Pucker Up (A Damsels of Distress Novel) (32 page)

room and shattered it against the wall.

Then what would they do?

“You’re not the only person who

can power this thing. Thane will wear

it.” He strolled over and handed the

sapphire to Thane who eagerly put it on.

She clenched her jaw to keep

from lashing out at them. Anyone with

magic could activate the stone, so

arguing that she needed to wear it was

pointless. They didn’t care if she felt

safer with it on.

“You need to save your magic to

break the curse,” Garren said.

“I know that,” she snapped. She

drew in a deep breath, hoping to get her

irritation back under control. Needing

her magic to break the curse hadn’t

really occurred to her. Wasn’t she just

supposed to kiss the guy?

“You looked like you were on

the verge of an epic tantrum.” Enjoyment

laced his words.

With a flick of her finger, she

sent the empty glass on the nightstand

flying towards his head. This magic

thing was getting a lot easier for her. He

instinctively blocked the glass with a

shield, sending it bouncing on the carpet

and under the bed.

All amusement drained away

from his face. “Damn it, Ivy. Will you

stop throwing crap at me?” His glare

shifted to Kyle. “What are you laughing

at?”

With a grin, Kyle pulled up his

sleeve and pointed to a long, jagged scar

on the inside of his left forearm. “Roller

blade. She was in a mood and I called

her a faery princess.” He covered his

arm again and let the smile fall. “I don’t

recommend it.”

She cleared her throat and stood.

“Well, I’m going to jump in the shower.”

Grabbing the first clothes she touched

from her pack, she dashed for the

bathroom. Once under the hot spray of

the shower, she tried to relax and let all

the nervousness wash away with the

water down the drain. She stretched her

muscles and rotated joints, testing her

body to ensure she was healthy again.

Thane was a Rock Star potioneer. Never

had she felt so good. Even her bruised

hip returned to its normal color.

But every time she closed her

eyes, Prince Sebastian’s face popped up

in her mind, his lips puckered for a kiss.

She doubled over, her stomach twisting

with nerves.
He’s only taking a nap. A

really, really long nap.

Pushing every uncomfortable

thought about cursed princes aside, she

finished her shower and dressed.

When she emerged from the

bathroom, Garren stood in her way.

“What are you wearing?”

She glanced down at her black

jeans and green v-neck shirt. “Clothes. I

thought going naked would attract too

much attention.” She brushed past him

and dug through her pack to find her

shoes.

“True,” he said. “We don’t want

to scare people.” He paused to smile at

her glare. “But isn’t the idea to throw the

Eradicators off our trail by looking

different than you normally do? Maybe

you

should

wear

more

feminine

clothes?”

She scoffed as she tied her

sneaker. She’d rather get caught by

Eradicators than put on another one of

Athena’s dresses. “No can do. I didn’t

shave my legs.” She threw Garren a

triumphant smile before stuffing her hair

into the wool cap.

His gaze dropped to her denim-

clad legs and he shivered violently.

That’s it! He’s going down.
She

stood to get in his face for a proper fist-

meets-nose

argument

when

Thane

stepped between them. He seemed to do

that a lot. “I have an idea,” he said. He

rifled through Athena’s suitcase until he

found a pale pink cardigan and handed it

to her. “It’s frilly, it’s pink, it’s very
un
-

Ivy.”

Both Garren and Kyle laughed

out loud as she regarded the item in

Thane’s hand with horror. She didn’t do

pink, ever. And to top it off, it was

cashmere.

“Sorry, can’t do it; allergic.”

“To the material?” Thane asked

as he checked the label.

“Sure, that works.” She yanked

her last clean sweatshirt out of her pack

but before she could pull it on, Garren

snatched it from her hand.

Instead, he tossed the fuzzy, pink

nightmare at her. “No one will recognize

you in this.”

She hated that he was right. Any

Eradicator that knew her would never

give her a second glance dressed in

pink.
Take one for the team
. She slid on

the sweater, suppressing a sigh as the

fuzzy material caressed her bare skin.

Damn, it feels fabulous
. Petting

the soft fabric covering her arms would

be undignified, so she restrained herself.

“Happy?” she asked the group with

amused smiles plastered on their faces.

“Can we go now?”

Just as she headed for the door to

leave, Athena snatched the wool cap

from her head. “You can’t wear this ugly

hat. Come with me.” She grabbed Ivy’s

hand and led her into the bathroom.

Oh, gawd. Not another make-

over.
She closed her eyes and

surrendered to Athena. Resistance was

futile. When it was over, she ran her

hands through her new straight blond

hair. Without the curls, it fell to her

waist. She almost didn’t recognize

herself in the mirror.

I look like a freakin’ Barbie

doll
. “Are we done?” She didn’t wait to

hear the response before opening the

bathroom door and walking out. Despite

the dread still sitting in the pit of her

stomach, she wanted to hurry up and find

the prince so she could kiss him and go

home.

Athena followed her back into

the room and bowed. “I think I did pretty

well, considering what I had to work

with.”

