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ESTELE STOOD STUNNED, looking around the apartment. The smoke beast was gone. It was too early to know, but she may have actually done something right. How great was that?
Val picked Estele up and spun her in a tight circle. “You did it. You’re amazing!”
It felt great to be held in his arms. How long had she been craving a little praise and real affection from a man? It seemed like her entire life.
She gazed into Val’s eyes. He looked back, a hint of wonder shining there, as if he’d just discovered the greatest secret in the world. He set her down and his embrace softened. It became less of a bear hug and more tender. “Estele, I want to.... I know I shouldn’t....” He stroked the side of her face. “Why fight it?”
His hand slid to her nape and cradled her head as his lips brushed hers. The kiss deepened to something more demanding and far more erotic. He pressed closer and his thigh brushed against hers, parting her legs. His solid body was a thrill to be near. Kissing his wickedly luscious lips couldn’t be completely wrong, could it? Soft and sensual, his mouth explored hers with the gentlest of nips. Damn, this brujo could really kiss. She melted against him, breathless, but he pulled away.
He stepped back. “I shouldn’t have done that.”
“It’s okay.” Her lips tingled where he’d touched her. Was it so wrong to let Val distract her from the issue at hand?
“Hello!” Tio Bruno interrupted them and ruined the mood. “Hello? I’m still on the phone. What happened? Is everyone all right?”
Val released her and reached for his phone. “Tio, everything’s okay. The smoke beast showed up again, but Estele sent it away. Everything looks like it’s under control, at least for now, but I wouldn’t dare leave Estele alone.”
“So, what do I do?” Bruno sounded miffed. “Keep my tamales in a holding pattern?”
“Stay put. Keep an eye on the fairgrounds.”
“What are you going to do?” Bruno said.
Val toyed with the phone’s case. “I’m going to stay close to Estele and do whatever she says needs to be done.” He winked at Estele, turned his back, and continued talking about food preparation on the truck to Bruno.
A giddy flutter of emotion passed through her. This hunk was spending the night, and they’d already crossed that razor-thin line between being interested in each other and showing interest in each other. Brujo or not, she was interested in Val. Maybe dating a brujo would qualify as a study in boundary-expanding experiences, the sort of stuff that was good for the soul?
Captain Manx materialized at her side. His eyes were hollow with terror, his jaw slack.
“Whoa! Why do you do that?” She started and jumped back. No matter how many times she’d seen it happen, it always startled her when the captain appeared without warning. “Captain, what’s wrong?”
With a wave of his hand, he coaxed her away from Val. “Miss, I’m as scared as a cat up the mast in a howling cyclone.” He turned to face her with his eyes bulging. “I usually don’t give in to timorousness, not like this.” He offered a trembling hand as proof of his claim. “For the most part, the after-realm keeps me numbed as frostbitten fingers on a polar-bound schooner. But that thing in the bathtub....” His lip quivered and he looked as if he might burst into tears. “That thing was....”
“Was what?” She tried to calm him, but the captain was incorporeal and hugging him was impossible. Using her softest voice, she hoped to comfort him. “Tell me what’s wrong. You’re not alone in this. It frightened me too.”
The captain wrung his hands. “It tried to probe my mind and find out what frightened me most. At first I was cavalier, thinking, ‘I’m dead, it can’t possibly frighten me,’ but it did!”
“How?”
“The smoke beast made me remember my worst memories, or I started to remember but it was too painful, so I fought it. A terrible feeling that I’d met something like this entity before overwhelmed me. The smoke didn’t talk, but it planted the idea in my head that it had a brother that badly wanted something from me, and that I must remember it. That’s when I screamed.”
“Oh, Captain, that sounds horrible. I’m so sorry.”
The captain appeared bashful. “I have a tremendous favor to ask, miss.”
What time was it? She hadn’t even glanced at a clock in ages, but it had to be late. “Please, not another trip to the liquor store. Buying booze at this time of night looks really bad.”
“I’m unconcerned with intoxicating libations, miss. At the moment, I find myself in dire need of being close to the living. In plain speak, I wish to sleep in your bed.”
“My bed?” she answered breathlessly. “Where will I sleep?”
“Ideally, beside me.”
