Free Halfway Hexed by Kimberly Frost

draw the magic out of him, but he didn’t let me. Not even a sliver.
    A terrible pain in my leg finally made me jerk back. I looked down at the bloody scratch where Mercutio’s claw had torn my jeans.
    “Merc!” I snapped.
    Bryn glanced down and spoke to Mercutio in Gaelic.
    “What did you say?” I asked, taking a damp washcloth to clean the scratch.
    “That’s between him and me.”
    Merc licked my leg and rubbed his head against my arm. I petted him. “I don’t think Merc cares for black magic.”
    “I think you’re right.”
    The wall phone rang, and Bryn strolled over to it. He stared at me as he answered it.
    “What’s up?” He listened for a few moments and then said, “Sure, let her through.”
    “Jenna Reitgarten?” I asked.
    “No.”
    Bryn retrieved a white button-down shirt from the seat of a chair. He slipped it on and began buttoning as I followed him to the foyer. He glanced at my suitcase.
    “You pick now to move in?”
    “People are trying to kidnap me.”
    “Can’t really blame them for that,” he said with a sexy smirk. “I’ve had the same temptation myself.”
    “Very funny.”
    His blue-gray eyes darkened, making me realize that he wasn’t totally kidding.
    I gasped. “You wouldn’t!”
    “No, I wouldn’t.” He studied me intently. “I don’t like waiting for you to turn up. But you are always worth the wait.”
    I blushed, having to bite my tongue to keep from kissing him with it. “Um, that’s enough flirting.”
    “You’re right. No point starting something when someone’s going to interrupt us. I’ll put your suitcase upstairs in my room. We can finish this conversation later.”
    He reached for the handle, but I scowled at him and grabbed it, rolling it out of his reach. “I’ll stay in the downstairs guest room!”
    “Better to sleep under the stars,” he countered. “With me.”
    Magic and lust and all kinds of other dangerous energy undulated from his body to mine, curling around me like smoke, warming me to the core. For several long moments, I stared at him, trapped by what I wanted to do, but knew I shouldn’t.
    I sucked in a cool breath. “Cut that out. That’s not fair.” I shuddered, pulling back from the brink of launching myself into his arms. I narrowed my eyes. “You see,” I said, snapping my fingers. “You see what happens when you get buzzed on black magic?”
    “Yes, I see,” he said, still smiling.
    I rushed to the downstairs bedroom that I’d slept in a couple times before when I’d been too wounded, poisoned, or exhausted to make it home. Boy, Bryn and I had a strange relationship.
    I heard the doorbell and threw my suitcase into the room and shut the door. Then I hurried back down the hall, stopping at the end, in a spot where I wouldn’t be easily seen.
    Bryn opened the door, and there was a young woman in a tailored navy blue suit standing on the threshold. Caramel-colored hair and peaches-and-cream skin. She had the kind of fresh, pretty face you’d see in a soap ad, but the clothes were all business. I waited for her to introduce herself, but instead Bryn spoke.
    “Hello, Gwen. You know, I didn’t think you could possibly be as beautiful as I remembered, but it turns out you are.”
    I froze, a horrible knot of jealousy twisting inside me.
    She smiled a lovely supermodel smile at him. “Hello, Bryn,” she said in a perfect British accent. She studied his face for a moment and then touched her thumb to his lid just under his left eye. She clucked her tongue. “That color’s different. What wicked things have you been up to?”
    I wanted to scratch her eyes out.
    He ignored her question, asking instead, “What are you doing here?”
    “I’m here for the investigation.”
    His eyes widened for a moment in surprise. “You’re here to investigate me,” he said and frowned. “You’re part of Barrett’s entourage?”
    “I’m training under the Winterhawk. I’m here as a Conclave junior