The Rose Witch (The Coven: Old Magic Stand-Alone Novel Book 1) Read online

  I frowned and looked down – and gasped. With my arms lifted my shirt was barely covering my lady bits. Barely. I threw my arms down, tugging on the hem of the shirt like that would make a difference now. “Yes. Um, the cheating boyfriend Rolland.”

  “Chloe, are you there?” Bang, bang, bang. “Chloe, it’s Rolland. Open the door. I just want to talk.”

  Spot growled.

  Malachi arched one eyebrow at me. “I mean, I could—”

  “No.” I chuckled and shook my head. “You and your father can have your turn when he dies.”

  His eyes flashed and his nostrils flared – then he was in front of me, across the room faster than I could track him. He pushed me into the doorframe and pressed into me, his mouth moving back toward mine—

  “Chloe, if you can hear me I’m coming in, okay?” Rolland shouted through the door. “I’ve still got your extra key.”

  I cursed.

  Malachi sighed and pressed his forehead to mine. “Does he really have a key?”

  “We were together a long time,” I said in a rush, like I needed to justify it to him. “If we just hide he won’t see us and he’ll leave.”

  It was only then that I realized belatedly that the lights were on. I never left my lights on when I wasn’t home and I hadn’t been home in three days. Which meant Rolland had been here looking for me, probably today. Even if he left now he’d be back later. I couldn’t have him returning, not now that I knew I was a witch who attracted demons with my demon necklace.

  The sound of metal against metal echoed through my foyer.

  I tugged at Malachi’s shirt and started dragging him down the hallway with me. “Go in the back. In my room. GO.”

  He nodded and hurried down the hall towards my room, the only room back there since my flat was tiny. He whistled and then Spot vanished from right in front of me. I shivered. That was going to take some getting used to still. But then my front door popped open a crack – I cursed and dove around the corner into my tiny little kitchen, then dropped to my knees to hide below the counter.

  “Chloe?” Rolland’s voice was so much softer than Malachi’s. It sounded pre-pubescent in comparison. “Chloe? What’s that smell— why do you have a box of Manny’s bones? Chloe? I know you’re here, this box wasn’t a little while ago.”

  Rubbish. So I was right, he had been in here. There were two options here. One, I could stay hidden and hope he just gave up and left. Or two, show myself and get rid of him. I would have preferred the former, but there weren’t many places to hide – especially not in my kitchen. And the last thing I wanted was for him to find a prince of hell in my bedroom. I needed him gone, which meant I had to go with the latter.

  “Chlo—”

  “You wanker,” I snarled and stood, only to find him on the other side of the counter from me.

  He jerked back, his blue eyes wide. His shaggy blond hair looked like Shelly had been tugging at it all day. He licked his lips and swallowed, then thrust his hand out. A gold key perched between his fingers. “I’ve been watching for you to come back. I still have your key.”

  I yanked my key from his slimy grip and then swatted his hand away. “Now you don’t. Piss off and forget I exist.” I wonder if there’s a spell for that?

  His face fell. “Chloe, please. Can’t we just talk?”

  “Talk? You want to talk? After I found Shelly bouncing on your balls this morning? Or did you think I forgot already? After all it’s been almost twenty-four hours already.”

  “Oh, c’mon, Chloe. Give me a bloody break, would ya?” He whined like a toddler in a candy store.

  “Why the bloody hell should I?” I shouted, infuriated by this wanker’s audacity. “You. Cheated.”

  “I’ve been a good boyfriend for years—”

  “And that will eat you up for the rest of your life.”

  “I made a mistake. One mistake.” He pouted, actually bloody pouted with his lip all puffed out, and batted his eyelashes.

  Am I living in a cartoon? I shook my head. “Brilliant, then you know why you’re dead to me.”

  He gasped. “For one mistake?”

  “First of all, you don’t regret cheating you regret getting caught. Secondly, I know you’ve been shagging Shelly since she arrived because she told me all about the bloke she was stuffin’ and then got real weird when I asked about meeting him. Thirdly, I hadn’t even cared enough to be suspicious which tells me I wasn’t really in this relationship anymore.” I grabbed my spare key and shoved it in the drawer beside me. “And fourthly, I made a mistake too…by staying with you this long when I should have shown you the door ages ago.”