She was hoping for something a little more exciting involving Val. “Captain, no! That won’t work.”
“There’s nothing improper about it. In the strictest sense, I’m a ghost and I don’t even sleep.”
“That’s part of the problem. What are you going to do, just lie beside me, propped on your elbow, staring? That’s just too creepy.”
“Please, miss. I cannot bear to be alone now. You’re perfectly safe with me. In the vernacular of the day, it won’t get weird. You have my word as a ward of the sea.”
She shook her head. “Captain, your shirt’s unbuttoned and you smell like seaweed. It’s already weird.”
Clicking off his phone, Val thrust it into his back pocket. “Estele!” He walked toward his duffel bag, unzipped it, and took out a sleeping roll. “It’s after midnight. I have to meet Tio Bruno at 5:00 a.m. We’d better get some sleep.”
Her mood sank. “Meet your uncle at 5:00 a.m.? But I go jogging at six.”
“Where do you jog?”
“Along the sea cliffs and around Cemetery Park.”
A defiant expression lit his eyes. “With demonic forces tracking your every movement? That doesn’t sound very safe. Considering the situation, I insist you skip tomorrow’s run.”
No jogging? Her morning run wasn’t just exercise, it was a decompression device. “Why skip it? It clears my head, and believe me, my head needs clearing.”
Val rubbed his chin. “If I walk around the fairgrounds at 5:00 a.m. by myself, I’ll be alerting the smoke beast that you’re up here alone or waiting to be pushed over the side of a cliff or something awful. You’ll be safer if you come with me.”
She glanced at the captain’s shadow drifting across the room. “Technically speaking, I’m never completely alone.”
Within a shimmering mist, Captain Manx materialized beside Val. “Don’t leave me here by myself! Let’s keep the crew together. In the morning, I’ll go with you and help protect our wee lass.”
“Guys, hold on a minute!” She lifted her hands in a signal for silence. “So far, I’ve been doing a damn fine job of protecting myself! I ran the smoke beast off twice. Do I get credit for that? No.”
Val looked her in the eye. “I’ll give you credit. Estele, you’re doing a great job, but recreational jogging along the sea cliffs and the cemetery is too big a risk. I can’t allow you to place yourself in excessive danger. I wouldn’t be much of a protector if I did.” He pushed the bedroom door open, entered, and unfurled a sleeping bag. Laying the bag on the floor at the foot of her bed, he unzipped the side. “I’ll sleep here, between you and the door.”
He was going to sleep at the foot of her bed? Yum! He was like a territorial tiger in heat, and he’d looked all worked-up and fiery-eyed when he’d spoken.
The captain pulled the sheets down on the bed. “And I’ll slip between the linens.”
Val’s mouth gaped in shock. “What? No. Captain, you’re not sleeping here with us.”
The captain leaped beneath the covers. “I am. I’ve already discussed matters with Miss Estele.”
The look on Val’s face was priceless. “Is that true? When did this happen? I thought it was clear that I was your protector? Tell me what’s going on.”
Tugging the bedcovers over his head, the captain rolled onto his side. “I asked first, lad. Best not to be a sore loser. I’ll take second watch. Until then, tie off the helm and steer toward the morning star. May you have fair weather and clear skies in dreamland!”
“Estele.” Val addressed her with a stern tone. “For God’s sake, kick that guy out of your bed.”
She glanced at the captain, who was pretending to doze and looked peaceful. “He’s scared. Let him stay.” She motioned for Val to follow her into the living room and pointed at a long L-shaped couch. “I’ll get some blankets and we can sleep out here.”
He looked hopeful. “Just you and me?”
“Of course.” Even if they did have to be out the door at 5:00 a.m., it might be fun to spend a little time cuddling on the couch and kissing away the brooding pout from his gorgeous lips. “I’ll get us some bedding.”
The moment she turned to get blankets from the bedroom, she bumped into Captain Manx.
The captain’s arms were heaped high with sheets and comforters. “So, the slumber party is moving out here? Very well. Shall we partake of a little talky-box for amusement?”
Disappointment flooded Val’s face. “Talky-box? I’m afraid to ask.”
“Manxie means television.” Estele took hold of the blankets. How did the captain lift things in an incorporeal state? Sometimes he seemed to have way more influence over the physical world than he should, and defied the physics of metaphysics.
