witches of cleopatra hill 07 - impractical magic Read online

  “Okay,” he said, hoping he sounded cool and collected, instead of having a pulse that had begun to race at the mere thought of a repeat of the previous night’s activities. “You mind if I swing by my apartment first so I can get a few things? That way I can go straight to work from the hotel.”

  “That sounds like a great idea.”

  So he cut over a couple of streets so they’d have a straight shot to his apartment complex. It was a good fifteen minutes from the restaurant to there, however, a drive that was spent in companionable silence. Jenny stared out the car window, watching the streets flash by. Colin wondered how strange and foreign it must feel to her, to someone who’d grown up in a place as tiny as Jerome. Had she not traveled at all? No, she’d made a few comments that seemed to indicate she went into Phoenix from time to time, but clearly she was still not used to urban sprawl, to block after block of car dealerships and grocery stores and check cashing places and all the other “conveniences” of big city life.

  After he’d pulled into his parking space and turned off the car, he turned toward Jenny. “Do you want to come up, or wait here?”

  “I’ll come with you.”

  Good thing he’d tidied the place up again, just in case. “I’ll just be a couple of minutes,” he told her after he let her in the apartment.

  “No problem.” She sat down on the couch and picked up a copy of Arizona Highways from the coffee table.

  Cool, wasn’t she? Good thing she seemed so relaxed, because Colin knew he sure as hell wasn’t. Still, he tried to look like he did this sort of thing every day as he headed into the bedroom and retrieved his carry-on bag from the shelf in the bedroom closet. At least his workplace was casual enough that he could wear jeans and a polo shirt, neither of which were likely to suffer too much from being packed in a suitcase, even if they had to sit in there all night.

  His toiletries didn’t take up much room, or require much time to gather, so he was back out in the living room in less than five minutes. Jenny looked up from the magazine.

  “That was fast.”

  “I like to travel light.”

  She grinned, then put the copy of Arizona Highways back where she’d found it and stood up. “You could probably teach me a thing or two. I’m terrible at packing. Probably because I never really go anywhere.”

  Was that the faintest edge of bitterness he heard in her voice? He didn’t know for sure. During the time they’d spent together, he’d come to recognize some of her moods and expressions, but there was still so much about her that was a complete mystery.

  “Well, you came to Tucson,” he said. “That’s a start.”

  “True. It has turned out to be a worthwhile trip.”

  Should he kiss her? They’d actually been fairly hands off all day, as if they both had realized that to share too much physical intimacy would only send them right back into bed together. And while he burned to kiss her, Colin told himself that it would be better to wait until they got back to her hotel room.

  So he gave her a smile of his own and said, “I’m glad you think so,” as he moved toward the door.

  Jenny appeared to get the hint, and picked up her purse and let herself out into the hall so he could lock the door behind them. Then it was back to the car, and another quiet drive for the final leg that would lead them to the parking lot of her hotel.

  He got his bag out of the trunk and couldn’t help experiencing a flash of relief that they were walking onto a hotel’s grounds. No one would find anything strange about him bringing a carry-on bag with him in this kind of place, whereas if they’d been going to her apartment….

  Which was something he’d more or less promised her, meaning that the whole of Jerome would know exactly why he was staying at her place. Well, Jenny didn’t seem to have a problem with that, so he told himself that he shouldn’t, either.

  By some stroke of luck, the elevator was empty when they got on, and the hallway that led to her room was also unoccupied. But then, it was Sunday night, probably not a peak occupancy time for the hotel. The management was probably happy that Jenny had stayed on for another day.

  As was he.

  She waved her plastic key in front of the lock, then said, “Damn,” almost as soon as they were inside. Hurrying into the main part of the room, she went on, “Just give me a minute to get this cleared up.”

  For a second, he wondered what the heck she was talking about, then remembered all the shopping bags she’d left piled on top of the bed. “No problem,” he assured her.

  “I should have hung all this up when we first stopped in,” she said. Then she pointed to the desk. “There’s a room service menu. Maybe order a bottle of champagne?”

  Colin wasn’t sure what champagne would do on top of the margaritas they’d already drunk, but one look at Jenny told him she wasn’t quite as blasé about what was coming next as she might have wanted him to think. And hell, he’d gone to work half hung over before, especially when he was in the middle of his divorce, so he figured he could handle the champagne, even if they did end up drinking the entire bottle.

  While she was busy with pulling items out of bags and hanging them up in the closet — or, in the case of the shoes and accessories, merely piling the shopping bags on the floor of the closet — he called down to the restaurant and ordered the champagne. Not the super-expensive Dom Pérignon, which would have cost her nearly five hundred bucks, but the much more modest but still good Schramsberg, a champagne-style sparkling wine from California.

  “On its way,” he told her.

  She stuck her head out of the closet and said, “Thanks,” before returning to her work.

  Since the bed wasn’t completely clear yet, Colin sat down at the desk and pretended to be perusing the rest of the room service menu. Should he have ordered something to go with the champagne? Probably not; the two of them were already full enough after that meal at El Charro Café, so full that they’d both passed on dessert.

