Willow: June Read Free

railing and came toward her. He had one of those loose-hipped swaggers that drew attention, which had women drooling while imagining how damn good he would be in bed. And, she had heard from multiple sources…he was really good. Like off the charts, ruined-a-woman-for-any-other-man good.
    Damn it! She didn’t want him in bed. She didn’t want to know how much of a sex god he was. She wanted him gone.
    Off her porch.
    Off her property.
    Out of her life.
    Liar!
    She crossed her arms and stood her ground, intent on keeping him out of her house. She had cleansed it with sage not even a month ago after his last visit; she didn’t feel like doing it again so soon. Not when she had other things to worry about and occupy her time.
    The Summer Solstice celebrations started in less than two weeks, and there was a ton of work to do. Like the previous year, she volunteered to help out. She knew which permits were needed. Had obtained the contacts with the fire department already. Knew the best way to wrangle newbie witches who had recently upgraded from their learner’s permits—a keeper, they always needed a keeper.
    Dealing with Cedric and whatever inane request he had wasn’t going to happen. Not this time. She didn’t have the patience for it. And she was finally… finally putting her foot down. He stressed her out on a normal day; during the Summer Solstice celebrations, she’d go gray prematurely and probably a lot batty.
    He stopped in front of her, forcing her to look at up him. She cursed her shorter stature that allowed him to tower over her. He was almost a full foot taller than her five foot six frame, and it pissed her off. Gah! Everything about him pissed her off.
    Keep telling yourself that girlie , the little voice in the back of her head taunted.
    Willow ground her teeth together. “I doubt the wound is deep. Tell me what you need so I can tell you no and you can leave. I have a lot to do today and no time for whatever foolishness you have in mind. And no, I will not teach any more of your dippy girlfriends spells. And I will not let any of your idiotic friends stay here during the celebrations because your place isn’t big enough. You should have thought about that when you decided to get the apartment with your brother.”
    “Ah, come on, Wills. Why do you have to be such a stick in the mud?” Cedric reached out and brushed a lock of her wayward hair from her face. She jolted at the contact, and her moonstone warmed against her skin. Her hand drifted up, and she grasped it between her fingers. Please, don’t tell me it’s reacting to him. Heat flared, then it cooled within seconds. She breathed a sigh of relief. False alarm.

Chapter Three
    C edric followed the path of her hand, and was surprised when he saw her clutch a pale blue moonstone resting against her creamy skin. Mystics, along with humans-in-the-know, that wanted to attract true love, were known to wear the stone. It was said to arouse passion, enhance fertility, as well as protect sensitive emotions. Some people even had it enchanted with a love spell, even though there was no such thing in the world. A smart Mystic knew to leave that up to Fate and the Gods and Goddesses.
    So why the hell was she wearing it?
    He knew the necklace and stone were new. She hadn’t been wearing it when he showed up a month ago with… damn, what was her name? He thought for a second, but it didn’t come to him. Her name didn’t matter in the long run. The girl had been a means to an end, something to parade in front of Willow to get a reaction. It was his bad luck that every reaction from his beautiful green-eyed witch was one of irritation.
    He also hadn’t seen her wearing it when he saw her a couple weeks earlier at the café during her date from hell. That had been a fiasco of great proportions, and something he regretted…a little.
    He didn’t know why he still antagonized her after all these years. Maybe it was born from habit stemming from their