Time Spell (19 page)

That night, as we sprawled across the bed, Savannah winds crept in through our open window. I loved how the moonlight looked on his skin. We still glowed from devouring each other. I loved witch sex. It was amazing. Finn rested his head on his propped arm and drew circles on my stomach with his fingers. I inhaled deeply, amazed that we could still want each other after hours in bed.

“I want you to teach me your gift, Ivy. Will you?” He leaned in and traced the outline of my neck with his tongue, slowly moving downward, pausing only to kiss me on the lips before returning.

“Oh, so you think you can seduce me into teaching you how to
Time Spell
?” I laughed as I ran my fingers through his hair and inched my way down to meet his mouth. I let my fingernails dig into the warm skin of his lower back and caress toward his shoulders.

“You think you’re the one being seduced?” He moaned in my ear as I worked my hands over his body, leaving light marks from my nails.

He rolled me onto my stomach and pinned my wrists above my head so he could continue kissing my neck uninterrupted.

Now I was the one moaning. “Finn?”

“Uh-huh?” He moved his tongue down my back.

“Yes, I’ll show you how to
Time Spell
.” I let him kiss me as much as he wanted. It was unreal how he felt. “But you know, you probably won’t be able to do it.” I let a little laugh escape.

My skin tingled as he grazed his teeth along my shoulder, and then nipped. “Babe, don’t you know I can master any spell?”

I giggled. “I know you’re good at a lot of things.”

I arched as he rolled me on to my back and scooped me up. “Where are we going now?” I laughed.

“I thought we could move this to the shower. I want to make sure you know just what all my skills are.” He winked, his eyes brimming with seductive mischief, and carried me to the double shower where we hoped the running water might help drown out some of our sounds.

“Ivy?” Jack’s voice was gruff and interrupted the memory like rough sandpaper. “Did you hear me? What can I do tomorrow? There has to be something I can do to help you track Helen or Simone.”

I looked at my plate of chocolate decadence and tried to shake my Finn trance. “I don’t think so. The last time I shared a
Time Spell
, it didn’t go well. I don’t know if that’s such a good idea. I’m ok on my own for this.” I hopped up, leaving my half-eaten dessert, and headed to the master suite.

Jack had insisted that I take the larger room while we stayed at the Starlight. I felt a little weird, knowing it was Holden and Helen’s bedroom, but I didn’t want to confess that to him, so I agreeably accepted our sleeping arrangements.

I wanted to scream. It didn’t seem to matter if it had been two years or two hours since I had been with Finn, he was interfering. Dammit, I cursed, angry I had let him back in to my thoughts.

“Goodnight, Jack. I’ll see you in the morning.” I closed the door behind me before he could rebound with a barrage of questions.

I left him alone in the next room, and he had turned to TV and probably a nightcap. I heard the muffled sounds of the Vegas news announcers as they began their nightly rundown of crime alerts in the city. Tonight I would say a little prayer that Jack and I didn’t make the list of the latest Vegas victims. We had to make it through this. I had to be able to keep us both safe.

T
HE BLACKOUT
drapes overlapped, and I had no idea what time it was when I woke up in the penthouse suite. I checked my phone for the time. 8 a.m. I had plenty of time to get dressed and
Time Spell
before Helen left for the airport. I punched in the shower settings and waited for the steam to rise before I stepped into the shower. The water felt good. I needed some pampering after the last two days. I cranked the dial again, pointed the arrow to the hottest end of the spectrum, and soaked in my self-prescribed aquatic therapy. I couldn’t keep the images of a wet and towel-draped Jack from sneaking into my alone time. He probably wondered what caused my abrupt departure last night.

I dried my hair and put the finishing touches on my makeup. There was a fitted pair of jeans in my bag and a navy sweater with a boat neck cut that I pulled on. No one in 1968 would see me today, but the rest of the day would be spent with Jack, and it didn’t hurt to steer clear of frumpy fashion.

Just in case he was still asleep, I quietly turned the handle and nudged the door open. I looked through the crack. Jack was sitting on the couch with the paper and a cup of coffee.

“Good morning.” He gave me a quick hello and returned to the morning headlines. He was wearing jeans and a fitted, gray, long-sleeve T-shirt. There were a few buttons at the neckline revealing a glimpse of his chest. The cuffs were pushed up just enough I could see his forearm muscles flex each time he shook the paper, ordering it to stand up straight.

“Hi, good morning.” I crossed the room and poured a cup of coffee. “How’d you sleep?”

“Fine. Thanks.” He continued to read.

“Jack?”

“Uh-huh?” Still no eye contact.

“Sorry about last night. I know I was kind of weird and left sort of in the middle of our planning.” I stirred cream into my cup.

“Nah, not a big deal.” He turned the page of the paper and took a sip of coffee.

My heart sank a little. He was mad at me. I had left him last night.

“Jack?”

He kept reading. I knew my evasive approach with him was starting to take a toll on his ability to trust me. Each time he asked me about my magic or how he could help, I doled out the smallest morsel and dodged any follow-up questions.

