3. Lucy
3
Lucy
“ I highly doubt that you can find use for a book about magic that you don’t believe in .”
Highly doubt my ass .
The demon’s condescending statement boiled in my brain like a poisonous potion would in a witch’s cauldron as I trudged down the street for home. There were plenty of books about magic that I believed in. I just chose not to get involved with them. Since my father passed, I had little to no interest in casting spells or hexes.
The grungy building on the corner of Sawhatch and Main Street came into view as I rounded the street. A local bar nobody seemed to remember existed appeared. Nobody in town knew who founded it, or how long the bar had been there. According to both of my sisters, Shadow Daddy’s was brimming with the shadow magic practiced by demons. Yet in all of the years I’d walked to work, I had yet to see one of the shadowy figures sharing company with other humans.
My phone chimed. Alyssa was blowing me up with texts.
Girl, do you want to chat about Crystal the witch or not ?
I pocketed my phone and left for the local coffee nook around the corner. A chilly breeze picked up, gripping my jacket as I swung the front door open. College students flooded the space, jostling against each other as they ordered caffeinated beverages.
Alyssa was set up at the bar with her laptop, her dark pixie-cut hair highlighted purple for Halloween. As I approached, she tilted her head my way, sliding her massive blue glasses up her nose.
I felt so bland next to her with her iridescent nails matching her favorite genre of fantasy. I was no match for her flair. She looked like something out of a fantasy novel. It was no wonder she had thousands of bookstagram followers.
She clapped her hands together. “So? How is the witchy read coming along?”
“Same as last week,” I said, sliding into the stool next to her. “I still haven’t found an illustrator.”
Alyssa’s fingers flew over her keyboard as she answered a DM. “We will find you one. It just takes time. You’re self-publishing this thing, right?”
“Yes. I don’t want some agent or editor telling me what illustrations to use for my first book,” I replied. The world of traditional publishing just didn’t sound like my thing. Crystal might be my fictional character, but like me, Crystal the witch could also see spirits. She could see them by looking through the crystals she collected.
Alyssa continued to type. “You know how shadow daddys always get me hot and bothered. They are my favorite male characters right now. I really wish there were more books with them for me to devour. ”
“Haven’t you been to that bar before?”
“What bar?”
I shrugged, acting like I’d misspoken. Alyssa wasn’t a witch like me. Only the Crow sisters and our mother seemed to know about the mysterious bar’s existence in town named after her favorite fictional male characters.
Alyssa took a sip of her coffee and set the cup back on the counter. “So, back to Crystal the Witch.”
“You’re going to have to keep our discussion G-Rated. Are you okay with that?” I asked, knowing just how steamy some of her book promotional material could get.
She fanned her face. “I promise. I told myself that I would branch out and help some indie authors who want to self-publish middle grade and children’s material.” She closed her laptop, then slid her huge glasses up her nose again as her gaze settled onto me. “I know this story like the back of my hand. Some kid is going to love reading it! I can promote your book all day, but it doesn’t matter how popular it becomes. If the author doesn’t believe in the characters, it won’t sell, end of story.”
“I do believe in it. But first, I want to see it. Once I find an artist who can capture the storyline, I think I’ll be better off. I should have just written a smutty romance novel instead.”
Alyssa giggled, shaking her head. “Look, we all know smut sells, but that doesn’t mean you have to write it. You have to start somewhere. We just need to get you out there so people know who you are and that you love what you write.”
I propped my elbows onto the bar. Nobody said the self-publishing route for children’s literature was easy, but I was always up for a challenge. It wasn’t like I was trying to become a best-selling author. I would be happy if only a few kids read it. “Do you think anyone will even like this book? Be honest with me.”
Alyssa grinned mischievously. “Look, the fact that you are writing a magical book to help kids cope with dyslexia? Come on. That speaks for itself!”
“I just hope that it’s not too preachy, you know?”
“Go for substance over popularity. Children’s books are all about pictures! That’s the selling point. If the illustrations suck, so will the story, especially if we are going for a picture book.” She flipped her laptop back open. “Tell me when you want me to start promoting. I can’t wait to feature you with these pics!”
I couldn’t believe it. She already started a Pinterest board created for Crystal’s adventures. I was so lucky to have Alyssa as a book marketing buddy. I might work at a library, but I had absolutely no idea what I was doing when it came to promoting my own story.
