SOMETHING WICKED THIS WAY COMES

MONSTER BETWEEN THE SHEETS

ELLE CHRISTENSEN

Copyright © 2022 by Elle Christensen

Cover Design - Elle Christensen, Clover Book Designs

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CONTENTS

Prologue

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Chapter 9

Chapter 10

Chapter 11

Chapter 12

Epilogue

Also by Elle Christensen

About the Author

Acknowledgments

PROLOGUE

ELI

For the first time since I was a prepubescent tween, I was nervous.

What if he said no? Or worse, what if she said no?

Man up, Crane. Stop being such a pussy.

Right.

My eyes scanned the crowd filling Stream in the Woods’ town square. Everyone was so joyous, just like they’d been when I lived here as a child. I’d been mad as hell when my father announced that we were moving to Sleepy Hallow. It was less than an hour away, but there was nowhere on earth as wonderful to live than Stream in the Woods.

It was a place filled with love and friendship. Local businesses thrived, neighbors helped each other, and there was a wonderful sense of community with strong moral values. It was rare for people to leave, so many were born and raised here, then married and had children of their own and the population never dwindled.

One of the very best things about the town was when everyone came together for a celebration—and there were many. The people loved any excuse to spend time together, with tons of food and drink, incredible decorations, oftentimes dancing and games. Old and young, everyone anticipated these special times. My favorite was Halloween, when the celebration included creative costumes, spooky stories, and the opportunity to be someone else. Anyone else…

I spent most of those parties hanging out with my friends and my surrogate family. Silas Adler was my best friend, and his family treated me like one of their own. We never talked about it, but I knew they were aware that my home life was…less than ideal. It was a far cry from how most of the residents of Stream in the Woods lived. My father was a bully, and he liked to use his fists to make a point.

By the time we moved when I was fourteen, I was big enough that I’d stopped being afraid of him and started fighting back. He stuck to verbal abuse, but I found happiness in visiting the Adlers whenever I could.

We also owned a horse farm, Old Bridge Stables, where we trained and leased horses. However, most of our business came from the boarding stables—we housed most of the local horses, and some from the surrounding towns.

Ever since I was a kid, I’d loved working on the farm and held out hope that it would one day be mine. After my mom died, it was the only reason I put up with my father’s bullshit and stuck around.

Well, not the only reason.

Silas had been twelve when his little sister, Margaret Hamilton Adler, was born. She was the sweetest baby, and Silas adored her. Over the years, I watched her grow up into a sassy, but sweet little girl, then into a beautiful young woman—though she still had a lot of sass.

I didn’t notice how mature she’d become until she was seventeen. She was easy to talk to, funny, a hard worker, and sweet as pie. However, being so much older than her, I figured her brother would never be okay with me pursuing her, so I set her firmly in the “off-limits” box and tried to move on with my life.

But she kept creeping into my thoughts, and one day, I was speaking with Silas when he mentioned how wonderful Maggie’s eighteenth birthday celebration had been.

Eighteen. She was old enough for me to ask on a date, but was I too old for her?

I decided there was only one way to find out. And, I might have received a little push from the off-handed comment that Silas made about Brom Brunt—a spoiled little rich boy who wanted every girl to think he walked on water—sniffing around his sister. Well, that little shit was about to learn that he’d drown if he tried walking on the Stream in the Woods.

It was the motivation I needed to come to my old hometown for the Halloween celebration, intent on getting Silas’s permission to ask out Maggie, although I was going to do it either way.

 Just like every year, the All Hallows Eve party was a sight to behold. You couldn’t help smiling and being swept away by the warm and friendly people, fabulous music, and amazing food.

Most everyone was in costume, and I grinned at the unique outfits some people had come up with. I’d gone with a jockey, which wasn’t very accurate since I was well over six feet tall, but that was what made people chuckle when they saw me.

After another look around me, I still hadn’t spotted Silas or Maggie, so I wandered over to the drink table. Emmet Karloff—who Maggie and Silas affectionately called The Mad Scientist—was passing out bottles of his yearly brew, Frankenpunch.

I managed to snag a bottle, just in time since they were quickly gone. I understood why when I opened it and took my first sip. It tasted like fresh apple pie, as if he’d somehow managed to pulverize one down into a juice. I gulped it down in a few swallows, then licked my lips for the last few drops, wishing I’d been smart enough to take a second helping.

A few minutes later, I spotted Brom walking toward a new store in town, Something Special. Pride swelled in my chest at the sight of the cute little boutique. All Maggie had ever wanted was to open her own little shop on Main Street. Her dad had helped her with everything in order to open her place the day after her birthday. From what Silas had said, it was doing extremely well.

I followed the little shit, and though I was pissed to see him talking to my girl, I was glad he’d helped me find her.

My lips curved up at the edges when I saw the expression on Maggie’s beautiful face. It was pinched with annoyance and her eyes were bounding around frantically, clearly looking for a way to escape.

Like a knight in shining armor, I stalked to her side and slipped my arm around her waist. “Hey, baby,” I murmured before placing my lips on her temple. Sparks erupted from the touch of our skin, and I smiled fully when a little shiver raced through her body. It made my already hardening cock turn to steel. “There was no more Frankenpunch, but I brought you something else.”

I tossed a cocky smirk at Brom, who was glaring at us.

Maggie’s head fell back, and she looked up at me with her stunning blue eyes. “What’s that?”

“This,” I teased before closing my mouth over hers.

The touch of our lips sent little zings of pleasure streaking through my body. The air practically crackled from the chemistry between us, and desire pooled low in my belly.

Just when I was about to deepen the kiss and finally have my first taste of Maggie, our moment was broken by the clearing of a throat.

Maggie froze and I pulled back an inch. I searched her expression for any indication of how she felt and was relieved when I saw the dreamy haze in her eyes. Her pretty, pink lips curved up at the side and I was tempted to go in for another kiss.

“I didn’t realize you were dating anyone,” Brom said, his voice a little louder than necessary. Likely due to the fact that we weren’t paying attention to him.

Maggie snapped out of her trance and her head flew up, smacking her forehead against mine since I was still bent toward her.

“Ouch!” she yelped, while I grunted, “Son of a bitch!”

We jumped apart, rubbing our heads and when our eyes met, we burst out laughing. I adored the musical sound of her laughter, and it made my smile stretch wide across my face.

Maggie flipped several long, auburn curls over her shoulder and turned her attention back to Brom. “Um, I…”

She trailed off and I snaked my arm around her once again. “She’s not dating anyone,” I drawled. “She’s dating me.”

Brom’s frown was deep, and he scowled at me with a look that said he wanted to put me six feet under. We stared at each other for a minute, then he blinked and glanced at my girl. “See you later, Maggie.” He turned and wandered off.

“Not if I can help it,” I muttered under my breath.

“You want to tell me what that was all about?”

Some women might have been annoyed at my overbearing tactics, or offended that I scared off a potential date, or been obnoxious for whatever reason they could come up with to cause drama.

Not Maggie. Her voice was filled with mirth and her eyes twinkled as she angled her head so she could see my face.

“He’s an entitled prick.”

She snickered. “No argument here. But, um, what’s with the possessive boyfriend routine?”

Not one to play games, I answered honestly. “I didn’t like that asshole sniffing around you. And since I came here to ask you out, I decided to go for the presumptive close and announce that we are dating.”

Maggie’s smile was breathtaking, and it filled me with warmth. “Okay.”

“Okay?”

“You got yourself a date, Eli Crane.”

I wanted to scoop her up and spin her around while yelling that I finally had a date with my dream girl, but there was one thing I wanted to do first.

“I’d like Silas to hear about this from me.”

Maggie’s expression turned soft and understanding. She and Silas were incredibly close, and I knew she would appreciate my gesture.

“He went to fix one of the generators”—she pointed to a big display of blowup halloween decorations that were slowly deflating—“over there.”

I framed Maggie’s beautiful, round face with my hands and placed another soft kiss on her lips. “I’ll be right back.”

1

MAGGIE

I glanced around my shop and sighed with satisfaction. Every surface gleamed and all the items were in their place. I hated adding new inventory without first organizing everything that was already there. After putting away my duster, I went to the back room and began unpacking one of the boxes that had just arrived.

I’d worked my ass off to open Something Special. My dad had helped with the logistics and co-signed the lease, but every dime had come from me. It had always been an eclectic selection of items from books to antiques to custom jewelry and furniture, as well as other trinkets. After that fateful night, I still carried a similar variety, but my tastes had darkened, and my merchandise leaned more toward the occult now.

A lot of my customers were real witches and other magical creatures who all shopped at Something Wicked—the name I changed it to after the incident on Halloween twenty years ago. Since I was the only person who carried what they needed or knew where to order it. There were also a good number of hopefuls who often came here for the books and ingredients to make potions, cast spells, and whatever other magical things they came up with. I was happy to help and encourage, but I made sure to be honest when they asked about the likelihood of their success in their magical endeavors. Unless they already possessed magical powers, I doubted they would achieve their goal, but there was no harm in trying.

Then there were all the visitors who came to Screaming Woods just to visit the store owned by The Wicked Witch of the West.

It was a pain in the ass since the whole story was trumped up and full of half-truths and outright lies. But it wasn’t like anyone would believe me if I tried to correct the record, and these gawkers usually spent obscene amounts of money to take home souvenirs from the wicked collection owned by the green witch.

I generally wise-cracked and played it all off as funny, but there were days I wished I’d dropped that house on my cousin, Lindsay. Especially when I had another disastrous date because I desperately wanted to find someone to help me get a certain horseman out of my heart.

Many of them couldn’t stop staring at my bright green skin, some were there just to ask ridiculous questions about that little thief and her yappy dog. Others were curious about my shoe collection—it was no secret that I loved unusual, bright, funky shoes. Those were the ones who usually had some kind of shoe fetish.

My brother thought I was crazy for going on all these dates—particularly since I got them through a dating website. I’d had one earlier tonight that had gotten on my nerves enough that I lost my cool just a bit. Inventory wasn’t taking my mind off of it, so I grabbed my cell phone and flopped down in an old, but well-preserved, red velvet chair and dialed my brother’s number.

“Hey, Mags,” Silas greeted. “How was the muggle date?”

I sighed and rolled my eyes, even though he couldn’t see it. “That joke is so old it crawled into a coffin and died.”

Silas laughed. “Only because you have no sense of humor,” he teased.

I knew he was trying to keep things light in case the night had gone badly.

“So?”

I wanted so much to tell him it had gone well, that I’d had the night of my life, but Silas knew me better than anyone. He would see right through it anyway. “He stayed through dinner,” I admitted softly. “I thought I might actually make it to dessert for once. I tried to fool myself into believing that he was just engrossed in his meal and not trying to avoid looking at me. But I should have known better.”

Silas was quiet for a moment, probably plotting my date’s death by electrocution.

“He didn’t deserve you,” Silas declared firmly. I knew he believed that, but it didn’t really make me feel any better. “He obviously couldn’t see the good thing right in front of him.”

“And how would he have seen something good?” I scoffed. “The only thing sitting in front of him was a green witch who everyone blames for all the havoc that Lindsay caused until the house dropped on her—also blamed on me. He tried to do it when I wasn’t looking, but I saw him checking out my shoes. The wicked witch of the west.”

I didn’t tell Silas the rest of the story though…the part where the guy asked me if I was wicked in the bedroom and if I needed to be spanked for being a bad little witch. I didn’t want my brother to end up in jail, or to have his…unique abilities…exposed to the world all because some asshole liked witch kink. I mean, to each their own, I guess, but maybe don’t whip out shit like that until the second date.

“I hope you whacked him with your broom,” he finally quipped, making me giggle.

“No, but I offered him a ride home on it.” Which got a different, and pretty gross, reaction than I’d been expecting from the pervert. So, I decided to have a little fun. “Then I spilled water on myself just to see him squirm when he thought I was about to melt.”

Laughter rumbled in my brother’s chest, and I could hear the smile in his voice when asked, “Did you make a little steam?”

“Yup.” The P popped, and I chuckled. “You should have seen him. His skin turned almost as green as mine.”

“Maybe next time I should come along,” he suggested in a cheeky tone. “Give the next guy another shock.”

This was one of the reasons I loved my brother so much. Ever since that Halloween, he hadn’t been able to touch another person without wearing thick, leather gloves, for fear of killing them. The voltage of electricity that pulsed inside him was deadly. But, other than being a bit of a recluse—and who could blame him if he was constantly worried about killing someone—he didn’t let what happened change him completely.

I snickered. “Seriously, bro, you need to find some new material.”

“Hey, I’m fucking hilarious.”

“I’m glad you think so. Since no one else does.”

He gasped dramatically, making me laugh again. “I’m hurt, Margaret Hamilton Adler. Hurt, I tell you.”

“You’ll get over it,” I said dryly. “Well, I’m going to revel in the disaster that is my love life while I finish inventory at the shop. Love you, Silas.”

“Love you, too, Mags,” he replied.

I was about to hang up when I remembered something I wanted to tell him. “Oh, I almost forgot. Do you remember Phineas Crane?”

“My best friend’s dad?” Eli and Silas had been inseparable until Phineas up and moved the family to Sleep Hallow. Although they’d stayed close for a while, when everything changed and Stream in the Woods became Screaming Woods, we never heard from him again. Silas assumed it was because he didn’t really talk to anyone but me. I knew the real reason, but I didn’t want Silas to think ill of Eli, so I never told him that Eli had broken my heart.

When he didn’t return from finding Silas, I was sure he’d come close enough to see what I’d become and ran as far away from me as he could get.

Still, what had happened with Phineas had been rather strange. “Yeah. It was the weirdest thing. He came into Something Wicked earlier today.” That alone had been shocking because Phineas was firmly against anything to do with magic or the occult. But, he’d come in for a book about magical wards, making me wonder if hell had frozen over. When he realized who I was, he couldn’t get out fast enough. But, while he was checking out, I couldn’t stop myself from asking after Silas’s old friend and the man I’d held a candle for all these years.

“Was he still a jackass?”

“Considering how he looked at me when I asked about Eli, I’m going to say yes.” Phineas had been a lousy father and husband. Honestly, he was a shit human being if you asked me. “And he refused to talk about his son. It was really strange. He seemed almost…scared. Before he left, he told me I should forget about Eli unless I wanted to lose my head.”

“What?” Silas sounded as confused as I’d felt at the time.

“Weird, right?”

We talked about it for another few minutes, then I went back to inventory, the highlight of my love life.

2

ELI

I bent forward over Gunpowder—one of the horses that belonged solely to me—and urged him to go faster. It was almost Halloween, so the air was crisp with the smell of fall, and it filled my lungs, helping to soothe my churning emotions.

The woods around Sleepy Hallow were my sanctuary. I’d always loved and explored them, riding my horse through the maze of trees and going full speed on the hills around it. And after a few people caught a glimpse of the monster I became at night, most people were afraid to venture into my domain. Not that anyone knew it was me, though there was a lot of speculation.

In the grand scheme of things, I supposed I should count myself lucky—well, luckier than most—because my only permanent attributes had been to grow several inches taller, and my muscles had become more prominent and defined, particularly my thighs, which were already pure muscle from riding horses all the time. From what I knew of the residents of Screaming Woods, most of them lived as a monster every minute of their life. At least my head only disappeared at night.

But, it had been enough to send me back to where I came from and never contact Maggie or Silas again. After all, who would want to be with a headless man? I doubted they would see putting a pumpkin over my head as a solution. However, it sure was fun to do when I wanted to freak out anyone who came searching for “The Headless Horseman.” The stories people had concocted were actually pretty amusing most of the time. The one that had made me laugh the hardest accused me of stealing souls. I could see how they would lump me in with The Reaper. Especially when I wore my long, leather coat on the colder nights. It billowed out behind me in the wind, looking similar to a cloak.

I had to find humor in it somewhere because despite my monster only rearing its head at night—probably a poor choice of words—I couldn’t see how any woman would be interested in me for more than a daylight fling. Which was why I stayed away from Maggie. I knew she hadn’t escaped the catastrophe, that she’d turned green and had dark magic living inside her. But she wasn’t invisible, permanently, or otherwise.

I’d snuck a peek at her from afar a few years after the incident. She was still as beautiful as the day I last spoke to her. With her long auburn curls turned jet black and her peach skin a silky emerald green, she still looked flawlessly gorgeous to me. And, she might not believe it, but her inner beauty was still there. It shared her body with the magic, but it was plain to me that they lived in harmony.

