Free Impassion (Mystic) by B. C. Burgess Page B

refused.
    “You’ll like it,” he urged. “I promise.”
    “You’ve done enough, Quin.”
    “Come on,” he softly coaxed, spreading tingles down her neck.
    “Fine,” she conceded, smiling at his effective manipulation. “You win.”
    He kissed her cheek. Then he released her waist and slid one arm around her chest. “Close your eyes.”
    She leaned into him as she obeyed, and several seconds ticked by before the smell of strong coffee drifted up her nose.
    “You’re too much,” she whispered, opening her eyes to a steaming mug.
    “Cinnia made it.”
    Layla took the brew and sipped. “It’s amazing. Thank you.”
    “You’re welcome. Maybe you won’t be so stubborn the next time I offer you a gift.”
    “I’ll never get used to the way you treat me, Quin.”
    “I treat you the way you should be treated,” he countered, laying a hand over her heart. “You’re beautiful, Layla, inside and out, and I want to know more. Only a moron would blow the opportunity to explore a woman like you.”
    Layla brought her hand over his, her heart melting as her eyes moistened. “I can’t imagine you blowing your chances with anything, let alone a woman.”
    He kissed the top of her head, but didn’t respond, so she took another sip of coffee, intent on finishing the entire cup while standing in his arms. But after a jolt of caffeine, her old life poked at her brain.
    “My car,” she remembered. “It’s parked in the middle of nowhere.”
    “Not anymore. It’s here.”
    “In the community?”
    “Yes, in the garage.”
    “You guys have a garage?”
    “We do now.”
    She faced him and tilted her head. “What do you mean?”
    “The coven built a garage this morning, so you’d have a safe place for your car. Oh, and don’t be surprised if Banning solicits driving lessons the next time he sees you.”
    “But where? I mean how?” She shook her head, trying to put things in order. “Where did they put the garage?”
    “By the barn.”
    “You guys have a barn?”
    Quin smiled and led her to the couch, sitting her beside him instead of on his lap. “Yes, we have a barn. Our property expands several miles beyond this lawn, and there are two more clearings. One holds our outbuildings.”
    “Oh. Do you have animals?”
    “Dozens of them. Do you like animals?”
    “Who doesn’t? So how did my car get here? I thought there was no way to drive in.”
    “Your grandparents transferred it using magic.”
    “Oh,” she mumbled, trying to wrap her mind around the fact that an entire car was magicked into the forest.
    “They’ll send it back if you need to drive somewhere,” he offered.
    “That’s fine,” she agreed, tapping her lip. She was forgetting something, something more important than a car. “Oh,” she remembered, jolting upright. “What time is it?”
    “Nine.”
    “That would make it eleven in Oklahoma. I should have called Travis and Phyllis back earlier. They’re probably worried about me.”
    “I’m glad you have friends who worry about you.”
    “I don’t know what to say to them, Quin. I can’t tell the truth, but I don’t want to lie.”
    “Hmm...” He set her coffee aside then pulled her under his arm. “You’re right about not telling them the whole truth, but I see no harm in telling them part of it, enough to avoid suspicion until we can work out a better cover story. You could tell them Cinnia’s your aunt, so you’ve found your family, but you’re still figuring things out. And you might mention you’ve left the hotel in Portland.”
    “Right. I still need to check out of there.”
    “Yes you do. This is the third night you haven’t been there, but you should call your friends first.”
    “I know. I’m nervous.”
    “Hiding what we are from the hexless can be complicated, but the more you do it, the easier it gets, and I’m sure you’ll handle it better than most.”
    “You’re awful confident in me.”
    He summoned her cell phone from a side table and