Charmed in Vegas: Bad Potions (8 page)

"I'm sorry. There's no one here by that name."

"Can I speak to Chief Smith, please?" She'd never met him, but had spent enough time at the station answering questions about Eric to learn his name.

"I'll see if he's available."

Soft jazz music played in Marion's ear while she waited for Julia to transfer her call to the chief. She tried not to think the worst, but fear ate at her anyway. If Detective Wallace hadn't called her, then who had?  She didn't want to think about the answer to that question.

"I'm sorry, the chief is in a meeting. I checked with his secretary though and she said Detective Wallace retired."

"Oh. He did? When? He just called me this week."

"It's been at least a year."

Tears burned her eyes at that and she began to shake. "I see. Thank you." She disconnected the call and slumped against the stall door, unable to hold herself up without help.

It had been Eric who'd called her. There was no other explanation. She gritted her teeth as she realized he'd been toying with her this whole time. What else in her life was a lie? What other weak spots had he found to exploit? Could she trust anyone?

Moving to Vegas was supposed to protect her. Not just with an education in magic, but the extra security. No one wanted a mage like Eric loose in the casinos. Anyone with magic and a criminal history was barred from entering Vegas via mundane tracking and various protective wards. Some of the best magic in the world policed who had access to the casinos.

Had Eric found a way around that? He would try. She had no doubt of that, but could he beat the wards? She'd counted on Vegas' magic to keep him away from her, but that may have been naive.

And to make things worse, she'd left Vegas. Sure, Aidan had said he had wards too, but did he really? She shouldn't have been so quick to run.

Annoyed with herself, she took a deep breath and wiped away her tears. Nothing to do now but play along and keep an eye out for clues as to who Aidan really was. She was alone. No one was coming to save her and that meant she had to save herself.

I can do this. I don't know how, but I'm not going to let Eric win.

***

A
idan was waiting for her in the main lobby of the rest stop, a cup  of coffee in each hand. "Over here," he called out.

Like she could miss him. He stood a good head taller than everyone else and his sunny good looks almost made him glow. Every woman in the place had swiveled their heads at the sound of his voice and now stared, utterly riveted. Marion felt the pull of his attraction as well, but remembering he might just be Eric in disguise dulled the effect.

Of course, she didn't recall Eric ever being that tall. She found the observation mildly reassuring. Glamour casting could disguise a person, but it didn't add height or weight. Mages didn't have the ability to shapeshift like Dougal did. That was a fay thing. Mages only commanded illusion, not reality.

Smiling at him, she said, "Hey."

“Everything okay? Calling home?” He nodded toward the cell phone still in her hand.

“Just trying to reach Raven and see how things are going,” she lied, stashing the phone in her pocket and hoping he didn’t suspect anything.

“I take it you didn’t get through?”

Marion shook her head. “No.”

“Keep trying. She’ll answer sooner or later.” He extended a steaming cup toward her. “Here, I got you some coffee.”

“Oh. Thanks.” She took the cup, but stopped short of drinking from it. Eric wasn’t above using drugs or poison. But Aidan probably wasn't Eric. Or was he? Ugh. She hated having to question every little thing. Still, better safe than sorry.

She pushed the coffee back into his hand. “I’d better skip it. You don’t want me hyper in such a small car.”

“Are you sure? It’s hazelnut.” He sniffed his cup with an expression of bliss. “Good stuff.”

“I’m sure, but thanks. It was sweet of you.”

“No problem. I could use another cup anyways. One thing Fairy never has is good coffee.”

“I think I’ll get a bottle of water to take with me though,” she said looking over to the convenience store that stood to the side of the lobby. “Do you want one?”

“Sure. That’s probably a good idea. Driving always makes me thirsty.”

Well, just so long as he wasn’t
bloodthirsty.

***

B
ack in the car, Marion clasped her hands around her water bottle, her mind racing. How could she prove, without a doubt, whether or not Eric was masquerading as Aidan? She thought back to her Introduction to Magic class, trying to recall what the professor had said about the art of illusion.

Illusions were always visual and never stood up to physical contact. So anyone wary of touch should be suspect. All she had to do was touch him. If he avoided her, she would know the truth.