On the other hand, I’d been angry and bitter, letting it darken my soul. There were so many reasons why she and I would never work, so I’d tried to put it out of my mind and heart.

Until yesterday.

My father was a lazy son of a bitch—sorry, Grandma—and he barely lifted a finger to help run our business. However, he also had an ego and needed to feel superior, so from time to time, he would try to step in and tell me what to do. Usually in front of our employees because he needed an audience, or what would be the point of his drama?

We all knew what he was like, and the employees were loyal to me, so no one took the bait, which just pissed him off. Without the ability to use me as a punching bag, he resorted to insults and threats.

For some reason, I’d reached my limit a couple of days ago. My patience was stretched thin with the looming twentieth anniversary of that disastrous All Hallows Eve.

When my father threatened to fire me, yet again, I shoved him against the wall and lifted him up with a hand around his neck. “I’ve had just about enough of your bullshit, Dad.” I spat the last word, making it clear that I didn’t give a fuck if he was my father. It wouldn’t help him. If anything, it made me angrier because he was the opposite of everything a dad should be.

That thought caused a flash of pain in my chest, a reminder that I would never have the opportunity to give my kids what I never had. But, I shoved those thoughts aside and focused on my rage.

“We both know that if I left Old Bridge to you, you’d bankrupt it in a matter of months.” Although, since I managed everything, including the books, I’d given myself a decent salary, rather than the pennies he would have paid me, and built myself a nice nest egg. “You’re too fucking lazy to step up and do the work. So, this is your last warning. Back the fuck off or my temper might get the best of me, and I don’t think you want the monster”—my tone was mocking because he frequently pointed out what I was in an attempt to make me feel inferior—“doling out the consequences.”

The only abilities I’d developed when I changed was a keen sense of fear, I could practically smell it on people, and I had some control over the wind. Neither of those would help me to punish my dad, but he didn’t know that. They could, however, aid in scaring the shit out of him.

Fear was already pouring from him, but when I whipped a chair up with a flick of my hand and smashed into the wall beside his head, he almost wet himself.

With a grim smile and one more threatening scowl, I let him down and stalked out of the house.

Like always, I didn’t give him another thought as I continued on with my day.

But when he returned to the house that evening, he changed everything.

* * *

“Hello, son.”

I glanced up from the papers spread out in front of me, surprised to see my father in my office. He rarely ventured past the house, much less to the small barn I’d converted into an office, with a small apartment above.

“I’m busy,” I growled, dismissing him, and returning to my work.

“I thought we should sit down over a drink and discuss the future of Old Bridge.”

Once again raising my head, I narrowed my eyes, taking in his overly friendly expression and the six pack of beer in one hand. My first instinct was to tell him to leave and let the door hit him in the ass on the way out, but I was curious to know what his game was. So, I set down my pen and leaned back in my seat, sweeping one of my hands toward the chairs on the opposite side of my desk.

His expression remained amicable, but I picked up on the wariness surrounding him like a thick cloud. He approached and tossed me a beer before taking one for himself and sitting down.

I twisted the cap off the bottle, but I wasn’t in the mood for a drink, so I set it on the tabletop. “What’s on your mind?”

My father’s eyes darted to my beer, before returning to my face. He raised his bottle and tried to smile. “Bottom’s up.” When I still didn’t partake, he frowned. “Too good to drink with your old man?”

“Depends on whether or not you poisoned it,” I half-joked. I was stunned when fear came off him in waves so thick, I could almost touch them. “What is in my drink?” I asked, my voice deadly calm.

“What? Nothing.” he mumbled, shifting restlessly in his chair.

I started to stand, and he blurted, “Just a little protection. It won’t hurt you, just, um, keep you from doing, you know, bad things, to um…”

“To the sniveling coward masquerading as a man?”

His chest puffed out in annoyance, but wisely, he didn’t jump to his defense. “She specifically told me it wouldn’t hurt whoever I gave it to,” he muttered, setting his beer on my desk. “Just protect me from them.” He shrunk back in his seat as I stood to my full height.

“She?” I demanded.

There was only one place I knew of where he could procure this kind of thing. The thought of him being anywhere near my girl made me sick. Not that she was my girl—I shook off that train of thought and focused on my father.

“Maggie Adler,” he answered, and the tiny bit of smugness in his tone put me on a razor's edge. I was millimeters away from kicking his ass. “The Wicked Witch.”

“You went to Something Wicked?” I asked through clenched teeth.

“Yes. I was desperate. But believe me, I won’t be going back there ever again. That place is full of monsters and freaks.” His pleasant expression had given way to loathing and repulsion. Two things I frequently saw in his eyes when he looked at me. “You know what? I don’t give a shit about the farm,” he suddenly snarked, jumping to his feet. “Go live with the other creatures and the lunatics they’ve convinced are in love with them.”

“Love,” I whispered, confused by the direction his rambling had taken.

“Yeah,” he spat. “Some of those monstrosities have found a head-case dumb enough to think themselves in love.” He pointed a finger at me and snarled, “Maybe you could find someone sick enough to think they want a monster between the sheets.”

I didn’t have a response because I was still processing the information he’d spewed.

“Gargoyles, beasts, zombies…it’s unnatural. Even a fucking invisible man! Who the hell would be okay with fucking an invisible man, for fuck’s sake?”

“Shut the hell up,” I bellowed, making him stumble back and fall into his chair. An invisible man? Was there really someone out there who would love and accept a partner that they would never be able to see?

I needed to sort through everything he’d said and the riot of emotions bombarding me. “Get the fuck out,” I snarled at the bigot glaring at me. “Unless you want to lose your head.”

He couldn’t get out of my office fast enough.

After tossing the beer in the trash, I grabbed my coat and hat and headed for the stables. It was dusk, so I had a little time before I needed to hide myself away. I quickly checked in with my employees and made sure they didn’t need anything before wishing them a good night. Only Lucy, my manager, knew what I really was. I needed someone to know in case there was ever an emergency at night.

She took one look at my face and shoved me toward the stable where Gunpowder was housed. “Go for a ride. Cool off before you take someone’s head off. I’ve got things here.”

“Ha ha,” I replied, my tone dry as the desert as I stalked to the one creature who gave me comfort, who didn’t give a fuck what I was so long as I cared for him and we rode in harmony.

An hour later, I stopped by a stream to let Gunpowder take a drink. Leaning over slightly, I looked at my reflection in the light of the moon.

I scratched the scruff on my jaw, taking in the familiar sight of a hand touching what looked like nothing but air. My head didn’t actually disappear, it just turned invisible—it could be felt, but not seen.  Which was how I got away with doing shit like wearing a pumpkin on my head to give people a fright for my own amusement.

My arm drifted down, leaving an empty space above the collar of my coat.

Was it really possible?

Could someone—I swallowed hard and asked myself what I truly wanted to know—could Maggie accept me?

3

MAGGIE

Dark magic isn’t as bad as people think. I was terrified of it at first, worried that I would turn into someone evil. However, over time, I realized that the main difference between light and dark magic was simply how you used it. Sure, they each came with some abilities that the other didn’t have, but honestly, even light magic could be used to curse someone if that was the intention.

I’d spent a long time learning about what I was and figuring out what I could do. There were spells and powers I had access to that would scare the shit out of just about anyone. But I didn’t use them, I didn’t need them, and I wanted to prove that a dark witch didn’t equal a bad one.

As the areas around Screaming Woods began to gentrify, I was surprised to see more and more non-residents come into my shop. Some didn’t believe in magic and came for the fun of it, others were in search of something they could only acquire through a store like mine. I’d made a few friends in some of these other towns, mostly witches and warlocks who could live among humans without detection—meaning, they didn’t have bright green skin or any other physical traits that screamed supernatural.

If they lived close enough for a quick trip on my broom—hey, the cliche existed for a reason. I mean, look at the aerodynamics. They were seriously fast and never needed to be fed, charged, or filled with gas—I would sometimes deliver.

October was—with the exception of that stupid holiday—one of my favorite months. Most of the days were beautiful, even when they were chilly. So, I was enjoying my ride to a friend’s house a few miles past the woods. She’d been ill and needed a few roots for an elixir. On my way home, the wind picked up. It wasn’t as strong closer to the treetops, so I flew low, but the moon was shrouded in cloud cover making it hard to discern the shadows.

I was about halfway through the thick forest when I misjudged a tree, just as a gust of wind hit me with more force than I expected. It knocked me sideways, and as I tried to right myself, a tree branch whipped out and struck the business end of my broom.

“Damn it,” I muttered as I twisted around to look at the damage, only to fly right into another tree because I was losing altitude. The front end of my broom snapped off, but it at least kept me from hitting the bark face first.

Using a feather spell, I gently floated the rest of the way to the ground. Until I reached the bottom where I fell on my ass because the stupid shadows made everything look wonky and I hit the ground a little harder than I’d intended.

“Ouch! Fuck!” I yelped as I climbed to my feet, rubbing a sore spot on my butt. My broom was scattered around me in splintered pieces and I sighed. “That was my favorite one.” I muttered a few more curses as I stomped around, gathering up my poor broom. It was beyond repair.

The crunch of leaves suddenly alerted me to a presence, and a dark shadow fell over me, blocking what little moonlight had been filtering through the trees. The shadow was huge and I realized why when I looked toward the sound of crunching leaves and spotted horse hooves.

“Are you alright?”

The deep, male voice sent a shiver through my body and set off butterflies in my stomach. I mentally sighed and prepared myself for the look of revulsion on the man’s face when he finally got a good look at me. It was going to suck all the more considering he was the first man to make me tingle since I was eighteen.

“Fine,” I grumbled as I brushed all the dirt and leaves from my leather leggings. “Just a little turbulence.”

The horse dipped his head and nudged my arms, making me smile. He was a beautiful ebony color that turned silvery blue in the streaks of light breaking through the trees.

“Turbulence?”

“Yeah, it’s harder to dodge on a broom than in an airplane.” I still didn’t look at him, seeing another shard of wood and bending over to pick it up. I didn’t want any animals or people to accidentally step on the sharp splinters. “They are wicked fast, though.”

“A broom?”

His tone held amusement, and it annoyed me that he thought I was funny. It would have been easier if he’d already decided I was crazy and took off.

With my arms full of my fractured broom, I considered walking away, but some of the pieces were already poking me and I didn’t want to make the trek back to town holding them. With a mental shrug, I snapped a finger and poof, my arms were empty. Now he would run off, I assured myself. Instead, he laughed. Laughed!

“Impressive,” he rumbled in his deliciously deep and smoky voice.

Damn my traitorous body and the tingles in all the wrong/right places. His sweet horse moved closer and nudged my hand until I rubbed his nose. It was time to get this over with.

“The magic?” I asked as I slowly lifted my chin.

“That too. But I was referring to Gunpowder. I’ve never seen him let anyone but me touch him.”

“Really?” In my surprise, I looked up the rest of the way. Dread enveloped me for a split-second until my brain made sense of what I was seeing, then relief flooded my body.

The man on the horse didn’t have a look of disgust on his face…at least, I didn’t think so. I couldn’t tell because…he had no head.

We stared at each other in silence for what seemed like hours, but was likely no more than a few minutes. Well, I assumed we were both staring.

I cocked my head to the side, sweeping my gaze over him with curiosity. “You know, you’d probably look a lot less scary if you used something as a replacement head.”

“But you’re not scared of me.” It was a statement, but his tone was filled with something resembling awe.

I confirmed it anyway. “No, why would I be?” My lips curved into a little smirk. “But I’m sure others are. Perhaps you could use a Jack-o’-lantern?” I suggested cheekily.

He chuckled. “I see you’ve heard the rumors.” His tone was dry and I snickered.

“Who hasn’t? Not that I can judge, I’ve certainly inspired some ridiculous stories. Although, I did wonder if you were real.” One of the commonalities throughout all the rumors was that The Headless Horseman lived in the woods of Sleepy Hallow. I briefly wondered if he knew Eli, but put that out of my mind because I shouldn’t care where he was or how he was doing, not after he so easily tossed me aside when I turned a little green…

“As real as you,” The Horseman replied lightly. “I’ve heard some of the stories about you as well. Perhaps we should swap truths.”

I grinned and put my hands on my hips. For ease when flying, I wore snug clothing, like my black leather leggings and long-sleeved, tunic sweater in the same color. I had on black boots that laced up to just below my knees and my hair had come out of its bun when I fell and was not a mess of wild curls all around me. It was crazy, but I could have sworn I felt the heat of his gaze as he perused my body.

“Um.” I swallowed hard and crossed my arms over my chest in case my hardened nipples were poking through the material. “We should. That would be fun.” I put a fake pout on my lips and added, “Although you have an unfair advantage. I won’t be able to look at your expression to see if you’re lying. Your buddies must hate playing poker with you.”

I was rambling a bit, but it was because the way he made me feel was so foreign. Nervous and excited at the same time. I’d only ever felt this way about Eli, but I’d been so young… My reaction to this man was stronger, more mature. It made me feel like a real woman, and for a moment, I forgot I was a monster. 

The Headless Horseman—I didn’t know what else to call him since we hadn’t exchanged names yet—laughed, and the warm, rich sound set off the butterflies in my stomach again. “I’m not allowed to play at night, but I still kick their asses during the day.”

My brow rose and I tapped a finger on my arm. “Why would they let you play during the day and not at night? It’s not like the sun makes you more opaque.”

He shrugged and scratched his chin…I assumed. It was in the right vicinity, unless his head was grossly disproportionate to his body.

“I don’t think it has anything to do with light because I still have an invisible head at night whether I’m in bright lights or the cover of darkness. And during the day, my head is visible in a dark room, as well as in the sunlight.”

My jaw dropped in shock and I tried not to let the jealousy swirling inside me show through my eyes. He looked normal for the majority of his life, while I was always a monster.

“Don’t envy me, baby. You are beautiful all the time. You don’t need to change to make that any more or less true.”

Something warm and pleasant filtered through me, making my cheeks heat and my panties even more damp than they already were.

He was silent long enough for me to catch on that he was waiting for me to respond. “Were you expecting me to argue? If you think I’m gorgeous, why would I try to convince you otherwise?”

A deep laugh burst from his chest. Damn, he was sexy when he did that. Head or not, he had a smoking hot body. He was larger than the average man—but I loved the difference in our sizes. He would make me feel safe wrapped up in his big arms, and he would cover every inch of me in bed. Whoa…curb your thoughts, Mags.

“Would you allow me to give you a ride home?” he asked when his amusement faded.

“That would be fabulous.” I wanted to cringe at the breathy quality to my voice. Looking away, my cheeks turned hot and I prayed he couldn’t detect all the filthy thoughts running amok in my head.

When his hand extended, I placed my palm in his and the electric current that snapped between us startled me. But before I could take my hand back and move away, I was flying through the air and landing on a pair of very hard, muscular thighs. Wow. Good grief. Apparently, when my libido flared to life it turned me into a hussy because I was having a tough time thinking about anything involving this man that didn’t involve us both being naked.

“So,” I said lightly, trying to act as if I wasn’t burning from the inside out. “What brings you to Screaming Woods?”

He took a deep breath as he moved my hair away from my neck, dripping it over one shoulder. Then I shivered at his warm breath when he gave me the last answer I ever expected.

“You.”

4

ELI

Maggie was even more gorgeous than I remembered. She hadn’t changed much, frozen in time just like me, but she’d filled out a little, giving her a more womanly shape. And fuck, was it tempting.

I could understand why her skin color would bother her, but no matter the color—and it was a stunning shade of emerald—it was soft and smooth. I wanted to kiss every inch until she believed me when I told her that she was the sexiest creature I’d ever seen, pink, blue, green, purple, it didn’t matter.

I’d been enjoying our banter, but when I finally had her in my arms again, I needed her to know it was me. She’d seemed completely unfazed by my missing head. It had blown me away. It also made me feel like the world’s biggest asshole. I should have known better than to think Maggie would judge me. She’d always been open-minded, generous, loving, and kind.

I let my insecurities get the best of me and we lost all this time together.

So, when she asked me why I was there, I blurted out the truth.

“You.”

Maggie’s brows rose up so high they practically disappeared into her hairline. “Me?” Then they immediately dipped low and her expression turned dark. “Did you come here to see if the stories were true? Well, here I am. Yes, I’m green, yes I’m a witch, yes I love extravagant shoes, no I didn’t kill my cousin, no I didn’t send crazy flying monkeys after that little twit, no I will not show you that I’m green everywhere. That’s all you’re going to get. I’ll just be going now.”

