Authors: Nikki Jefford
“He’s a hottie, sure, but I’d keep a close
eye on that one.”
Charlene was practically begging for another
drink in her face. “What makes you say that, Charlene?”
“I’m just saying that guys like Adrian aren’t
big on exclusivity.”
Gray pushed her mojito away. Charlene had a
way of not only spoiling her appetite, but her thirst as well. “I
guess it takes one to know one.” Gray pulled out her coin purse and
began digging euros out, laying them on the table.
Gray could feel Charlene’s watchful eyes all
over her. “Adrian kissed me, you know?”
“Doubtful,” Gray said.
Charlene shot her a look of pity. “Sorry to
spoil the party, but it’s true. Last year when there was that
little mix-up with my body being loaned out to you I stopped by his
healing center for help.” Charlene snorted. “The only thing he
helped himself to was a kiss.”
Gray refused to meet Charlene’s eye or react
in any way that might cause her sister to think she’d gotten under
Gray’s skin. Adrian couldn’t stand Charlene. He’d put himself at
risk by seeing to it that Charlene was purged on the anniversary of
Gray’s death. To think that they’d locked lips sometime before was
ludicrous.
“Just trying to help,” Charlene said in a
cheerful voice.
Gray looked up and glared at Charlene.
“You’ve never done anything to help me, Charlene.”
Charlene shrugged and leaned back in her
chair. “Fine, don’t believe me.”
This conversation was entering dangerous
territory and was a subject best left buried in the ground—six feet
under like Gray’s former body. That Charlene had gotten to Nolan
Knapp had been bad enough, but to think that something had gone on
between her and Adrian at any point was intolerable. She’d never
forgive Adrian if it were true.
Gray recounted the euros she’d set on the
table then stood up. She saw that Charlene had grabbed her
unfinished mojito and drained it. Gray looked down the street,
wishing she was one of the pedestrians blocks away. This wasn’t how
she’d envisioned a reunion with her sister.
“Well,” Gray said, squaring her shoulders,
“best of luck to you, Charlene. Oh, and make sure you call
Mom.”
Gray was about to walk away when Charlene
slammed a fist against the tabletop. It made Gray jump in place.
She turned slowly and glared at the man staring back at her.
“Have you not heard a word I’ve said?”
Charlene snapped. “Ryan poses a serious threat, and he’s especially
upset right now. He wants me back in my body. He doesn’t like me
being a man. He doesn’t understand at all!”
Gray put a hand on her hip. “So what? Ryan’s
after you now?”
“No, Gray,” Charlene said, setting down the
emptied glass. “He’s after you.”
The sun beat down on Gray as she climbed the steps
at
Güell Park. She passed
Gaudí
’
s mosaic salamander, water
spitting from his mouth before entering the columned central
terrace with its serpentine bench and fractured tiles. Every part
of the park reminded her of a faraway wonderland filled with
colorful mosaics and twisted stone reminiscent of fairytale
creatures.
Gray’s life was no
fairytale. Hers wasn’t a tale of a poisoned apple and Prince
Charming awakening her with a kiss. No, chocolate brought her down
before she awakened alone in a foreign country with initials carved
into her hands.
Now Ryan was after her yet
again to reclaim Charlene’s body for Charlene.
Why couldn’t the people
from her past leave her alone? Even for a summer!
Gray took a seat as far
away from the crowd as she could manage and stared straight ahead
until her vision blurred. After sitting for several silent minutes,
she stood up and made her way to a lookout point and stared at the
forested park below. This wasn’t her first time at Güell Park, but
it could very well be her last.
Gray loved the art and
culture in Barcelona. Surely if she gave Paris a second chance
she’d discover the city’s inner beauty and charm.
Ugh, again with Paris. Why
was she torturing herself?
“
What are you going to
do?”
Charlene had asked before they
parted ways.
Gray had replied with a
flip, “Go sightseeing.”
Charlene had other ideas.
In a word: shopping. Suggesting that they meet up for dinner later
hadn’t struck Gray’s man-sister as out of the ordinary. Gray
declined. Tonight was Adrian’s last performance, and she planned on
attending.
