Double Booked (9 page)
Authors: CJ Anaya
His eyes had widened during my little tirade, and then he leveled me with a desperate look, one filled with a deep longing.
“I would never hurt you, Analise. Your life is more important to me than you could possibly imagine.”
I stared at him in disbelief. “Yes, right up until I lead you to your stupid talisman. Then what?”
He shook his head in desperation. “You are the future of our coven, Analise. You’re going to be my wife and remain my wife, not because you’re useful or because you’re powerful, but because I honestly can’t imagine spending another two hundred years without you.”
Before I could let out any kind of startled protest, he wrapped his arms around me and gave me the kind of kiss that has the ability to wipe away all reason. The logical part of my brain was officially on hiatus.
I desperately fought the desire to succumb to the powerful attraction and chemistry building between us. No matter how handsome and charismatic this man appeared, I didn’t know him, and I couldn’t trust him, not yet anyway, but heck if I could stop responding to his fervent attentions.
It took me everything I had to place my hands flat against his chest and push him away from me. Even with my adrenaline-induced shove, he only moved back a few inches as our lips broke apart.
My thoughts and emotions were as erratic as my breathing, and I felt as if I might pass out from sheer panic.
He noticed right away and slowly pulled back, giving me an apologetic look as he did so. My breathing failed to even out. The distance he put between us almost made it worse. A terrible hunger gripped me as we stood a few feet apart.
The door behind me beckoned to be thrown open, but I couldn’t leave now. Not before I understood exactly what I meant to him, and what he might mean to me. His rough kisses had left me breathless and wobbly. I couldn’t have turned around and made a dash for freedom even if I’d wanted to, not on these shaky legs. But lust and desire weren’t emotions I could build a relationship on. Not a lasting one, anyway.
I wanted to shake myself when I realized where my thoughts had railroaded me. The reason this man had taken an interest in me had little to do with me personally and everything to do with my gift. He didn’t care about my safety if he was that intent upon involving me with a quest assigned by Basque witches.
Miguel ran a hand over his face in a frustrated gesture and then turned his chocolate eyes on me again, revealing uncertainty, something that belied his normally arrogant manner.
“Forgive me. I...this isn’t going the way I thought it would. I shouldn’t have...I’m sorry if I scared you...” he trailed off, looking uncomfortable and unsure of himself. It was so dang adorable I almost reassured him by walking over and wrapping my arms around those broad shoulders.
I threw my annoyingly compassionate side in a locked corner of my heart and steeled myself against Miguel’s overpowering presence.
“You’re sorry, but you’re still not going to let me go, are you?”
He shook his head. “No. I can’t let you go. I’ve waited too long. I tried to allow you a normal life before thrusting this burden upon you, but I can’t wait any longer. It’s too dangerous.”
I knew I didn’t have a chance in hell of getting out that door before he reached for me again, and I didn’t want to give him any excuse or reason to touch me or infringe upon my personal space. I didn’t understand my reaction to him. Normally, I had better sense than this, but it couldn’t hurt to find out what he needed me for as far as supernatural issues went.
“Fine, I will sit down on the bed and listen to you explain your situation so long as you stand by the door.”
He looked sad at my ultimatum, but I shoved any pangs of guilt I might feel into that compartment where my compassion sat imprisoned, locking them both away.
“If that will make you more comfortable, I am happy to oblige.”
“I won’t feel comfortable until there are several hundred miles separating us. For now, a couple of feet will have to do.”
My words irked him. I could tell by the tightening of his jaw, yet I could have sworn the corners of his mouth curled up in amusement as we passed each other and his arm brushed against mine. I hurried over to the bed and ignored the shivers skipping along my spinal column. Once I sat down and faced him, I studied his calm demeanor. He leaned his back against the door in a pose that any male model would have been wise to imitate.
I thought distance would allow me some breathing space, but simply looking at him constricted my lungs, hindering my air supply. He continued studying me as I battled to get myself under control. I had no way of knowing if he noticed the affect he had on me, but I felt certain that somehow he suspected it.
If I did anything to confirm those suspicions, I feared his calm restraint might crumble. I didn’t want to know what could happen if it did, especially if it involved more physical contact.
Or maybe I did. No...no definitely not.
I steadied my breathing and forced my face into a calm mask of indifference before making eye contact with him again. “I’m more than happy to help you locate that letter," I began, “but I don’t see why you should need me after that.”
“I can’t locate the other spelled artifacts without your help.”
“Why? If power is what you seek, you simply need to marry and join powers with another female of your coven.”
He shook his head. “The spelled artifacts are guarded by spirits of my father’s associates from the revolutionary war. Each spirit will need to be dealt with by a medium such as yourself.”
That posed more questions I felt anxious to frame, but I couldn’t be deterred from my first line of questioning.
“Then you don’t need a wife, you simply need a spirit guide.”
“I need both,” he evenly replied. “You may not have any understanding of the power you possess, but yours is the only power compatible with mine. A yin to my yang, so to speak. That’s why my magic reached out to you. It recognizes its match and wishes to join with yours.”
I had no way of verifying that, so I moved on.
