Read Online The Shoppe of Spells by Shanon Grey - Free Book Online Page A

Morgan whispered.
    “I’ll explain. Just don’t break contact until I do. Understand?” His voice was deep, firm.
    “Yes.” She swallowed and held fast.
    “The creature you saw last night was real. It’s what was making Mr. Parker sick. Together we can send it away. Several of them have been roaming free since Melissa and Thom died. With your help, I think we can control them.”
    “What?” She impulsively yanked her hands. He held tight. She felt something brush against her leg. She glanced down. The rug glowed silver and she saw a faint violet outline of movement. She moved in closer to Dorian. Now, they stood, body to body. Far more points than five were touching. She heard the hum.
    Morgan closed her eyes. Oh, God. She couldn’t be awake. This had to be a dream. One long continuation of her childhood nightmares. She would wake up any moment. She squeezed her eyes shut. Her body trembled. Sweat beaded on her upper lip. She stood stiff as a statue, afraid to budge. She could feel Dorian’s thumbs begin gently massaging the back of her hands, the back and forth motion her only reassurance.
    Dorian stepped back. She held on, too frightened to let go.
    “It’s okay,” he said softly and broke contact with her. The edges of the rug beneath her still shone a silvery hue. She leapt off the rug and looked around. Everything looked normal. Meesha stretched out and put her head down, but watched them, waiting for some command, some piece of attention. Like, Meesha, Dorian watched her.
    “What happened?”
    “It’s gone back through the portal.”
    “Portal?” She edged the rug with her toe, lifting it. The shiny wood floor lay underneath, it’s pattern unmarred.
    “Morgan, it’s a dimensional portal.”
    “Yeah, sure.” She moved away from him, stopped and turned. “Like I know what that is.”
    She studied him, waiting for some sarcastic punch line.
    He didn’t say anything, just watched her.
    She narrowed her eyes at him. “What kind of joke is this?” She headed into the bedroom and grabbed her purse and the folder. He stopped her as she headed into the bathroom for the small make-up kit she’d left on the sink. She jerked her arm away from the shock of his hand on her arm.
    “And you—what is it with you? Every time you touch me, I get shocked. Yet, you don’t seem to feel it.” To hell with the kit . She could buy more make-up. She swung around toward the French doors.
    “Oh, I feel it,” he said, the timber of his voice slightly lower. His eyes now dark like a stormy sea. He took one step toward her before he stopped. “Believe me, I feel it,” he all but whispered and turned away.
    As she scrutinized him, heat curled in her stomach. A small throb punched deep inside. Damn . Needing to do something, she went back and grabbed her make-up kit.
    She came out of the bathroom to find him standing in her path. She carefully stepped around him. She wasn’t going near him. “That…that thing…”
    “…is gone,” he said. “Please. Let me explain. Give me a day. Then, if you wish, you can leave.”
    She stopped, turned toward him, her eyes full of questions.

    Dorian pushed his hair back from his forehead, closed his eyes and took a deep breath. Who am I kidding? I’m not sure I understand. It would take more than a day with her. She knew nothing. He had practiced this speech for three weeks, since he’d first gotten word of Melissa and Thomas’s death and of her arrival. He knew it was coming—it had to come. He’d been fighting against the inevitable most of his life. He’d wasted a lot of time being angry that his destiny wasn’t his to make. Angry with a woman he hadn’t met. What he hadn’t anticipated was her naiveté. She’d had no idea of her future—of him. He looked at her. Her face was flushed. Perspiration dampened her upper lip. She watched him warily, like a frightened wild animal ready to bolt. He wasn’t sure what he would do if she left. That had never been