I curled both arms around her, keeping her locked in place, and hurried to explain before she turned me into a toad or something. “Maggie, baby, calm down. I’m not here to gawk, although you are sexy as fuck. I…” Damn. My nerves were going haywire. What if she cursed me for walking away from her without an explanation or even a goodbye. Well, Crane. Isn’t that what you deserve? “I’m Eli Crane. I came because…well, because I couldn’t stay away any longer.”

Maggie stiffened, but she didn’t make a move to get away, or curse me…yet. “Eli?”

“Yeah. Damn Maggie, I’m sorry for how I handled everything all those years ago. I was so worried you wouldn’t want a man like me that I—”

“Hold up.” She cut me off, putting her hands in the air. Then she shifted around until she was straddling me and curled her legs around my hips.

I could get used to this…

“You left because you thought I wouldn’t want to be with you.”

“Yes, but I—”

“I’m not done,” she snapped.

A grin split my face, and for the first time ever, I was glad my head was invisible. She was sexy as hell when she was all fired up, but I was pretty sure if she saw my expression, she’d whack me with her broom…if she still had it.

“Because your head disappears at night?”

I nodded, having learned my lesson. But then it hit me that she wasn’t able to see the gesture. “That’s right,” I answered succinctly.

“I want to be pissed at you for thinking so little of me,” she huffed. “But I get it. And I didn’t exactly give you the benefit of the doubt. Brom couldn’t get away from me fast enough and I lumped you in with him when you never came back.”

My lips curled in disgust. “Don’t ever compare me to that weasel.” Maggie tapped a long, pointed black nail against her glossy pink lips. “Sounds like we were both to blame. Call it even?”

“Deal.” I almost asked if it was truly going to be that easy, but just because you couldn’t see my head didn’t mean there was no brain. No way was I going to risk the gift I’d been given.

She stuck her hand out and I grasped it in mine, but rather than shake, I tugged her forward and sealed my mouth over hers.

I guided both of her arms up so they looped around my neck, then I rested my hands on her hips, holding her tight to remind myself that this was real.

Her lips were soft and sweet as they rubbed across mine. I probably should have taken it slow, but it had been almost twenty years since I kissed Maggie, and I wasn’t going to let anything stop me from finally tasting her.

My tongue traced the seam of her lips and she immediately opened. I growled with approval,  gliding my hands down to cup her ass and angling my head so I could sweep my tongue inside her mouth.

I was already hard as a fucking rock, but when taste of apples and cinnamon invaded my mouth, my cock practically wept with hunger. “Fuck,” I groaned against her lips. “I’ll never be able to eat apple pie again without wishing it was you in my mouth.”

“Eli,” she moaned as she scooted closer.

Her tongue slid against mine, and I knew if we didn’t stop, I was going to fuck her right there on the back of Gunpowder.

It took me another five minutes to finally tear my mouth from hers. My breaths were choppy and my pulse was racing as I grasped her hips and moved her back several inches. She’d been squirming right on top of my erection, and my cock was doing its best to tear through my jeans.

“I’m going to take you home,” I grumbled. She was worth the giant blueberries I’d be living with until the time was right.

Maggie sighed and I placed a quick kiss on her lips before lifting her up and turning her around so her back was to my front.

“Don’t make sounds like that, baby,” I warned her softly in her ear. “I’ve waited far too long to make you mine, and I’m not going to rush this. So, stop trying to tempt me.”

She turned her head to the side and pouted up at me. I laughed and she couldn’t hold the expression, dissolving into giggles.

I squeezed my thighs to get Gunpowder moving, but didn’t hurry—I was in no rush for this night to be over.

“So…tell me about this shoe collection,” I prodded. “If you don’t want to talk about it, that’s fine.  Just so long as you understand that eventually, you’re going to be modeling every single pair, without anything else.”

Maggie stopped breathing for a beat, then inhaled and exhaled slowly. “Noted,” she rasped.

“You always had a thing for crazy shoes,” I remembered fondly.

“Unique,” she corrected with a laugh.

“Touché. But one thing I never noticed was how fucking sexy they were.”

Maggie glanced back long enough for me to see a pretty shade of pink blooming on her cheeks, and her full lips curved up at the corners.

I debated asking my next question, wondering if it would upset her, but I wanted to know everything about her. And I wanted to tell her everything about me. No secrets, because I wanted to be the one person she could always be herself with.

“Did you ever get those ruby slippers back?” I inquired casually.

She didn’t freeze up, and I took that as a good sign.

“Is that your subtle way of asking me to tell you what happened?”

“You don’t have to tell me,” I murmured softly before kissing the back of her ear.

She shivered and mumbled, “No…um…” She shook her head as if to clear it and I grinned, ecstatic to know she was affected by me. “It’s fine.”

I nuzzled her neck and she tossed me a dirty look over her shoulder, making me laugh. “If you want to hear the story, stop distracting me,” she said with an exasperated sigh.

“Terribly sorry.” I wasn’t and we both knew it.

5

MAGGIE

The whole situation with the little thief, Dorothy, was completely blown out of proportion and filled with bogus details. But who would believe a monster over a cute farm girl with her braids and checkered dress? Oh, and her little dog, too. So I hadn’t told many people my version of events.

For some reason, it was important to me that Eli knew the truth, so I was eager to set the record straight.

“My cousin Lindsay had the Frankenpunch, the same as the rest of us. And when her transformation was complete, she was also turned into a witch, but without the green skin. However, her features were a lot more distorted than mine, a longer, slightly hooked nose, bushy eyebrows, a pointy chin, and—if she wasn’t such a bitch I’d feel bad about this—a big mole on said chin. Well…you remember her don’t you?”

Eli was quiet for a minute before he answered, “I had to think about it, but I’m pretty sure I met her a time or two at your parents’ house. She was…”

“Bitchy and vain?” I snorted.

He chuckled and his warm breath on the back of my neck sent tingles to all the right places. “Not how I would have put it, but that sounds accurate.”

How was he so damn sexy and adorable at the same time. It seemed like a guy as manly as Eli wouldn’t fit the word, and yet, he did.

Grinning, I went on. “It didn’t help that I was more powerful than Lindsay, and that drove her crazier than she already was. She fell into the role of wicked witch with ease and she took off because she wanted to be where she was the most dominant force. When she left, the twit took my favorite, sparkly red shoes with her. I’d enchanted them with a few specific powers so that I could cast certain spells with a click of my heels. One too many accidents that could have been avoided if I’d had a hand free to summon a spell.”

“Still accident-prone, are you?” His voice was tight, as if he were holding back laughter.

“Do you want to arrive at my house as a toad?” I sassed indignantly.

He gulped hard, but not because he was afraid. His shaking shoulders made it clear he was still trying to hide his mirth. Finally, he rasped, “My apologies, baby. Go on.”

I loved it when he called me baby. It warmed my body and made me want to melt into him. With a mental shove, I pushed those thoughts from my head. Now was not the time. “Anyway, not only were those my favorite, but I didn’t want them in the hands of someone who would use them in the wrong way. Lindsay might not have been as powerful as me, but that didn’t mean she couldn’t mess with the enchantments. Which was why she pilfered them in the first place—she would never have been able to create them.”

I frowned as I unearthed the bitter memories. “When I tracked her down, somewhere in bumble-fuck Washington state, we got into a fight. She siphoned power from the shoes, and I was struggling to combat it. I didn’t mean to cause a tornado. I’d never been so angry, so I had no idea it would result in something like that. As soon as I realized I was the source, I pulled back immediately, not considering what could happen when I stopped it so abruptly. The wind gave one last burst that was so strong it blew me several miles out into a nearby forest. When I managed to get my bearings and fix my damaged broom—sort of—I flew back. But it was too late. Everything in the eye of the storm plummeted to the ground and a house had fallen on top of Lindsay.”

“I won’t lose sleep over that,” Eli grumbled.

I was a little afraid to trust his protective and caring attitude, but it was caused by lingering feelings from when I thought he’d rejected me. So, I railroaded over them and relaxed into his hold, letting his warmth and safety wrap around me.

“I looked everywhere for the shoes, worried they would fall into the wrong hands. That’s when I spotted that little brat running off with my stolen slippers on her feet. My broom was held together with the magical equivalent of duct tape and fishing line, plus she had the power of the shoes to help her, so she managed to get away.”

A little growl of frustration escaped my lips and I twisted my torso to glare at Eli’s headless form when I heard his muffled laugh. “When I finally tracked her down”—I narrowed my eyes at him before flipping back around to face the front—“not with evil flying monkeys,” I clarified firmly. “She refused to give them back, but it was weird. Her expression…it was like she wanted to return them, but was afraid to do it. I mean, sure, I’d made some pretty serious threats, but I wouldn’t have done anything to her if she’d just given in.”

“So how did you finally convince her?”

I snorted. “I used the shoes to send her to Emerald City and bought her a freaking plane ticket. After what she’d done, she just wanted to go home.”

Eli’s laughter rang through the woods and I couldn’t help joining him. The whole thing was utterly ridiculous when you heard the real story.

“So, all the rumors about the Emerald City…all this time, they were referring to Seattle?”

“Yup. She went home and ran her mouth about the whole thing, clearly embellishing to make herself look good and thus, I became The Wicked Witch of the West.” I shook my head and muttered, “People are so gullible.”

When his chortling subsided he asked, “So, Glinda the Good Witch?”

“Rubbish. A figment of her absurd imagination.”

He snickered again, then curiously inquired, “You said after what she’d done? What made her regret stealing the slippers?”

“It wasn’t that.” This part pissed me off because she’d ruined three people’s lives—well, until I could figure out how to fix it. And I was determined to do so. “She was messing around with the shoes and with whatever Lindsay had done to them, Dorothy inadvertently cursed three people.”

“The Tin Man, Scarecrow, and Cowardly Lion?” he guessed with a snicker.

“Yeah, but it’s Tin Woman—her name is Jackie, and Zeke is hardly a coward. Oh, and Hank—not Hunk—has a PhD in Molecular Biology. Dorothy just portrayed them as doofuses to make herself look good.”

Eli didn’t respond right away, but it wasn’t until I looked back at him that I remembered I wouldn’t be able to read his expression. Finally, he admitted, “I was kidding. I figured they were bullshit just like Glinda and The Wizard.”

“Nope. I brought the three of them back to Screaming Woods with me. Jackie is my assistant manager, and Hank and I are trying to figure out what Lindsay did to the shoes in hopes that we can reverse it.”

“Why haven’t you guys set the record straight?” His tone held simple curiosity.

I shrugged. “Who would believe us?”

Eli grunted, clearly annoyed. “Good point.”

We rode in comfortable silence for a few minutes until the break in the tree line was visible. I lived in an apartment over Something Wicked, near the center of Town Square. I wasn’t sure if Eli was ready to be seen, yet, so I directed him to take a back route that led to my “front door.”

As he guided Gunpowder to a halt, his arm tightened around me, keeping me in place. “If you think about it. You’re the real Wizard of Oz,” he mused.

“How do you figure?” I laughed.

“You made sure everyone found their home.”

It was such a sweet thing to say that it practically melted my bones. I swung one leg over Gunpowder’s head and twisted so I was face to face with Eli…so to speak. I glided my hands up his neck in order to find his head without groping air and possibly poking an eye out. “I’m so happy you’re back,” I whispered. I wanted to kiss him, but if I missed, it would ruin the moment. Instead, I went after what I wanted. “Kiss me.”

Eli didn’t hesitate. His mouth crashed down onto mine and his tongue plunged between my lips, tangling with mine. He devoured me as if I were the best thing he’d ever tasted and he couldn’t get enough. The feeling was very, very mutual. I loved his woodsy scent and the way he tasted of fresh air and sunshine.

I whimpered in protest when he ended the kiss and he chuckled. “Will you go on a date with me tomorrow?”

“Absolutely,” I answered with a giant smile.

“How about lunch? It would be nice to catch up when we both have our heads.”

I giggled and wrapped my arms around him for a tight hug. “Headless or not, you’re still the sexiest man I’ve ever seen.”

Eli groaned and shifted me back so he could hop off of Gunpowder. “You can’t say shit like that to me, right now, Maggie,” he scolded as he grabbed my waist and lifted me to the ground. “I promised myself I would take this slow, give you the…courtship you deserve.”

“Courtship?” I raised an eyebrow and put my hands on my hips. “Did the Frankenpunch also transport you back to the eighteen hundreds?”

To my shock and amusement, he sputtered for a moment, as if I’d caught him off guard and he was embarrassed. “I couldn’t think of a better word,” he muttered. “You tend to short-circuit my brain with that mouth of yours.”

I licked my lips and smirked. “Good to know.”

He laughed and took a step toward me, then I felt his lips brush across mine in a soft, sweet kiss. “Goodnight, my Maggie.”

“Sweet dreams,” I whispered.

“Unlikely,” he groused as he cupped my shoulders and turned me toward my door. “There is nothing sweet about the dreams you star in, baby. They’re full of raw, dirty, sweaty fucking that always ends with you screaming my name in ecstasy. ”

“Ummm…” How was I supposed to respond to that? Other than climbing him like a freaking tree?

He patted my ass to get me moving and I shuffled forward, unbalanced by the fog of lust surrounding me.

“Lock up behind you, baby. I’ll be here to pick you up at noon.”

I nodded, still at a loss for words. Well, I had words but they mostly consisted of begging him to come inside and show me all the things we did in his fantasies. After entering my apartment, I glanced back to see him once again mounted on his steed, tall, muscular, and proud. The picture of The Headless Horseman. But all I saw was the man I’d loved for nearly all my life.

6

ELI

My temper spiked when heads turned to stare at Maggie as we followed our hostess to a table. I placed my hand on Maggie’s low back and guided her a little closer to me, hoping to take her attention off the gawking patrons. When I chose the restaurant for lunch, I’d picked a place a little outside of Screaming Woods. I wanted Maggie to know I wasn’t embarrassed to be with her, and I wanted to show off my gorgeous woman.

When I picked her up, I felt like one of those cartoons that sees a sexy woman and their eyes bulge while their tongue hangs out. She looked like a walking wet dream in another pair of purple, leather pants and a cream sweater that scooped low enough in the front to hint at her cleavage. But it was the back that almost put me on my knees. It was almost completely open, draping down the sides until the two halves crossed just below the dip in her spine. I couldn’t decide if I wanted to demand she change so no one else saw her looking so fucking sexy, or keep my mouth shut since the open back gave me an excuse to touch her silky skin. Ultimately, I decided not to say anything and enjoy the benefits of her sexy as fuck outfit.

Her hair was in a loose French braid that left little, wispy curls framing her face. She didn’t wear much makeup, but her mouth was painted blood-red. If her intention was to make me spend the day wondering if her lipstick would leave a ring around my cock—mission accomplished.

I knew she would draw attention—both from how damn gorgeous she was, and because she was so different. But I hadn't expected the hush that fell over the crowd, or the blatant looks of curiosity, judgment, and fear.

I glanced down at Maggie to see how she was doing and almost laughed when I realized that she barely noticed. She was relaxed and confident, and I was the bumbling mess who wanted to shout at the people to mind their own fucking business.

Maggie must have felt my gaze because she glanced up at me with twinkling blue eyes. “You’re adorable, you know that?”

I scowled at her, making her giggle. “Baby, no man in their right mind wants to be labeled as adorable.”

She tossed her head back and laughed, drawing more eyes, but this time it was mostly men who looked her up and down like she was a Playboy centerfold.  My free hand balled into a fist and I counted to ten, calming myself so I didn’t kill someone and ruin our lunch.

“Even if I also think you have the body of a god and I’d like to lick every inch?”

We’d reached our table and I buried my face in her hair to muffle my groan before pulling out her chair. She smiled at me as she sat, and I narrowed my eyes in warning. “Just because I want to wait to fuck you doesn’t mean I won’t put you over my knee and spank you,” I vowed, just loud enough for her to hear.

She sucked in a breath while I pushed her up to the table, and I flashed her a cocky grin as I took the seat opposite of her.

“Close your mouth, baby. People are staring.”

Maggie double-blinked, then a grin split her face and she dissolved into a fit of giggles.

