Spellbound

Original Edition: Twenty-Two

My cousin's visit along with the conversation I'd had with Soren in the woods lived rent-free in my head for days. I was torn between wanting to pluck each perfect hair out of Raven's head and terrified about picking up the tome again. What I read had disturbed me so badly that I was having dreams of the past with Raven in the star role of the vindictive Fox women. I couldn't pluck out my cousin's eyelashes one by one and I was so freaked out about overdoing it again with the tome and someone finding me face-first in a puddle of my own vomit.

I was a complete cluster-fuck.

It may be frowned upon to torture Raven, but I could find a balance between the magical book and getting the answers I was becoming desperate for. Archer.

We had a connection that manifested at the speed of light. I felt things with him I haven't felt in years. I've given him my body and shared pieces of my mind and heart, so shouldn't he open up to me?

He should if he wanted to see our relationship continue to grow, and God knew that's what I wanted.

Larry and I were counting down the register and making sure all customer requests had been fulfilled when I saw Archer peeking out from behind one of the columns in the lobby.

The brothers did their best to stay hidden from the Raynard's employees, knowing that their presence would raise more questions. I wondered if they were as sneaky as they thought. Larry and Lloyd were very in tune with everything going on in the hotel. They could give you every sighting for the past week and recall occurrences from decades ago. Their run-ins with the twins were very sporadic, and I was grateful that Archer didn't extend the same courtesy to me.

I couldn't help but grin and wave at him, mouthing I'll be done in a second.

When we finally closed everything out for the night, I locked the gate that separated the desk from the lobby and rushed over to meet him.

"What are you doing out here, Archer? Won't it lose the creep factor if the hotel guests see you after haunting the place?" I'd heard him—or Soren, I wasn't sure which—wandering the passages and knocking on the walls all afternoon. I supposed if one was stuck in a hotel, freaking people out was a good way to bid their time.

"As long as I have been doing this, there is no way these people will put two and two together. They enjoy the thrill of thinking it's something paranormal. Besides, you've been sulking around here all day, and I want to cheer you up." He leaned in and brushed his lips against mine.

"That's the curse of having a cousin that looks like an angel on paper but is truly the spawn of demons. She knows how to get under my skin and make sure I'm miserable."

"She did come off as pure evil." A mischievous grin spread across his handsome face. "You should let me put some different wicked thoughts in your head."

A delicious shiver went up my spine, and I captured his bottom lip between my teeth. "I would like that...a lot."

"You can pick the room, and I'll be happy to make it happen."

I knew a conversation needed to happen with Archer, but it wouldn't hurt to have a little fun beforehand. I tapped my fingers on my chin and hummed. "Let's see..." An extremely naughty thought entered my head, and before I could stop myself, I held my finger to his lips and said, "Be right back."

I snatched a key from behind the counter and tugged him up the spiral staircase to the third floor. When we reached the door to the billiards room, I peeked in to see two guests inside. I held up a finger, cautioning Archer to stay where he was and stepped into the room.

"Excuse me, good evening folks," I said in my best customer service voice. "I hate to ask you to do this, but I need you to exit the room as it needs to be sprayed for bugs." The lady's nose crinkled but I held up a hand. "Don't worry. This is a preventative spraying. It's the reason you'll never see a bug on the premises," I rambled, hoping it was a believable excuse.