“I still owe him and there’s no way I can pay him four million dollars.”

  “You don’t owe him anything, Lydia.”

  “He saved my life. I mean... you both did.”

  She nodded. “We did what was the right thing to do. But that doesn’t mean you owe him anything. And, quite honestly, I’m not sure why he did what he did, as it was totally out of character for him.”

  “Well, regardless, I’m alive and standing here because of him.” I took a breath. “And I’ll kick him out if he gets out of line, but until then, he’s welcome to my couch.”

  “You need to get laid,” Indie said. “Or you will end up jumping the incubus one dark, tipsy night.”

  “And who would I get busy with, exactly? Most of the men in town are already taken.”

  “You’re in charge of our body. Figure it out.”

  I sighed. Aloud, I said, “Don’t worry about me, Fifi. I’m learning mental techniques to keep people like the Reeper out. Your brother can try to seduce me all he wants, but I’ll be ready for him.”

  I moved away from her before she could argue with me. She was probably right, and I didn’t want to endure the lecture. Falling for an incubus was the textbook definition of a bad idea. Not every sex demon could be an oddball like Fifi, who wanted most of the same things a human would want. Angelo would break my heart eventually—I knew it. Best not to indulge the idea at all.

  Feeling like I needed some time to myself, I retreated to the bathroom to splash cold water on my face, and squeaked when I stepped out, finding myself face-to-face with someone waiting just outside.

  Before I could react, strong hands clamped around my shoulders, spinning me so that my back was against the wall. The bathroom was one of the only places hidden from sight, tucked into an alcove near the back of the loft. A lean, hard body pressed into me, long arms caging me up against the wall. A strong, masculine scent swirled around me, scattering my thoughts. I sucked in another sharp breath when I found Angelo’s face inches from mine. I hadn’t seen or heard him approach. He pressed a finger to my lips, stilling them before I could speak.

  “I want to make a few things clear to you,” he said in a husky undertone that tickled me in all the right places. “And to my sister, by proxy.”

  “O—okay.” I didn’t even know how I managed to speak.

  “I am not and will not bring women back here.”

  “Okay.”

  “But Fifi’s right about one thing.”

  “She is?” I murmured against his finger.

  “Yes,” he insisted. “I want you, Lydia, and I’ve resolved to have you at some point. I don’t care how long it takes.”

  I shook my head to clear it and moved his finger from my lips as I fought to get control of myself and was strangely victorious. “Fine. Then let me make something clear to you, too.”

  “Make what clear?”

  “If you want to play this game, you don’t get to cheat.”

  “I never cheat.”

  “You cheat without realizing it.”

  “What does that mean?”

  “It means: no using your pheromones to seduce me. You have to court me the old-fashioned way.”

  “Court you? What is this—eighteenth century London?”

  I laughed at that. “If you want me, you have to earn me.”

  “Is that so?” he asked, leaning toward me until our lips were nearly touching.

  “Yes, that’s so.”

  “That’ll be a first for me,” he said. “But I think I can manage. Any other rules you’d like to put into place, Lydia?”

  The way his tongue wrapped around the syllables of my name made my imagination run wild.

  “No walking around naked.”

  “I usually sleep nude.”

  I shifted my weight. No, that picture totally did not do it for me, damn it.

  “Not any longer,” I insisted.

  “Fine. Anything else?”

  I hesitated then pushed up on my tiptoes so that our lips brushed together when I spoke. “Kiss me.”

  It was impulsive. Stupid even. But after the last few days of terror and the stress of the divorce for years prior to it, I needed something to be simple. The Angelo and Anthony situation was complicated, but this wasn’t. It was pure animal magnetism, and I groaned when his mouth captured mine, setting every nerve ending I had on fire. It wasn’t his pheromones this time. It was just him.

  Angelo broke away from me a moment later, reaching for the bathroom door as his sister rounded the corner, eyes narrowed. The expression grew less hostile when she took in the tableau. She’d probably stalked over, expecting to have to pry him off me. He raised an eyebrow at her, taking a deliberate step toward the bathroom as he did.

