The Bitter Seed of Magic

body.

A Sleeping Beauty spell.

Anger roiled in my gut. The damn spell was magical Valium, turned you into an emotional zombie. Now I knew why my life had been so uneventful since Grace’s funeral. I grimaced as the spell’s stem disappeared up my jacket sleeve, winding itself tightly around my elbow, the thorns puncturing my skin. Bandana’s salt-water emetic must have temporarily neutralised it, but now it was resetting itself.

‘Gen.’ Finn grasped my shoulders. ‘You’re not listening to me. This is serious.’

He was right. There were only two people who could’ve got close enough to me to have tagged me with the spell, and one of them was standing in front of me. The other was Tavish, the kelpie. If I was looking for a culprit, Tavish—that scheming, over-protective, arrogant, alluring, charming, centuries-old wylde fae who was also my sort-of ex—won hands down. But if I was looking for someone to be my ‘prince’ and ‘awaken’ me, then Finn could easily play the heroic stand-in. But getting that close to him meant the magic’s matchmaking got a chance to push my libido into overdrive.

Damn, whatever I did I was screwed (no pun intended), but at least with Finn and the magic I had a chance of being in control.

Decision made, I reached up and cupped Finn’s face. His skin was warm and firm under my touch and the magic rose from within me, leaping like golden wildfire between us. His eyes widened in surprise, their moss-green depths flickering emerald, and his hands tightened on my shoulders. I drew him down to me, waiting for him to tell me ‘no’. He didn’t. Our lips met in a soft kiss that slipped like molten gold into my centre, pooling heat at my core. Gods, he tasted as wonderful as I remembered, like sweet ripe berries. Lust wrapped in longing shivered through me, followed by misgivings that had nothing to do with the magic. I wanted this, wanted him—but I didn’t want him to think this changed things. Or that kissing him was nothing more than a means to an end.

I pulled back far enough that I could see his face. ‘Sorry,’ I murmured, dropping my hands. ‘I shouldn’t have done that.’

‘Hey, don’t apologise,’ he said quietly. Then his mouth quirked and he added, ‘Not your fault I’m irresistible.’

Surprise winged through me.

He waggled his brows. ‘Sex god here, remember?’

I gaped at him, incredulous. ‘Are you flirting with me?’

‘Obviously not well enough,’ he said wryly, ‘if you have to ask.’

Some indefinable barrier I hadn’t even realised existed between us fell away and time seemed to roll back to when we first started working together, before everything got serious with vamps and sorcerers and curses, and when his outlook had been more about enjoying what life brought him. An ache closed my throat. I’d missed that Finn. Now it looked like I could have him back.

Lightness lifted my heart and a grin slowly spread across my face. ‘Irresistible?’ I snorted, poking him in the chest. ‘Ha! In your dreams.’

Mischief glinted in his eyes. ‘My dreams, my rules. So sex god works for me.’

I laughed. ‘Keep working, and maybe you’ll get somewhere in another century.’

He slapped a dramatic hand to his chest. ‘You do thus grievously impugn my reputation, fair lady. I demand satisfaction.’

‘No chance,’ I snorted. ‘You’re really on a losing streak’

He pulled a hopeful hang-dog face. ‘Well, I s’pose I could settle for us getting all smoochy again. I think I can fit you in’—he made a show of checking his watch, then grinned, teeth white against his tan—‘in about thirty seconds’ time. But it’s a one-time special offer, so take me while I’m hot.’

I rolled my eyes at him, then as I felt the spell’s thorns prick my shoulder, reality smacked me in the face. I sighed and held my arm up like a kid asking a question. ‘Is that offer good for a Sleeping Beauty spell?’

He stilled, his brows meeting in a frown as he took my arm and studied my wrist. A muscle jumped angrily in his jaw, then he blew out a breath and said almost to himself, ‘Well, that explains a lot, doesn’t it?’

‘Yep,’ I agreed. ‘And a certain kelpie is so not going to be a happy water-horse after this. I’m thinking gremlins in his precious computers … or maybe duck weed in his lake.’

‘Ouch.’ Finn winced. ‘Remind me never to upset you. Hey, but if you need help, then I’m in.’

I grinned. ‘Thanks.’

He let go of my wrist and smiled ruefully. ‘Guess this means I’m not that irresistible after all.’

‘Oh, I don’t know.’ I tilted my head and smiled playfully. ‘You could always try and convince me. Maybe kill two birds with one kiss?’

A sharp gust of river-scented wind sliced between us and he reached out and carefully tucked a stray strand of my hair behind my ear. ‘Probably not a good idea, Gen. Tavish must’ve tagged you after the funeral. Those type of spells aren’t meant to last for more than a couple of weeks, to help you get over things, so it should’ve worn off by now, which means he’s added his own spin to the spell. If I defuse it instead of him, it could cause problems. Want me to try and pull it apart instead?’

Always the white knight. But much as I appreciated his concern, I couldn’t help regretting that reality had brought responsible, serious Finn back. ‘Thanks, but I’m not sure there’s time.’ I jerked my head over at the police still milling round the launch bobbing next to the dock. ‘There’s my trip to Old Scotland Yard. I have to give a statement, remember? I don’t want to delay it, and to be honest, I’d feel happier if the spell’s gone before then. That’s if you don’t mind …’

‘Mind? “Tempt not a desperate man”,’ he said softly, eyes bleak. Then a wicked light eclipsed the bleakness so quickly I thought I’d imagined it. ‘Though, talking about tempting’—a grin spread across his face—‘how about a bet? Dinner says the power of my kiss demolishes the spell inside a minute. If it takes longer, then it’s my treat.’

I narrowed my eyes. It was a bet he couldn’t lose. ‘Do you really expect me to fall for that?’

‘Yep,’ he said, much too happily. ‘Unless of course, I’m really not irresistible.’

Anticipation fluttered in my stomach and I struggled to contain my smile. ‘Go on then,’ I said, deliberately offhand as I stuck my chin out and puckered up. ‘Get it over with.’

All teasing left him as he reached out and clasped my face, mirroring my earlier movements, then bowed his head and rested his forehead against mine. The flutter brushed my heart, turning nervous—in a good way. ‘This one’s for the spell,’ he murmured, his breath warm across my cheeks. He dropped a light kiss on my mouth. My lips tingled, and a pulse of power slipped over my body, pebbling goosebumps on my skin. I felt the thorns pop out of my flesh and the briar stem wither and dissipate back into the ether.

‘Wow,’ I murmured, warring between being impressed and disappointed that the kiss was over so fast. ‘Looks like dinner’s on me then.’

He gave a quiet, satisfied laugh.

‘Now this one’—he tilted my face up, thumbs caressing my jaw, his eyes dark and solemn—‘is for you alone, Gen.’ He pressed his lips to mine, a quick hard kiss that filled me with his magic and stopped my heart for one glorious second, leaving me breathless, wanting and stunned.

Oh boy, now I really was screwed.

Chapter Eight

It’s always handy to know you’ve got a five-hundred-plus-year-old—and therefore very powerful—vamp on speed-dial, even if the realisation is one of those good news/bad news things.

The bad news was I’d been arrested.

Not for the kiss (even though the kiss was so worth being arrested for, and more)—although seeing it was DI Helen Crane who did the arresting, the kiss was definitely a contributing factor.