“To be specific, I crave amusement from Mr. Jimmy Kimmel.” The captain chuckled as he sat on the couch and waited for Estele to turn on the TV with the same intense interest with which a cat waits by the can opener when a can of tuna is removed from the cupboard. “I just adore late-night talky-box. Especially those obsessive programs, where people go on and on about some clever gadget. What are those called?”
“Infomercials.” She filled in the blank for the captain.
“Infomercials! That’s right. I love those. Why purchase just one of something you don’t really need when you can have two and pay shipping twice! By the way, miss, I meant to ask for your credit card number. I’d like to—”
“No, Captain. Absolutely not.” She wrapped a blanket around herself.
“But, miss, I saw a plastic contraption that goes from freezer to microwave and you can use it to hard-boil eggs and slice them into juliennes strips or spirals and dump them on top of your children’s breakfast cereal to create fast, inexpensive, high-protein breakfasts.”
“Captain, you don’t eat eggs—you can’t eat anything. I don’t have any children. We don’t need it.”
“Very well, miss. I say the EggMeister was tempting. It looked like it could turn our lives around. Did I mention you could use it to make plain hard-boiled eggs into a brunch-crowd-pleasing decorative tulip bouquet? With the handy EggMeister attachment, plain hard-boiled eggs can be transformed into lifelike flowers. Everyone will gather round and marvel—”
“Enough! Stop the sales pitch. I wish you’d quit watching those infomercials, you’re far too suggestible.” She crossed the room. “I’m going to get ready for bed and pretend that I have a chance of getting a couple hours of sleep tonight.”
“I agree.” Val turned off the television and the lights. “We have a battle on the horizon, and any rest we can get is essential.” He spread a blanket on the longest section of the couch, kicked off his boots, unbuttoned his shirt, and stripped down to a white tank. Moonlight washed his coppery skin. “I’m going to sleep.” He patted the couch, indicating she should join him. “Estele, stay close so I can protect you.”
Estele looked Val over. He was such a nice guy, and his broad shoulders and lean abs were easy on the eyes. She was tempted to jump straight into his arms, but best to give herself a moment to cool off and think. “I’m not trying to be a tease, but I actually do need to change into something more comfortable.” She pointed to her high heels. “I’ll be right back.”
She slipped into the bedroom and unfastened her dress. It seemed like ages since she had put it on and gone to the Voodoo Hoodoo cocktail lounge. She unbuckled the cherry-topped high heels. Once her feet were released, she sighed with relief.
Tomorrow she would have to wear sensible shoes to make up for the hours in toe-pinching heels. After putting everything where it needed to be, she searched through a dresser drawer and found a lightweight velour pullover and jogging pants she used as pajamas. She often slept in her jogging clothes and went straight out the door in the morning.
Looking at her empty bed, the thought occurred that she could just climb in alone and hope the captain didn’t surprise her with his presence in the predawn hours, but what about Val? He’d offered to “protect” her, but did he expect her to curl up on the short end of the sectional or at his side? Was flirting with a brujo playing with fire? Maybe it was, but stoking the flames was proving impossible to resist.
She exited the bedroom. The living room was dark except for a slice of moonlight that bisected the floor. Val lay stretched on the couch. He had made a cozy bed for himself by folding blankets and using them as pillows, an extra blanket on top. His eyes glistened and he had a slight smile on his lips as he lifted the edge of the blanket and beckoned her to join him. “Come here. I want to talk for a minute.”
Did he really want to talk?
The warmth in his eyes was genuine, so she went to him. Was there a way through her initial bad feeling against brujos? Could she learn to see Val as his own man and not constantly hear her mother’s bitter ranting about brujos echoing in the back of her mind? After all, she didn’t get along that great with her mother....
He drew her beside him and cradled her in the crook of his arm. “See? There’s plenty of room on this couch for both of us.”
She pressed her cheek against his chest, smelling the faintest hint of musk.
He lifted her face to his and kissed her lips. “Are you scared?”
“To kiss you? No.”
“I meant about tomorrow.”
Was she scared? Oddly, she had no fear for her own safety. “I’m scared my wacko style of magic might hurt someone else. I live in dread of it, actually.”
