The Dashing Witch (The Ward Witches) (11 page)

“
Alright. So you mentioned something about a new computer?”

“
I did.  But I've got another plan first.”

That look came back, and Melanie finally got a feeling what it meant when he hauled her up against him. He was hard and ready, and he clearly wanted her.

“
In the office?” She said, slightly scandalized.

“
Wherever I can get you. You make me hot, Melanie.” While he said that, he picked her up and sat her on the desk. He deftly slid her panties off her legs and discarded them on the ground. “But since this is your office, this is about your pleasure.”

She had a moment to wonder what he meant before he pressed a kiss to her hot center. Melanie had to remind herself to stay quiet while he sucked, licked, and played with her clit. He got his fingers involved as well as his tongue, and she was in ecstasy. It didn't take her long to find her climax, and he kept up the work until she was done and gasping for breath.

“
Oh Justin...” She moaned. He drew back, clearly pleased with himself.

“
Consider your office christened.”

She laughed. “What about your turn?”

“
This isn't about me. If you're offering later on tonight, I'll take you up on it. But for now, let's get you composed again and go buy a computer.”

They spent most of the evening choosing her computer and getting it set up for her purposes. They laughed and joked, and Melanie could feel herself getting used to having him in her life.

101

CHAPTER SEVEN

The next morning, Justin left the room before Melanie was done getting ready. She said she wanted to surprise him when she got into the meeting with Seb, and he wasn't in a place to deny her anything. Especially after their encounter last night.

It was a good thing he was sitting at his desk alone when that memory refreshed itself in his mind. He was a man who enjoyed sex, and had enjoyed many partners, but something about sex with Melanie was totally new. And along with new, it was nearly irresistible.

Justin was starting to fear that when the nine months was up, he wouldn't be willing to let her go. He didn't know how she was feeling about their relationship, but his feelings were running much more towards keeping her with him. And if Melanie herself wasn't so delightful, he thought about the baby she carried. His baby. Along with his plans to never settle down with a single woman, he never was going to have a child. But the more the idea percolated in his head, the more he liked it.

120

THE DASHING WITCH

He couldn't help but imagine how Melanie would glow as she increased in size. As a healer, he'd seen many Coven witches go through their pregnancies, both the difficult ones and the easy ones. Melanie's would be difficult, but he knew she'd rise to the challenge. That image was easy to conjure.

But then his mind would wander to how it would feel to hold his child. A baby that was his and Melanie's. He'd seen the proud fathers, and he already knew part of how they felt. He also knew the feeling would increase exponentially when he finally held his baby. He was in awe of the whole thing.

As he was gathering his thoughts, and not doing any work, Rita knocked on the door. She was a good-natured woman who worked great with her patients. When he had approached her about working with Melanie, she had jumped at the opportunity. She would continue to see ongoing patients, but as he had told Melanie, there weren't that many of those at the moment. So Rita would be more on-call than full-time.

“
She's ready,” Rita said. Justin knew exactly what she meant, and left to go to Seb's office. He was confident his wife would blow them away, and he wanted to see it. He wanted to see it very badly.

Justin walked into Seb's office and the first thing that caught his eye was his beautiful wife in a distinguished looking black pin-striped suit. She looked professional and composed. But he still thought she looked sexy as hell. The skirt in particular made him think of their hijinks the evening before. But he was there for business, not just to admire Melanie.

He sat in one of the chairs facing a whiteboard standing next to Melanie, and Rita handed him a folder with a packet of paper in it. Seb had already been flipping through his, but Melanie started as soon as Justin sat down. “Thank you all for coming,” she started, making eye contact with each of them, Seb, Rita, Skylar, and finally Justin.

“
I've been working on a new strategy for how witches are going to interact with the human community. From the time when Duke Drake introduced the humans to witchcraft, the general idea has been to hide what witchcraft really is from the public. It's as if we tempt them with the idea of witches, but won't tell them any details. That both makes them curious and engenders resentment. How do they know, for instance, that we mean them no harm? It's not strictly true, because of the Dark Order, but we don't want them to suspect all of us based on the actions of a few.

