Witch Way to Love (2 page)

No,
the man on the other side of the door was definitely not the alpha. This man
had hair as black as the stormy night sky and eyes a piercing blue. When the
lightning had flashed behind her, it had lit up his eyes, giving him an
ethereal look. He may look like a fallen angel, but she wasn’t fooled. There
was not a damn thing angelic about the man. Maybe he was only half werewolf and
half spawn of Satan. That would certainly fit with his prickly attitude. So
what if his kisses could make her knees weak, her heart race, and make her
temporarily forget her name or why she was there?

“I
want my damn wand,” she growled. “Move your ass before I blast you. I doubt
you’ll be so smart as a pile of rubble.”

He
flicked his long, pointed tail. “That would be an empty threat, witch! You
couldn’t blast a cotton ball right now, much less my magnificent self.”

She
rolled her eyes. That was one thing she detested about dealing with gargoyles—their
overinflated egos. Just because they were chosen to guard over those of a
paranormal nature, they thought they were hot stuff. Witches had no use for
them. Her home was so well warded no one was getting in without express
permission. Hell, she wasn’t even sure they could find her house if she didn’t
give them directions and consent to enter.

“Whatever.”
She huffed. “Are you going to help me or not? I need that wand and I need it
now. My spell wouldn’t have led me here if it wasn’t inside.”

“So
call it.” The gargoyle shrugged. “I’m sure Master will open the door once he
sees a wand flying around his house. Assuming he didn’t go back to bed. He’s
had a rather taxing day today.”

Doing
what? Trimming his claws? Chasing his tail? Oh, oh! Maybe he had a rousing game
of fetch with some of his
packmates
! That must be
what made him so exhausted. What the hell could have been so important that it
kept a werewolf busy on the day of a full moon? They usually rested so they
would have plenty of energy to run around all night, basking in the goddess’s
love and light. All right, so there wasn’t a moon you could actually see
tonight, but it was still there. They’d still feel the pull of it. Even
Breena
could feel its power, and she wasn’t tied to the
lunar cycle.

Call
her wand, huh? The idea had promise, assuming the damn thing didn’t ignore her.
It could be so finicky.

“
Sauren
!
Come to me!”

The
gargoyle snickered. “You named it
Sauren
?”

She
folded her arms under her breasts. “No, that’s what it told me its name was. If
you have a problem with it, take it up with my wand. Just don’t blame me if you
end up with dainty pink butterfly wings.”

The
gargoyle scowled and flew back another foot.

There
was a curse on the other side of the door and a crash. She smiled to herself,
as she pictured the wolf stumbling around trying to catch her wand, better yet,
dodging it. It wouldn’t be the first time the blasted thing chased someone
around the house…namely, her. She knocked on the door again, her knuckles
rapping on the wood sharply.

There
was another loud crash, some clanging, more curses, and finally, the door
opened.

The
wolf’s hair stood on end, and his eyes flashed with anger. Cheeks flushed with
anger, he bared his teeth at her. “Would you get that demented thing out of my
house?” he snapped.

She
arched a brow and tapped her foot. “Would that be the wand that you clearly
stated you did
not
have in your
home?”

“Yes,”
he all but growled. “It’s destroying my house.”

Another
crash sounded behind him and she winced. She didn’t know how many breakables
he’d had before
Sauren
woke and began wreaking havoc,
but there were considerably less now.

“Am
I allowed inside?” she asked.

His
brows lowered, eyes narrowed. Nostrils flared as if he took in her scent. She
thought he was going to stand like that forever, just glaring at her, but
another bang from inside his home seemed to make up his mind rather quickly.

“Fine.
Get the damn
thing out of here.”

She
smirked,
she just couldn’t help it, then stepped past
him and into the house. She had to twist sideways to get past him, her breasts
brushing against his chest. Her nipples, traitorous things that they were,
responded immediately to being in such close proximity to his hunky manliness. Damn
it. How could she still want him? He was an absolute asshole, the complete
opposite of the type she usually went for. Apparently, her body didn’t get the
message, because one whiff of his unique, spicy scent had her pussy clenching
with need.

Breena
forced herself
to keep moving and to not rub herself against him like a cat in heat. She’d
barely cleared the door before she had to duck, her wand flying straight for
her head. It seemed
Sauren
wasn’t overly thrilled
with her visit. How she was supposed to coax it home with her, she didn’t know,
but one look at the grumpy wolf told her she’d better figure it out fast.

She
looked around and took in the chaos that had probably once been a rather tidy
home. Two potted plants lay on their sides, their pots broken with soil spilling
across the hardwood floors. Two pictures lay face down, broken glass peeking
out from the edges of the frames. What had once been a coffee mug, with what
looked like coffee in it, was now shattered near the coffee table, the brown
liquid spreading
rapidly.
More glass shards littered
the floor in the doorway of the kitchen, the pieces looking like an unfinished
mosaic.

The
wand zoomed over their heads, pausing only long enough to rap the wolf on the
top of his skull, then it darted off again, looking for more mischief, she was
certain. The wolf scowled at her, his thunderous look saying more than any
words could, and she was sure he had more than a few choice ones for her. In
fact, she was pretty sure she could hear his teeth grinding even from a few
feet away. Well, that couldn’t be good for his
chompers
.

She
cleared her throat and lifted her chin a notch. “
Sauren
,
come here.”

The
wand twirled through the air, circling her like a buzzard, before whacking her
on top of her head and darting back into the kitchen. The smash of porcelain on
tile couldn’t be mistaken, and she wondered if the wolf was going to bill her
for a new set of dishes before the night was over. Her wand was causing
considerable damage, but in her own defense, she hadn’t sent it to him.
Sauren
had merely sought the wolf out, to what purpose she
didn’t understand. It had never been partial to the furry before.

