Gypsy Witch Read Free Page A

the Masonic Temple. The wind lifted bits of chameleon scales, butterfly wing, frog’s water and other spell ingredients from the ground, scattering them onto the feet of the knight who slept on the left side of the doorway.
    * * * * *
     
    When Elena woke up, the light through her curtains was muted. Beside her, Ben was propped on one elbow, watching her with a slight smile softening his craggy face. “Hi,” he said softly. “Nice nap?”
    She ran her fingers through his short dark hair. “Yeah. Nice nap and nice nookie.”
    “Yeah.” He gave her a gentle kiss, then peeled himself away from her side and began to dress. “I gotta go, babe.”
    “Is Tom coming over tonight?” she asked.
    “If you don’t mind. It just seems wasteful to hire a sitter when the kids want to hang out here.”
    “Of course I don’t mind.” She tried not to sound huffy, but boy, was it ever hard. They’d been seeing each other for weeks, but there were times when he still behaved as though nothing really existed between them. She knew the signs of a man fighting his feelings, and there were times when he pissed her off, but mostly she was just amused.
    Right now she was a little annoyed but wouldn’t show it, she decided. They’d had a great time together and she wouldn’t let his stubbornness spoil her day. “So we’ll see you at about midnight?”
    “Hope so.” He leaned over her bed to brush her forehead with his lips before he opened his wallet and took out a couple of bills.
    “We already talked about this, Ben.” This time she let her temper show.
    “Look, you feed my kid dinner five days a week. You babysit him. You deserve—”
    “I have everything I need, and I don’t want your money.”
    “If you’d allow me to pay you for childcare, you wouldn’t have to tell phony fortunes to silly old ladies.”
    “Excuse me?” She sat upright, her blissful mood shattered. He thought she was a phony ? Boy, did she ever want to rock his world with a real spell, but cursing him would be unethical. “How do you know they’re phony?”
    “Babe, I like you, but you’re one arrest away from a misdemeanor conviction for fraud. And if that happens while I’m seeing you, I can kiss a promotion to detective goodbye.”
    “Don’t you realize that offering me cash right now makes me feel like a whore?”
    “It’s called childcare, and it’s a totally legitimate way to earn money.” He tossed the bills onto her dresser.
    “Ben McCulloch, if you leave that money in my bedroom, don’t come back.”
    He stared at her.
    “I mean it.” She folded her arms across her torso. Too many men had treated her as though she were a blow-up sex doll. She’d stopped allowing that sort of behavior when Gina was born.
    “Fine.” Though he spat the word, he returned to her side to kiss her again before leaving. The kiss turned into a longer caress as he went for her breasts, licking and nibbling her nipples into tight, aching pearls. “You know I can’t resist you, baby.”
    “Yeah, and I like it that way.”
    He raised his head. His mouth and her nipples gleamed from his wet kisses. “You think I’m pussy-whipped?”
    “Yeah, right. I’m just trying to avoid being completely dominated. I’m not your sex slave, you know.”
    “Huh.” He kissed her on the mouth, smacked her on the hip and left.
    Elena stretched contentedly and went to take a shower.
    Later she found the money tucked beneath a salt shaker in the kitchen. Asshole, she thought, smiling. Ben had his code of honor, just as she had hers. She wondered where their strange liaison would take them, but put him out of her mind when the kids returned.
    They came in at about six, acting unusually quiet and subdued. She knew something was up but didn’t pry. Distracted herself, she fed the kids, put them in front of the TV and went to meditate.
    First she tidied her room, then lit a candle and switched off all the lights. She placed her topaz in front of the candle so it