Dahlia Read online

  Seeing that my silence was upsetting her, I smiled. “I never want to cause you discomfort, so I understand. It must be startling and upsetting to see images and feelings that have nothing to do with you. It can be stressful on a psychic to have these abilities.”

  She shook her head. “Oh, I’m not psychic. I’m just weird.”

  My mouth nearly fell open when I realized that she was unaware of what she was, though I caught myself and looked away. I recalled how her mother had passed at a young age, which meant her father had raised her. I wondered if her father even knew that he had married a witch. Some witches preferred to live non-magical lives when they fell in love with mortals. That would also explain why her mother hadn’t stayed for the coven auction. She probably hadn’t told Dahlia that she was a psychic. A child would never be able to keep that a secret from her father.

  Recovering from shock, I held out my hand. “What would you say if I told you that I knew a way to keep you from seeing visions and feeling emotions when you touched me?”

  Her eyes nearly fell out of her head when she whipped around to gape at me.

  “I would say tell me as fast as humanly possible.” Her relief and excitement made me happy to offer my assistance, though I felt bad that no one had been able to help before me.

  “I can’t tell you, but I can show you.” I put my hands under the table so that I could maneuver my hands to perform a kind of binding protection spell. It would form a barrier between me and the psychic so that my energy and thoughts didn’t intrude upon her. I muttered the spell under my breath and placed my hands on the table. “There.” Reaching out, I waited for her to get up the nerve to touch me.

  She slowly moved her pointer finger towards the tip of my finger. The fear in her eyes made me want to grab her hand to show her that she had nothing to fear from me, but she needed to do this on her own.

  Tapping my finger, she recoiled across the booth. I wanted to laugh at her exaggerated reaction, but I cleared my throat. This was obviously a serious problem for her, so I wanted to be encouraging.

  She tried again, but this time, she tapped a few times until she kept her finger pressed against mine.

  Instead of her reacting this time, I nearly jumped out of my seat. Just the mere touch of her skin to mine had my body and mind reacting to her all over again. Despite the barrier, I could feel a different kind of energy coming off her. It wasn’t an aura, which I was pitiful at reading. It was a feeling of untamable lust that was strong enough to tear through the barrier.

  “Oh my God. This is amazing. I don’t see anything.” Her smile was infectious, causing me to smile too. “How is this possible?”

  I was about to give her some completely nonsensical reply that sounded plausible when she suddenly looked around and grabbed my hand, pulling me out of the booth.

  “Where are we going?” I was happy to go where she wanted, but her abruptness concerned me a little.

  She looked me in the eye. “Are you ready to embark on your life as a handsome, single man who is okay with being spontaneous and tiny bit irresponsible?”

  How could I say no to such an intriguing question asked by a gorgeous woman whom I had been fascinated by since the moment I saw her? “Yes. Yes, I am.”

  “Good.” She whisked me through the pub and down a hallway that led to the bathroom. Instead of heading into the bathroom, she pulled me into a supply closet.

  Inside the small room were shelves lined with canned and jarred goods. Pulling me to the back of the room, I saw a small table with a few magazines on it.

  Dahlia shoved the magazines on the floor. “Charlie won’t mind us using her reading room for a few minutes, especially since her brother sometimes brings his dates here.”

  She hopped up on the table and crooked her finger at me. My heart nearly stopped at such a seductive motion.

  “Would it be strange to say that I’ve never experienced anything like this in my life? My ex and I never did anything crazy. I believe we only had sex missionary style during our entire marriage.” I couldn’t believe that I was divulging such private information at such an inopportune moment.

  Laughing, she pulled off her T-shirt, exposing her red bra. “Then you definitely deserve this moment.”

  I gulped when I looked at her large breasts. My stomach did a little flip of excitement. I nodded and leaned into kiss her.

  Chapter 9 Dahlia

  I don’t know what made me brave enough to tell him about my visions, but I’m glad I did. At first, I didn’t want him to feel dejected because I had pulled away from him. Here he was putting himself out there after a brutal divorce and spazoid me had ruined a sweet moment.

