Kiss and Spell
A Valentine’s Day Anthology
Liz Schulte
Deanna Chase
Tricia O’Malley
Kristen Painter
Barbra Annino
Christiana Miller
Rose Pressey
Tonya Kappes
Renee George
Michelle Bardsley
Cynthia St. Aubin
Ann Charles
Contents
Copyright
Liz Schulte
PSYCHE SOUFFLE
Copyright
Title Page
Summary
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
About the Author
Also by Liz Schulte
Deanna Chase
A BOURBON STREET VALENTINE
Copyright
Summary
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Epilogue
Tricia O'Malley
TEQUILA SHOTS & VALENTINE KNOTS
Summary
Title Page
Copyright
Dedication
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Author's Note
Other books by Tricia O'Malley
Kristen Painter
THE VAMPIRE’S VALENTINE SURPRISE
Copyright
Summary
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
About the Author
Other books by Kristen Painter
Barbra Annino
DEADLY DIAMONDS
Copyright
Summary
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
About the Author
Christiana Miller
KIDNAPPING CUPID
Copyright
Summary
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
About the Author
Also by Christiana Miller
Rose Pressey
FOREVER VALENTINE
Copyright
Summary
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
About the Author
Rose Pressey’s Complete Bookshelf
Tonya Kappes
ROMANCE BY THE BAY
Title Page
Copyright
Summary
Note from Tonya
Romance by the Bay
Recipes from Romance By The Bay
About the Author
Also by Tonya Kappes
Renee George
MY FURRY VALENTINE
Title Page
Copyright
Summary
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
About the Author
Also by Renee George
Michele Bardsley
CUPID’S VALENTINE
Copyright
Summary
Prologue
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
About the Author
Ann Charles
COLD FLAME
Copyright
Summary
Title Page
Cold Flame
Connect with Me Online
About the Author
Also by Ann Charles
KISS AND SPELL
Copyright © 2016
Psyche Souffle
Copyright © 2016 Liz Schulte
A Bourbon Street Valentine
Copyright © 2016 Deanna Chase
Tequila Shots & Valentine’s Knots
Copyright © 2016 Tricia O’Malley
The Vampire’s Valentine Surprise
Copyright © 2016 Kristen Painter
Deadly Diamonds
Copyright © 2016 Barbra Annino
Kidnapping Cupid
Copyright © 2016 Christiana Miller
Forever Valentine
Copyright © 2016 Rose Pressey
Romance by the Bay
Copyright © 2016 Tonya Kappes
My Furry Valentine
Copyright © 2016 Renee George
Cupid’s Valentine
Copyright © 2016 Michele Bardsley
Cold Flame
Copyright © 2016 Ann Charles
Cover Design by: Rebecca Poole
All Rights Reserved
Without limiting the rights under copyright reserved above, no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in or introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form, or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise) without the prior written permission of both the copyright owner and the above publisher of this book, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.
This is a work of fiction. Any resemblance to persons, living or dead, actual events, locales or organizations is entirely coincidental. Names, characters, places, brands, media, and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. The authors acknowledge the trademarked status and trademark owners of various products referenced in this work of fiction, which have been used without permission. The publication/use of these trademarks is not authorized, associated with, or sponsored by the trademark owners.
Psyche Souffle
by Liz Schulte
Copyright © 2016 Liz Schulte
All Rights Reserved
All rights reserved, including the right to reproduce this book, or portion thereof, in any form.
This is a work of fiction. Any references to historical events, real people, or real locales are used fictitiously. Other names, characters, places, and incidents are products of the author’s imagination, and any resemblance to actual events or locales or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
Summary
Half-vampire turned baker, Maggie, had always been a hopeless romantic. After years of being beaten down by love, she had finally given up. But it wasn’t until she was recruited to mend the relationship of a couple who were destined to be together, that she truly understood what mattered most.
Chapter One
“We need a signature Valentine’s Day dessert,” Izzy said, coming into my kitchen tapping a pen against the notepad in her hand.
I glanced up. “Good morning.”
“Mo
rning. I already have the I Love You A Lattes planned, but we need something sweet to go with them. You know, since this is a bakery.” Izzy had taken the tapping the pen against her chin.
