Page 17 of Bewitchingly Hers (Witches of Pleasant Grove #3)

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

eryne

F or the second time this week, I woke up wrapped in a pair of strong arms, nestled against the front of a firm, warm man. Only this time, I didn’t want to move. Didn’t want to even breathe, in case I found out this was all just a dream.

Last night between us had been… incredible.

I’d never felt so taken care of, like I was the sole focus of someone’s affections, as I did with Barrett.

He’d put my pleasure first, even when I could tell he’d been in pain.

Slowly turning around so I wouldn’t wake him, I took in his sleeping form, amber eyes covered by long, thick red eyelashes that should have been illegal.

It was almost unfair how beautiful Barrett was.

Every inch of his body was toned and muscular, yet his skin was covered with thin white lines and scars that I could only guess came from his job as a huntsman. I wondered how many times he’d been hurt and alone, and the thought made my heart ache.

I barely knew him, and all of this should have scared me. But it didn’t.

Maybe it was just my witch intuition telling me that he was good. That I could trust this wolf who had found his way into my life by bizarre circumstance, and now seemed content not to leave. I wanted to trust him. Wanted to trust in this.

Even if I knew it might leave me with heartbreak when he did, eventually, leave.

Because at some point, he’d realize I wasn’t worth staying for.

Didn’t everyone? It was why I’d kept my circle so small.

Why I’d broken up with my last boyfriend before he could break up with me.

I was just shielding my heart to keep it from hurting.

My hand reached out involuntarily, and I ran my thumb over his lips, so soft and perfect.

I couldn’t get over how good of a kisser he was—how much I wanted him to do it again and again.

I’d never really liked kissing anyone before.

It had felt awkward—sometimes there was too much tongue, or teeth, or it was just wet, but with Barrett it was different. Intimate .

Like he was using his mouth to tell me all the things he couldn’t with words.

“Morning,” came his gravely morning voice as I traced my thumb over his cheekbones.

I hummed. “Good morning.”

He chuckled. “Indeed, it is.” Barrett wrapped his hand around my neck, pulling me closer to him till our lips met, so he could kiss me softly.

I smiled into it, into the lazy exploration of each other’s bodies as he ran his hands down my sides.

Even when I’d been in a relationship, I’d never experienced this level of closeness so easily.

Barrett squeezed my hip. “We should get up, or we’ll never make it out of this bed.” He spoke the words against my ear, lips pressing against the skin. A shiver ran down my spine.

He was right, even though I liked the sound of that, too.

I sat up, and let out a wince. Fuck , I was sore. It felt like I could still feel him everywhere. Last night, I’d been so wet and it had felt amazing to have him inside of me, but he really was big.

“Are you okay?” Barrett was instantly behind me, his warm hand resting on the small of my back.

“I’ll be fine,” I answered. Though I’d definitely be feeling him anywhere we went today. I laughed, because he’d probably like knowing that. “I just need to take some painkillers, and I’ll be right as rain.” I gave him a small smile. “It’s just been awhile for me since I… you know.”

He nodded. “Me too.” My chest warmed at the expression on his face. At the concern pinching the corners of his eyes, and how he was looking at me like he’d do anything to make sure I was okay. Barrett brushed my bangs back on my forehead, pressing another kiss there. “Want me to kiss it better?”

I blushed, the erotic image of him eating me out unfolding in my mind. Yes, I wanted that.

“Do you want to shower while I go make breakfast?” He stood up, brushing his hands through his dark auburn hair before finding a pair of boxers and pulling them on.

I pouted like a child who’d had her favorite toy taken away.

He saw the expression on my face and laughed. “Sugar, you’re in pain. As much as I’d love to have you screaming my name again, I’m not going to touch you while you’re hurting.”

I sighed. “I know.”

He rubbed my shoulders. “Shower. I’ll go make us food.”

Us. I liked the sound of that.

I stood on my tiptoes, wrapping my arms around his neck and pulling his head down till his lips met mine. “Thank you. For last night.”

“I should be the one thanking you, baby. You were…” He shook his head, squeezing my hip. “I should say I’m sorry, but I’m not. Being with you was incredible.”

I felt the same way. “So, neither one of us regrets it.” I kissed him again before untangling myself, walking into the bathroom to turn on the shower.

