This Strange Addiction by Julie Steimle (e book free reading .txt) 📕

is still alive, but a family steward was killed when he was thirteen. He had his heart ripped out as if by an animal. Rick’s actually been shot at by people who think he and his father are werewolves, and—”

“Whoa! Hold on.” Hogan stopped once more. “People think he and his father are werewolves?” He stood speechless now. His mouth hung open like a bass.

“Yes.” Audry nodded then shook her head. “At the ski resort/animal reserve where I rescued that wolf, there were hunters there. It was the full moon, and there were hunters there. And they were trying to find a werewolf.” She pulled out her necklace which she now kept hidden under her clothes on a longer chain, showing him the tarnished silver bullet with the Deacon name on it. “Remember this? This is the bullet I dug out back then. They thought that wolf was Rick. This was meant for him.”

Hogan almost laughed. He looked around as if seeking someone sane in the world. He then stared at Audry, realizing she really believe the story. Not that Rick was a werewolf, but that people shot at Rick because they thought he was one.

“And when Jordan, his roommate from Brown University, got murdered and his friends were attacked by wolves… I… I think he just lost it.” She leaned against Hogan’s shoulder, tugging him along toward the car. “The guy lives in a weird world where they believe in witches and occult things. There is a witch coven in his town and—”

“A witch coven.” His skepticism was laced through every tone in his words. He had heard it from Daniel, Audry had assumed. Apparently Daniel had not explained it that way after all. She was a little surprised.

“Dangerous women,” Audry said to make it simpler. “Like Viviane. And Silvia.”

That he comprehended. He understood there were dangerous women out there.

“He’s worried for my safety because of those dangerous women,” she said. “I’d seen three of them stalking around our apartment, and one had followed me to Jessica’s home and to Tom’s auto shop. That’s the main reason for the emergency evacuation today.”

“Why are they stalking you?” Hogan asked.

Shrugging, Audry said, “They’re after Silvia. She’s been trying to leave the coven, and they’re angry with her.”

He stared. “You’re kidding me.”

Audry shook her head. “I wish I were.”

They walked in silence to the car. Hogan opened the door for her and she slid in. Then he went to the driver’s side, climbing inside. He slipped in the car keys, but did not turn the ignition. His mind seemed full.

“We need to get married fast and get you out of this,” he murmured.

Sighing, Audry nodded. It was too scary. The spell on the apartment. Everything. And what Silvia had said had struck her. The spell would last as long as she called that apartment home. But that meant Silvia would not be safe once she married Hogan. Undoubtedly her brother was calculating what they had to do next once that happened.

“I won’t let anybody hurt you.” Hogan whispered, leaning over to her in the seat, gently kissing her on the lips.

It tasted nice. It felt…

Kissing him back, Audry breathed him in. How grateful she was to have a man as sane as Hogan. As normal and solid as Hogan. Rick’s world really was insane. And dangerous. Erratic. It was amusing to her now that she had ever read supernatural romance novels and thought they were exciting. Such things were terrible for a real life. Thrilling, but terrible.

As Hogan kissed her deeper, the taste and smell of him was enough to want more. She kissed back, wanting more, wanting him.

It got hot and heavy real fast. Too heavy. They made out in the front seat, their hearts beating against each other. His firm and warm hands held her close and tight, pulling her into him while her hands ran through his hair and along his back. His mouth kneaded her neck. Already the windows had fogged up as it grew heavier. She could feel his fingers rub into her shirt over her shoulder then slip under her bra strap, going down into the cup.

Audry pulled back. “We can’t.”

His eyes asked “Why?” but his mouth said as he pulled away, “I’m sorry. You’re right. We need to cool down.”

She shifted back into her seat, straightening up her blouse and refastening all the loose buttons, embarrassed she had lost control. She could not let it get as far as it got with Harlin. It had gotten hot and heavy with him way too often, something she had felt ashamed of. The one thing she was grateful for was that they never went as far as to have actual sex though it had come close on a few occasions.

Once her seatbelt was on, Hogan drove Audry home.

He parked on the curb. Audry checked the address to make sure it was the right place. But Hogan peered up, looking a little dazed. “Which one is it?”

Audry pointed to the building. “That one. I have a code and a key.”

He smirked at her. “You won’t be here long enough to make much use of either.”

Chuckling, Audry leaned over and kissed him.

He then got out to open the door for her. It was a nicety which she liked while dating.

He seemed a little tipsy when he walked with her up the steps to the door, and when they kissed, he didn’t bother to ask to go in to see the apartment, which was odd. Silvia was there, so it was safe. She went inside.