  “I was a good boyfriend,” he said through clenched teeth.

  “Are you mad?” I frowned and shook my head. “You have done nothing but stress me out since our last year at uni. You never cared about my education, my career, or any of my needs. Keeping your dick in your pants is hardly the only qualifying factor to being a good boyfriend and you couldn’t even do that. Spare me, wanker. Get out. Now.”

  “Chloe, please, I’m begging you—”

  I stopped listening. I was too busy wondering how I never noticed just how utterly annoying his voice was. It was super nasal-y, like he was plugging his nose while speaking. As he stood there sniveling about how badly I mistreated and neglected him while I was in school, I wondered how I didn’t see through his sleezy façade. He was a piece of shit. Weak. My superior academic career made him feel less like a man.

  I tried to imagine Malachi being threatened by my success but couldn’t. He was five times the man Rolland was and he was the son of Lucifer. The Prince of Hell. If I had been dating him all this time I would’ve been— God. What am I saying? Dating Malachi? Bollocks. I’ve got it bad already. This is too fast to have fallen this deep.

  “…and well, actually, the Lancaster family name has always represented—"

  “STOP.” I held my hands up and snarled. “I don’t know how you’re so blasted idiotic that you think you can come in here at three in the morning after you were caught shagging another woman and then mansplain me on my own damn family. Get out.”

  His face fell. “No.”

  “Leave.”

  He shook his head. “Not until you agree to take me back.”

  “This is not a hostage negotiation, Rolland, and if it was, I’m the hostage here.” I pressed my fingers to my temples as sharp pain shot through my head. “I’ve asked you nicely to leave, so do it. Now.”

  “And I’ve asked you nicely to take me back, so do it. Now.” He smirked like he’d just presented the best case in the world.

  “That’s not how this works,” I shouted. “Piss. Off.”

  “Chloe, we’ve been together too long to throw it away now—”

  “I guess you should have thought of that before!” I screamed and slammed my fists on the counter.

  “It won’t happen again—"

  “Oi, babe,” Malachi shouted from down the hall.

  Rolland and I both froze.

  Malachi’s footsteps thundered down the hall, getting louder as he approached the kitchen. “I’ve narrowed it down to two movie options, but you’ll have to pick the winner.”

  WHAT?

  And then he strolled into the kitchen wearing only those silky white baggy pants I’d seen when he went full angel. The super thin ones that hung indecently low on his hips and hid nothing. That was it. That was all he had on. No shirt. No shoes. No jacket. Just him looking better than anything I’d ever seen.

  My heart stopped. Oxygen evaporated out of my lungs in an instant.

  He took two steps inside and stopped short. He blinked and frowned, like seeing Rolland and I there was a surprise. Then he feigned a fake but brilliant smile. “Oh, sorry. Didn’t notice you there.”

  “Who is this?” Rolland all but growled. He pointed to Malachi and spat, “Who?”

  Ummmm, Malachi. Prince of Hell. Angel of Heaven.

  Rolland slammed his palm on the
counter. “Chloe?”

  I peeled my eyes off of Malachi’s chiseled abs and looked to my ex. “You heard me. Piss off and forget I exist.”

  Malachi smirked and strolled over to the fridge in the corner behind me. He yanked it open, then bent over to search.

  Rolland scoffed. “Like hell, I want an explanation for…for…this.”

  Malachi straightened, standing at his full height at well over six feet, with two cold bottles of beer. He glanced back and forth between me and Rolland and then stopped in front of me and sat the bottles on the counter. With his right hand he reached up and took my chin between his fingers, then leaned down and pressed his lips to mine.

  I gasped against his mouth as fireworks burst inside me. Finally. All of my control snapped. My attraction for this man came out tenfold. I pushed up on my toes and cupped his jaw, then pulled his mouth closer to mine. He slid his hand to the back of my head and fisted my hair, angling my head back to deepen our kiss. Our lips brushed and everything inside me turned to mush. His tongue slipped inside my mouth and I moaned, melting under his touch.

