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“I tried doing this the nice way, Iris. I really did. That spell was supposed to hit you. You were supposed to see me right afterward and fall madly in love with me, and you would never even have known it was a spell.” He grabbed my arm and dragged me out of the house. “How was I supposed to have known it was your sister instead? And then that stupid satyr got in the way.”
Deciding the best thing for me to do was to make as much of a ruckus as possible, I started to scream for help, hoping the neighbors, or maybe even Iris, would hear and call for help. I only managed a single “Help!” before he slapped a hand over my mouth.
“Shhhh. Darling. It’s okay now. I’ll fix everything. I collected the residual magic from the spell and had the witch craft me another one. It’s not as strong as the first one, but it will do the job.”
I tried to get away, but he was much stronger than he looked. He dragged me toward a catering truck parked on the street. The back door was already open, and as he tried to shove me inside, I smacked him as hard as I could in the face with the heel of my hand. That was enough for him to release me for just a second to grab at his nose. I screamed as loud as I could and stumbled away from the truck.
“This is for your own good, Iris. We are meant to be together. I knew it the second I saw you.”
“You’ve still got the wrong woman, idiot!” I tried to dash toward the house; I just needed to get to the door, get inside, and slam it shut. But I was only halfway to the door when he caught up with me.
“It won’t work this time. I know it’s you, Iris. This is your house. I’m not stupid; I did my research. Your sister lives in an apartment. I know all about you. The only reason I got you two mixed up last time was because you were supposed to be at the gala. Stop fighting me: I’m losing my patience.”
He started dragging me toward his truck again. This time, he didn’t have as good of a hold on me, and as I struggled and fought, it slowed him down. I managed to hit him several times, once even kneeing him in the groin, but he must’ve expected Iris to pull that trick because he had worn a protective cup under his clothes.
He shoved me into the back of his truck. There was a mattress in there with—oh my God—straps and buckles. He had to take his hand off my mouth to get me strapped in, and I took the opportunity to scream like a fucking banshee. I was going to wake up the whole neighborhood if I had to.
“This is just to make sure you can’t evade the spell, my darling. I’ll let you go the second you’ve fallen in love with me.”
This guy was batshit crazy!
Suddenly, an angry snarl filled the air.
“Get your hands off my mate!”
Shane!
His majestic horns were silhouetted in the glow of the street light as he ripped Keith off me and smashed him against the side of the truck.
“You again, you stupid satyr? Iris is mine. You don’t deserve her.” The man screamed as he pulled a knife from behind his back. He lunged for Shane crazily.
Panicking, I kicked hard, since it was the only thing I could do, and I caught him in the side. Shane used the momentary distraction to knock the knife out of my attacker’s hand. Then he grabbed Keith’s shoulders and head-butted him hard with his horns. The asshole crumpled into a limp pile.
Shane unstrapped me from the mattress and gathered me into his arms. “My mate,” he murmured into my hair.
I looked up at him. “Mate? Does that mean…” I was afraid to say it out loud. I wasn’t sure he’d ever really loved me. It could all have been because of the spell. Did I dare hope?
“Yes, Ivy. I don’t need a spell, I still love you. And I don’t care if I have to start from scratch because you’re no longer under the influence of any magic. I’m going to spend the rest of my life convincing you to love me.”
A happy and relieved half-squeal, half-sob escaped me. “You won’t have to convince me of anything, Shane. Because I love you too. I know it’s only been a week, but I don’t give a rat’s ass that it’s so soon. It feels right between us.”
I reached up to give the base of his horns a playful squeeze as his mouth crashed down onto mine. If I had needed more proof that nothing had changed between us, here it was. His touch was still magical, making it almost hard for me to breathe, think, or do anything but enjoy our closeness. I reveled in the taste of him, and I thrust my tongue into his mouth, wanting more.
A loud clearing of a throat made me realize we were not alone, and still in the catering-kidnapping truck.
Officer Cooley and Hayes stood outside of the truck, peering in.
“You two are very cute together, but this truck is creepy as fuck.” Cooley said, eyeing the mattress with the straps dubiously. “I’m pretty sure this counts as evidence of intent.” She nudged Keith’s limp body with her shoe. “What happened to him?”
I wasn’t going to let Shane get put away for manslaughter if the butthole didn’t wake, so I spoke up.
“I kicked him in self-defense, and he fell and hit his head.”
Shane narrowed his eyes on me but didn’t say anything.
Hayes glanced at Keith, then at me, then at Shane’s horns, then back at me. He shrugged. “Good enough for me.”
“Yup,” Cooley agreed. “Good enough for me, too. Let’s get their statements quick so we can get this creep back to the station.”
