Reese seconded his other half’s feelings in every way. He couldn’t let her go—he just couldn’t.
“Wait! Jo, wait!” he shouted, rushing after her. But he didn’t have to run far—the little witch had stopped just at the edge of the forest. Her face was pale and her eyes were wide with fright. Terror was wafting from her in waves, almost covering her Juvie scent with its intensity.
At the scent of fear on a female he wanted to keep safe, Reese felt a surge of protectiveness overcome him.
Save her! We have to save her! his Fox howled.
Yes, but save her from what?
He came right up beside her but Jo didn’t even turn her head to acknowledge his presence. She had dropped her pack and her athame to the ground and her entire attention was fixed on something just inside the woods—but what?
Reese skidded to a halt beside her and stared, following her gaze into the darkening trees. What was out there that had her so terrified? He couldn’t see anything but shadows. Nevertheless, whatever it was she saw was scaring Jo to death. The scent of her terror had almost completely overwhelmed her Juvie scent which dampened his own lust as well. When she smelled so frightened and looked so terrified, all he wanted to do was shelter and comfort her.
“Darlin’,” he said in a low voice. “Go back in the house. Whatever it is, I’ll protect you from it. You’ll be safe inside.”
“Yes.” She seemed to grasp his words like a lifeline. “Safe inside—it can’t come onto cultivated lands. Inside is safe.”
Leaving her pack and athame on the ground, she fled back to the safety of his home, her hair flying out behind her like a flag made of flame.
Reese heard the screen door bang but he didn’t make any immediate attempt to follow her. Instead he stayed where he was on the edge of the forest, staring into the trees. What was it that Jo could see and he couldn’t? What was frightening her so badly?
He still couldn’t make out a thing in the forest. At last he stooped and picked up the pack and the silver dagger she’d dropped. As he touched it, he felt an almost electrical tingle run through him. He got a very strong sense that it didn’t want to be touched by him—or by anyone but Jo.
Of course, it was stupid to assign emotions to inanimate objects but the feeling was too strong to ignore. Gingerly, Reese stowed the long ceremonial dagger in her pack and then made his way back to the house.
The circle of salt was still evident on the grass and he felt another tingle as he stepped through it. Whatever the hell Jo was messing around with, it was real, he thought. Keller had been right—her powers of witchcraft were as real as his own powers of Shifting. He’d made a grave mistake thinking otherwise.
Well, it was a mistake he didn’t intend to repeat.
He opened the porch screen but just as he was about to step inside, something dark moved in the corner of his eye.
Reese felt a chill go down his spine. He turned his head, looking back at the forest that edged his yard—the forest he’d run and hunted and Shifted in for as long as he could remember.
In the darkness between the trees, there was nothing but shadows. But then as he watched, the shadows seemed to move. Roiling like malignant clouds they boiled through the trees, stopping just short of the neatly clipped edge of his lawn.
“What the hell?” Reese muttered, staring. But as suddenly as he had seen it, the thing in the trees disappeared. Or else hid in plain sight. He blinked, wondering if he’d imagined it.
Then he heard soft sounds of female distress coming from the other room and his attention was diverted. The thing in the trees—if there actually was a thing out there—would have to wait for later. Shutting and bolting the back door firmly behind him, he went in search of Jo.
Chapter Six
“Oh God, what have I done? What have I done?” Jo dug her fingers into her hair and pulled, trying to make sense of the wildly contradictory thoughts and feelings that were rushing through her like water over a flooded streambed. She was huddled on the couch with her knees pulled up to her chin, trying to piece together everything that had happened out there but somehow things just weren’t coming together.
One thing was clear, at least—her spell had gone very, very wrong.
“Jo?” Reese’s deep, quiet voice made her jerk her head up. He was standing in the doorway of the living room, holding her pack in one hand. There was a cautious look on his face and she noticed he wasn’t coming any closer, as though unsure if it was safe. “Jo?” he said again. “You all right, darlin’?”
