Free Cajun Magic 02 - Voodoo for Two by Elle James

wasn’t backing down now. With slow, deliberate steps, one foot in front of the other, designed to take full advantage of feminine hip action, she stalked her prey. The vamp walk was another legacy from her infamous sister, Lisa.
    Toe-to-toe, she stood before him and walked her fingers up his chest. Let him suffer a little of his own medicine. “What? Are you jealous of Eric? Afraid he might find me attractive?”
    Ben grabbed her hand, squeezing hard.
    “Let go.” She struggled to free her hand.
    He only squeezed tighter. “Stay away from him, do you hear?”
    “Why should I?”
    Every time she tugged, her chest bumped against Ben’s arms. The tips of her breasts pushed out, forming little peaks against the powder-blue shirt she’d specifically chosen for her meeting with Eric. What had been the most subdued outfit in her sister’s closet suddenly became a reminder of what she’d always tried so hard to avoid—looking like the swamp trash everyone in Bayou Miste thought she and her sister were.
    Well, to hell with them, and to hell with Ben Boyette. Eric was her future. Her knight in shining armor, sent to pull her out of the swamp and into the life she wished to become accustomed to. And that damned ladybug better have gotten the point across!
    An awful thought suddenly occurred to Lucie. In order for the ladybug to distribute its magic, it had to circle the heads of the spell’s victims—er, subjects. In this bug’s case, it had circled the heads of Eric, Lucie, and Ben. Which meant…
    She’d cast a spell on not one, but two men. Double damn.
    She hoped Eric would fall in love with her, but she didn’t want anything to do with Ben. Besides, she didn’t want his love if it came by way of magic. Wow, she could be in a very deep bayou bog if both men fell in love with her.
    And the bug was loose on the town!
    Ben dropped her hand.
    Why did all her spells always end up this way? She should know better by now. But noooo . She had to try it. And then she had to go and kiss Ben, ruining seven years of attempting to forget him. She beat the heel of her palm against her forehead. “Stupid! Stupid! Stupid!”
    Ben grabbed her wrist to keep her from hitting herself yet again. “What is your problem?”
    She shoved her palms against his chest. “You! You’re my problem.” With more force than the last nudge, she shoved him again.
    He clasped her hands in his. “What are you talking about?”
    Anger at her sorry attempts at magic, anger at her inept attempts to make a life for herself, anger at how he’d never come back for her, all boiled up inside her. She hated that every time she got really mad, she’d do something even stupider—she’d cry.
    And sure enough, tears trembled on her eyelashes now. But she refused to give in to them, to let Ben see her upset.
    “Why did you have to come back into my life and mess everything up, again? Why?”
    A smile quirked the corners of his mouth upward and his eyes twinkled. “Seems to me you’re quite capable of messing it up all on your own.”
    She could fall into those eyes. Just as she had when she was nineteen and gullible. Get a grip! She yanked her hands free and grabbed her purse. “Yeah, and sometimes I get a little help from so-called friends. See ya around, bug man.”
    Without looking back, she raced through the door. She had to catch that ladybug before it spread around more magic. All she needed was for Bayou Miste to be involved in a giant love fest. Wouldn’t her grandmother be pleased?
    Not!
    …
    “Hey, what happened in here?” Eric strode into his office, with a backward glance at the elevator door sliding shut behind him.
    “I’m not exactly sure.” Ben’s head spun like he’d been popped by an alligator tail. What had Lucie meant by he’d messed up everything? Again? Hell, she’d messed up his life seven years ago, not the other way around. She’d toyed with his heart and left it sadly scarred.
    “Something must have happened. Lucie