Wicked by Any Other Name (12 page)

Trev held up his wine glass. “To a lovely evening and getting to know you better.”

Stasi stared at him, convinced the red hearts that plagued her every time she saw him were pulsing to a seductive beat. Coupled with this, she had a wild vision of a naked Trev and herself equally nude lying among tumbled covers. For a moment she couldn't breathe. She was amazed her hand wasn't trembling as she picked up her wine glass and softly clinked it against his, but she didn't say a word. She feared if she did speak it would be closer to the kind of remark Horace would make than the sort of polite words she would ordinarily come up with. If she didn't know any better, she'd swear she was bespelled by the man.

It's Cupid's hearts doing this. It's creating an attraction that wouldn't ordinarily be there.

“
Hic!
” She wasn't sure what was more horrifying—that she had hiccupped or that the bubble floated from her lips to Trev, suspended momentarily in front of his mouth before it winked out of sight. If he had said one word she would have gladly crawled under the table and made herself disappear. Luckily, he settled for a smile and changed the conversation.

Dinner was perfect and by the time the rich chocolate soufflé and coffee arrived, Stasi had forgotten that anyone else existed in the semi-private world their table provided them.

“After the main course I didn't think I could eat another bite,” she lamented, staring at her now empty plate. “I'm just glad you helped eat the soufflé so I didn't feel like a glutton.”

“I'm a sucker for chocolate too.”

She eyed his lean frame. “No one would know it.”

“I only indulge on special occasions.”

“The great thing about chocolate is that it doesn't need a special occasion.” Stasi smiled. “This was very nice, thank you.” She noticed a change in his expression. “What is it? Please don't tell me I have something between my teeth.”

Trev pulled in a deep breath and blew it out. “Please don't take this the wrong way, but I'd like the chance for us to have more time to talk.”

“I thought that's what we were doing now.”

“I mean privately.” He pulled a plastic card out of his jacket pocket and placed it on the table. “I thought we could go upstairs to my suite where we'd have more privacy.”

Stasi stared at the gold plastic key card positive it was pulsing with a life of its own and mouthing the words
say yes.
She found she couldn't ignore the room key card any more than the red hearts over Trev's head or the knowledge she had her own share of the damn images courtesy of Cupid.

“Anastasia?” he whispered her name, his expression showing he was unsure about her response. “Nothing has to happen. I just want to talk to you in a place where we don't have to worry about anyone overhearing our conversation. I'm sure if we went back to your place Blair would be all ears.” He flashed a brief grin. “My room is large enough to make you feel comfortable. I want to know more about you and I'm not talking about the case. Please,” he added in a whisper that said more than all the words before it.

His plea made her decision easier to make, but that didn't mean she wanted to make it easy for him.

She remained silent for so long, she could tell that Trev thought she was going to reject him.

“One thing I could never get enough of here is their chocolate soufflé,” she murmured. “Why don't you see if they'll have one sent up to the room?”

She was surprised to see more relief in his eyes than triumph. That told her she'd made the right decision. He pushed the key card across the table toward her. “It's room 422.” He drew his black AmEx out of his wallet. “If you care to go up first, I'll follow after I ask for a soufflé to be sent up to the room.”

Stasi picked up the card and left the restaurant, veering left to the elevators. She pushed the button for the fourth floor and walked into the waiting car.

I've lost my mind.

She was blind to her reflection echoing in the mirrors all around her.

How can we be alone in a hotel room and just talk?

She worried the elevator would stop at one of the lower floors and she would lose her nerve, but luckily, it continued upward.

I can't tell Blair about any of this.

Blair will know everything the minute I get back.

She'll probably conjure up a brass band and fireworks to celebrate.

I can't breathe!

The elevator dinged for the fourth floor and then the door slowly slid to one side. Blair stepped out carefully, and walked down the thickly carpeted hallway until she reached the correct room.

“Oh my,” she whispered, walking into a luxurious mini-suite. Her gaze swept from a sofa that looked so comfortable she wanted to sink down into it to the open arch that revealed a king-size bed covered in a creamy spread and mounds of pillows in cream, gold, olive green, and dark brown. Proof of occupation was a laptop sitting on a desk near the French doors and a blue sweater tossed on a chair in the bedroom. She had a sudden urge to poke through the drawers and see whether he was a boxers or briefs man. Luckily, she squelched that idea before her thoughts caused the drawers to fly open and reveal their contents. The last thing she wanted was to be caught with her hands in his underwear.

Stasi felt a quick flash of heat as that thought took on a whole new meaning.

She walked over to the French doors leading onto the balcony. The early snowfall—very early, Stasi thought idly—covered the deck floor and standing outside to watch the skiers enjoying the slopes by torchlight after dark would have been comfortable only for a few minutes, before a serious chill set in.

