Magic & Mayhem

without being seen by someone. She didn’t know how she would bear it if everyone in the neighborhood knew about her and Shane. It would be impossible to pretend nothing had happened.

It took a few moments to build up her courage, then Abby made a run for it, sprinting across the yellowed grass to her side-yard gate and slipping into her backyard. She retrieved her spare key from the secret compartment beneath a cement frog and entered through her kitchen. Once inside, the lingering smell of now-extinguished pumpkin spice candles reminded her of Halloween and brought tears to her eyes.

Lack of sleep, she told herself. There was no other reason for her to be so sappy over something as wonderful as a night spent with Shane Markham. But she needed to hear that from someone else, so she exhaled harshly and picked up the phone.

“Conjure,” answered a female voice on the third ring.

“Hi, Brianna. It’s Abby.” She tried to sound cheerful. “Can I talk to Kayla a minute? It won’t take long, I promise.”

“Kayla’s not here today. The shop’s closed. I just stopped by to pick up a couple things and answered the phone out of habit.”

“Oh.” She didn’t mean to sound so disappointed. It just came out that way.

“Are you okay?” Brianna’s friendly voice was filled with concern. “I hope you don’t mind my prying, but you don’t sound the way I would expect you to after a night spent with Shane Markham.”

Abby managed a short laugh. “That was a fluke. He’s been nothing but distantly friendly to me the entire five months I’ve lived here.”

“Uh, honey, I’ve seen distant friendliness, and that kiss he planted on you in the living room isn’t it.”

“Oh jeez.” So much for hiding the truth. Everyone she knew had shown up for her party last night, and they’d witnessed Shane’s pounce. And her surrender. “You know what that was? It was that flyer from your shop, the one about having stamina and boinking like bunnies all night. He put me on the spot for a fortune-telling and I blurted that poem. Bam.He got horny as hell. He’s single right now, so I think I was just convenient.” She sighed. “How depressing is that?”

“Oh shit,” Brianna breathed. “Shit, shit, shit.”

“Yeah.” Abby rubbed the back of her neck and rested her hip against the tiled edge of her kitchen counter. “That pretty much sums it up.”

A long silence followed. Abby opened her mouth to say good-bye when Brianna spoke first. “Abby, what are your thoughts on magic?”

Last night with Shane had been magic. If she inhaled deeply, she could still smell him on her skin. “If you’re talking about Feng Shui calming your mood, I agree. If you’re talking about hocus-pocus-abracadabra, I’m not a believer.”

Brianna groaned. “That’s what I thought.”

“Sorry.”

“Don’t worry about it. But I do have a favor to ask. If you’ve got a chair nearby, could you sit in it? I’ve got something to tell you, and you might be better off sitting down.”

Considering that her legs felt like jelly from being spread most of the night, Abby didn’t have a problem with the request.

And a few minutes later, she was grateful for the seat.

Shane blinked his eyes open and stretched, wincing at the unaccustomed soreness in his ass and thighs. As memories of the night before came back in a delightful rush, a smile started inside and spread outward into a grin.

Abby.

Sweet little Abby, whom he’d lusted after for far too long, had finally come around.

If he’d known she wanted him rough and dirty, he would have indulged her earlier. Of course, coming on to a woman like a freight train wasn’t his usual style. Even now he was shocked at the things he’d said and done to her. He wasn’t the hot-and-heavy type, as witnessed by the five months he’d waited for some sign, any sign that she might be interested in being more than neighbors. Then he’d seen her in that sexy costume, and he’d instantly been put on a short leash. When she recited that poem about fucking all night, he’d been unleashed. Done. Cooked.

Rolling to his side, he moved to tug Abby closer and found the spot beside him empty. He frowned and sat up, looking around for her costume or any clue that she was still in his house somewhere. The bathroom maybe, or the kitchen. But there was nothing.

“Abby?” he called out, only to be greeted by silence.

He ran a hand through his hair and sighed, resigning himself to getting out of bed.

After they cleaned up, he wanted to head into town with her and grab something to eat. Then they could pick out some wine and groceries to make dinner. Maybe some movies, too. The thought of spending a quiet evening at home getting to know Abby better filled him with contentment.

Five months was a long time to wait to get a relationship started, but he knew Abby was worth it. He’d known it the very first day he’d shown her around the neighborhood. Fresh from California, she was adventurous and ambitious, with a fun-loving personality that enabled her to make friends quickly. Combine that with fabulous eyes and a great ass, and Abigail Garvey was his idea of the perfect date. After last night, he knew she was better than a great date, she was his dream girl.

God, the things she’d done to him…the sounds she made when he was deep in her…the way she looked at him with those blue eyes…

He was head over heels. He’d say he was pussy-whipped, but the sex was just a bonus on top of all the other things he liked about her. There was no doubt in his mind-he was ready to settle into a committed relationship with a wonderful woman who just happened to push all his buttons.

So, with a spring in his step, he headed to the shower. In his impatience to see Abby again, he rushed, towel- drying quickly before tugging on a pair of well-worn jeans and a black sweater. He shoved his wallet in his back pocket and condoms in his front pocket, then grabbed his keys and left his house, crossing the lawn to ring Abby’s doorbell.

He rang twice before she answered. The door swung inward, and he found himself catching the jamb for support when he saw her. The lithe body he adored was wrapped up in a thick white robe, and her hair was piled on top of her head in a matching white towel. She blew him away.

“Hi,” he said, grinning like an idiot and not caring.

“Hi.”

Warning bells went off, and he took a deep breath, trying to figure out why she sounded and looked so distant. “Can I come in?”

Her small hand fidgeted at her lapels. “I haven’t cleaned up yet,” she said in a small voice. “The place isn’t fit for company.”

Shane frowned. “Well, lucky for me, I’m not company.” He straightened and set his hands at her waist, backing her into the house and kicking the door closed behind him.

“Shane…”

He did what he’d wanted to do since he woke up, he kissed her, holding her face still and tilted upward so he could lick deep inside the velvety softness of her mouth. His eyes slid closed on a low groan, and he rested his forehead against hers. “I wish you’d been there when I woke up. We could have showered together.”

“Shane.” Her small hands came up to circle his wrists. “You don’t know what you’re doing.”

“I know exactly what I’m doing,” he said gruffly, pulling back to look at her red-rimmed eyes. At first he thought it was because of the costume makeup she’d worn the night before. Now, he strongly suspected she’d been crying, which is not what a guy wanted to see after a night of hot sex. “It’s what you’re doing that has me confused.”

She gave a shaky exhale and tried to step back. He wouldn’t let her. “You’re sweet, Shane, but this is unnecessary. I’m letting you off the hook.”

Arching a brow, he said dryly, “I like being hooked.”

“Listen. Just go home. In a few hours, you’ll look back at all this and wonder what the hell you were thinking.”

“Damn straight. I’ll be wondering why the hell I left when all I want is to be with you.” Linking their hands