because I can,” he said. “Speaking of which, your car is a piece of shit. I’ll bring by one of mine for you to use instead.”

“Jonah, you can’t just give me a car to use.”

“Why not?”

“Because regular people don’t do that,” she said.

“It’s a good job I’m not regular people then,” he said before glancing at his watch. “We need to head back to the store, or you’ll be late. I’ll bring the car by tomorrow for you.”

He slid off the stool and held out his hand to her. A little disconcerted, Elora took Jonah’s hand and followed him out of the deli.