If I hadn’t already been head over heels in love with Maggie, that moment would have pushed me over the edge. She was so fucking beautiful, inside and out. I loved how she could laugh at herself. She hadn’t let all the bullshit from the outside world make her jaded and bitter. Like all of us, she proceeded with caution, but she didn’t let the ignorance or malice of the world turn her into a hermit.

The waitress approached after a minute, and I cleared my throat to get her attention because she seemed fixated on something under our table. I knew exactly what it was, and while I had every intention of feeling the stiletto heels of Maggie’s black sparkly shoes with a red rose border digging into my ass when I filled her with my cock, I didn’t like anyone else staring at them. If I thought it was because she was envious of the shoes themselves, I would have been more understanding, but everyone knew she was checking to see if my girl was wearing her infamous ruby slippers.

“Her eyes are up here,” I drawled.

Maggie covered her mouth, muffling her burst of laughter and I shot her a wink.

The waitress snapped out of her trance and her cheeks flushed deep red. “Um, so the specials are…” She rattled off her spiel, then scurried away as soon as she’d written down our orders.

“So,” Maggie started as she picked up her glass of water. “Since I know the rumors about The Headless Horseman are bullshit, tell me why your dad is afraid of you.”

I contemplated my answer as she swallowed and set her drink back on the table. “Because he’s a bigot and a jackass.”

Maggie nodded, well aware that my father was one of the real monsters in this world. “Agreed. But why is he suddenly terrified of you?”

“I may have threatened him,” I hedged. I hated talking about my dad. I knew it was a double-standard to expect Maggie to be completely open, while holding a portion of myself back, but I hoped she’d drop it with a few curt answers.

“With bodily harm?”

“I didn’t need to,” I grunted, balling my hands into fists in my lap. “He already knows I’d have no fucking problem kicking his ass from Sleepy Hallow to Screaming Woods and back.”

She waited, but when I didn’t volunteer any more, she prompted, “Okay. But I don’t think that’s the reason he was in my store the other day buying the ingredients to make a ward against evil and shaking in his boots like he’d seen the devil himself.”

“I imagine he looked in a mirror,” I replied dryly.

Maggie pressed her lips together and narrowed her eyes, determination glinting in the blue depths. “You might as well open up, Eli. Or I’ll just keep nagging and pestering you until I’ve dragged the whole story from you, even if it’s piece by piece.”

I wanted to laugh at how damn cute she was, but my breath was caught in my throat. She wanted to know because she cared. I could see the worry in her eyes, even though she was trying to make light of it. It soothed the turmoil inside me and for the first time in my life, I felt the figurative binding around my chest loosen.

I couldn’t remember a time in my childhood when I wasn’t afraid of my dad. Then, when I was old enough to fight back, there was still a constriction because no matter how much I told myself it would never happen, I’d never stopped trying to be the kid he wanted. To earn his love.

But Maggie had already begun picking at the tight knots of the bindings, and if I worked alongside her, I had no doubt I would eventually be free from them.

“I told him I’d leave. As much as my father hates me, he would hate it even more if he had to actually work for his cushy lifestyle.” I cocked my head to the side, observing her reaction when I finished with, “And, I scared the shit out of him. Strung him along just enough for his mind to find a conclusion that proved all the rumors are true.” I leaned in and smiled grimly. “I didn’t have to say much. His convoluted thinking and stupidity did the work for me.”

Maggie peered at me over her water glass. After taking a sip, she set it down, and a corner of her mouth lifted. “What did you say, Eli? I can see the smirk playing around your mouth.”

She was right. I was amused by the last thing I said to my dad, and the way he’d gone running off with his devil tail between his legs.

“Last night, I may have told him to go the fuck away…unless he wanted to lose his head.”

Maggie had just taken a drink of water, and at my confession, it sprayed everywhere as she choked on her laughter. “Is that why you were out brooding in the woods?” she wondered when she could speak again.

Taking a drink of my icy water, I debated how to tell her without freaking her out. Then I decided that we were already moving at lightning speed, so why slow down now? “When my father tried to serve me the ward you sold him—thank you for that, by the way—he went on a tirade, ranting and raving about Screaming Woods and the freaks who liked having a monster between the sheets. He…” I trailed off for a second, thinking about the moment when I felt my first glimmer of hope that Maggie would want to be with me. “He mentioned Roan.”

She seemed confused, but for no longer than a second, then understanding dawned on her face. “He’s invisible.”

I nodded.

“And he found Elise…” she concluded.

“I suddenly saw a scenario where you might lo—be willing to be with me, the monster and the man.”

Maggie stretched her hand across the table, palm up, and I placed mine on top, then laced our fingers together. “I’ve always wanted you, Eli. I’m sorry you went so long believing I didn’t”—she glared at me for a moment—“even if it was a stupid fear that could have been avoided if you’d bothered to ask me. But, I’m over it.” She sniffed haughtily, but her eyes twinkled.

My mouth curled up in a smile. Maggie had always been able to make me laugh with her quick wit and sharp mouth.

Before I could say anything, our food arrived. I glared at the new waitress who was looking at me as if I were her next meal. “Anything else you need, handsome?”

“Not from a hussy like you who doesn’t have the sense not to hit on a man when he’s on a date.”

The girl’s expression turned a little uncertain, until she glanced at Maggie and her confidence returned. She clearly thought she was more of a temptation than my girl. The waitress licked her lips and Maggie made a gagging sound. I would have smiled if I hadn’t thought the chick would take that as encouragement.

My eyes drifted to her name tag, then to her face. “Deedee, is it?” She bobbed her head and leaned closer. “Well, Deedee, if you have any sense of preservation, I suggest you run along before you really piss off my girlfriend. Trust me when I tell you that she doesn’t need magic to make you cry.”

I glanced at Maggie, curious how she’d taken to me calling her my girlfriend, and had to hold back a chuckle at the cute, overly-exaggerated pout on her gorgeous face. “No magic?

“No.”

“I was only going to—“

“No.”

“But it would only be—“

“No.”

“What about—?”

“No, baby.”

She slumped in her seat and crossed her arms over her chest. “You’re no fun.”

“That’s not what you said last night.”

Maggie dropped her chin to her chest and took a deep breath, then another, clearly trying to keep Deedee from figuring out that she was desperately trying not to laugh.

When I turned to Deedee once more, her gaze was bouncing back and forth between me and Maggie. “You can’t possibly want someone like her over me,” she scoffed. But her confidence was waning.

Maggie sighed dramatically.

“No.”

She sighed again and I nearly ruined our game by roaring with laughter. I dragged my eyes away from Maggie to the annoying chick trying to ruin my date. “Runaway, little girl. Before I change my answer to yes.”

Deedee’s face bleached of color and she finally scurried away.

Maggie’s shoulders were shaking uncontrollably, and I grinned. I was about to speak again when a loud “whisper” caught my ear.

“Did you hear that? She almost cursed the waitress.”

“And the guy she’s with encouraged her.”

“What’s he doing with a monster like her anyway?”

“Right? Why are all the hot ones insane, gay, or married?”

“Do you think she put a spell on him?”

My jaw clenched at the bullshit these gossip harpies were implicating. Logic said to let it go, but I knew how the human mind worked. Just like with Dorothy, they heard something and repeated it, and next thing you knew, the tale was nothing but fiction. What worried me was that my teasing involving Maggie’s magic could backfire. The next time Deedee found anything wrong with her, she’d blame my girl.

“Ignore them, Eli.”

My thoughts scattered at the sound of Maggie’s musical voice.

I met her clear, blue eyes, and she shook her head with a wan smile. “It won’t do any good to dwell on it. And whether you’d made the joke or not, someone here is going to blame me for whatever bad luck they have next. Just ignore it.”

I’d learned to drown out the sounds of the whispers and speculations about me. But when it was Maggie…it was difficult for me to keep my mouth shut. However, the look on her face made it clear she wanted me to, so I ground my teeth together while giving myself a good lecture until my temper cooled.

Maggie smiled gratefully and picked up her fork to start eating her meal.

She was fucking amazing. I didn’t deserve her, but I was keeping her anyway.

We passed the rest of the meal with light conversation. Sometimes reminiscing about our childhoods, talking about the past two decades, and getting to know each other again.

Once we’d finished and I paid, I escorted her out of the restaurant, scowling at every prying eye on the way. We’d driven there in my pickup, so I helped her into the cab and drove her back to her store. Before she opened the door, I put a hand on her arm to stay her.

“How about another date?” I asked casually.

“Sure,” she answered, beaming at me. “My assistant manager comes in around two tomorrow, so it’ll have to be a late lunch—“

“Tomorrow night,” I corrected, cutting her off.

7

MAGGIE

My brow furrowed at Eli’s declaration. “We aren’t going out at night,” I argued.

Hurt flashed across Eli’s face before he schooled his features.

Sighing, I shut the car door and scooted over to climb onto his lap. I didn’t care one little bit that we were parked right in front of my store in the town square. “Stop it, you big idiot.”

Eli raised a single eyebrow—which was freaking sexy—and stared at me. It was probably meant to be stern, but it made my panties wet.

“I’m not ashamed of you, Eli! I just don’t want you subjecting yourself to something uncomfortable because you think it will make up for the small-minded assholes all around us. It won’t change what happened, and it won’t stop it from happening in the future. But if I fixated on it, I’d never leave the house ever again. We have to live, Eli. Stop letting the past intrude on what we’re building.”

He blinked a couple of times, then his shoulders sagged and his expression turned sheepish. “You’re right. I’m a fucking idiot.”

“True,” I conceded, earning myself a little swat on the ass. Grinning, I put my face inches from his and cooed, “But you can make it up to me.”

“Oh?” His smile grew, his interest clearly piqued.

“You can make me dinner tomorrow night.”

Eli scratched his chin, looking thoughtful, then nodded. “Sure, I can do that. But is that enough? I really messed up.”

I opened my mouth to tell him that was ridiculous, but he didn’t give me a chance to speak.

He closed the gap between us and his lips brushed mine, when he rasped, “I think I should also make you breakfast in the morning,” Then he kissed me.

By the time he let me up for air, I was shaking with desire and I couldn’t freaking wait for tomorrow night. “If that was you trying to convince me to say yes, it wasn’t necessary,” I teased. “But I’ll take your brand of persuasion any time.”

Eli laughed and kissed my nose, then he groaned as he grasped my hips and lifted me off of his lap. During our little makeup session, I’d scooted close enough to be cradling the large bulge in his jeans between my legs. I was feeling achy and empty, but when he grunted in pain and adjusted himself, it made me perversely happy to know he was suffering, too. Not that I wanted him to be miserable, but it gave me a thrill to see that our desire for each other was equal.

“Go, before I change my mind about waiting until tomorrow night.”

“We don’t—”

“Yes, we do, Maggie,” he insisted. Without another word, he got out of the car and jogged around to my side, opening my door for me. I took his offered hand and he helped me step down onto the ground before pulling me into his arms.

When he was done ravaging my mouth, I clutched his biceps to keep from falling over on my wobbly legs.

He waited until I was steady on my feet, then he patted my ass and steered me toward the shop. “See you tomorrow, baby.”

I gave him a sultry smile over my shoulder and silently cheered when he swallowed hard and glanced around before adjusting himself.

When I entered my shop, only then did he hop back into his truck and drive off.

“Wow. I don’t think I’ve ever seen that look on your face.”

Jackie’s amused voice drew me out of the fog Eli’s kisses had put me in. “Um, what?”

She grinned and gestured to my head. “That dreamy ‘I just met my Prince Charming’ smile and passion-glazed eyes.”

My cheeks heated, but I didn’t bother denying it. “I’m not sure I’d label him as Prince Charming,” I smirked. “He’s too badass to be lumped in with that pussy.”

Jackie chuckled as she walked across the room. The sun caught on her silvery-tinted skin and made it shimmer beautifully. I was proud of how fast she’d adapted to her new life, although we were still trying to figure out how the metal fused to her cells would affect her in the long run.

When she sidled up beside me at the counter, she put her elbows on the glass display and rested her head on her hands, looking at me with big, silver eyes. “So, tell me about him,” she prompted.

I grinned and thought about my man. “Let’s see. He's tall, with deep brown eyes, and his mixture of blonde and brown hair—that would cost most women a fortune to keep up with—hangs just below his shoulders.”

“Very nice,” Jackie hummed with approval.

“Oh, and he loses his head at night,” I said in a cheeky tone.

Jackie tilted her head to the side and her nose scrunched up in confusion. “Like, he loses all his common sense?”

I chuckled and tapped my temple. “Nope. His head quite literally disappears.”

* * *

“My, my, look at you, handsome,” I breathed as Eli climbed the stairs to my apartment door. He had on a long-sleeve Henley with the three buttons at the top undone, and jeans that molded to his very spectacular ass. I was suddenly extremely hungry…for what came after dinner.

He grinned as he reached the top and put an arm around my waist to haul me against his body. “I’m glad you approve,” he murmured against my lips. “You look fucking edible.” He kissed me until I was panting and ready to tear his clothes off. Then he retreated and his eyes roamed my face, taking in my dazed expression with a smirk. “We aren’t going to make it through dinner if you keep looking at me like that, baby.”

I almost told him to screw dinner and take me to bed, but I was excited to have him cook for me. He’d always been talented in the kitchen. I was no slouch there, but in my opinion, the best food was anything I didn’t have to make.

Clearing my throat, I stared at his chest and inhaled slowly, then repressed a groan. He smelled amazing. Like the forest on a bright, sunny day. “Did you, um, bring everything?”

He bent down to pick up a duffle bag I hadn’t noticed in his hand before he obviously dropped it to kiss me. Holding it up, he winked at me and licked his lips—it made me wonder what it would be like to have that tongue all over me.

Good grief. When had I become so obsessed with sex? The answer to that was standing right in front of me.

“I came prepared,” he assured me. Then he tossed the bag into the entry and used his hand on my stomach to back me through the door. “I’ll be right back. All the stuff for dinner is in the car.”

He jogged down the steps, and I bit my lip as I glanced at the bag. Clearly, he’d come with the intention of spending the night, and my body lit up with excitement. He’d mentioned making me breakfast, but I hadn’t wanted to assume. Seeing the proof of his intentions made me go all melty inside.

With a happy spring in my step, I scooped up the duffle and took it to my room. Silas and my dad had renovated this storage area to turn it into a decent-sized one-bedroom, but it was still sized for a single occupant. When I moseyed back out to the open concept living room and observed Eli in my kitchen, the space seemed much smaller.

If we moved in together, it wouldn’t be here. I wondered how that would work considering Old Bridge Stables was in Sleepy Hallow. But, my life—my shop—they were in Screaming Woods. The two towns were just over an hour apart, but it made a big difference when you worked the kind of hours that we did.

“Stop thinking so hard and come over here,” Eli directed, intruding on my troublesome worries.

I didn’t want to ruin our night with heavy shit like that when our relationship was so new. Putting a smile on my face, I sashayed over to my man and raised my head for a kiss. “What can I do to help?” I asked when we parted.

He grasped my waist, lifted me like I weighed no more than a feather, and set me on the granite countertop. “Just sit there and look pretty,” he instructed, his brown eyes twinkling with merriment. “Unless you’d like to do that hand waving shit and make dinner appear.”

Laughing, I shook my head and folded my hands in my lap. “Nope, this is your ‘make it up to me’ dinner.”

Before I could blink, he was standing between my legs, palming my ass and dragging me forward until I felt the hot, hard bulge of his shaft between my thighs. “Trust me, baby. There are many other ways to make it up to you.” He lowered his mouth to my ear and I shivered when his warm breath bathed the shell. “They involve satisfying a whole different kind of hunger.” His dark, gruff voice was like a shot of pleasure straight to my core, and my panties went from damp, to ruined.

I was about to take him up on the offer when he kissed the tip of my nose and moved to his previous spot where he had been slicing vegetables. Speechless, I stared at him, trying to process what the hell had just happened.

His head was bent over his task, but he turned it slightly to shoot me a wicked smile. “I need to feed your stomach first, baby. You’re gonna need your strength later.”

“Would you stop?” I scolded as the daze wore off.

Eli straightened and twisted his torso toward me, his brow rising.

“If you want to get through dinner without me attacking you and demanding you fuck me, then quit being a tease.”

