First Chapter | Long Isle Iced Tea by Gina LaManna
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If you have read the Magic and Mixology series by Gina LaManna you have been waiting almost a year for Long Isle Iced Tea. We only have a few days left to go until we have the book on our Kindles! In the mean time, I have the prologue + first chapter right here for you! If you haven’t read this series, I highly recommend it to you! It’s a fun mystery-filled series set on an island with witches, vampires and all sorts of magical creatures! You will meet the enigmatic Ranger X and Lily’s outlandish family. This series is not one you want to miss!
Now, feast your eyes on the beginning of Long Isle Iced Tea…
Series: Magic & Mixology #4
Released November 2, 2017
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Star light, star bright, the first star I see tonight…
A childhood chant turns near deadly for Lily Locke when she’s swept into The Faction’s latest triumph—the overthrowing of the hidden, magical city of Wishery.
When Ainsley and her team at MAGIC, Inc. beg Lily for help, she agrees, taking on a load of problems that pile up faster than she can say Abracadabra. A new revolution in black magic stumps the island’s burgeoning Mixologist, while a haunted house, a surprise birthday party, and rising familial troubles back on The Isle compete for her already-limited time and attention.
Lily’s barely hanging on by a thread, juggling life, love, and the pursuit of magic, when islanders start disappearing—one at a time. When a man warns her the next disappearance is imminent, Lily must crack the curse…before she’s next.
…I wish I may, I wish I might, have the wish I wish tonight.
“Star light, star bright,
The first star I see tonight.
I wish I may, I wish I might,
Have the wish I wish tonight.”
I closed my eyes and made a wish as per the tradition of human children everywhere. I felt Ranger X’s grip around me tighten until I opened my eyes and looked at him.
“What’d you just do?” A streak of curiosity flitted through his eyes. “That sounds like a spell.”
“Don’t be silly. It’s just a nursery rhyme.”
“Did you make a wish?”
“Of course! Close your eyes,” I instructed him. “And make a wish, too. That’s the rule.”
“What did you wish for?”
I gave him a playful swat to the chest. “I can’t tell you that. Everyone knows wishes don’t come true if you say them aloud.”
“But—”
“Just say the chant and make a wish.”
X did as I suggested. He closed his eyes, and I watched as his lashes fluttered against his cheeks.
“What’d you wish for?” I asked.
“I wished—”
“Shhh—” I interrupted him by swallowing his words with a kiss. “You must promise you’ll never tell.”
“But—”
“Do you want your wish to come true?”
He fell into silence. “More than anything.”
“Then keep it locked away in here.” I tapped his chest. “And let the world work its magic.”
“Magic?”
“What else would you call it?”
“Fair enough.” He closed his hand over mine, locking it against his chest. “I promise.”
In a time where the very existence of our Isle had been threatened, the things we’d known and loved broken, and the relationships we’d cultivated shattered—one man had managed to offset all of it. The fear, the danger, the stress of life had been cast aside for one night.
Leaning in, I pressed my lips to his and let the whisper of passion speak for itself. From within me came a longing, a burning need for Ranger X to know this feeling, to understand what this night meant to me.
X deepened the kiss as his hands slid over my waist, pulling my hips closer to him as we curled on the blanket underneath the stars. The evening had begun with a picnic, a surprise meal prepared by him and finished with a shared bottle of wine as the moon sparkled above the waves of Lake Superior that surrounded this enchanted island.
“You are so beautiful, Lily.” X whispered against my cheek, following the pause with a press of his lips to my forehead. “I love you more than all of this.”
“This?”
“This island, this lifetime, this…” He spread one arm wide and encompassed the weight of the world around us, the sugary sand against the shoreline, the inky blackness of the waters, the milky glow of the constellations above. “This. You are my everything.”
My arms circled his neck, and we curled closer in our private, snug hideaway against the side of the volcano. We’d climbed for hours to reach this nook, not far from the Library of Secrets. We’d had lunch with the Witch of the Woods and taken directions from Glinda’s fairies before stumbling upon the privacy that would soon be ours.
Here, tucked into the highest point on The Isle, we’d played under the waterfall and eaten fresh fruits and berries before settling down for a light meal of crackers and cheeses, meats and olives. Then we’d sipped wine to the setting sun and rang in the night tucked into a blanket with our limbs entwined.
“This place is magic.”
“I thought you might enjoy it.” Ranger X pulled himself into a sitting position. “May I?”
Without waiting for a response, he poured the last of the wine into the glass nestled onto a makeshift tree-stump table. As he did so, I took the moment to study his long, stunning physique clothed as always in black from head to toe.
When he caught me looking, I made a big show of sitting up, adjusting my nightshirt, pretending I hadn’t been staring. Technically, the shirt belonged to X. The last few months I’d taken to wearing his old button-ups as sleepwear because the material was soft and smelled of him.
When we slept apart, there was something comforting about having his clothes wrapped around me. Plus, I had the added bonus that came when he spied me in an article of his clothing: the satisfied, primal look that took over his face, brimming with possessiveness.
I liked being his.
“You’re cute.” The wine gave me a pleasant sort of buzz, my stomach warm and my heart warmer. I reached out for him, grasping his cheeks between my hands and landing a kiss on his lips.
He chuckled, and then murmured a few suggestions in a low voice, dry and gravelly, that sent shivers over my spine.
I followed his gaze as he glanced at his shirt on me, specifically at the button near the top that’d popped open during our embrace. I moved to close it, but his hand came up and circled around mine instead.
Nestling in, I rested my head on his chest. This whole evening had been planned by X—the food, the hike, the location. An evening getaway, just the two of us with no work and no distractions.
Nothing except for us and the quiet of the world.
One night where, finally, peace settled in, and the darkness stayed away.
At least, until morning.
Want to know how Lily met X? Find out in Hex on the Beach!
