Page 11 of Kiss of Magic

“What’s that?”

“Someone is trying to kill you. And I can’t let that happen.”

“Why?” Her eyes flashed. “Because that would deny you your bounty?”

“No. Because sending three armed henchmen against one little girl isn’t sporting. I hate bad sports.”

“I didn’t realise you were such a gentleman.”

He laughed, and for the briefest moment his eyes flickered to her cleavage.

“Not that much of a gent, Blue. But I’ll protect you. You have my word.”

“See, that’s the problem.” She stopped struggling and let herself lean back against the wall. “By bringing me in, you’re not protecting me. You’re putting me on death row.”

“Sorry?”

“They didn’t tell you? The reason my coven wants me is because of something in my blood. Something unique. And ifyou take me back to them, it’ll cost me my life.” She watched as his smile faded.

“The coven wants to kill you?”

“Everyone wants to kill me. The coven just wants to do it humanely. Can you live with that? Can you fulfil the contract, knowing it means a death sentence for me?”

His expression hardened. She waited for his response, quietly allowing energy to seep into her cells. Power pulsed beneath her skin. Not as much as before, but enough.

“Like I said, I don’t get involved with politics.”

His words were flat but she thought she detected something in his eyes. Uncertainty. Doubt. Sympathy, even. He might act like he didn’t care, but part of him did.

She stood on tiptoe as though she was going to kiss him. Startled, his hands tightened on her waist. She caught a hint of his masculine scent. Spice and woodfire. And then she pressed her lips to his ear and whispered her spell.

The charm paralysed him. He stiffened, unable to move, unable even to balance. He toppled like a felled tree, his fingers still frozen at her waist, pulling her down with him. She landed on him in a sprawl, her face just inches from his.

He glared furiously, eyes dark with anger, but she knew he was powerless. He couldn’t speak, couldn’t even blink. The spell wouldn’t last long, but it would last long enough.

She took the opportunity to study him up close. He had a strong jaw, she noted, dusted with dark stubble. He wore his hair cropped, as though he used to be in the military and now wore it short from habit. His lips were wide and surprisingly sensuous.

She examined the scar bisecting his right brow. It didn’t detract from his attractiveness – rather, it served to highlight his ruggedness.

He wasn’t handsome, not in the traditional movie-star sense. But he was extremely masculine. He gave off definite alpha vibesand she suspected women pretty much threw themselves at him with monotonous regularity.

At which point she realised she was still lying on top of him. A rush of heat warmed her cheeks and hastily she scrambled to her feet.

“I’m really sorry. You might be a good hunter but you’re out of your depth here. This is witch stuff. Stay out of it if you know what’s good for you.”

Blake strained to move with all his strength but he couldn’t even twitch a finger. He raged inwardly, sick to the stomach that he’d allowed himself to be blind-sided. He should have knocked her unconscious when he had the chance.

Unable to turn his head, he watched the blue-haired witch walk away in his peripheral vision. He wondered how long he’d be stuck like this. At least the alley was deserted. With a bit of luck, no-one would find him before the spell wore off. Becausethatwould be fucking humiliating.

Outside the main entrance, customers and staff were milling aimlessly, still unsure of what had happened. Dani spotted the manager.

“Yo, Barry,” she called over. “I quit.”

She gave him the middle finger and strode off.

Five

Tala tried not to laugh.

---