“And once we locate this talisman and return it to your coven...then what? We live happily ever after?”
The smile he gifted me softened the chocolate brown of his eyes. “Is this not what everyone wants? A happy ending?”
“Is that our future or just wishful thinking? Do I have to stay married to you afterward?”
His eyes narrowed. Irritation laced his next question. “You would wish to end our marriage once the talisman is recovered?”
“Wouldn’t you? Don’t you want to be free to pursue the right woman?”
My question seemed to break away any and all restraint he had placed upon himself. In a blur of movement, he was standing before me, reaching for my shoulders and jerking me upright.
“
You
are the right woman. You’re the only woman I want, the only woman I’ll ever want,” he growled. He attacked my lips with a passion that threatened to consume the both of us.
This time I’d steeled myself for the possibility of any more contact with him, but I had to admit that I was loath to push him away again when what I really wanted to do was explore the feelings that burned so brightly between us. I finally shoved him back in order to gasp for some much needed oxygen.
“For heaven’s sake,” I said in a seriously pissed off voice. “You have to stop doing that. Do you realize that’s the fourth time you’ve kissed me without my permission? Just grabbed me like you would a slab of meat in a low end grocery store?”
He didn’t look the slightest bit penitent as a mischievous smile spread across his face.
“Are you saying you don’t enjoy my advances?” He tried closing the small distance between us.
“Irrelevant!” I pressed a hand against his chest to prevent him further access to my lips. “You can’t kiss me, you can’t hold me, you can’t marry me, and don’t you
dare
look at me like that.”
“Like what?” He pressed forward, undeterred by my protests.
“Like you’ve been wandering in a desert for five years without a single woman in sight.”
I found myself circling backward toward the door because moving toward the bed...well, if that didn’t flash some major warning signals in my brain, nothing else would. I frantically searched the room for another means of exit. I had my hands firmly pressed against his chest, but the pressure I applied made little difference as he backed me up against the door and rested both hands, palms flat, near either side of my head.
His eyes smoldered in their intensity, and he bent his head until we were almost nose to nose.
“I’ve been wandering this earth for much longer than that, Analise, and I’ve never encountered a woman like you.”
Wow. Just...wow.
Right before I threw all caution to the wind and kissed him just as fiercely as he’d kissed me, someone loudly banged upon the door.
Miguel swung me behind him. I thought it a rather overprotective gesture considering it was most likely housekeeping. Then again, the person on the other side of the door probably would have announced themselves as such.
I looked up at Miguel and saw that his eyes were focused on the door as he murmured something in a strange language. Latin perhaps? The door began to glow bright white, and I shielded my eyes against the glare. I could hear yelling and shouting coming from the other side.
“They’ve found us, Analise.”
“Who has found us?”
“The faction of Basque witches that broke from us fifty years ago. The Akelarre coven.”
“More Basque witches? Sounds ominous.”
“You think I’m something to worry about? Believe me when I tell you, querida, these warlocks have no intention of kissing you. I’m afraid, whether you like it or not, you are stuck with me until this matter of the talisman is resolved.” He offered me his hand. “Are you with me?”
The men beating at our door seemed to be muttering chillingly powerful incantations of their own, and I wondered how much longer Miguel would be able to hold them off.
Despite the fact that I really had very little choice in the matter, and that I still felt like Miguel was the most arrogant male to have ever walked the face of this earth, I looked to his outstretched hand and recognized that he was giving me the opportunity to decide for myself. He was asking instead of telling, and that made up my mind for me. I reached forward and laced my fingers through his.
“I’m with you.”
He gifted me a warm smile, and a tingling sensation settled over me. He brushed a strand of hair away from my face, lightly folding it behind my ear.
In that moment, all of my fear and confusion melted away. I doubted I could trust Miguel Galvez with my heart, but my safety was another matter entirely. There was no way I could withstand a coven of Basque witches on my own. So for now, I placed my faith in the handsome warlock standing guard over me.
On the other side of the door, the shouts and incantations grew louder. Miguel repeated a few more words under his breath, reached his other hand forward and pulled the white light back, allowing it to completely engulf us. He placed me close to his side and gave me a soft, sweet kiss.
“Then, querida, we begin our journey now. Together.”
The room grew brighter as Miguel’s power took on a new level of intensity, and soon there was nothing left in the vast space of light except Miguel and myself, clinging to one another as if our lives depended on it.
I felt almost certain that they did.
About the Author
CJ Anaya
C. J. Anaya began writing short stories for family and friends when she was thirteen years old. This soon morphed into an extensive project every year during Christmas as a way to create a fun and inexpensive Christmas gift.
Her passion for reading and writing led her to following her own dreams of becoming a published author. She was born in Utah and raised everywhere else. She even lived a few years in Brazil, enjoying the people, the culture and learning the beautiful language of Portuguese.
As a mother of four children she can be found at any given time changing diapers, playing dress-ups with her daughters, getting her fanny kicked in Mario Kart by her snarky little son, and escaping into a corner of the house with her kindle for a nice, quiet (lol in her dreams) read. She is also married to the most deliciously, handsome looking Latino. As always, she has plenty to write about.
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CJ Anaya
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