Fire & Ice

Chapter Seventeen

She stared at the foggy mixture and quickly downed the contents.

"What are you doing?" I exclaimed in fake horror.

"Drinking homemade root beer," she replied with an innocent smile. "You didn't really think you were fooling me did you? I could smell it a mile away."

"Well, damn . . . I mean, dang. I was hoping the pumpkin would mask the smell and that my fake spell would throw you off." I chuckled and joined her, tossing the delicious contents of my cup down my throat. "I still have one more surprise for you."

Placing two large, frosted, sugar cookies in the shape of a witch on the table, I handed the one with my name written on it to her, and took the one with her name.

"Hey. You have my cookie," she protested, reaching for it, but I yanked it out of her grasp. "This is my cookie. I told you I was going to devour you tonight." Glancing down, I studied the cookie, with its pointed hat. "Now where should I start?" Seductively, I ran the tip of my tongue across the frosting. "Mmm. I knew you'd taste good." I carefully bit into the pointy hat part.

"Really?" She arched an eyebrow and lifted her "Vance" cookie, devouring him from the waist down in one large bite.

I choked, spraying crumbs out of my mouth. I wiped it with the back of my hand. "You're just plain evil. Who knew I was bound to a wicked witch?"

She only shrugged and swallowed. "I figured removing certain parts of your anatomy might help you think more clearly."

"Wow." I watched in amusement as she quickly finished off the rest and I ate mine as well. I loved it when she surprised me with her boldness. Somehow, she always managed to catch me off guard.

"Are you having fun?" I asked, and she nodded.

"Good. Time for the next part of the evening." Reaching into my bag of tricks, I pulled out a crystal ball.

Portia snickered. "Planning on doing some fortune telling?"

"How'd you guess?" Using my powers, I caused the sphere to float into the air between us. It rotated around, sparkling as it caught the candlelight. "What do you see in your future?" I asked, watching her closely.

Her eyes never left the ball, watching it spin. "Honestly, all I can see is the reflection of the two of us."

I smiled. "Wow. Me too . . . looks like this thing is pretty accurate after all."

She rolled her eyes and shook her head, clearly not impressed.

"Hmmm. Not buying into the crystal ball thing?" I left it spinning in the air between us. "How about if I read your palm instead? Give me your hand."

She stared skeptically at me, but slid her hand across the table.

"Okay. I need you to close your eyes now, and concentrate on the desires of your heart."

Waiting until her eyes were closed, I continued. "You're going to feel me cleansing your hand for the reading. Don't be alarmed." Taking a bit of water from my bag, I saturated a paper towel and brushed it over her, wetting her skin. Pressing a different item into her palm, I covered it with wet cloth, holding it there with some mild pressure.

"What do you see? Can I open my eyes yet?"

"Shh. Patience, baby. I'm still doing the cleansing."

Obediently, she held still. I removed the items and softly blew against her skin, drying it. Her other hand tightened, and desire flashed through her, making me smile. I enjoyed knowing she wasn't immune to me.