Free Of Witches and Warlocks: The Demon Kiss by Lacey Weatherford

watching
television.
    “I’m not rich,” I replied, climbing up into
the bed next to her.
    “You will be,” she said with a smile.
    “I don’t care if I ever see a dime of that
money. I just want him,” I said, meaning every word of it.
    “Well, you’d better get used to seeing more
than just a dime of it, ‘cause there’s a thousand dollars of it
flashing around on that finger of yours,” she said flickering her
gaze over to my hand.
    I held my hand up and really looked at the
ring, letting it sparkle in the dim lights.
    “He wants to marry me,” I said, with a small
smile before biting a little at my lip.
    “I know!” Shelly giggled, grabbing me into a
girlish bear hug with a little squeal.
    “Are you excited?” she asked, when she pulled
away.
    “I can’t think of anything I’d love better in
my life.” I replied as a grin spread wide across my face.
    We moved at the same time, so we could curl
up underneath the down comforter on the bed.
    I sighed heavily, closing my eyes.
    “Portia, it’ll be okay,” I heard Shelly say.
“I believe we’ll find a way to help him out.”
    “I hope so,” I said, as a slow heaviness
began to creep back into my heart. “Just knowing he’s still in
danger makes everything else seem unreal. It’s like none of this
can really happen until we get him all squared away.”
    “I know. Just keep the faith,” she replied
with a yawn, and soon she was fast asleep.
    For a long time afterward, I lay awake, just
thinking things over. So many thoughts were racing through my
mind.
    “You’re doing it again.” Vance’s voice crept
into my head.
    “I know. Sorry,” I replied back, feeling
badly that I was keeping him awake.
    “Just get some sleep now, Baby. We’ll talk
over everything in the morning,” he said.
    “All right.”
    I tried really hard to relax my mind,
concentrate on breathing, and just let everything go. It wasn’t
working. My thoughts of him continued to race through my head,
worries and fears on his behalf.
    “Portia, listen to me. I want you to repeat
the words I tell you, okay?” he whispered into my head.
    “Okay.”
    I listened as he spoke.
    “Let go thoughts and feelings,
    “Let go now to dreaming.
    “Let body relax into sleep,
    “Let the rest be ever deep.
    “Let me wake with morning light.
    “Let me now enjoy this night.”
    I realized as I repeated this that these were
the words he had quietly mumbled to me on other occasions when I
couldn’t rest. I had never really known what he was saying
before.
    As soon as I was finished reciting the spell,
I was asleep almost instantly.
     
    When I awoke in the morning, I was refreshed
and ready for the new day. I was a little surprised I didn’t
remember dreaming anything at all.
    “Good morning,” I heard him say softly in my
head.
    “Back at you,” I said, smiling as I stretched
in the bed.
    “Did you sleep well?” he asked.
    “You know I did,” I said, feeling apologetic.
“Sorry I didn’t see you in my dreams.”
    “It was my choice,” he replied casually. “We
both needed the rest.”
    I climbed out of the bed, padded down the
hall to his room, and opened the door.
    I gasped in surprised at what I saw.
    He was sitting up on the edge of the bed,
shaking violently. He lifted his head as I entered the room, and
the flaming red eyes greeted me.
    Instinctively I moved to go to his side, but
he held up his hand to stop me.
    “Stay there,” he said through gritted teeth.
“I don’t want you to come any closer.”
    “What can I do?” I asked helplessly, knowing
he was trying to protect me, but desperately wishing I could just
hold him.
    “I’ll be okay. The withdrawal is always the
worst in the morning when I wake up.”
    A tear ran down my face as I watched him
struggle.
    “Don’t cry,” he said, clenching his jaw.
“Just give me a minute, all right?”
    I nodded my head slightly and stepped
backward through the door, closing it after me. I turned my head
and found