Allure (The Hoodoo Apprentice #2) (Entangled Teen) Read Online Free Page B

if you need anything.”
    She rolls her wheelchair into the living room. “I’ll be fine. Besides, I’ve got my great-granddaughter here now. We’ve got a lot of catching up to do.”
    With a grunt, Taneea pushes off the couch and skulks toward one of the back rooms.
    …
    A half hour later, Cooper and I are sitting on the private beach at High Point Bluff, his family’s plantation, breathing in the balmy salt air. The late afternoon sun is idyllic as it shimmers off the teal-green water of St. Helena Sound. As usual, I’ve kicked off my flip-flops and dug my toes into the toasty sand, hunting for the cool, moist grains below the surface.
    Cooper leans close and nuzzles my neck. “I couldn’t wait to get out of there.”
    I snort. “Really? Cause it looked like you and Taneea were getting along so well.”
    “It did?” He pulls back, his eyes fill with alarm.
    “I’m kidding.”
    He laughs; his spicy pine scent fills my nose as he plants a kiss behind my ear, sending a wave of tingles over my body. “Good, because I wouldn’t want to give her the wrong idea. I mean, she’s hot and all, but she’s definitely not my type.”
    Wait. Did he just say she’s hot? As in…attractive?
    I lean away. “You think she’s good-looking?” My brow knits.
    “Well, sort of. In kind of a hot-mess sort of way.”
    My heart seizes. “For real?”
    He gulps. “Uh, yeah?” Only he sounds a whole lot less sure of himself now that he’s admitted it out loud. “I mean, her clothes and hair are all about attracting a guy’s attention and well, she does.”
    I look down at my stone-colored twill shorts and scoop neck T-shirt. Boring. Then to my beat-up leather flip-flops. Even more boring. But they’re me. The wildest I ever get is a peasant blouse and bohemian skirt. I couldn’t pull off short shorts if I tried.
    Staring out onto the Sound, I watch an osprey dive-bomb the water feet first, then ascend into the air with a fish clutched between its curved talons. I’m feeling about as optimistic as that trout.
    He nudges me in the side with his elbow. “Hey, did you hear everything I said? She’s not my type.” He reaches his strong hand to stroke the side of my face. “You’re my girl, Emmaline,” he whispers in his sweet Lowcountry drawl.
    Ah, there it is, finally. My real name. He’s the only one who uses it, except for my parents and that’s only when I’m in serious trouble, which is practically never. Brushing a long strand of strawberry-blonde hair off my face, he tucks it behind my ear as his powder-blue eyes search mine. “You always have been.”
    My heart skips a beat. “Really?” My voice flutters as my knees turn to rubber. It’s a good thing I’m already sitting because otherwise, I’d collapse onto the sand.
    He nods. “Yes.”
    His lips graze mine and all my silly, stupid fears slip away. I should know better than to worry about his feelings for me. Especially since we’ve got a much bigger, and very real, problem to deal with. The Beaumont Curse looms, destined to turn him dark and depraved. Which reminds me about the gris-gris bag that’s stuffed in my messenger bag.
    Clearing my throat, I dig out the mojo. “Miss Delia and I made this for you.” I dangle the necklace with the tiny white pouch before him. “It’s a black magic Protective Shield .”
    He drapes it over his head then tucks it under his shirt. “Thanks.” He smiles and I swear for a half a nanosecond, he seems to glow. But it must be a trick of the afternoon light because it’s gone just as quickly as it appeared. Or maybe I’m still suffering under the effects of working the spell.
    “It’s probably not enough to break the curse on its own, but it should offer some protection while Miss Delia works on a permanent cure.”
    He clutches my hand. “If it doesn’t work—”
    I shake my head. “It’ll work. Or the next one will. Or the one after that.”
    He clasps my hand. “I hope that’s true. But if every