Seductively Spellbound (Spells That Bind Book 3) Page 3

  “Are you sure?” Persephone asked. “There are still a few orders to unload. I can stay and take care of those.”

  Allie shook her head. “We can handle them tomorrow. I heard you on the phone earlier trying to find a new place to stay. You sounded worried you wouldn’t make it before the rental offices close today. You’ve put in a lot of extra hours recently. The least we can do is give you an hour of paid time off to find a new place.”

  Persephone let out a sigh. “Thank you. It’s hard for a witch to find a rental out here. Should I send the calls to voicemail for the remainder of the day?”

  “Yes,” Allie replied. “I’m glad you thought of that. I need you to find a new place to live as much as you do. You’re the first receptionist we’ve been able to count on. I don’t want you deciding to move back home.”

  “There’s no reason to worry about that,” she assured Allie. “I love it here. Thank you again for giving me the afternoon off. Tell Julia I said goodbye.”

  It didn’t take Persephone more than a few seconds to forward the calls to voicemail. After that, she shut down her computer, grabbed her purse from the desk, and hurried toward the elevator. I waited until she was on the elevator to speak again. “Even if you hadn’t mentioned her possibly leaving you to go back home, I’d have noticed that little mouse isn’t from around here.”

  Allie smiled and shook her head before meeting my eyes. We’d known each other long enough that my wolf didn’t think his dominance was threatened by Allie meeting my eyes. I was somewhat amazed that my wolf also seemed okay with Persephone meeting my gaze, but I assumed it was because she didn’t pose any sort of threat. “You’re underestimating her if you think she’s a mouse. I’ve seen her stand toe-to-toe with powerful demons who were trying to push her around.”

  “That could be taken to mean she’s not very bright,” I pointed out.

  “Don’t insult my receptionist,” Allie told me. “She’s actually brilliant. I’m sure once she realizes she could be making much better money, she’ll leave Bliss. Persephone led a very sheltered life, and she doesn’t always react with caution when she should.”

  “I’m sure you’re watching out for her,” I remarked before adding, “As much as she’ll let you.”

  Oliver’s howl cut through the air, meaning he’d noticed I was there. I grinned when I heard Julia shushing him. Oliver, Julia’s beagle familiar, hated most werewolves. While our first meeting hadn’t gone well, Oliver had soon become one of my biggest allies. His howl made me grin. I’d missed him.

  “Is there some reason you’re hiding from me, Sass?” I drawled, certain her ear was pressed to the door.

  Rather than answering through the door, my sassy witch stepped out of the room. My cocky smirk faded when my eyes landed on her. Wearing a blue sundress that brought out the color in her eyes, she looked young and carefree. That dress also looked like it could easily be slid down to expose her breasts to me. Her blonde hair was secured on top of her head, revealing her delicate neck. Unwanted images raced through my mind. I could picture myself freeing her hair as I kissed her. After I had her panting and clawing at my shoulders, I’d spin her around to face the wall. I’d grip her hair as I bit her neck. I wouldn’t mark her. It would be a tease for us both, a reminder of what was going to happen as soon as I slid into her welcoming body for the first time.

  “Hi, Gryph.” Her greeting cut through my fantasy, but it did nothing to pull me back from the edge. Her voice was like a hand wrapping around my dick and stroking it.

  I was in serious trouble. My self-control and the discipline I prided myself on were never more threatened than when I was around this witch.

  “Wanna tell me why you were hiding from me?” I asked, going on the attack because it’s what I did when I felt threatened.

  “I’m meeting Dylan for an early dinner tonight,” Allie interrupted. “Julia can show you the email and fill you in on everything we haven’t already talked about.”

  “Make sure you say hi to your puny warlock for me,” I told her without taking my eyes off Julia. “I’m sure Sass will be able to take care of everything for me.”

  Allie hurried out of the office while my eyes remained locked on Julia. I wanted her, and I knew it was going to kill me to resist the temptation to take her. Julia turned her back on me and moved toward an office near the back, trying to appear unaffected by my presence.

