A Witch In Time Read Online Free Page A

my fingers together behind his neck.
    “I’ve been waiting to do that all day.”
    “You have?”
    “Mm-hm.”
    “That’s funny. Me, too.”
    The slow curve of his lips was all I could see. Truth be told, it was all I wanted to see. Without another thought I slid my arm around his neck and kissed him soundly, pressing myself to his body tight enough that he was forced to reach behind himself to grope for the door frame with one hand to support us both. His other arm was wrapped up and between my shoulder blades, his long fingers cradling the nape of my neck. I couldn’t have gotten away if I’d wanted to.
    I didn’t. Want to, that is.
    Nervous . . . had I been nervous? How ridiculous. This was exactly what I had been hoping for. What was there to be nervous about this?
    I didn’t know how long it was before I drifted away from the enchantment of his mouth and back to the realization that we were standing on his front porch, displaying the full measure of our mutual fascination before God, Goddess, and the entire county. I pulled away slightly, regretfully, my hands lingering on his chest. “We should probably go inside. Someone might see.”
    He raised one eyebrow in amusement. “And?”
    “My mother has a lot of friends.”
    “You ashamed of me, Maggie?”
    “Of course not.”
    “Or are you just afraid of your mother?”
    I frowned at that. I was less than three weeks away from my thirtieth birthday. A woman, full grown and in charge of her own destiny. I did not need my mother’s approval for my life. On the other hand, it certainly did make life easier if the two of us weren’t at loggerheads with each other.
    Tricky, tricky.
    “I’m not afraid of her,” I told him, and I couldn’t help nibbling on the inside of my lower lip. “I’m . . . wary of her web of spies, that’s all.”
    “I see. Well, in that case, maybe you’d better come on inside.” He took my hand and tugged. “I have a special way of dealing with spies and busybodies and other unwanted entities.”
    I knew he was just being funny, but I had seen firsthand how he dealt with unwanted entities, and in truth the experience had both frightened me and made me feel very safe in his capable hands, all at the same time. There was something deeply reassuring about his knowledge and mastery of all matters spiritual, a certainty I did not yet possess. Maybe I never would. But one thing I did know: next to Liss, Marcus made a pretty good counselor of the mysterious. Between the two of them, I was covered.
    I followed him inside, privately enjoying the warmth of his hand holding mine.
    “What’s all this?” I asked him when my eyes had adjusted to the more shadowy interior. Unusually shadowy. I couldn’t help noticing that all the curtains were drawn, and that set up in front of the big windows were what appeared to be cameras on tripods, as well as a couple of other odd-looking devices whose purposes I couldn’t guess. Heavy wires, neatly bound with plastic tie wraps, snaked across the hardwood floor and down the hall toward the bedroom he used as his own private digital compound. While on his stint in the military, Marcus had served in Intelligence. Something told me he hadn’t completely gotten that lifestyle out of his system.
    “This? Nothing, really. Call it . . . insurance.”
    Marcus wasn’t usually this circumspect. I peered up at him curiously. “Insurance for what? What’s going on?”
    He shrugged away the question. “Nothing I can’t handle. Trust me on this.”
    I had no misgivings about his ability to handle, oh, just about anything. Without a doubt he had an innate understanding of how to handle me.
    “Cameras. Wires. What’s this?” I asked him, pointing to a round dishlike object.
    “Just a little listening device.”
    “And this?” I indicated a smaller black box.
    He grabbed my hand and drew me away, carefully avoiding the various tripods and trip wires. “A voice amplifier. Nothing to worry