Page 13 of Bewitchingly Hers (Witches of Pleasant Grove #3)

CHAPTER TEN

barrett

S he’d wanted me to kiss her.

Eryne had made it obvious. She’d wanted me to kiss her, and I hadn’t.

Every bit of me wanted to, but I’d stopped myself before I could let it happen.

She wasn’t ready for this. Ready for me. I knew it when I saw the way her face drained of color when I was talking about my job—about the sick creatures I hunted for a living. It unsettled her.

I sat back on the couch as she walked into her bedroom, no doubt ready to strip off her clothes and pull on her pajamas. My cock was practically standing at attention any time I was around her, and this line of thinking wasn’t helping.

Earlier, I hadn’t expected her to be waiting for me to come home. But when I’d seen her on the porch, and had shifted back to my human form, she was the only thing on my mind. Not my clothes or my lack thereof. Just getting back to her.

Fuck, even now I could smell her arousal, and it was so hard to hold back.

The mate bond was urging me to take her, to claim her, to make her mine, but I couldn’t.

She had no idea what was between us. I felt like an absolute dick for keeping it from her, but would she still want to be around me when she knew the truth?

I still hadn’t figured out how it was possible that we were mates when she wasn’t a wolf.

I’d never heard of mates being different species until now. Though it was possible for shifters to procreate with humans, they didn’t normally share a mate bond. Not like this.

Maybe it had something to do with the witch magic that tied us together. I needed to find out more about the witch and demon that were mated.

That was a good distraction from thinking about the sweet scent of my mate and how desperate I was to taste it directly from the source.

“It’s been one fucking day, Lockwood,” I scolded myself. “Keep it in your pants.”

I was going to sleep on the couch. Or maybe the floor.

Next to her, my wolf urged.

Like he knew, just as much as I did, that I wouldn’t be able to sleep without her in my sights.

“You’re the worst,” I grumbled, rubbing at my chest, where the bond ached for completion.

But I couldn’t. I wouldn’t.

Not yet. Not until I knew that this was what she wanted.

Till she could reassure me that all of this—us—was enough for her.

I’d never be able to give her the life of a normal witch.

I wasn’t built for that. Wolves were built for the open road, for forests and pack life and the great outdoors.

That was all I’d ever known. I’d spent more of the last decade sleeping in motels and in my car than I had at home.

I didn’t know how this would work.

But I knew I didn’t want to leave, either.

Tomorrow, I promised myself.

Tomorrow, I’d call Ezra and start investigating this thing for real. Maybe I’d go down to the newspaper or the library to find the history of this town. Something had to have been left behind—a reason why the wards were enacted in the first place.

Eryne didn’t seem to know the full how, but I could be persuasive. I could find out the answer.

And still, I couldn’t deny that regardless of all of that, I didn’t want to leave because I didn’t want to leave her.

Maybe that was the biggest problem of all.

“Did you really sleep outside my door all night?” Eryne asked the next morning as I rubbed at my neck while cooking a pan of bacon on her stove.

I grunted my answer, not ready for this conversation.

Yes , I’d slept outside her door, curled up in a ball in my wolf form, teeth ready to rip apart anyone who dared to open it. My wolf was ready to tear them limb by limb if anything happened to her.

The witch in question was wearing a cozy two piece pajama set, complete with fleece pants that were covered in leaves and pumpkins. It was cute how much this town loved fall. Her hair was pulled back into two tiny French braids on either side of her head, and it reminded me of my sister.

I wondered what Freya would think of Eryne. If they’d get along.

Stop getting ahead of yourself, B, I reminded myself. It was too soon for that. Sure, we were mates, but none of that changed the decision I’d made last night.

Eryne took one look at the coffee pot where I was brewing coffee—black—and scrunched up her nose. “I can make you coffee, you know.” I frowned.

No one had ever taken care of me before. At least, not until she’d rescued me. I liked the idea. It warmed my insides, and I tried to ignore it. How good it felt to have someone that cared that much.

“I really don’t mind,” she added, voice sweet.

Raising an eyebrow, I flipped the bacon over. “Please tell me there’s not any hidden potions inside this promise of coffee.” My voice was gruff, but gods, the idea of drinking that nasty concoction again had me near retching. I’d had enough of those for an entire lifetime.

She raised her hands. “None, unless you include the spell for extra energy.” She pursed her lips. “And good vibes.” Eryne twirled her finger, a little spark of magic bursting through the air.