“I . . . I don’t know.” Jo shook her head, still feeling fuzzy and uncertain. “I’m just . . . trying to piece together what happened.”
“You mean you don’t remember?” Reese asked incredulously.
“Some . . .” She shook her head. “The last thing I really remember is saying, ‘So mote it be’ and then being pushed by this big, hot wind right out of the circle and into your arms. And then . . . I . . . you . . .” Her heart began to pound as the memories began to pour in. “Oh my God,” she whispered, her stomach clenching. “I threw myself at you!”
Images of the two of them together flashed through her brain. The feel of his lips on hers—rough yet gentle at the same time . . . his mouth on her breasts, sucking her nipples, sending sparks of pleasure straight to the spot between her legs . . . and then his fingers opening her, stroking her, filling her . . . And then, worst of all, the memory of getting down on her hands and knees and begging him to fuck her . . . it all came flooding back.
Jo could have cried from shame and fear and confusion. What was happening to her?
“I . . . I begged you to take me,” she whispered, looking up at Reese.
“Yeah.” He sighed and ran a hand through his hair. “But I didn’t. Came damn close, though.”
Jo shook her head. “Goddess, what possessed me to act like that? I don’t . . .” And then sudden realization hit her. “The spell! I never got a chance to reverse it!”
“No,” Reese remarked. “I’m afraid you didn’t get that far before you, uh, jumped me.”
“I didn’t jump—I was pushed!” Jo protested. “Don’t you see? There was something else going on out there tonight. Something that forced me to stop the spell before I was able to finish it—to reverse the effects.” She put her head in her hands. “I can’t believe this.”
“Hey, it’s okay.” Reese came forward, dropping the pack at her feet, he crouched by the side of the couch and put a gentle hand on her knee. “It’s all right, Jo,” he said softly. “It did get kind of, uh, intense out there but we didn’t actually . . . you know. So . . . no harm done, right?”
“No harm done?” Jo looked up at him. “No harm done?” she repeated incredulously. “Reese, do you realize what I’ve done? I just cast the strongest, most intense magic of my life—a sexual fidelity and desire spell—on both of us. And I have no way to reverse it!”
“You don’t?” He frowned. “I thought you had everything you needed in your pack.” He nodded at the battered knapsack at her feet and Jo saw the handle of her athame sticking out of it.
“You don’t understand,” she said dully. “A spell like this isn’t easily reversed—it’s for fidelity, and when you call for fidelity you’re calling for staying power—emotional stamina. It’s going to be like trying to dissolve super glue, getting this undone. Plus I’m going to need some special ingredients I’m pretty sure I don’t have with me.”
“Okay, well . . .” Reese shook his head. “I don’t think there’s anything we can do about it tonight. I guess we’ll just have to live with it.”
“Live with it?” Jo looked up at him. “You don’t understand,” she told him in a low, intense voice. “My chastity is vowed to the Goddess and I haven’t been with a man—or even wanted to be with a man—for over twenty years. I know it may be hard for you to believe, because I don’t look it right now, but I’m actually over forty.”
“I know, darlin’” he said quietly. “I know you’re
not as young as you look.”
Jo felt her eyes widen in surprise. “You do? But how?” She frowned. “Are you some kind of Wiccan? A warlock, maybe?”
“No.” He shook his head. “It’s part of being a Shifter, which is all I am. The thing is . . .” He took a deep breath and looked at her steadily. “The thing is, I’m pretty sure you’re one too.”
“One what?” Jo asked blankly.
“A Shifter,” Reese said patiently. “Or at least, you have the potential to become one.”
“What does that mean?” Jo demanded. “What are you saying? I don’t turn into an animal—I can’t.”
“Not yet,” Reese said. “Because you haven’t found a mate. But I can tell by your scent—you’re ready for one. Or at least, you’re going to need one soon.”
“I don’t want a mate!” Jo flared at him. “I don’t need one either—I don’t need any man!”