“
Sauren
, I command you to come here at once!”

The
wand zoomed back in from the kitchen, circled her,
then
hovered in front of her face. When it began glowing, the light getting brighter
and brighter, she realized she’d pissed it off. Almost too late, she dove for
the wolf, knocking him to the floor. A split second later, there was a loud
crack. A sizzle of electricity filled the air, making their hair stand on end.
And then
came
the downpour. Her treacherous wand had
made it rain—in the house.

She
glanced down at the wolf lying under her and swallowed hard. His cheeks were
flushed red, his eyes narrowed and spitting fire. His nostrils flared in anger,
and his lips were mashed into a thin line. If he’d been a cartoon, steam would
have been pouring out of his ears. She wasn’t entirely convinced she didn’t see
a wisp or two.

“If
you don’t get that damn wand out of my house,” he growled in a soft voice, “I’m
going to turn it into kindling.”

Sauren
must have heard
the threat because it darted in close to
Breena
and
dropped neatly onto the ground beside her hand. She jerked her gaze from the
arresting eyes of the wolf and looked down at the wand, disbelieving. One
growled threat and there it lay, docile as a lamb. Maybe the wolf was of more
use than she thought.

She
wrapped her fingers around the carved wood and lifted
Sauren
off the floor. Picking herself up, she dusted off the skirt of her dress and
cleared her throat.

“Well,
it was a pleasure meeting you… Um, I don’t believe you ever told me your name.”

“No,”
he rumbled, climbing to his feet. “I didn’t.”

She
lifted her brows and looked at him
expectantly,
waiting for his response, but none was forthcoming. With a sigh, she turned
toward the door. If he didn’t want to be polite and at least extend her the
courtesy of giving her his name, why should she bother to stick around and
clean up?

“That’s
it?” he demanded. “That demented wand of yours gets into my home, breaks half
my stuff, makes it
rain
in the house,
and you’re just going to leave?”

“You
don’t seem very hospitable. I figured our presence wasn’t wanted, or needed.”

He
eyed her a moment, his gaze far too knowing, too assessing as he studied her
curves. There was a flicker of heat in their depths and she wondered if he was
just as affected by her as she was by him. The hardness of his body,
particularly in one area, hadn’t escaped her notice while she’d been sprawled
across him in her feeble attempt at protecting him. Before she could continue
that line of thought, she really needed to do something about the rain.

Muttering
an incantation under her breath, she swirled
Sauren
through the hair, her grip on the wand tight so it wouldn’t escape. The rain
slowed,
then
stopped all together, leaving everything
soaked.
Breena
hoped his floors wouldn’t warp from
getting so wet. She supposed she could cast a spell to dry everything, but she
wasn’t entirely certain her help would be appreciated. He still seemed a little
perturbed with her, or rather, with her wand.

She
shoved strands of hair from her eyes, the ends dripping down her cleavage. She
watched as his gaze tracked the motion of the water droplets, his eyes flaring
as the water disappeared between her breasts. He licked his lips.
An unconscious move?
His hands clenched and unclenched at
his sides. Did he think of reaching for her? Did he want to touch her as badly
as she wanted to be touched? Still, he made no move to come to her, to reach
for her, to beckon her closer.

“I
should probably go,” she said softly, wishing he would negate her statement,
ask her to stay.

His
intense gaze burned into her, setting her aflame. With her rising desire, the
temperature in the room rose, as well, creating a steam room effect in the
living room. Even with the change in their environment, he didn’t break
contact. What was he looking for? If he wanted her consent for things to move
forward, he had it! If he wanted her to beg…well, she’d never been one for
begging. Besides, he was the one who had a tail.

Coming
to a decision, one she might very well regret later, she turned and placed her
hand on the warm doorknob. It turned easily in her palm and the door swung
open. Outside, the night
lay
still, the calm after the
storm. Moonlight filtered through the large, black clouds, a few stars peeking
through. She took one step, then another. She was at the bottom of his porch
steps before she felt his presence.

Breena
looked over her
shoulder to see him limned in moonlight just inside the door. He took her breath
away, even soaked as he was. It just made his shirt cling to him, made his jeans
hug his muscular thighs. She clenched her thighs together, staving off her
growing need for this man, this enigma.
The man who wasn’t
man, but who wasn’t entirely a wolf either.
A man who would remain a
puzzle once she walked away. She wasn’t ready for that moment yet, but he
didn’t call her back inside, didn’t say a word at all. He just merely watched
her.

Forcing
herself to pull away from his presence, she turned on her heel and began her
long trek home. Now that she had her wand, she could translocate, but the walk
would do her some good. The air was balmy, the humidity causing steam to rise
from the now wet pavement. It was a hot night, even for July.

She
forced herself to not look back, but she wondered if he still stood there,
watching her. Or had he gone back inside, putting her out of mind? A man like
that had to have women waiting in line for a chance to jump into his bed. She
doubted she would very memorable to him. Her wand, on the other hand, would
probably stick with him for a while.

Chapter Two

Cade
closed the door, shutting out the tempting vision of one hot, sexy witch
walking away from him. It was in his wolf’s nature to chase after her, go after
his prey, but he fought the urge. It had taken all his will power to close the
door the first time. It had been a mistake to kiss her, even if she had
instigated it. She was a tiny thing. It wasn’t like he couldn’t have pushed her
away, held her at arm’s length, but he’d been curious. He’d wanted to know what
she would taste like, what she’d feel like in his arms. Good. Too damn good,
that’s how she’d felt.