  Nothing else in the world matter. I couldn’t even remember what we were looking for. My chest seared with pain and I knew I needed to give it oxygen but I had none. My legs turned to mush. I fell into his chest. He slid a scorching hot path with his hand up the side of my thigh to my hip, dragging my shirt up with it. I felt a rush of cool wind and heard someone hiss but I was beyond caring. His fingers dug into my bare ass and my legs gave out under me. I fell back against the counter, dragging him down with me. He pushed his hips into me, holding me upright with his body.

  I needed to breathe before I passed out. But Malachi tasted like cinnamon and honey smoked over a barbeque. His lips were softer than silk and he unraveled me with every flick of his tongue.

  Someone cleared their throat and Malachi pulled away. I gasped as he stepped back and his eyes flashed. A light sparkled from the center of his chest, but he turned away before I got a good look at it. He chuckled and started to walk off.

  “Where are you going?” I breathed, still struggling to breathe right.

  Malachi grinned over his shoulder. “Back to bed, where you left me.” Then he winked and walked out of sight.

  I almost chased after him for more. Every inch of my body wanted him. Needed him. He’d lit a fire and now the whole damn forest was burning down. I needed his hands on me. His lips. His body. I was melting, my chest burning. But Rolland stood there with his hands in fists and his face so red he was about to blow a gasket. I needed him to leave immediately…after that kiss—

  “What the hell, Chloe?” Rolland snapped. “Who was that?”

  I sighed and pushed my hair back. “Leave. Piss off. Get out.”

  “No, no that’s – who was that? Tell me who he was?” He stepped out around the counter and came towards me.

  Spot lunged from within the shadows and landed between me and Rolland. He growled like a wild tiger, his fur standing tall. Rolland went pale and sprinted for the door. Spot snarled and chased after him, his teeth millimeters away from Rolland’s coat.

  Rolland threw the door open and sprinted away faster than the Flash. I stopped at the door with Spot and ruffled his ears. Once my ex was clearly out of sight, I stepped back and slammed the door shut. Spot whined so I bent down and started to pet his back when the hellhound suddenly flipped over with his belly up. I chuckled and rubbed his belly.

  “Good boy, Spot.”

  The hardwood floor creaked behind me. I jumped and spun around just as Malachi sauntered into the room, back in his jeans and t-shirt.

  My cheeks filled with warmth. My chest was on fire all over again. “You...”

  He grinned and leaned against the doorframe behind me. “The prick deserved it—"

  “You kissed me.”

  He grimaced and scratched his jaw. “Yeah, sorry about that.”

  “I’m not.” I sprinted over to him, fisted his shirt again and dragged his lips back down to my mine.

  He growled and fisted my hair behind my head, pulling me up to him. Our lips crashed together. Our tongues licking at each other like our lives depended on it. I wrapped my arms around his neck and lifted myself up until our mouths were level and my feet dangled in the air. We stumbled backwards and my back slammed into the door frame on the other side. His body pressed into mine. He gripped my hips and I felt all ten of his fingers digging into my body.

  I groaned and it sent little vibrations through our tongues. He exhaled and hot breath swept over my face. But this wasn’t enough. I wanted more than a kiss, more than a single touch. I wasn’t a nun or a virgin. I was a big girl and I knew damn well what I wanted. Unless he planned to stop me, I was going to have it. I hooked my leg around his hips and squeezed and his body hardened against me. I moaned and rolled my hips and we both gasped.

  And then we were stumbling backwards again. Cold air washed over me and then I landed on top of an uneven surface. He fell on top of me, pushing his hips against me and my eyes rolled. He was still fully clothed and he was unraveling me. I needed more. I unwound my arms from his neck and fell back. I threw my hands out and caught myself but his tongue was relentless, devouring me with every second. It wasn’t enough. I needed to feel every inch of him.