  “Something you need before I do my business, sister mine?”

  Fifi scowled. “Don’t do that.”

  “Use the bathroom?”

  “Rub yourself all over her. I know you.”

  “Did I rub myself all over you, Lydia?”

  “Nope,” I lied. “We just passed in the hallway.”

  Fifi brandished a manila envelope, holding it out to me. “This just showed up for you.”

  “What is it?” I asked frowning.

  She shrugged. “The courier said you’ve been served.”

  I took the pages out of Fifi’s hand, all but ripping the envelope in my haste to open it. I tapped the papers out into my hand and began to read, rage kindling to life in my chest as I did.

  “That bastard!” I hissed.

  “What happened?” Angelo asked.

  “It’s Rodney. He got my court date moved up.”

  “And?” Angelo asked.

  “And I have to meet him tomorrow or risk losing the shop altogether.”

  Angelo breathed in deeply and there was a spark of something in his eyes that looked a lot like anger. And at that very moment, I had a feeling that Rodney was going to regret this. A whole helluva lot.

  ~~~~

  The End

  Return to Haven Hollow in:

  Gypsy Gold

  ~~~~~

  Return to the Table of Contents

  GYPSY GOLD

  Haven Hollow #34

  (Poppy’s Potions)

  by

  H.P. MALLORY

  &

  J.R. RAIN

  Gypsy Gold

  Published by Rain Press

  Copyright © 2023 by J.R. Rain & H.P. Mallory

  All rights reserved.

  Ebook Edition, License Notes

  This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

  Gypsy Gold

  Chapter One

  The drops of sandalwood extract gave the potion a warm amber color as it simmered gently on the little hot plate I kept at the shop.

  It was now October which meant the days had started getting shorter again, the street lamps lining Main Street already coming on, and I hadn’t had a customer for almost an hour.

  There was always a little lull in business after the summer tourist season, and before the holiday shopping took off, so this wasn’t exactly unusual. And once we were a couple of weeks out from Halloween, then everything would pick up again. The little hiatus gave me a chance to restock and prepare for the next rush. Looking around my shop, Poppy’s Potions, and seeing shelves full of an array of little glass bottles and anointed beeswax candles was pretty satisfying. And, of course, not to forget all the dreamcatchers—those were always a popular item.

  Warm contentment settled in my chest, glowing like a candle flame, when I heard my son laugh in the shop’s little back room. Finn was in the middle of getting a magic lesson from Andre. While the idea of my son having the kind of magic that could put him in dangerous situations as he attempted to help people still scared the heck out of me, it was better for him to get training than to just go it alone and hope for the best.

  And, I trusted Andre to look out for Finn, to do right by him. Not just because Andre was my soulmate (and I don’t mean that in a cliche, sappy sort of way—he literally was my soulmate, if the red ribbons that bound us had anything to say about it). But because Andre was a good man who cared about Finn.

  Soulmate.

  The word and, of course, the meaning still felt new and strange to me, but in a good way. I couldn’t stop the smile from curling my lips—couldn’t stop it even if I’d tried. It just—well, this was new to me and it was exciting—exhilarating really. I’d always felt a connection with Andre—an intensity I’d never understood. And I’d felt it from the instant we’d met. That connection had felt a lot like I’d known him all my life, like I’d just been waiting for him to come walking around the next corner.

  I had a soulmate.

  As soon as the thought crossed my mind again (okay, for the twentieth time today), that little bit of melancholy sank back in. Because, yes I had a soulmate, but one who was leaving.

  Oh, not forever.

  Not even for very long, really.

