The Magic of You [Mystical Realms 1] (Siren Publishing Ménage Amour) Read online

  Mystical Realms 1

  The Magic of You

  Jessica Whittemore loves anything magic. She is unlucky in love and lives alone with her black house cat, Merlin. When she goes on a holiday with the tour company "Magical England," she never expects to end up in another realm.

  King Baen Caladh and Lord Carr Domhnull of Marak have been lovers for years and are waiting for the perfect woman to complete them and be their Queen. When Jessica saves Baen’s sister from certain death, they ride in and whisk her back to their castle. Both men are smitten with her from the start and set out to convince her she belongs in Marak, despite the obstacles she throws up against them.

  But an enemy is lurking, bent on conquering the realm. Jessica’s men will do anything to protect her, but this headstrong woman is more than capable of protecting herself. Will Jessica and her warriors find the happiness they seek? Or will they be too late?

  Genre: Contemporary, Fantasy, Ménage a Trois/Quatre

  Length: 46,239 words

  THE MAGIC OF YOU

  Mystical Realms 1

  McKinlay Thomson

  MENAGE AMOUR

  Siren Publishing, Inc.

  www.SirenPublishing.com

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  A SIREN PUBLISHING BOOK

  IMPRINT: Ménage Amour

  THE MAGIC OF YOU

  Copyright © 2014 by McKinlay Thomson

  E-book ISBN: 978-1-62741-138-7

  First E-book Publication: January 2014

  Cover design by Harris Channing

  All art and logo copyright © 2014 by Siren Publishing, Inc.

  ALL RIGHTS RESERVED: This literary work may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, including electronic or photographic reproduction, in whole or in part, without express written permission.

  All characters and events in this book are fictitious. Any resemblance to actual persons living or dead is strictly coincidental.

  PUBLISHER

  Siren Publishing, Inc.

  www.SirenPublishing.com

  Letter to Readers

  Dear Readers,

  If you have purchased this copy of The Magic of You by McKinlay Thomson from BookStrand.com or its official distributors, thank you. Also, thank you for not sharing your copy of this book.

  Regarding E-book Piracy

  This book is copyrighted intellectual property. No other individual or group has resale rights, auction rights, membership rights, sharing rights, or any kind of rights to sell or to give away a copy of this book.

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  This is McKinlay Thomson’s livelihood. It’s fair and simple. Please respect Ms. Thomson’s right to earn a living from her work.

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  DEDICATION

  To my husband Grant. For always loving me and supporting me in everything I do.

  Table of Contents

  Title Page

  Copyright Page

  Dedication

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelve

  About the Author

  THE MAGIC OF YOU

  Mystical Realms 1

  MCKINLAY THOMSON

  Copyright © 2014

  Chapter One

  “One more hour and you’re on holiday.”

  Jessica Whittemore looked up from her latest candle display, when her part-timer Elise spoke. She was almost finished for the day and then she could run upstairs and pack.

  Jessica lived in a small flat above the occult shop she owned and ran. Mystical Thistles was a small store tucked in a little laneway in Notting Hill. Jessica sold all things magical, from candles and gemstones to spells, books, costumes and tarot cards. She had potions and lotions and even sold statues of dragons and witches on broomsticks.

  “Maybe I shouldn’t go. I’ve got Merlin to look after and I feel like I’m dumping my responsibilities on you,” Jessica said. She continued to fiddle with the display. Something wasn’t right and it looked odd, but she couldn’t put her finger on what it was missing.

  “Don’t be silly.” Elise told her. “I can handle the extra hours. I need the money. Besides, you have had this trip booked for weeks and you have already paid, and Merlin will be fine by himself for a while. It will be no hassle to run upstairs and feed him before I go. He spends most of his time running around the shop anyway.”

  Merlin was Jessica’s jet-black house cat. He was spoilt and chubby and Jessica would miss him. Elise was right. She really needed this holiday. She hadn’t been on one since she opened the shop three years before.

  “You’re right,” She replied. “It’s going to be great. Three whole weeks to myself, exploring the mystical wonders of England.”

  “As much as you need this holiday, choosing to go on a tour of ‘magical England’ isn’t my idea of fun. You could be lying on a beach somewhere warm, somewhere tropical. Instead you’re going to be running around on a bus, with a bunch of crazy people.”

  “Hey, I’m one of those crazy people and so are you for that matter. Remember where you work.”

