Sinfully Spellbound (Spells That Bind Book 1) (16 page)

I’d just finished with my last client of the day, so I made
my way over to Trevor’s office to tell him about my plans for the rest of the
week, and to see how he was doing. He’d been moody all day.

“You got a minute, Trev?” I asked.

“Sure,” he said, looking up from his computer screen.
“Whatcha need?”

“I’m mostly going to be working from home for the rest of
the week. I’ve only got a couple of face-to-face meetings on Thursday and a
court appearance on Wednesday. The rest I can handle remotely.”

Trevor nodded. “Sounds like a good plan. I’ve been worried
about Allie being alone. That’s why I asked Melina to stop by your house for a
couple of hours before she heads to the studio.”

That shocked me for many reasons, mostly because I knew
Trevor wasn’t Melina’s favorite person. Hearing Allie hadn’t been alone all day
was a relief. When I’d talked to her at lunch, she’d still been on her own, and
I hadn’t found a minute to call her since. “Good thinking. I know there haven’t
been any attacks during the day, but I’m still worried.” While vampires and
certain types of demons could only go out at night, most preternatural
creatures didn’t have the same limitations.

“I agree we shouldn’t let our guard down during the day,”
Trevor said. “Although, I will admit that it’s unlikely the killer will be
looking for Allie.”

“You’re right,” I agreed reluctantly, and Trevor laughed.

“I love that look on your face,” he said.

“What look?” I asked in mock offense, even though I knew
what he was seeing.

“You have the look of a warlock who’s found the right witch
and is willing to do anything to keep her,” Trevor teased with a smirk.

“Allie thinks I’m crazy,” I told him.

“She hasn’t spent much time around witches since school,”
Trevor said. “I’m pretty sure she ignored all the information about affinity
tests and marriage back then because getting involved with any warlock was the
last thing on her mind.”

“I can’t blame her, considering what happened with her
father and uncle,” I said with a sigh. Hell, there were more examples of
warlocks cheating than being faithful in her life, even if that wasn’t the
norm. It was not going to be easy to convince Allie I could be faithful to her.
“She thinks any relationship between witches is bad, not just the arranged
ones.”

“I’ve tried talking to her about happy couples, like my
parents or yours, before,” Trevor said, surprising me.

“What did you tell her?” I asked.

“I told her that if a couple passed
all
aspects of
the affinity test then they weren’t going to be unfaithful,” Trevor explained.

That I didn’t understand, since I’d known plenty of
unfaithful warlocks who had passed the test with their witch. My expression
must have told Trevor how skeptical I was.

“You do realize it’s not just a pass or fail kind of test,
don’t you?” Trevor asked with a raised eyebrow.

Actually, I didn’t know that, probably because I’d never
witnessed an affinity test, or even considered being part of one. “It’s not?” I
asked.

With a shake of his head, Trevor continued his explanation.
“There is one test, but it’s rated on several levels. Each couple is tested in
a different way, depending on their abilities. After the test, the results
sometimes indicate that the couple might be compatible and suggest they test
again later, but some witches assume they can just take that as a pass, which
is a huge mistake. My grandfather presided over the affinity test between
Allie’s father and the witch he married. He said they had potential to be a
good match, but Julian was holding back. Their families wanted the match, so
they pushed for things to proceed anyway.”

“I didn’t know that,” I said, but it shouldn’t surprise me.
“So, they might not give me a yes or no answer?”

“When you first started flirting with Allie, I wasn’t happy
about it, but I’m pretty sure she’s the witch for you.” Trevor was studying me,
watching my reaction closely.

“I’ve never felt like this before,” I admitted, because I
figured Trevor would understand with as many times as he’d been infatuated with
a witch.

“Yeah, I know. Don’t fight it,” he said simply. “Trust the
answer you get during your test. Despite what Allie believes, the affinity test
is flawless. If you’re meant to be with Allie, the test will tell you. If you
have areas to work on, it will tell you. In some ways, it was better back in
the days when all marriages were arranged.”

“How do you figure?” I asked.

“It all came down to the test back then,” he said. “The
problem was that people couldn’t test with someone outside of their rank, and
there was a lot of bribery to get certain results.”

“That doesn’t sound better,” I muttered.

“My point is that when the couple really did pass the test,
they were happy, and most families only proceeded with the marriage if the
witch administering the test recommended it. Why do you think there are so many
older witches who’ve been in happy relationships for hundreds of years?”

