The Responsible Witch (The Ward Witches) (11 page)

Leo grinned. “She's soft-spoken, isn't she? Well, I need to go see her before she has a heart attack. I'll see you tomorrow, Gage.”

“
Indeed. Goodnight.”

When Gage got to the bedroom he now shared with Dymphna, he started laughing uncontrollably. “Now I see what took you so long when you were getting these,” he said, gesturing at the pile of condom boxes. “There has to be some of every kind they had here.”

“
When I got there and looked at all the choices, I realized I didn't have any idea what I was doing. I was too embarrassed to ask the clerk for advice, so I got a little bit of everything.”

“
And proceeding up to the counter with all of this wasn't embarrassing?”

“
It was. I didn't count on that. But I couldn't steal it, so I just had her put them in a dark bag. What do you think?”

“
I think it's going to take a while to use all of these, but I'm more than willing to work on it.”

She smiled. “Good. Why don't you choose one now and we'll give it a try? We need evidence to decide which are best after all.”

“
I like the way you think.” For someone who had gone her entire life without sex, Dymphna certainly went head long into experiencing it as much as possible. Not that it was a problem. Far from it.

“
Choose one to start with, and choose fast. I have a strong urge to see just how many of those we can try this very evening.”

She giggled and pulled one out at random. “Let's go.”

When they were both as finished as they could be for one night, but not sleepy, they curled up under just the sheet and watched an action movie. Gage couldn't really even say which one because he was paying more attention to the beautiful woman he was holding than he was to the explosions and such on the screen. He'd show her how much he loved her in little details until she was ready to love him in return.
As he had told Leo, he was in this for the long haul, and he'd be patient with her until she figured out how well she could handle their relationship. And how she was nothing like her mother when it came to a marriage.

115

CHAPTER SEVEN

The next morning, Dymphna woke up first. It was about nine, so she was getting somewhat back on a normal sleep cycle, even though that meant she hadn't slept many hours the night before. She took her time waking up, something she hadn't done in a long time, like much of what she'd been doing the last week. Was it really just a week? It seemed so much longer.

Eventually she rallied and went downstairs to see if Skylar still had any coffee left. Skylar always seemed to know the best kind of coffee, which was certainly an advantage to having her around.

“
Good morning!” Skylar greeted her. “How did you sleep?”

“
Really well,” and Dymphna thought she might have managed to not blush when she thought about what she did before they slept. But, as she watched Skylar drink water rather than the delightful coffee she could smell in the pot, Dymphna realized that maybe she should try girl talk with her sister-in-law. They lived in the same house, and Skylar had always been so open and friendly, yet Dymphna had never really taken her up on the offer to just talk. There were a lot of changes she should be making to her life, and what with this sabbatical and her new relationship with Gage, maybe she should really work on changing
parts of her life so that she could enjoy it all the more
.
Working wasn't the only consideration for having a good life, and she was seeing that much clearer now.

She poured herself a large mug of coffee while all that went through her mind, putting just a little sugar and cream in and stirring it up. “So you've been married for a long time,” Dymphna started, watching Skylar's face closely to see how the other woman would react.

“
Sure. Some days it feels like longer than others.”
She looked cautious, but not unreceptive.

“
Can I get your advice as another woman?”

Skylar's face lit up. “I'd love to help. I can never get enough girl talk.” She seemed to see right to the point. Good. This would be good.

“
About the sex in particular. Does that driving need to just strip him down and have your way with him get better?”

Skylar giggled. “Not really. In fact, the more you do, the better you get to know what he likes, and the whole process gets even better. The main thing that has changed for me is just knowing that he'll always be there so it's not an emergency. Before I first started with Leo, I had been through a bad relationship where the jerk cheated on me. So when I met Leo, I kind of expected the other shoe to drop. When I learned about magical marriages and all that meant, the logical side of my brain said that he'd stay with me and be faithful to me. But it took a lot longer than that for my instincts to come to the certain conclusion that I have his love and will have it as long as I live. That's the key thing that keeps me from locking him in the bedroom all day. Though I'll admit that there are times when he says or does something that really gets me, and I have to reign in my need for sex right then and there.”