  Kissing him felt so right. It wasn’t just the fact that he was handsome, polite and cluelessly eager to have a romp in the back of the restaurant. Nor did it right just because I felt it in my groin. It felt right in my heart, like I was supposed to find this strange man who had the ability to keep his emotions from spilling out all over me.

  Though I didn’t want to overthink things, I was happy I was here with him instead of some loser I had picked up at the bar.

  Dipping my tongue into his mouth to move him from, “Gee, I hope you had a good time. Here’s a peck on the cheek” to “rip my fucking clothes off and give me your cock,” he welcomed the change of speed and followed me down into a swirl of passion.

  I could still sense his hesitation, so I put his hands on my boobs and moved his hands to massage them. He groaned and stepped closer so I could feel his rising erection against my thigh.

  Kissing up to his ear, I whispered, “I want to take your suit off, but I’m afraid to get it dirty.” I didn’t want to upset him by throwing a perfectly good suit onto the gross floor.

  He pulled away from me and shrugged off his jacket. Tossing it to the floor, he gasped, “Fuck the suit,” before grabbing my face for a shockingly passionate kiss.

  Giggling, I freed him of the rest of his clothing, which he barely noticed as he freed my breasts to lick my nipples.

  Careful to avoid his bandaged tattoo, I licked across his collarbone.

  He suddenly stopped to pick up his wallet from his pocket and pull out a condom.

  And I hadn’t even asked. Swoon.

  After quickly removing my pants and my undergarments, which thankfully were the best ones I owned because it was laundry day, I pulled his hips against my thighs and looked into his eyes. “I guess the vitamins are working. You appear to be in very good shape.”

  “Oh, no, not so much. The vitamins my daughter sent tasted like soot so I refused to take them. Instead, I got a trainer. I want to run a half marathon for a charity event to benefit the children’s hospital.” He leaned down to nibble my neck.

  “Socially responsible and gorgeous. That’s a dangerous combination.” I couldn’t stop touching his back and chest. After being starved for physical contact for so long, I was needy as hell.

  He chuckled. “As a community leader, I felt it was a good way to help those in need. It’s for the children’s cancer ward to help the parents pay for the treatment and the long hospital stay. I figured that my time was better spent training than sitting on the couch watching Netflix.” He wasn’t boastful or full of himself in any way, yet he portrayed a kind of quiet confidence that I admired.

  Panting, I gazed at him. “Keep telling me how responsible you are. It’s really turning me on after dating guys who lived in their mother’s basement.”

  He leaned me back to lick up my stomach. “For the record, I live in a mansion and my mother is dead. Does that work for you?”

  I practically came at the way he smiled at me with a seductive look in his eyes.

  I nodded. “Yes.” Grabbing his dick, I positioned it in the right spot. “Tell me one bad thing about you. You’re too perfect.” I had no idea why this man was interested in me, but I was happy to be his rebound, if only for a short time.

  Frowning, he looked me dead in the eye. “I eat chocolate in the pantry by m
yself at night because my ex always yelled at me when I ate sweets.”

  I burst out laughing. “You can eat chocolate in my fucking bed with me at midnight as long as you share.” I pressed his hard length into my body, and threw back my head when he slid into me.

  “Deal.” He groaned when I took the initiative to grab him and guide him into me.

  He paused for only a second until he grabbed my hips and thrust wildly, causing me to hold on to the edge of the table.

  The quiet, unassuming man who was afraid of his ex-wife yelling at him for indulging in chocolate, who ran marathons for sick children, became a completely different person once he unleashed his lust. If I had been expecting respectable missionary sex, I would have been afraid of the man thrusting into me. Thankfully, I was a horny beast, starved for sex and intimacy and I embraced every inch of him as he cleared away the cobwebs.

  I clung to his shoulders as my boobs bounced uncontrollably against his chest. Biting my lip, I had to hold back a scream that would have alerted everyone within a ten-block radius that I was getting fucked so completely that I might not be able to walk later.

