Page 3 of A Warlock for Halloween

And with my new salary and savings, I was able to buy a cozy little three bedroom, one and a half bath rancher. Is it my dream house? Nope. But it’s a house and better than paying rent to my landlord that took his sweet time fixing anything but could certainly cash those rent checks fast.

Finally, with no more classes and my job and house squared away, I can start enjoying life. Going to festivals, making more friends, maybe even dating again. It’s been over a year since my ex and I broke up and I think I’m ready to give a relationship a chance again.

This time I won’t be drawn in by looks.

Well, okay, I probably will. If you’re not attracted to someone, how can a relationship work? It needs that spark.

It also needs some common ground, similar life goals, and having the same core beliefs would certainly make life easier.

My ex and I had none of those, which is why we only lasted five months. In reality, we should never have dated at all.

I shrug and pick up a crocheted black cat. It’s adorable.

And for twenty dollars it goes into my bag along with the smiling painted gourd I already purchased.

Yes, I can find a nice, down-to-earth guy, one that enjoys walks in the park, movie nights at home, vacations to the beach. Basically one that wants to spend time with me outside of the bedroom as well as in.

Kids aren’t on the horizon yet for me. I’m only twenty-four! Yet I think I might want to have one. Maybe two. Despite what Jackie said, thirty can’t be too old to start having them. Besides, I want some alone time first with this mythical amazing guy that I haven’t started dated yet before we bring kids into things.

Continuing to browse down the row of vendors, I glance around at the crowd and smile. It’s doubtful I’ll find him here. Looks to be all couples or single girls like me.

CHAPTER THREE

NATALIE

I’m debating between triple brownie fudge or peanut butter chip cookies when an odd tingle begins between my shoulder blades. It’s annoying, like a vague thought that you’ve forgotten something important, but for the life of you, you simply cannot recall what it is.

I grab both bags of cookies and pass my money over to the grinning vendor. In a daze, I start to walk to the right when something compels me to instead turn left.

After only a few steps, I pause, trying to take in the man that’s striding towards me. He’s tall and lean, dressed in black, with long midnight black hair waving around his pale face. He’s handsome.

But that’s not what pins me in place.

Handsome men are everywhere.

No, there’s something about him that makes me want to toss down my bags of purchases and run to him. To hold on to him and never let him go.

My feet begin to move and it’s a struggle to force them to be still. I don’t know what’s come over me, but it needs to stop. Now.

Turning away from him, my eyes dart around, looking for the fastest way out of this crowded row when something or rather someone grabs my left hand.

With a will of their own, my feet point me back in the direction of the man. The man that is now grasping my hand tenderly in his.

My gaze travels from his hand up his body, only stopping when I come to his face. If I thought he was handsome, I was mistaken.

He’s gorgeous.

Dark, black slashing brows bring my attention to his high forehead and the raven black hair that flows from his head to his broad shoulders. His nose is long and somehow elegant above full lips that look like they were made to kiss mine.

But it’s his eyes that reach inside me and hold me in his powerful gaze. Eyes of pale silver. They shine and gleam with an inner light like there’s a spotlight behind them.

The need to be held by him overtakes me again and a soft whimper passes over my trembling lips.

Linking our fingers, he raises our joined hands and presses them to his chest, where the steady beat of his heart thumps. “My love,” he croons in a husky voice that sends a spiral of lust from my fingertips down to my core that begins throbs in need.

A bright bouquet suddenly appears in his left hand. He offers it to me with a slow slide of his lips, showcasing a smile that has my toes curling in my boots.

For a moment, it feels like we’re the only two people that exist in the world. Then loud applause breaks out from the crowd of people that have gathered around us, the suddenness of it fracturing whatever bubble of privacy we were in.

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