His brown eyes darkened to nearly black and he looked like he might lunge at me any second. Then he inhaled slowly and the animal I’d seen lurking beneath the surface retreated. “Don’t let me hear filthy shit like that coming from your mouth right now, Maggie,” he rasped. “Or you're gonna find yourself flat on your back with my cock buried deep inside you before you take your next breath.”

“You say that like it’s a bad thing,” I muttered, squirming because it was becoming uncomfortable to sit on my soaked underwear.

“Margaret Hamilton Adler,” Eli growled, slamming the knife onto the counter and whirling to face me. “I am trying to give you a proper date. I promise, before this night is over, you’ll be sore every time you move tomorrow. But first, we are going to have dinner and conversation, maybe even watch a movie if I’m in the mood to torture you some more. But, despite this relationship moving at lightning speed, I’d like to be able to tell our children that I dated their mother.”

Joy flooded my system at Eli’s casual mention of our children. He spoke like it was a foregone conclusion, and it opened the lid I’d been keeping on my emotions. Love for Eli burst free of its confinement, making the world sparkle. I didn’t care what came next, as long as we did it together.

“Now, stop trying to tempt me. It’s not going to work.”

You shouldn’t have said that, Crane, I thought as my lips curved wickedly. “Wanna bet?”

“Maggie,” he warned, seeing right through my innocent mask.

“I think I can get you to cave before dinner is over, and if I win, you forget all this other stuff like dessert and a movie—as sweet as it might be—and take me straight to bed. Oh, and I’m in charge until the sun comes up.”

“And if I win?” he questioned warily, watching me over his shoulder as he added oil to the pan.

“I won’t say another word about it, and I’ll wait patiently until you decide it’s time.”

“Hmmm,” was all he said.

“Oh, and you’ll have carte blanche tonight. I’ll let you have your wicked way with me, any way you want.”

Eli scoffed and turned back to the stove, stirring the mixture. “We both know I’m going to get that whether we play or not, baby.”

“Maybe,” I hedged, knowing he was absolutely right, but too intent on winning to admit it. “That’s not all.”

“Okay, let’s see what you’ve got,” he snickered.

I swallowed hard, terrified that this would backfire. However, I wasn’t a coward, so I braved the untried waters. “If you win, I’ll tell you I love you first so that you don’t have to worry about whether I’ll say it back.”

Eli froze, his back muscles bunched, and I was pretty sure he wasn’t breathing.

I wasn’t sure if his reaction was a good sign or a bad one, so I hurried on. “You in?”

He was silent for a moment, then slowly pivoted so he was facing me. I couldn’t read his expression, which was making me nervous.

“No using magic to win,” he clarified.

I shook my head and crossed my heart.

After a few tense moments, he announced, “There’s one more thing I want if I win.”

I tamped down my anxiety and murmured, “What’s that?”

Eli crossed his arms over his chest, making the muscles in his arms bulge and heightening my determination to win this bet. He lifted his chin and his brown orbs bore into me as if he was looking directly into my soul. “I’m not going to tell you.”

“Pardon?” I must have misheard him.

“I’ll tell you the other thing when I win. That’s the only way I’m going to agree to this ridiculous challenge. So, do we have a deal?”

“But—“

“It’s a yes or no question, baby. Do you accept my terms or do we call the whole thing off, right now?”

I didn’t answer right away because I was considering my level of confidence. How sure was I that I could win? There had been several times tonight when I could see he was barely hanging on, and I hadn’t really been trying. You can do this, Mags.

“Deal.” I stuck out my hand and he rolled his eyes before cuffing my wrist and yanking me in for a deep, hungry kiss that left me weak in the knees.

I was shaking with need when he released me, and I firmly believed that if I lost this bet, I would spontaneously burst into flames.

Determined, I hopped to the ground. “I’m going to go change real quick,” I told him and walked toward the entrance to the bedroom.

“Why?” he queried as he scooped the chopped vegetables into a frying pan. “You look gorgeous, baby.”

“It’s not very comfortable to wear soaking wet underwear,” I said glibly as I practically danced out of the room.

“Fucking hell,” I heard him grumble, and I pursed my lips to hold back laughter.

I’d worn a pair of leggings with a long, black tunic and chunky jewelry. As I peeled off the leggings, I realized they were also too damp to put back on. Tossing both garments in the hamper, I strolled to my bureau to grab a pair of fresh panties, while thinking about what pants to put on. Then it hit me, and I stopped in the middle of the room. The thong dangled from my fingers before it fell to the ground. Brilliant.

I stripped out of the tunic and tossed it toward the laundry basket as I walked over to my closet. There wasn’t much color in my wardrobe, it was easier to wear black rather than worry about my skin clashing with my clothes. I thumbed through the tops, finally settling on a cute little sweater that dipped off one shoulder, but was short enough to show a sliver of skin on my stomach when I moved. Then I went in for the kill, putting on a gauzy, flowing black skirt that was almost transparent from the tops of my thighs to the floor. It also had slits on the side that went up so high, it would be obvious I wasn’t wearing underwear, although, you had to be looking to notice.

Mirrors were scarce in my apartment, but Eli made me feel like a goddess, so I stepped in front of the boy-length one hanging on the back of my bathroom door. Reaching up to the hook above it, I took a deep breath, then removed my robe so I had an unobstructed view of myself.

The outfit enhanced my curves and was sexy without being slutty. But what I noticed the most was how pretty my skin looked at that moment. There was a glow that made it look ethereal and I knew right away that it was Eli’s doing. It was a projection of my happiness. I’d long ago accepted what I was, but this was the first time in twenty years that I was pleased with my reflection.

It also bolstered my confidence. I was definitely going to win.

8

ELI

Son of a fucking bitch.

Fixing my eyes on the backsplash, I counted every little spot on the speckled tile, trying not to think about how wet Maggie was, about her drenched panties, or how her pussy would look glistening with her arousal.

I had no clue what had possessed me to agree to Maggie’s fucking bet.

Alright, that wasn’t exactly true. There wasn’t much I wouldn’t do to hear Maggie tell me she loved me, along with the other thing I wanted.

It might have started out as me indulging her little scheme, but there was too much on the table for me to lose now.

So, I thought about every unsexy thing I could come up with until my dick was shriveled and I had my desire tightly leashed.

Maggie returned to the kitchen as I was tossing chicken into the stir-fry mix. “Feeling more comfortable?” I asked casually.

“Oh, much,” she answered in a breathy tone that had my cock twitching with interest. “My leggings weren’t in much better shape”—oh, fuck. Just how wet was she?—“So, I changed out of those as well.”

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw her walk back to the spot where she’d been sitting and I immediately turned to help her.

My jaw literally dropped and I gaped at her outfit. When I glanced at her face, she was smirking as if she could see my shock and awe. I loved the way she looked at me, instead of through me.

If I hadn’t put everything on the line with this bet, I’d have torn off her barely there skirt and subtly revealing top, then fucked her to within an inch of her life right there on that counter.

I audibly gulped and a small smile played at the corners of her mouth. Silently, I wrapped my hands around her waist, ignoring the feel of her silky, smooth skin under my fingertips and lifted her onto the counter. As I stepped back, I looked down and saw how high the slits on her skirt went. A small section of her entire hip was visible and I stared at it, looking it up and down until I came to a conclusion that had me in danger of losing this little challenge. There was no sign of underwear. Not even a small string indicating a tiny thong.

Maggie was fucking commando. And the small section of her skirt that wasn’t transparent was so small that if I shifted it even half an inch up, I’d have even more proof.

My fingers curled into her, probably leaving bruises that would show up tomorrow, but it was either that, or drop to my knees. Seeing her naked pussy would cost me everything.

Gritting my teeth so hard they ached, I peeled my fingers away one by one, then took several steps backward, each one like trudging through quicksand.

If the fire alarm hadn’t blared right at that second, I was convinced I’d have caved. We both flinched and looked around for the source that had set it off. Smoke was billowing from the wok on the stove and I groaned. Maggie had me so tied up in knots that I’d forgotten it was still cooking.

I ran to it and snatched up some oven mitts, then grabbed the handles of the pan and rushed over to the sink. When I put it under a cold spray of water, it sizzled violently, sending up a burst of steam and I reared my head back narrowly missing it. It wouldn’t matter if my head was invisible in thirty minutes, those blisters would still have hurt like a bitch.

The hissing ebbed and I started scraping out the charred food, noticing that the alarm was no longer going off. Maggie sauntered back into the kitchen and I focused hard on scrubbing the pan. “What do you want to eat now that you’ve ruined my dinner?”

Maggie scoffed as she came up beside me and ran a finger tip down my arm. “I ruined it? You were the one cooking. And just so you know, I’m on the menu.”

For the love of… I hurried away like a chicken because I was damn fucking easy and we both knew it. “How about I order Chinese?” I offered as I picked up my cell phone from where it was lying on the island. When I noted the time, I mentally banged my head against a wall. Two hours. I had to make it two more hours, then I would get everything I wanted.

I spent those hours in Hell.

Maggie did everything she could to tempt me, and a couple of times, I was seconds away from caving. But I reminded myself what was at stake, and it was the only thing that saved me.

One thing that shocked me during that time was I’d forgotten all about my head. It hadn’t fazed Maggie one little bit, and she made me feel complete.

My timer went off while I was devouring her mouth as she straddled me on the couch. It was like waving the checkered flag at a drag race. I hit the gas, full speed ahead. Without breaking our kiss, I shot to my feet, keeping her plastered to my body with my hands on her sexy ass, and stalked to the bedroom. I was ready to tear her clothes off and fuck her hard and fast, but I grasped my last thread of control and hit the breaks.

Maggie whimpered when I guided her legs from around my waist and slowly lowered her to the ground. She tried to climb back up, then yelped when I swatted her ass.

“I won, baby. I’m in charge. Now, behave.”

She scrunched up her nose and her eyes glinted with annoyance, but she’d made a deal and I knew she wouldn’t break it. “Fine.”

I grinned and kissed her again until she melted against me. Then I scooped her up and laid her on the bed, taking a second to admire the breathtaking view. Slowly, I removed her clothes, practically drooling with every inch I bared. When she was naked, I licked my lips as I inspected her from head to toe.

“So damn gorgeous,” I rasped, my tone gravelly from the effort it was taking to keep a leash on my lust.

Her eyelids drooped and she looked up at where my head was through her lashes, a seductive smile on her pretty lips. I could have sworn she could see me, even though I knew it was impossible.

It only took a few seconds to undress and then I crawled over her and trapped her between my fist and knees. “I’m trying so fucking hard to go slow, baby.” Closing my eyes, I shook my head in an attempt to clear my mind, but it didn’t help. I wanted her with every fiber of my being and my long, hard cock was already dripping precum onto her stomach. “I’m not going to stay in control for long,” I confessed. “This will probably be hard and fast, but I promise to make it up to you.”

Maggie canted her head and quipped, “With another dinner? Because that didn’t work out so well last time.”

I lowered the top half of my body so our faces were only centimeters apart. “With mind blowing orgasms.”

Her next breath was shaky and her blue orbs darkened to navy. “Sounds”—her voice broke so she cleared her throat and tried again—“Sounds like an acceptable alternative.”

“Acceptable? Oh, baby, I can do so much better than that.”

I covered her mouth with mine and my tongue immediately plunged in, eager to taste her cinnamon and apple flavor. Maggie moaned and arched her back. Her hands moved to my biceps and she clutched them in a tight grip. Before the night was over, I vowed to feel her strong hand squeezing my shaft. And to see her pink lips wrapped around it while she swallowed me whole.

Every nerve in my body was buzzing with desire, and my aching cock was pulsing, begging to be buried in Maggie’s pussy. But before I could give in to those urges, I needed to answer the question that had been burning in my mind from the first time I kissed her.

Tearing my lips from hers with an agonized groan, Lying on my stomach, I pushed her legs wide, and wedged my shoulders between her thighs.

“Fuck,” I breathed when I saw her arousal glistening on the lips of her pussy and smeared on her inner thighs. “Soaked,” I murmured.

I rested my arms on her legs and used my thumbs to part her folds. My mouth watered when I looked at her puffy, swollen clit, popping out of its hood and begging for my mouth.

I leaned in close and inhaled her sweet scent, then dragged my tongue up her center. Apples and cinnamon burst on my tongue, sending streaks of pleasure straight to my cock. Yep. Her pussy tasted even better than her mouth.

“I think I’m going to be even more addicted to eating your pussy than your mouth,” I grunted before diving back in. Licking, sucking, nibbling, I ravaged her sex, drinking down every drop of her juices and pushing her higher and higher toward her peak.

“Eli,” she whimpered, bucking her hips to push her center deeper into my mouth. “Please. Please stop teasing me.”

It obviously hadn’t escaped her notice that throughout my meal, I’d carefully avoided her hard little bundle of nerves.

“Not teasing, baby. Heightening the experience.” I swiped my tongue over her clit just once and she cried out. “The more worked up you are, the harder you’ll come.”

“Let’s see what happens now,” she begged. “You can drag it out later.”

I grinned, but since she couldn’t see it, I kissed her inner thigh. “You’re going to regret that, baby. Well, until you black out from the pleasure.”

Knowing I was getting close to my breaking point, I gave her what she wanted, sucking her bud into my mouth and taking a hard pull on it as I plunged a finger into her slick pussy. Maggie cried out my name as she shattered, and I kept working her until her climax began to ebb.

“You are damn tight,” I muttered as I withdrew my finger and licked it clean.

Her cheeks burned and she suddenly looked uncomfortable.

“Maggie?”

“So…” She looked up to the ceiling and took a deep breath before blurting, “I haven’t done this before.”

I was suddenly glad she couldn’t see my face because I was sure it would clearly show all of my emotions. I was stunned, obviously, but I was also filled with a raw need. Knowing I would be her first, her only, it magnified the desire to claim her exponentially.

“Shit,” I grunted as reality set in.

Disappointment swam in her beautiful eyes and I realized I’d just fucked up.

I crawled up her body, then lowered myself until we were skin to skin. With one hand cradling her face, I brushed a soft kiss over her lips before whispering, “I fucking love that you haven’t been with anyone else, baby. I was just thinking that I needed to be gentle with you and I have no fucking clue how I’m going to do it. I’m already losing my sanity and I know that once I get inside you, I won’t have any control left.”

Maggie frowned and shook her head. “I don’t want you to hold back with me.”

“I don’t want to hurt you, Maggie.”

“Are you going to give me a ‘mind-blowing orgasm?’” she asked with a small grin.

“Abso-fucking-lutely,” I grunted.

She winked and chirped, “Worth it.”

I sighed and gave in because I had no other choice. Walking away was no longer an option. “I’ll try to be gentle,” I promised.

“Stop talking,” she muttered.

Shifting my weight onto one side, I pulled on her hip to roll her onto her side, then smacked each of her tight ass cheeks before returning her to her back.

“Hey!”

“Who is in charge, Maggie?”

“You! But I wasn’t—“

“Arguing will earn you more spankings, baby.”

Something flashed in her eyes, and I groaned when I realized I was turning her on with all the talk about spankings. I fucking loved everything about this woman.

All thoughts flew out of my head when Maggie wrapped her legs around my hips, pressing out centers together, and any remaining blood in my brain rushed straight to my dick.

Crushing my mouth over hers, I poured my love, my soul, into the kiss. My hands began exploring her body, gliding over her silky skin and learning every hill and valley.

When I cupped her breasts, her head flew back into the mattress and her legs tightened around me. She was so fucking sensitive that if I’d had the patience, I was positive I could make her come just from playing with the generous globes.

But my cock wouldn’t let me take any more time. Every beat of my heart pulsed in my shaft, and I was so hard and big that the skin was stretched painfully. Notching my tip at Maggie’s entrance, I murmured, “Are you ready?”

She nodded frantically and rocked upward, trying to force me deeper.

I held still. “Tell me,” I demanded.

“What?” she whimpered, her voice desperate and confused.

“Tell me what you promised you’d say if I won.”

“Now?” she snapped.

“Now.” My tone brooked no argument. “I want to hear that I own your heart before I claim your body.”

Maggie’s face softened, and she stopped trying to move things along. “I love you, Eli Crane. More than anything.”

I groaned, and fuck if I didn’t almost come just from hearing her confess her love while my cock was kissing her pussy. “I love you too,” I rasped right before I reared back and thrust in, breaking her barrier and burying myself to the hilt. “Oh, fuck!” I shouted as pleasure ricocheted through my body. I tried to work through the fog to make sure that Maggie was okay. I should have been gentler, but fuck, hearing her tell me she loved me was like throwing gasoline on a fire.