  “You can look at the email on my computer,” she called out.

  I followed her into the room, and when she sat down, she finally answered my question. “I wasn’t hiding from you when you first arrived. There was some work I needed to finish up in that room.”

  A snort of disbelief was my only response.

  Oliver interrupted our argument when he barked at me.

  “Sorry, Oliver,” I told him as I crouched down to speak to the beagle. “It was rude of me to ignore you.”

  Oliver moved in closer until I scratched behind his ears. He let out a doggie sigh, which I assumed meant we were okay, so I stood to face Julia again. “From what Allie said, the police don’t believe this is worth investigating,” I began as I moved in behind her chair, satisfied with Julia’s shudder.

  “They phrased it more politely, but that’s essentially what they said,” Julia confirmed.

  “What do you think?” I asked, curious to know if she really believed she needed a bodyguard. Knowing Allie as well as I did, and having met Julia’s brother, I knew one of them would have pushed for her to have some kind of protection if they were worried. I was curious to see if Julia felt she needed protection.

  Oliver settled himself on Julia’s lap to look at the computer as she opened the email in question. “I think it was someone who just needed to work off some anger,” she replied. “It’s obvious I did something to make them mad, but I don’t think they’ll do more than threaten me. In fact, it’s likely I’ll never hear from them again. There was only the one email sent two days ago. Here it is.”

  It didn’t take Oliver long to realize there was nothing interesting on the computer, so he quickly jumped off Julia’s lap.

  I read the email and immediately began to suspect Julia and the police were underestimating the person who’d sent it. There was no obvious threat in the email, but the implied threat was there.

  Dear Blonde Bitch,

  You took away my chance at the life I’ve always dreamed of. Had you not opened your big mouth, I could be happy. What makes you think you deserve your life after what you’ve stolen from me?

  Karma is a wonderful word. It helps me deal with my rage at you for all you’ve done to destroy my life. You’ll get what’s coming to you. Enjoy your over-privileged existence. Karma will take it all away from you very soon.

  Payback’s an even bigger bitch than you are.

  Those hateful words directed at my mate made me furious. My muttered curse sounded more like a growl.

  Julia looked over at me with startled blue eyes. “Are you okay?”

  “Someone is threatening you, Sass,” I replied, struggling to keep some of the rage from my voice. I knew my eyes were nearly yellow as my wolf clawed at the surface, desperate to protect Julia.

  “They’re angry,” she began. “I’m sure whoever it is has gotten it out of their system.”

  “Do you have any idea who could have sent this?” I asked.

  “No,” Julia replied with a shake of her head. “I don’t recall doing anything to ruin someone’s life. I’ve never even had a particularly bad breakup.”

  “Could it be a dissatisfied Bliss client?” I asked. “Maybe their fantasy resulted in the end of their relationship.”

  Julia considered my question for a moment before responding. “I don’t think so. To the best of my knowledge, no one’s been all that unhappy with their fantasy. We’ve had a few couples who backed out, deciding it wasn’t for them. There have even been some who, despite my warnings, went with fantasies that were too extreme for them. All but one couple agree
d to let us make it up to them by setting up a new fantasy date at a discounted price.”

  “What about the couple who didn’t want to try another fantasy?” I asked. “Any idea what happened with them.”

  “Once they settled down, they took the blame for their date gone wrong,” she explained. “I just can’t imagine any of our former clients being this angry.”

  “Have you turned down any couples?” I asked. “Maybe someone was trying to use this to save their relationship, but you refused to set up their fantasy for some reason.”

  “Allie screens all incoming clients,” she began. “She’s turned down a few, but they wouldn’t have any reason to blame me for that. I honestly can’t imagine why anyone would be this angry with me. I suppose it could be someone who felt I wronged them when I was a kid. That sort of thing happens.”

  It was possible, but this anger sounded fresh, and I got the impression Julia didn’t really believe it was an old grudge either.

