Easy Bake Coven by Liz Schulte Read Free Book Online

This was my house—well, my grandmother’s anyway—not his. I unwound from the covers and crept to the stairs, careful to avoid all of the squeaky boards.
    “What a pleasant surprise.” A high voice with a faint accent I couldn’t place drifted up to me.
     “Meadow. Bella.” Cheney didn’t sound welcoming, and the two female voices that returned his greeting were equally chilly. “ Cheney ,” they said in unison.
    “I have killed your scouts,” he continued. “She isn’t here. I’ll give you the opportunity to leave now or you’ll meet an equal fate.”
     “We have our orders.”
     “You can have her over my dead body.”
     “If it must be.”
     “It must.”
     “So be it.”
     “Whenever you’re ready.” I could nearly hear the smile tilting Cheney’s mouth.
     “We want to check the house.”
    “No. The house is mine. Look elsewhere.”
    “You have no claim.”
    “And I say I do. If you care to challenge me, Meadow, I’ll happily end this all here and now.”
    There was a long silence. I thought about moving in closer, but common sense stopped me. Cheney was protecting me from these people. The last thing I should do was alert them to my presence.
    “I feel no one else here,” a different female voice stated.
    “Another day, Prince.”
     “So be it,” he spoke in a similarly flat voice. The front door slammed shut, then footsteps behind me made me jump.
     “I told you to stay in your room,” Cheney growled, grabbing my arm with a self-satisfied smile.
    “You did, but I don’t take orders from you.” I yanked my arm away from him, not liking the flush coming to my cheeks. “I thought you couldn’t touch me.”
     “I couldn’t, but you were obliging enough to break the barrier for me.”
     “I—what? How?”
     “You touched me.” He squeezed my hand, and my breath caught in my throat.
     “I most certainly did not.” As soon as the denial was out of my mouth, I remembered taking his hand when I was having my melt down. “You tricked me.”
     “That’s what I do best. It’s open season, princess.” He pressed his nose into my cheek and his lips brushed my face as he spoke, “I can touch you all I want now.”
    My entire being burned from the inside out and my heart clamored loudly in my ears. I laid both hands flat against his chest and turned my head slightly toward him. He leaned in, eyes dancing with anticipation. I pushed him with all the strength I had in my body and mind.
    He rocked back slightly, giving me enough room to dart down a couple steps and put distance between us. “I may have broken whatever barrier existed, but that was not an invitation. You stay away from me!” I ran down the stairs toward the front door, but Cheney materialized in front of me, blocking my escape.
     

 

     
    I scrambled backward, tripping on the steps.
    Cheney held his hands up innocently, fingers spread wide. “I’m just teasing you.”
     “Then let me leave.” I continued to back away from him until I was pressed against a wall, my cheeks still on fire.
     “I can’t, princess. Right now, I’m the only thing that stands between you and them.”
    I swallowed hard. “Who’s going to stand between you and me?”
     “You do a fine job of that. I don’t think you need any assistance,” he muttered.
     “Are you going to tell me what’s going on?”
     “Are you ready to listen?
     “It’s really annoying that you answer my questions with a question.” Cheney gave a small sincere smile, but made no comment. “I’ll listen to what you have to say.”
     “Well, there’s a first time for everything.” He glanced over to the glass-covered living room then back at me. “Perhaps we should sit in the kitchen.”
    I took in the house for the first time since I came downstairs. It looked like a natural disaster. I destroyed my grandma’s house. It was filled with cracks and broken glass. She’d have a heart attack if she came home to this. “Did I do