“I’m fine,” she said softly, somehow reading my mind. “Let go, Eli. Stop trying to hold back.”

It was like she lifted the latch to floodgates and a wave of passion and need crashed over me. Instinct took over and I took her fast and hard.

“Fuck, Maggie. You feel so good. That’s it, baby, squeeze your pussy around my big cock.”

“Eli, oh, yes! Yes! Harder!”

I lifted her hips and spanked her ass hard, getting her attention so she heard me when I growled, “Who’s in charge, Maggie?”

“You,” she whispered.

I slapped her other cheek, and the flare of lust in her deep blue eyes nearly pushed me over the edge. “Me,” I grunted.

If I’d had the ability, I would have slowed down, savored the feel of my shaft dragging along her walls, the way they clenched and massaged me as I moved in and out. But the only thing left in my head was the determination to mark my woman, claim her, fuck her like an animal until she was screaming my name.

“Come on, baby,” I encouraged as I slammed in and out. “I want to feel your pussy milk my cock when you come around it.”

“Eli! Oh! Oh, yes!” She was writhing beneath me and teetering on the edge.

I slipped a hand between us and pinched her clit. Maggie screamed and fell over the peak, shuddering as wave after wave of her climax crashed into her.

“Oh, yeah, Maggie,” I grunted, nearly there. “Fuck, baby that feels so damn good. Fuck! Oh, yeah! Oh, fuck, Maggie!”

Despite being in the throes of an orgasm, Maggie bore down and gripped me like a vice. When I rammed into her one last time, I roared her name as my climax slammed into me like a fucking freight train. My cock exploded inside her, releasing jet after jet of hot cum until she was stuffed full.

“You should win more often,” Maggie panted a few seconds later, and somehow, I found the energy to chuckle.

“Deal.”

* * *

It was almost light outside by the time I fell off of Eli and landed on the bed like a limp noodle. I’d ridden him hard, and that was after four other rounds throughout the night. I was beat.

Eli turned onto his side and glided his palm up my leg, over my hip, and around to my stomach before traveling up to cup one of my breasts.

“No more,” I whimpered. “I can’t take it.”

He chuckled in a low, seductive tone that sent little tingles straight to my core.

Damn him and his sexy..well, sexy everything.

“I promise to let you rest after this.” He kissed my shoulder and I shivered.

I opened one eye to stare at him suspiciously, finally able to see his expression now that the sun was coming up. “This what.”

“Remember my last condition?”

“Um…” Nope, I’d forgotten all about it. I licked my lips and opened my other eye, rolling onto my back so I could look up at him. “Okay, what is it?”

He smiled and picked up my hand. “This. This is my last condition.”

I felt something cool slide along my finger and glanced down to see him sliding a sparkling diamond ring on to it. “Holy crap!” I exclaimed as I sprung up into a sitting position. My head collided with Eli’s and we both cursed, holding our heads where they’d hit.

“Not how I expected you to react,” he chuckled.

“You want to marry me?” I shrieked.

His eyebrows drew down. “Of course, I want to fucking marry you, Maggie. Are you saying no?” He tried to hide it, but I saw the fear lurking in his brown pools.

I quickly climbed into his lap and wrapped him up in my arms. “I was just surprised, Eli. My answer is absolutely yes. Although, I’d like to point out that you didn’t really ask.”

He leaned back and gave me a lopsided grin. “Less chance of getting the wrong answer.”

I raised an eyebrow and asked curiously, “What would you have done if you didn’t get the response you wanted?”

His smile turned roguish and he flipped us over so I was on my back before smoothly entering me and filling me full with one thrust. “I’d have spent as much time as necessary convincing you to say yes.”

“I think I need a demonstration.”

9

MAGGIE

Holy crap. I hadn’t moved yet, but I instinctively knew I was sore everywhere. I groaned as I tried to turn onto my back, but was stopped by something big, heavy, and warm. A smile slowly spread across my lips and I felt a little shiver as I remembered the reason I felt worn out and achy, especially between my legs.

There were very few mornings over the last three weeks that I hadn’t woken up this way—not always this sore, but after two nights apart, we’d fucked hard, many times last night—and I had quickly become addicted to it. I’d slept terribly on the nights we’d had to spend apart, but when Eli had to be at the farm early or late and I was opening or closing the shop, there hadn’t been much choice. I knew we had to talk about it, but I didn’t want to burst the perfect bubble we’d been living in.

“It’s early. Go back to sleep,” Eli grunted in a voice raspy with sleep. It was seriously sexy, as was the muscled body curling itself around me, pressing his morning wood into my ass.

My body was making it clear that I needed to get up, so I tried to wiggle out of his hold, only to have Eli grip my hip firmly, keeping me from moving again.

“I know you have to be sore, Maggie. So you better stop squirming if you want to be able to walk today.”

Why did I find that so hot? Regardless… “I need to use the bathroom.”

He grunted again, but his arms loosened and he allowed me to crawl off the bed.

I hurried to the bathroom and relieved myself, then washed my hands. The light bounced off the big diamond on my finger making it sparkle, and I paused to admire it for a moment before taking my robe off the hook on the back of the door.

I slipped it on and tied the sash before returning to the bedroom. My eyes lingered longingly on the sexy hunk sprawled out on my bed with the sheet hanging low enough to give me a tantalizing peek at the lick-able V below his abs and the happy trail that disappeared beneath the covering centimeters above his groin.

I sighed and quickly gathered up a pair of electric blue, leather pants, a long, transparent top with a tank sewn in, and a pair of light blue boots that looked like they were made out of bubbles. Each heel was literally  made of two spheres that were painted to look ethereal and bubble-ish. They even had a petite, sparkly black holster that held a tiny vial of bubble mixture and a wand.

Whenever kids came into the store on a day when I wore them, I always enchanted them to make bubbles blow out the back as I walked. They got such a kick out of it.

I tiptoed toward the bathroom again and was about to cross the threshold when a low, growly voice froze me in my tracks. “And just where the fuck do you think you are going, wife-to-be?”

Just like every time Eli said something sweet, my insides melted. Smiling, I walked toward the bed and set my things down so I could climb on and give him a good morning kiss. He tried to deepen it and lure me back into his arms, but I was going to be late if I didn’t get moving.

“I have to get ready and go downstairs to prep and open the shop,” I sighed. “You should go back to sleep, I imagine you could use the rest.” I snickered and his hand shot out to tickle me in the ribs until I laughed so hard I fell over.

“I could say the same about you,” he teased with a sleepy smile.

“True, but I can take a nap later. A couple of my employees will be in at eleven, so I just have to hold the fort for a couple hours after we open.”

“Do you want some company?”

He really knew how to sweep a girl off her feet. “That’s sweet, but I imagine you have better things to do than sit around while I tidy up and get the register open and all the other little things I have to do before I unlock the doors.”

“Not really.”

I frowned and glanced at the clock. I was running short on time, but I wanted clarification. “What do you mean?”

He shrugged, then turned on his side and propped his head in his hand. “I’ve been making some changes over the last few weeks. Honestly, as long as my dad keeps his distance, Old Bridge Stables runs like a well-oiled machine. I worked there because it’s what I love to do, but the truth is, I’m not really needed. Lucy can handle the paperwork and payroll just as well as me, so I handed it over to her.” Something about the expression on his face told me this was leading to a discussion.

“Okay, um, I’m guessing we should talk about this, but I really need to get going.”

“Sure, baby.” He grabbed the belt of my robe and dragged me closer for another kiss that left me panting and burning up on the inside. “I love you,” he whispered.

I doubted I would ever get tired of hearing that. “Love you, too. You’ll be here when I get back, then?”

“I’m not going anywhere.”

Beaming at him, I leaned in for a quick peck then scrambled off the bed before he could make another grab for me. Then I scampered to the bathroom with a gigantic smile that was still on my face when I unlocked the front door to Something Wicked an hour later.

* * *

The smell of bacon hit me as I walked into my apartment from the entrance that came directly from the shop. I followed my nose to the kitchen, and my stomach growled, causing Eli to chuckle. He was sliding pancakes onto a plate that already had eggs, bacon, and hash browns.

I tossed my purse onto the couch. “Okay, now I really love you and you’re never allowed to leave.”

Eli set our plates at the island and prowled over to take me into his arms. “Anywhere we need to go, we go together.”

I loved the sound of that, but I was still at a loss as to how to handle the living situation. “I agree. So, how do we decide where to go?”

He smiled and took my hand, leading me to the island and lifting me onto one of the high chairs. “I’ve been thinking a lot about that.”

“Do tell,” I encouraged after giving him a quick kiss.

He handed me silverware and I nodded my thanks, practically drooling over the delicious spread in front of me.

I moaned in ecstasy over my first bite, then my second. “So good,” I sighed.

He sat down next to me with his plate, but instead of eating, he firmly clasped the back of my neck and maneuvered my head to the side so we were face to face. I gasped at the burning intensity in his beautiful brown eyes.

“You’re next on the menu,” he growled before leaning in and tracing my lips with his tongue. “I bet apple pie and syrup taste amazing together.” He licked a path down my neck then over to a sensitive spot just below my ear. “Make sure you add it to your grocery list because there won’t be any left after I eat you for dessert.”

And there went another pair of panties. I was seconds away from begging him to spread me out on the island and lick every drop of the syrup off my body when my stomach growled fiercely again. I’d skipped breakfast and it wasn’t happy about it. Normally, a missed meal wouldn’t bother me so much, but for some reason, I’d been hungrier than usual lately.

“Eat, baby,” Eli prodded, handing me the fork that had slipped from my hands while he drove me crazy with his dirty mouth.

I took another bite and he smiled at my expression of bliss. He ate a little as well, then leaned back in his chair and observed me as he spoke. “I’ve been considering going out on my own for a few years now.”

My brows shot up and I gaped at him in shock. Eli had told me all about his dad and the bullshit he rained down on everyone. But in all of our conversations, it had seemed like he would never walk away because it would break his heart to see it fall apart.

He scrubbed his hands down his face and exhaled heavily. “I didn’t think it would ever get bad enough for me to consider it.” When he looked at me again, his countenance had lightened considerably and his eyes were soft. “I also never thought I’d have you. Nothing—and I do mean nothing—is more important than us,” he said fervently.

Tears welled up in my eyes and I fell in love with him all over again. But I wasn’t convinced he should give up the farm and stables he’d helped build with his own two hands and had practically run all by himself since he was sixteen. “You can’t just walk away, Eli. I don’t ever want you to resent me for it down the road.”

Eli trailed a finger down my cheek, smiling tenderly. “Nothing would ever make me regret choosing you, Maggie. However, a few years back, when I realized the day might come when I couldn’t put up with that asshole any longer, I started making some strategic choices. Ones my dad isn’t aware of.”

I grinned and shook my head. “I always knew you were a smart one,” I teased.

“Damn straight. I fell in love with you, didn’t I?”

“Stop,” I said with a sniff. “You’re going to make me cry.”

Eli frowned. “I don’t like it when you cry.”

“Can’t say I’m much of a fan either. But lately, it’s like I’m a leaking faucet.” I sniffed a few more times and wiped my eyes. “Okay, you were saying about choices?”

He watched me carefully for a second, seeming uncertain what to do next.

“I’m fine,” I said, resting my hand on his bicep. “Go on.”

“First, I do the books, so I didn’t have to justify my salary. As long he was able to keep up his current lifestyle, he didn’t give a fuck about Old Bridge. So, I didn’t tell him how well it was doing. I inched up the pay for all of my people, then gave myself a decent raise and started putting money away for a rainy day.”

“Enough to buy the farm?” That would solve the issues with his dad, but not what to do about where we lived.

“Yes, but I don’t need that much.”

“Why?”

“I already own half of it. My mom signed over her half to me years ago. It was her ‘fuck you’ to my dad before she died.”

Vicki, Eli’s mom, hadn’t been a strong woman, although Silas had told me that while Phineas never hit his wife on purpose, she and Eli often ended up in the hospital because she would put herself between them, trying to shield Eli. Vicki had grown up in foster care and had no family, and no education, so I always suspected she didn’t leave because she was afraid she wouldn’t be able to fight her husband if he decided to punish her by going after custody of their son.

She’d gotten sick, right around the time Eli grew big enough to defend himself, or I think she might have left him then. After fighting the cancer for a decade, she’d passed away when Eli was around twenty-four.

“Way to stick it to him,” I chuckled.

Eli’s mouth curved into a small smile. “Yeah, She told me to keep it to myself until the time was right.”

“So, you own half of Old Bridge Stables.” It was a statement, but Eli nodded, then waited patiently while I thought things through. Eventually, I decided to rip off the Band-Aid, rather than waiting for him to get around to answering it without me having to ask. “What does this mean for us, Eli? We can’t live in both places, so one of us will have to commute, and that means a lot of long days, late nights, and early mornings.”

A tear slipped down my cheek and I swiped it away with an annoyed huff. Seriously. What the hell is the matter with me? I was a strong, confident, badass chick, and I rarely cried. So, I was even more irritated when I had to sniff back a fresh wave of tears before continuing. “We wouldn’t be able to see each other during the days we both work, either. Eli…I…I don’t want to sound clingy or anything—”

“It’s unacceptable,” Eli interjected passionately. “You’re finally all mine, and I’m too selfish to give up that much time with you.”

I could see the sincerity in his eyes, and knowing I wasn’t the only one feeling this way sent relief trickling into my veins. There was no doubt in my mind that Eli would do whatever it took to make me happy, but the truth was, moving a little shop would be a hell of a lot easier than moving an entire farm.

“We’re not closing Something Wicked, baby,” Eli declared. He bulldozed ahead, leaving me no time to think about how easily he could read me. “Like I said, I’d already been weighing my options before we got together. I’m tired of putting up with my dad, he’s poisonous and eventually, no matter how hard I fight it, he will find a way to destroy what I’ve worked so hard to build. It’s time to stop pretending I’m under his thumb, to quit hiding.” He paused and his eyes searched my face. “No more pretending I’m normal. I’m not, and there is nothing wrong with who and what I am. But that doesn’t mean I don’t want to live in a place where I will be easily accepted. Where I can relax and not have to deal with the rumors, the pointing and staring, but mostly, I want to be in a place where I’m not feared.”

“You want to move here?” I asked bluntly.

Eli smiled in a way that made him look boyishly handsome, reminding me of the younger man I’d crushed on for most of my life. He pushed our plates away and stood, then picked me up and set me on the island as he moved to stand between my legs. He cupped my cheeks and I melted into him at the sight of his deep brown orbs shining with happiness.

“I contacted a realtor months ago, even though I was sure I wouldn’t actually take any action. I did it every few years when my bullshit meter was nearing capacity. This morning, after you left, I went digging through my email to find her information, and the last message she sent me had a list of properties attached. That’s when I remembered that one of them was an old dairy farm near the outskirts of Screaming Woods.”

Hope bloomed in my chest and my breath stalled as I waited for him to tell me the rest.

“It’s not all that far from Silas’s cabin, actually. I thought maybe we—”

“Elijah Ichabod Crane,” I snapped, having lost my patience—something that almost never happened. “Did you call her? Is it still available? Do you want to go look at it? Are you seriously thinking of moving Old Bridge Stables to Screaming Woods? What—”

My words were silenced when Eli’s mouth crashed down onto mine. He didn’t start slow and work his way up to a fevered mating of the mouths, he dove right in and devoured me.

I curled my legs around his waist and threaded my fingers into his hair, dislodging the small man bun he’d pulled it into. A moan passed through my lips and Eli growled, sinking even deeper into our kiss.

Just as things were heating up even more, he tore his mouth away and laughed, despite his labored breathing, when I released a string of creative curses.

“As hot as you are all worked up, let me finish, and then I’ll let you take advantage of me any way you’d like.”

I perked right up as I ran through the ever growing list of things I wanted to try with Eli. There was a list on my phone I’d been adding to when I read or saw something that seemed interesting, but it didn’t seem like the right time to be whipping out my notes app and scrolling through my sexual “to do” list.

“Deal,” I cackled mischievously.

Eli’s brow furrowed and he scrutinized my face suspiciously. “Alright, little witch, simmer down while I tell you what happened and answer your questions. I called the realtor as soon I read over the dossier on the property. It was still for sale. I didn’t need to look at it. I knew in my heart it was the right place, so I bought it. And no, I’m not considering moving Old Bridge Stables here. But I’m not going to start completely from scratch either.”