She looked over her shoulder when the door opened and Trev walked in, carrying her coat over his arm.

“You don't stint, do you?” she asked, gesturing to her surroundings.

“I like my comfort.” He walked over to the mini-bar and pulled out a bottle of champagne.

Stasi's eyebrows lifted at the label. She wasn't particularly conversant with wines and champagnes, but she knew expensive when she saw it.

I told you this was a bad idea!

Proof positive Blair wasn't in her head. If she had been, she'd be urging Stasi on and requesting she take notes. Not to mention Horace would beg for video.

She laughed at the distinctive pop of the cork and watched Trev pour champagne into two crystal flutes.

“The soufflé will be up in about twenty minutes.” He handed one of the flutes to her and held his up for a toast. “To an evening of relaxation and conversation.”

She hesitated before tapping her flute against his. “As long as the name Carrie Anderson isn't brought up.”

His cobalt eyes lit up with suppressed laughter. “Who?”

Stasi sat on the couch, toeing off her heels before she curled her legs up under her. Her pant leg shifted upward revealing her ankle bracelet.

“I noticed Blair wears one also.” Trev indicated the delicate gold chain with its gold broom charm topped by a creamy pearl that matched the ones in her ring and pendant.

“We all wear one because it's a part of us. Each witch has a different stone. Blair's is blue topaz, Jazz's is amethyst, Thea wears a red diamond.”

Trev settled on the couch beside her, half turning so he could see her face. He rested his glass on the top of the couch. “I have friends from my days in the Wizards' University, but I don't think I have the closeness with any of them that you have with your friends.”

“We were close in school and even more so when we were expelled from the Witches' Academy,” she replied, lifting the flute and sipping the bubbly liquid. She took a second sip because the first tasted so good. “After a while, we drifted to different parts of the world, but we always managed to find each other when we needed to.” She hid her smile when Trev switched his glass to his other hand and his arm managed to stretch along the back of the couch, his fingertips just touching her shoulder.

“Do you think you need them now?”

She laid her head back against the couch and closed her eyes. “No.”

She felt her glass taken from her fingertips and heard the soft clink as it was set on the coffee table in front of them. The cool air was displaced with the warmth of his body as he moved closer and his mouth hovered over hers while his hands cupped her face.

“I thought we were here to talk, Wizard Barnes,” she murmured with the tiniest of smiles.

“There are so many ways to speak, Witch Romanov. I've always found this one to be the most effective.” He moved his hands up, spearing his fingers through her hair, dislodging the loose knot on top of her head. Her golden brown tresses fell down in careless disarray.

She could taste the champagne he'd drunk, but she also caught a hint of his energy in the unique flavor of the tongue that was gently seeking out hers. All that made him what he was. She found it more intoxicating than the champagne she'd drunk, and she felt the world tilt around her. She gripped his arms with her fingertips; afraid she'd slide off the couch if she didn't hold on to something. Right now, Trev looked like her best bet.

“Anastasia,” he murmured, before he deepened the kiss and pulled her into his arms. “From the first moment I walked into your shop I felt as if I was looking at someone not only exquisite, but so beautiful, warm and caring you made me feel I was well and truly alive.”

She released a startled laugh. “Obviously, you have a different memory of that moment than I do. I recall that I acted like a virago because I wanted to blast you into another realm. I wanted to turn you into a spiny red-bottomed worm.”

Trev's smile was warm against her lips. “You really like to punish a guy, don't you? Is that what you want to do to me now?”

Stasi traced the angle of his jaw with her fingertips. “Well, maybe not at this moment. We'd have to send you to the bottom of the sea to live. Plus you wouldn't look like surfer wizard dude, would you?”

“Ah, but then I would have to retaliate and turn
you
into a spiny red-bottomed worm, so I would have company living at the bottom of the sea.” His lips coasted across her forehead and down along the curve of her cheek until they returned to her mouth.

The dizzying sensation returned while Stasi saw Trev's red hearts doing the salsa behind her closed eyelids.

“Stop thinking about them,” Trev murmured.

Her eyes popped open. “How did you—?”

“If you saw the expression on your face you'd know.” He exhaled a soft breath in her ear, causing her to shiver. “It's just us here. Stasi and Trev. Wizard and witch.”

“Wizards and witches get along like cats and dogs. They're oil and water.” She smiled under his feather-light touch, and inhaled the faint essence that was a combination of his after-shave and the musky scent of his skin. She knew the former was expensive, but when coupled with the latter she was convinced the scent was priceless.

“Then it's time we throw that old wives' tale out the window and prove them wrong. I can't get enough of your taste.” He proved it by trailing his tongue down her neck. He unbuttoned her jacket and opened it to reveal the dark lavender lace camisole she wore with a matching bra underneath. His fingers brushed against her skin as he touched the pearl that rested in her shadowy cleavage. The orb took on a warm glow from his touch. “Between this pearl and the bit of lace that teased me all evening I could have eaten cardboard and not cared.” He rested his hand against her chest just under her left breast then moved upward to cup the plump flesh, his thumb teasing her nipple to a point. She hissed in response and closed her eyes to better savor his magickal touch.