He’d washed my body last night in the bathtub before we’d crawled into bed and fallen asleep in each other’s arms, but a nice warm shower would do wonders for all of the aches currently plaguing my body. I turned around, finding him watching me with rapt attention, not having moved from his spot.

“Breakfast.” I reminded him. And if I swayed my hips, knowing his eyes were glued on my ass, who could blame me?

He nodded, running his hands through his hair and tugging on the ends. “Right.” Barrett swallowed roughly, and I traced the motion with my eyes.

“Feed me, Wolf-Man,” I said, blowing him a kiss.

That made him laugh, and he shook his head as he made his way out of my bedroom as I stood under the warm water, letting it wash all of my fears and pain down the drain.

The whole time, I couldn’t keep the smile off my face. This thing between us might have been crazy, but I didn’t regret a single second. I definitely didn’t regret him.

After we were both dressed—me in a turtleneck, one of my favorite plaid skirts and a pair of black tights with my trusty pair of combat boots, and him in a cozy knit sweater, jacket, and black jeans with his own pair of boots—we headed out into town.

I still couldn’t believe how perfect this morning had been.

He’d fed me breakfast, kissed my forehead again, and then went and took his own shower.

All my life, I’d always taken care of other people, but who had taken care of me? Barrett had asked me that last night, and the answer had stared back at me in the face.

No one had ever taken care of me like he was now.

This was what I’d been missing.

Companionship.

Barrett’s fingers were interlaced through mine as we took the long route from my house into town, like both of us knew this little bubble of just the two of us would pop as soon as we went back to reality.

Could I let myself fall into this, to feel comfortable with him, when I knew he would leave eventually?

No matter what he said, this was just another job for him.

Maybe a no-strings-attached fling while he was here would be okay, though.

If the sex was anything like last night…

I bit my lip. Yeah, I wanted more of that.

“What’s going through your head, Eryne?” Barrett asked, squeezing my hand.

I wasn’t sure I was ready to confess everything I was thinking.

We barely knew each other. If I told him I was getting upset thinking he was going to leave, I’d scare him off.

“Nothing.” I gave him a small smile, like I was trying to reassure him as much as I was myself.

“Should we stop and get coffee on the way to the newspaper office?”

He nodded. “Sure.” His lips dipped low, pressing against my ear. “But only if you’ll make me one.”

I blushed, and then nodded, not sure why he liked my coffee so much. Still, it made me a little giddy, like a schoolgirl, that he liked my drinks. That he seemed to like me.

The bats were back in my stomach, and I couldn’t deny the flutters every time I looked at him. Yeah, I might have had a tiny, okay, giant crush on Barrett Lockwood.

“Alright, Sugar. Lead the way.” He kissed my forehead again, and I fluffed my bangs after he pulled away, hiding the flush to my cheeks with my hand, not sure why such a small action made me so flustered.

The Witches’ Brew was busy—like it was every morning—and I slid behind the counter, saying hi to my employees as I busied myself making two cups of coffee, just the way I liked it.

Barrett hadn’t complained yesterday when I’d given him one loaded with sugar, so I figured he didn’t mind.

We’d already eaten breakfast, but I also stashed a muffin and scone in my bag for later, in case we got hungry while we were sleuthing around.

Two coffees in hand, I walked back around the counter, only to come face to face with Willow and her mate. They looked like they were sharing a moment, his hand curving over her pregnant belly, both of their eyes locked on each other.

Damien had stopped glamouring himself to look more human a few months into living in Pleasant Grove, and his blood red eyes hardly blinked as he looked down at my boss.

Her light brown hair was pulled back into a braid, and she was wearing a dark purple dress that hugged her belly, while he—as usual—wore all black.

Much like Barrett, her mate was massive, standing over a foot taller than her.

I cleared my throat, not wanting to interrupt their moment.

“Oh.” Willow looked over at me, blinking. “Hi, Eryne. Sorry, I didn’t see you there.”

I shifted awkwardly with both cups of coffee in my hands. “You’re fine.”

Barrett slipped in behind me, taking one of the cups from my hand and looking at me expectantly. His hand rested on the small of my back, and I relaxed into his touch.

“Who’s this?” Willow asked, her bright green eyes darting between us.