“
When Stephanie's plot was foiled, we had witches in human jails. So far, the police have remained quiet on the issue, but we can't rely on that. So we need to be proactive on this measure. We're going to start with announcing the news of the National Coven's formation. We're going to use that formation as the stated impetus to new community relations.”

She paused to write “Image,” “Knowledge,” and “Relations” on the board.

“
These are my key focuses. We're going to start with 'Image.' I've drafted a press release, which you will find in your folder. As I put that out to the media, I'm going to contact a good friend of mine. I'm going to offer Tanya Yelman with CNN an exclusive interview with the Duke of the National Coven. If she doesn't bite, which I think she will, I'll go to other friends. I've made plenty of them through my years at KYR.

“
Seb is going to go on TV and tell the world about how we've changed our stance on Public Relations. He's going to be striking as the friendly and sexy next door neighbor. He's going to charm America, and they're going to love him. Seb will be the face of witchcraft in homes across the country. In time, that will lead to the 'Knowledge' and 'Relations' parts of the strategy.

“
So what do you think?”

Justin was stunned. She had put a lot of effort into the presentation and the packet of materials he was holding. Not to mention that she had some really great ideas. But he didn't want to speak first since he was biased. Luckily, Seb responded.

“
I love it. Do you really think you can get the story out?”

“
Absolutely. And we'll get you on TV as well. Welcome to the future of witchcraft.”

Skylar and Rita clapped, and Justin eagerly joined in.

“
I'll give you all until the end of the day if you have any comments or changes to the press release, and I'll send it out this evening so that it'll be on desks tomorrow morning. I'm going to call Tanya tomorrow too, so that she'll have some time to read it before she hears from me.”

“
Thank you very much, Melanie,” Seb said, rising. “We appreciate all the work you've done for us.”

She smiled. “Now if you all don't mind, I'm going to take a short nap while I wait for your revisions.”

“
I'll walk you up,” Justin offered, catching her by the elbow.

“
See you later,” Rita said, and Skylar nodded.

Justin waited until they got back to his, no, their rooms before he said anything. “You did great, Melanie.”

She blushed. “Thank you. Do you think it'll work?”

“
I'm sure it will. You know what you're doing and you've put a lot of effort into this.”

“
Now I'm just tired.” She looked it, too. Back in Seb's office, she was the image of professional and commanding. Here in the suite, she looked worn. But she was still beautiful, and the whole effect made Justin feel very protective.

“
Well come here, and let's get you out of that suit. I won't even try anything,” he winked at her, and she managed a smile back. He watched as she exchanged her suit for sweats and crawled into bed. “I'll come get you when everyone's done with their revisions. But for now, let me give you some magic, and that will help you sleep.”

“
You're a sweetheart,” she said drowsily as he put his hands on her and started letting his magic flow into her body.

“
Don't let it get out; it's a secret,” he whispered back. She smiled slightly, and then she was asleep. He just watched her for a minute. She was special, and she was his.

But he had work that was his as well, and he had to get back to it. After all, he had taken the morning off so he could attend her presentation to Seb.

Luckily, when he returned to work, the knowledge that she was safe and healthy let him get his head around what he needed to do.

The next morning, Melanie was at her desk in her new office at eight sharp. Seb and Rita had both made some good comments on improving her press release, and she had sent it off at six the previous evening.  Now she was waiting for any responses.

Melanie pulled up the news sites she visited regularly, and was pleased to see an article on witches on no fewer than three of them already. The articles were each brief and to the point, pretty much restating what she had said in her statement. She was excited, and sent a link to each page to everyone who was there yesterday. She set a bot up to search for any more news articles on the subject and let it run.

Rita showed up around eight thirty, and Skylar arrived at nine. Melanie gave them a big grin. “It's time to call Tanya. Let's see what I can manage.”

Melanie looked through her phone book on her personal cell phone and typed the number into the new cell phone Justin had given her for Coven use. She crossed her fingers, and her assistants did the same, showing their support.

“
Tanya Yelman,” she answered the phone. Melanie was glad she got in on the first call.

“
Hi Tanya, it's Melanie.”

“
If it's not Melanie Reed. Haven't heard from you in a while.”

“
It has been a few months. How have you been?”