By no means was Stasi a virgin, but she had never before felt what she felt merely from Trev's light touch setting her skin on fire.

She felt his mouth skim over her smile.

“Open your eyes, Anastasia.”

She lifted her heavy lids and looked into a never-ending sea of blue.

A mere thought had his shirt buttons flying through the air.

Trev barked a laugh as the buttons formed a circle and spun merrily around the room.

“Vixen,” he teased, leaning in to kiss her deeply.

Stasi's mouth parted under his and she felt the whirlpool of emotions escalate as he swept her up in an embrace full of passion and desire.

The knock at the door seemed to boom throughout the room.

“Damn, damn, damn, damn,” Trev muttered, lifting his head. “Someone's timing is very very wrong.”

Stasi stifled her giggle—he didn't seem to appreciate the humor in the situation. “I think our soufflé is here.”

He stood up, looking down at his buttonless shirt that gaped open even though it was still neatly tucked into his slacks. He pointed his finger at her. “Don't go away.”

She held up her hands and this time couldn't hold back her laughter. “I'm not moving a muscle.”

Stasi watched Trev do what he did best as he ushered the server in and out with remarkable velocity. The man was sent on his way in no time with a sizable tip.

Stasi looked slowly from Trev, for whom she had a strong desire, to the soufflé, for which she now didn't. She'd never hear the end of it if her friends knew she was willing to pass up chocolate, even if it was for a very sexy man.

She enjoyed looking at Trev, especially with his shirt open showing his bare chest. He was muscular and didn't look like a man who sat behind a desk all day. She swore he glowed like the sun.

“What a shame,” she murmured with a tilt of the lips.

Trev tensed, looking like a man who was ready to hear bad news, as in, she'd changed her mind and wanted to go home.

“What's a shame?”

She stood up and reached down to pull her lace camisole up and off. A lace and silk bra of the palest lavender highlighted her pale skin. “That the soufflé will have to grow cold.” She walked into the bedroom and began carefully folding down the comforter. “I don't think the hotel would be happy with me if I dabbed it here and there on you.”

Trev was floored, but for once he refused to be cautious. He looked at the woman who'd bewitched him, and wondered if it wasn't more than a pun. He wasted no time following her scantily clad form.

Stasi had not quite finished folding the comforter down to the end of the bed before Trev gripped her arms, spun her around, and lowered them both to the sheets.

He knelt on one knee as his mouth started in the hollow of her throat and continued down to the lace edge of her bra.

“Warm, scented sweet and spicy at the same time,” he murmured, tonguing a path along the lace.

“Calvin Klein's Euphoria,” she said automatically, finding her senses more than a little muddled.

In a twinkling Stasi found her bra gone and cool air bathed her breasts before Trev lowered his head and his mouth warmed them. But she wanted more.

“You're wearing too many clothes.” She pulled at his shirttails, tugging them out of his trousers, and then pushed his shirt off his shoulders and reached for his belt. Soon she'd edged his slacks down enough that he was able to kick them off. She got a nice glimpse of the tanned long limbs of a swimmer before Trev moved in.

“Now
you
are.” He returned the favor and whisked her pants off, murmuring his approval of the matching lace bikini panties with tiny bows on each hip. “I approve your choice in lingerie.”

“La Perla never goes wrong.” Her laughter was cut short as he began trailing kisses down the center of her breastbone, making sure to veer off to drop a kiss on each of her nipples, which immediately peaked under his attention.

“You take my breath away,” Trev muttered, leaving a kiss in her navel before moving further down.

“Oh my—!” Stasi was positive all the air was pushed out of her lungs as Trev gazed on her pink plump inner lips sparkling with moisture, and she gasped when he placed his mouth there and suckled gently.

“
Hic!
” Stasi was caught up in the sexual cyclone, and her hiccups were coming fast and furious as Trev created a suction that she was convinced turned her body into a firecracker.

She tore at the covers and scrambled to reach his shoulders as he continued the pleasurable kiss that sent her spiraling.

“Trev!” she moaned, feeling the tightness in her body increase until she thought she would fly apart. “
Hic!
” Another iridescent bubble joined its friends floating through the air above them. Pretty soon the ceiling was covered with them.

He drew back just enough that she felt his absence before he leaned in and kissed her again.

“I can't—!”

“You can.” And then he hummed against her clit and sent her spinning over like a top. At the same moment he felt her muscles pulse and clench in orgasm, he drew up and buried himself deeply within her.