Damien narrowed his, like he was evaluating another apex predator and taking him on for size.

“This is…” I looked up at Barrett, who tilted his head at me, reminding me of his wolf. “Barrett.” I smiled at him, and wondered how to explain the rest of how we’d met. “I… you remember those healing potions I asked you for?” I asked Willow.

She nodded, and Damien frowned, like this was the first time he’d heard of it. With how overprotective he was of Willow, and knowing how he tried to keep her off her feet as much as possible, it didn’t surprise me.

“They were for him,” I offered. “He got attacked by some sort of…” I lowered my voice, not wanting everyone in the cafe to hear. “ Monster outside of town a few weeks ago. We’re just lucky I found him when I did.” Sure, I’d left out a few small details, but that was the gist of it.

He chuckled, and I wondered if he was thinking the same thing that I was.

“Barrett, this is my boss, Willow. Her and her sister own the Witches’ Brew.

And this is her…” I looked at Damien, wondering what to call him.

Mate seemed too personal, like that wasn’t my right to call him that.

I supposed husband sufficed. Her ring sparkled on her left hand.

They’d had the ceremony last month, before Luna had given birth to her twins.

“This is my mate,” Willow jumped in. “Damien.”

He stuck out his hand towards Barrett. “Good to meet you,” he said, in something that was almost a grunt.

The wolf shifter at my back reached out and shook his hand.

“You’re a shifter,” Damien said, a look of surprise crossing his face as they pulled apart.

Barrett nodded. “Yes.”

Willow’s eyes widened. “A shifter? I’ve never met another one.”

“Wolf,” he clarified. “I’m from a small town up in Vermont. Everyone in Walnut Ridge is a wolf shifter, though.”

She looked at her mate. “He can turn into a wolf, and all you can turn into is a cat ?”

Damien’s eyes darkened, and he leaned down, brushing his lips over Willow’s ear, and she blushed. “ Damien ,” she scolded. He looked satisfied with himself, and I could almost picture a cat licking his paw after killing a mouse, and I held back a giggle at watching them interact.

Willow turned back to me. “So… what are you two up to? Headed anywhere exciting?”

“We’re actually going to the tribune,” I said, looking up at Barrett. I wasn’t sure how much I should say about what we were trying to do, but if anyone would understand—and be trustworthy—it was Willow. “There’s something… strange going on.”

“Strange how?” Damien asked, his deep voice somehow filling all of the space around us. As much as Willow teased him, he definitely wasn’t a being I wanted to be on the bad side of.

I looked around us, keeping my voice lowered. “We think the town wards are failing. That’s why the demons have been able to get through. And now… Barrett.”

Willow bit her lip, looking at Damien. “I always figured that you were just able to get through because you were my mate.”

He smoothed her hair with his hand. “I’m sure it’s nothing.”

Barrett shook his head. “The… thing that attacked me, it felt wrong. Unnatural. And whatever is affecting the barrier has the same smell—like a rot.” His nose twitched, like he was remembering the scent. “Something is wrong with the town.”

“And you think the town records will help you figure out what it is?”

I shrugged. There was no guarantee, but I had to have hope.

“There has to be some reason the elders made the wards this way when they first created the town. Why they kept us isolated from the rest of the paranormal community. I mean, none of us even knew that demons were real until last year when Damien showed up. Who knows what else is out there?” A shiver ran down my spine thinking of whatever had attacked the wolf at my side, to cause those gashes and teeth marks.

I definitely did not want to find myself face to face with a creature like that.

I indicated to Barrett. “Until he showed up, I had no idea anything was even amiss. We’re all in the dark. ”

Damien nodded his head, scratching his chin. “I should check in with Zain, too. Maybe he’ll know something. ”

Willow’s eyes lit up. “You know I’ll never turn down an excuse to see my sister and the twins.” They were both so close, that I could only imagine being apart was hard on both of them.

He kissed the top of her head. “We’ll go tonight.” Damien turned back to both of us. “Are you okay here? I don’t know what’s out there.”

Barrett tugged me tight against his body. “I’ll keep her safe.”

I could feel the truth in his words, and even though I should have been scared, I couldn’t help but feel exhilarated. Like for the first time in my life, I was going to do something that really mattered. Something that would help every single witch in this town.

And I’d do it all with this wolf by my side.