  His eyes were locked on me the entire time, which was a new experience for me. I didn’t feel like he was able to check his watch or look at his phone. He was too busy studying my reaction to what we were doing. When I groaned, he kept the same pace. When I panted, he sped up. It’s as if he knew exactly what I wanted before I did.

  Not one, but two orgasms tore through me, one right after the other. As the third one was building, he dropped his head down to kiss my neck. The intimacy of the moment threw me into the third and fourth orgasm where he finally joined me. He came so hard that his entire body shook.

  Panting, he placed his forehead against mine. “Was that too aggressive? Have I scared you off? I had no idea I was capable of doing that.”

  I chuckled and kissed his cheek. “That was the single greatest experience I’ve had since I learned how to roller skate without cutting my knees.” I ran my hand through my hair that had fallen out of my clip.

  He laughed as he helped straighten my hair. “Good. I don’t want to scare you away.”

  I shook my head. “You’ve earned a spot on my favorites list in my phone contacts.”

  Smiling a brilliant smile, he nodded. “You as well.”

  He looked down at his formerly pristine suit and kicked it a little.

  “What was that for?” I wasn’t sure why he was angry at his clothes.

  He sighed. “I don’t want to be this person anymore. I don’t want ironed pocket squares and tailors who know my measurements. I want to wear comfortable clothing that doesn’t require a tie.”

  Slipping off the table, I quickly redressed. “Then rebel. Buy some jeans that make your ass look great and a T-shirt that says I just had great sex with a stranger. Do what makes you happy.”

  He smirked at me and winked. “I already did what makes me happy…with you. You make me happy, Dahlia.”

  I chuckled at his joke. “Do something for you today. Just you and no one else.”

  He thoughtfully nodded and bent over to pick up his clothes.

  Pulling my hair back into my clip, I saw a piece of paper float from the ceiling. “Is that on fire?”

  The paper fluttered towards Ian, who let it fall into his palm. “A stinge!” He blew across his open palm and extinguished the embers.

  Confused, I stared at him. “What just happened? How did you do that?”

  He ignored me and looked down at the paper. “James Kelley Sr. has gone missing without a trace.”

  “Who?” How had Ian received the name of a missing person out of thin air?

  He glanced up at me as if he had forgotten I was there. “He’s the third in my community to go missing. The first person, Edward Daniels, often left on trips with his secretary without warning, so no one had noticed his disappearance at first. Once Agatha Yowell went missing, people started to notice. With James missing, people will start talking, which means I need to go to the office. I’m sorry, Dahlia. I have to go.”

  I nodded. “Of course. If people are missing, you need to deal with that. Though, I really want to know how that paper got in here.”

  Afraid of his answer, I waited for him to decide if he wanted to tell me the truth or lie.

  Taking my hands, he stood in front of me all serious and formal. “Dahlia, your mother brought you to an organization led by caster and conjurers within Silver Springs where I was giving that speech. I assume she was a member. To be a member of that organization, you have to be a witch or a wizard.” He paused when I blinked at the words he was saying, confused about his Harry Potter reference. “There is a reason you can see visions and feel the emotions of others when you touch them. You are part witch, on your mother’s side. She probably kept it from your father and you. I know this because I am a wizard, who can conjure. I am the High Priest of the Black Dawn Conjurers. It’s a coven for witches and wizards.”

  I pulled my hands away and tilted my head. “If you just wanted this to be a hookup, you could have just said so. You didn’t have to give me a paranormal romance bullshit excuse to make me delete your number from my phone.”

  I stormed out of the closet and ran into Charlie.

  “Dahlia, what’s wrong? Why were you in the closet?” She immediately looked up to see Ian walking out behind me. “Oh, I see.” She pulled me behind her and walked up to Ian. “I’m sure I know what happened in there, what I don’t know is why you chose Dahlia, Mr. Foster. She has enough drama in her life. She doesn’t need you or your friends.”

