Bewitched (Betwixt & Between #2) - Darynda Jones Page 0,85
your back into it.” So many cliches. So little time.
She hit me with a low, grating coo. An evil sound that incorporated the rattles and clicks of a hell spawn fresh from the underworld. My dads backed away from the island warily. Minerva raised her phone again.
“See?” I said. “You’re already getting the hang of being a crow.” When she lowered her beak and gave me the thousand-needle glare again, I turned to Roane. “Any thoughts?” I asked, hopefully shifting her ire.
He grinned at her. “You’ll shift back when you want to.”
“But I want to now,” she said, spreading the feathers on her wings and ruffling them.
“Are you sure?” I asked. “Think of the money we could make off you. We could go on tour. Do talk shows.”
“You’re hilarious,” she said, a microsecond before Ink pounced.
We’d been so preoccupied with Ruthie’s murder and Annette’s avian quandary, we didn’t notice the scruffy, battle-scarred cat stalking its prey until after it leapt forward.
Annette screamed—a human scream, not a bird one—and fell backward off the island while Roane, with his own catlike reflexes, caught the stealthy creature in midair, its claws a millimeter from sinking into Annette’s exposed belly.
She landed on the other side with a loud thud. Much louder than a bird would have.
We scrambled around the island and gaped at a short, curly-haired Goddess in all her unclothed glory, trying to catch her breath. She lay stunned, staring at the ceiling, taking in tiny gulps of air.
“You did it!” I shouted to her just as I noticed Samuel, who’d been chasing Ink around, standing there with his hands over his eyes. I laughed and knelt next to him, before looking back at Nette. “And you’re naked.”
Percy rose from the ground and covered her most vulnerable assets while Roane pitched in as well. He turned away, lifted his shirt over his head, and handed it back to her.
“Thank you,” she said, a soft pink blossoming over her exposed skin. She sat up and Percy shrank back as she pulled the shirt over her head. “Thank you, Percy. If only I had a kilt too.”
Roane laughed softly and helped her stand. Thankfully, his shirt was plenty long enough to cover her best parts.
Samuel refused to remove his hands from his eyes. Until Ink slid past him, and he took off.
I got the feeling Ink was beginning to enjoy their game of cat and mouse, even though he was now the mouse. I turned to Minerva. “Please tell me you got all of that.”
She raised a thumb from behind her phone, her jaw hanging slack on her pretty face. I knew exactly how she felt.
After coming up with a game plan as far as Ruthie’s murder, I showered and got ready for bed. Showering before bed was not something I normally did. I was a morning girl. But I hadn’t had one in over a day.
I put on a T-shirt and lay on the bed, thinking about the crazy turn my life had taken. Not the least of which being the fact that not only had a I killed a man by freezing him to death, I’d also killed my own mother. I mentally carved two notches in my belt to remind myself of how quickly things could go south. Of how fast my magics could take control and do the unthinkable. Before I came to Salem, the thought of taking a life was unfathomable.
It was a lot to digest.
That combined with Annette and Minerva and Samuel and the witch hunter and Ruthie’s revelation . . . it was all so much. Yet there was a part of it all that felt right somehow. Like I was exactly where I needed to be.
I wondered if that had anything to do with a certain sexy someone. A kilted wolf with eyes the color of the forest on a cloudy day and a mouth blessed by the Gods. I also wondered what other parts of him were equally as blessed.
With a grin created from the flavorful pairing of mischief and lust, I whispered, “Just how well do you hear, Mr. Wildes?”
Thirty seconds later, I heard footsteps coming up the stairs.
Acknowledgments
Thank you to everyone who helped with this endeavor and to my Grimlets for all your input. Love you all!
About the Author
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
New York Times and USA Today Bestselling Author Darynda Jones has won numerous awards for her work, including a prestigious RITA®, a Golden Heart®, and a Daphne du Maurier, and her books have been translated into17 languages. As a born storyteller, she grew up spinning tales of dashing damsels and heroes in distress for any unfortunate soul who happened by. Darynda lives in the Land of Enchantment, also known as New Mexico, with her husband and two beautiful sons, the Mighty, Mighty Jones Boys.
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Also by Darynda Jones
Thank you for reading BEWITCHED: A PARANORMAL WOMEN’S FICTION NOVEL (BETWIXT & BETWEEN BOOK 2). We hope you enjoyed it! If you liked this book – or any of Darynda’s other releases – please consider rating the book at the online retailer of your choice. Your ratings and reviews help other readers find new favorites, and of course there is no better or more appreciated support for an author than word of mouth recommendations from happy readers. Thanks again for your interest in Darynda’s books!
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Also from DARYNDA JONES
PARANORMAL
BEWTIXT & BETWEEN
Betwixt
Bewitched
Beguiled
CHARLEY DAVIDSON SERIES
First Grave on the Right
For I have Sinned: A Charley Short Story
Second Grave on the Left
Third Grave Dead Ahead
Fourth Grave Beneath my Feet
Fifth Grave Past the Light
Sixth Grave on the Edge
Seventh Grave and No Body
Eight Grave After Dark
Brighter than the Sun: A Reyes Novella
The Dirt on Ninth Grave
The Curse of Tenth Grave
Eleventh Grave in Moonlight
The Trouble with Twelfth Grave
Summoned to Thirteenth Grave
The Graveyard Shift: A Charley Novella
THE NEVERNEATH
A Lovely Drop
The Monster
Dust Devils: A Short Story of The NeverNeath
MYSTERY
SUNSHINE VICRAM SERIES
A Bad Day for Sunshine
A Good Day for Chardonnay
A Hard Day for a Hangover
YOUNG ADULT
DARKLIGHT SERIES
Death and the Girl Next Door
Death, Doom, and Detention
Death and the Girl he Loves
SHORT STORIES
Nancy: Dark Screams Volume Three
Sentry: Heroes of Phenomena: audiomachine
Apprentice
More Short Stories!