Chapter 23
Twenty-Three
I awaken to the birds singing outside the window, the sun sending its warm beams through the gap in the curtains and lighting the pillow beside me with a warm glow.
I turn to face him, still sleeping peacefully next to me, arm still draped over my waist. I study his face. He is so beautiful. My eyes are drawn to his full lips, lips that I crave on every part of my skin.
I kiss him gently. The feeling of love spreads around my body as I press my fingertips onto his chest. I feel him stirring beneath my touch before his lips begin to kiss me back. Sleepily he pulls me into him tighter.
“I need to go back to the cottage,” I whisper into his lips.
He grips me tighter and groans like a petulant child. “Stay,” he whispers delicately into my ear.
I kiss him again as he pulls me onto him, his hands finding their way back to my hips trying to pin me in place.
I entertain him for a moment. I kiss him until my functioning brain lets me know as much as I want to stay here – stay here and just spend all day being a tangle of naked limbs with Sam – there are bigger things we need to focus on.
I climb back off and sit at the edge of the bed, grabbing my jeans. “I really have to go.” I laugh. “I need to speak to Granny and Aradia. And my mother.”
He props himself up on his hand. “Want me to come?”
I stand up, pull up my jeans and look for my jumper. “No, it’s fine. I need to see them alone. You have work anyway!” I throw his T-shirt into his face.
A low growl rumbles from his throat as he grabs me from standing and pulls me back into him. He brushes my hair sensually behind my ear and kisses my lips. I lose myself in the moment, kissing him back, taking in the taste of him.
He pulls away smirking. “You have to go, remember?”
I push him down on the bed and climb back onto him, my thighs stretching over his body, kissing him deeper and biting his thick bottom lip. “I do…” I sigh, looking down at his needy eyes giving him a moment to take me in before climbing off.
He jumps out of the bed, standing behind me, kissing my neck and holding my hips, “You’re going to drive me mad,” he whispers into my ear, making the hairs on the back of my neck stand to attention and my thighs burn with frustration.
I turn to look at him. “We must be mad anyway, thinking we can do this.”
“As long as I have you, I can do anything. I am not going to let anyone hurt you, Harri. We have a shot here, all of us together, to protect what we have.” He holds my hands in his, stroking them lightly with his thumbs. I can tell he means every word and maybe I believe him.
He kisses my cheek gently. “Go on, you’re making me late for work.” He smiles, pushing me towards the door to his bedroom.
We walk down into the kitchen where Lola is sitting at the breakfast bar with a big stack of blackberry pancakes and Gloria standing in her pinny making some more. For someone who has not been to bed all night, she looks great. Older witches must have some secret youth potion or something.
“Good morning, both.” She smiles, eyebrows slightly raised.
“Harri!” Lola squeals, raising her head to see who Gloria is talking to. “Are you staying for pancakes?” Her little face is just full of sunshine.
“I’d love to, sweetie, but I need to go home. Maybe I can stay over another night, and we can have pancakes then?” I coo.
She looks a little disappointed contemplating what I have just said but nods. “OK, but you have to sleep over in my room.”
I walk over to her, draping my arm around her shoulder and getting on her level.
“Deal.” I smile back. “Will be better than sleeping in your stinky brother’s room.” I pull a face at Sam who fakes being hurt.
“You girls are so mean!” He throws his hands on his heart dramatically.
We both look at him, look at each other and smile. Lola lets out the biggest belly laugh which makes me laugh myself. She is just the sweetest little thing. Her sticky little blueberry jam mouth and wild bed hair is a sight to make your heart melt. I would do anything for that little girl.
I say thank you to Gloria who throws her strong wrinkly arms around me. “I am so glad you’re here, Harri,” she whispers into my ear. “This really is a new beginning for us all.”
I nod, a little confused about her choice of phrase, but figure she’s simply happy Sam has someone who gets him. Who cares about him. And God, loves him so much it hurts.
Sam walks me to the door. “Want me to walk you back?” he asks, placing his hand on the small of my back so my body is closer to him.
“I’m good. You have work anyway, remember?
” I push my hands onto his chest to give room between us, but he grabs them, pulls me back in and kisses me.
Deep and hard. I can taste the coffee on his tongue.
It alerts my senses, wanting more of him.
I pull his T-shirt into my chest, holding him in place so I can enjoy every single moment of his kiss.
He finally pulls away, smiling like a schoolboy. “You are honestly going to make me take you right here, right now, in this doorway in front of the whole village.”
“I’ve not tried public sex, but maybe we could.” I wink, half joking. I have always been vanilla, but Sam has awakened something in me. Maybe it’s mixed with the magic, but every time he touches me I just want him inside me.
I bite my lip and breathe. This is not the place or the time. “This will be resumed later, when we’re alone.” I smile with my eyes filled with lust.
He adjusts himself. “Or if I can get out on my lunch break.” He winks.
He makes me giggle. “I’ll see you later.
” I smile and back out of the front door onto the stone path.
He leans against the doorframe almost filling it.
I smirk and twirl around so that he has to watch me leave.
I can feel his hungry eyes burning into the back of my ass.
God, I hope he gets away on his lunch break.
The air is warm for a November morning, the sun rising as high as it can into the sky.
My tummy is still alive with a million butterflies flapping their wings inside me.
The feel of my heart beating out of my chest. Just wanting to turn around and kiss him more.
I can’t believe he is mine. I can’t believe that this place is home.
That these people are family and friends.
I carry on down the lane past the houses into the country, looking over the fields at the hares jumping about through the tall grass.
The morning mist clings to the fields, silvering the hedgerows as I walk the narrow lane back to Granny’s cottage.
