Page 49 of Captivating Magic

“It’s one Clutch gave to me. You remember, Al. I had it in the clearing.”

“Yes.” Alastair gave Damian a considering look. “Why would McClutchin give it to him if he didn’t need it?”

“I don’t know, but I’d like to find out.” Waving his hand, he extinguished the candles and swept the salt into a pile. “Please fetch your globe, Laszlo. My curiosity is aroused.” With a stern glance at Castor, he said, “Don’t say it.”

“You spoil all my fun.” Castor plopped on the bed, extended an arm along the headboard, and crossed his ankles. With his free hand, he tapped the clay doll. “How does this work?”

“Don’t touch that!” Lo gripped his wrist. “It’s the only thing keeping the pig-fucker’s soul locked in place.”

“Jeez. It’s like working for the Authority all over again. ‘Don’t do this. Don’t touch that. No killing the bad man,’” he mocked in a falsetto with a flip of his blond hair.

Stifling his amusement, Lo went in search of the globe. Finding it on the dresser, he picked it up and turned to go, but a picture stuck in the mirror’s corner caught his notice. Sixteen-year-old Ebba, dressed in that fucking hauntingly hot bikini he remembered so well, was tucked beneath his arm and laughing up at him. His younger self was looking down at her with a wolfish grin. Plucking the picture from its home, he studied it, seeing what he’d missed all his life.

He’d always been in love with Ebba, like she had with him.

Nineteen-year-old Laszlo wore such an expression of adoration, it was embarrassing to see. He didn’t recall who had snapped the picture, but the moment was imprinted within every section of his brain Damian had droned on about. She’d smelled like sunshine and goodness that day. So good, in fact, he’d wanted to eat her up. Touching her had become a secret obsession, but he’d kept his hands to himself because she was underage. Although, now that he thought about it, it hadn’t been so secret if his family had to threaten dismemberment.

Lo felt Ebba’s approach. The hair on his body stood at attention, and a restless energy zinged through him as it did whenever she was near.

“Why didn’t you make me see, Ebba?” he asked hoarsely.

“I thought it was all in my head. Something I desperately wanted and that my view was skewed.”

“We missedyears.” His voice sounded accusing to his own ears.

“What was I supposed to do or say, Lo? By the time I turned eighteen, you were with Charlotte. Did you want me to break up a happy couple because of a two-year-old picture I happened to have?” She cupped his cheek. “You were engaged by then, and I believed you loved her.”

“No. Not the way I should’ve.” Closing his eyes, he leaned into her palm. “Something always held me back, and I gave her whatever she wanted because I felt guilty I couldn’t love fully.”

“Maybe that’s why she was a raging bitch to any innocent female who smiled in your direction. She probably sensed it.”

“Fuck! I’m such an idiot.”

“No. You’re a kind man with a big heart who takes his obligations seriously.” She dropped her arm. “Liz told me you cast a spell to make Charlotte leave and your cousin set her up for life. Your family cares about people’s welfare.”

Laszlo jerked.“What?”

Ebba’s stomach tightened.“Am I wrong?”

“Not about the spell. Alastair helped me with that,” Lo said with a distracted air. “But I didn’t know about the money.”

He chuckled, then fell into hysteria, leaning against the dresser and holding his ribs, laughing like a damned loon.

“She’s a fucking millionaire!” he gasped out. “Between everything she made off me and the lifetime annuity I suspect Alastair gave her, she won the damned lottery.”

“And that’sfunny?” Ebba was inclined to be pissed the woman took the Thornes for a ride.

He sobered, but a small smile lingered. “Are you mad on my behalf, Sweet Ebba?”

“Yes! She’s a damned gold digger.”

“You wouldn’t take what was offered without coercion?”

Ebba shook her head. “No! I’d tell you to shove it up your ass.”

His grin flashed, and he wrapped his arms around her. “That, right there, is why I adore you.”

She grew lightheaded, and her pulse hammered, threatening to burst her heart had she been corporeal. The sensation wasn’t the pleasant one caused by attraction, but a feeling that made her sick.

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