“What will happen to the other farm?” I asked, feeling a little sad even though I’d never been there.

“I’m not sure yet. Right now, I’m going to focus on making sure West Emerald Stables is up and running as soon as possible. There’s a gorgeous old house on the property, but she wasn’t sure what condition it was in. I know the space is tight, but I figured we could live here until we renovate it.”

Eli’s animated excitement was contagious, and if I hadn’t been so hung up on the name, I would have been dancing around in celebration.

“West Emerald?”

At my question, Eli’s eyes turned soft, though they were still brimming with excitement. “Yeah. I’m naming it after my gorgeous fiancée with the silkiest, most beautiful emerald green skin. My Wicked Witch of the West. With her fuck me shoes, and her sassy mouth, and a pussy that is sweeter than anything I’ve ever tasted.”

It would come as no shock to me if one of these days, Eli’s filthy mouth was gonna give me an orgasm all by itself.  “You look hungry, babe,” I quipped with an impish grin.

“Famished,” he growled.

Keeping his eyes locked with mine, he dropped to his knees and quickly removed my shoes—“definitely fucking you in these later”—then unzipped my pants and yanked them all the way off.

His gaze traveled down my body, locking on my center, and a shiver coursed through me when he licked his lips. “Let’s see how many times I can make you scream before I get my fill.”

10

ELI

“Hi, Lucy,” I greeted when she answered her phone.

“Hey, Eli. I haven’t seen you around much lately. What can I do for you?”

I took a deep breath and swallowed my fear as I took another step toward my future. “I’m making some changes and I need your help.”

“Of course. Anything I can do.”

I explained the situation to Lucy, and after congratulating me on my engagement and new business venture, we got down to brass tacks.

The crew at Old Bridge Stables were like family to me and I hated the idea of flying off to greener pastures and leaving them to deal with my useless old man. I didn’t yet know what was going to happen with Old Bridge, so I gave them each a few options.

My first action was to offer every single one of them a place at the new farm, if they wanted it. But, getting a new business of the ground meant I didn’t have the luxury of only working during the day—even if I managed to pull off a miracle and lure Lucy down to Screaming Woods, it would take more than the two of us just to organize the front office and map our our operation so we could fill all the essential positions.

As such, they would all have to be told about my…”evening look,” as Maggie had taken to calling it. Then they could decide if they wanted to come work for me at West Emerald.

Lucy was on the fence, which didn’t surprise me because her whole family lived in Sleepy Hallow and had for generations. Although I had hoped that I was wrong, I hadn’t been expecting her to leave with me, but she promised to think about it. If I had my pick, I would keep her on at Old Bridge to run things while I focused on West Emerald, but if forced to part ways, I doubted my dad would trust my choice of manager. And, when he bankrupted the whole place, she’d be looking for a new job anyway. I was still working out all the details.

In the meantime, Lucy and I put together a plan to approach my team.

Over the next week, we met with them one by one, and told them the truth. I’d hired each of them for a reason, and part of that was their trustworthiness, and their ability to be open-minded. So, I was relieved when no one ran out of the office screaming like a banshee. A few had been tough to convince, but they knew me better than to think I was feeding them a crock of shit.

I was so busy with the deal for the new farm, hiring new people, meeting with my current staff, talking to lawyers, and the millions of other things that needed to be done in order to open West Emerald on schedule, Maggie and I didn’t have much time together. Plus, it was almost Halloween, which meant her shop was at the start of her busy season.

Since I was working on employment deals with my team, and quietly approaching clients who lived between the two stables, I spent most of my days in Sleepy Hallow. But I went home to Maggie every night, no matter how late it was. I crawled into bed long after she was asleep and was content just to hold her because I knew she had to be up to open the store. It seemed like her bedtime was a lot earlier than it used to be, but I figured it was due to the long hours she’d been working.

However, there was a silver lining, which was that the farm hadn’t needed as much work to be set up as a training and boarding facility as I’d predicted. So, this craziness would be winding down in a couple of months.

The following Friday, I carefully arranged my schedule so that I could have a day off with Maggie. I took her out to the house and we made plans, creating lists for the architect to use when designing the renovation.

When we arrived back at her apartment, she was exhausted and laid down to take a nap. I grabbed my laptop and stretched out on the bed next to her, so I could get some work done and be near her at the same time. She was restless and I took a moment to study her as she slept. There were dark smudges under her eyes, and I frowned when I scanned her body and realized she’d lost a little weight.

I picked up my phone and sneaked out of the bedroom, determined to call Jackie and figure out how we could take some of the stress off my girl. Then I’d call Lucy and we’d make a plan so that I could start working from West Emerald permanently.

My finger was hovering over the call button when someone started banging on the door that connected the apartment to the backrooms of the store.

What the fuck?

Maggie and I were the only ones who used that entrance, with the periodic exception of one of her employees, but they always called first.

I rushed to the door and didn’t take the time to look at the camera feed to see who was out there because I was more concerned with the noise waking up Maggie.

“What the hell—”

“You motherfucking son of a bitch!” My dad shoved me and because I was stunned at his appearance, I stumbled backward, giving him room to enter. “How dare you,” he snarled as he whirled around to face me. He wobbled and almost pitched sideways, telling me he was most likely drunk.

Shit. My mind frantically ran through ways I could at least get him outside before he shouted the roof down. But when he was on one, he was the ultimate bastard, doing anything and everything he could to make everyone around him miserable.

My only hope was to remain calm and hope it took the bluster out of his sails so he wasn’t as worked up.

“Hello, Dad. Nice to see you, too. What brings you by?” I asked as I stepped onto the landing and glanced down the stairwell. Seeing Jackie at the bottom with a disheveled appearance and a terrified expression did not help my attempts to stay calm.

“I’m so sorry, I tried to keep him from coming back here, but he just shoved me into the wall and stormed past me.

“Are you okay?”

She nodded, then hissed, “I’m fine. Just make sure he doesn’t hurt Maggie.”

 It’s alright,” I told her with a reassuring smile. “I got this.”

She didn’t look convinced, but she quietly exited the hallway into the back office of the store.

My dad was pacing from one end of the room to the other, and I mentally cursed when he shot a glare at me and I saw how bloodshot his eyes were. He wasn’t just drunk, he was fucking high. I avoided looking at the bedroom so as not to draw his attention there, and walked into the kitchen to fill a glass with water.

I swallowed the cool liquid, giving my dad time to bluster and pace. Maybe I’d get lucky and he’d wear himself out.

Once I’d drained the cup, I set it on the counter and walked back into the open living room area. “Why don’t you let me grab my coat and we’ll go talk outside,” I suggested, already halfway to the closet by the other apartment entrance.

“Sure,” he snarled, spit flying from his mouth. “Let’s have this out in public so everyone finds out what a monster you are. And what kind of a motherfucking son of a bitch betrays his father!”

I was slipping my arms into my coat, so my head was down and he didn’t see me wince at his elevated volume. “Let’s go,” I said evenly, picking up my keys and wallet, then shoving them in my pockets.

“Don’t fucking tell me what to do, boy!” he shouted, struggling to keep his balance and stumbling toward me.

“Eli?”

Shit. Shit. Motherfucking shit! I was going to kill Phineas Crane, chop him into little pieces, and feed him to the raccoons.

11

ELI

I softened my expression and turned to see Maggie standing sleepily in the bedroom doorway looking confused as her gaze shifted between my father and me.

“I’m sorry we woke you, baby. Go back to bed.”

“YOU!”

Maggie cringed and covered her ears at my father’s bellow. My knuckles cracked as I balled my hands into fists and struggled to keep them at my side.

“Outside,” I commanded as I opened the front door. “Now.”

“This is all that little slut’s fault isn’t it?” he accused, pointing a finger at Maggie.

“Watch what you say, old man.” My tone was deadly, and he clearly noticed because fear flashed across his face. But he wasn’t in his right mind, so it left as quickly as it had come.

“Maggie has nothing to do with anything involving you, so let’s leave and go talk man to man.” I barely leashed my mocking tone when I referred to him as a man.

My dad’s expression turned mutinous, like a little kid being told he had to clean his room before he could have dessert.

“Her, this town, they are the reason you’re trying to ruin me,” he shouted, taking up his frantic pacing again. “Poaching my employees and plotting to run my business into the ground. The family business, boy. You’re going to turn against your family for a little taste of green pussy?”

Before I knew what was happening, I was pinned to the wall, breathing heavily and looking around through a haze of red for something to beat the shit out of him with. Except, I was trapped. I glanced down and didn’t see what was holding me, so I struggled to get free of the invisible restraints.

“Don’t, Eli. Don’t let him get to you.” Maggie’s softly spoken words reached my ears as if she were standing right next to me, but she was still in the doorway to the bedroom. Her blue eyes bored into me, and I heard her again. “Words can never hurt me. Don’t give him what he wants. The same thing he wanted every time he took a swing at you. Bullies feed on the reactions of their victims. We’re—I’m fine, so just relax.”

She was right. I needed to chill the fuck out. Did she just say we’re fine? No, she said I’m fine. I clenched my jaw, frustrated that I was distracted and not handling this situation. Maggie shouldn’t be the one protecting me.

When Maggie snorted, I heard it from across the room this time. I glanced over in time to see her roll her eyes, and I realized I’d said it out loud.

“I’m no damsel, Eli Crane. We’re partners…even if I’m more powerful than you. I wasn’t going to point it out or anything.”

It suddenly occurred to me that I hadn’t heard my dad screaming in the sixty or so seconds Maggie and I had been communicating. My gaze darted around, and I almost laughed when I saw him plastered up against another wall. Unlike me, his lips appeared to be glued shut. His face was mottled and red as he struggled to free himself and speak.

“Now,” Maggie started as she moved to lean against the wall beside the door jamb. “What’s he caterwauling about?” She yawned and I felt my temper rising again. “Relax.” Her soothing tone washed over me, and I briefly wondered if it was just her effect on me or if she was using a spell. Her lips puffed out into one of her adorable pouts and my heart squeezed. “I wouldn’t spell you without your permission, Eli.”

Yeah, that was a shitty thought, and I knew I’d have to grovel over it later, but right now, I had bigger fish to fry.

“Is it safe to let you go? You won’t kill him?” Her expression was wary, but when I nodded, she snapped her fingers, and my unseen restraints fell away.

“Go ahead and unmute him,” I grunted as I stalked over to her side.

“Stop trying to push me into the bedroom, or I’ll put you back on the wall,” she barked when I attempted to steer her out of harm’s way.

I glowered and she huffed, flipping her hair over her shoulder, then flicking her hand.

“You should be thanking me, you ungrateful little bastard! I raised you like you were my own! And how do you repay me? By stealing my employees and emptying my client list! I should kill you, you fucking prick! I—”

Silence descended when his lips sealed shit again.

“Um, did he just tell you that you aren’t his kid?” Maggie asked, scratching her head.

“Sounds like it,” I mused, not bothered one fucking bit by this revelation.

Maggie put a hand on my arm, and I glanced down at her concerned face. “Were you worried? That you might end up like him if we had kids?”

I shrugged, then reminded myself that she was my safe place, but only if I was honest. “A little. And not if, baby. When.”

Her blue eyes brightened a little, and I bent my head to brush a kiss over her mouth.

“You wouldn't have been, you know,” she insisted. “Blood or not, you are nothing like him.”

I knew she was right. Still, it gave me a bit of peace.

“Thanks, baby. Now, will you please go back into the bedroom?”

“This again?” she groaned.

Despite the shit show we were currently starring in, a little smile creased my face. “I love you.”

“Ditto. Now, can you please deal with this jackass? I’m hungry and all this nonsense is making me queasy.”

Before I could try again to get her to go lay down, she made a beeline for the kitchen and hopped up onto the island. Then she flicked her hand. “Before you start spouting off again,” she sighed, “just remember whose home you are in and that you wouldn’t like me when I’m angry.”

I bit back a laugh at her nerdy little joke. Even in the shittiest circumstances, she was able to make me smile. How the fuck did I get so lucky?

“Shut up, you little cunt! I—”

“How is he still alive?” she asked, exasperated. “He acts like a three-year-old having a tantrum. Without someone to feed him and change his nappy, I don’t know how he’s survived.”

“He only acts like a child when he’s drunk, and in this case, high. Otherwise, he acts like a spoiled, selfish adult.” I walked over to stand in front of my…of Phineas. Bracing my feet apart, I folded my arms over my chest and glared at him. “I don’t owe you one damn thing. But, I’m going to offer you a deal. This is a one-time only, expires five minutes after I’m done, deal. Is that clear? You can’t move, so I’ll take that as a ‘Yes.’ Now, you are correct, I am opening a horse farm here in Screaming Woods. And yes, I offered jobs to my employees. We both know not one of them has even a sliver of loyalty or respect for you. Some are choosing to go with me, others are still deciding, mostly because they want to know what’s happening with Old Bridge. So, here’s the deal.” I raised an eyebrow. “Are you ready?”

He remained still, but I could tell that he was curious what I was going to offer.

“When you and Mom bought Old Bridge, you gave her fifty-one percent of the property so that no one could take it if you defaulted on one of your other schemes. Well, now that fifty-one percent belongs to me. Oh, and I should also make you aware that any new equipment purchased in the last decade belongs to my corporation. And I’m terminating your rental agreements.”

Phineas’s red eyes were bulging, and the veins on his forehead looked ready to burst.

“Unless…oh, right, the deal. You have one of three choices. One, you let me buy you out and you walk away with a nice chunk of change and I never see you again. Two, you retain your forty-nine percent—with the caveat that it’s bequeathed to me in your will—and continue to receive a monthly stipend, equal to what you currently live on. You give me a bank account to put it in, you walk away, and I never see you again. Or three, you refuse options one and two and I walk away with your employees, a large chunk of your equipment, a decent list of your clients, and I never see you again.

“Sounds fair,” Maggie commented from her spot in the kitchen, her words muffled because she’d just taken a big bite of a banana.

“Thanks, baby.”

“Call ‘em like I see ‘em.”

“Well, let’s get this over with,” I prompted, gesturing to Phineas.

“Best behavior, jackass. Or next time I sew your mouth shut like the witch in that awesome Halloween movie.” She flicked her hand again and took another giant bite of her banana.

“What’s it going to be, Phineas? One, two, or three? And if Maggie has to shut you up again, I’ll choose three for you. Oh, and to be clear, don’t think because I love Old Bridge so much that I’m bluffing about that third option. See, I’d rather walk away knowing you are ruined, than be your whipping boy.”

“Terrible tradition,” Maggie chimed in. “But I rather like the idea if Phineas is the one being whipped for all of the things I should be punished for.”

I ignored her because anything I had to say would qualify as bedroom talk, and I wasn’t about to let this asshole tarnish any part of my life with my little witch.

“I’m waiting, Phineas.”

“One,” he croaked.

“What was that?” Maggie called from the kitchen. “I didn’t hear you very well.”

“One!” he bellowed. “Now, let me the fuck out of here!”

“Rude,” Maggie huffed, and I suppressed a smile. If she thought I didn’t know what she was doing, she was as crazy as she sounded.

I stalked to the front door and opened it, then Maggie released him from her magical hold.

He stumbled a few steps, stopped to steady himself, then shuffled forward a few more.

I huffed impatiently when he paused to find his balance at the halal that split the kitchen from the small entryway.

The next thing I knew, the world slowed down so I could watch what happened next in slow motion, making sure I felt every second of the terror in my bones.

Phineas reached out and when his arm raised up, he was holding a large knife from the wooden butcher block on the counter. Then he lashed out at Maggie, and having caught her by surprise, she attempted to jump off the island. Her foot caught on the stool, and she pitched forward at the same moment that Phineas threw the knife.

The world sped up to full speed when Maggie let out a blood curdling scream. In two steps, my hands were wrapped around Phineas’s neck and I raised him up off the floor so his feet dangled wildly as he fought against my hold. I didn’t pay him any attention as I yelled at my phone to call 9-1-1.

Phineas went limp, and I tossed him aside and dropped to my knees next to Maggie.

The operator picked up and I gave her a quick rundown as I inspected my girl, cataloging all of her injuries. Luckily, other than the big stab wound, there weren’t many.