  But this whole relationship between us was still so new for me. Finding out that we were fated for one another, but also understanding just what that meant—well, that took some time. Initially, Andre and I had agreed to take things slowly—just to start as friends and basically see where we ended up. A few weeks ago we’d finally agreed to take things to the next level, to start... dating. And, well, it was a big step. For both of us. So, any separation felt like it was too long. Sometimes just saying goodnight to Andre felt like it was too much distance, which was ridiculous, because he lived up the street from me.

  As to this new relationship between us—as I mentioned, it was really, very new. In that, we (or I) had been beating around the bush, not wanting to commit to anything, because I was so afraid of messing it up. But once Andre assured me that we could take things slowly, that we wouldn’t rush the romance part, I agreed, and here we were. And we were taking things really slowly. Almost painfully slowly. The most we’d done, in the physical department, was kiss.

  I gave myself a little shake. I was in my forties, and a single mom, I didn’t need to go mooning over a man like I was a silly teenager again. No matter how brilliant, and kind, and handsome that man was. And no matter how his British accent made shivers run up and down my spine. And–

  The potion on the burner had started bubbling, its color darkening, and I jerked my thoughts back to the task at hand. Walking over, I gave it a little stir, soothing it back down to a slow simmer once more.

  It was just three weeks that Andre and I had been dating. That was nothing—no time at all. Andre had moved all the way to Haven Hollow from Portland months before—because he felt it his calling to train Finn in the art of being a magician. He’d bought the farmhouse up the road, and completely resettled his life just to mentor Finn. But that didn’t mean Andre didn’t still have his own work—of course, he still did. So that meant back on the road for him since he was traveling to do a series of performances, stage magic, not the supernatural kind. He was leaving today and then he’d be home again.

  And I couldn’t wait until he was home again.

  It was the first time Andre was leaving since he’d told me about the bond between us, so maybe that was the reason why his trip was hitting me so hard. It felt like we had so many years to catch up on—so many unanswered questions regarding this strange and incredible bond between us. I still didn’t really understand what it meant—how it could be or why. All I knew was that it just was.

  Something strange uncoiled in my chest then, and the potion gave a little warning burble. I took a couple deep breaths and tried to get my emotions back under control, forcing my attention to hone in on the potion and away from my heart.

  Potions were my thing. They were the shape my magic took, just like my mother and grandmother before me. I came from a long line of what are called ‘Gypsy Travellers’, and the women of my lineage had always been strong in potion magic. Finn was kind of an outlier. Magic tended to prefer women, but the men in my family still managed to have small quirks and gifts—for example, one of my uncles could sniff out mushrooms. Finn’s magic (other than being a magician) was that he could tell when someone was lying, which was a pretty strong gift. And, that had been before we’d found out that he had the ability to become a Magician.

  Speaking of family, I’d actually recently been introduced to a cousin of mine I’d never even known I’d had—Lydia Morton had moved to Haven Hollow in order to seek the safety of a Hollow. I didn’t understand much about what was going on with her (and thought it too rude to ask), but from what she’d explained to me when Finn and I had had her over for dinner was that she was basically possessed by a witch. She was a gypsy like me, but had never been much good with magic. Now, she was trying to figure exactly what she was, and she was trying to make sense of this new life she was now leading. I hadn’t seen much of my new cousin because, strangely enough, Angelo Stendham had pretty much appointed himself as her personal bodyguard and he kept her under strict watch 24-7. Apparently, he was worried some big bad was out to get her. All I knew was that I didn’t want Finn to get involved with one more dangerous situation, so I’d kept my distance just as much as Lydia was keeping hers.

  But things had been changing for me, too—really ever since I’d moved to Haven Hollow, a town where the supernatural hunkered down to play nice with their mundane neighbors. Hollows were supposed to be safe places for everyone, but there had been a lot of turmoil in our little town lately. Factions were forming, and people were targeting our Hollow specifically. Things were getting more and more dangerous. And Lydia moving here was just another example of how.