  But he could look at the breakfast portion of the menu. Jenny had already more or less offered to buy him breakfast, a first in his life.

  He’d just decided that he would probably get the Denver omelet when she shut the closet doors and let out an audible sigh of relief and said, “Well, that’s done. How I’m going to get all that to fit once I get it home, I have no idea, but I supposed I can worry about that then.”

  “Small closets?”

  She made a face. “You have no idea. But the view is so amazing that I have to forgive the lack of storage space.”

  “That good?”

  “Oh, yeah. You can sit on the front deck — or porch, or whatever you want to call it — and look out across the whole Verde Valley, all the way to Sedona’s red rocks. But you’ll be able to see for yourself next weekend.”

  “Sounds great,” he replied. And it did. Of course, it would probably sound even better if they didn’t have this huge lie hanging in between them. What he was going to do about that, he had absolutely no idea.

  A soft knock at the door, and Jenny hurried to answer it. Room service with their bottle of champagne. She took the silvery ice bucket and pair of flutes from the waiter, then murmured a thank-you. Belatedly, Colin realized that he probably should have gotten up and helped her with the transaction. And what about offering to pay? But she’d obviously put the champagne on her room’s bill, and he had a feeling she wouldn’t want to argue about it, especially since he’d sprung for dinner.

  He did get up after she’d closed the door, hurrying over so he could take the ice bucket with its well-chilled bottle from her. She shot him a grateful look, then went and set the glasses down on the desk.

  This time, he couldn’t exactly shoot the cork into the pool. Colin settled for aiming at the heavy wooden door, figuring it was less likely to show any damage if he did manage to score a direct hit.

  His aim was more or less true; the cork bounced off the doorframe and landed on the carpet a few feet away. Since the champagne had been chill
ed so well and clearly had been handled with care, it didn’t foam up everywhere, but merely fizzed gently as he poured it into the glasses.

  Jenny scooped hers up first, but waited while Colin set down the bottle and picked up his own flute. “So what should we drink to?” she asked.

  A brief hesitation, as he weighed what he really wanted to say against what he probably should say. He knew he was already falling for her, even after only a day spent together. But…what the hell. His shoulders lifted just a fraction, and he said, “To beginnings?”

  To his relief, she didn’t flinch or look at him sideways. Instead, she nodded slightly. “To beginnings,” she echoed, her voice firm.

  They clinked their glasses together and drank. The champagne was good, better than the stuff that was served at the wedding, although it had been decent enough. Problem was, he could feel it hitting the tequila and doing interesting things to his system. Thank God that he didn’t have to drive anywhere, didn’t have to do much more maneuvering than getting Jenny over to the bed.

  If the drink was affecting her in the same way, she didn’t show it. She sipped quietly, almost as if she was thinking of something completely separate from their upcoming assignation. Was she having second thoughts and trying to decide how to back out without hurting his feelings?

  Then she set down her glass and glanced over at him. Something raw was reflected in her eyes, something naked with need, with want. Right then, Colin wanted to know who had hurt her in the past, because he wanted to track the bastard down and punch him in the face.

  “Colin,” she whispered, and that was all he needed.

  He put his half-empty glass down on the table and stood up. Without speaking, he extended a hand. She took it, her fingers strong and warm and soft against his. Desire flooded through him, and he knew he wanted to make love to her more than he’d ever wanted anything in his entire life. Yes, they’d had sex the night before, but he wasn’t sure he would have classified that coupling as lovemaking. Rather, they’d both been burning with a need that had to be quenched, and it had been hard and quick and sweaty and satisfying. Now, though…now he needed to make love to her.

  Jenny’s mouth was sweet with champagne. He kissed her over and over, and after that they were falling to the bed, their hands moving over one another, undoing belts and buttons, jeans getting dragged off and flung to the floor. His fingers found the clasp of her bra and unfastened it, and then the exquisite fullness of her breasts was spilling into the palms of his hands. She let out a little sigh; he’d already learned how sensitive she was the night before.

  So he took a nipple into his mouth, suckling her, while he reached with one hand to slip into her panties to feel how ready she was for him. And he did want to be in her, but first he wanted to taste her, taste all of her.

  She startled slightly as his lips began to trail down her stomach, moving lower and lower, even as he eased down her panties. Something in her body seemed to tense; maybe she hadn’t been expecting this, maybe none of the men she’d been with before had taken the time to really make love to her completely.

  But a long, drawn-out gasp left her lips as he touched his tongue to her, caressing her, savoring her taste, the amazing beauty of this most secret part of her body. Her breathing sped up as he continued to make love to her with his mouth, and he knew she was close. God, he loved the way her body responded to him.

  The climax shuddered through her, and he continued to lick and tease at her, knowing that she probably wasn’t quite done. A minute or so later, he was proven right, as a smaller orgasm sent shivers through her frame. He pulled away then, lifting his mouth from her, and her hand reached down and wrapped around him, stroking him, her fingers strong and sure.

  And skilled. If she kept that up for too much longer, he was going to come right then and there. Not that that was a bad thing, but he wanted to be inside her again. Nothing could compare to the sensation of being buried in her, of feeling her surround him completely.

