Harry on her chest. To her surprise, Devon was in bed asleep. What a treat . She hadn’t expected him home until this morning. She certainly didn’t hear him come in the night before. She must be getting so comfortable with him being around that she slept too soundly these days knowing he was always there to protect her.
She snuck out of bed and fed Harry, then crawled back into bed next to her sleeping vampire prince. She started kissing his neck with tiny, soft kisses working her way to his chin, then down over his Adam’s apple and on to his broad chest. He didn’t open his eyes, but he did smile and moan, telling her he was awake. In absolutely no effort, he rolled her on top of him and started kissing her neck as her long hair tickled his chest and face.
“Good morning, Sweetheart! What a lovely surprise to find you home when I woke up.”
“The pleasure is always mine,” he said.
“I didn’t even hear you come in last night.”
“I’m afraid you wouldn’t have heard a freight train get into bed with you last night.”
“Should I be insulted?”
“No, but you should be worried.”
“Why?”
“You were under some kind of sleep spell, you and Harry.”
“Really, why do you say that?”
“Because a woman came into the house last night; I think she was looking for the book and we had a bit of a tussle, right here in the bedroom,” he said. “Her magic was strong enough to throw me back a bit and knock me off balance. I’m pretty sure she’s dealt with vampires before, although I don’t think she knew I was one at first.”
“Really! Why?”
“She knew how to cloak her scent, sound, and shape from me. That’s how she got away. I did manage to get this off of her.” He turned to his nightstand and grabbed the broken necklace with the crest on it and showed it to Darby.
“That looks like a family crest,” she said.
“That’s what I thought. Have you ever seen it before?”
“I don’t know, but it does look familiar for some reason. Did you recognize her?”
“I did. I’m pretty sure it was the woman who hit your car at the bookstore.”
“Cheral Oktane? Are you sure?”
“Pretty sure.”
“What would she want with our Book of Shadows?”
“Maybe she’s related to the Keatons. I don’t know, but she definitely was using some powerful magic. Do you think that you can set some kind of ward on the locks of the doors? She seemed to have no trouble getting in and casting a spell on the house.”
“I don’t know, but I can look into it. How come you weren’t affected?”
“I think I showed up after she cast the spell. She certainly was very surprised to see me, especially awake.”
“Did she get the book?”
“No, I put it in the safe next door. I just feel so stupid. I heard her come in, but I had assumed maybe it was Rowan coming home. By the way, when are Rowan and the others coming back?”
“Today or tomorrow, I think. Why?”
“I still haven’t had a chance to ask Allison something.”
“What?”
“The night she met Dean, she had a friend with her. I could have sworn that she said her name was Allys, but Blake told us her name was Sally – the same Sally he took off with for three days. The woman I thought was Allys also told me that her sister was Cheral. So if she is Sally not Allys, then maybe Cheral isn’t really Cheral?”
“Are you speaking Chinese to me? I don’t get what you’re saying.”
“I’m saying if one sister is lying about who she is, then maybe the other sister is too. Maybe they are using fake names for some reason.”
“Oh! Good point. I’ve been wanting to show Rowan the page in the Book of Shadows that is heat sensitive, but haven’t had an opportunity yet. It is where the evil Keaton witch spell is hidden. If you apply heat to the page, the red ink shows.”
“Really? What a great way to hide something. How did you find it?”
“By accident. I set my
She snuck out of bed and fed Harry, then crawled back into bed next to her sleeping vampire prince. She started kissing his neck with tiny, soft kisses working her way to his chin, then down over his Adam’s apple and on to his broad chest. He didn’t open his eyes, but he did smile and moan, telling her he was awake. In absolutely no effort, he rolled her on top of him and started kissing her neck as her long hair tickled his chest and face.
“Good morning, Sweetheart! What a lovely surprise to find you home when I woke up.”
“The pleasure is always mine,” he said.
“I didn’t even hear you come in last night.”
“I’m afraid you wouldn’t have heard a freight train get into bed with you last night.”
“Should I be insulted?”
“No, but you should be worried.”
“Why?”
“You were under some kind of sleep spell, you and Harry.”
“Really, why do you say that?”
“Because a woman came into the house last night; I think she was looking for the book and we had a bit of a tussle, right here in the bedroom,” he said. “Her magic was strong enough to throw me back a bit and knock me off balance. I’m pretty sure she’s dealt with vampires before, although I don’t think she knew I was one at first.”
“Really! Why?”
“She knew how to cloak her scent, sound, and shape from me. That’s how she got away. I did manage to get this off of her.” He turned to his nightstand and grabbed the broken necklace with the crest on it and showed it to Darby.
“That looks like a family crest,” she said.
“That’s what I thought. Have you ever seen it before?”
“I don’t know, but it does look familiar for some reason. Did you recognize her?”
“I did. I’m pretty sure it was the woman who hit your car at the bookstore.”
“Cheral Oktane? Are you sure?”
“Pretty sure.”
“What would she want with our Book of Shadows?”
“Maybe she’s related to the Keatons. I don’t know, but she definitely was using some powerful magic. Do you think that you can set some kind of ward on the locks of the doors? She seemed to have no trouble getting in and casting a spell on the house.”
“I don’t know, but I can look into it. How come you weren’t affected?”
“I think I showed up after she cast the spell. She certainly was very surprised to see me, especially awake.”
“Did she get the book?”
“No, I put it in the safe next door. I just feel so stupid. I heard her come in, but I had assumed maybe it was Rowan coming home. By the way, when are Rowan and the others coming back?”
“Today or tomorrow, I think. Why?”
“I still haven’t had a chance to ask Allison something.”
“What?”
“The night she met Dean, she had a friend with her. I could have sworn that she said her name was Allys, but Blake told us her name was Sally – the same Sally he took off with for three days. The woman I thought was Allys also told me that her sister was Cheral. So if she is Sally not Allys, then maybe Cheral isn’t really Cheral?”
“Are you speaking Chinese to me? I don’t get what you’re saying.”
“I’m saying if one sister is lying about who she is, then maybe the other sister is too. Maybe they are using fake names for some reason.”
“Oh! Good point. I’ve been wanting to show Rowan the page in the Book of Shadows that is heat sensitive, but haven’t had an opportunity yet. It is where the evil Keaton witch spell is hidden. If you apply heat to the page, the red ink shows.”
“Really? What a great way to hide something. How did you find it?”
“By accident. I set my
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