Any Witch Way: Magic and Mayhem Universe

Chapter One

S lithering fuck. This was the last thing Gideon needed.

That’s a new one. He’d know that voice anywhere. Looking over his shoulder, he wasn’t the least bit surprised to see his sister, Carol—known to every other witch and warlock in the world as Baba Yaga, the leader of all witches and warlocks—grinning back at him. She wasn’t the least bit repentant that she’d just summoned him.

I was busy. You can’t just summon me whenever you damned well please, he said, even as he tugged her into a bear hug. He couldn’t help it. He was a softy for her, even when she pissed him off.

She scoffed. "I’m the only witch who can summon the Boogeyman. Being Baba Yaga has its benefits. Why wouldn’t I take advantage of that from time to time, baby brother?" This was said in the tone that indicated they were speaking only as brother and sister at the moment, not the Boguman and Baba Yaga, two of the highest positions in the magical world.

By a minute, Gideon grumbled. As his twin, she never once let him forget he’d come into the world a minute after her. And it’s Boguman. The correct title is Boguman.

If I have to be Baba Yoda, you can put up with the Boogeyman every once in a while.

What the hell are you talking about? Gideon flexed his fingers. He really didn’t have the patience for this right now. He’d been right in the middle of teaching a little boy not to tease his brother about wetting the bed. And he had a long line of unruly children to visit after that one.

Never mind, she said with a wave of her hand. Besides, it’s been over fifty years since I last summoned you. I’d hardly say I’m abusing the power.

What do you want, darling sister?

Fine. She conjured a chair and sat. It was the first time he noticed she wasn’t dragging around the ugly little warlocks she normally had with her. Small favors, and all that. I have an emergency.

Uh huh. Carol’s emergencies typically had to do with her pet porcupine escaping or a prom dress mishap she thought he could somehow fix. Then again, maybe he wasn’t giving her enough credit. It had been a long time since she’d had one of those episodes.

She stomped her foot. That didn’t worry him, but the smile that crossed her face a second later did. It was the smile that said she was about to do something he would want to strangle her for. Fine, if you don’t want to take the time to listen, I won’t bother to explain.

With that, his twin promptly bound his feet to the ground—a trick she’d learned to do using roots back when they were kids. It never took him very long to break loose, of course, but it always allowed her the two seconds she needed to get away. With another curse, he rolled his eyes to the heavens, although he wasn’t sure why. He’d given up praying to the Goddess a long time ago.

A quick zap freed his feet, but not before he smelled it—a scent that threw him back two hundred years. Not quite lilacs, more a combination of lilacs in the spring and summer waves at the beach. At one time that scent had meant everything to him, but now all it did is make his blood boil instantly. What in the living hell was she doing back here? And why had his sister set him up to be here when it happened?

What the hell is this, Carol? he yelled to the sky, because his sister was nowhere to be seen. If he couldn’t yell at her, the sky would have to do. Answer me! You brought her back?

Of course not, silly. Carol’s voice came from nowhere in particular. She brought herself back. I just felt her coming and thought you should be here. She’ll need you.

A form took shape at the top of a small rise in front of him as the air left Gideon’s lungs. He hadn’t felt like this in a long time. Like he’d had the wind knocked out of him in a visceral blow. There was only one person who could do this to him. And now she stood before him at the top of the hill, arms raised high as if announcing her arrival, as gorgeous and bewitching as ever.

She beamed as she looked around, as though she thought there should be some kind of band or fanfare announcing her arrival. She always had liked a party. And back in the day, he’d loved that about her. She was fun and exciting, and things were never boring when she was around.

He’d grown up a lot since then.

He opened his mouth to yell for his sister again, but the love of his life moved toward him and stopped him cold.

She looked just as he’d remembered her. Just as she’d lived on in his dreams for more than a century and a half. Wild black locks and creamy skin. The taste and feel of that skin had never left him. It haunted his dreams, whether he was awake or asleep. It didn’t matter. She was always with him, even though she was gone. He’d felt her everywhere.

That was probably one of the reasons he’d never been able to move on. That and the fact that he no longer had a heart to give. Sure, he’d slept with other women. He wasn’t a freaking priest. But it was sex and nothing more. There’d never been any chance of giving his heart to someone else. Not when she’d crushed the damned thing beneath her heel on the way out the door.

He was about to be down one twin. Never mind waiting for Baba Yaga to summon him again. When he was finished here, he was going to hunt down Carol, or Baba Yaga, or Baba Yodels, or whoever the hell she was, and throttle her good. Carol knew damn well what she was doing when she left him stranded here. And she knew damn well this was the last place on earth he’d want to be.

He watched as the woman he both loved and hated with all his being stepped forward, arms still raised as if gracing him with her presence. She smiled that smile that made his heart flip over and beg for more.

And fell.

She tumbled head over heels with a few rather inelegant oofs and achs and maybe a curse or two in there. Gideon had to clench his fists against the urge to catch her, and when that pissed him off, he bit down on his tongue. Hard. He was not going there again. No way in hell he was getting involved with her again. No way in hell he’d let her tear what little there was left of him apart again.

Aghoof. The sexy vixen sat up, brushing her mop of curls back out of her face as she spat a wad of grass from her mouth and looked around.

THAT WAS A BIT OF A rough landing.

I had hoped that would go a lot more smoothly. She picked herself up and brushed off, looking down with pleasure at the form she’d taken. Not bad, not bad at all. A cute skirt, purple high-heeled shoes, little pink painted nails. All in all, not a bad package. She’d done good.

The ride had been a bit dizzying, though.

Oh! She spun as a growl came from her right. No, not just a growl; it was a guttural, inhuman sort of sound. But it came from a god. An absolute drop-dead gorgeous blond bombshell of a god. Of course, it wasn’t like she had a frame of reference for that sort of thing. For all she knew, maybe he was on the uglier side of the scale.

But no. That wasn’t possible. He was strong, with arms and a chest that stretched the fabric of his shirt taut and made her fingers tingle to reach out and touch him. He had gorgeous blond hair that would probably feel thick and soft, and so good in her hands. His mouth looked positively sinful, and those eyes seemed to heat her from the inside out. And there was something about him that drew her to him. That