  Yesterday he’d been surprised that she hadn’t asked him to put on a condom. He knew he was crazy for having unprotected sex with her, but for some reason, he wasn’t worried. Which was even crazier.

  Now, though, he did pause long enough to ask her, “Do you want me to get a condom?”

  A low chuckle escaped her throat. “I’d say that was a bit like locking the barn door after the horse was stolen. Don’t worry about it.”

  “You’re sure?”

  “I’m sure. I’m on the pill.”

  Well, thank God. He bent and kissed her neck, moved his hands over her breasts, and she moaned and pushed her body against his, practically begging him to enter her.

  He didn’t have to be asked twice.

  He plunged into her, their bodies immediately picking up the rhythm, rocking away. Dimly, he heard the headboard hitting the wall, and hoped the room next to hers was empty. But that didn’t matter enough for him to stop. He couldn’t have stopped himself if he wanted to. In that moment, the world was only the two of them, spinning around and around, her soft, warm flesh pressed up against him, surrounding him.

  His mouth came down on hers, and they were kissing, tongues touching as their bodies were joined as well. He knew he was going to climax soon, and prayed she would be more or less in time with him, because he couldn’t hold this back, couldn’t make it last longer. The release the evening before had been incredible, but somehow he knew this time around would cast his previous experience into shadow.

  The orgasm thundered through his body, and he clenched as he released into her. Jenny’s legs wrapped around him, driving him in even deeper, and then he could feel her clamping down on him, her climax only intensifying his own. They clung to one another while the world shuddered around them, as if neither of them wanted to acknowledge that they were two rather than the one they seemed to be in that moment.

  To say that he’d never experienced anything like it would be an understatement. He’d thought sex with Shannon had been good — at least in the beginning — but it seemed like a pale shadow of the act compared to what he’d just shared with Jenny McAllister.

  At last, though, they did pull away from one another. Colin brushed a hand down her cheek, marveling at the velvet softness of her skin. Her eyes were half shut, her forehead glowing with the faintest sheen of perspiration. He bent and kissed her, and she kissed him back, mouth open, as if she had to show him how much she still wanted to share herself with him.

  I love you.

  The thought came and went like the tiniest of flickers in his mind, but even so, he knew he was in trouble. He couldn’t be in love with her. He barely knew her. This was just sex and champagne talking.

  God, he wished that was true.

  But somehow, he knew it wasn’t.

  8

  They’d gotten out of bed afterward and drunk more champagne. Not a whole lot, but enough so that about two-thirds of the bottle was gone. Maybe Colin hadn’t wanted to seem wasteful. Jenny didn’t know for sure, but she was willing to go along for the ride. The champagne did help to prolong the swimmy, almost ethereal feeling that had taken over her body. She’d had sex plenty of times, but this…this was different. He’d made love to her. He’d taken the time to make sure she was satisfied.

  Goddess, was she satisfied.

  Well, physically anyway. Sometime around three-thirty in the morning, Jenny had rolled over in her hotel room bed and had lain there for a long while, quietly watching Colin as he slept. His hair was a mess, his lashes thick and dark — a good deal darker than his hair — and he snored ever so faintly. Not enough to wake her up; she knew his snoring wasn’t the reason she was wakeful now. She stared at him and felt something inside her turn over. This feeling — it was trouble. She knew that, but she also didn’t know what the hell she was supposed to do about it.

  If she’d had two brain cells to rub together, she would never have brought up the subject of having Colin come visit her in Jerome. They could have had just this week
end together. An amazing weekend, true, with the best sex she’d ever had, but one that also held no promise of any kind of future together. They could have walked away with some great memories, and that would have been the end of it. But when he got up in the morning and headed out for work, he wouldn’t be leaving her life altogether. He’d only be leaving it until next Saturday.

  Maybe there was some way she could take back the invitation to come stay with her in Jerome. No, that would be incredibly rude. And besides…she didn’t want to take it back. She wanted to see him again.

  She was pretty sure she wanted to see him every day of her life, which was probably impossible.

  But did it have to be? Civilian and witch pairings were rare but certainly not unheard of, starting right with Jenny’s own parents They were happy enough, or at least as happy as a couple could be who’d had one of their children murdered less than a year ago.

  And you are getting way ahead of yourself, she thought then. So you’ve had some mind-blowing sex with Colin, and he’s actually treated you like a human being. That doesn’t mean you should start picking out baby names yet.

  Probably not.

  There was something comforting about having him sleep next to her, though. She liked it. She wanted to wake up next to him every morning.

  Damn. She let out a sigh and rolled over, willing herself to sleep. Maybe by the time she awoke, she’d have acquired some common sense.

  * * *

  Colin had an alarm set on his phone so he wouldn’t oversleep and be late to work. Its beeping brought him back to consciousness, and he stared up at the ceiling for a few seconds before he remembered where he was.

  Jenny’s hotel room, and there she was, hair a spill of glorious gold across the pillow. As he picked up his phone to turn off the alarm, she stirred, then pushed herself up to a sitting position. Her expression was bleary, but she’d retained enough presence of mind to hold the sheets up against her breasts so she wasn’t entirely exposed.