  “So, what do you think?” she asked. Julia had likely started out believing this was nothing, just like she’d told me. Doubts had probably been creeping up on her since she’d first read the email. I wouldn’t be surprised if she’d read it more than once. What Julia wanted was for me to tell her the email was nothing to worry about, but I couldn’t.

  “I think you’re in danger,” I told her.

  Chapter 5

  Julia

  My mouth opened, but no words came out. Had Gryph really just told me he thought I was in danger? I’d been more than a little concerned that Gryph would agree I wasn’t in danger, tell me I didn’t need protection, and leave. At best, I’d hoped he’d tell me he should stick around just to be on the safe side. Until Gryph had told me I was in danger, I had pushed down my own worries.

  “You didn’t expect me to say that,” Gryph stated. “No, that’s not right. You were hoping I wouldn’t say that.”

  Needing some space to think, I stood and moved across the room. “I’m not sure what I expected,” I admitted. “I thought you’d read it and tell me I didn’t need a bodyguard. At first, I wanted to blow off the email. I thought it was nothing to worry about.”

  My back was to Gryph, but I heard him moving toward me. When he was standing right behind me, I felt the heat from his body and heard him release a ragged breath.

  “If you didn’t think you were really in any danger, why am I here, Sass?” he rasped out.

  I smiled, liking Gryph’s nickname for me. I’d never been big on pet names, but when he called me Sass, I had trouble controlling my desire to turn and slip my arms around his waist. The name had started when he’d accused me of having a sassy mouth. Soon, he was either calling me Sassy or Sass. Taking a deep breath, I turned toward Gryph. Facing him, the heat from his body seemed to affect me even more. My nipples hardened, and I wanted to press my legs together to relieve the pressure. “I wanted to seduce you, and this seemed like the only way to get close enough to you to do it.”

  His nostrils flared at my admission. “You don’t hold back, do you, Sass?”

  “I wanted to,” I confessed. “I’d never planned to tell you any of this.”

  “Then why are you telling me?” he asked, looking genuinely bewildered.

  “That’s a good question,” I mused with a slight smile playing on my lips. “I’ve never been good at playing games to get what I want. It’s always been my preference to be direct with people. When I came up with this plan, it seemed like a brilliant idea, one I’m blaming on months of fantasies. I want you. I can’t stop dreaming about you. You won’t call me, and I don’t even know where you live. This seemed like the only way to get to you. Still, I don’t want to lie to you, Gryph. You don’t deserve to be manipulated that way. You’ve always been completely honest with me.”

  “Why didn’t you ask Allie where I live?” His voice was rough with what could have been either anger or arousal.

  I shrugged. “I figured if you wanted me to know where you live, you would have told me.

  Gryph nodded and ran his fingers through his hair. “This is a bad idea.”

  “What is?” I asked.

  “Me guarding you,” he replied. “It’s pure insanity for me to agree to this. I should have insisted Allie call the local pack or someone from the Sonoma pack. I should insist you do it now. When your new guard gets here, I should walk out that door and never look back.”

  “But you aren’t going to, are you?” I asked, curious as to why he was still standing there. He was right about it being a mistake to guard me if he hoped to avoid giving in to the desire between us.

  “I don’t trust anyone else to keep you safe,” he told me, reaching forward to brush his rough fingers against my cheek. His eyes locked with mine, yellow swirling in the pale green depths. His eyes were more yellow when his wolf was closer to the surface. I’d seen his eyes turn a beautiful shade of yellow when we’d been arguing and even after he’d kissed me a few times. On more than one occasion, I’d sensed both halves of Gryph struggling for control. At other times, they’d seemed completely at peace with each other.

  “What do you look like in wolf form?” I breathed out.

  A low rumbling growl sounded from Gryph’s throat, and the yellow in his eyes became more pronounced. “Why do you want to know?”

  “I’ve never seen you in wolf form,” I replied, licking my suddenly dry lips and doing my best to keep my eyes away from Gryph’s mouth. While I still planned to seduce him, something told me we needed to wait.