Listening to Trevor talk this way was strange since I’d
always pictured him as more of a romantic. Instead, he was talking about the
whole thing like there was no romance or falling in love. You were just meant
to be with one person, and it could easily be determined by a test. It’s not
like I’d never heard this before, but I’d never expected to hear it from
Trevor.

“Do you think we’re going to pass the affinity test?” I
asked, trying hard not to look like his answer meant too much to me.

He shrugged. “I’m not sure, but my father is convinced you
will, and that’s why he volunteered to administer the test.”

“Your father?” I asked, only mildly surprised.

“Yep, and he’s heard all about what happened at the last
meeting. You and Allie are big news among the other witches. My dad is really
looking forward to the test.”

“The scary thing is that I really hope he’s right,” I admitted,
which was met by a laugh from Trevor.

“I’ll try to be at your house the times you can’t,” Trevor
said, changing the subject. “If not, I’ll get Melina to stay with Allie. That
witch is more than a little scary, so I’m pretty sure she can take care of herself
and Allie if there’s a problem.” There was an almost dreamy look in Trevor’s
eyes.

“Are you seeing Melina?” I asked, because that was the
second time he’d mentioned talking to her about staying with Allie.

“Define seeing,” Trevor answered hesitantly.

“Dating,” I said, and then added, “or just sleeping with
her.”

Trevor let out a frustrated sigh and looked back at his
computer screen. “Nope. Miss Melina Blackwood would never even consider dating
me. She told me she’d rather give up sex forever than get involved with an
immature man-whore warlock.”

That was pretty harsh, but I wasn’t surprised, considering
what I knew about Melina. “You wanna talk about it?” I asked. The good thing
with Trevor was that he’d be over his infatuation soon, but he was bound to be
extra moody for at least a short time.

“Not really,” Trevor said as he ran a hand through his
already messy hair. I was shocked because Trevor
always
wanted to talk
about his witch problems.

“How about if I call Melina?” I asked. “Then you won’t have
to talk to her.”

“Nah, I’ll call her after I figure out which times I can
fill. Maybe we won’t need her at all, and it won’t be a problem.”

Except I knew Trevor was planning to call her. I could see
it in the way he refused to meet my eyes.

“She must not hate you too much if she gave you her number,”
I said in hopes of cheering Trevor up some.

“She didn’t exactly give it to me,” Trevor admitted without
explaining how he’d gotten the number. I chose to keep my mouth shut,
considering I hadn’t exactly gotten Allie’s number from her.

“Well, she didn’t change her number when she found out you
had it,” I added.

Trevor’s face brightened. “You’re right! She must not mind
me calling too much or she would have changed her number or blocked mine.”

“Just don’t piss her off, Trev,” I warned. “You don’t want
to cause more problems for Allie by having her cousin get a restraining spell
against you.”

“What are you planning to do about Allie?” Trevor asked. “I
mean, what are your intentions toward her if you get the results my father
expects?”

When I opened my mouth to give some vague answer, I ended up
deciding to just be honest with both of us. “I have no fucking idea. Allie has
completely changed my life in the short time I’ve known her, and I want her
with me.”

“This isn’t just about sex, is it?” Trevor asked. “If it is,
I might be forced to kick your ass. Allie is a very complex woman, and she’s
not your normal succubus.”

“Yeah, I figured that out,” I admitted. “The truth is, I
really care about Allie. She’s fun and sweet, not to mention sexy as hell. When
I dragged her off to stay at my house for her own safety, I kind of figured it
would be a major pain in the ass to have her there. I pictured us bickering
over everything and me getting annoyed about losing my privacy.”

“You don’t seem too anxious to get rid of her.” Trevor
grinned knowingly.

“That’s the scary part. I get that we don’t know each other
very well, but I still kind of want to go through with a marriage ceremony just
so she can’t leave me. This must make me sound like I’ve lost my mind.”

Trevor chuckled. “Sounds like my father is right. Any other
warlock, I might worry was just infatuated with her, but you aren’t the type to
get infatuated.”

“None of this is going to matter if she refuses to give me a
chance,” I said. “She agreed to date me, but I’m still afraid she’s going to
bail as soon as her life’s not in danger.”

“Just give her time,” Trevor said. “Allie definitely has
feelings for you, but she’s going to need time to get past her hang-ups before
she can commit.”

“I really fucked up when I agreed to the affinity test,
didn’t I?”

Trevor shook his head. “Actually, this might be good for
her, as long as your mom doesn’t try pushing you to take the next step until
Allie’s ready.”

“Maybe I should have another talk with my mom,” I said
thoughtfully.

“Good luck with that, my friend.” Trevor chuckled at my
expense. “In your mother’s eyes, Allie is as good as pregnant with your child.”