“Fine,” I said, grunting out a response as I collected all of the crispy pieces of bacon while I continued to cook the rest of the food. There were eggs frying in another pan, and toast in the toaster.

“What’s all this?” Eryne finally asked as she took over the coffee maker, clearly not using any of the buttons I had before. I had a hard time keeping my eyes off of her, even though I had to look away a few times to make sure I didn’t burn the food.

“Breakfast.”

She rolled her eyes, grabbing the milk out of the fridge and steaming it with the frother. “Well, I can see that, Captain Obvious.”

“You need to eat.”

Eryne glared at me. “I normally eat at the shop.” She finished the coffee, sliding over a mug to me.

I crossed my arms over my chest. “You don’t go in until the afternoon.

And then you’re there until closing, and I’m pretty sure you don’t eat dinner half the nights either.

” I’d memorized her schedule when I’d been stuck in her bed, day after day in wolf form, unable to move or talk as my body stitched itself back together.

Eryne pouted. “Fine. You caught me.” She grumbled something under her breath about me having her daily routine committed to memory.

Plating up the food, I handed her a full dish. “Appease me.” I flashed her my best pearly-white smile, keeping my canines retracted.

She sighed, sitting down at the island as I piled my plate high with the rest of the food. I could wolf down a lot —and I needed to, with the amount of calories I burned from my high metabolism. After how long I’d spent recovering, I needed the food to help me maintain my physique.

I’d never really cared about it before, but something about seeing her eyes flare last night at my body made me want to look good for her.

I sat down next to her, shaking pepper onto my eggs before finally taking a sip of my coffee. I groaned. “Damn, sugar. That’s good.”

Her cheeks had the cutest tinge of pink to them. “I’m not as good at making coffee as Willow, but I’m not half bad.”

“Not half bad?” I took another gulp. The flavors were perfect, with just a dash of cinnamon that somehow perfectly balanced it out. I closed my eyes and savored it. “I’d find it a lot easier to get out of bed every morning if I knew I had one of these to look forward to.”

The compliment seemed to make her glow. She fiddled with the end of one of her braids. “So, any fun plans for the day?” Eryne asked me, bringing a bite of food up to her mouth before looking over at me. “Or are you going to stalk me to the shop again and growl any time a man gets close to me?”

A low rumble built in my chest. Yes, I wanted to answer.

“Do I need to?” My voice was low.

She bit her lip. “No.” The word was a whisper.

“Then… I have research to do,” I answered instead. “I want to look into the barrier and find out the history of your town wards. I was thinking I’d see if I can access the town archives at the library. Maybe the newspaper, too.”

“Oh, good idea.” Eryne’s head nodded along. “There’s so many old books in there, you could probably be in there a week and not find anything. And I might be able to help with the latter—I know one of the witches who works for the Pleasant Grove Gazette.”

“You think she’d be able to find anything for us?”

“If I tell her what’s going on—the whole coven, actually—I know they’d all be on board. Ever since Damien and Zain came to Pleasant Grove, there’s been a shift in the energy here. I think we’d all like answers.” She took another bite of her eggs, finishing off the plate.

“And that’s… your coven?” I asked, wanting to know more about her. “Are your friends from yesterday a part of it?”

She blushed. “I was hoping maybe we could forget about that.”

I leaned in close. “Not a chance.”

Eryne just sighed as she stood up, setting her plate in the sink before turning on the faucet. “Yes, they’re a part of the coven. My coven now, I guess.” She looked a little in awe. “That’s the first time I’ve ever said that out loud. It’s… new. I was never a part of one before.”

I tried to imagine what it would be like to be a wolf shifter without a pack, but the idea sent a pang of loneliness through my heart. Was that what Eryne felt like before? All alone, without anyone to call her own?

Finishing my own plate, I stepped beside her, practically pinning her against the counter, towering over her with my much taller form.

“You’re not alone anymore,” I promised.

Her eyes held mine. Those beautiful blue eyes seemed to swirl with a myriad of emotions—ones I couldn’t even dare to try to understand. But the longing on her face was unmistakable.

“I know,” she whispered.

I wanted to wrap my arms around her, to hold her tight. To whisper sweet nothings in her ear and tell her that I’d never let her be lonely again.

But I couldn’t.

That wasn’t what this was.

I stepped back, clearing my throat. “I guess I’ll head out then. See you after work?”

Eryne nodded in response, focused once again on the dishes in front of her.