  That was why, when my witch BFF, Wanda, had offered me a spot in her newly formed coven, even though I wasn’t a witch, I’d taken her up on her offer. Being a founding member of the coven gave me some protection, and that protection extended to Finn, too. Everyone who was anyone would know that if they came after me or my son, there would be a lot of really angry witches on their doorstep. And that was something no one wanted. Furthermore, considering the coven also had a few wild cards in it, a Blood Witch and Blood Warlock to name a couple, most sensible people would give Finn and me a very wide berth.

  The whole reason why witches even formed covens was to mingle their magic across the bonds of the members. That mingling of magic made each witch stronger, more magically powerful. But I wasn’t a witch, and I didn’t have that sort of magic. So, I’d thought joining the coven would be in name only—a token offer from a very close friend who was trying to keep me and my son safe.

  It hadn’t exactly turned out that way, though.

  I’d felt it when the bonds formed between all the members of Scapegrace Coven, and ever since, my magic had been changing, becoming something other than the talent I’d had ever since I was a little girl. This new power within me was strange, and honestly a little bit frightening. I did my best to keep it under control, to keep it from seeping out, but eventually, I was really going to have to talk to Wanda about it.

  If I could just figure out how to bring it up without sounding like an ingrate. Not to mention that Wanda was dealing with her own issues at the moment—vampire issues.

  With the potion returned to its mellow golden color, I gave it a careful stir and picked up the last ingredient. I hadn’t made this particular potion for years, but I was excited to revisit it. The potion was mostly a party trick, a joke between friends, or something flashy meant to impress. I’d never thought it would sell in the shop, so I’d never bothered with it. But then I’d been flipping through my family potion book, and I’d come across it again. It was fairly simple, and fun, and I’d thought it might make a cute little going away present for Andre, something to wow the kids with at his performance.

  I dropped in the three flakes of Pyrite into the beaker, and even though Fool’s Gold didn’t dissolve, the flakes melted into the potion, filling the liquid with soft sparkles, like I’d mixed in gold glitter.

  It brought back a lot of memories. Gypsy Gold was one of the first potions my grandmother had taught me to brew, since it was easy and flashy and the results were pretty obvious. It made for an interesting beginner potion and, consequently, it was one of the first I’d ever learned.

  Once the potion had cooled, and the night outside got even chillier, the shadows spinning out from between the buildings, I carefully decanted the glittering potion into a glass vial. This particular vial was a pretty pale yellow and the shimmering gold sparkles of the potion shined right through.

  That was when Andre and Finn emerged from the back room, Finn talking animatedly, gesturing with his arms. His sleeves were rolled up, so I caught the flash of stark black numbers on his skin, the marks left when a Magician mastered a new trick, like a magical tattoo. There were more black numbers on his arms now than the last time I’d checked, to the point that they were starting to look a little crowded.

  I took a deep breath and looked away, careful to keep my smile in place. I was still worried about Finn learning this sort of magic. The more power he got, the more likely it was that he’d start getting pulled into all the troubles going on in the Hollow, and I just couldn’t allow that (hence why I didn’t want him to know much about whatever was going on with Lydia). Finn was fourteen, barely even a teenager, and my only son, my only child. So, it was probably no wonder I was so protective of him. Regardless, I was doing everything in my power to ensure he never put himself in another compromising position. And if that meant I had to keep my distance from my new family member, well then it was what I’d have to do.

  Even though I was nervous about Finn’s magic, I did my best to hide my worry. To be fair, even if I forbid Finn from learning, and Andre from teaching him, Finn could just dream walk in his sleep, and, in doing so, he’d learn magic from Ouire, his grimoire, but he’d do it while sleeping. The magical book had taught him in the past, before Andre ever returned to the Hollow, and it was sort of like Finn’s pet, in a way. At least, the thing was animated and acted like a happy dog, always wagging this way and that. Regardless, I didn’t want Finn dream walking in order to learn his art. And I didn’t have any way to control what the book decided to teach him, so I figured it was best to allow him to learn from Andre and do my best to keep him safe. And, again, I trusted Andre with all my heart.