I groaned. “You’re right. For the most part, my mom will
probably just be happy that I’m dating, but I still worry that she’ll push
things and scare Allie off.”

“Your mom may be crazy to get you to settle down with a
witch, but she has to realize Allie’s half-succubus,” Trevor said.

I grinned. “Good thinking. Allie could break ties with the
council and be free from their rules. My mom’s smart enough to realize that.”

“Exactly,” Trevor confirmed with a nod.

“Just to be on the safe side, I’ll call my mom on the way
home to make sure she doesn’t push for anything that will send Allie running.
I’ll also call Nick and see if he wants to hang out with us tonight. That way
Allie can get used to doing normal stuff at my house without me being tempted
to carry her off to my bed the second I walk in the front door.”

Trevor’s lips thinned. “You’re really going to just let
Allie adopt the vampire?”

“Nick’s not like other vampires,” I told Trevor. “In fact,
they’re not all assholes like the ones you’ve had experience with.”

“I guess you’re right,” Trevor admitted with a sigh.

“Did you want to come over tonight?” I asked.

“Thanks, but I have something to take care of,” Trevor said
before returning his attention to his computer screen, his fingers flying
across his keyboard.

Since I’d just been dismissed, I decided to head home to
Allie—a thought that brought a huge smile to my face.

It was a little past six when Dylan walked in the front
door. After checking Dylan’s kitchen earlier that day, I wasn’t really all that
surprised by the takeout bag in his hand. It was obvious Dylan didn’t do much
cooking. Staring longingly at the takeout bag, which I was guessing contained
burgers, my mouth practically watered.

I’d been on the phone with my mom for the last hour,
listening to her complaints, and I was pretty sure she’d be mad if I started
eating while she was talking. When I’d picked up the phone to tell her about
everything that was going on, I hadn’t expected her to have heard the details
from my dad. They never talked, but he’d apparently taken the time to tell her
about everything, from the guy following me, to the events of the council
meeting.

“I just don’t understand why I had to hear about all of this
from your father,” my mom practically wailed yet again.

“Mom, I’ve already apologized for that,” I said. “The reason
I called you today was to tell you what was going on, and I didn’t choose for
Dad to find out first. Honestly, I didn’t tell him anything about what was
going on. The thing with the killer freaked me out, and I haven’t been thinking
straight. Today is the first day I’ve had time to call, and I waited until
later in the day because I didn’t want to wake you up.” My mom was not a
morning person, or even an early afternoon person, not an uncommon occurrence
with sex demons of all types.

“I could forgive you for that, but how could you fail to
mention the warlock?” she asked. “You, of all people, know warlocks don’t make
good husband material.”

“For the last time, I’m not getting married, despite what
Dylan’s mother may want,” I insisted, putting my hand up to my forehead as if
that would help my headache.

“Your father already told me you’ve agreed to one of those
witch couple tests. What do you call those tests?”

“They’re called affinity tests, Mom.”

“That’s right! What exactly do you think an affinity test is
for?” she pushed. “That test is just a precursor to a witch marriage ceremony.
Then you’ll be trapped with a man just like your father, and I will not see my
baby girl being made a fool of by any man.”

“I didn’t agree to anything,” I insisted, shooting a glare
Dylan’s direction for getting me into this mess in the first place. If he’d
refused, I wouldn’t be listening to my mom tell me the dangers of getting
involved with warlocks. This might just be worse than hearing her tell me about
her sex life.

The idiot actually winked at me, so I responded by sticking
out my tongue. He looked much too tempting in his crisp white shirt with the
sleeves rolled up and his scarlet tie hanging loose around his neck. Then
again, Dylan had always looked much too sexy for his own good.

“Are you even listening to me?” my mom asked, and I was
embarrassed to say that I’d been too busy looking at Dylan to pay much
attention to my mom. That man was much too good looking.

“Sorry, Mom,” I mumbled, feeling my cheeks getting warm. “I
got distracted.”

“Let me talk to her,” Dylan said.

I gave him my best, ‘are you out of your mind’ stare.

“Give him the phone, Alana,” my mom demanded, obviously
having heard him.

After some hesitation, I handed Dylan the phone since I
figured he could take care of himself. Okay, I was really just starving and
willing to do anything to get off the phone so I could eat. I immediately dug
into the food—greasy burgers and fries. Grabbing a burger, I took a bite and
watched Dylan talk to my mom.

“No, ma’am, I am not using your daughter,” Dylan insisted
politely.

“Okay, I won’t call you ma’am again,” he said with a cringe.

