Free Two Times the Trouble by Mellanie Szereto Page B

mentally deranged and refuse to stay—for her or the job. Then Great Grandmother would have to erase their memories of the attack, the encounters in the barn and the water garden, and the explanation about the family’s witch heritage. The disconnect would last a lifetime.
    Jolán swallowed past the lump in her throat. Her first fertility cycle failure was going to be branded in her heart forever. What would everyone say if she proclaimed herself mateless at the third-quarter moon ceremony? The anticipation over the months leading to her twenty-first birthday had magnified her expectations to unrealistic proportions, and the letdown was downright depressing. Going through it all again in seven years horrified her.
    I should spell myself to my bedroom and lock the door.
    Smacking her forehead, she rolled her eyes. Why hadn’t she thought of that before? She’d simply use a transportation charm to get them out of the wreckage. The hunky construction workers needed their minds wiped anyway. Making them forget one more incident wouldn’t make a bit of difference in the end.
     
    Remove us from these broken walls,
    And take us to the mansion halls
    To the cover of witch protection,
    Where all shall witness their defection.
    Keep us safe and blessed be.
    Harm to none. Please set us free.
     
    While the incantation wasn’t her best, and she should’ve been more specific about her destination, she wouldn’t complain about escaping the tangled prison even if they landed in a manure-filled stall in the barn.
    She waited for the swirling lights, but her eyes met with only the shadows of the darkening basement. Why didn’t it work?
    None of the usual energy flowed through her veins. Had evicting the great destroyer sapped her abilities when she’d just come into her full powers yesterday? How ironic would that be? Losing her mates over skills she no longer possessed.
    “You’re awake.” Liam knelt beside her, his features unreadable in the dim light. “How’re you feeling?”
    Like my life’s been stolen from me. She pasted on a smile. “I’m alive, and I don’t have any broken bones.”
    “I’m glad you’re okay.”
    “Okay is a relative term. I see we’re still stuck here.” Hopefully, he’d accept her change of subject.
    “You can get us out, right?” Ivan peered at her over Liam’s shoulder. “I mean, you know witchcraft or magic or something. You can use a spell to send us to the main part of the house.”
    She frowned and looked away. “No, I can’t do tricks like that.”
    “Come on, Jolán. We saw what you did with the chanting stuff. You don’t have to hide your secret from us.” His cajoling tone almost convinced her to admit the truth.
    Truth? What truth? “I have no secret.” While her skills in spell casting had vanished, Ivan’s and Liam’s proximity reignited the hormonal part of her witchhood. Nothing about her fertility cycle resembled her expectations. If she distracted Liam and Ivan with sex, maybe they’d stop insisting she perform an impossible feat. Another reason to curse you, Kazmer.
    Brushing her hair from her forehead, Liam studied her. He exchanged a look with his stepbrother before letting out a sigh as he turned his attention back to her. “You sent some ancient shifter—whatever the hell that is—howling away from here. You said he’s your enemy and has the power to control nature. To know that, you have to have some kind of powers, too. I thought you trusted us.”
    He played dirty, but so could she. Snaking an arm around his neck, she pulled him downward as she met him halfway for a kiss. The touch of his mouth against hers heated her blood, making her nipples harden and her clit throb.
    She inched her fingers along his back and shoulder, savoring the hard and soft combination of muscle and skin. He groaned and traced the seam of her lips with his tongue. She considered denying him entrance for less than a second. Desire put an end to her hesitation, and she