Chapter 20
Penny
Nothing and no one had come after us yet. I could only hope that that meant the spell had worked.
Prax and I made the trip over to the museum on foot, stopping briefly to pick up sandwiches to eat while we walked. I was famished despite having my very own incubus to replenish my magical energy. If this became the norm, I’d need to start keeping cakes in my freezer like Gigi.
I knew some witches preferred using energy bars or meal replacement drinks, or a combination of both, but cake sounded a whole lot tastier to me.
It took the better part of an hour to make it to the museum, with us walking through some pretty busy parts of the city. It was late Sunday afternoon, so the streets weren’t filled with people, but no one bothered us. In fact, the cashier had almost overlooked me when I was trying to pay for the sandwiches.
That must be the spell, right?
The sun was already starting to set when we reached the museum, which closed early on Sundays. Prax loaded my carry-on bag into the back seat of his vehicle, and I got in the passenger side.
“When this is over, I’m going to have to figure out a way to keep my phone and wallet on me,” Prax said, reaching over to the glove box for his things.
“I’ll look into it for you.”
The drive to the inn at the edge of town wasn’t very eventful. It wasn’t the type of place I was used to staying at, but I didn’t want to find out that my first try at a concealment spell had failed while at the Hilton. Also, I wanted to stay under my family’s radar. They’d never think to look for me here.
We checked in, and I opened my laptop to continue searching for possible apartments just in case the ones I planned to look at tomorrow all sucked. Prax made a sound of disapproval at the places I was looking at.
“What?”
“This”—he gestured to the screen—“is not good enough for you.”
I laughed. “Where exactly do you think I should live? I’m on kind of a tight budget here, at least until I can find a new day job.”
“You can live with me.”
I blinked. Was I hearing this right? “Is that really what you want, or is it the spell talking? You just met me, and we haven’t even been on a real date yet.”
He shrugged. “I’m living on Desmon’s estate until my contract ends in two weeks. He said I could stick around longer, but I don’t see why I should. We could pool our resources and move in together.”
“You just met me, and we haven’t even been on a real date yet.” I changed the subject. “I guess that means we’re both going to be between jobs for a while. Unless you have another job lined up.”
But it turned out that Prax was good for money for a while since he’d collected quite a few artifacts over the years. After getting some of them appraised recently, he’d sold a collection of historical weapons, most of which he’d obtained when they’d been used unsuccessfully against him.
“Should I be worried that you had a whole collection of weapons once used for your attempted murder?” I asked. “Do I even want to know what happens to any wielders of these weapons now?”
He shot me an innocent look, a false halo temporarily appearing above his head. “I have no idea why anyone would want to harm me.” He smiled. “Anyway, the Curio Collectors’ Dinner Auction is next weekend, and I’m auctioning off a few more pieces. They’re not doing me any good sitting in a cave.”
“You hid your collection in a cave?”
“Two caves, actually.”
“How original.”
“Hey, it worked. No one ever found my things. Anyway, I’ve got a plus one for the dinner invite. Come with me?”
“Are you asking me out on a date?”
“Sure am.”
“Is this the spell, or you?”
“Definitely all me.”
My heart did that flip-floppy thing again. “Then yes. I’ll go with you.”
“Great. We’re going on a date. Now, how about getting that apartment together?”
I laughed. Boy, he was persistent. But was it such a bad idea to move in together for now? Until we nullified the spell, he was bound to me anyway.
“Okay, fine, you win. We’ll move in together. Temporarily. And if you change your mind after we get rid of the spell, I won’t force you to stay. You’ll be free to go.”
That might not be very long since the goal was to get this spell gone ASAP, but I would enjoy having my very own incubus for as long as it lasted.
“It’s a deal, little witch!”
“Get up,” Prax whispered. “There’s someone at the door.”
It was the middle of the night, and I blinked several times before I remembered where I was. Then I heard the rattling at the door.
I was suddenly completely awake and alert. Someone was picking the lock to our room! Without turning on the lights, I fumbled around for my clothes. I’d fallen asleep in Prax’s arms after the galaxy’s best orgasm and was still completely naked.
“Stay here and get dressed. I’ll go investigate.” Prax kissed my forehead, then disappeared.
I quickly threw on my clothes, grabbed my clutch, and tossed my phone and wallet into it.
“Excuse me, sir. Can I help you?” Prax’s voice came from just outside the door. He sounded firm and official.
“Umm, ah, I locked my keycard inside,” said a voice that sounded vaguely familiar.
“You need to report that to the front desk, sir. They’ll issue you another card. I’ll escort you there, if you like.”
“No, that’s quite all right. I can find it myself.”
A few seconds later, Prax was back. He was in a full security guard getup. It was very convincing. And hot. “It’s that real estate agent from before.”
“Dwayne. Damn, I knew he was no good. On the plus side, not the spell, then. Unless it got to him too?”
“I don’t think so.”
“He must be snooping for my family. It wouldn’t be the first time they paid someone to spy on me. But how the hell did he know I was here?”
“The same way whoever took the photo of you at the club knew—” Prax froze, listening.
“Is he back?” I whispered.
He nodded. “Do you know a glamour spell you can use?”
I pressed my lips in a thin line, thinking. “Nope, not off the top of my head.”
“Hmm, let me see.”
I felt something touch my face.
“There. I’ll have to stay close to you to maintain this, but it should work. It’s time we got some answers.”
Next to me, Prax appeared as a woman. A very big, muscled woman in a negligee. I glanced in the mirror and blinked. I was a man. A very short, tiny man. My long hair now appeared short on my head, and the bulk of it was now on my face, like a massive beard that hid my features. He’d done the absolute minimum to hide who I was, but it worked. I looked ludicrous, laughable, and definitely not recognizable.
“We make a cute couple,” Prax whispered, catching my eye in the mirror.
I had to hold back a chuckle. This was ridiculous, and I couldn’t believe it was actually happening, but somehow, Prax had turned this scary moment—a man breaking into my room—into a funny one.
He fiddled with his phone and then handed it to me. “It’s recording straight to the cloud. Stand behind me and film.”
I held my breath and aimed the camera at the door.
The soft rattling at the door stopped, and the handle turned slowly like whoever was turning it was trying to be extra sneaky.
The light was still off, and I was impressed by the detail Prax’s phone was able to capture in the dark. Dwayne tiptoed into the room. He realized too late that we were expecting him. Prax blocked my body with his.
“Get out, you pervert!” Prax said in a sweet feminine voice that most definitely did not match the body. Then he switched on the lights.
Dwayne blinked as his eyes slowly got accustomed to the change in light. He visibly blanched, seeing before him the giant Amazonian ogress of a woman who looked like she could eat him for breakfast. And boy, was she pissed.
Prax stomped toward him, and Dwayne turned tail and fled.
“Lock the door and stay inside.” Prax went off after him.
I did just that and ended the recording. I looked in the mirror. Now that he had left the room, I was myself again.
Outside in the hallway, things grew awfully quiet.