11. Chapter 11
I sat up against the headboard as the sun rose. I hadn’t been able to sleep after I realized that my dream might not have actually been one after all. I wasn’t sure what I was more scared of, what he could do or how I would respond.
So instead of resting, I spent the rest of the early hours watching the room for any sign that he was still with me. The sneaking suspicion that he never left made it impossible not to see him everywhere.
The phone rang. I glanced down to make sure it was a call I wanted to answer. Willow.
I climbed out of the bed as if she’d know what I did in it before I answered, putting her on speaker. If the monster was still here, he’d hear what she said anyway.
“Did you find anything in the archives?”
“Bitch,” she snapped. “Thank you, Willow. For staying up all night, digging balls deep in hundreds of years of history.”
I rolled my eyes. “That’s what you say when you’ve got nothing.”
“Not nothing,” she squeaked, offended. “Fine. I won’t tell you what I found.”
“Please share your knowledge with me, oh wise one.”
A quiet chuckle filled the room, making it feel too small. As if he were standing right over my shoulder.
My heart stuttered. The first sign he’d shown he was still here since this morning.
Was that a dream? Or had he really made me cum that hard?
Delicious.
A road to death, I reminded myself.
The logic was solid, and yet my core throbbed.
Stop it.
“Someone bought the land in the 1800s as a vacation home,” she said flatly. “It turned out badly.”
“That doesn’t surprise me. I didn’t see a house.” Not still standing, at least.
“It’s on the outskirts.” My mind went to Myrtle.
“Let me guess, someone killed themselves.” It didn't take a genius to figure it out.
“She went mad and lived her days in an asylum until she starved to death.” Guess they didn’t give her anything she could use to speed up the job.
“An off-branch of the Rinah family bought it and have managed to keep things mostly contained since then. They are the ones who made the cops enforce trespassing laws over the years.”
“I knew it. Myrtle’s a Rinah witch.” I chuckled.
“Who?”
“She’s a server that lives on the outskirts. She gives offerings to the…” I tried to come up with something that felt accurate, but nothing suited him. “Creature that lives in the Dark Entry Woods.”
Another chuckle, but this time he pressed himself to my back. A hand went uncomfortably low on my stomach. Excitement filled me, but I stomped it down. I wanted to fling his hand off of me, but that would be useless. No matter how solid he felt, I wouldn’t be able to do anything.
If this creature was of mind to, he could do whatever he wanted to me. I hated that he was right. No, you’ll get this figured out.
That piqued her interest. “What kind of offering?”
“Funny you should ask that. Dandelions.”
“Why dandelions?”
“That’s what I’m trying to figure out.” I sighed.
“They symbolize resilience and are used in wish magic. Then, of course, there are the medicinal purposes.” Willow thought out loud.
“You think he’s making wishes on them?” I chuckled. But it did bring me to what Esme said. How a blessing gone wrong made a monster. Did the monster have a wish go wrong? Somehow I couldn’t picture him doing that. “When’s the last time we made a wish?”
“You know the drill. Manifesting is manifesting.” I could hear her shrug from here.
“Valid point.” Just because little witch girls used it as a playful intro to magic didn’t mean it couldn't be used for serious purposes. I was looking for something different. This could be it. “We can assume it’s not to align his digestive tract.”
“It’s a start. I’ll keep digging while you chase that lead.”
I let out a breath to steel myself. “By the way, expect some divorce papers.”
She went silent on the other end.
“You already got them.”
“Not exactly.” She paused, thinking about how to say what was on her mind. Something Willow didn’t do, and immediately put me on edge. I wasn’t the only one. The hand on my stomach held me tighter.
“What?”
“He showed up here, looking for you,” she finally said. I blinked trying to reconcile what she said. “Something about winning you back.”
The lights flickered angrily and the point of claws pressed into my skin, threateningly.
My brain short-circuited while I tried to figure out how to respond. “He left me.”
The bulbs popped and went out, leaving me in darkness, but they didn’t explode like they had in my dream. At this rate, I was going to make a name for myself in this town as a lightbulb killer.
My heart raced. If he lost control, he’d eviscerate me.
The darkness smothered the light in a way that made me feel small. That I was nothing more than an ant living in his world.
I lit my lemon balm candle, still on the table. It calmed me down. Maybe it would help him, the way it did the first night. The early morning sun gave enough light to show how every shadow in the room shifted back and forth, yet somehow didn’t diminish his presence.
I was all too aware of him.
“He left you? I thought you came to your senses and left him.” The incredulity in Willow’s voice almost made me laugh. Then she gasped. “I might have…told him you’ve always been too good for him.”
“I’m sure he’ll just think of it as family allegiance.”
“I was really specific. He was purple when he stomped off my porch,” she told me quietly. “I also pointed out that Esme would never let you go back to him.”
That was truer than she knew.
Icy breath blew across the back of my neck, sending a chill over me that made my nipples harden. His menacing whisper tickled my skin. “If he tries, he’s a dead man.”
My heart threatened to jump out of my chest, but my pussy clenched and throbbed. Why did a monster care about my ex-husband?
The answer shouldn’t have washed me in excitement. I needed to run as far as I could in the other direction. Was it even possible to escape him?
I whirled around, looking for him, but the room was empty.
I bit my lip, remembering how his cool touch made me throw reason out the window for something more primal and needy.
He intended to claim me.