I squinted at one of the mockups she made. “What does that say? Witchly Wicked Crystals ?
“Oh, good thing you saw that. It’s a typo!” Alyssa’s fingers flew over her keyboard as she fixed her simple mistake. “How did you see that?”
I shook my head. “Dyslexia, remember? A lot of what I see is imperfect.”
Alyssa winked. “Good thing you are my one and only reading witch. An editor would kill for that kind of talent. ”
I shrugged, wishing I didn’t second-guess myself with everything I read.
As the afternoon inched by, so did my focus. Tomorrow was Halloween, and the last thing I wanted to do was get wrapped up in my magical talents. My toes curled in my boots as I thought about the interaction I’d had with the looming black spirit at the library.
I might second-guess myself when it came to reading, but the one thing I didn't doubt was when my magic flared.
Someone was following me who had a place between the worlds of the dead, and the living.
The dirt on the sidewalk shifted as a dark figure descended from the sky.
I stopped in my tracks, eager to set some proper boundaries between me and this shadow-wielding demon. I folded my arms across my chest, blinking at the strange colors forming around the black cloud that seemed to suck color out of the twilight.
His skin was dark in color, a mix between tan and honey. Wide cheekbones framed his face. Deep-set eyes sat beneath a strong black brow. His eyes were as crisp as an autumn night heavy with frost. His hair wasn’t all black. Hints of red shone near his ears, catching the dim neon glow from the lights outside of the bar .
Black clothing covered his arms and legs. I couldn’t tell if the fabric was leather or something else. It was shiny in places and dull in others, offsetting him against the brick wall.
I caught a whiff of firewood and leather and minty asphalt.
Something else lingered in his silhouette, an aura? The hovering mass of shadows clung to his sides like night did the darkening horizon. He didn’t have horns, but holy shit, he was fucking hot . Before I let my fantasies run away with me, I needed to set some boundaries with this demon who thought he could vandalize my books and convict me of stealing.
I squinted at his darkening mass. What was he wearing, anyway? His pants were far too tight to be comfortable around any guy’s crotch.
Stop looking at the bulge at his crotch. . .
My knees buckled as his hands withdrew from the shadows. His hands were absolutely beautiful. Why a man’s hands were my kink, I had no idea. But judging by the ridges of his tendons above his wrist and deep bow of his thumb, I’d say he worked quite elegantly with them.
“Why are you following me?” I asked.
“I’m not following you,” he corrected, just as coolly as he did at the library.
“Stalking is a huge red flag,” I snapped, squaring my hips to face him. Nope. I was not going to take this kind of harassment. Better set this shadow creep straight right now.
“I’m not stalking you. I’m making sure they don’t find the book before I do,” he said .
“Who are they ?”
Amusement glinted in his eyes as a crooked grin tugged at his mouth. “Tell me, Lucy Crow. How much do you really know about us demons?”
My mind was lost to the dirty romance novels had crowding her bookshelf. Every night she came home from the vet clinic as hungry as she was horny, she volunteered me to read aloud some of the ghastly sex scenes in her books as she prepared dinner for us.
I dug my heels into the pavement. “Well, after today, I know demons are fond of stalking and arguing pointlessly about books I have no possession of.”
His nostrils flared.
Was he smelling me?
I padded toward him, stopping a few feet before his tendrilling shadows as they crept toward me. “I want to know more about this mystery book you are convinced I’m hiding.”
His smile morphed into a smirk. “It’s a book of shadows owned by demons.”
My breath caught. “It’s a grimoire?”
His gaze hardened. “Not just any grimoire off the street. The text is something that houses information on the three magics.”
The wind stirred between us, sending dandelion stems curling. The air was heavy with something crisp and ancient, maybe even forbidden.
The demon’s shadows thickened as they tendriled toward me. “But I’m assuming that since you aren’t practicing magic, you don’t really care about this book,” he said, his voice quivering with what might be rage. “I suggest that you hand it over to me now to avoid future threats.”
Heat branched up my spine at his words. I wasn’t going to allow my magical practice to make me feel vulnerable. “And whom might these threats come from?”
“There are far more dangerous demons than I, Lucy Crow. I would hate for a witch who is not practicing magic to come into contact with one. I highly doubt you would have any defense against their shadows.”
My body was trembling now, and I was unable to hide it. I clenched my fists, taking a step toward him. “I do know about the three magics. In fact, my family is very well-versed in them.”