“Wow,” Thane said as he

gawked at Ivy. “You two could be

sisters.”

She rolled her eyes as she found

her dagger and sheath. They already

fought like sisters, might as well look

ones, too.

Kyle came up beside her as she

slipped her sheath onto her belt.

“Actually, I can see the resemblance

between you and your cousin now. But

to be honest,” he leaned in to whisper

near her ear, “I prefer your dark, wild

curls. It’s more… you.”

She smiled at him, thankful he

wasn’t impressed with the new image.

Garren frowned at her as he

stood by the front door. Apparently, he

didn’t like the new hairstyle any more

than her natural one. Not that she cared.

“Let’s go,” Garren said. “I’m

sure Ivy’s anxious to meet her new

boyfriend.” He opened the door and held

it open as everyone poured out. As she

passed, Garren smirked and said, “You

want to practice on some toads first?

See if you can turn them into princes?”

“You volunteering?” she shot

back.

“You wish.” He pushed her out

the door and shut it behind him, twisting

the doorknob to make sure it was locked.

They left all their stuff in the

second floor room, unsure if the prince

would be up to a road trip right away.

He might want to freshen up. Besides,

Athena was going to have to exchange

the convertible for a car with more

room. No one wanted to drive all the

way back to Alaska crammed in that tiny

sardine can of a rental.

The sun sat on the horizon, about

a half hour away from dipping below,

along with the temperature. She hoped

her fancy sweater was as functional as it

was decorative. Doubtful.

Sparky sat on the trunk of the

convertible, shimmering out of view

until he was invisible.

“So,” Kyle said as they walked

past the myriad of family SUV’s parked

in the lot. “Who’s riding with me?” He

dangled his keys in the air when he

reached his old, rusty truck. “Ivy?”

Garren snatched her wrist and

pulled her closer, as if she was about to

go skipping over to Kyle. “She’s staying

with us. Thanks for your help but you

can go home now.”

He opened the passenger door of

the convertible and released his grip on

her arm as he gestured for her to get in.

Like she was going to follow his orders

without question. Did he not know her?

“Hold on,” she said as she

backed away. “I need to say goodbye

this time.”

He glanced over to Kyle and

back to her, his face pinched in

annoyance. “Make it quick.”

Who died and made him boss?

She strolled over and stopped in front of

Kyle. He stood tall, with his arms firmly

crossed over his chest. His stare trained

on her face.

“Um,” she started, lowering her

head to block his intense gaze. Saying

goodbye proved much harder than she

thought. “Thanks for, you know, saving

my life.”

Kyle snorted. “All I did was

carry you. Your We—Wizard friends

did the rest.” He dropped his arms and

his guard. “Are you sure you don’t want

to talk to Rousseau? Maybe…”

She shook her head as she leaned

into him and reached her arms around

his shoulders. He wrapped his arms

around her waist and pulled her closer.

The scent of him brought a nostalgic

ache to her heart. He smelled of summer,

stolen kisses, and home. She inhaled

deeply, hoping to bring a part of him

with her.

“We’re wasting time,” Garren

shouted.

Kyle’s chest rumbled with a

growl as he squeezed her tighter.

“Jackass can’t even let me have two

minutes with you.”

She pulled away, not wanting to

give Kyle the impression that she felt

more than friendship for him. “Well, you

take care and say hello to Ernie for me.”

She smiled in an attempt to reassure him

that she was happy and going to be fine,

but it felt empty on her lips.

“All right, go do your thing, just

be careful. And stick close to Garren.”

He paused when she raised an

inquisitive eyebrow. “You didn’t see

how he acted around you when you were

hurt. He’ll protect you.” His tone was

serious.

Her brain froze trying to

comprehend what Kyle told her.
But he

hates me
. Garren’s sense of obligation

must be stronger than she realized. She

shook off all thoughts of Garren and

patted Kyle on the arm. “Goodbye,

Kyle.” She left him standing by his truck.

Garren climbed out and opened

the door for her so she could sit in the

backseat next to Thane. He slammed the

door shut after sliding back in. “Took

you long enough.”

She wanted to yank whatever

stick was up his butt and clobber him

over the head with it. “Whatever.”

Chapter 19

“How do I activate the stone?”

Thane asked. He cradled the sapphire in

his palm with the rope still around his

neck.

“Hold it and say ‘Non evidens’,”

Ivy told him.

The sun had set, leaving only an

orange glow on the lingering clouds to

the west. Sparky had flown off towards

the nearby Sacramento River, most

likely to hunt. Athena cut the engine off

after parking across from the old school

house. No one dared leave the car

without the protection the stone offered.

Thane gripped the gem in his hand and

repeated the phrase.

“Okay,” he said as he tucked the

sapphire under his shirt. “We have one

hour to find Prince Sebastian. If we can’t

find him by then, we can always come

back tomorrow.”

She suppressed a groan.
Please

let us find him tonight
. “Yeah, sure. As

long as it takes.”

As they walked along the wide,

wooden plank sidewalks, Thane gawked

at the old part of the city. “I feel like I

should have spurs and a Colt 45