Smoothing her hair with his palm, he drew her closer. “Why?”
“Why? Gosh, you don’t know me very well. The enchantment community of San Buena knows me as ‘batshit wacky Estele.’ The few people who actually like me call me ‘Estele I-meant-to-do-well Esposito.’”
“I think you’re being too hard on yourself.” His voice was rich and reverberated deep in his chest like the purr of a lion.
“I’m not. Trust me, I’ve earned my bad rep.”
“But you’re so powerful. You sent the smoke beast fleeing. When did all this start?”
Val thought she was powerful? Burrowing her face against his chest, she smiled. “When did what start?”
He said it slowly as if he were a head juror pronouncing a final verdict in court. “Your iffy relationship to your own magical powers.”
Was he kidding? “I was born into it. The Esposito witches are walking disasters waiting to happen.”
His arms locked around her as if he feared she might flee. “I’m not asking about your family, I’m asking about you.”
She paused. Was there a difference? Her life had been defined by cautionary tales, such as the one about her great-aunt Gerty screwing up morale spells during the Great Depression, thus making it even more depressing. Even her own mother had eagerly pointed out her smallest mistakes from the youngest age as proof their bloodline was cursed. “I’ve always had an iffy relationship with magic. My mother told me it’s because I was born of bad blood.”
He shook his head. “Bad blood? What does that even mean?”
“You know, I’m the unfortunate offspring of a floundering Esposito witch and a—pardon me for using my mother’s own words—‘deadbeat brujo father.’ Not a stellar pedigree.”
“Do you have any sort of relationship with your father?”
Estele flopped onto her back. “No! It was just like those terrible hard-luck stories you hear all the time. He went to the store to buy milk and never returned. I don’t even remember the guy. Granted, my mother is hard to live with, but he was a total bastard for just leaving us and never saying anything.”
Val tenderly kissed her cheek and then the tip of her nose. His touch was gentle and conveyed so much. “I’m so sorry. I can imagine that not having a father left a big hole in your life.”
A freaking bottomless pit was more like it. If her father had stayed and her mother hadn’t been so bitter, would she be a better person, more grounded and less dangerous to the general public? Probably. What would it have been like to grow up with a trustworthy man in her life who she could have leaned on and learned from? Lying beside Val, her heart ached in a strange way, as if she’d never felt it stretched so far. Why couldn’t she be someone worth loving and coming back for? It physically hurt to even breathe, so she remained silent as the moments ticked past.
“Are you okay?” He sounded concerned. “You got pretty quiet.”
Did she even want to talk about it? Could she open up to Val and tell him the truth without scaring him away and making herself look even more damaged? It hadn’t worked with anyone else. Maybe she was deluding herself into believing Val might be something special.
Oh, what the hell, she’d never know unless she tried. “When I was little, especially on a birthday or holiday, I’d play a game with myself. I’d look at the door and say, ‘Any minute now, Dad’s walking through that door, and when he does, he’s going to bring me all kinds of gifts. He’s going to tell me he loves me, he’s going to make up with my mother, and it’s going to be okay. We’re going to have enough for rent and we’re going to stop fighting because Mom won’t be unhappy anymore. Like magic, everything will get better.’ He was the missing piece of my childhood and the reason why my mom and I fought so much. At least that’s what I thought when I was a kid. Later, in my teens, when my magical powers got out of control, my mother tried to shut them down with terse comments about how ‘strong’ and ‘arrogant’ my style of magic was becoming. She’d shame me by saying I was beginning to behave just like my dad.”
He drew a tense breath. “And you don’t trust your father, yourself, your mother, or the strength of your own powers? I think I’m beginning to understand the issues here. So, who do you trust?” His voice tensed and he sounded more affected by her story than she was.
It had been so long since she’d told anyone this much about her. Tears welled in her eyes. She wiped her sleeve against her lashes. If she wasn’t careful, she’d be ugly crying in no time. “I trust my best friend, Fredi. She’s a crazy-talented witch and I wish she was my real sister. Without meaning to, I’ve done bad things to her, but she forgave me.”
“What bad-d—” He seemed to stumble over his words. “—bad things did you do to her?”
“I cast some bad magic. But we got past it.”
“Is she all right?”
