Cajun Magic 02 - Voodoo for Two by Elle James Page B

Gravity took over and she fell, hitting the water in a painful belly flop that knocked the wind out of her lungs.
    Water closed over her as she plummeted downward among old beer cans, plastic bottles, and a faded tennis shoe. Jeez, maybe the environmentalists had a point… Scrambling to an upright position, she pushed her bare feet into the murky green silt, cringing as muck curled around her toes. When she had her feet firmly beneath her, her lungs burning for air, she pushed off the bottom with enough force to launch her head a foot out of the water. She gasped and inhaled deeply, sucking in as much fresh air as she could before she sank below the oily surface.
    When she came up this time, a white flotation ring slapped into the swamp next to her and she hooked her arm around it.
    Calliope stood with her hands pressed to her mouth, her eyes wide. “Oops. Sorry!”
    With a few swear words poised on her lips, Lucie glared up at her friend, rewriting the old adage, “With friends like Calliope, who needs enemies?”
    And to top her humiliation, Eric and Alex pounded across the wooden planks of the dock, grinding to a halt beside Calliope.
    Eric squatted on the dock and extended his hand. “Grab hold.” In one smooth tug, he hauled her up and out, to stand in the circle of his arms. Strong, virile arms. Arms encased in an oh-so-expensive suit!
    She gasped and backed away, her blouse and skirt no longer a smooth powder-blue, but an icky, green-slimed, fishy-smelling mess.
    Holy swamp gas! What more could go wrong?

Chapter Seven
    “I can’t believe you knocked me into the swamp.” Lucie plopped down in the wooden swing on Alex’s back porch. “In front of Eric, no less.” In a borrowed terry cloth bathrobe, she stared at the remains of Lisa’s best shirt and skirt draped across the railing. She didn’t know why she’d bothered rinsing the fishy smell out of them—the fabric was ruined. Lisa would kill her. With renewed vigor, she scrubbed at her hair with the soft white towel. No use poking at a dead crab.
    “I said I was sorry.” Calliope sat in a folding lawn chair several feet away, her arms crossed over her chest and a frown pushing her auburn eyebrows to a point over her nose. “It’s not like I did it on purpose.” Her frown disappeared and she jumped from her chair. “You want me to dry your hair for you?”
    How could she be mad for long when Calliope meant only the best? The redhead couldn’t help that every time she tried to assist, she ended up making things worse. Calliope had always been her friend, even in high school when other girls called Lucie the Bayou Bimbo and refused to talk to her, just because her twin was such a tease.
    Lucie slid to the side, making room for Calliope. As loyal a friend as they came. Clumsy, maybe, but loyal. Calliope was a lot like Alex’s golden retriever, Sport.
    Snatching the towel from her hands, Calliope rubbed at Lucie’s long black hair. “Sure smells better than it did before the shower.”
    “Anything smells better than I did before I showered,” she groused, unwilling to let go of her anger.
    “So, Lucie, when are you going to tell Gran LeBieu?”
    She tensed at Alex’s abrupt question. “I’m not.”
    “Don’t tell me you think you can figure your way out of this mess without her.” Alex leaned forward, resting her elbows on her knees, a tea glass grasped between her hands, dripping condensation onto the wooden floor. “That bug is still out there somewhere, causing who knows what kind of damage.”
    “I don’t care.” She knew she sounded defensive, but the lingering tingle of Ben’s kiss just wouldn’t go away. And she hated that uncontrollable surge of desire she got every time she thought about him. “I want out of this swamp, and that bug is the only hope I had. Besides, it’ll surface again. I just know it.”
    “Yeah, after it curses half the town. No telling what’ll happen.” Alex set her iced tea on the table beside her