Page 2 of Once Upon a Curse for True Love
Stripper or not, Andromeda couldn’t tear her gaze away from him.Stunned in place like a deer in headlights.
Sarah Michelle had no such holdbacks.Her roommate leaped from the couch, sending Nox sailing through the air with an offended squeak as she squared up to the man.The ferret landed on a pile of cushions, turning to glare at his witch with bristling fur.
“Callidora,” the intruder drawled, his voice a deep rumble that vibrated through Andromeda’s chest.“What a surprise.”
Sarah Michelle crossed her arms, her expression morphing from chill movie-night companion to stern, don’t-mess-with-me officer.Gone was her friend who’d been laughing at awful dialog.In her place stood Detective Callidora of the Salem Magical Police Department, radiating authority despite wearing fluffy slippers and an oversized hoodie.
“Malatesta,” Sarah Michelle replied, the name falling from her lips like a curse.“What the hell are you doing in my house?”
Andromeda recognized the name from a homicide she had consulted on last year—the messy murder of Lorcan’s best friend.When Sarah had been taken off the case after a very public display of magic, she’d started secretly collaborating with the detective reassigned to the investigation—a.k.a.the beefcake who’d just barged into their living room.How had Sarah Michelle failed to mention that her colleague could’ve walked straight off a “Hot Cops of Massachusetts” calendar shoot?
Andromeda mentally scrolled through every SMPD story Sarah Michelle had shared, trying to recall if “devastatingly handsome detective who could bench-press cars for fun” had ever been brought up.
It hadn’t been.Either Sarah Michelle was keeping secrets, or she genuinely didn’t think this Adonis among men was worth acknowledging.
“I’m working, obviously,” he replied, eyes still locked with Sarah Michelle’s in an alpha-staring contest.
“If you needed support on a case, a call or a knock would’ve sufficed.Or did you get too excited and blow the door off before you could help yourself?”
“Oh, don’t worry, I go slow when I can enjoy it.”No one had the right to make crude innuendo sound that toe-curling.“But tonight, I didn’t have time for foreplay.”
Andromeda’s gaze bounced between them as if she were watching an intense tennis match, the hairs on her arms standing up.
“So you decided property damage was the answer?”Sarah Michelle gestured at the doorframe, which now could double as avant-garde carpentry.“We have wards, you know.You’re lucky you weren’t turned into a toad.”
He flashed a world-class jerk smirk.“I took care of your cute little wards before blowing off the door.”
But the damage didn’t stop at the door.The blast had knocked over the small table where they kept their keys and mail, scattering envelopes across the floor.A framed photo of them at last year’s Winter Solstice celebration lay cracked on the ground, and the vervain candles Sarah Michelle always kept lit had toppled from their holders, leaving waxy smears on the hardwood, but thankfully not burning anything.
“Again, why did you blow my door?”
He didn’t reply.The detective’s dark gaze shifted from Sarah Michelle, scanning the room until it landed on Andromeda.After the way he’d wrecked their sturdy front door, she could’ve lived without the attention.But as they locked eyes for the first time, Andromeda felt pinned in place.Spellbound.His eyes were mesmerizing.The darkest brown that seemed to contain entire universes of intensity as they assessed her with the calculation of a predator.
Heat bloomed across her cheeks as her pulse thrummed in places she’d rather not acknowledge.Places that had no business responding to a man who’d blown up her front door.Places that should remain dignified and guarded in the face of law enforcement, even if said law enforcement was a walking thirst trap.
And of course, the hottest man to ever violate her civil rights had to do so while she was as fashionable as a swamp hag in ratty leggings, an oversized, threadbare sweatshirt with ice cream stains, and with her wild blonde hair piled haphazardly on top of her head.
The detective frowned as if he too was taken aback by the intensity of the eye contact.His strong jaw set into a harder line, and something like confusion flickered across his features before his scowl deepened.
Andromeda silently wondered if it was too late to transfigure herself into a potted plant.Or convince the earth to swallow her whole and leave nothing but her scrunchie behind.Disappear through a portal?Any escape route would do as long as it meant not having to sit in front of the unfairly handsome detective while he x-rayed her.
“Excuse me.”Sarah Michelle snapped her fingers, breaking the tension as she stepped into his line of sight and blocked his view of Andromeda.“Besides losing your manners, did you also lose your tongue?What in the name of bleeding ghosts are you doing in my house?”
Andromeda mentally high-fived her roommate for stepping in.
“And on what authority did you demolish my front door?I’m pretty sure that’s not standard SMPD procedure.”
Malatesta’s gaze dragged away from Andromeda to face Sarah Michelle head-on.A crooked smirk tugged at his lips, both irritating and weirdly charming.
“My authority?”He chuckled, a dark velvet sound that did strange things to Andromeda’s insides.“Last time I checked, Callidora, I only need to justify SMPD business to my superiors—and that’s not you.”
Sarah Michelle’s body went rigid.“This is my home, not a crime scene, so you don’t get to barge in with no explanation.”
“Call it initiative.”Malatesta shrugged, unapologetic.“And as for justification…” He snapped his fingers, and a scroll materialized out of thin air, unfurling itself complete with gold tassels and the embossed seal of the Department of Magical Justice.
“Search and arrest warrant, signed by Judge Templeton,” Malatesta announced, satisfaction clear in his voice.The document hovered between them, slowly rotating to show off its official stamps and signatures.“Which would have been presented more conventionally if your wards hadn’t been set to fry anything magical that crossed your threshold.”
Sarah Michelle snatched the floating document out of the air.“Our wards are standard-issue, not lethal.Stop being dramatic.Or are you taking back that cocky ‘cute little wards’ line?”