“Yes. My spell didn’t last more than a few hours. In the end it worked out well. Fredi met her boyfriend, Gus, while under the enchantment I cast, so there was a silver lining.”
He stroked her arm with a broad, warm hand. “Who else do you trust?”
“Miss Dahlia, at the Master Mage Magic Academy, is super patient with me. I make a lot of mistakes and she helps me plow through the solutions one at a time. She’s a practical witch, very hands-on. I also trust Witch Griselda. She’s ancient, and a bit doddering, but she still has it! She’s a freaking force of nature. Oh, you’ll like this! Way back when, she dated a brujo.”
“Really?” He couldn’t hide his excitement at hearing about a fellow brujo. “How did that work out for her?”
“Grissy said she was nuts about him, even hoped to marry him, but it didn’t happen. Old Griselda didn’t say so, but I got a big psychic hit that her old beau died in the Mexican Revolution. I don’t think she ever found anyone else she loved as much.”
He pulled her close to his chest. “So not everyone in the San Buena enchantment community is antibrujo?”
“Far from it. I don’t want to be anti-anyone. I’m sorry I was so rude to you earlier tonight. ‘Brujo’ is a trigger word for me, and now you know why I was so reluctant to work with one.”
He kissed the top of her head. “We’re talking and things are better. All is forgiven. Besides, you don’t have to work with me forever. We just have to get along until the bubble of malevolence is under control.”
Even though they had just met, the thought that all this, the closeness, the candidness, was just a temporary thing stung. In her heart of hearts, she could see herself falling for Val big-time. “When we’re finished doing whatever it is we need to do, what’s next? Where will you go after this?”
“I have no idea. I suppose fate will guide me where I need to go.”
Maybe brujos were like tomcats, born to wander through life acting like nobody owned them. “Have taco truck, will travel?”
He laughed. “Something like that.”
“Your food’s really good, and I’ll bet you’re an excellent brujo.”
“Thank you.” He held her closer. The look in his eyes was pure tenderness. “Estele.”
“Yes.”
“Do you know who else you can trust?”
“Who?”
“Me.” His gaze sought hers. “You can trust me. I won’t let you down. I have your back. I’d die before abandoning my ally in battle.”
She brushed her fingertips along the gritty stubble on his jaw. “I wouldn’t expect you to die for me.”
His face remained calm and looked completely sincere. “But I would, if it served the situation best. As your protector, I’m pledged to do it.”
“Brujos are an intense bunch, aren’t you?” Leaning closer, she kissed his lips. The first touch barely made contact. It was more of a warm breath skimming his lips than a kiss. The second was bolder; her mouth caressed his and heat bloomed between them. Her breasts brushed his chest and she melted against him.
Val pulled away. “Estele, if we start, I won’t want to stop.”
Her voice dropped to a provocative whisper. “Why would we need to stop?”
He looked into her eyes. “Because we just met and I need to focus on keeping you safe while we battle or neutralize whatever it is that we’ll be facing at the fairgrounds in a few hours.”
Had she badly misunderstood his intentions? Was he gently but firmly letting her down. Her mouth went dry.
“Don’t think I’m not tempted.” He grazed his fingertips against her cheek and his brows sank into a more serious expression. “I am, but I’m not a fool either. I think you’re someone special and worth waiting for.”
Did he mean it, or was he just more polite than some of the other guys who had used her once and then let her down? Reaching for one of the comforters, she sat. “Should I sleep on the small couch and give you a little room?” As she scooted away, she longed to be back in his arms.
“I’ll sleep beside you!” Captain Manx materialized in the exact spot Estele had been lying in, curled up like a kitten against Val’s chest. “I’m terrified of the creature’s return.”
“Oh no!” Val turned over and faced the couch.
She rolled her eyes. Of course the captain had been hanging around, listening to everything and waiting to take her spot beside Val. What had led her to believe she’d be allowed a little privacy in her own home?
Clutching a comforter, she moved to the foot of the L. “I’d say good night to everybody, but I don’t think we’re going to get much sleep.”
Soon the Captain and Val were softly snoring. With her purse strap wrapped around her wrist and the Heart of Hecate securely zipped inside, she lay awake staring up at the ceiling and watched a slice of moonlight cross the room.