Ignorant fool, he thought, shoving a kalduny in his mouth and turning back to the computer.
But why would she not trust him? Hadn’t he fed her well, and given her new American jeans to wear? Soon her body would be full and ripe for the taking, and he would find a needy witch to take her off his hands. If he could be patient, he might wait for a few years, until she reached puberty, to see what level power she possessed.
Ivar picked up his phone and dialed the New Jersey number. It was pure luck that he had contacts so close to where his target had taken up residence. He could, as the Americans say, kill two birds with one stone.
“Are you ready to take on our product?” Ivar said, when the snotty-wanna-be-drug-dealer answered.
“We can take whatever you can deliver. We have a pipeline in place–”
Ivar cut him off before the cursed little idiot could say more. “Phones are insecure. Mouth shut. Look for me. I am coming.”
He laughed as another plan began to take shape in his head.
Chapter 5
Present day
Jack turned the corner and met Stan and Luke at the ocean's edge. He tried to dispel his anger. After all, he had finally found his match. It was only a matter of time before she was his.
As soon as the solstice was over, he’d make nice. Take her to the movies. Dinner. Together they’d work on her training. Maybe by next year she'd be ready. Better that, than the bleak future he’d envisioned before tonight.
Damn that he’d said the oath, though. Waiting for solstice to end was going to be hell on wheels. What was he thinking? He wasn’t acting much better than Luke in that regard. Like the itch of poison ivy, the urge to mate was driving him mad. God help him. He might need to be handcuffed before week’s end.
Although numbed by Olivia’s tea, the nasty headache lingered. Jack got in Stan’s car and they took Luke home.
Luke’s parents doled out a litany of punishments at a decibel level that was probably illegal in the quiet beach community.
Jack winced when a couple of the points they spouted hit home. Something about never giving the oath to an unknown witch. Taking your time. Acting like an adult.Crap.
“They’re laying it on pretty thick,” Stan said, when they were back in the car.
“Better than getting arrested. She was only fifteen.” Jack’s voice came out more irritated than he meant.
“Luke didn’t know that. You saw her. She looked a lot older. They should’ve carded her at the bar. ”
“What was Luke doing there in the first place? Drinking age is twenty-one in this state.” Better to grouch at his cousin than continue to think about the healer with the big brown eyes. She was probably asleep by now, maybe even naked, with that mass of hair all tangled around her head.
“And we never did anything like that when we were his age?” Stan said with a smirk.
“That’s different.” The corner of Jack’s mouth twitched but he managed not to smile.
“Right. We were perfect.” Stan rolled his eyes and pulled out of the parking lot. “So, what happened back there? You didn’t try anything with Olivia?”
“God, no. She’s like my sister, and a healer to boot.” He shrugged and looked out the window. “There’s nothing worth recounting. Find a bar that’s still open. I’m buying and I intend to tie one on until I can’t feel anything.”
Stan chuckled in approval and sped off towards their destination.
Jack adjusted himself and squirmed uncomfortably. He was still fucking hard. The woman’s essence lingered on his clothes, her scent more intoxicating than Absinthe. Shit, he was so screwed. He called his brother, Josh, and told him to meet them at the small Irish pub.
The drinks numbed the migraine, but at the same time, it intensified his lascivious thoughts. He couldn’t get the raven-haired witch out of his head. Who was she? How the hell was he going to convince her that she was the one? Especially if she wasn’t trained.
The look of fear on her face when he’d slammed his fist into the wall stayed with him.Shit. I'm such an ass.He’d be lucky if she ever spoke to him again.
Stan and Josh watched him closely from across the table.
“What’s going on with you?” Josh asked. “You never drink like this, especially not during solstice.”
Jack shrugged, lifted his half-empty glass, and motioned to the bartender for another round.