Stasi immediately linked her legs around his hips and arched up, inviting more. Trev was only too happy to give her all he had.

When she looked up into his face at the moment her second orgasm came, she saw in those blue eyes a look she knew she would never forget. And if she didn't know better she'd have sworn the red hearts winked at her.

“
Stasi!
” Trev's cry was drawn out as he arched upward then down.

Stasi watched the play of emotions cross his face and wondered how she'd ever lived without him.

But she hadn't known him very long and although she thought she should remind herself that witches and wizards don't mix, she only knew that they seemed to be mixing very well right now.

And now she saw her downfall in one man's face. If she thought she was in trouble before, now she knew she was, because it would be much too easy to fall in love with the wizard who had shown up with the intention of destroying the life she'd worked so hard to create. But she knew she had it within her to fight back and she would do just that.

How did my life get this complicated?
she mused, just before all other thoughts were swallowed up by the passion that flared between them once again.

***

Stasi couldn't stop smiling. She started to lift her hand but allowed it to drop back down onto the sheet.

“I can't move.” She closed her eyes, content to let the lethargy roll over her. She hadn't just had sex, she'd had
awesome sex.
The kind she read about in romance novels.

“I agree.” Trev rolled over and pulled her into his arms. He somehow managed to pull the covers up over them as he moved them up to the head of the bed. He half sat up with his back against the headboard and gently cradled her in his arms.

She draped her arms over his, enjoying the embrace that, to her, meant more than sex. Most men didn't like to cuddle and cuddling was something she liked.

She kept her eyes closed because she feared if she opened them she'd discover it was all nothing more than an erotic dream and she'd be in her own bed… alone.

When Stasi did open her eyes, they widened to the size of saucers as she looked up at the ceiling—it was filled with iridescent bubbles like many delightful tiny balloons that bobbed throughout the room.

“Oh no!
Hic!
” Another bubble floated upward and joined the rest. “Don't laugh!” She twisted around and pounded on his chest, but it only caused Trev to laugh harder.

“I've never seen anyone hiccup bubbles before.” He barely managed to contain his mirth. “This is very cute.”

“It's horrible.” She deliberately plopped back against him as dead weight. She was satisfied to hear a groan.

Trev wrapped his arms around her to prevent her from doing it again.

“The lady needs her treat. Bring it warm. Bring it neat, I so beseech,” he called out, snapping his fingers. Another snap of his fingers had
Vivaldi
playing softly in the background.

Stasi purred as the scent of warm chocolate reached her nostrils and a dish appeared in front of her.

“Milady.” Trev reached around her, dipped a spoon into the warm chocolate soufflé, and brought it to Stasi's lips. She moaned with delight then took the spoon from his fingers and fed him the next bite.

They shared the dessert along with more champagne.

But the soufflé paled in contrast to the more than magickal night Trev gave Stasi. By the time they left his room, the bedroom was filled with bubbles. Stasi's lips were swollen and her face a bright pink as she thought of all they'd done.

“I have never hiccupped that much in my life,” Stasi groused, as Trev helped her into his car. “You should have allowed me to get rid of them.”

“No way. I'd rather see the maid's reaction when she comes in tomorrow morning.” He picked up her hand and kissed her fingertips

Once they reached Moonstone Lake, Stasi felt an odd shyness overtake her. She looked out and noticed Fergus standing by a building. She'd noticed him there when she and Trev drove out of town. For the ghost to still be there, something had to have happened. When he saw her, she gave him a bare nod and mouthed the word
later.

“Thank you for dinner,” she whispered as he helped her out of his car. She smiled. “And dessert.”

He followed the line of her cheek with his fingertips. “I want you again. I don't want to let you go. I want to tuck you back into my car and drive us back to the hotel. I'll order up another chocolate soufflé.”

She looked down at the ground. “Part of me feels as if we've been too hasty in making love. That we should have waited. Especially with all that's going on. Part of me is happy we didn't wait.”

“Then listen to the latter. That's where the truth lies.” His kiss followed his fingers' path.

Stasi went up the stairs, aware of Trev's heated gaze on her back. She touched the doorknob and whispered a word that allowed the lock to disengage. She knew their wards kept them safer than any dead bolt.

“I knew it!” Blair was wrapped in fleece pajamas and fuzzy slippers, lounging in a chair at the table, coffee in one hand and the local newspaper in the other. The Border collie was stretched out on the floor beside her. She huffed out a breath. “It's so unfair! You had sex and all I had in my bed was that dog.”

Stasi looked at the dog who appeared to roll his eyes then utter a low snarl at Blair.

“How is sex with a wizard?” Blair asked. “Tell all. I'll hate you later because it was obviously great, but I still want to hear all the details.”

Stasi's smile only grew broader. That way she didn't need to say a word. Her facial expression and blush was more than enough.

Blair threw up her hands. “I really hate you.”