“Look,” he said carefully. “I know you’ve been hurt in the past—”
“You don’t know anything about it,” Jo spat. “You don’t know what it’s like to be . . . to be . . .” But she couldn’t go on. The attack came back to her—rose up before her eyes like a dark, uneasy ghost—and for a moment she felt like she might drown in the past. Their hands on her . . . the way they’d pushed her to the ground . . . their laughter and shouts and grunts as they—
“Jo, I’m sorry . . .” Reese’s soft voice pulled her mercifully back to the present.
“It’s all right.” She pulled way from his hand on her knee and scooted to the far end of the couch. She had to get away from him. It scared her how good his touch felt—how it made her want more. Goddess, how could she want that after what she’d been through? And yet, she did—so much that she’d begged for it.
It shamed her to remember that—to remember how she’d begged him to take her—to fuck her. How could she have acted like that? She’d been afraid of men—of being touched sexually by one at least—for years. How could one spell overcome years of fear and pain and make her want the unthinkable?
What if it’s not just the spell? whispered a little voice in her brain. What if Reese is right? What if the strange disease that makes you ache and throb and feel like you’re being pulled apart during the full moon has something to do with it? What if you really are becoming what he is?
But no—that couldn’t be it. It’s the spell, she told herself. It has to be. She would just have to find a way to reverse it. Goddess knew it wasn’t going to be easy. And in the meantime, she’d have to be careful around Reese. Not that she was afraid he would jump her—he’d shown incredible restraint when she was on her hands and knees, offering herself like some kind of a . . . Jo couldn’t even finish the thought. Anyway, she was more afraid she might jump on him.
Even now she felt the restless lust growing in her again, no matter how hard she tried to push it back. It was with her to stay—at least until Jo reversed the spell, she realized. She would just have to deal with it as best she could.
“I should go,” she said dully. “It’s not safe for me to stay here.” She looked at Reese briefly. “Not safe for either of us.”
“I don’t think it’s safe for you to leave either,” Reese said, frowning.
“Why do you say that?” Jo asked.
“Out there in the trees . . . I thought I saw . . .” He shook his head. “Never mind.”
“No, wait—you saw something?” she asked eagerly.
He frowned. “Maybe. The point is, you shouldn’t be out on your own at night. Especially not when the temperature is supposed to dip down so low tonight.”
I should go anyway, Jo told herself. No matter how cold it gets. But where? Where could she possibly go? Not to the forest, that was for sure. The shadow creature was out there, waiting for her—she’d seen it grinning in the trees. It hungered for her soul, and if she went out into those woods she’d be serving herself up on a silver platter.
“Jo . . .” Reese’s deep, quiet voice cut through her doubt and misery and she looked up to see him regarding her with a mixture of compassion and longing on his face. “Jo,” he said again, when he saw he had her attention. “Look, honey, don’t go. There’s somebody I’d like you to meet—a woman who might be able to help you. With your spell, I mean,” he said quickly when he saw Jo’s face. “Although she also knows a lot of Shifter lore too. Her name is Fiona and she’s kind of the town’s resident wise woman.”
“Is she Wiccan?” Against her will, Jo’s interest was piqued.
“I don’t know.” Reese shrugged. “Something like that, maybe. I know she’s a priestess of Lady Moon. Also, she runs a compounding pharmacy—more of an apothecary, really—here in town. She’s got all kinds of ingredients because she makes medicine for all the Shifters in Cougarville. So she might have what you need to reverse the spell.”
Now Jo was definitely interested.
“You really think she can help?”
“If Fiona can’t help with this kind of thing, nobody can.” Reese spoke with absolute certainty.
“Well . . .” She could feel her resolution to leave wavering and Reese seemed to sense it too.
“Stay here tonight,” he coaxed softly. “You can lock yourself in the guest room and feel safe. You don’t have to be afraid of me,” he finished in a low voice.
“I . . . I’m not. Not like I was when I first met you,” Jo admitted, biting her lip. “Now I’m more afraid of me—of what I might do. This spell . . .”
Reese suddenly grinned at her.