I thought she might want to sit this Valentine’s Day out since she had recently broken up with her longtime boyfriend, but apparently not. If anything she had gone into overdrive. My bakery was filled with hearts and flowers and cupids, but she seemed to be happy. Busy, but mostly happy.
“I’m thinking a decadent, delicious chocolate soufflé for two. It could be heart shaped and we could call it Romance.” She said the word with jazz hands.
“Huh.”
“You don’t like it?”
It wasn’t that I didn’t like it so much as I had never made a soufflé before. I already didn’t know how this Valentine’s Day extravaganza was going to go. The last thing I wanted to do was to be on the hook for making something I wasn’t comfortable with. I had taken a step back and let her handle all the store’s promotions and they seemed to be going well. We were busier than ever. “How about a cupcake for two?”
She rolled her eyes. “Well, what I marketed and sold was a Valentine’s Day package. Don’t you remember? I showed it to you. They will have a choice of three desserts. A cupcake, while boring, can be one of those, but we need something they can’t get any other time in the café.”
I had a vague memory of what she was talking about, but I honestly didn’t pay a lot of attention. I had things on my mind. Like the fact that my life was once again in upheaval. It had been a couple weeks since I had seen Boone since the whole battle with the goddess Holda got his girlfriend kidnapped. I was trying to give him space and ignore the fact that I missed him for more reasons than I cared to count. Sure, maybe I had a little crush on him, but that hardly had anything to do with it. More than anything I missed my friend who understood what it was like to be different from everyone else. I became a half vampire around the same time Boone discovered he had psychic abilities. As life changing discoveries went, mine was so much worse, but at least he understood and knew about the Abyss, unlike Izzy who had no idea vampires existed let alone that I was one—partly.
And then there was Phoenix, the regional commander of the jinn. I still didn’t have any idea what I felt about him, if anything. Jinn dealt in manipulation of emotions the way I dealt in sugar. You may not always see it, but you can bank on it’s in everything I make. That made him hard to read. I couldn’t tell when he was lying or manipulating me so mostly I assumed it was all the time. But that didn’t keep me from wanting him. My mind and body were determined to be at odds where he was concerned. So like Boone had been avoiding me, I had been avoiding Phoenix.
Anyway, I didn’t remember what her Valentine’s Day package consisted of. “What’s in that again?”
“They have their choice of three desserts built for two, live music, and a bottle of wine.”
Wine. Holy crap, I really dropped on the ball on this one. I didn’t apply for the liquor license at all. “We don’t have a license.”
Izzy’s eyes widened. “What do you mean? You were supposed to take care of it. You said you would do it.” She pushed her hand back through her hair. “It’s too late now. We’re going to have to refund everything. We only have days until Valentine’s Day.”
Crap, crap, crap, crap. I had to think. There had to be a way and there was. Just not a way I wanted to do. “Couldn’t we do coffee?”
She shook her head. “No one wants coffee. They want wine. I already have it ordered.” Izzy looked close to tears.
I sighed. “There might be something I can do. Don’t panic yet.”
She didn’t look at all convinced. “What?”
“I have to go Phoenix. He knows people and might be able to pull some strings.” More likely he will bribe who needs to be bribed and if that doesn’t work he will use a little of his jinni magic to make the obstacles go away. Convenient no doubt, but a terrible abuse of power, that I had hoped to avoid in my life.
“Really?” Her face took a complete 180. Good. Go now.” She all but pushed me out of the door. “I can handle the store.” I untied my apron and put on my parka. “Hey, Maggie, please make this happen. That man looks at you with stars in his eyes. Use that.”
I wrinkled my nose. Izzy had it in her mind from the one time she met him that he was not-so-secretly in love with me. There was a fat chance of that. He wanted me like I wanted him. It was completely physical and the fact that I wouldn’t give into him kept him coming around. That was it.
It was early enough in the morning that the streets of Chicago weren’t crowded. The wind whipped down the streets cutting right through me and blowing snow in face. I loved this city, but damn I hated the cold.