“Then you must know that ever since the last Earth Uprising movement, there has been a great disturbance between them.”
I locked eyes with his ebony ones, flecks of color drifting in them. His gaze was too intense to be beautiful, yet I felt myself becoming lost in him.
I was the first to blink.
His shadows continued to thicken, a few of which were now touching me. They weren’t cold like I imagined them to be, but oddly warm as they explored my ankles. “The grimoire documents how the three magics were created.” His tone was sharp, lacking any shred of patience.
“I know what the Earth Uprising is. I know that familiars created the magical events for thousands of years, dating back to Mesopotamia. The ancient Egyptians wrote about the plagues familiars created so they could protect their witches from demons. My Dad used to journal all the time. He had a lot of hypotheses on the forgotten earth magics owned by familiars.”
One of his brows drew up. Was he impressed with my knowledge? Or did he think that I was some stupid witch working in a library?
“Earth magic is owned by familiars, but it was not created by them,” he corrected me again. “The grimoire specifically holds information on the creation of the three magics.”
I held up my hand. “Stop talking. I don’t even know your name.”
“It’s better that way,” he whispered, shadows folding around him.
As quickly as I blinked, he was gone. Tendrils of condensation drifted past me, setting a chill into my bones.
Arrogant ass. Human male or demon, the last thing I needed was another self-centered asshole ruining my life.
I’d be safe as soon as I got home. Victoria had enough magic brimming around her property to keep even the creepiest of creeps out.
A cast iron fence lined the sidewalk for my remaining walk home. The entire length of the fence was decked out in glittery purple bows with skeletons hanging from them. Their skulls weren’t human. They were either felines or birds—both creatures my vet sister was fond of .
As I walked, my older sister’s residence came into view. Set behind groves of junipers and oak trees, the giant purple Victorian house emerged, fitting the spooky vibe of this time of year. I’d memorized the cracks in the sidewalk walking to and from this house to the library. Grubs often emerged from one of them in the morning, hitching a ride with me to work. I paused, waiting for Grubs to shift in my bag. So much for my familiar protecting me from a demon stalker.
I continued walking down the path, taking in the spooky atmosphere. So much of my family history revolved around this block. Mom moved out a few years back as the house was too big for her. Victoria inherited the property. I moved in with her not long after my breakup with Jason.
The one good thing about moving in with my eldest sister was the commute to work. Victoria’s home was definitely haunted, not by ghosts, but by familiar spirits. I was just a child when we moved from the country into this house. Familiars from the fields and rolling hills between Kansas and Colorado followed us from the farm, inhabiting every nook and cranny they could turn into a home.
I had a childhood memory of being in the car moving to town, Grace wriggling next to me in her car seat. She had curly blond hair, and a mushroom pacifier sticking out of her mouth. Her pudgy little legs and arms were covered in jumping spiders.
Michael Jackson’s Thriller blared through the open window. The second I climbed the five steps onto Victoria’s front porch, a skeleton swung down from the archway, yelling “Show me yer bitties, or I’ll cast a spell on yer titties! ”
Swinging my hand, I knocked the skeleton aside. Every Halloween, Victoria came up with some other vulgar excuse to scare away the children from her front porch. And every year, I tried to convince her why having a foul mouthed skeleton that threatens to “ break the boners of the elderly ” was a bad idea.
“Lucy!”
My younger tomboy sister, Grace, was headed toward me. Her light brown hair swung down her shoulders as she skipped up the path. She wore a forest green dress with mushrooms sprouting near her knees. Black lace leggings covered her long, limber legs. Her feet were bare. She must have already kicked off her flip flops along the path up here.
She climbed the five stairs to the porch, holding two terracotta pots in her arms. One was lime green—her favorite color—the other was black with purple polka dots.
“I see you have some presents from the greenhouse?” I pried.
“Oh, Victoria’s gonna get a kick out of what I have to show her,” Grace replied, stopping with a big mischievous smile in front of me. A couple years ago, she purchased an abandoned warehouse with her inheritance from our father, tore it down, then used her magic to rebuild it into a greenhouse.
“Please tell me that you didn’t bring Grubs?” she asked, her expression full of scrutiny.
I shook my bag. Nothing wriggled. “Nope. He’s probably tunneled through half of the books in the children’s section by now. He’s preparing for his autumn chrysalis. ”
Grace’s shoulders fell in relief. She knew just as well as I did about his ferocious appetite this time of year. She forbade me from taking him anywhere close to her greenhouse.
