The Dutiful Witch (The Ward Witches) Read Free Page A

wasn't precisely on my best behavior either.”
    “ Tomorrow?” Seb asked, his mind already working on what he would do when they met. He'd take her for a nice dinner, and they'd have a nice civilized conversation in which they planned how to move into the future. He'd be rational and thoughtful, and things would move forward logically rather than emotionally.
    “ No, that won't do. If we wait until tomorrow, I'll just be up all night thinking about this. I have important things to do tomorrow. I think we need to do this tonight. We at least need to make a plan to proceed from here whether we act on it just yet or not.”
    “ I suppose you're right. What did you have planned?”
    “ I'm hungry. Would you like to meet for dinner?”
    “ Yes, that will work. Would you like to come by the Coven House and we'll eat here?”
    “ I don't think so. I'd rather meet on neutral turf. Park at the coffee house; we'll walk somewhere.”
    “ Alright. Thirty minutes?”
    “ Sure.” Seb hung up. So that was that.
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    CHAPTER TWO
     
     
    Fiona stared into the recesses of her closet again. It was the second time in one day she'd lamented her poor choices of outfit. She could tell she aroused him with the corset, but maybe that was too much. His emotions seemed close to the surface, and perhaps a sexual awareness wasn't too far from the anger he showed earlier. She should go for classy.
    She saw her reflection in the mirror. Fiona would never look classy, or beautiful, or anything but peculiar because of that horrible hair and eyes. She twisted her hair around her fingers. It was a good warning, sure, but did it have to be quite so brightly white?
    So, classy would have to be an attempt rather than a conclusion. Fiona stepped into a floor-length crimson dress with a black floral pattern. There was a slight nip in the air, so she drew a black cloak around her shoulders. She rarely put on makeup, but tonight was special, so she went ahead and did it.
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    THE DUTIFUL WITCH
    In her mind, there was only one option: she had to go through with the bond. Whether they turned it into something romantic or not didn't matter. Having magic almost created a contract that if you found your bond-mate, you would cement that bond. It was partially even for the future of witchcraft in general.
    Fiona gave the mirror a last look. That's as good as it was going to get. She didn't have to be beautiful to be magically compatible. Then she was out the door.
    Seb had gotten there before her, and he stood outside, still as a statue. He was a very attractive man, and Fiona wanted to rub her hands all over him before tasting him... She had to keep her wits about her, though, when dealing with this man. He was dangerous in more ways than one.
    She cleared her throat behind him, and he swiveled to face her. He gave her a disarming smile, and it made her want to give him anything and everything he wanted. Imagine kissing those lips, igniting them to do all kinds of delightful things. She felt her nipples harden underneath her bodice despite her efforts to stifle her attraction.
    “ Good to see you,” he said.
    “ And you.”
    “ Did you have a restaurant in mind?”
    “ Not necessarily. I know there's a good Italian place down this way, but I'm open to suggestions.”
    “ Italian sounds fine.”
    “ This way, then.”
    She strode off, not really looking to see if he was following. But he was, of course. She could feel his presence, even without looking for his aura. The restaurant was close, and they sat down without further conversation. The hostess gave them their menus, but Seb's eyes stayed on her, rather unnerving her.
    “ Would you like to order for me?” He asked, but his mouth held a slight grin.
    “ How about I make a strong suggestion?”
    “ I could deal with that. What is your strong suggestion?”
    “ The veal piccata is delightful. I'll be getting the shrimp scampi, though, which I could also highly