Dymphna laughed. “It's still a bit weird for me to think of my brother as a husband and soon-to-be father. He's changed a lot since he met you, and that's a good thing.”

“
I'm glad you think so.”

“
He was my first,” Dymphna blurted out.

“
Excuse me?”

“
Gage. He's the first man I had sex with.”

“
Wow,” Skylar said softly. “I knew you didn't date, but I didn't know it was that serious.”

“
I was so afraid of my brothers being over-protective, and then by the time I wasn't afraid of that anymore, I was almost embarrassed to admit it to a potential guy. Then it became a kind of sticking point, like why should I even bother to date someone when the only satisfactory relationship I'll have is with a guy whose magic is attuned to mine.”

“
I didn't even know about the relationship side of being a witch. As you know, my aunt Linda was basically waiting until the Dark Order could reform and she could harvest my powers. As such, I knew next to nothing about being a witch except that it was evil. I've learned so much about me since I met you and Leo. I've wondered if I would have made a decision like yours if I had known. But realistically, I can't say whether I would have tried a relationship with people, and nearly marr
ied
a jerk named Jer
e
my, if I had known that I'd only have one fulfilling relationship and it wasn't with any of them."

"One thing I've been wondering about is how you and Leo view our living situation."

"What do you mean?"

"Leo and I bought this place years ago when we were convinced we'd never marry. I've been half meaning to talk to you about it since you did marry Leo. Are you comfortable with living with me and Gage, even with your babies on the way?"

Skylar gave her a genuine smile. "I like it, really. You've got the east wing, and we've got the west, so it's not like we can hear you when we're up in our bedroom, and we all have plenty of room. I can cook for everyone, and when there's more people around, it's more likely I'll have
someone to talk to
in the evenings. It'll be easier to hijack you or Gage as a babysitter if it comes to that. But most of all, I've thought of you as my sister since I married Leo. I didn't have a sister growing up, and I've really enjoyed having one now. It's not a typical situation for two families to live in one house like this, but it seems to work well for us, so why change it?"

"Sure. I'm touched that you've thought of me as a sister."
Dymphna really was. She hadn't acted in a way to necessarily justify that, but she was very complimented.

"Well, with the way you and Leo have always been so close, and by living together, I feel more like you're my sister by choice and not just a sister-in-law. And I will definitely admit that it'll be nice to raise kids around you and Gage. You are a good person, and you will make a good role model. Not to mention that you're a water witch who could heal them if they got hurt, and you can occasionally babysit. If you and Gage decide to have children, they'll have even more family around. With a family like the Wards, it's best to keep us all together."

"Thank you, Skylar. I'm really touched. I haven't been nearly as good of a sister as you have been, but I'm going to change that."

"I'd hoped that you'd come around, and I figured I'd just be patient. Don't worry about what happened in the past; I just want to have a great relationship with you going forward."

"You're a little bit too sweet, Skylar. Someone might take advantage of that."

"People have, over the years. But I bounce back pretty well."

Dymphna laughed. "That's good to hear. On that note, I'm going to go take a shower and get dressed."

"Sure. I was going to look over my manual for Gage to work on later."

Her heart greatly lighter, Dymphna even hummed in the shower. By the time she was done, Gage was also awake. He was sinfully sexy, and it struck her again that she'd gotten awfully lucky.

"Good morning, sweetheart," he greeted her with a special smile.

"Good morning."

"How did you sleep?"

"I slept really well. How about you?"

"The same. You wore me out last night."

"Good. Skylar's downstairs waiting to use you as a guinea pig again today."

"Oh good. The sooner I know how to use my magic, the better. I've been thinking about my capture. I can't remember the time right before, and I don't know how they got me,
especially in such a way that I would leave my wallet and phone behind
. But it seems likely that if they're doing that that they might be regrouping elsewhere as well. I need to be prepared to fight back if they come after me or the Coven again. He's my brother, even though I never knew him, and I feel a certain amount of responsibility in taking him out."

"I understand. I think I'd feel the same in your position."

"I'm glad you understand. I'll be down in a few minutes."