I sighed. At least her familiars made things pretty. Mine just devoured books and pooped on everything. Her greenhouse was often hopping , popping , and screeching with a zoo of a witches’s companions—and that was only what lived in her potted plant collection.
The cackling cry of my eldest sister sounded from behind the door. She pressed half of her face to the glass in an attempt to scare us, smudging her mascara. The door cracked open, and Victoria’s wild and wacky witch wig swung in front of her face.
“Who do I have here? Oh, it’s the Crow sisters!” she cried, hiking her head back in a fit of cackling laughter. The door swung ajar, revealing her lacy purple and black dress. Of course Victoria was wearing something scandalous. She was a large, curvy woman in her mid-thirties with a personality that matched her body. Her black hair streamed over her shoulders in long wavy sheets. Half of it was colored purple, while a few of the strands are highlighted with bright goblin green. One of her breasts was lumpier than the other. Victoria was a breast cancer survivor. She had her right breast removed, thus she frequently stuffed her bra with items that made her cleavage appear uneven.
“This is heavy, can we please come in?” Grace asked, shoving past me with her garden pots. A tiny screeching sound erupted as she walked by.
Victoria shifted sideways, her cleavage jingling. “Come inside, my lovelies. The Halloween Eve Eve festivities have just begun! ”
I followed Grace into Victoria’s home, which for the time being, was also mine. She was renting a room out to me free of charge.
“Wow, you really have gone all out,” Grace said, setting her pot down on the kitchen table, nearly sending a pizza box flying. There was barely any room as the space was covered in piles of crystals. Victoria liked to pull out all stops when it came to setting up her Halloween crystal altars. Amethyst, rose quartz, and a ton of smokey quartz crystals were lined up next to each other. A few candles burned in a circle, their black wax dripping onto the crystals.
I blinked a few times at the centerpiece of the crystal altar. The plastic cauldron was full of something that should by no means be handed out to children. “Are those a bunch of purple dicks?” I asked, suddenly wishing I wasn’t here.
Grace cackled.
Victoria snorted. “I told you I wasn’t going to be PG this year.”
Grace continued cackling, matching the whimsical laughter of who I knew was Bette Midler from the TV. Hocus Pocus was playing on the television in the room over. The cackling cry of the Sanderson Sisters added to our trio’s ambiance as we gathered around the kitchen table.
“Wait until mom sees the décor in your house. She’s going to think you have a side profession other than working at the vet office,” Grace said with a smirk.
I stifled a laugh.
Victoria leaned forward, reaching for the cauldron. Crystals spilled out from her right breast, one of them landing in the pot Grace set on the table .
All three of us launched backward as a loud undulating screeeeeeeeech exploded from the pot.
“What the hell was that?” I asked, clapping my hands over my ears.
Grace removed the crystal, digging her fingers down into the soil. She withdrew a bean about the size of a black-eyed-pea. The soil trembled as she held the bean in her palm for Victoria and I to see. “I’ve been propagating them over the summer. We’ll see if come spring, they produce any flowers.”
“They aren’t magic beans, are they?” Victoria entertained Grace.
Grace’s eyes brightened. “Screaming death beans have been known to help a witch do all kinds of strange and magical things. I think they belong to the forbidden spice plant.”
“Is that a real plant, or something you made up?” I asked.
Grace rolled her eyes at me. “Just because you read books doesn’t make you an expert in botany. There are loads of magical herbs and spices. Just ask mom. She cooks with spices from my greenhouse all the time.”
“Maybe you can help me figure out what to feed Grubs before he devours the entire library.”
Victoria erupted into another hysterical laughing fit. “I swear, that familiar is going to continue to ruin your sex life if he keeps his destructive behavior up.”
“You and me both,” I replied as I opened the pizza box and helped myself to the first slice.
“I wish some guy would devour me like your familiar devours books,” Victoria replied as she grabbed two pepperoni slices .
Grace passed out paper plates as Victoria and I set out the pizza. Our youngest sister, in all of her introverted awkwardness, was probably the most sexually satisfied. Victoria hadn’t had any serious suitors in months, and I was still recovering from a breakup.
Heat pulsed between my thighs. I wondered if I should bring the demon up to them. His cool, silky voice was suddenly distracting me as I reflected on Victoria’s devouring comment.
