Free Destiny Bewitched by Leia Shaw

They’d lost Gaia’s blessing a long time ago.
    Geo went back the way
they’d come and covered their footsteps and scent. Samantha went to
work on a protection spell. Sprinkling salt and burning dried sage,
she walked a circle around the cabin. As she chanted her spell,
magic flowed through her like a fountain of warmth. A spell over
something this large required more than chalk and a few words. That
was a quick defense in a pinch, and not particularly strong. This
was more serious.
    The last thing she did
was link the circle to the red jasper gemstone that hung around her
neck. That way she would feel if anyone pushed through it.
    Geo stepped into the
clearing. “I walked around in circles for ten minutes before I
realized your spell was keeping me away.” He was wearing that sexy
smirk. “Nice job.”
    She chuckled. “Sorry.
Give me your hand and I’ll bring you through it.”
    His big hand swallowed
hers and they walked inside. The cabin contained only one room,
empty except for a hearth and a pallet in the corner she wasn’t
going anywhere near.
    They both looked up at
the jagged hole in the ceiling.
    “Sorry about that,” Geo
said, giving her hand a squeeze.
    Her gaze jumped to
their hands intertwined. They hadn’t let go yet. And it disturbed
her that she didn’t really want to. “It’s alright. It’s like a
skylight. People pay big money to install those.”
    He gazed at her with a
funny expression. “Again you amaze me.”
    A blush crept up her
neck. Her voice came out a whisper. “Well, I’m just happy to have
somewhere to rest.”
    He stared at her for a
long uncomfortable moment before clearing his throat. “I’ll light a
fire before it gets too dark.”
    Geo had a fire going
and some small animal cooking over it in no time. Sam sat on the
blanket and watched the poor creature roast. She didn’t dare ask
what it was because it smelled so freakin’ good she doubted she
could resist it anyway. Sometimes ignorance was necessary to
survive.
    While they settled in
and had nothing to do but wait for the meal, she looked at Geo and
said, “Spill it, Mr. Enigmatic. What are you and why are you
here?”
    From across the fire
she heard his male chuckle. The light cast a glowing aura over his
face – tanned but smooth. His horns were barely visible in the
shadow of darkness. The black t-shirt stretched across his broad
shoulders but the sleeves were short enough to leave his biceps
open to her gaze. She’d always been a bicep girl. Her tongue darted
out to wet her lips. How could she be thinking about wanting to
taste his smooth skin after all they’d been through?
    She shook her head to
break the spell.
    “You’re a bossy little
thing,” he said with laughter in his voice.
    “Me bossy? Ha! That’s
funny coming from you.”
    “Down here there’s a
name for a creature that taunts a bigger one.”
    “What’s that?”
    “Dead.”
    She rolled her eyes.
“Ha, ha. The demon made a funny.”
    His brows shot up. “Not
a demon.” He stoked the fire then gazed into it thoughtfully. “I
come from the god realm. I was convicted of a crime I didn’t commit
then sentenced here for punishment almost two hundred years
ago.”
    From the god realm?
Fucking hell. If Geo was some sort of fallen god, she was going to
eat her sword. “What was the crime?”
    “Treason.”
    She was traveling with
a condemned traitor? This was getting better and better. “That’s a
pretty big crime.”
    “Yes, but if Ares had
truly believed it, I’d be sunbathing in Hades right now.” His mouth
turned up in a lopsided grin. “Not having dinner with a sexy
redhead.”
    Her cheeks flushed but
she ignored it. “Stop trying to distract me. Who framed you?”
    “My half-brother.”
    She laughed
humorlessly. “Your family has the same idea of loyalty as
mine.”
    He gave her a puzzled
look.
    Not going there
tonight. Distract. “Um. So why did he do that?”
    He hesitated. “Because
he felt threatened by me. He’s the