But when the sun began its
descent on the city and the hour drew near, she found herself at
Adrian’s apartment door instead, lifting a finger, letting herself
inside.
Gray went straight to the
bedroom. Images from their night together flitted across her brain
as though it had all been a movie she’d watched from someone else’s
life.
He’d made love to her in a
frenzy the first time. Then he did it again with more calculated
care as though savoring every second of a fantasy he’d waited far
too long to control.
Even in his blitzed-out
state, all of Adrian’s actions had been seductive and driven Gray
mad with passion. She’d been every bit as eager to get out of her
clothes and bump hips until they both collapsed from
exhaustion.
In addition to the love
spell reversal, she was going to need a memory wipe.
Gray crouched in front of
the small toy trunk and popped it open. She rummaged around until
she found the wand. Something had happened to her after she wrapped
her fingers around it. This time she pinched it between her thumb
and pointer and dropped it inside her purse. The wand was the only
clue she had.
Gray stood and stifled a
yawn. She hadn’t slept well at the hostel. Adrian’s bed was neatly
made, cozy, inviting, and completely out of the question. The last
thing Gray needed was for Adrian to return home and find her
snuggled up inside his bed sheets. It wasn’t difficult to guess
what that would lead to. Gray’s body tingled at the thought of
getting intimate with Adrian, but she had already made a vow not to
let it happen again. Besides, the supposed kiss between Charlene
and Adrian was still nagging at her brain. The most annoying part
was trying to picture it and seeing her own face. Gray couldn’t
even torment herself by picturing another woman’s face lip-locked
with Adrian.
Gray helped herself to the
papaya sitting on the kitchen counter then curled her feet under
her on the couch and focused on the front door. This proved boring
after two minutes so she turned on the television and watched the
news in Spanish. When Adrian walked in she was watching a dubbed
episode of
Will &
Grace
. Gray turned it off with the
flick of a wrist.
If Adrian was surprised to
see her, he didn’t show it. He swept an arm majestically into the
air as he approached her, mischievous grin overtaking his face.
“And that concludes my performance in the great city of Barcelona.
The crowds will mourn my absence, it’s true, but such is life and
the responsibility I bear to bring magic to all corners of the
globe.” Adrian chuckled lightly.
Adrian stepped closer,
stopping just in front of Gray, his legs touching her knees. “I
thought I’d see you in the audience this evening,” he said,
lowering his voice.
Gray looked away.
“Something came up.”
Amusement laced Adrian’s
words. “Afraid I’d call you up to the stage for a repeat
performance?”
“You wouldn’t do that to me
again.”
A shameless smile stretched
over Adrian’s lips. “Never say never.” Adrian reached for Gray’s
hand and pulled her up, against his chest.
Her heart sped up as their
bodies made contact. Suspicions be damned, she wanted Adrian’s
hands on her at that moment. Adrian laced his fingers through hers
and rocked her side to side. “Let’s go dancing,” he said. “When was
the last time you saw your friends? You should call them up and
tell them to meet us at a club.” Adrian laughed. “Give me a chance
to gloat in front of that Brit who was so obviously smitten with
you.”
Gray pulled away. “That’s
not funny, Adrian.”
Adrian’s grip on her hands
tightened as he pulled her back against him. “Come on, Gray,” he
said in her ear. “Let a man relish in his triumph a
little.”
“If you call landing me
through foul means a triumph,” Gray spit out, squirming against him
to get away.
Adrian let go so suddenly
Gray had to catch herself as she stumbled back. The shine she’d
seen in his eyes when he first entered the apartment had been
replaced by something darker. He looked her up and down, as though
searching for signs of something that couldn’t quite be
identified.
“What happened?” Adrian
demanded.
Gray tilted her head in
confusion. “What do you mean?”
“Has the spell worn
off?”
Gray rolled her eyes and
snorted simultaneously. “Would I be here if it had?”