  I gripped the hem of his black long-sleeved shirt, identical to the one he’d loaned me, and pushed it up and over his head. The second the material was passed his face he dove for me. His tongue slid inside my mouth and down my throat. I groaned and dug my hands into his hair. Yes. More. Harder. There was nothing delicate or sweet about our touching, this was frenzied panic. Like we might die if he didn’t take me right here and now.

  I reached down and slid my hands into his jeans and gripped him.

  He threw his head back and hissed through clenched teeth. The muscles in his abs tightened. His fingers dug into my hips. I leaned forward and gripped the back of his neck then sank my teeth into his throat. His body shuddered under me. I chuckled against his skin —

  He pushed my legs apart, gripped my hips, and thrust inside of me in one smooth motion.

  I screamed and fell back on the desk, barely catching myself before my head slammed into the surface. Books and random objects crashed to the floor. Glass shattered. Light flashed in the corner of my eye from the books falling open – but then he pulled his hips back and a moan like I’d never made escaped my lips. He planted his hand on the desk beside mine then rolled back deep inside me.

  The desk creaked and wobbled with each of his thrusts.

  And then I was flying. He wrapped my legs around his hips and lifted me off the desk. He took a few steps and my body convulsed at the new positioning. I screamed out and pulled myself flush against his body. We were falling again, stumbling in the dark across my living room until my back slammed into the wall.

  I didn’t care. I hadn’t had enough yet. I wrapped my arms around his neck and squeezed tight. My lips found his right as he gripped my thighs and pushed them into the wall. I gasped against his mouth. He rolled his hips mercilessly, growing harder and faster with each one. A fire surged inside my veins. My lungs screamed for air. Every muscle in my body locked down around his. Tunnel vision seeped in around the edges. I couldn’t breathe. I sank my nails into his skin wherever I could grip him. My throat was raw and burning from screaming. I was going to pass out if he didn’t— and then the world exploded around me.

  My ears popped. My vision went dark.

  It was fireworks.

  It was Heaven.

  And as we both crashed to the floor, sweaty and trembling, I understood why he was the Prince of Hell…because he was going to leave a scar in my heart…when this was over I was never going to be the same.

  Chapter Fifteen

  Chloe

  I rolled onto my side and laid my head on his bare chest, snuggling into the warmth of his body. The pink tones of sunrise shined through the open curtains, filling my living room with a hazy warm light that kind of glittere
d – or maybe that was just the dust we’d stirred up from knocking over a bunch of my dust-covered books. I draped my arm over his waist and nestled into the crook of his neck. I wasn’t sure which was more relaxing: the steady beat of his heart against my cheek, the gentle brush of his fingertips over my bare arm, or his hand running through the strands of my disheveled hair.

  Malachi took a deep breath and then let it out. I smiled and pressed a kiss to his throat. I could’ve stayed there all damn day in utter bliss. Even lying on the cold hardwood floor of my living room I couldn’t recall a single time I’d felt better. I’d always suspected I hadn’t been truly in love with Rolland…but being with Malachi proved it. My heart felt more for the angel beside me than the man I’d committed myself to for years. And I’d only just met Malachi.

  My pulse skipped. I only just met him. My heart and my emotions had gone on quite the ride in the twenty-four hours since I’d met him but something happened. I didn’t understand it. Even when I’d been afraid of him I’d felt…this. I felt like I’d sprinted for the edge of a cliff and dove off, plummeting to the point of no return in seconds. Butterflies danced in my stomach. It was actually terrifying. What did it mean for my heart when he left? Because he was surely going to leave, once he got this blasted pendant off of me.

  He was an angel. I was mortal.

  I’d seen these movies. It never ended well for the person like me.

  “What are you thinking about?” His deep, raspy voice cut through the mental spiral I’d just been on.

  I bit my lip and groaned. “Nothing I should be.”

  “Care to elaborate?”

  How do I say this? How do I put this into words without entirely freaking him out? Without him thinking I’m a total stage-five clinger? The answer was I didn’t know. I needed to be honest, because there was no way I would be able to hide these overwhelming feelings I had for him at this point. But if it was just lust and infatuation, then there was no reason to freak him out. Since he’d be leaving me anyway.