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“The friend of Irene’s who claims she’s a witch?”
“The very one. Only, sheisa witch. And she turned Ralph into a toad.”
There was silence on the line before Jake burst out laughing. “’Bout damned time. That man’s had it coming for years.”
“Yeah, but he had Hazel under arrest and I helped her escape. Twice.”
“Why was she under arrest?”
Drake filled Jake in on the previous evening’s activities, to which Jake had another good laugh.
“You’re right, my friend. Ralph doesn’t have a leg to stand on, but it’s always better to be safe. I’ll square things with Judge Bishop. He never liked Ralph anyway.” There was a pause. “What are you going to do about Ralph? Those of us who understand won’t be the least worried about it, but there are still people in Mount Bell, including my wife, who don’t realize there reallyarethings that go ‘bump’ in the night.”
Drake chuckled a little, himself. “Let the Witches’ Coven deal with him. If anyone can straighten him out, they can.”
“And Hazel?” Jake’s softly stated question rang in Drake’s ears. Whatwashe going to do with Hazel?
“I’ll think of something.”
“I just bet you will.”
Chapter Seven
Once out of the shower, Hazel was loath to put Drake’s borrowed shirt back on. Yes, it was Drake’s, but at the moment, it smelled like Ralph. An image of him standing there in that ridiculous get-up flashed through her mind and she giggled.
Not finding a robe or extra shirt in the bathroom, Hazel wrapped a towel around herself and peeked out the bathroom door. She wasn’t sure why she was shy now -- he’d seen her naked before -- but it seemed different somehow. Okay, so maybe “different” wasn’t the right word. But she justknewsomething was about to happen between them sexually that would cross the boundary between a casual sexual relationship and something a lot more meaningful.
She was scared, but also excited.
Slipping into the bedroom to look for a shirt, Hazel missed the shadow in the corner until she shut the door and turned around.
Drake stood leaning up against a wall, splendidly naked, with his arms crossed over his chest. His expression was unreadable, but Hazel knew this was it. Whatever was about to happen would change her life forever.
“Lose the towel.” His order was issued quietly, without force, but she could tell he meant business. Still, she hesitated. Did she want to do this -- whatever “this” was?
“Why?” Her question emerged as more of a squeak than a spoken word.
“Because I need to see that lovely body of yours. I need to touch you. I need to make love to you.” He straightened and took a couple of steps toward her, his eyes now showing his raging need. “Then, I need to fuck you until we both pass out. Will you let me?”
Swallowing, Hazel wasn’t sure what to say. God, that was what she wanted, but she didn’t think she could stand it when he decided he’d had enough and moved on to the next willing woman. “I can’t.”
“Why not?” His step never faltered. He knew exactly what he was doing, and he had no doubt he could accomplish whatever he set out to do.
“Because…” Hazel was beginning to panic a little, and tears threatened to spill down her cheeks. “Because I don’t know if I can let you go when this is over. We’ve made no commitment to each other, and I refuse to push you into something you don’t mean.” When he simply smiled at her, she grasped the towel more firmly to her chest. “I mean it, Drake. You were my first. I don’t know how to separate sex and love. If I walk away now, I may be able to do so with my heart intact.”
“What makes you think I can?”
She blinked, several times. “I beg your pardon?”
“What makes you think I can walk away, or letyouwalk away, and keep my own heart intact?”
Hazel opened her mouth to reply, but found she couldn’t answer that question. Why indeed? He’d given her no reason to think it was all one-sided -- in fact, he’d done everything he could to make sure her pleasure was maximized.
“I need you, Hazel. Do you remember what I said the first time we made love?”
She thought a moment. What was it he’d said? Something that sounded very formal, but she hadn’t had the chance to contemplate it at the time. Her eyes widened and she said, “‘As wolf of the moon, I become familiar to this witch.’ What does that mean?”
“It means, my little witch, that I gave you my life, my love, for as long as I draw breath.”