Adrian’s gaze further
darkened. Without warning he took two large steps and was upon Gray
before she could let out a sound. Her instincts were to run, but as
she turned to do so Adrian grabbed hold of her. “I knew it,” Adrian
hissed. “You’ve returned for retribution.”
“What are you talking
about?” Gray demanded. She could feel her eyes expand in their
sockets when Adrian shoved his hands inside the front pockets of
her shorts.
With his hands busy in
other places, Gray managed to squirm away from Adrian and crouch
into a sprint. Just as she was about to spring forward, Adrian
wrapped his arms around her hips from behind and hauled her against
him.
Part of her wanted Adrian
to flip her around and kiss her senseless. Oh, traitorous love
spell. But Gray wasn’t that far gone. She stomped her foot over
Adrian’s foot and he let go. Gray whipped around, eyes flashing.
“What the hell, Adrian?”
In an instant Adrian
returned to Mr. Cool, nonchalant. He spread his arms in a gesture
of boredom. “Just had to check.”
Gray narrowed her eyes.
“Check for what exactly?”
Adrian smiled. “I don’t
know . . . a needle, for example?”
Gray snorted. “Believe me,
I wouldn’t try that again.”
“Then why the long
face?”
“It’s nothing.”
Adrian crossed his arms across his chest.
“You may be skilled at magic, but your lying abilities need
work.”
Gray glared at him. “Very well. Charlene’s
back.” She raised a brow and studied Adrian’s face, or lips rather,
for any traces of guilt.
Adrian looked rather dumbfounded—not one of
his usual expressions. He lowered his arms. “What? How?”
Gray lifted her shoulders up and down. “Found
herself a new body.”
“Why is she in Barcelona?”
Adrian studied Gray’s face carefully. She
turned, breaking eye contact as she did.
“There’s no reason to worry. She’s not after
this body. In fact, she’s quite pleased with the new one.”
Gray saw Adrian’s shoulder relax out the
corner of her eye.
“Really?” he said, amusement lacing every
syllable of the word. “How’s she looking?”
A grin overtook Gray’s face. She couldn’t
help it. She’d been dying to tell someone ever since she found out.
“Mannish.”
Adrian choked out a laugh. “You’re
joking.”
“Nope.”
Adrian sat on the couch and flopped an arm
over the armrest. “You’re telling me your twin sister is now a
man?”
“Yep.”
“What did
he
want?”
Gray was having trouble referring to her
sister as “he” despite her exterior, not to mention she couldn’t
get her mouth around the name Jean Luc or even Charles. “She wanted
me to help remove Ryan Phillips’s powers.”
Adrian’s eyes narrowed. “Birds of a
feather—the pair of you.” He crossed one leg over the other, but
Adrian’s show of relaxation didn’t fool Gray. “Why would your
sister want to do a thing like that after what young Phillips did
to help her?”
“She thinks he’s a danger to her manhood.”
Gray rolled her eyes. “Charlene claims she wants to retain her new
Y chromosome.”
Adrian let out a deep, throaty laugh. “I find
that . . . interesting.”
“Maybe at least now you won’t want to kiss
her.”
Adrian looked Gray up and down. “Why would I
want to kiss your diabolical sister to begin with?”
“I don’t know, Adrian, why did you kiss her
the first time?”
Adrian studied her a second before breaking
out into a slow smile. “So you heard about that?”
Gray’s heart lodged itself inside her throat.
She swallowed and tried not to gag as she spoke. “You’re not even
going to try and deny it?”
Adrian uncrossed his legs. “Why would I?
Look, your sister kissed me. Far be it from me to deny a woman the
pleasure of these lips.” The jerk was cruel enough to smirk.
“When?” Gray didn’t like the anger in her
voice. Why should she care if Charlene and Adrian smooched? Good
for them! It’s not like Gray had ever fantasized about swapping
spit with Adrian the Avenger when she was in her right frame of
mind.
Adrian leaned back into the couch. He must
have snapped into his street clothes because he’d returned home in
snug jeans and a button-up shirt, opened at his throat. “The day
after you came by my shop asking for help with a body transfer,
Charlene stopped in requesting a purge.”