AllFreeNovel
Share Us
She laughs again and pokes a teasing finger into my stomach through my linen shirt. “I actually kind of like you when you’re taking orders. Later, D.”
She turns, jogging out into the sunlight before I can tell her that I like her when she’s flirting with me. Which is absolutely for the best. No matter how nice that teasing little finger between my abs felt, Blaire Wonderfully is the absolute last woman I should be thinking about sleeping with.
She’s off-limits for so many reasons, I’m exhausted just thinking about them.
Or maybe that’s just my lack of rest talking.
Making my way downstairs, I settle into bed and close my eyes. A moment later, Punky is curled up beside me, purring happily.
“Don’t tell that woman all my secrets, cat,” I murmur. “Remember where your bread is buttered.”
She purrs louder in response, cat laughing at me, I’m sure.
I would be laughing myself if anything about the current predicament were funny. Or if we had more than nine days to stop Colin and Annie from making the biggest mistake of their lives.
But we don’t, and Blaire and I both need to stay sober, sane, and focused on the dilemma at hand.
It’s my last conscious thought before I slip into a rest filled with dreams of Blaire Wonderfully with her lips on mine and her incredible scent swirling all around me.
Chapter Five
Blaire
I run late at Sally’s and end up sprinting back across town, my tool pack bouncing heavily on my back, ensuring I’m once again soaked with fresh sweat by the time I burst through our crumbling garden gate and dash up the walk.
As I take the steps two at a time, my sister calls out from the shade of the far side of our wide (also crumbling) front porch, “Blaire, come say hi to Sophie. She’s the town’s head librarian and teaches quilting classes on Sunday mornings at the community center.”
“How perfect is that? Are you sure you two aren’t twins?” I ask as I dump my pack by the front door and pick my way around the rotten boards to the wicker couch. When I see Sophie and Annie side by side, I do a double take. “Wow, for real,” I say, stunned by the resemblance. From their light brown hair and dusting of freckles to their pale green eyes, the two of them look more like sisters than Annie and I ever have.
“Weird, right?” Annie scoots over to make space for me beside her on new flowered cushions she must have made while I was out hammering shelves. “And her birthday is December twenty-third, too.”
“But a year earlier than the two of you,” Sophie says in a sweet, cozy voice that is quintessential librarian. “And my mom’s a wyvern shifter, not a witch.” She must read my confused expression because she quickly adds, “Like a dragon but with only two legs.”
“I’m sorry,” I say. “I’m doing my best to educate myself, but there’s a serious learning curve.”
“Oh, absolutely,” Sophie agrees. “And don’t apologize. There aren’t many wyverns left and most of us still live in England. My entire extended family is over there. I just got back from visiting them yesterday, in fact.” Her gentle gaze sharpens on mine as she adds, “But I understand Fern’s been helping you with your research and getting you everything you need?”
“Um, yeah, she’s been great,” I say, waving Annie off as she pats the cushion beside her again. “No, I love you too much to sit next to you right now. I’m sweaty from pounding nails all day. I need to shower and head out. I have a couple of things I want to take care of before the harvest celebration starts.”
“That’s a good idea,” Annie says, worry tightening her forehead. “Sophie was just warning me to be careful about exercising in public for a while.”
“Just until everyone gets used to having witches in town again,” Sophie says. “There’s no reason to be seriously concerned—most of us are harmless. But like I was telling Annie, witches have a unique scent. A lot of supernaturals find it pretty…tempting.”
“We’re like freshly baked croissants,” Annie says with an amused wiggle of her brows. “Or cinnamon rolls.”
“Or a steak fresh off the grill with a perfect light sear,” Sophie says, a dreamy quality in her voice that prompts me to make a mental note to keep an eye on her. Sweet librarian or not, a woman who can turn into a dragon—even if she only has two legs—is someone who should be engaged with caution.
“And that campground at the edge of town is a no-fly zone,” Annie continues. “Apparently the loners and outcasts don’t always abide by the town rules about keeping your teeth and claws off people who don’t want to be your afternoon snack.”
“Shocking,” I say dryly.
“No, really,” Sophie says, her eyes now wide and serious. “That’s where the vampires who were cast out of the clans live. Most of them aren’t nice people. The pixies live out that way, too, and they have zero self-control, especially when they’re swarming at dusk. Honestly, I’d recommend the two of you stay indoors after dusk for a while, unless you’re with your fabulous fiancé of course.” Sophie giggles and nudges Annie’s shoulder with hers. “You are so lucky. Colin is such a sexy sweetheart.”
My brows shoot up my forehead. “Really? He doesn’t seem…cranky to you?”
Sophie blinks in confusion. “Colin? No, he’s a doll.” Her lips pucker. “Baron can be a bit of a grouch, but he’s tender-hearted underneath it all. He’s just been through a lot in his afterlife, the poor lamb.”
I’m curious about Baron, the silent swamp dweller, but I’m more curious about another Blackmore and I’m running low on time. “What about Darcy? Good egg or bad?”
