Chapter Seventeen
Rhys
Something had changedbetween Savannah and I since the night my amulet came off when she removed my shirt.
Her shyness hadn’t disappeared completely, but it had lessened. She seemed more open and affectionate. She no longer hesitated to touch me or pull me in for a kiss when she wanted one. She didn’t try to shield her thoughts and feelings from me, mentally or verbally. Savannah also spoke her mind more often. If there was something she wanted to know, she asked.
I felt as though she was offering me a gift. The gift of herself.
I wanted to take what she gave, but I held myself back. I knew that if I unleashed my desire completely that I would never be able to let her go, even if she wanted me to. Savannah Baker was the woman I loved and there would be no going back once I had her body.
This morning, when I dropped her off atThe Magic Bean, she leaned over and kissed me before she got out of the car.
“I’ll see you at three,” she said as she opened the door. Before she climbed out, she looked over at me. “And I think it’s time to revisit our discussion about hooking up as a part of dating.”
I stared at her in shock as she grinned and shut the passenger door before hurrying inside the coffee shop. A few days ago, Savannah never would have said something like that to me without turning a charming shade of pink. Today, there was an inviting gleam in her eye when she spoke the words.
She clearly intended to torture me. That was the only explanation.
Now it was two-thirty and I decided to go back to the shop in order to speak with Ava. I’d called Kerry earlier in the day and she hadn’t been able to tell me anything more about Rhiannon, but she had given me the phone number of a witch in the U.K. that I hoped would be of some help.
When I enteredThe Magic Bean, Ava was behind the bar as usual, cleaning equipment. Savannah was nowhere to be found, but I noticed that the curtain to the reading room was closed and assumed that she was inside.
“Hi, Rhys,” she greeted me.
As I drew closer, I saw signs of stress and worry on her face. It was clear that this situation with Rhiannon was wearing on her. Like me, she’d run into dead ends while looking for information on the witch. It was as if the woman had appeared out of thin air.
“Hi, Ava,” I replied. I held out the piece of paper in my hand. “I spoke with my friend in Dallas and she gave me the number of a witch in the United Kingdom. I told Kerry that I thought it would be best if you called. It’s been my experience that witches aren’t overly fond of me.”
Ava nodded and took the paper from me. “Thank you, Rhys. I’m getting truly pissed off about this entire situation. I still don’t understand how a dark witch as powerful as Rhiannon escaped notice all these years.”
I shrugged. “She may be very good at avoiding other witches.”
Ava’s expression grew thoughtful. “Maybe.”
“Is Savannah giving a reading?” I asked.
Ava nodded. “It’s for a woman who was recently widowed. She’s having a tough time,” she answered, her eyes sad.
Without asking, she began to make me a glass of iced tea flavored with lemon and agave nectar. Summer had come to Austin, and I didn’t want hot coffee in the middle of the afternoon.
“Thanks,” I said when she placed the glass in front of me. Since Savannah and I had begun to spend so much time together, Ava refused to take my money when I came into the coffee shop. At first I tried to put extra money in the tip jar but it kept appearing back in my wallet, so I’d given up. The witch didn’t want my money and no amount of pushing or sneaking would force her to change her mind.
I stood at the counter and talked with Ava as I waited for Savannah to finish her tarot reading. As soon as the curtain opened, I immediately noticed that Savannah looked drawn and pale. When our eyes met, she smiled tiredly, but shook her head. A woman emerged from the room, dabbing her eyes with a tissue. She spoke quietly with Savannah and then disappeared into the bathroom at the back of the store.
Savannah watched her client until the bathroom door shut, took a deep breath, and walked toward me. She was wearing one of the long flowing dresses she seemed to favor now that the weather had become hot. The straps were thin and bared her shoulders and part of her chest and back. She looked fresh and pretty even during the middle of a hot summer day “Hi, babe,” she said, rising up on her toes to give me a light kiss on the lips.
I sensed the emotional exhaustion pulling at her limbs as soon as she touched me. The emotions of her client were weighing on her, dragging her down. I clasped her waist with my hands, wishing I could take some of the burden from her. I could see the strain it caused when she took on the feelings of another person.
No sooner did I have the thought when I felt a thread of energy from her. Slowly but surely, the grief and sorrow that had transferred from her client moved between us. Shocked, I released her waist and stepped back.
“What’s wrong?” she asked, staring up at me with concern. “You just went pale.”
I studied her face and realized that the color had returned to her cheeks. The faint lines around her eyes and on her forehead had disappeared.
“How do you feel?” I asked her, wondering if she even noticed the stream of energy and emotions that transferred between us.
She frowned slightly. “Weird. I feel better.”