But wait. She’d
already
been touching him and he had been more than willing. Plus, as she'd just noticed, he was physically bigger than Eric. He probably really was Aidan the elf. Relief dispelled the tension tying knots in her spine and then one thought had the knots coming back tighter than ever: What if Aidan's height was part of the illusion?

Eric wouldn't be able to change his actual height, the rules of magic were clear on that, but he could
maybe
make it seem like he was taller. She didn't know the magic well enough to be sure, which meant she still didn't know if she was safe.

Damn it.

She had to know, had to be sure who was who. Did Aidan really exist or had her ex lured her out of Vegas intent on murder? There was nothing to do but find a reason to touch Aidan so she could check for Eric's mole. If they kissed again, she could run her hand across Aidan’s cheek. She should be able to feel the mole through any illusion. Then she would know for sure that Eric hadn’t out-magicked her and that she could trust Aidan.

Just one kiss and she would know.

“So, where are we going?” she asked with a bright smile, trying not to obviously stare at his face. She gripped her water bottle tight, countering the urge to reach out and just touch him and get it over with. Now wasn’t the time. Not with the speedometer registering well over a hundred miles per hour.

Aidan zipped the car around a lumbering semi. “I have a small house in an oak grove about five miles from here."

She looked at the rock filled desert outside her window. "Oak trees? Out here?"

"Yep. Been in my family for centuries.”

"But where does the water come from?" She frowned. The desert didn't get enough rainfall to support anything green. How did Aidan's grove work?

He waggled his fingers at her. "Magic. The land is connected to Fairy."

“Ah. I see. So, we’ll be there soon?”

“Another few minutes.” He swerved to avoid a pothole, the change in direction throwing her against him.

“Why your grove? Why not a hotel?” she asked, pushing off his shoulder to get back to her side of the car.

“No one can find it, but me and mine. The wards are the same wards that protect the queen,” he said, flashing her a grin. “You described Eric as such a powerful mage, I thought this might be safer.”

“Oh.” She wondered if it would be possible for Aidan to ward her apartment with the same magic.

"Eric won't be able to find you in the grove. And we don’t want to be distracted by worrying about you while Dougal serves as bait.”

“You’ve thought of everything it seems.” She cast a wary look at Aidan. 
If Eric can't find me, then neither can anyone else.

“I
am
trained to guard and protect.”

Or hide the bodies where no one can find them.

Chapter Nine

The house Aidan pulled up to was a small wood cabin nestled under the gentle arches of an oak grove. The trees loomed tall with broad trunks, their size showing their immense age. Marion stared up at them, her mouth an ‘O’ of awe as Aidan popped the trunk and grabbed their bags.

Opening the front door, he said, “It’s a small floor plan. Here’s the living room.” Hands full, he nodded toward two oversized arm chairs, a leather sofa, and a brick fireplace. “Back here is the kitchen slash dining room.” He pointed through an archway where Marion caught a glimpse of dark granite kitchen counters and oak cupboards. “There should be food. I called the Brownies last night. They should’ve stocked the fridge and the pantry.”

“You have Brownies?” Marion asked, curious. She’d never seen one before, but their housekeeping skills were legendary. The only thing was, they liked to be silent and invisible. You weren’t supposed to see them at all. If you did, they would leave.

“Yes. My mother’s cousins.” Starting down a dark hallway opposite the kitchen, he said, “The bedrooms and bathroom are over here.” He opened a rough, handmade pine door and dropped her bag inside. “This will be your room.”

Marion peered around Aidan to see a single bed with a plain blue comforter. A table, also made of pine, stood next to the bed and held a lamp and alarm clock.

“I’ll be over here.” Aidan turned to open the door across the hall. She followed him into a much larger room with a much larger bed. Where her walls had been painted a rather bland beige, his were covered in a deep green. The comforter on his bed was black and dark cherry tables flanked each side. Wide windows ran along the exterior wall, giving an unobstructed view of the grove.

“Nice.” She eyed the bed, which looked to be a king in size. “That’s an awfully big bed for one person.”