“Just as long as you aren’t dating one of those green vampires,” Grace said as she grabbed a pizza slice and rolled it up. She then grabbed a bottle of Ranch dressing and lathered the crust.
“Are green vampires less dangerous than the blood-sucking ones?” I asked as I took my first bite of greasy pizza. Grace always had a new term for the hip new trend girls her age use to identify the supernatural or paranormal. While vampires had been discussed in my family before, they tended to be a hushed discussion. Victoria swore she dated a vampire once, claiming he sucked away any enjoyment she had in the bedroom.
Grace shook her head. “Green vampires are worse than the ones who go after blood, because they drain your energy. Every college girl I know right now is into this vampiry stuff. It creeps me out. I don’t need anyone sucking my blood, or my energy. Energy vampires are the worst.”
“Speaking of blood, who wants wine?” Victoria asked as she readjusted her bra.
Both Grace and I raised our hands.
Victoria uncorked a bottle and poured generous glasses for all three of us .
“Are you trying to convince us to spend our evening shoving crystals down our cleavage?” I asked after I swallowed my first bite of pizza.
“Of course!” Victoria grabbed the cauldron and shook it. “It’s Halloween tomorrow, and a lunar eclipse? Come on, girls! Grab yourself some titty crystals! We're going rogue this Halloween!” She shimmied, making her cleavage jingle.
I stifled a snort. Okay. Victoria and I both liked crystals. In fact, the witch I was writing about in my children’s book loved them too. She didn’t have a cauldron, but a magnifying glass with a magical lens that allowed her to see familiars.
Crystal the witch was a fictional character inspired by my father’s love for rocks. He believed that familiars were born out of minerals, as their magic was earth based.
“Come on, Lucy. When was the last real adult book you read, instead of a children’s book?” Victoria asked, taking a swig of her wine.
“Can’t remember,” I replied.
“That’s a sign you need to broaden your horizons into the deeper waters of the library science field. You never know what career opportunities a smutty book might present you with.”
“Thanks for the career advice,” I replied snarkily. It was true, librarians barely made more than teachers on a good day. I couldn’t complain. She was letting me live in her house free of rent so I could build up my savings account again.
“Is everything okay?” Grace asked as she gazed over my head. Her eyes became glassy. “You seem a little off. I can’t read auras like mom can, but you’ve got some residual emotional energy clinging to you. Did something happen at the library?”
I bit my tongue. Grace was far better at reading auras than I was. The shit I’d been dealing with for the past month was borderline harassment. No librarian, witch, or non-magical practicing human being, should have to deal with an infuriatingly attractive demon haunting their library.
I rolled my eyes. My sisters both thought that suppressing my magic meant that I wasn’t having orgasms. Okay, I will admit, it had been a hot minute since I had a back slamming, panty shredding, hair ripping out screamer. In fact, I’d never had one of those. I’d only read about that kind of romance in kinky romance novels.
“So, are you seeing anybody that isn’t human?” Victoria asked, her eyes landing on me.
Grace’s gaze lingered just as heavily as she turned smoky-eyed. Both of my sisters knew that I inherited Dad’s unique ability to see spirits.
I took a swig of my wine. I needed to tell someone what I’d spent the past few weeks dealing with. “If demons count as dating material, then yeah. I’m seeing someone. I have one harassing me at the library.”
“Seriously? A demon ?” Victoria gasped, her mouth opening wide.
“How long has this demon harassment been going on?” Grace asked, her tone full of alarm.
“For at least a month. Today, he put gum in one of my books that even Grubs refused to snack on, and he’ll devour anything he finds. ”
Grace’s face twisted with disgust, while Victoria cackled maniacally.
“He also said something that is eating at me. He’s accused me of hiding some grimoire.”
Victoria’s smile turned greedy. “A book of shadows? That sounds juicy!”
“Grimoires are dangerous. Did he say anything about what this grimoire contained?” Grace asked, worry ringing in her tone.
I bit my tongue. “Something regarding the creation of the three magics.”
Victoria’s eyes got huge.
Grace’s mouth curved down into a frown. “Why does he think you are hiding it?”
“No idea,” I stammered, my magic prickling the tips of my fingers. “Then he threatened me, stating that there are other demons more powerful than him who might come after me if I don’t give it to him.”
“He’s bluffing,” Victoria chided. “He’s also severely underestimating something. Nobody threatens a Crow sister unless they’re willing to threaten all of us.”
