was important, even if it wasn’t to make babies. It was…exercise. Right, exercise. And I had to exercise my new human body. Oooh. This had possibilities.
“Listen,” Caitlin said, dragging me away from lascivious thoughts. “This is important. If you use any infernal abilities, it will cancel the spell.”
Crap. Why did these things always have a catch? “Meaning?”
“Meaning that if you use any of your powers, the jig is up, and whatever’s chasing you will be able to track you again.”
“So on top of remembering to breathe, I have to restrain myself from seducing men and sucking out their souls? Isn’t there a learning curve or something?”
She tapped her chin as she thought. “Well, if you had an item like a Shield Against Evil, that would do double duty. It would cut you off from your own power, and it’d hide your power from…well, your former associates.”
“Perfect! I’ll take one of those.”
A smile played across her round face. “If you want another favor, Jesse, then you need to give me something in addition.”
Ooh, wasn’t she the confident little witch? Getting greedy with a creature of the Pit, eh? Sure, I was in her place of power, and I was there to beg a favor. But that didn’t mean she should forget who I was…and what I could do.
“You’re right,” I said, giving her a tiny, helpless smile, setting her at ease. “I’ll give you something.” Then I pushed, just a little—nothing to set off any of her wards, just a tickle of desire. Hetero was way more my thing, but I’d done the Sapphic route in my time. Caitlin was one of those free-spirited mortals who saw the inherent beauty in all living things, blah blah. In other words, she pitched for both teams. A whisper of power, blowing her way, settling over her like dander. She sneezed…
…and looked into my face, and I watched her eyes darken and heard her heartbeat quicken. I licked my lips slowly, suggestively, and her lips parted in return. A sound escaped from her mouth, the softest of ohhhs, as her eyes lost their focus. I caught the spice of her sex as her body responded to my invisible touch, saw her nipples harden beneath her flannel nightshirt, watched her undo first one button, then the next…
My voice soft so I wouldn’t pull her out of her trance, I purred, “Say my name.”
Her fingers opened the third button, and her right breast poked out from the opening in her clothing. In a breathy whisper, she said, “Jezebel.”
Bingo.
“Caitlin, you mentioned a Shield Against Evil.” I kept my voice pitched low; even though calling my name while under my power bound her to me, she was still a ridiculously strong witch. The wrong tone, or pushing her too hard to do something against her nature, could break my control over her. “Do you have one of those shields here, lying around?”
“Mmmm.” Now her shirt was completely unfastened, and her hand was moving down between her legs. “Yes…”
“Sweetie, I need you to get it. Wrap it up in a towel and bring it to me. Don’t touch it directly with your skin.”
Her hand paused, fingers buried in her cotton panties. “Now?”
“Now.”
With a sigh, she stood and padded out of the room, her open nightshirt flapping around her like a robe.
Okay, she’d give me the shield, I’d drink the nasty brew, and everything would be fine—
A small buzz whined in my ears. I tensed, sitting up straight as I tentatively reached out, stretching my power…
…and was slapped away.
Shit! I stole a glance out the window. It was still dark out, but the sky already had that lush purple look that meant sunrise was right around the corner. The humans were waking up. A stray car or two motored by, mortals on their way to somewhere; across the street, a light was on in an upstairs room.
And somewhere out there, my pursuer had honed in on me. I didn’t know how much time I had before I was found—maybe a few minutes, maybe as much as an hour. In my hands, the mug of witch’s brew trembled.
Caitlin walked back into the room, her eyes vacant, her arms wrapped around a blue towel. “I brought it for you…”
Excellent. With both the potion and the talisman in my possession, I could make like a shepherd and get the flock out of there. I wasn’t about to put Caitlin at risk, especially not after that blessed oath she’d made me say. Last thing I needed was for the Hecate to come after me; there’s nothing like a deity with a hair up its ass to really take the spring out of one’s step. “Much obliged, sweetie.”
I grabbed the bundle from her hands—a bit too roughly, because she blinked once, blinked again and said, “Jesse…? What—”
The buzzing in my ears turned into a full-blown scream just as something slammed against Caitlin’s front door: BOOM, BOOM, BOOM!
Casting aside all hints of subtlety, I hurled my power at Caitlin. She gasped, then a dazed look settled over her as she swayed on her feet.
“Hear only my voice, Caitlin,” I commanded her, somehow keeping my voice steady. “Lie down on the couch and close your eyes.”
Glancing at the door, I saw it still held. For now. Nothing had burst through, which meant Caitlin’s ward was way, way stronger than I’d hoped it would be. The beastie outside was only knocking; out of either respect for the witch’s power or out of fear for her patron goddess, my hunter was being polite. That meant I had a moment or two to spare. Yay, me.
Turning back to my enchanted witch, I was going to tell her to sleep, but instead I gave her a small gift. I hadn’t meant to lead trouble to her door; the least I could do was show her a good time. “Picture your fantasy lover, the one whom you’ve always wanted. Your lover is here with you, Caitlin. Your lover is with you now, kissing you up and down.”
She moaned, her body arching, her exposed flesh dimpling from the touch of her imaginary partner. Another crash sounded against the door, like something huge and heavy pounding against it. BOOM! The demon outside was getting impatient. Had to be a male; we females were used to waiting.
Over the noise I said, “Let your lover seduce you, Caitlin. Give yourself over completely, with no restraint.” In a burst of inspiration I added, “When you climax, you will forget I was ever here. And then you’ll sleep for the rest of the day.”
Letting out a cry of pleasure, she moved her body, arms reaching up to encircle nothing.
I’d say that getting Caitlin out of a rampaging demon’s way safely counted as me helping her when she needed it. All debts were cancelled.
Again, a BOOM!!! against the door, which buckled slightly from the force. I was out of time.
“Right,” I said aloud, the wrapped shield in one hand, the steaming mug in the other. “Bottom’s up.” And I gulped down the potion.
Chapter 2
Caitlin’s House (II)
I’ve