He grinned at her. “Well, maybe I won’t be alone.”

Marion swallowed and, remembering her plan to test Aidan’s identity, decided to take advantage of the sexual tension between them. “That could be arranged,” she said with a coy smile.

She walked toward him, a wicked glint in her eye, and traced a finger down one cheek, across his chin, and up the other. Detecting no mole, she moved in closer and pressed her lips against his, cupping both his cheeks in her hands, searching with her thumbs. Still no mole.

She didn’t have much time to consider her findings as Aidan pulled her tight against him, taking control of the kiss. He teased her mouth with his tongue until she thought she would melt. Any doubts she had about Aidan’s identity disappeared. Eric had never kissed her like this, never made her feel like her clothes were a nuisance. Never made her think it was a perfectly grand idea to be tossed on the bed

But Aidan did.

He kissed his way down her neck to a sensitive spot behind her neck, one connected to her nipples, which hardened instantly. Still nibbling at her neck, he ran a lazy thumb over her nipples, alternating from side to side until she couldn’t help but writhe against him.

When he moved to lift her shirt over her head, she offered no protest other than to insist he take his shirt off too. Clothes just got in the way. They kissed, skin-on-skin, hands tracing each other’s bodies.

Aidan pushed her back onto the big bed, slipped his hands behind her back to her bra and unclasped it, tossing it on the floor with their clothes. ”I’ve wanted to do this to you since I first met you.” Cupping a breast in each hand he nuzzled the space between them and then took a nipple in his mouth.

Marion arched back and moaned. His mouth may have been just on her nipple, but she felt the sensation throughout her body, particularly between her legs where a liquid heat burned. Aidan must’ve sensed the meltdown in her core because he peeled off her pants and plied her thighs apart with gentle caresses. Slipping a finger between the folds of her skin, he stroked her, rubbing in a regular, uninterrupted rhythm until she quivered.

He continued to tease, causing pleasure to arc through her body like an electric current. While she tried to catch her breath, he focused on her breasts again, flicking her nipples with his tongue.

Marion had never imagined that sex could feel so good. Her few forays into foreplay with Eric had been awkward and unpleasant. Sometimes painful as Eric’s touch often went from soft to hard. He had delighted in her pain and after the first few dates, Marion realized he wasn’t the partner for her. He had been furious at her rejection.

Ironically, this was why she was currently drowning in pleasure under Aidan’s knowledgeable touch. If she hadn’t met Eric, she wouldn’t be here with Aidan right now. And that is how things come full circle from good to bad, she thought, almost managing a wry smile between the gasps Aidan elicited.

“I don’t think I can take much more,” she finally panted. There was an emptiness inside that she desperately needed to fill. The time for teasing was past.

Aidan nodded and stripped off his pants as quickly as he could. Pulling a condom from the bedside table, he unrolled it slowly along the length of his shaft. Marion watched, eyes wide, wondering how something so long, so...
hard
was going to fit inside her.

Aidan must’ve noticed her concern because he said, “Are you sure you want to do this?”

Marion nodded.

“Because we can stop, if you’re not ready.”

“No, it’s just...”

“What?”

“I haven’t ...” She bit her lip and looked at him with wide eyes.

“I know it’s been a long time since Eric. Don’t worry, I’ll go slow.”

In answer, she fell back on the bed, cupping a breast with one hand, and opening herself for him with the other.

***

A
idan almost lost it right there when Marion offered herself to him. Knowing her history with Eric, he understood how much trust it took for her to take the next step with him, especially after knowing him for such a short time.

She was beautiful. That was the only word for it. Her round curves, the pink tips of her breasts and the sweet heat between her legs were more perfect than he could’ve imagined. She’d been hiding for far too long underneath those baggy clothes of hers and he couldn’t wait to explore every delicious inch.

He’d offered to stop. Gave her complete control over whether or not they would make love. He had held his breath until she answered, afraid she would say no. Afraid he hadn’t been enough for her.

But she had given herself to him with a wicked smile. One he returned as he advanced on her. Crawling over her, he positioned himself between her legs. He paused briefly to touch her breasts again, pleased at the way her eyes glazed and her breath quickened.