Chapter Seven
He shook his head, knowing that he didn’t have any cousins. His parents had both been only children brought up in the foster system. It was why his father had wanted to adopt Marsh.
“They died,” Simon said. He looked Marsh up and down. “Or they said they did. I need to see the birthmark.”
“Absolutely not. And man, what the fuck? I’m not showing my ass to you.”
“I could look at it since you’re so freaked out by a man looking at it,” Caprice said.
“No. I don’t want to show my ass to anyone but Constance.”
“Aww, that’s sweet,” Caprice said. She looked at her sister. “Told you he was into you.”
“Can we focus, please?” Constance asked. “We have a very angry witch about to blow up my house.”
“Witch?”
Marsh had never been so confused by a situation in his life. First, Constance offered up her virginity to him, then freaked out about his birthmark. Then, her sister and her husband just popped into the room out of thin air.
“Someone is going to have to explain what is going on right now.”
There was a long beat of silence. He was staring at Constance, waiting for her to tell him he was in the middle of a weird dream after the greatest sex of his life.
Instead, her sister stepped forward.
“Okay, so we don’t have much time, but this is the gist of what is going on.
Constance is a witch. Well, we all are. In fact, the Merryweather family is kind of like celebrities in the witch world.
It has been foretold that the oldest of our generation would be bonded with the oldest of the Higgenbothems.”
“Witches? Like Harry Potter?”
“If that’s the frame of reference you need, then yes. Your cousin Alistair was considered the oldest. See, your family was killed in a wreck, and your uncle told everyone you died too.”
Marsh was still trying to grasp onto reality, but it seemed to have dissolved around him.
“I didn’t know,” Constance whispered. “I’m sorry.”
“Why are you sorry? You did nothing wrong. You’re perfect.”
“Oh, be still my heart,” Caprice said. He glanced at her and only saw sincerity. “I knew there had to be a reason you came to the wretched town.”
“There is nothing wretched about this town! I love it here,” Constance said.
“Well, yeah. Your perfect half was sitting here waiting for you.”
Another shudder.
“What the fuck is that?”
“That would be your cousin,” Simon said, taking over the conversation. “That bastard has been after Constance for years. Of course, he thought the prophecy gave him the right. I wasn’t about to let that happen.”
He glanced at Constance and grew alarmed. Her face was pale, and she looked like she was about to pass out. Marsh hurried over and took her by the arms.
“Baby, take a breath. That’s good. Now, let it out.”
She did as he told her, but her eyes filled with tears. “I ruined everything.”
“The hell you did.”
“I put a target on your back. You don’t even know how to use your powers.” She wailed out the last sentence.
“That’s why we’re here, babe,” Caprice said. “We got your back.”
“He got through your protections, Cappy.”
“Well, it wasn’t your work, sister. You know you’re more powerful than either Simon or me.”
He glanced at her sister, then back at Constance. “Is that true?”
“It is. She has more power in her pinky than any other witch I know,” Simon said.
Another power hit against the house seemed to push Constance back into action.
“That asshole. I am so damned sick of him and all his crap. I should have done this months ago,” she said before marching out of the room.
He glanced at her sister and husband, then hurried after Constance. He would not let her take on this battle by herself. She was already down the stairs and was heading toward the front door.
She threw the door open just as he reached her. A heavy wind slammed into them, but she didn’t even seem to notice it. Instead, he watched as she transformed from the sweet and sexy Constance that he knew into a hot, angry, and sexy opponent. She stepped onto her porch, and he followed her out.
They seemed to be in a whirlwind. In fact, he would say it was a tornado, but it wasn’t powerful enough for that. Wind was moving counterclockwise, pulling at trees and debris that circled around her house.
“Enough,” she screamed. “Show yourself.”
A man appeared seemingly out of thin air. He was tall, dressed in what Marsh assumed was a suit that cost more than his monthly pay. He was smiling at Constance until he saw Marsh. His eyes narrowed, and something cold moved over Marsh’s spine.
“Who is this, Connie?”
“This is Marsh.”
“Why is he calling you Connie?” Marsh asked.
“I have no idea. Probably because I hate it.”
“What is he doing here?” the other man demanded.
“I don’t think that’s any of your business,” Marsh said.
He flicked a glance at Marsh, then moved his attention back to Constance. “I repeat, what is he doing at your house?”
“I want him here, unlike you. But to answer the question of what he is doing…that would be me.”
Anger moved over the other man’s face as the whirlwind seemed to gain power once again.
“I think you’re mistaken,” he said. “There is no way you would not wait for me.”
Was this guy for real? Did he not even realize how much Constance hated him? Marsh could feel her anger, along with a healthy dose of fear.
How did he feel that?
“I’m not. And you’re too late for your plans.”
If Marsh thought Alastair looked angry before, he had been wrong. At the announcement, he seemed to realize what Constance was saying.
“You think the only plan was to marry you? That wasn’t what the prophecy said.”
“It said that she had to lose her virginity to the head of your house. The oldest of your generation, right?” Simon asked.
Marsh hadn’t even realized Simon and Caprice had joined them. He’d been too focused on the jackass in front of them and protecting Constance.
“Right.”
“You aren’t the oldest. Which makes me wonder just what the hell that pentagram is on your bicep?” Simon mused.
The other man flicked a glance at Simon, then looked at Marsh. He raised his hand, but Constance stepped in front of Marsh. He tried to move her, but she refuse to budge.
“Do not even think of touching a hair on his head.”
The other man laughed. “Or what?”
Then, he felt anger. So much anger it took his breath away.
