Vincent: Her Warlock Protector Book 5 by Hazel Hunter

his in a small circle. She reveled in the seductive motion, moved by him, and felt herself float free.

CHAPTER FIFTY-ONE

    AMANDA WANTED TO run a marathon, do some jumping jacks, eat everything in the airplane’s kitchen then run another marathon. She did not feel better, she felt fantastic . This having sex as the path to renewal thing could be addictive. The urge to try every spell she had collected was only held at bay by a desire to not accidentally crash the plane. So she paced up and down the aisle while putting Vincent through a lightning round of questions. It was around question twenty when it hit her.
    “Where are we going?”
    “Vegas.” Vincent shrugged. “Where else are we going to arrive in the middle of the night with a sheep and not draw attention to ourselves?”
    "I'm not sure how we are going to do it in Vegas."
    "With a leash."
    Amanda stopped pacing, eyes narrowed.
    “You're kidding."
    "Nope." Vincent was kicked back, his legs stretched in front of him, crossed at the ankle. He grinned. "Should be fun."
    "Where do you live?"  
    The pacing resumed. She felt alive, tingling from head to toe with energy.  
    "Cambria, California, but we won't be able to go back there for a while."
    "Weeks?"
    "A lifetime."  
    It hit her all at once and she stepped back, physically staggered by the thought. He might have stepped into her life, but to move forward they would need to forge something entirely new together. She could be anyone, live anywhere, do anything. Endless possibility opened before her at the thought of sitting down and choosing elements of a life out of a box. And, if all that Paulina said was true, they would be able to do it over, and over, and over again forever. A wave of vertigo forced her to sit down.
    "Are you alright?"
    "Yeah," her eyes were wide when she looked at Vincent. "What's going to happen next?"
    "What do you want to happen next?”

CHAPTER FIFTY-TWO

    SIX MONTHS LATER

    Amanda closed the door to the salon, the electronic lock clicking shut behind her. The fresh laid gravel of the parking area crunched under her boots as she walked the few steps to the old dairy which had been converted into a house by the previous owner.  
    They had found a wonderful place to live, even if they had not chosen it so much as closed their eyes and picked from the pile of possibilities. While she missed the Gulf, the weather in Tennessee was better for Dalya. The hillsides were covered in thick, green grass year round, skies were clear and the water clean. It was no tiny yard here, but a rolling landscape hemmed by a split rail fence and stone walls that had been in place for more than a hundred years. There were moments when she would catch herself staring at either the house or surrounding hills, marveling at how they had managed to get here, but thankful they had.  
    She fed Dalya and Zero the border collie before going into the house a smile on her face as she thought about the number of women who had sat in her chair at the salon who’d told her that the beauty of being in a relationship was never having to date again. She and Vincent had started dating three months after they started living together. Not to fulfill any deficit in the relationship, but because it was fun. An excuse to get out and explore this place neither of them knew, eat at a new restaurant, see a movie, and come to learn their new home together.  
    Amanda could hear Vincent on the phone as she walked past his open office door, down the hall and into the bedroom. She dumped her clothes in the hamper and stepped into the shower of their en suite bathroom. The warm water soothed her as she stood under the spray, letting the water soak through her hair and roll down her back.
    She felt Vincent's presence in the shower before his hands began to chase the water droplets down her back. That Vincent was a sensualist continued to be a delightful discovery. Not one to rush to the end, he took his time, reveled in each moment they