“Yes, I’d prefer to keep those attached to my body.” Now, he
looked a little pale.

“Define
force her into doing anything
,” he said
hesitantly.

My mom’s laughter was loud enough that I heard it across the
room, and I really hoped that was a good sign because I was pretty sure I
preferred to have the parts my mother had threatened stay attached to Dylan’s
body, as well. After my mother stopped laughing, there was a very long pause,
during which Dylan’s free hand clenched into a fist and his eyes darkened.

“I would never hurt Allie,” Dylan practically growled.

Okay, so my mom was probably not warming up to him quite as
much as I’d hoped.

“I don’t care what my reputation is,” Dylan said calmly.
“Yes, I have avoided dating any witches in the past because I didn’t want to be
pressured into marriage, or any relationship for that matter. I’m not going to
lie and say that’s what I was looking for with Allie. When I met her, I had no
idea she was part witch.”

I rolled my eyes, knowing how well that comment would go
over with my mom. He’d basically just said it was okay to use me when he
thought I was only a succubus. Mom could be a little hypocritical in this regard,
since she felt it was okay for a succubus to use any man for sex.

“I’d changed my mind before I knew she was part witch,” he
argued. “This isn’t some line I’m giving you about how I fell in love with your
daughter the moment I laid eyes on her, but I genuinely liked her after our
first night together, and I wanted to spend more time with her. I may not know
where things are going with Allie, but I want her in my life. Any man who wants
just sex with Allie is an idiot.”

I stood there at Dylan’s kitchen island with a burger
halfway to my mouth, staring at him. Based on Dylan’s expression, I couldn’t
tell if my mom was still bitching him out or not.

“It was nice talking to you, as well,” he said before
handing the phone back to me.

“Mom?” I asked hesitantly.

“If the two of you pass that witch couple test, you should
marry him as soon as possible,” she blurted, and I nearly fell over. Seriously,
it was a good thing I hadn’t taken a bite of food or I’d be choking on it.

“Excuse me? I must have misheard you,” I said. “Either that
or Dylan cast some strange spell to make you like him. My mother would never
tell me to marry a warlock, so that’s the only logical explanation.”

“Don’t be a smart ass, Alana,” my mom said a little
irritably.

“I’m not trying to be a smart ass, Mom. You just caught me
completely off guard. I have no idea why you’d even suggest that.”

Looking over at Dylan, I found him happily eating his burger
as if nothing strange was going on. I, however, was seriously wondering if my
mother was teasing me, because the only other explanation was that she’d lost
her sex-loving mind.

“As much as I try to avoid thinking about it, you are
half-witch,” she began with a sigh. “That part of you has always prevented you
from acting like a true succubus. While I hated the idea of sending you to that
witch school, it was for the best because I can’t pretend that part of you
doesn’t exist.”

“Since when do you think my education was a good thing?” I
asked skeptically, because my mom had never said anything nice about me
attending a witch school.

“I’ll admit that it took me some time to come to that
realization,” she said. “In my defense, I wanted to keep you in my world. Like
any mother, I’d dreamed of taking you to your first orgy.”

“Mom!” I screeched. “Please don’t talk about orgies with
me.”

“That reaction is exactly why it’s a good thing you went to
that witch school,” she said. “A full succubus would never have a problem
talking about orgies. I went to one with your grandmother just last weekend,
but you can’t even stomach the idea of watching a man fuck your mother. That’s
just unnatural for a succubus. Do you have any idea how many men I’ve shared
with your grandmother?”

Thankfully, the doorbell rang, giving me an excuse to get
out of discussing my mother’s sex life. Actually, it was even worse than that
since we’d moved on to discussing my grandmother’s sex life, as well.

“I’ve gotta go, Mom,” I said. “Someone’s at the door.”

“Fine, but don’t let me find out about this kind of thing
from your father again,” she warned. “I’m your mother, and I expect to hear the
results of that test right away.”

“I promise to tell you,” I agreed as I followed Dylan to the
front door.

“One last thing,” my mom said.

“What’s that?” I asked.

“I like this warlock, Allie, and I want you to give him a
chance,” she told me.

“I’m trying,” I assured her.

“That’s a start,” she said. “I love you, Allie.”

“I love you too, Mom. Bye.”

“Did you just use answering my door as an excuse to get off
the phone with your mother?”

“She was telling me about the orgy she attended with my
grandmother,” I explained.

Dylan’s face scrunched up in disgust, and I was pretty sure
he understood my reasons for wanting to get off the phone quickly now. He
grabbed my hand when I reached for the door. “Don’t forget to disarm the
security spell first.”

