Witch's Bounty by Ann Gimpel

secure assistance with the demons, and to lay my heart at Titania’s feet and ask for her blessings on our marriage.”
    “Don’t you think you might want to wait on that last until we’re certain we want to get married?” A corner of her mouth twitched. “For one thing, you haven’t asked me, nor have I accepted.” She sucked in a breath. “And I wouldn’t right this minute. Not until we’ve put in more time together.”
    Heat swept from his chest to the top of his head. For a moment, he felt like a bumbling youth. “I want to do this right. I want to be free to court you.” He shut his eyes for a moment and then opened them, begging her to understand.
    She didn’t disappoint him. “What if Titania refuses?”
    “Then I have some hard decisions to make. It would mean I’d have to walk away from my people, be an outcast. It would also end my immortality. Not immediately. I’d still have a few hundred years, give or take.”
    “Kind of a lot to give up.” Her eyes shone with unshed tears, but she blinked them away. Her truth spell scattered like so much dust.
    Fierce possessiveness rocked him. He never wanted to be a source of pain for Colleen. Never. He leaned forward and crushed her to him. “No matter what. We’ll work something out.” He stroked her hair. “Believe in me.”
    “I want to.” Her voice was muffled against his neck. “It’s hard. I’ve spent years only believing in myself.”
    “That would make two of us.” He tightened his hold on her. “I don’t know why we found one another now, but it feels like a gift and I’ll do whatever I can to hold onto it.” He peeked into her mind and answered her next thoughts. “Despite the fact we barely know one another, you’re who I’ve been waiting for. You’re the reason I don’t already have a mate.”
    “I want to believe you so much, it’s scary.” She drew away, her eyes shiny with unshed tears, and squared her shoulders. “Enough emotional stuff for now. We need to firm up our plans. You’re going to the U.K., and I’m going back to Seattle with Bubba.”
    “Will you stay there?”
    Her forehead creased in thought. “I’m not sure. I’m not overly fond of Mathilde, but it would be political suicide to shine her when she’s asking for our help. Witches stick together.”
    He swallowed a snort. “Yeah, just like the Sidhe. We’ll tear one another to shreds, but let an outsider say one disparaging word…”
    “…and everybody jumps him.” She offered him a crooked smile.
    Her mouth looked so inviting, he kissed her, but lightly. She was correct, it was past time to leave. He tapped the tip of her nose with a finger. “How about if you give me your cell number?”
    “What? No telepathy?”
    “All magic draws attention—”
    She grinned and rattled off a string of numbers he committed to memory.
     
     
     

Chapter Seven
    Colleen hugged the sleeping changeling closer. For once, she’d left him a gnome during teleport because she hadn’t wanted to wake him. They’d just come out in front of the Witches’ Northwest compound, an impressive restored Victorian, complete with turrets and a tower. Thank God it was dark. No shrieks, so her sudden appearance hadn’t startled any mortals. From the position of the moon and stars, she guessed it was long past midnight. She’d planned to emerge inside the building, but she was tired and her casting had gone slightly awry.
    At least I got us to the right place—sort of.
    Bubba stirred in her arms. She placed her mouth against his ear and told him to be quiet. He nodded against her chest and wrapped his arms around her neck. After a rocky beginning when she’d first coaxed him into joining her, the changeling had come to trust her. She laid her cheek against the top of his thick hair and inhaled his clean, earthy scent. Bubba was like a cross between a protective pet and an adolescent child. They had the occasional tense moment, but she hoped he didn’t harbor