  “Yes, but there is a difference between being pagan and gallivanting around the countryside hunting for magic.”

  “It more than just that. We are going to some of the most magical spots in the whole country. Tell me there isn’t anything magical about Stonehenge. And we are going to a little pub in Snitterfield that was supposed to be run by goblins and frequented by all sorts of magical creatures.”

  “I would rather go on the Harry Potter tour of London. At least then it’s over in one day and you could hit the beach.”

  Jessica sighed and went back to her candles. Elise would never understand the pull she had to any place magical. It was why she had chosen this particular store for her shop. She could feel its magical pull and knew from the moment that she saw it that it was the place for her.

  Jessica had always felt a magical connection to things and places. It was like their magic called to her. It was more than just playing aro
und to Jessica. She had a magic ability, but she very rarely told people.

  How do you tell someone that you had the power to pull sickness and disease from their body and into yours? But it was more than that. She could do it for all sorts of things, like the effect of drugs on a person’s body. All Jessica had to do was place her hands on the person’s skin and open her mind and pull the sickness from their body and into hers. Then she could expel it from her body before it had time to take hold of her.

  It was hard on her body and usually left her weak for days afterward. Jessica knew her power was special and if people found out what she could do she would be used and abused for it. It was the main reason she didn’t tell people.

  There was this one incident when Jessica was shopping for groceries. This little boy, no more than six, was shopping with his mother. All of a sudden he had curled up in a ball on the floor, complaining that his stomach hurt. The child was racked with pain and the mother was frantic. Jessica couldn’t leave him like that. She quickly approached the boy and lifted his top. Placing her hands on his stomach, she drew the sickness from his body into hers.

  Once she found the boy was all right, Jessica had rushed from the store and fled to her flat. It had taken her hours to rid her body of the illness and it had taken over a week to get her strength back. It had turned out to be appendicitis.

  Jessica knew she had saved the boy’s life that day, but she had never gone back to that grocery store. She didn’t want people to ask questions and thought it best to just stay away and shop someplace else.

  Jessica never regretted helping the people she could and often wished she were able to help more. But she had to think about her own well-being as well. She wasn’t sure of the long-term effects that this magic would have on her body.

  There was no way you could tell Jessica was different just from looking at her. She was average height and slim. Most people would say she was petite. Her curly blonde hair fell to her shoulders and when she wore it up in a ponytail it would fan out and bounce when she walked. She had blue eyes and a spattering of freckles on her nose and cheeks.

  She moved away from the candle display, giving up. It was a lost cause. Elise could fix it later. For the remainder of the hour, she potted around the shop, moving things back to their proper place. As soon as the clock hit the hour, she turned the open sign to “Closed” and then locked the door.

  Elise said good-bye and left by the back door. Jessica locked it behind her and then, grabbing the money from the till, went upstairs to finish the accounts.

  * * * *

  Jessica exited the bus in Snitterfield and flung her purse over her shoulder. Two weeks into her trip and she was having a blast. They had left London and headed south where they had stopped in Brighton. They had stood on the beach at midnight, naked, and chanted. She wasn’t shy about running around naked with a bunch of strangers. It was dark and most of the people on the tour were female.

  On the bus, Jessica had met a lovely couple that was newly married. Samantha and Dale were taking the “Magical England” tour, despite the fact they thought it was just hocus-pocus, because it offered the best rate to tour the country. They didn’t mind that they had to stop at places that held magical significance if it saved them some money. They were conveniently missing for the chant.

  Once they had left Brighton they had headed to Portsmouth and an old sailing ship that was said to be magical because it was the only surviving ship of a storm that had taken out twelve others. Jessica got no readings on her inbuilt magical radar, so she thought that it was a load of baloney.

  After that they had gone up to Stonehenge. It was really a magical place and Jessica loved every second that they had spent there. She stood in the middle and let the currents wash over her.

  Jessica would have loved to come back there at night and do it naked. It was such a sensual feeling, leaving her feeling turned on and in need. Luckily she had packed her battery-operated boyfriend, so she had gone back to her room and taken care of her need. Whoever had built Stonehenge was well-versed in sensual magic.

  She didn’t think anyone else had got the same readings she did. When she went down to dinner and had mentioned it to the others, they had looked at her like she had lost the plot.

  Now they were finally at the funny little pub she had been waiting to visit. It looked like your average country pub. It was a white double-story building with a slate roof and a vine growing up the brick chimney. Jessica pulled open the door and entered the main bar.