Audry went up to the elevator and pressed the button alone as the front door closed. It felt odd, really. Hogan had been in other apartment plenty of times. As she rode up the elevator, Audry’s mind was buzzing. She glanced down at her engagement ring and admired it.

It was real.

She was getting married.

Now all she had to do was tell her family. Then the real fun would begin.

When she got out of the elevator and went into her apartment, Audry leaned against the door, sighing.

Silvia opened it. Audry nearly fell in. Laughing, Silvia caught her.

“How’d it go?”

Looking up at her roommate, Audry laughed. “Heavenly.”

Peeking out into the hall, Silvia lifted her eyebrows and asked, “What? No Hogan? I would have thought he would be curious about the new apartment.”

Audry shrugged then walked in, feeling tired. “Strangely enough, he was not interested. In fact, he looked a little confused.”

Smirking, Silvia shut the door, locking it with a grin. “Good. That means the spell is working.”

Glancing back at her, Audry wondered (though did not dare to ask) if Silvia had included a ban on Hogan from their apartment. She could feel the spell in the air—thinner now, but it was still there.

Anxiously Engaged

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Chapter Eleven

 

 

Audry had a lot of catch up work to do back at NYU the day after the move. Most of her documented research from Africa was finished. She now had to plan what she was going to do out in the West—that is Western America. She realized that perhaps she had to expand her study up to Alaska and further into Canada, as there was a greater number of wildlife there, but that also expanded the time of her research. She needed some kind of control group of an area mostly untouched by mankind. The problem was, there was no part of the earth that was untouched. She had learned that as a kid when she had seen the movie Never Cry Wolf.

Another problem was that to get to NYU she no longer had a car. Her car was still at the police station where, Silvia told her, it was impounded for her own good. Silvia had explained that Matthew and Joshua Johnson had agreed that the witches would be able to trace the car. In fact, they probably had put a trace on the car, which was why they had been able to follow her to Jessica’s home. So, Audry had to use public transportation for a while—or get a loaner car from Rick, which Audry did not want to do.

So after a full day at NYU, Audry returned home via subway and called her family, firstly to let them know of her move. And secondly, to tell them about her engagement to Hogan.

Cheers from people overjoyed that finally Audry had found a good one flooded in. Questions followed. Had they chosen a date yet? What about a venue? What kind of wedding were they looking at? Did she choose colors yet? Who would be her bridesmaids? And how much of the extended Bruchenhaus family would attend? …As they stuck their noses into everything and would not be happy if they could not attend—including the Pennsylvania Bruchenhauses. And would the wedding dinner be vegan or just vegetarian?

Audry then called Hogan, realizing that she needed to make these plans with him beside her. He had also told his family of the engagement that morning. But they called them together that afternoon when Audry went to his apartment in Queens. His family was overjoyed he had finally chosen a girl to settle down with. They were ecstatic really. All of them approved of her.

The following two weeks, she and Hogan spent their free time negotiating with both their families, searching for a wedding and reception venue and date that would suit them all. All the Bruchenhauses had to be invited, her grandfather insisted in an urgent call to Audry on the second day after the announcement. But that meant the wedding would cost a lot more than either of them had. That is, until her grandmother revealed she had set aside a trust fund for Audry in case she ever got married. Her grandmother then chose the venue and the date. At the end of the conversation, Audry put down her phone in exasperation, turning to Hogan and said, “Damn. I’m a trust fund baby.”

Hogan busted up. It took him forever to get him to stop laughing.

Her cousin Vincent showed up with the actual booklets and pamphlets at her apartment, ringing the lower bell to be let in.

When he finally reached their apartment, Silvia opened the door, grinning at him.

He grinned back, blushing as he had always thought Silvia was good looking. “Hey. Is Audry in?”

Thumbing to the kitchen where Audry was typing up the last of her partial draft for her doctorate research, Silvia said, “She’s busy busy busy.”

Nodding, Vincent walked inside.

Silvia grinned wider, following him. His fair eyes took in the apartment, examining the fanciful lighting and the loft stairs. He looked to the wide windows while nodding to himself in approval.

Audry looked up at the sound of his shoes on the floor. The moment she saw him, her face brightened. “You’re here! You didn’t have trouble finding the place?”

He laughed. “Are you kidding? It was easy.”

Audry’s brow wrinkled, puzzling over that. “Really? Hogan always seems to get lost. He has a hard time remembering this place.”

Vincent raised his eyebrows. “That’s funny.”

Silvia snorted.

He glanced to her, wondering at her reaction. But then, he set the ‘package’ on the counter. “Here it is. All of it. Grandma Bruchenhaus wants you to look it over and select colors and stuff.”

“They could have just mailed it,” Audry muttered, pulling the stack