“Yeah, what an asshole!” Grace yelled at the top of her lungs as she sloshed wine down her front.
Screeeeeeeech !
“What the goddess was that?” Victoria yelled, staring at Grace’s lime green pot.
“I think my screaming death beans agree,” Grace replied. She grabbed the rim of the pot and shook it, quieting what had erupted from beneath the soil.
I folded my arms onto the table, suddenly feeling numb. “I was so close to sending a hex his way to banish him.”
“Wow, you almost practiced magic?” Grace asked.
Victoria laughed. “It’s about time. A witch can’t expect to explode in the bedroom if she’s not expressing her magical talents.”
My sisters knew I hadn’t practiced magic ritualistically for years. They were waiting for the day I would light up my magical veins again. They both started to think that my magical abstinence meant that I wasn’t having sex.
Well, it was true. I hadn’t in a while. But not even magic could have lit the sparks between Jason and I. I had chosen not to bring my talents into that relationship, fearing it would change the way it formed. I was right. It ended with him cheating on me with not one, but multiple women, all at the same time.
Magical surges equated to uncontrollable urges in my family. And right now, I didn’t want to become a victim of that.
“You need to exorcize this demon immediately,” Grace said.
Victoria shook her head. “No, no, no. Don’t show him any sign of weakness. Besides, he’s probably just flirting with you. Demons have long been known to seek out young, attractive witches they want to mingle their shadows with.”
“How would you know?” Grace asked.
Victoria smiled. “Because I’m pretty sure I dated one in my dreams before. ”
“Dream dating? Is that some kind of paranormal fantasy of yours?” Grace asked.
“Why not? People are reading about fucking sparkly vampires and werewolves at the same time. Are you saying I can’t dream about a shadow daddy of my own?” Victoria snapped as she turned her attention back to me. “Why didn’t you tell us that you were being harassed by a demon?”
“Because I knew you would both respond by trying to get me to use my magic.” I shifted in my seat. This demon wasn’t going to get me practicing magic, not after I’d gone so long without it.
Grace folded her arms across her chest. “If there is any time to practice an exorcism, it’s now. Halloween is tomorrow! Send him back to wherever demons come from. I’m guessing that it would be a place where spirits also live, right? Doesn’t mom call it the Summoning?”
Victoria grabbed a napkin and wiped the grease from her hands. “Demons, magic, or not. Sometimes a witch needs to take relationship matters into her own hands. I’m not talking about summoning human men into our lives,” Victoria said, a wicked grin turning up the corners of her mouth. “I’m talking about summoning the magic all demons possess.”
“Have you seriously encountered a demon before, Victoria?” Grace asked.
“I have. And boy, I will never forget him.” Her pupils dilated as her expression turned devious. Her cheeks crimsoned into a red almost as dark as her wine. “He was either an angel, or a demon. Whatever you want to call him, he appeared right after Ben and I officially separated. We had signed the divorce papers earlier that week. I had student loan payments out my ass, no money, and was working two part-time jobs at different animal shelters. I’d been on the phone with my lawyer, working out the details on how I was going to find enough money to get back on my feet and restart my life. I was right here in the kitchen, looking at the wedding photo of Ben and I. For some reason, I hadn’t given up on our marriage, even though I knew ending it was the best for the both of us. Ben disappeared from the photo. All I could see was me smiling in my wedding dress, my arm looped around a shadowy figure instead.”
Grace set her elbows on the table, knocking a bowl of candy corn to the side. “Well? What happened?”
Victoria closed her eyes. “I felt a cool blanket of air cocoon around me. As it circled around my core, it began to warm, until a gentle hussshhhhh filled my ears. The voice undulated with my own breath, until I heard it say, “ Know your worth. You are a goddess. Until you find a man who treats you as one, you must learn to embrace your inner darkness .”
Grace’s wine missed her mouth and it sloshed down her front.
“You never told us this hauntingly beautiful story,” I said, offering Grace a napkin.
“Yeah, well. I haven’t drank this much wine since the divorce, now have I?” Victoria took a swig from the bottle, then slammed it next to the cauldron, making the crystal dicks shudder. “That sexy memory still sticks with me. It sent shivers up my spine more powerful than any orgasm Ben ever gave me, not that he really gave me one, anyway. ”
Victoria reached into a bag, tugging out a silky item. “I got both of you spirit gifts. Sometimes a man isn’t the one to give you what you want in life.”