“I have put up with you for years. All these years as you pranced around our world telling everyone your plans. I lost track of the number of people who told me that you had nefarious plans for me.”
“So, you step in front of a man to protect him? What kind of a mate is he for you?”
He wanted to jump in front of her and punch the man, but her words stopped him cold.
“The type of man who has no problem being with a powerful witch.”
Alastair rolled his eyes and chuckled. “You, powerful?”
Without a word, Constance flicked her hand toward Alastair. It seemed like a burst of energy pushed the man back a few steps. His smile dissolved as he tried to stay upright.
“Parlor tricks, Connie?”
The growl that vibrated in her chest was kind of sexy.
She raised both of her hands, and this time, sparks appeared as she motioned toward the jackass.
“Don’t. Call. Me. Connie!” She punched him with some kind of energy with each word. As she did, the whirlwind around the house seemed to falter. The wind lost speed, and the energy seemed to lessen.
But there was something so amazing about watching Constance push this man around. She had descended the steps and followed Alastair down the sidewalk. Her hair was floating in the wind, and she glowed with some inner power that he didn’t seem to understand.
She was magnificent.
By the time she got that man to the end of the sidewalk, the winds had died completely. Constance was breathing heavily, and Alastair was crumpled next to an Escalade.
“I think this is my cue,” Marsh said, stepping around Constance.
She grabbed him by the sleeve. He stopped and looked down at her with one eyebrow raised.
“Be careful. He’s a horrible person.”
“That’s okay, love. I know you have my back.”
Something akin to joy burst through him, and he realized that they were her feelings. He leaned down and kissed her.
He lost himself in her. From the moment he met her, the pull he felt was on a level he didn’t understand.
Now, her emotions tangled with his, creating a tsunami of sensations cascading through him.
He wanted to tell her just how he felt, but from the way she looked at him- her face tilted up, her eyes sparkling- she knew.
It was impossible to fall so fast, but Marsh knew deep in his soul that she was his for eternity.
The moment he had that thought, a loud screech filled the air around them.
Marsh lifted his head to see Alastair rushing toward them.
He stepped in front of Constance, ready to defend her.
A tremor of power raced through him, something that seemed to start somewhere deep in his soul.
Then he held his hand up. Sparks exploded from his hand, hitting the other man in the chest. Another burst of energy melded with his, and he noticed that Constance had stepped up beside him.
His power had felt like a shot of adrenaline, but when Constance joined him, it turned seductive. It was like the one thing he had been waiting for had arrived, and he would never let her go.
But they had a powerful warlock—or whatever you called the bastard aiming for them. They held his cousin off long enough for him to relent, apparently needing to regroup.
“This isn’t possible,” he screamed. “This isn’t the last of this!”
Then the bastard disappeared into thin air.
Marsh blinked and looked at Constance. “What does he mean?”
“We have a lot to explain.”
“Like how you’re all witches.”
“Hey, you are too.” Then, as if trying to control her temper, she drew in a deep breath. “Sorry. I know this is all hard to understand, but he’s your cousin, and he’s the witch everyone thought I was destined to marry.”
“The fuck not.” The words came out at a near shout. Anger and violence crashed through him.
“Want to kill him?” Simon asked. He looked at her brother-in-law.
Yeah, he did, with his bare hands. But he didn’t want to scare Constance.
“Get in line,” Constance said.
He cut a look to her.
“I wasn’t reading your thoughts, but…I’m sorry. We’re connected now.”
Was she sorry? Why? Did she hate him?
“I didn’t mean for this to happen. I didn’t know you were of the Higgenbothem House, or I would have never taken you to bed.”
“I believe I took you to bed, and believe me, it was going to happen sooner or later.”
Her lower lip trembled, and even with the scent of smoke heavy in the air from that bastard’s power, the world faded away.
All that mattered was her pain. Marsh stepped closer to her, then slipped his finger beneath her chin.
When he gently prodded her to look at him, tears filled her eyes. It was like a dagger to the heart.
“I promise I wasn’t trying to trap you. I didn’t know.”
“Until you saw my birthmark.”
She nodded. “The story was that I was to marry the oldest son of the Higgenbothem family. I didn’t know it was you.”
Tears were streaming down her cheeks, each one adding to his pain. He cupped her face, brushing away the tears with his thumbs.
“Please, you’re killing me here, love.”
“I can’t help it. I ran away trying to avoid Alastair because I didn’t want my future to be decided by a stupid prophecy. Then, by doing that, I trapped you. I am so sorry.”
“So you aren’t upset that I am the oldest son?”
Her eyes widened. “No…I…I have always felt this connection to you. It was there from the first moment I saw you.”
“Same.” He leaned down and settled his forehead against hers. Marsh drew in a deep breath, and the soft, sweet scent filled his senses, calming his soul. When he opened his eyes, he raised his head.
“I think you were drawn here because of me.”
The rightness of the comment settled within Marsh.
“Yeah?”
He nodded, and he realized they were standing on her front walkway and no one but that damned cat of hers was around. Apparently, her sister and brother-in-law had decided to give them some privacy.
Taking her hand, Marsh threaded their fingers together. “We have a lot to discuss, like just what your entire family is about and what we have to do to be together.”
She stopped walking. “What…You want to be with me?”
“Know this, Constance Merryweather. You are going to be mine until the day I die. Whether we stay here or go somewhere else, my place is going to always be by your side.”
For a long moment, she said nothing. Then, she grinned at him. He felt her joy and his entwine.
“I would really like that, Marsh.”
Together, with her hand in his, they walked up the stairs of her house, and toward a life together.