  Even more confused by Charlie’s speech, I waved my hand and backed away. “It’s official. I’m done with dating.”

  I ran out the back door, which would have been easier if I didn’t have tears welling up in my eyes, blurring my vision. I sure knew how to pick them. That was the last time I would confide in someone about my visions ever again. I didn’t need to be mocked for something other people couldn’t accept.

  Chapter 10 Dahlia

  Staring at my desk, I didn’t think I would ever get over what Ian Foster had done to me. I had bared my soul to him, told him my darkest secret and offered him my body only to have him screw with me. So much for being more mature than the other guys I’d dated. Living in the basement with their moms wasn’t looking so bad right about now.

  Though I did wonder about the burning paper that landed in his hand and the foreign word he had said that could have put the embers out, I wasn’t convinced that Ian was the head of some witch coven. Nor did I believe that my mom was a witch and didn’t tell me.

  It was a shame that the one guy I could touch without seeing them wet the bed as a toddler had turned out to be an asshole.

  “Night, Boss!” Milo ducked his head into my office and waved.

  “Night!”

  Gray leaned her skinny ass against the doorframe. “Do you want me to stay and help you close up?”

  “I’m fine. It’s the first time you’ve finished before 8:00 PM in a while. Go home and get some rest. Good job today. You and Milo are definitely bringing in a lot of repeat clients who like your work. I recognized some of the names.”

  Her lip curled up in the corner. “We do okay. I’m constantly showing off your work to my friends. I have a bunch of people who are looking to change artists.” She raised her arms to show off her full sleeves. Both arms had ornate shadowy flames lined with smaller images of things she held dear to her like a stuffed bear missing one eye, the cover of the book her grandmother read to her and a rose for her mother’s name. The tops of her arms each had half of a wolf face with one bright blue eye staring menacingly at anyone standing in front of her.

  I’d been worried about the design at first because doing a forward facing tattoo that wrapped around the arm was tough, but having it match the other arm was much harder. She kept adding to the tattoo so it was never finished.

  “I appreciate it. New clients are always welcome.” I smiled as I looke
d at the wolf’s eyes staring at me. “You know, I could offer you and Milo a small percentage for referrals. Like a finder’s fee or a bonus.”

  Her pierced eyebrow went up. “Wow, Boss. That’s really nice of you. I could talk about your work all day, but it would be nice to get some extra cash for it.” She paused and stepped further into the room. “It’s stupid but I feel guilty accepting it. You’re the first person who took the time to help me improve my work. My other bosses just wanted me to jiggle my tits at the clients to keep them coming back. You want them to come back because I did a good fucking job. You believed that I was more than just a set of jugs and an ass that’s perfect to smack.”

  I leaned back in my chair and took off my glasses. “Gray, you need to have more confidence in yourself. I know you’re tough as hell and won’t take shit from anyone, except when it comes to your love life and your job. You constantly undervalue yourself. You need to believe that you’re worth it. I’ll make you a deal. Show me an improvement in your black shading and I’ll increase the price for your tattoos and give you the finder’s fee. This way it feels like you earned it because of your talent, not because you have spectacular tits.”

  She snickered. “Sounds great. I promise to work on my shading and I’ll show you how I’m doing so you can give me pointers.”

  “See. I like people who want to hone their craft. That’s why I hired you. You’re always willing to learn something new and help out when needed. You care about your craft and your job.” I winked at her and sat forward to give her the check stub detailing her deposit for the week.

  Sighing, I looked down at my desk, wondering if I should go home and drown myself in some ice cream.

  “Boss, are you okay? Did something happen with Ian Foster?” Her nostrils flared as if she wanted to throat punch him.

  “Well, I had sex with him. Which was amazing, by the way. Then he told me that I was a witch and that he was the head of a coven of witches. That’s why I ran home crying. Well, technically, Charlie yelled at him and then I ran here, but you get the idea.” I thought about giving Gray the address to Ian’s mansion and letting her have a go at him.