Free Seduced by Magic by Stephanie Julian Page A

faint,” Salvatorus said.
    “No.” Justin reached for a chair at the table in the surprisingly high-tech kitchen and sat. “No, I’m fine. It’s just been kind of a crazy day. Know what I mean?”
    “Yes, actually I do.” Scarlata kneeled by his side, her hand warm on his knee, the look in her eyes doing the same to his groin. “I’ve had the same feeling today.”
    The four-foot-tall creature to her right grimaced. “All right, you two. Your little displays of affection are making me sick. Let’s get to business already.”
    Justin turned in time to see the creature hop onto the wooden chair next to him. His furry goat legs dangled at least a foot from the ground and his small, black, goat-like horns glinted under the fluorescent light. His curly dark hair and facial features spoke of a Mediterranean heritage but his accented voice was pure “Noo Yawk”. His muscled upper body would rival a Michelangelo masterpiece.
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    Sal leveled a piercing black gaze at him. “So you gonna stare all night or you gonna tell me what you’re doin’ here?”
    Justin caught himself before he raised one hand as if he were in high school. “Could I ask a question first?”
    The creature grabbed an unfiltered Marlboro from the pack on the table and lit it.
    “Sure, kid. Knock yourself out.”
    Justin tried to figure out how to phrase his question but in the end decided on straightforward. “Where did you come from?”
    Sal’s laugh sounded more like a bark. “Well, I certainly didn’t spring from the ground full-formed.” He turned to Scarlata with a smile. “Scary, where’d you get this one?”
    “In a cabin on Hawk Mountain.”
    “You two got real close real fast, didn’t ya?”
    Scarlata shook her head, her expression sweetly amused. “ You are one horny little bastard. You liked that free show, didn’t you?”
    Sal smiled, a wicked glint in his eyes. “Hey, it’s been awhile since I’ve gotten any, babe. At least a few days.”
    Now that elicited a few images Justin couldn’t quite shake from his head. Who or what did this guy have sex with?
    “So, babe, you wanna…” Sal leered at her.
    Justin had the urge to cold-cock the guy…creature…animal…for even looking at his Scarlata like that. Still, it seemed they had a relationship that probably pre-dated his birth.
    Scarlata laughed now, the first he’d heard. It was throaty and rich and it pissed him off that she’d never laughed with him.
    “Ancient history, you devil,” she teased.
    Okay then. That answered that question.
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    Sal waved the cigarette in front of her. “Yeah, babe, I know. So what brought you here?”
    She sighed. “Someone used Justin as bait to get to me.”
    “How’d they know where you were in the first place?” Sal asked, his tone deadly serious.
    She shook her head. “I don’t know. But they knew to send Justin.”
    Sal gave him the once-over. “Why him?”
    Now Scarlata glanced at him and the heat in her eyes nearly melted the fillings in his teeth. “I’m not sure. I believe…I believe it may have something to do with his father.”
    Oh shit. Justin didn’t like where this was going. “Wait. What about my dad?”
    Her pretty mouth curved up in a sad smile. “His research. I’m assuming those men chose you specifically because of your father’s research. And maybe because they thought I’d be drawn to you.”
    Justin raised an eyebrow at her. “You mean it wasn’t just my handsome looks and great body that caught your eye.”
    She smiled. “Those are nice too but I have to admit there was something about you, something I recognized as being familiar.”
    He liked that she recognized something in him, something that drew her to him.
    But they were still missing pieces to this story and it sounded like maybe Scarlata had come up with some ideas. “Like what?”
    “Tell Sal about your father,” she urged. “Maybe he will be able to see some connection that I