The Shoppe of Spells by Shanon Grey Page A

hurt and her head throbbed. Suddenly pissed that Rob got to stay at the bed and breakfast before she’d had a chance, she scowled at him.
    Rob frowned.
    Dorian interjected, “I have the paperwork. I’m ready any time you are.” He hoped she appreciated his saving her ass. “I’ll be in the cottage when you’re ready.”
    “Oh, I can see I’ve interrupted.” Rob took her hand. “I’m sorry.”
    Morgan grew more exasperated by the moment. Rob was giving every indication that they were a couple. She jerked her hand away.
    Unaffected, he continued. “Say, why don’t we meet at the bed and breakfast later.” He turned to Dorian, who had stopped in the kitchen. “You’re welcome to join us,” he added reluctantly.
    “Sounds good to me,” Dorian called over his shoulder.
    “Hang on, Dorian. I’m coming with you,” Morgan called. She didn’t want a confrontation with Rob just now. She didn’t feel like playing games with either one, but especially not Rob.
    Dorian whirled mid-step and walked back to the front door. “We’ll see you later, then.” He held the door open for Rob.
    “Sure,” Rob said, taking the none-too-subtle hint. Morgan stepped away, barely avoiding a second kiss.
    As soon as Rob was out the door, Dorian shut it, locked it and turned the closed sign over. He walked over to Morgan and grasped her arm, leading her out the back door. “Now we really have to talk.”

Chapter Six
     

    Morgan paced back and forth in front of the cottage fireplace. She stopped, looked at Dorian sitting calmly at the table by the front window, and started pacing again. “Let me see if I have it right.” She pushed back her bangs. “This creature…this Gulatega…is some sort of parasite. It attaches to people,” she shuddered, “and sucks out their brains!” Her voice rose to a shriek.
    Dorian watched her. She’d heard him. She’d understood him. She was being dramatic. “No, it’s not like that,” he emphasized. “Here’s what we know. It’s attracted to some people. It gets around them and they start having headaches, confusion, difficulty remembering. It doesn’t suck out their brains.” He rolled his eyes. “The longer they are attached—” he shook his head when she whirled on him, and corrected, “around—the person, the worse the symptoms become.”
    “And just what do I have to do with this again?” She’d resumed pacing.
    “You can see them. I can’t. Together our energy does something to the portal and they go back through. Unharmed. We don’t want them harmed because we don’t know what effect that would have on their dimension…or ours.”
    She studied him. He still wasn’t telling her everything. She damn well knew it. “What about us?” She placed her hands on her hips. “Can it suck out our brains?”
    He ignored her sarcasm. “For some reason, people like us are immune.”
    “People like us?” Morgan felt like she was repeating herself.
    Now Dorian was brushing back his hair. “Yeah. You know that crescent moon birthmark high on your right hip.”
    Remembering the sleep shirt, her lips tightened, “I thought I dressed myself last night.”
    “Don’t worry. You did.” He stood and unfastened his jeans.
    She stepped back.
    His blue eyes flashed. “Don’t get excited. I’m only going to show you my hip.” He pulled the one side of his jeans down, exposing his left hip. A crescent moon like hers rested lower on his hip, except it faced the opposite direction of hers. He hefted his pants back up and tucked in his shirt.
    That flash of his golden skin tempted her to reach out, run her fingers across his hip, his abdomen. She didn’t realize that she had actually extended her hand toward him until his eyes drew hers. For an instant, she stood mesmerized. He took a step forward. She leapt back.
    “The…the shocking thing?” she stuttered.
    His lips curved into a smile, washing her in warmth. “Yeah, that. It hasn’t been so bad lately, has it?”
    He