Partly because of the cold and partly because of my inhuman speed, I made it to Phoenix’s apartment building in record time. It was a bizarre building, especially for a jinni. It was a former church that had been divided into unique apartments. I buzzed his apartment repeatedly, smiling a little because I knew I’d be waking him up. Probably not the best start for asking for a favor, but torturing him was one of the ways I had to get back at him for the many, many times he lied to me and used me.
Phoenix ran the nightclub and jinn front named Xaviers. While I came into work about three a.m. every day, he didn’t even make it home by then, which put me at the perfect time to disturb his sleep. I held down the buzzer. When I finally released it, the door clicked open.
His apartment door was opened as I stepped on the landing. “Did I wake you? Can’t say I’m sorry,” I said walking through.
“I was awake.”
It took me a moment to find him. The only windows in his apartment were stained glass that didn’t let in a huge amount of light. All of the walls were painted black and not one light was bright enough making it seem a lot like a cave with super high ceilings. I blinked at the sight of him standing without a speck of clothing on in the kitchen eating a yogurt.
I probably should have looked away, but I didn’t. His black hair was wet and slicked back from his face like he had just gotten out of the shower. His many, many tattoos darkened his too pale skin, that was taut over tightly corded, lean muscles. My eyes trailed down to his stomach. I bit my lip and snuck a peek a little bit lower—
“My eyes are up here.” His voice was low and velvety.
My eyes shot up and my lips pressed together to keep from smiling. Not bad. Not bad at all. Focus, Maggie, the rational inner voice reminded me. This was why I had been avoiding him. He was a walking talking temptation to a much darker more complicated life than I was prepared to accept. “Maybe you should put on some clothes.”
One side of his mouth curled up. “Are you sure that’s what you want?”
Before I could stop them, my eyes gave him another once over and now his grin was full-fledged. I forced myself to look away. “I’m good.”
He sat down the container of yogurt and came around the counter toward me. The air in the room suddenly very warm and staticy against my skin. He didn’t stop until he was entirely too close to me reminding me that it had actually been a while since I had fed. Dark souls weren’t always easy to come by and I had been really busy avoiding life. He lightly pulled the zipper of my parka all the way down. “It’s been a while.”
My brain was blank. What had been a while? He couldn’t have been talking about—my eyes shot up to his.
“Since I saw you.” He spoke slowly.
Right. Of course. The hunger raged inside of me. most dark souls I fed on just required a hand shake or in some way touching their skin. Phoenix however, always ended with us making out which only confused how I felt about him more.
I refocused on his collarbone, much safer as I collected my thoughts. From there I traced the tattoo of a skull with some sort of nuclear destruction in the sockets. It was creepy, but incredibly detailed and well done. Why would he want that on his body for the rest of eternity?
“Maggie.” His magnetic voice
slipped into my thoughts and his hand ran down arms, pushing my coat off of my shoulder. It fell to the floor with a soft thrrpt.
“Uh huh.” I refused to look at him. If I did he’d kiss me then I would start feeding and God help me I really enjoyed that. All that exposed skin…my tongue ran over my lips.
He leaned in, his lips nearly touching my ear. “Why are you here?”
That was an excellent question. One I probably had the answer to somewhere in the clouds of hunger—and desire.
“Did you need me?”
So much. It had been so long since I had been with someone. With the whole vampire thing, I still didn’t know how my control would be. I didn’t want to hurt anyone. Phoenix was resilient. He could heal—well, if I didn’t drain his soul, which frankly I didn’t have a good track record with.
That was the bucket of cold water I needed. I shook off the fog he had encased me in as I took a step back. “I need a liquor license by Valentine’s Day.”
He chuckled softly, folding his arms over his chest. “You are always a challenge.”
That was probably true in more than one area of my life. For some reason, I never seemed to be able to just do things the easy way. Once I started overthinking (my favorite pastime) all hope was lost at anything ever being simple. “Is it possible?”
“Anything is possible.”
“So you can do it?”
“For a price.”
I expected as much. Phoenix wanted me to work for him. Being a jinni he dealt with plenty of bad people. People that sometimes he had to kill. Meanwhile, here I was a walking, talking endless pit where evil souls could disappear without a trace. “What’s your price?”
He picked up a towel from the stool next to the counter and wrapped it around his waist before sitting down. “Why have you been avoiding me?”