“Well, if it’ll make you feel better, I’ll lock my door too. Would that work?”
Jo felt a small—a very small—smile twitch her lips.
“Yes, all right,” she said softly. “I . . . I guess that would be all right.”
“Fine.” Reese straightened up. “Then it’s settled—you’ll sleep here tonight and tomorrow I’ll take you to see Fiona. Only first we should have some dinner.” He put a hand to his flat abdomen. “Having spells cast on me makes me hungry—what about you?”
Jo didn’t want to say that what she was most hungry for was the big Shifter himself. Even now she could feel her body aching for him and the heated throbbing between her thighs. Although, strangely, the pounding headache in her temples, which had just started to creep back by the end of her bath, was completely gone again. That was good at least.
Well, if Reese could control himself, so could she, she told herself defiantly. And anyway, she couldn’t keep running away from her problems—she had to stay and face the consequences of her actions.
“Well, what about it?” Reese asked, breaking into her train of thought. “How do you feel about spaghetti and meatballs? I know it’s not gourmet but it’s what I have on hand to make.”
Jo lifted her chin and took a deep breath.
“I say that sounds delicious,” she said. “But if you don’t mind, I’d like to cook. It’s one of my favorite things to do—it calms me down.” And right now she could certainly use some calming.
Reese spread his hands.
“Hey, who am I to refuse a free meal? Come into the kitchen and I’ll show you where I keep everything.”
Jo followed him from the living room, making sure to keep some distance between them. She hoped she was doing the right thing by staying but she just couldn’t face the thought of going out into the night again, not when the shadow creature was waiting for her.
Goddess, she prayed silently. Give me strength and help me not to mess up any worse than I already have.
Chapter Seven
Jo had to admit that Cougarville was a charming little town. It was nestled in a valley between the Blue Ridge Mountains and the fall weather had made the leaves a gorgeous riot of colors. Reese had a little shop right on Main Street—which appeared to be the biggest road in town and was lined with other small businesses as well.
Jo made sure to keep some distance between them as they rode through town in his big truck. It had been difficult enough keeping he
r hands off him the night before and it wasn’t any easier this morning. They’d had a surprisingly pleasant—though somewhat strained—supper the night before and Jo had turned in early, locking the guest room door as he had suggested, as much to keep herself in as to keep Reese out.
Not that she thought he would try anything. He seemed to have remarkable restraint although Jo did see him looking at her a lot and sometimes he would inhale deeply, as though taking in her scent. She had no idea what that was about—it was probably a Shifter thing, she told herself and tried to put it out of her mind.
After they parked at Fox’s Auto Body Shop and Reese put the SORRY, WE’RE CLOSED sign on the front door, he took her on a short tour—very short, since the town really was tiny.
On one side of the road Jo saw The Easy Peasy Lemon Squeezy Diner, Sweet Stems Florist shop, and The Friendly Bean coffeehouse. On the other was a bar and grill called The Cougar’s Den, right beside a tattoo shop called Bad Decisions. Up the road a little way was a small accounting firm and The Cougarville Chemist, which was where she assumed Reese was taking her.
“Can we stop at the diner or the coffee shop on the way to see your friend?” Jo asked as Reese led her quickly up the street.
“Um . . . better not.” He shook his head quickly.
“But I’m cold,” Jo protested. She was wearing her thin black dress again, which she’d washed and dried the night before. Over it she wore a white cardigan Reese had loaned to her—apparently it belonged to one of his sisters who had left it along with some other clothing there.
“Meggie won’t mind,” Reese had said when he’s offered them, to her. “She’s off in New York trying to break into Broadway—she’s not coming back to the sticks anytime soon.”
Jo had politely declined even though the clothes were her size. Reese had made it clear he expected nothing in return for letting her stay with him but she felt she already owed him for the food and shelter—she didn’t want to add to her debt. But now she was wishing that she had accepted. Many of Meggie’s clothes had looked a lot warmer than what she had on at the moment and the brisk fall wind seemed to slice right through her thin dress and light sweater.