His leg was propped over his right knee. He shuffled the paper again. I walked into my room to grab my phone and sat on the bed for a minute, thinking through the options. I had to give him something. Jack was not a man of inaction and he wasn’t used to working with only some of the facts. It would drive any sane person crazy. He needed more than what I had been giving him. I walked to the living room.

“There is something you can do today.” I glanced at the clock. It was now nine, and there wasn’t much time before I needed to be in 1968. “Will you watch the seam for me?”

His eyes perked up and he folded the paper in half. “Seam? Sure. But first tell me what that is.”

“The seam is what I call the doorway I create to travel back and forth. It’s the part that is actually my magical gift. I make a door that takes me from one place to another.”

“Can anyone walk through it? Into the past?” His shoulders had eased and the tension between us was ebbing.

“Yes, that’s a problem. It’s where you come into this. Anyone can pass through the seam. I’m the only one who can open and close it.”

“Ok, so you make the seam, then how do you know what part of history you’re walking into?” He stood from the couch, abandoning the newspaper.

I felt nervous giving him this bit of information, but it was the only peace offering I had. “I have to decide the date before I go. The part of the spell I perfected is being able to choose the exact date of where I go. The time of day is the same on both sides of the seam, which is why I need to get downstairs before I miss Helen. If I miss her, we have to wait until tomorrow. I don’t think we can wait another day.”

“Why downstairs? Can’t you do it here?”

“Last time I traveled in the Starlight, I used a service corridor. There are no cameras in that hallway, so I don’t have to worry about security recording my trip. Since we know Helen was the Proxy, I don’t want to risk running into her again, and traveling in this suite is way too close to bumping into her. I can keep a good distance from her in the air. I’m going to trail her car and then get in closer at the airport.” I headed for the door, but Jack stopped me with more questions.

“How do you do it? How do you make the seam? Do you just think really hard about where you’re going?”

I turned to face him. “Well, I need my ring. It was my grandmother’s and was passed down to me when I turned sixteen.” I twirled the swirly blue gem around my finger. “Without the ring, I can’t make the seam.” I laughed a little. “And yes, there is a lot of concentration involved, but it’s a little more complicated than just thinking about the date.”

“Is all of your power in your grandmother’s ring? Are you just like me without it?” He took my hand in his and turned it side to side so the light bounced off the stone. “I’ve always seen it on your hand, but I didn’t know. Well, I didn’t know any of this.” He chuckled as if discovering someone you had worked with for years had magical powers was a regular office prank.

He squeezed my hand in his, and I could feel a fragile warmth growing between us. I didn’t want to break away from the energy holding us in place. It felt too delicate, and I worried my protective antics had pushed him away too many times. Ever since the package arrived, we had teetered between edginess and fabricated pleasant banter. I wanted to wrap myself in this new budding warmth and freeze time for a little bit, but the clock pendulum kept ticking and I needed to go.

I drew his palm over my heart. He pulled his shoulders back, but let his hand rest on my chest. I wanted him to feel my heart beating. It was something real; I was real.

“Jack, I am going to tell you everything. I’ve only been giving you pieces and I know that’s not fair. Last night wasn’t fair. After the
Time Spell
today, anything you want to know, I’m an open book—a book of spells—for you to read.” I looked into his eyes, and smiled.

He stepped closer and brushed a strand of hair from my cheek. “I want to trust you. I want to be a part of this. Just let me in, dammit. Let me help you.” His hand lingered on the side of my face.

I closed my eyes. The touch warmed something in my chest, and I wanted to remember every second of it.

“Protect me, Jack. Protect the seam,” I whispered. “I do need you, you’ll see.” I looked over his shoulder at the clock. “We have to go. It’s time.”

The service corridor was vacant. A few empty carts lined the dark hallway.

“Ok, this is where I’ll make the seam.” I pointed to a blank wall just behind the main hallway the service employees used to enter the casino. “I shouldn’t be gone long, maybe an hour.”

Jack paced, his arms folded.

“Do you remember what I told you about the Proxies? Keep an eye out for someone who is kind of catlike. Don’t let anyone block the wall or put a cart in front of it or something. Ok?” I didn’t even know what a Proxy looked like, so I realized my description wasn’t the most helpful.

“Got it. Watch a blank wall. Guard it from carts and cats.” He rolled his eyes.

“Jack, someone
is
watching us. Until we know who the Proxy is, as far as I’m concerned, everyone is suspicious. I need you to do this. Once I’m on the other side of the seam, I have no idea what’s happening over here, and you can keep the seam safe for me.”

“Why not leave it open? If you need me, I can get to you, I can help.” He unfolded his arms and leaned closer.

“Uh-uh. No way. If that seam is left open, anyone from 1968 can trip into the present and vice versa. I have to seal it from the other side.” Part of me did want to take him with me, but that wasn’t a possibility on this trip. “I’ve got to go. Do you have my back on this?”