Christopher opened the window in time for Gareth, now in wolf form, to leap through. He landed on the ground a story below and took off with a brief bark up at them.
“Whoa.”
He couldn’t help himself. He slapped Lana on the ass. “What were you doing looking?”
She rubbed her ass. “Hello! Hunk getting some naked time. You expected me to not look?”
“When we have a few free hours we’re going to have to explore this whole concept of naked time.” He strode for the door. “Make yourself at home. I’ll be in my work room trying to figure out what the hell Cole is up to.”
“I might be able to help.”
He smiled back at her. “Wizard and witch, remember, sweetheart?” He frowned. He couldn’t keep doing that to her. She’d more than proved herself, no matter how much he wanted her to stay out of it. “No. I know you held off the wolf in the car. If you want to try and work it out on your own, feel free. But without knowing Cole, you’ll be at a serious disadvantage.” He couldn’t protect her while he tried to unravel the storm, but he knew someone who could. “If you’re really planning on trying something, see if Annabelle can help.” When he’d last seen Annabelle she’d been attempting to scry once more on Cole, but she’d drop it in a heartbeat if she thought Alannah was in any danger.
Lana’s grin looked almost evil. “Oh, I think I can come up with something that will brighten Cole’s day.”
He strode back to her and chucked her under the chin. He was worried. What if she tried something when he wasn’t there to protect her and Cole’s protections lashed out?
Maybe encouraging her isn’t such a good idea. “Stay out of trouble.”
She blinked up at him, all sweet innocence. “Trouble? Moi?”
He couldn’t keep the slow smile off his face. “You’re going to drive me insane, aren’t you?” He didn’t let her answer, just took advantage of her open lips to lay siege to the inside of her mouth.
She was absolutely delicious. He would never get enough of her taste. He threaded his fingers through her thick hair, holding her in place while he slowly devoured her mouth. After only a moment’s hesitation, her lips joined his in the dance, moving against his own in a shy exploration that had him weak in the knees and rock hard in seconds. He realized he’d never tire of the sweet moans that poured from her mouth. The fact that her kisses were still shy after the incredible sex they’d been having was, to his mind, a good thing. It meant she was taking it, taking them, seriously.
Lightning lit the room, followed by the booming crash of thunder. Christopher pulled back, allowing himself to linger for just a moment. He stared down at her, amazed at how quickly his little witch had wormed her way into his heart. From the dazed look on her face, perhaps she was finally starting to see him as something more than a wizard, too.
Maybe she was finally seeing him as a man.
It was going to be a pain doing spell work with a hard-on, but if Cole’s games were going to be stopped, he’d have to get to work. “Stay inside where it’s safe, sweetheart.
Please. I don’t want you outside where Cole could find you.”
He waited for her to nod, but was forced to accept her shrug. Vaguely dissatisfied, he headed to his workroom to try and untangle the knotted roots of Cole’s storm, hoping that Lana was smart enough to stay safe.
“Chris?”
“Hmm?”
“Can I borrow some feathers?”
He blinked, looking up from his big old book in the middle of the table. Cute glasses were perched on the end of his nose. He looked incredibly intelligent and sexy, like one of those hunky college professors girls dreamed of getting and never actually did. Those glasses were probably going to be the final nail in her denial’s coffin. “Feathers?”
“Mm-hmm. White, blue, yellow and black.”
He sat back. “All on one or one of each?”
“One of each.”
He reached into a cupboard behind him and pulled out the feathers she asked for.
“Thanks!” She took the feathers, planted a kiss on his cheek, and hustled out of his workroom, knowing he was shaking his head at her.
Lana had already ransacked his cupboards and pantry for the other ingredients she needed. The feathers had been the last bit. He’d even had the black rope she needed in his bedroom. And if he’d used it for what she thought he’d used it for, it was better going where she planned to send it.
If he wanted to play those kinds of games with her he could damn well buy new rope.
She ran out the back door and onto the patio, into the teeth of the storm, ignoring the fact that she’d been turned on at the thought of playing those kinds of games with Chris.
Just not with the rope he used with other women. Not if she had anything to say about it.
She had to work fast. Lightning was beginning to strike all around the house, the flashes coming closer and closer together, forming a cage that they might not be able to break free from. If Chris or Annabelle caught her out here she’d never hear the end of it.
She just knew what she had planned would work, but she needed the time to make it work.
She took the large glass mixing bowl and put the feathers inside. Holding them down with one hand she began to pour salt over the feathers. The salt was meant to ground the wind, represented by the feathers.
At first she wasn’t certain it was working, but she persevered. She visualized the winds dying down gradually, and it began to work. When the last feather was covered the winds had died down until only a light, natural breeze remained. The lightning stopped, but the tang of ozone was still in the air.
Nodding in satisfaction, she took two wooden mixing spoons and bound them together in the shape of an x. She set the x on the wet ground just off the concrete patio and began pouring the salt over it.
“Evil storm that rides the sky,
it is time for you to fly.
Lord and Lady hear my plea.
As I will so mote it be.”
The rain stopped. There was a sense of expectation to the air, like the lightning was poised to strike again at any moment. If it did, her spell would be undone.
Damn, Cole is strong. The storm should have been wiped out, but some force behind it was keeping it in place. Better work fast. She pulled out the black rope, carefully cut down to thirteen inches, and began tying it in knots. With each knot she chanted, pouring her power into each knot until her hands were shaking with fatigue. If this didn’t work, the storm would come back full force.
“Knot of one my spell begun.
Knot of two my words are true.
Knot of three it comes to be.
Knot of four the storm is no more.
Knot of five this spell is alive.
Knot of six my protection fix.
Knot of seven, power is given.
Knot of eight protect my mate.
Knot of nine completes my rhyme.”
With a satisfied smile she saw the clouds begin to break up. She took the spoons and the rope, wrapped them in some white cheesecloth and began digging in the dirt.
“What the fuck do you think you’re doing?”
She ignored Chris’s irate voice in favor of burying the spoons and knots. If she didn’t hurry, the spell could still be undone. She could feel Cole’s power testing the knots, trying to pull the storm free of the binding spell. The binding needed the grounding of the earth to hold it in place. Without that, her knots could be unraveled, and she’d have to start all over again, and she was already exhausted.