Cherry Adair - Black Magic

Jack had to grab Saras shoulders to prevent
her falling against him.

But it brought her close. Too close. Jack didnt pull her in, but he didnt push her away. A flood of sensual memories washed over him. The heady fragrance of ginger-lemon soap and the sound of the rain beating on the windows brought back vivid memories of burying his fingers in the frothy, scented strands of Saras hair as he bathed her in the shower.

A heartbeat after the thought flashed in his mind, he found his tongue in her mouth. Hot, steamy water pounded his shoulders. Saras slick, soapy, naked body pressed against his.

They kissed frantically until they were both panting and breathless.

Without warning, Sara ripped her mouth from beneath his, her breathing labored, her eyes flashing fire. Im going to kill you, Jackson Slater. She used both hands to shove him away. Hard.

Hellit wasnt The steaming water suddenly turned cold, just like her eyes before she vanished.

Braced by his arm, Jack thumped his forehead against the cool white tiles. To say he was in trouble didnt begin to cover it. Sara might be amping his powers, but she was messing with his headand apparently with his ability to control his powers.

Turn the page for rave reviews of Cherry Adairs sensual thrillers!

Night Shadow

Smoothly blends sensuality and espionage....

Publishers Weekly

Pulse-pounding all the danger, treachery, and romance a reader could wish for. Exceptional.

Romantic Times

Cherry Adairs intricately woven plot will make your pulse race and your palms sweat.

Fresh Fiction

Night Secrets

Tremendous!

Romantic Times

The night sizzles to new heights in these novels of romantic suspense.

Fresh Fiction

White Heat

A steamy fusion of romance and heart-stopping suspense.

Publishers Weekly

Heart-stopping adventure spicy.

Library Journal

Hot Ice

A relentless page-turner with plenty of enticing plot twists and turns.

Seattle Post-Intelligencer

A very sexy adventure that offers nonstop, continent-hopping action from start to finish.

Library Journal

Hide and Seek

Cherry Adair stokes up the heat and intrigue in her adventurous thriller.

Romantic Times

Wow, its gripping, sexy as all get out, and the characters will send you into orbit in steam heat enough chills to keep you on an adrenaline high for the duration of the story.

The Belles and Beaux of Romance

Full of highly charged sensuality and violence.

Rendezvous

Outsize protagonists, super-nasty villains, and earthy sex scenes.

Publishers Weekly

A reason to stay up way too late.

The Romance Journal

Kiss and Tell

A sexy, snappy roller-coaster ride!

New York Times bestselling author Susan Andersen

A true keeper.

Romantic Times

The sale of this book without its cover is unauthorized. If you purchased this book without a cover, you should be aware that it was reported to the publisher as unsold and destroyed. Neither the author nor the publisher has received payment for the sale of this stripped book.

Pocket Star Books A Division of Simon & Schuster, Inc. 1230 Avenue of the Americas New York, NY 10020 www.SimonandSchuster.com

This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are products of the authors imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events or locales or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

Copyright 2010 by Cherry Adair

All rights reserved, including the right to reproduce this book or portions thereof in any form whatsoever. For information address Pocket Books Subsidiary Rights Department, 1230 Avenue of the Americas, New York, NY 10020

First Pocket Star Books paperback edition August 2010

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Text design by Jacquelynne Hudson Cover illustration by Juliana Kolesova

Manufactured in the United States of America

10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

ISBN 978-1-4391-5381-9
ISBN 978-1-4391-6710-6 (ebook)

In memory of friends
I loved and admired for more than half my life:
Cynthia Reed and Kate Duffy.
Two extraordinary women who had strength, humor,
and integrity, and whom Ill miss more than they could
have ever known.

Damn rude of you both to have left when things
were just getting interesting.

BLACK
MAGIC

Prologue

Jackson? Get your ass in here.

Shit . Another minute and hedve been upstairs. Sixteen-year-old Jackson Slater paused just inside the door to his fathers study, fingers shoved into the back pockets of his jeans. Whats up?

The log fire in the hearth cast flickering shadows on the walls of the dimly lit room, which was littered with untidy stacks of books and old newspapers. It smelled strongly of scotch fumes. Great. The old man had been boozing it up again. His father sold newspaper advertising space during the day, and spent his nights drinking.

Everything in the room looked the same, but an unfamiliar, electrically charged vibe made the hairs on the back of Jacks neck prickle.

Looking at his father was eerily like looking at himself in the mirror twenty-five years from now. Same dark hair, same piercing go-to-hell blue eyes, same strong jaw, but with deep lines of dissipation pulling downward around his fathers mouth. His father hadnt smiled in the ten years since Jacks mom had died of lupus.

No excuse. Hed been a violent, unpredictable shit as long as his son remembered. Before the drinking had started. There was no reason for his father to be the way he was. Jack figured some people just chose to be goddamned unhappy and shitty all the time. His father was one of them.

How was school? Sitting in his worn leather easy chair beside the fire, his father beckoned him into the room. He sounded tense. Not surprising. Verbal communicating wasnt his style. Give him a nice sturdy stick or a fist, and Jackson Slater Sr. was a happy guy.

Jack glanced at the bottle of scotch sitting within easy reach. Half empty. He could already predict what was coming. Good, he muttered cautiously, trying to remember any infraction, minor or major, from the last couple of days. He could think of several right off the bat. But it was unlikely his father knew or gave a shit that hed had sex with smoking-hot Rachel Thomason in the backseat of her car after school that afternoon.

Jack slouched against the doorjamb, neither in nor out. He had a date with Rachel later. Shed taught him the nuances of French-kissing, and he was an avid student. Tonight hed teach her a thing or two when they werent restricted by time and a gearshift.

Come in, his father said impatiently. Theres something I have to give you. Irritation laced his words.

Have to? Today was Jacks birthday, but since his father wasnt into gift-giving, it was unlikely he was talking about the car Jack wanted. And he was pretty damned sure his father hadnt sent him the watch that had appeared hovering over his head in the early hours of that morning. Where it had come from, and why today, Jack had no idea. But it was a cool watch with a striated agate face and a gold bezel. Hed worn it to school.