  “Do you want to see me in wolf form?” he rasped out, moving even closer.

  I nodded.

  “Why?” he asked.

  “Why?” I parroted, not sure why he needed to know my reasoning and not at all sure I could explain it to him.

  “Most witches don’t have much interest in seeing a werewolf in wolf form. I’ve been told it makes them uncomfortable to be reminded of how different we are,” he explained. “You want to seduce me, so I’d think you’d be trying to remember me as a man not a beast.”

  The laughter that flowed out of my mouth was impossible to hold back. Gryph’s expression only made me laugh harder. His brows were pulled together in a confused line. “You’ve done your best to perfect the beast image in your human form,” I told him around my giggles. “What makes you think your wolf could look more beastly? The whole image is a lie, but it’s what I saw when we first met, and I still wanted you. I’ve seen your wolf peek out; he seems much more civilized than you do most of the time.”

  I was suddenly worried I’d offended Gryph. My answer was likely too blunt, but he honestly did try to look like the scary badass with everyone. Gryph shook his head and chuckled softly. “I suppose you have a good point, Miss Sassy. We’re Bratty and the Beast.”

  “Hey!” I protested. “I’m not bratty.”

  His response was a snort.

  “I’m not bratty,” I repeated. “Most people think I’m very mature and reasonable.”

  “Then I have to assume the brattiness is just for my benefit,” he mused with a grin. “Before you get your hackles up, you should know I like the brattiness.”

  “That’s just because you like threatening to spank me like a child,” I accused.

  Gryph let out a startled bark of laughter and shook his head. “We both know I don’t want to spank you like a child.”

  “So, I was right about you just saying that,” I said triumphantly. Though Gryph’s threats to spank me had aroused me, I’d been somewhat annoyed by my arousal. I’m not interested in having any man try to run my life or treat me like a child. I’m also not exactly the kinky type, despite what some of the fantasies I set up for clients might suggest.

  “You’re definitely not a child,” he murmured. “I’ve never thought of you that way. When you were standing toe-to-toe with me that first day we met, I was more turned on than I could ever remember being. While I might have said I wanted to spank you to teach you some manners, I really just wanted to get you naked.�
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  “Then why did you turn me down when I was more than willing to sleep with you?” I asked.

  “That’s a conversation for another time,” Gryph told me. His hand reached out to my cheek, hovering less than an inch from my skin before dropping to his side. “We need to go over the plans to keep you safe and then try to figure out who could be threatening you.”

  I nodded. He was right. Now wasn’t the time for this conversation. “Should we work at my place?”

  “Lock up here and then we’ll go grab some of your stuff and head to my place,” he told me.

  “We should just stay at my place,” I insisted. “I’ve got plenty of room.”

  “So do I,” he stated. “I’ve also got better security at my home, and people won’t be looking for you there.”

  “Don’t you live in a small trailer behind a house in Hayward?” I asked. That’s what Allie had told me shortly after I met Gryph. It’s not that I needed to live in luxury. I was just having trouble figuring out how Gryph’s trailer could be that secure.

  “I bought a new place a few months ago,” was his response. “A witch even came out to add a bunch of magical wards on the place for me. Trust me. You’ll be safer there.”

  “Oliver might not like staying at your place,” I pointed out. It was a lame excuse since Gryph seemed to be very good at understanding my familiar. He couldn’t understand him as well as I could, but he would definitely be able to pick up on Oliver’s excitement. Oliver had been exploring something under the desk, but he’d rushed out at the suggestion of going to Gryph’s place.

  “I want to go to Gryph’s!” Oliver chirped excitedly as he ran back and forth across the office, nearly slamming into the wall twice. “Please say we can go play with Gryph.”

  “You don’t like werewolves,” I reminded Oliver.

  “But Gryph is your mate,” Oliver told me, stopping to regard me with curious eyes.

  I put my hands on my hips and rolled my eyes before responding to my familiar. “No, he is not my mate.”

  “I’m glad one of you has some sense,” Gryph added.