  She didn’t get any magical vibes, and when she looked around the dark interior she didn’t see any stand-out magical creatures either. She walked over and took a seat at the wooden bar. It was stained a dark color that matched the low ceiling beams. A large inglenook sat on the opposite wall and the roaring fire kept away the chilly English air.

  Jessica turned to the tall, non-goblin-looking barman and ordered a beer. She wasn’t normally a drinker, but thought that she should at least have one. Whilst in Rome and all that. Taking a sip, she scrunched up her nose at the bitter taste. The ale was dark and didn’t taste any better on the second sip. She placed it down on the bar and looked around.

  The place was empty this early in the evening. The dinner rush was yet to start, but Jessica didn’t think it would make much difference. There were a couple of older men drinking at the bar. They looked like regulars. There were also a few men in work outfits that probably just knocked off a job site and were having a knock off before heading home. It was different from the hustle and bustle of Notting Hill, but Jessica could appreciate the slower pace of the countryside.

  Disappointed with the lack of magic the pub contained, Jessica decided to explore the village. She wasn’t hungry yet anyway and wanted to look around before it got dark. Not bothering to finish her beer, she exited the building and slowly strolled down the lane.

  Her thick jeans and boots kept the cold off her legs, but the thin white peasant blouse was useless against the chilly English air. Jessica wrapped her coat around her body and tied the belt tight. She placed her hands in her pockets to keep them warm. She should have packed her gloves. Oh well, too late now. Maybe she could buy some at the general store tomorrow.

  Jessica kept walking, letting her mind wander. She hoped that Elise was doing all right at the shop. She had promised not to ring her every five minutes and let Elise take the responsibility for a while, and so far she had held to the arrangement. But she still worried. It was her livelihood that she was thinking about, but it was more than that too. It was not only her shop, but her passion. She loved everything magic and always had.

  Jessica stopped when she reached a little church that sat opposite a school. It was an old brick building and made her smile. She never went to church, but if she did it would be a pretty one like this. She turned away and kept walking. As she passed an old red telephone box, Jessica’s inner magic radar went on high alert.

  Something was pulling at her insides, telling her to keep going. Not one to shy away from the unknown, she moved down the lane. The farther away from the pub she went, the stronger the pull. It was almost like the pub had a protection spell around it. Was that why she hadn’t got any magical readings from the place? Was something blocking the magic? Now that she was outside it perimeter, there was nothing to stop the magic from flowing.

  She didn’t know where the source of the pull was coming from, she just knew she had to follow her gut and it was taking her away from the pub and into a residential part of the village. It was almost an urgent feeling inside her now. Jessica broke out into a jog.

  As she ran around a curve in the road, she began to sweat and puff. The magical pull was making her insides scream. She knew she must be close. She reached a house in the lane and stopped. This was it. This house was the source of the magic. It was a Tudor-style cottage, with a thatched roof and lead windows. An ivy vine grew wild, covering the whole left side of the cottage. A small cobblestone path led up to the front door, and a r
ose-covered arch stood about halfway down. Jessica’s insides clawed at her, forcing her to start down the path.

  She was getting nervous. Jessica didn’t know what sat on the other side of that door. She didn’t get any bad vibes from the magic she was sensing, but that didn’t mean it wasn’t masked. Black magic usually left a foul taste in her mouth, but a strong witch could mask the magic and make people think it was good.

  She stood at the path, shaking with the intensity of the magical pull. This was what she had come on the trip for, to let her magical senses grow and see what magic she could find around England. So why did she hesitate?

  Jessica placed one booted foot on the path and then stopped. Indecision was running rife through her body. She slowly placed the other foot onto the path and stopped once more. What the heck. In for a penny, in for a pound and all that garbage. She mustered up her courage and made her way down the path.

  Jessica reached the rose-covered wooden arch and stopped once more. The magic was coming from the arch, not the house. It was pulling her to walk through. She could feel the veil of magic that ran down like a curtain. Placing her hand through the veil, Jessica felt cold wind. Something was on the other side.

  It was a gateway. Jessica had read about openings into other places. Magical places where fairies and other magical creatures lived. But she thought it was just a myth, something that was passed down from generation to generation but had no basis in fact. Silly really, as she had seen and done things in the realm of magic that she couldn’t explain. The existence of other worlds was something she never thought was real.