This would take me some time to get used to, but hopefully,
I wouldn’t set off Dylan’s alarm too many times. I mouthed the words to disarm
the spell before opening the door.

“Nick!” I said happily when I saw him standing on Dylan’s
front porch. “What are you doing here?”

“I invited him over to watch a movie with us,” Dylan said.
“I hope that’s okay with you.”

It was things like this that made it hard to resist Dylan,
and made me wonder why I was even trying. Why couldn’t I believe in happily
ever after? Then again, I hadn’t seen many happy endings for couples. Melina’s
mom seemed pretty happy with her second husband, but he wasn’t a warlock. Maybe
my problem wasn’t believing in happily ever after so much as believing in the ability
of warlocks to remain faithful, which wasn’t completely fair since I didn’t
really know many witch couples. How was I supposed to give Dylan a chance when
I had so many prejudices?

“Stop thinking about what your mom said,” Dylan urged as he
patted my ass on the way by.

“Believe me, I would like to forget that conversation ever
happened,” I said with a shudder.

“I’m not talking about the sex stuff, I mean what she said
about us being together,” Dylan clarified.

“Your mom talks to you about sex?” Nick asked with wide
eyes.

I nodded as we made our way back to the kitchen. “That’s the
norm for a succubus. It probably wouldn’t bother me if my dad weren’t a
warlock. My witch side isn’t quite as comfortable with sex.”

“I didn’t even realize you were part witch when we first
met,” Nick said thoughtfully.

“It’s not that easy for most to pick up on,” I explained.

“Don’t feel bad. I didn’t know when I first met her either,”
Dylan added.

“I hope you don’t mind if we finish our dinner,” I said,
pointing to our food.

“I got you a bag of blood on the way home,” Dylan said.

To say Nick looked confused would be an understatement. “You
got blood for me?” he asked, as if he couldn’t possibly have heard Dylan right.

“Yeah, I figured since you were heading here right after sunset
you wouldn’t have time to grab a bite on the way. No pun intended,” Dylan added
with a grin.

“That’s really nice of you,” Nick said, and I could tell he
wasn’t used to people doing nice things for him.

I dug into my food. Dylan had already finished his burger,
so he grabbed the blood and a glass for Nick.

“I’ve always wondered something,” Nick said as he took the
blood from Dylan and emptied the bag into a glass.

“What’s that?” Dylan asked.

“I’ve heard men of your kind referred to as warlocks and witches,”
he said. “Which term is correct?”

“Both,” Dylan answered. “As I understand it, we were all
called witches at one point, which is why we have the Council of Witches and
not the Council of Witches and Warlocks. I guess some of the men decided they
needed their own special title and came up with warlock. Of course, the idea of
adding warlock to the names for everything never really caught on. So, we still
all go to witch school, read witch text books, and some of the older witches
refuse to even use the term warlock.”

“Men are idiots,” I muttered.

“Hey!” Nick and Dylan said at the same time.

I ignored their indignation. “Like you need a special title
to tell the world you have a penis.”

Nick let out a startled bark of laughter before admitting,
“The warlock thing is pretty ridiculous.”

“I think so, too, but there are many who still insist on the
distinction,” Dylan explained.

I almost snorted. “Yeah, I still remember arguing with a
male teacher about this. He never was able to give me a good reason for the
special term.”

“It helps us distinguish gender,” Dylan said.

“That seems pretty easy to do,” I insisted.

“Not always,” Nick said seriously.

“He’s right.” Dylan nodded. “I’ve seen plenty of witches who
could pass as warlocks.”

“That’s just mean,” I scolded.

“But true,” Nick added.

“I wish Trevor were here,” I said. “He’d agree that you’re
being mean.”

“That’s because Trevor thinks every woman he meets is
beautiful,” Dylan argued.

“True,” I agreed. “Trevor likes everyone.”

“Not me,” Nick said quietly as he rinsed his glass and put
it in the sink.

“Trevor just has some hang-ups with vampires,” Dylan
explained with a hand on Nick’s shoulder.

“Then I should probably avoid him,” Nick said with a smile
that seemed somewhat strained.

Dylan looked like he was going to argue, but he closed his
mouth and nodded. “That might not be a bad idea.”

“I can’t eat another bite,” I said to change the subject,
because I didn’t like seeing Nick hurt. I’d talk to Trevor about this later and
figure out what I could do to make them get along. For now, I just wanted to
distract my new friend. “Let’s go find a movie to watch. Anyone have any
suggestions?”