“I don’t know, Lizzy. He hasn’t even attempted.”

“He values his head. Can’t blame him for that.”

“If he wants someone else, maybe I should let him go?”

Liz rolled her eyes. “He doesn’t want someone else. Damn, listen to you. He wants you, and it’s high time you remind him of that.” Liz gestured with her glass, “He’s just outside that door.”

Torn, Myra didn’t know what to do. “I couldn’t go to him. What if someone heard us?”

Liz appeared lost in thought before she asked,

“How about a spell?”

“A what?”

“Just a little silence spell.” They had been working on many things over the past months, using Tara’s book as guidance. Lizzy had taken to studying the books on witchcraft. In fact, Lizzy seemed obsessed with mastering everything Druid. Myra remembered her saying that the only way to defeat Grainna was to get inside her mind.

“I remember a spell about keeping silent in both secrets and noise.” Her hopeful expression worried Myra on a deep level.

“I don’t know.”

“Coward.”

Myra sat up taller and felt the challenge Liz had given her. “Fine.”

Lizzy jumped up and found the books hidden in a secret hole in the wall. She took the one she needed and returned to the bed. She flipped through the pages until she found what she wanted. “Here. It suggests using an object to charm.”

“What does that mean?”

“Like a lucky rabbit’s foot.”

“A foot of a rabbit?” Myra wrinkled her nose at the thought.

Lizzy laughed while she scanned the room. She uncrossed her legs, walked over to the vanity, and removed a cord used to hold her hair back. “This should work.”

Myra blushed and shook her head. “I don’t believe I’m doing this. ‘Tis wonderful.”

Lizzy chuckled. “He won’t know what hit him.”

They used a small cup and filled it with water and a dash of lavender. With great care, they cast their circle. Somehow, the power within the circle of candles bound their thoughts, their energy, their gifts and made them stronger. Uniting them.

Liz slowly added the cord to their moist mixture.

She closed her eyes. Myra followed her lead.

“Nature calls Myra to her man, we ask for silence from within. Use this object to keep the quiet, to help her with her desperate plight. If the Ancients will it so, we ask this please so she can go.”

At first, there was nothing, not a tingle in the air, not a spark from the flame. Then, the candle that heated the cup grew bright and blue before blowing itself out.

“That was corny,” Lizzy said, rolling her eyes.

“Did it work?”

“I’m not sure.” Liz removed the cord and wiped off some of the moisture. “Let’s test it.”

Liz stepped outside the room and into the dark hall. Myra placed the cord on the handle and closed it. Once alone in the room Myra called out to Liz.

She did it quietly at first and then louder.

Lizzy poked her head inside and whispered,

“You’re supposed to yell.”

“I did.”

They giggled like teenagers when they hustled back in the room.

Chapter Seventeen

He’d agreed to go with Fin, but the look Myra sent him at the dinner table paralyzed him with guilt.

What the hell did he have to be guilty about? It wasn’t as if they were married or anything. Since when did a bachelor have to concern himself with the whims of a woman? Isn’t that why he’d remained a bachelor for so long, because he didn’t want to answer to anyone other than himself? He sighed, knowing this was only partially why he’d never married.

He punched his pillow and tried in vain to turn off his thoughts. He would go to the village tomorrow to meet one of the women Fin knew, and if he didn’t get some sleep he wouldn’t be able to...damn!

Myra’s big doe eyes flashed in his head. Who was he kidding? He wouldn’t be able to anyway!

When had life gotten so complicated? And where the hell did the conscience come from?

He cursed women. All of them. Then turned to his side and tried to find some rest.

His mind finally started to drift when he heard the latch of his door. Instinctively, he reached for his weapon before he realized it was hidden in a panel on the opposite side of his room. A small dagger on his bedside table was the only thing available. He inched his hand over to it.

Her heart pounded so hard Myra thought that alone would wake everyone in the house. She slipped inside the room, undetected by anyone, and placed the cord on the door. Her breath came in a rush. I made it.

Before she opened her eyes, she heard Todd’s sporadic breathing. It was in a pattern that told her he wasn’t asleep. When she opened her eyes, Todd was alert, his wide-eyed gaze focused on her. His jaw was slightly ajar, and his expression seemed confused.

With a confidence Myra didn’t know she had, she pushed away from the door and walked to his bed. Her heartbeat rose even faster, but now it was for an entirely different reason. What if he sent her away? Could she face him again if he did?

She stopped short of his bed and pulled her lips into a knowing smile. His chest moved faster telling her he wasn’t unaffected by her presence. He lifted himself up on his elbows, but didn’t say a word.

Slowly, she untied the belt holding her night robe in place, and with one bold move, removed any doubt from Todd’s mind what her purpose in being there was.

He shivered.

“You look cold. Maybe I can help.” Lizzy told her to use that line. From the way Todd licked his lips, she knew it worked.

Every inch of her skin was clothed in nothing more than the flame from the fire behind. His eyes swept over her.

Myra sauntered to his side, just out of reach and tossed her head back.

He gulped.

A wicked smile creased her face. “Thirsty?”

“Oh, yeah,” he managed, before he reached out and tugged her to his bed.

His mouth found hers in a probing kiss that took on a life of its own. The months of longing poured into their embrace. His bruising kiss threatened to leave a mark both physical and mental.

Thoroughly, she savored each touch, each taste.

Weeks of desperation and dancing around their desires were over. She was finally in his arms again, exploring, touching, feeling his body press against hers. His firm hand wound behind her neck. His fingers, cool against her hot skin held her close, refusing to let go.

Over and over she called his name, responding to every touch with a gasp, a moan. His lips released hers, and he pushed her to his side. His smoldering gaze focused on the taunt pink nipple he grazed with the palm of his hand.