Dymphna decided to take a moment and call Jackie and Maria. They'd be in the office, and hopefully they weren't too busy to chat. Jackie answered the phone first.

"Hey Jackie, it's Dymphna."

"I had almost forgotten what your voice sounded like."

"It hasn't been that long."

"No,
it hasn't. But it feels like a long time
. How are you enjoying your sabbatical?"

"There's actually been a lot going on. I've always said that Melanie seems to have a sense for predicting the needs of the future, and my sabbatical started at
nearly
the same time as I met someone."

"I never seem to think of you as a witch, and then you make a statement like that. But you said you'd met someone. Did you actually go on a date? Is the world ending?"

"You're always so dramatic. The world's not ending, no, and I haven't really been on a date with him except when we went shopping."

"You went shopping? You don't shop, and you certainly don't shop with a man. Tell me all about him."

"I don't know if I told you about how I've avoided dating partially because a witch can only bond with one person whose magic is tuned in to hers."

"I vaguely recall something like that, but I think I dismissed it as an excuse."

"Well it's true. Gage is that man for me, and so now we're married."

The line went dead. Dymphna even checked her cell phone display to see if the call had dropped or something, but it hadn't. Finally, "You got married?"

"Yes. I may not talk about it much, but
as you said,
I am a witch, and that means that I do certain things as a witch, like getting married."

"You can say that again. So what's his name? What's your last name now, for that matter?"

"His name is Gage, and for various reasons, he took my last name, so we're both Wards." She really didn't want to talk about the Dark Order, the struggle with them, or blood magic. The positive PR for witches needed to stand, and so they needed to cover up the fact that a contingent of witches was sacrificing people. They really needed to stop them, but at least hide it for now.

"Don't make me pull teeth here. Tell me about him."

"He's great, Jackie. He's thoughtful and considerate, and he has no problem moving to Boston to be with me. He's even got a good relationship with his mom."

"I've always told you that the relationship with his mother is a good indication of a man's character."

"You did. He's tall, and he's got the warmest brown eyes."

"I'm happy for you. And I'm happy that I got to hear all this before Maria did. Hah! She chose the wrong time to go to the bathroom. So can we meet Mr. Wonderful?"

"Sure. I know it's a Monday, so you've probably got all kinds of work to do this evening..."

"Ah, I can blow it off for a little bit. Since you've been gone, we haven't been taking as many new clients. It's hard to keep up with your pace. So we should be able to do dinner tonight if you're offering."

"I think it will work. I'll have to check with Gage to be sure, but I think dinner tonight should be fine."

"Alright then. Check with your man and call us back. I'll take the liberty of updating Maria on what she missed."

Dymphna laughed. "She's going to be so pissed you got to know first."

"Yes she will, and I'm going to love it. Talk to you later."

"Bye."

Dymphna was still chuckling when Gage came out of the bathroom. But since he came out only wearing a towel, the laugh died in her throat, turning to a strangled noise.

"I heard you on the phone. Is everything alright?"

Dymphna had to make a conscious effort to look up from the hand holding his towel in place to his face. "Yes, everything is fine. I called my partners at the firm to check in and tell them about you."

"And what did they think?"

"The one I talked to, Jackie, was flabbergasted. Of all the news she thought she'd hear, a marriage wasn't on the list. She wants to do dinner tonight, the four of us. I told her I'd ask you how you felt."

"I think that sounds great. I'd like to meet your friends. And I appreciate you asking, thank you."

He turned around and started looking for clothes. He let the towel drop, and Dymphna inhaled sharply. His gaze turned back on her and he gave her a devilish grin. "Should I make Skylar wait a while longer before we get started?"

She was torn. After all, they couldn't spend all day in bed, but he was so hot, and she wanted
him
. He walked over and smoothed a curl of hair away from her face, brushing along her cheek and jaw on the way. Despite the evidence that he wanted as much as she did,
and was naked to boot,
he was gentle and looked deeply into her eyes. She couldn't resist that, and she stood up to drag his mouth down
for
her kisses. He was noticeably taller, so he had to stoop down to get to her level. He pushed her down against the bed again at her back, his bare front to her clothes.