“
I'm doing good. Things are pretty much the same here, and I'm still looking for that promotion. What has been going on in your life?”

“
I got married, quit at KYR, and I'm starting a new project.”

“
You've been busy.”

“
That I have. Did you get my press release this morning?”

“
I did. I didn't realize you had broken with KYR though.”

“
Yeah. We're on good terms, but I moved to Massachusetts to be with my new husband. What do you think?”

“
I think it's got potential for a great story. People don't know much about witches, and I like that you're going to break the code of silence. So why are you calling me?” Tanya had always been direct.

“
You're a great reporter, and I want to give you the chance to get an exclusive first interview with the Duke of the National Coven.”

Tanya paused for a second. “You're serious, right?”

“
Deadly serious. I want him on the air, and I think you're the best reporter to do it. If you don't want it, though, I can find someone else...”

“
Don't even think about it. I'll take the interview. And thank you.”

“
When do you want to do this?”

“
I'm going to go talk to Mitch and see what he wants to do with it. What I expect will happen is that he'll want me to do the interview soon, then air it in about a week. Let me go do that really fast, and then I'll call you back to get details.”

“
Let me give you my number here.”

They exchanged information, and Tanya promised to call right back.

“
We've got her,” Melanie cheered to her assistants when she got off the phone. “She's getting a time frame approved by her boss, and we'll be doing an interview in no time.”

An hour later, Melanie hung up with Tanya again. Mitch was thrilled, apparently, for the chance to air the story first. Tanya would come by the next day, a Wednesday, and then it would air a week from Friday. She shared the news with Skylar, who had been working on her handbook. Rita was doing a follow-up appointment with a patient she had helped a few weeks ago and would be back soon.

“
What's next?” Skylar asked.

“
I'm going to go update Seb. Then I'm going to make sure he's coached on how to do this before Tanya gets her hands on him. How's the book going?”

“
It's going. I'm getting emails daily from witches across the country. I'm trying to sort through them to see what hints and skills I want to put into the book and what I have to leave out, either for safety or for space.”

“
Sounds like you're working hard.”

“
I certainly am. Now go see Seb. I'll be here when you get back.”

Melanie knocked on Seb's office door, only two down from hers. His secretary, a short man named George, opened the door with a finger to his lips. Seb was on the phone, but she could wait in his office until he got off. She got seated in front of the desk and waited.

Luckily, it was only a few more minutes before Seb hung up and turned to her. “How are you feeling, Melanie?”

“
I'm doing alright. I got plenty of sleep last night, and I've got good news for you, which helps add to the adrenaline.”

“
Then tell me your good news.”

“
I got you an interview with Tanya.”

“
Excellent!”

“
Can you clear some time around one tomorrow to see her, and about twelve to get ready?”

Seb looked to George, who nodded. “You've got a meeting with Justin, but I'm sure he can reschedule.”

“
Perfect.”

“
I also want some time to coach you on how it's going to go. When would be a good time for that, George?”

“
Do you think you could do it from three to four today?”

“
Sure. I'll see you then.”

Melanie paused outside Justin's office door. He had a sign hanging on it saying that he was in the operations room, so she didn't bother to try to go in. She just reflected on how nice it was that he was so close. After all, if she really needed him, she could go to the op room and find him. She was sure that no matter how busy he was, he'd make time for her. But that wasn't something to take advantage of.

Melanie fielded calls for interviews or more information on the subject of the press release until three. At three promptly, she knocked on Seb's door. George greeted her and let himself out. Seb was inside, staring out the window. He turned back around to face her, and she noticed he looked troubled.

“
What's going on?” Melanie asked. “I can feel the disturbance within you.”

“
Ah. A problem of having another air witch in the family.” He sighed. “I've been watching the investigation into the kidnappings more closely than Justin thinks. He's been going around in circles, it seems. People send in leads, and most of them turn out to be a waste of time. I'm beginning to think that someone is giving him false leads deliberately to throw him off the scent.”

“
Is Justin thinking the same thing?”

“
I do believe so.”

“
Perhaps that's what's been bothering Justin lately. I can feel it in him, but I can also tell he doesn't want to talk about it.”