Page 24 of Enslaved By Magic

Sarah laughed and leaned back, giving her an obvious once-over with an indulgent smile. “I never took compliments very well either.” She seemed to realize Amari was uncomfortable, though, because she changed the subject to more mundane things. “Do you have family around here?” she asked.

Amari tried to control the wince. After so many years, there should no longer be pain over a question like that, but old feelings were resurging, no doubt brought on by the awkwardness of meeting Luke’s obviously loving family. “No, no family at all. I lost them all,” she said. She could hear the flat tone of her voice and tried to force a smile so Sarah wouldn’t feel bad. “It was a very long time ago though, and I’ve gotten used to being on my own.”

A flash of compassion deepened the wrinkles in Sarah’s face as she gave Amari a sympathetic look before leaning in and wrapping her arms around her in a gentle hug. “I’m so sorry, sweetheart,” she whispered. “It’s been nearly twenty years since I lost my parents, and I still think of them every day. You are absolutely welcome to be part of our family—even if things don’t work out with you and Luke.”

Amari stiffened and pulled back from the embrace in confusion. “But you don’t even know me. I could be a horrible person who breaks his heart,” she said.

“Oh, I doubt that.” Sarah’s blue eyes twinkled as she gave Amari an amused look. “You really don’t seem the type. Besides everyone needs a family, and sometimes the family we make as we go through life ends up being a lot better than what we started with. Once someone becomes family, you can’t just throw them away, not without good reason.”

Amari was older than this woman by centuries, but she doubted she’d ever reach that place of calm acceptance. She was usually the wise one in the room. With all her years of experience, she’d seen the world change in drastic ways, but this simple, motherly woman seemed to have achieved a serenity she’d never experienced. The skeptic in her wanted to believe it was just a show, but in her gut, she knew better. The words had a ring of truth that couldn’t be denied, and she wasn’t sure how to respond.

“But—I’m sorry. I guess it just seems so strange to me that you’re so, um, nice? To someone you just met, I mean.” She was careful in her phrasing because she wanted to be polite, but she really didn’t understand how Sarah could welcome her to the family half an hour after meeting her. She gave the woman a nervous look, hoping she hadn’t offended her.

To her surprise, Sarah didn’t lose her amused expression. “You’ll get used to it, honey,” she said, patting Amari’s hand lightly. She was chuckling as she got up from the table, but while she was busy checking on dinner and then setting the dining room table, Amari was left to sort out what she was feeling.

She’d never been part of anyone’s family before, not since she’d lost her own, and that had been so long ago she barely remembered what belonging felt like. The conversation threw her off so badly she forgot her plan to smother Luke with affection until halfway through the meal. They’d been seated next to each other on one side of the table with his aunt and uncle across from them, and the positioning was perfect—once she remembered what she was supposed to be doing.

Casually scooting her chair closer to his, she settled one hand lightly on his thigh. She’d been fairly quiet since the conversation in the kitchen, but now she made an effort to smile and make small talk, while taking the occasional bite. Her relaxed demeanor would make Luke seem like the one being weird if he moved away, and he must have realized that because he shot her a look but remained where he was.

Her hand began to lightly rub the top of his leg, fingernails dragging up and down in a playful way. When he pushed it away, she simply kicked off her shoe and switched tactics, teasing his ankle with her toes, and wiggling them up under the stiff cuff of his jeans. She could tell by the way he moved in his seat that she was getting to him and when he gave her a dirty look, she just smiled innocently and continued with what she was doing.

His aunt and uncle seemed completely oblivious to what was going on under the table. Sarah, at least, happily chattered about just about every topic under the sun. Esra focused on his dinner plate, food disappearing at an efficient pace and only occasionally did he comment on anything. They were obviously perfect opposites in that regard, and it probably worked out very well for them.

Amari’s hand worked its way back, lightly brushing across the crotch of his pants, and she could feel that what she was doing was having an effect on him. He grabbed her by the wrist to keep her from doing any more wandering as he leaned in and whispered, “Stop that,” in her ear gruffly.

His breath tickled and she shivered. “Is that an order, Luke?” she asked, in an equally quiet tone. She didn’t call him Master but she was sure he got the implication when his grip tightened with tension and he stayed silent.

She suspected there was some kind of inner fight going on over the ethics of giving her orders, which he tried not to do, and she wondered which way his morals would sway him.

He started to pull away and she thought she’d won—for a moment, but then he leaned in again, lips brushing across the lobe of her ear. “No, but consider it a strong suggestion. Unless you want another spanking, of course,” he said.

Heat rushed to her face and she shot a nervous look at his family, but, of course, the words had been far too quiet for them to pick up on what was going on right across the table from them. She wasn’t even sure his aunt had noticed that they were involved in their own conversation since she was currently talking about her plans for her vegetable garden and how she wanted to expand this year.

Amari felt flustered, nervous about the threat, and she was completely torn on whether she wanted to test him or not. It never crossed her mind that he would do it on the spot, not in front of his family, but she wasn’t sure she could maintain her composure knowing he was planning on doing it when they got back to the house, so, reluctantly, she drew her hand back into her own lap.

“I guess your wish is my… strong suggestion then,” she said quietly as she straightened and turned her attention back to the table. “Did Luke tell you he bought a lottery ticket?” she asked, directing the question to his aunt and uncle. She had no motive for the question, she was just trying to gauge if Luke had caught his uncle up on his first wish while she’d been dragged off to the kitchen.

His uncle stopped eating, his head jerking up in surprise as he gave Luke a speculative look. “Lottery ticket?”

“I thought you said those were a waste of money?” Sarah asked, looking shocked enough to put down her fork with the food still on it.

Luke shrugged with an awkward expression on his face. One hand went up to brush back his dark curls as he explained, “Well, I saw the payout was up at one hundred and fifty million and I thought I might as well.” It didn’t sound very convincing, and for the first time since Amari had met Sarah, the woman seemed suspicious.

“That’s not like you at all,” she commented. “You always said my weekly scratch-offs were a waste of money.” She shook her head and seemed about to say something else but Esra reached over and covered her hand with his.

“Nothing wrong with trying something new, and a couple dollars isn’t much of a loss,” Esra said firmly, sounding as if he were speaking more to Sarah who subsided with a slight twitch of her shoulders. “Would this have something to do with our talk the other night?” This time the words were obviously meant for Luke.

“You could say that, yes. I thought I’d follow your advice and give it a chance. Seemed like the best way to start,” he said.

Amari ducked her head, pretending to be intent on cutting a piece of meat but, in actuality, she was hiding the amused expression she wore. Esra didn’t miss much. She could see that now, and she could also tell why Luke went to him for advice.

Watching the older (at least in appearance) couple together, she felt a sudden warm affection for them. They seemed to be deeply in love, and she could see how their strengths would play off each other perfectly. Esra’s taciturn demeanor was the opposite of Sarah’s relaxed loquacious chattering. In fact, she wondered if his quiet had simply caused his wife to learn to fill in the silence by keeping up a constant flow of conversation. Either way, they seemed to work well together. Luke was lucky to have them.

“Thank you for taking me to meet your family tonight. They’re really amazing,” she said on the way home later.

He gave her a half-smile without taking his attention from the road for more than a second. “My aunt really likes you. She wants me to bring you back soon.”

She wondered why that caused a warm happy sensation to settle in. She barely knew the woman, and despite her talk of always being welcome in the family, how likely was that once Luke had made his three wishes and she was freed? She had no real plans for once she belonged to herself again. She used to think about it—but after so many years of failing to gain her independence, she’d given up on trying to predict what would happen and simply concentrated on getting through each day.

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