Page 23 of Brimstone and Broomsticks
Chapter 8
Cassandra
Iswung by the courthouse, but unsurprisingly Marcus had left for the day. That left me with several unpleasant choices. I could spend the next few hours driving around looking for him at his home and usual haunts. I could call my sister Ophelia and ask her where my ex-fiancé was. I could text him and tell him I needed to see him right now.
Ophelia’s specialty was divination. The woman could find just about anything from the source of a ground spring to a set of missing keys. She could also find people. Sometimes. She was better with keys.
It wasn’t her less-than-stellar track record with locating town residents that had me hesitating, though. Ophelia was a paramedic. Friday night was kind of her busy shift. By the time she found a spare hour to do the ritual, it would be well after dark. And I definitely didn’t want to meet with Marcus after dark. Which was also the reason why driving around for hours looking for the panther shifter wasn’t a good choice either.
“Chicken,” I muttered under my breath as I pulled out my phone. Gritting my teeth, I typed the text and hit send. Then I began to count.
Twenty seconds. That’s how long it took for Marcus to respond. My heart sank as I read the text. He was at home. I should come by right away if I wanted to see him because he had plans tonight.
I was glad he had plans and hopeful that they were important enough that he’d not be tempted to ditch them and try to get me into bed. But his home… Ugh, I’d hoped to meet him in a public place where I’d be more likely to resist his come-on, and more likely to hold back from setting his pants on fire.
Oh well. I knew turning Marcus into a panther-torch didn’t do anything but make him more eager to win me back, and I knew he healed quickly from serious burns and had plenty of clothing to spare. What worried me more was my will to resist the sexy feline.
Marcus lived in a penthouse condo. This was Accident, so penthouse here meant it was on the fifth floor with no concierge or private elevator. Still, I had to hit the buzzer to get in and type a code in the elevator to access the fifth floor. He opened the door wearing a towel, his dark skin and hair glistening with water. The guy was built, and I’ll admit my mind immediately began to replay all the hot nights we’d spent rolling around in his, or my, bed. He smirked and flexed his chest muscles as he opened the door wider for me to enter.
“Nice timing on the shower,” I told him. “You must have hopped in right after you texted me.”
“I told you I’ve got plans tonight,” he purred. “Of course, I could change those plans. One word, Cassie. One word and I’m all yours for the night.”
“Lucky me.” I turned to face him. “How about three words? Drop. The. Charges.”
He tilted his head. “Huh?”
“Lucien. The guy who was in a fight with Clinton Dickskin last night. I want you to decline to prosecute and have the charges dropped.” Then I remembered Martin’s statement about catching more flies with honey than vinegar. “Please?”
“Clinton filed the charges.” He flexed again. “Askhimto drop the charges. Tomorrow. After you spend the night with me.”
I forced my eyes to remain on his face and not his lovely, sculpted body. “Clinton won’t drop the charges. Come on, Marcus. You and I both know Clinton started that fight. There were four werewolves against one newb who is off his meds and thinks he’s the son of the devil. It’s a bad case.”
“Maybe for you. A newb holds his own against four werewolves, sending one to the hospital? Beating Clinton Dickskin hard enough that he still has cuts and bruises the next day? Maybe the guyisa demon.”
“I don’t care if he’s a rainbow-farting unicorn, it was four against one, and you’re picking on the newb. No one in this town feels one bit of sympathy toward Clinton. I’m going to have your ass if this ends up in front of a jury.”
“Promises promises.” He stepped closer. “You can have my ass right now. You can have any of me right now.”
I suddenly realized that Marcus’ determination to prosecute had less to do with the merits of the case and more to do with getting me in his bed. Son of Satan? He had to have known they’d send me to defend the guy. And he had to have known given what an ass Clinton was, I’d need to track him down for a face-to-face. I hadn’t seen Marcus in two months, even though he’d declined to file a restraining order after the pants incident. This was his way of attempting to win me back.
And it wasn’t working. I’ll admit, the guy was hot and we had participated in some pretty steamy sex in our rocky relationship. Standing before the mostly naked panther shifter, I was all in admiration of his physique but that was it. Here I’d been worried that one sexy look from him and I’d be naked in his bed, when the only feelings I was experiencing right now was aesthetic appreciation.
No, when I thought of sex right now, a certain client of mine came to mind, with a crooked smile and a wicked glint in his eyes, and the soft ease of a real predator. Not this arrogant panther before me.
“I don’t want your ass or any of you,” I told Marcus. “I want the charges dropped and the anklet off Lucien so I can get him out of town before Clinton Dickskin decides to take the law into his own hands and get revenge for the ass-whooping he got.” I suddenly had a brilliant idea. “And if I don’t get him out of town by noon tomorrow, the hotel will be full and I’ll need to put Lucien up in my own house until his hearing.”
Marcus sucked in a breath that told me he’d met Lucien in person and knew a rival when he saw one. “Sleep with me tonight and I’ll withdraw the case.”
Mylicense is on the line because I set an ex’s pants on fire in the courtroom, but Marcus gets away with this shit. The world was so damned unfair sometimes.
“I’m not sleeping with you.” I crossed my arms, pushing my breasts up and forward. Two could play at the pectoral muscle game. “But Lucien…I must admit that I’m tempted to takehimto bed.”
Yes, it would be a huge ethics violation, but so would Marcus dropping charges if I slept with him, so we were even as far as I could see.
He muttered a curse between clenched teeth. “Cassie, I’m sorry. How many times do I have to say I’m sorry? I want you back, and I’ll do anything to make that happen.”
“You wereneverfaithful to me, Marcus. Never. And every time you’d apologize and swear to not do it again. It’s over. You’ve slept with every woman in town, and it’s clear to me that you’ll continue to do it again and again. We’re over. Permanently. Forever.”