She was holding the knife that was buried in her hip to keep it from moving. Her blue eyes were filled with terror, and my chest tightened. I could see how badly she wanted to pull the blade out, but without knowing the damage, it was better to let the doctor remove it. Which left me with nothing to do but watch as she lay there in excruciating pain.

Her breathing was labored and shallow, but I assumed it was from trying not to let the movement of her chest shift the muscles on her hip.

“Can you heal it?” I asked, hoping she was just too out of it to think of the idea herself.

“Not without knowing the extent of the damage. I have to knit the injury back together, and without more information, I could miss a wound, and it would just grow and get infected.”

“Anything else?” I pleaded, grasping at straws because seeing her in pain was breaking my heart.

“I’m going to kill that motherfucker,” she seethed through clenched teeth.

“I’d rather you not go to jail for murder,” I rasped. Trying to lighten the mood, I added, “You can have him shanked in the prison yard.”

“It would be more fun to think of him living the rest of his life as someone’s bitch,” she panted.

“Try to even out your breathing, baby.” I ran my fingers through her silky strands, thinking how much she loved the sensation, and was rewarded with a tiny curve of her lips.

Sirens blared, growing louder as they raced down the street.

“Fuck, this hurts,” she muttered, then she struggled to breathe for a second before coughing. It was deep and dry, causing her body to shudder, and a scream ripped from her throat.

Several people in various uniforms rushed through the door and though it went against my instincts, I stood and backed up to give the paramedics room to work on Maggie.

I glanced at the cops and pointed to the unconscious piece of shit on the floor. “Tried to kill her,” I snarled, my temper raging once more.

“Sir, I need you to take several steps back,” one of the cops said firmly, his observant gaze wary and alert.

I did as instructed because I knew he’d seen the murderous intent pouring off me in thick waves.

“Shit!”

I whipped around at the exclaimed curse. It had come from the kitchen, so my eyes searched out Maggie who was passed out on the stretcher, lying on her side while one of the paramedics knelt at her back. She still looked as though she was struggling to take in every breath and I didn’t like how pale she was.

“The stool leg,” he told the medic standing over his shoulder as he pressed something against her back. “Get me something to pack this.”

“What’s going on?” I barked as I rushed over to my girl.

“It looks like the stool broke when she fell and a small piece of the leg went into her back as she landed on the floor, pushing it all the way in. I removed it, but I can’t be sure it didn’t leave something in there, or at what angle it penetrated, so I won’t know the extent of the damage until we get her to the hospital.”

A medic returned with the items needed to pack the wound and he worked on it while the others lifted the stretcher and moved toward the door.

The last paramedic, who’d been explaining things to me, raised a walkie to his mouth and started spouting codes and descriptions. I only caught a few things, like collapsed lung, possible spinal damage, head trauma…

I followed them outside and before they lifted her stretcher into the ambulance, I pressed a kiss to her forehead and promised to meet her there.

The ride to the hospital was the longest of my life, but I arrived just behind the ambulance. I watched them unload the stretcher and jogged through the doors after them.

I grabbed the arm of the nearest guy in scrubs to get his attention. “Can I go with her?” I begged, tilting my head toward Maggie who was now on a gurney and being wheeled through another set of doors.

He shook his head with a sympathetic frown. “She’s going straight into surgery. I’m sorry, you’ll have to wait here.”

Feeling helpless, I stood there, staring at the doors until someone tapped my shoulder, drawing me out of my stupor.

It was a young woman in yellow scrubs and she smiled gently. “Are you family?”

“Fiancé.”

“Close enough,” she murmured. “Come fill out some paperwork, and then I’ll make sure the doctor keeps you updated.”

“Thank you,” I mumbled as I followed her.

A gasp pulled me from my daze, and I glanced up to see the nurse staring at me in shock.

“What? Did I get injured or something?” I asked, feeling around my head and neck.

“I’m not sure…” she looked as if she might laugh at any moment.

An odd reaction. “Pardon?”

“If losing your head is an injury,” she chuckled. “I assume I’m talking to the infamous Headless Horseman?”

I glanced at the clock above the desk and groaned. It was ten after seven. The sun had officially set at three minutes to seven. Which meant I was now headless for the next eight-ish hours. Great.

12

MAGGIE

An annoying beeping sound filled my ears and I grumbled as I turned to shut off my alarm. I felt like I’d—son of a bitch! Searing pain streaked through my hip and across my stomach and I cried out.

Everything came rushing back to me and I gasped, then immediately regretted it. My lungs burned from the jerky moment. I breathed as evenly as possible until the pain reduced to a sharp throbbing and I was pretty sure I wouldn’t scream in agony when I opened my mouth. I wanted to pass out until it went away completely, except I’d been avoiding something for a few days and now, I had no choice but to face it because I needed to know one way or the other.

I remembered the injury in my hip, but I could sense there was more damage than that. When I’d felt the sting in my belly a minute ago, fear had taken hold of me, more so than when I’d been faced with a lunatic lunging at me with a butcher knife.

There was a soft tap on the door before it opened. A middle-aged man in a white lab coat entered and smiled pleasantly at me. “Good morning, Maggie. I’m Dr. Goodman.”

I expected him to look at me with horror and avoid eye contact, but he just walked to the side of my bed and checked the stats on the little monitor. Oh, I forgot. This hospital was run mostly by residents of Screaming Woods, so they were used to monsters coming in and out

“You did very well in surgery,” he told me gently. “We were able to repair everything quickly and get you sewn back up. We’re going to keep you here for a couple of days to make sure there are no complications, but you should be home in time for Halloween.”

I barely resisted the urge to roll my eyes and make a scathing wise-crack about the stupid holiday.

He picked up my chart and wrote something on it, then replaced it in the holder at the end of the bed and smiled as he tucked his pen into the breast pocket of his lab coat. “Do you have any questions?”

“Was I…am I..um, I think I’m pregnant. Or”—tears welled up in my eyes as I voiced my fear—“was I pregnant?”

“Oh, I’m sorry. I thought the OBGYN had already been in to see you. You are pregnant, and the baby is healthy and doing great.”

“Baby?”

Damn it.

I sighed at the sight of Eli standing in the doorway with a stunned expression. “Don’t freak out,” I sighed.

“Is this the father?” Dr. Goodman asked, his gaze hopping between me and Eli.

“Yes,” I answered distractedly because I was inspecting Eli’s face and body language to get a clue as to how he was handling this news.

“I’ll give you two some privacy.” Dr. Goodman walked to the door and waited for Eli to move into the room so he could exit.

“You’re pregnant?” Eli croaked after another minute of tense silence.

“We weren’t exactly careful,” I muttered, crossing my arms over my chest.

His lips tipped up at the corners. “Touché.”

“Still, it’s unexpected…” I trailed off, hoping he would finally give me an indication of how he felt about the situation.

Instead, he frowned, his brow furrowing as he approached the bed, while his eyes scanned me from head to toe. “You’ve lost weight. Shouldn’t you be gaining it?”

“Not necessarily. Some women lose a few pounds in the first trimester. My mom always did.”

He nodded, looking a little relieved, but still worried. Taking a seat on the bed right beside me, he trailed a finger under one eye and then the other. “You haven’t been sleeping either.” His tone was almost accusatory, and I smiled because it was kind of cute.

“Queasy,” I explained.

“And overly stressed,” he added, guilt marring his features.

“It’s not your fault, Eli, so stop blaming yourself. Everything will calm down soon, and it’s not like either of us were expecting this.”

“True. But I think you need to rest more. Let your people handle the shop for a while. At least until you recover from this.” He gestured up and down my body, then his hand hovered over my stomach for a second, before he laid it down.

“Eli?”

“Yeah, baby?”

“I need to know how you feel about this. I…well, to be honest, I’m as terrified as I am excited.”

Eli cocked his head to the side and studied me curiously. “Terrified? Beyond the normal ‘holy shit we're going to be parents’ freak out?”

I chuckled, but sobered quickly. “I’m afraid you aren’t happy, and I might have to do this on my own. But mostly, I’m scared they might turn out like you or me.”

He climbed fully onto the bed and pulled me into the circle of his arms. “I’m fucking ecstatic, Maggie. I knew I wanted a family with you, albeit I didn’t expect it to be so soon. But then again, everything about our relationship has been at warp speed, so I suppose I shouldn’t be surprised.”

Hearing that he was happy about the baby soothed some of the turmoil inside me, and I sagged into his hold.

“As for the baby being like one of us, we’ll make sure they never feel like it’s a curse. I love you just the way you are, baby, and all of our kids will grow up knowing they are loved and adored. That they are unique and it doesn’t matter what anyone else thinks. The way we raise them will be the same whether they are green, headless, electric, stone, or any other type of creature.”

“I am head over heels in love with you,” I beamed, feeling so happy I could burst.

“I’ve lost my head over you,” he replied with a cheeky grin.

“Good grief, are jokes like that what I have to look forward to for the rest of my life?”

“Yup.” The “p” popped on the end of the word and he smirked as he settled back against the bed, holding me in a tender embrace. “Too late to back out now.”

EPILOGUE

ELI

The bell on the door of Something Wicked tinkled and I moved to get up from my chair. Maggie waved me off.

“I’ll get it. I’m expecting a rare book dealer, and you haven’t finished your lunch.”

She stood and walked around her desk, stopping to give me a quick peck on the lips then scurrying away before I could make a grab for her. She knew how I hated those sorry excuses for a kiss, and she also knew she’d be getting a spanking for it later.

I ate the last bite of my sandwich before getting up and clearing away the trash. A voice filtered back to the office that sounded familiar, piquing my memory, but I couldn’t quite grasp it. I just knew that it didn’t have positive feelings associated with it, so I quietly made my way to the front of the store.

When I reached the door, I peeked around and was astonished to see none other than Brom Brunt standing in my wife’s store, wearing his most charming—or smarmy, depending on who you asked—smile.

“I should have contacted you sooner, I know. But I didn’t want to give you false hope, and I spent most of my time searching.”

Maggie’s stance was relaxed, so I knew she didn’t feel threatened. Then a grin split my face when she turned her head, and I realized she was covering a laugh. That’s my girl.

“I’ve always loved you, Maggie,” he insisted. “I couldn’t stand seeing you like this and knew I had to find a cure.”

I stiffened at his comment. Maggie was perfect—strong and confident—if anyone was bothered by her appearance, it was him.

“And did you find one?” Maggie asked softly.

His face lit up and he held out a little pouch. “The witch assured me that it would make you look normal again.”

She took it and untied the drawstring, then dumped the content into her hand. It was a vial of white liquid. If the doctor who created the shit that turned us into monsters hadn’t found a cure, there was no way some random witch had. She’d obviously conned him, and he was too obtuse to figure it out.

“You really want to be with me?” Maggie asked, her tone mildly curious.

“Like I said, I’ve always loved you.”

“And if it doesn’t work?”

Brom sputtered for a second, then put on his smarmy mask again. “Then I’ll keep looking.”

“And leave me here.”

He pretended to look surprised. “I couldn't possibly ask you to traipse all over the world with me, never staying in one place, and going to some of the most remote spots in the world.” It sounded an awful lot like the bastard was actually bragging.

“I suppose that makes sense.”

His smile widened, and he took a step closer to the counter separating them. “Go ahead, let’s see if the elixir fixes you.”

Fixes? I was so going to kick this guy’s ass someday.

Maggie set the vial down and folded her hands in front of her. “What if I want to stay like this? Will you stick around?”

Brom looked shocked at the questions, then confused as he struggled to find words.

Time to end this shit show.

I strolled through the door and over to stand behind my wife. Shifting us backward just enough for the bump in her middle to show, I also raised her left hand to my lips and kissed her wedding rings. “She doesn’t need a cure, jackass. She’s fucking perfect. Now get lost before I turn you into a monster by breaking every bone in your face.”

Brom scrambled away and spun around too, fast causing him to stumble. But that didn’t stop him from leaving as fast as possible, which suited me just fine.

I moved around to stand in front of Maggie and raised an eyebrow. “What was that about?”

She snickered, then melted into me, laying her head on my chest. “I’m guessing the woman he wanted rejected him, and he doesn’t like being alone. Narcissists need constant adoration. So, he probably figured I would be eternally grateful and fall into his arms for ‘saving’ me. In his mind, I would worship him for being with me, when he could have someone so much better.”

“He was always a prick,” I muttered, disgusted.

“Yup. But he was good for a laugh.”

“I’m sure that’s what the other woman thought after she saw him between the sheets.”

Maggie tossed her head back and laughed, mesmerizing me like always.

My arms tightened around Maggie for a moment, then I put a finger under her shin and raised her head up so I could kiss her. It was a lazy, exploring kiss, but it still left us both breathless. When we pulled back, I touched my forehead to hers and murmured, “That was a kiss, baby. What you did before was a tease. And little witches who tease get punished.”

“You like it when I’m bad. Admit it.”

“I like it when you’re naughty,” I retorted with a chuckle.

“I love you.”

Her declaration never failed to settle over me like a warm blanket on a cold night. Maggie had become my whole world and the one we had created together was perfect. Perfect for us.

“I love you, too, baby.”

She shot me a wicked smile, and her hands traveled down to squeeze my ass, turning my semi into a full, throbbing hard on.

“How about I close up early and you show me what it’s like to have a monster between the sheets.”

“Deal.”

ALSO BY ELLE CHRISTENSEN

Silver Lake Shifters

An Unexpected Claim: Nathan & Peyton (Book 1) – Available Now!

An Uncertain Claim: Nathan & Peyton (Book 2) – Available Now!

An Unending Claim: Nathan & Peyton (Book 3) - Available Now!

A Promised Claim: Asher & Savannah (Book 4) - TBD

A Forbidden Claim (Book 4) – TBD

A Vengeful Claim (Book 5) – TBD

The Fae Guard Series

Protecting Shaylee (Book 1) – Available Now!

Loving Ean (Book 2) – Available Now!

Chasing Hayleigh (Book 3) – Available Now!

A Very Faerie Christmas (Book 4) – Available Now!

Saving Kendrix (Book 5) – Available Now!

Forever Fate: (Book 6) – Available Now!

The Fae Legacy (A Fae Guard Spin-off)

Finding Ayva (Book 1) – Coming 2022

The Slayer Witch Trilogy

The Slayer Witch (Book 1) - TBD

The Wolf, the Witch, and the Amulet (Book 2) – TBD

Stone Butterfly Rockstars

Another Postcard (Book 1) – Available Now!

Rewrite the Stars (Book 2) – TBD

Daylight (Book 3) – TBD

Just Give Me a Reason (book 4) – TBD

All of Me (Book 5) – TBD

Miami Flings

Spring Fling – Available Now!

All I Want (Miami Flings & Yeah, Baby Crossover) – Available Now!

Untitled – TBD

Ranchers Only Series

Ranchers Only – Available Now!

The Ranchers Rose – Available Now!

Ride a Rancher – Available Now!

When You Love a Rancher – Available Now!

Untitled – TBD

Happily Ever Alpha

Until Rayne – Available Now!

Until the Lighting Strikes – Available Now!

Until the Thunder Rolls – Coming 2023

Standalone Books

Love in Fantasy – Available Now!

Say Yes (A military Romance) – Available Now!

Bunny Vibes – Available Now!

Fairytale Wishes (Mermaid Kisses Collaboration) - Available Now!

Books Co-authored with Lexi C. Foss

Crossed Fates (Kingdom of Wolves) – Available Now!

First Kiss of Revenge (Vampire Dynasty Trilogy Book 1) - 2022

First Bite of Pleasure (Vampire Dynasty Trilogy Book 2) – TBD

First Taste of Blood (Vampire Dynasty Trilogy Book 3) – TBD

Books Co-authored with K. Webster

Erased Webster (Standalone Novel) – Available Now!

Give Me Yesterday (Standalone Novel) – Available Now!

If you enjoy quick and dirty and SAFE, check out Elle Christensen and Rochelle Paige’s co-written books under the pen name Fiona Davenport!

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR

About Elle Christensen

I’m a lover of all things books and have always had a passion for writing. Since I am a sappy romantic, I fell easily into writing romance. I love a good HEA! I’m a huge baseball fan, a blogger, and obsessive reader.

My husband is my biggest supporter and he’s incredibly patient and understanding about the people is my head who are fighting with him for my attention.

I hope you enjoy reading my books as much as I enjoyed writing them!

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ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

THANK YOU! To all the amazing people who helped me get this done on time-ish.

Ro, Violet, you gals are my heroes!