My boots thud softly on the damp earth, each step steadier than the last. After the night with Sam, his warmth, his safety, things finally feel like they are aligning.
But of course the universe always has another plan.
The low growl of a car engine shatters the calm. A black Range Rover creeps around the bend, too smooth, too deliberate, making me freeze on the spot. I know who this is.
My magic stirs slightly at my fingers as the car pulls up alongside me.
The rear window slides down.
Mrs Belfour turns to face me, pushing her sunglasses down her nose, her eyes meeting mine with such anger. “Harri, darling.” Her voice is soft like velvet stretched over something sharp. “Hop in. We need to talk.”
I stand still, staring at her, unable to make a single movement.
Mrs Belfour sighs with annoyance. “I tried being patient. But I think it is time for honesty, don’t you think, sweetie?
” A dark smirk paints across her face. “I know about Sam.” She pinches a piece of lint off her shoulder and flicks it with her long red perfect fingernail.
She then meets my eyes again, this time with a sense of amusement.
“And more importantly, I know about his little sister. What is her name again? Lola?”
My stomach drops. How could she? There has to be someone in Brindlewood who is not who they say they are. And why tell the Belfours? I blink. A mixture of anger and upset floats through my stomach making me gag.
“She is what, five? Maybe six?” She carries on, feigning casualness. “Sweet girl. Would be a real shame if someone found out she had witch blood. Someone like… the wrong kind of people.”
She leans back, lifting her glasses back to her soulless eyes.
“You have a choice, Harri. Come back to London. Marry Greg. Keep your little world safe. Or stay here and watch it burn.”
The door clicks open before I can think to run. I think about using my magic to flip the car and crush any breath she has left in her retched body. But it wouldn’t fix it. I’d end up in prison. My DNA is something I can’t magic away, and my family would be at risk without me.
Mrs Belfour sits quietly before sliding over into the other seat to allow room for me. A shadow in a pristine cream coat, not a hair out of place. Her hands are folded neatly in her lap as if she is just out on a casual Sunday drive.
I still stand there, my heart beating in my throat.
“Get in, Harriet.” Her voice is crisp, like a bone snapping in winter.
I get in and sit like a statue in the seat next to her.
I pull the door closed, sealing me in with the scent of expensive leather and lavender perfume.
Mrs Belfour doesn’t look at me, instead she gets her phone out and begins messaging someone furiously.
“Your little detour has caused quite a bit of inconvenience.” She sighs, smoothing an invisible crease from her skirt. “But Greg is willing to forgive. Generous, given the company you have been keeping.”
My jaw clenches as I utter my words. “You think me marrying Greg will be this bullshit happy ending?”
Mrs Belfour finally turns to me, her face like stone.
“No, dear. Marrying Greg will keep things from getting worse. For your family. For that peculiar boy. And most importantly, for the child. This is just business, Harriet. You know that. It’s where you have come from.
Your father is a fantastic businessperson.
This is an opportunity for you to follow suit.
This does not have to be all doom and gloom.
” She pulls out her compact from her purse and pats her nose in the mirror with the pad.
“We’re not evil, we just want what is best for our family.
This has been going on for generations. We are offering you a life of wealth and comfort.
You should not be so ungrateful.” She places the compact back in the purse.
I swallow hard, trying to cool my magic from becoming unmanageable. I calm myself, leaning my forehead against the cool glass of the window and breathing slowly.
“Oh, how could I forget…” She picks up an expensive-looking boutique bag from the side of her and passes it to me, drawing my attention back to inside the car. “I had Mindy, my PA, pick this up for you.” She looks me up and down. “Although someone has been indulging a little too much I see.”
She smirks a sly smile in my direction. “Luckily, I figured that would be the case and asked Mindy to pick you up some Spanx. You have got to look your best tonight, darling.”
“What?” My face pulls into a defensive posture.
“The Winter Wonderland Ball. Oh, Harriet, you didn’t forget, did you? It is an excellent job I turned up when I did. It will be the perfect event to show you and Gregory stronger than ever. We can even announce the wedding date.”
“We never set a date.” I finger through the bag. Sure enough inside is a black cocktail dress, a diamond choker, heels and the most figure-hugging Spanx I have ever seen. If I don’t die of living with the Belfours, these Spanx will be the death of me.
I am busy looking in the bag when Mrs Belfour speaks up again. “But you did, darling. Well, we did. I think you lost any say in the wedding plans when you disappeared.”
“I did not disappear. I left. Your son cheated on me and I left.” I roll my eyes at how stupid she is.
“Oh, but that is where you are wrong. You and Greg are betrothed. You have been since birth. You ran away to have dirty sexual relations with a… I don’t know, a mutt.” She smiles like nothing she is saying is offensive.
“You don’t get to talk about him,” I hiss. I can feel my insides starting to boil.
She knows and laughs. “Burns, doesn’t it?”
“You don’t know what you’re talking about, who you’re talking to!” I snap.
“I’ve met many a witch. I know.” She rolls her eyes and turns her attention back to her phone.
“But I also know you will be a good girl. You have too much at stake here.” She doesn’t take her eyes off her phone.
To her this is all so causal. A casual business meeting and not someone’s life.
“I would try and get some rest. You have a long evening ahead and the glam team have a lot of work to do on you when we get to London.”
There is no point in arguing. I need to concentrate on my next move. End the Belfours without putting my family and Sam’s in danger.
But what? Who knows. I have got to figure it out.
Outside, the countryside falls away, hedgerows blurring into grey-green smudges. Inside, silence presses down like a spell. Just the clacking of Mrs Belfour’s long fingernails on her phone.
London waits.