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| SAY YOU'RE MINE Spellbound Book One Chapter One Violet Calder needed a drink. Days off were meant to be spent away from work. Her family didn’t seem to understand the concept seeing as not one, but all four of her siblings had called about one case or another the firm was working on. Everyone except Finn. He’d called to see if she could pick up something from the dry cleaners for him since she had the day off and “nothing better to do”. He was smart enough not to call back when she’d hung up on him. Regardless of having a very rare Friday off, here she stood in her office going over details needed for an unexpected hearing Monday morning that involved a client from one of their cases. She was used to those last minute calls, had come to expect them working for her family’s private investigative firm, but tonight she had plans. Fearing that her oldest, non-detail oriented sister might have missed something in the file, Violet had changed into her evening clothes before heading into the office. As soon as she wrapped this up she planned to meet up with her best friend, Leslie, for a few drinks and a late dinner. Perched on the edge of her chair, Violet flipped through the file. A body materialized on her desk. Violet shoved back from the desk, her heart firmly lodged in her throat. “Jesus Christ, Tate.” She glared at her cousin. Dressed in pale blue lingerie with a see-through wrap, her long lithe body stretched out on Violet’s desk, Tate Calder frowned. “What the hell?” Confusion dawned on her face as she glanced around. “This isn’t Greg’s place.” “No kidding.” Violet crossed her arms. “You’re still sick, aren’t you?” Tate chewed thoughtfully on her bottom lip. “I thought I was fine.” On a sigh she pushed herself to a sitting position. “You should know better.” It was common sense to any witch or warlock not to screw around with magic when they weren’t feeling one hundred percent. Things always had a tendency to go wrong. Violet gestured to her desk. “You can get down anytime.” “Right.” Tate gave her a half smile and slid off her desk. Taking note of Violet’s dress, her eyes widened. “Wow. Where are you headed?” “Just for drinks.” “Trolling for men with the man-eater?” Violet laughed. “Yeah.” Her family had labeled Leslie “the man-eater” since she went through a new guy, sometimes two, a week. Tate grinned. “Have fun.” “Wait a second. You’re not going to try teleporting again, are you?” “I’m not about to go out and catch a cab dressed like this. See you Monday.” In a blink Tate vanished, leaving Violet to marvel over her cousin’s ability to travel in such a way. Teleporting small objects often left Violet weakened. She didn’t know how Tate so easily transported herself around the city on a regular basis. Although that particular ability did make Tate very good at those jobs that entailed getting in and out of places quickly without drawing much attention. Violet glanced at the clock on her desk. Still plenty of time. Snatching the file off her desk, she headed down the hall toward her sister’s office. She didn’t know how Darby handled sharing the CEO duties and being the figurehead for the firm their dad and uncle had founded. Representing the company was more than Violet could have managed. She was perfectly content with her job as client liaison. Given the rough-around-the-edges personalities of some of her siblings, she understood that clients sometimes needed a go-between. “Ms. Calder?” Violet paused and crossed the polished marble floor to the receptionist’s desk. Their temp, one Finn hopefully hadn’t seduced yet, tipped her dark head to the side. “Everyone else is gone for the night or busy, and there is a really upset woman in the waiting area.” “Did she say anything?” Violet took a step back and peeked through the frosted glass doors, but couldn’t see anyone inside. “Something about a lost dog.” It wouldn’t be the first time they’d been hired to track down a pet, but it was usually the eccentric wealthy types with money to burn. “I’ll take care of it.” Violet handed the temp the file she carried. “Make sure Darby gets this tonight. She’s expecting it.” “Of course.” “Evening, Ms. Calder.” Violet tensed at the deep, unmistakable voice directly behind her. She slowly turned around, all too conscious of the thinning air in the room. “Good evening, Detective.” Short, dark brown hair, a five o’clock shadow that suited him entirely too much, and bottomless brown eyes that sucked you right in when they weren’t slicing a person in two, all combined to make a package Leslie liked to refer to as “sex on a stick”. There was only one problem with him. He was a serious pain in the ass. “Your brother around?” Violet crossed her arms. It helped to fill up the space between them. Detective Reece Prescott had a habit of standing much too close. She figured it was an intimidation tactic. Having grown up with two overbearing older brothers, not to mention her three cousins, few men intimidated her. Unfortunately, Reece seemed to be in the minority. “Which one?” “Dante.” “Why do you need to speak with him? Or are you just planning on harassing him?” Reece broke his usual stoic mask with a frown. “He hit me first.” Biting the inside of her cheek, Violet shrugged. Why he always got his boxers in a bunch whenever she mentioned that, she’d never know. “Well, as much as I hate to disappoint you, Detective, he’s already gone for the night.” He surveyed the lobby as though he didn’t believe her, and finally nodded. “Let him know I was looking for him.” “Sure.” He continued to stare at her. “Was there something else?” Instead of turning away, he took a step closer. His gaze tunneled into hers, warm and slow. “You don’t like me much, do you Ms. Calder?” “I don’t dislike you, Detective.” For a moment she could have sworn his eyes paused on her mouth. “It’s Reece.” Without another word, he strode away. But that didn’t stop her heart from continuing to thump against her ribs. She stared after him, wondering if she would’ve had enough guts to ask him out for a beer if he wasn’t a cop and she wasn’t a witch. Pick up Say You're Mine in eBook or Print! |