Page 21

Chapter 21

Please Make the Right Choice

“ Y ou did not,” Fiona blurts, a flash of childlike elation in her expression that I haven’t seen before. Then her gaze darts to everyone around her, and she lifts her chin and smooths her blazer, composing herself. “You’re telling me you neutralized whatever was in the pet store?”

Sky walks forward, taking the purple gemstone out of her pocket, and slaps it onto a stone table. “Aquarium decorations, aisle six.”

I hold my breath while Fiona stares at it.

She turns to me. “You’re lucky I trust Skylar.”

I raise my eyebrows. Is she implying she wouldn’t believe me otherwise? “And I’m lucky she gave me a proper chance to test my ability,” I say before I can stop myself.

Maybe it was snarky, but the adrenaline made me do it.

Fiona’s nostrils flare.

Everyone around us is quiet, looking on with expressions of surprise. I can’t meet Natalie’s eye, afraid of what I’ll see. Her tension is palpable, her arms crossed over her navy blue t-shirt. Her gaze burns the side of my face like a torch.

“You have to admit, it’s impressive,” Will says, and Fiona shoots him a glare.

I suppress a smile. Maybe Will’s not so bad.

“How long did it take?” Fiona asks Sky.

“Twenty-eight minutes from the time we stepped out of my car. Seconds, once we hit the right aisle.”

There’s a pause. Nobody has anything dismissive to say, which is… wow. Three others I haven’t met stand behind Will, exchanging meaningful looks and silent conversations.

Fiona scans me up and down with narrowed eyes. “You want to do this as a career, then?”

I blink, her question catching me by surprise. I hadn’t thought about it like a career, only an opportunity to help. “I just want to put my ability to good use.”

“Well, that means working for us,” Fiona says impatiently. “We expect part-time availability, and you’ll get laid off if you aren’t up to par. Got it?”

Her words hit me like a drop on a roller coaster. Holy – crap. “Yes, ma’am.”

“I’ll need you to fill out an employment agreement, and we’ll get you onto the payroll. As far as the government is concerned, you’re working for a research lab. Unless you want to be a veterinary assistant. Do you want to be a vet?”

“I—no,” I stammer. “A lab sounds good.”

Really good, actually. Much like Hazel applying to software companies, ‘research’ is exactly what I need on my resume for my psychology degree. I’ll just have to tell future employers the work was classified.

I shake my head a little, pulling myself back to the present. I’m being offered a job in CSAMM !

“You’ll be a Junior Guardian,” Fiona says, checking her phone, “but your documented title will be Research Assistant. You’ll be earning minimum wage, and you’ll report to me.”

“Can—can I keep living in room 133?” I ask, a tremor in my voice.

She pockets her phone and turns to a bookshelf, preoccupied. “I don’t see why not.”

I could kiss her.

“One last thing. Do not go on assignment without my knowledge again.” The sharp edge in her voice tells me she definitely doesn’t share my affection. “Same goes for you, Skylar. This is your one and only warning.”

Sky nods solemnly. “Yes, ma’am.”

The job offer rockets through me, and I have to suppress the squeak of excitement that wants to burst out.

I get to stay.

I’m a Guardian.

I’ll be working alongside Natalie.

I risk a glance at her, and my excitement deflates like someone letting the air out of a balloon. She’s glaring at Sky, her expression murderous—jaw tight, brow furrowed, fists clenched so hard that veins pop in her forearms. A jolt of fear shoots through me to see her looking the same as she did both times she had to save me from the Madsen siblings.

But she’s not saving me from a Madsen now. This time, she’s directing that rage toward her own sister. And maybe Sky and I both deserve that look. We went behind her back, after all.

A pang of guilt hits me, but I keep my stance confident. It worked out, so it was worth the small betrayal. A curse needed destroying, and I knew I could help, so I went after it. Big deal.

“We’ll leave you to it, then,” Sky says, touching my arm and backing up a step. “Sorry for the interruption. ”

Fiona waves her off—but Natalie steps forward. “Sky. Can I talk to you?”

At her sharp tone, Will turns on his heel and walks away, and the others follow as if called to the other side of the room. Even Fiona. Will grabs a book at random and buries his nose in it.

Apprehension pulses through me. I was so worried about Fiona that I forgot to consider how Natalie would react.

I swallow down the looming sense that Sky and I are in big trouble.

Sky smiles as if oblivious. “What’s up?”

“What is wrong with you?” Natalie growls, getting right in her face. “Did you even think about the implications?”

Sky plants her feet and crosses her arms, clearly unafraid of her older sister. “You weren’t giving her a chance. She’s got a skill we can put to use, and you know it. Don’t let your anxieties get in the way of—”

“Don’t.” Natalie’s rage is palpable, lingering over the three of us like a storm cloud ready to unleash its worst. “This isn’t about anxieties. It’s about being smart.”

“Isn’t it? Nat, you haven’t let yourself process losing Mom, and now you’re letting it stop you from living your life.”

My heart squeezes. Of course Natalie’s reaction is about more than just keeping me away from magic and curses.

Chest heaving, she points at Sky, her finger an inch from her sister’s face. “If you endanger Katie again, I won’t be so nice next time.”

Sky slaps Natalie’s hand out of her face and turns toward the door. “You’re welcome for finding a way to let her stay. I’m going to have a beer and a nap.”

Natalie glares after her as she leaves the room.

Sky’s comment about Natalie liking me drifts forward. That’s what this is about? Sky wants me to stay for her sister’s sake ?

That, or I’m reading too much into her words. It’s like Sky said—I have an ability they can put to use, and she didn’t want that to go to waste.

I shift my balance from foot to foot, my stomach twisting. Do I follow her? I definitely shouldn’t be in this lab right now, interrupting whatever meeting was going on.

I motion toward the door, afraid to meet Natalie’s eye. “I’ll just—”

She grabs my upper arm, sending a jolt through me, and calls over her shoulder. “Back soon, Fiona.”

Fiona waves us away, engrossed in conversation with the others.

Natalie’s strong grip sends my heart fluttering with a confusing mixture of emotions. First, it’s hard to suppress how I feel about her and the way her hand sparks pleasant tingles through me… even when she looks like she’s ready to rip a door off its hinges.

Second, there’s fear over how angry she is. Fear that I’ve lost her trust and messed up what slim chance I had with her.

“We need to have a talk,” she growls as we leave the room.

Shit.

Fear wins out, making my mouth dry. I try to think of something to say to ease the tension.

But I won’t apologize for going after what I wanted. I understand she’s trying to keep me safe, but she can’t stop me from living my purpose.

“You could’ve been killed.” Her voice is clipped as if she’s ready to explode. She’s still holding on as if she thinks I’m going to flee.

“But I wasn’t,” I say, defiant. “In fact, I got through the risks you were talking about, and it turns out, I can handle it.”

We stop at my door, and she lets go of my arm, facing me with a dangerous flash in her eyes. “What do you mean?”

I press a trembling hand to the lock and let us into my room. “There were cracking fish tanks, asphyxiation, the Bee Gees—”

“What?” she roars.

I purse my lips, stepping around her. I slid in asphyxiation between the other things in the hopes that she’d let me gloss over it, but no such luck.

“It was no big—” Before I can shut the door, a furry white blur darts past and out into the corridor. I gasp. “Ethel!”

My kitten skitters down the hall with her tail up, apparently wanting to get far away from our argument.

Seeing her go, a strange lightness fills me. She’s allowed to roam the halls of CSAMM now, and so am I. She’ll probably find the courtyard in a few minutes and spend the afternoon watching the koi pond.

But how can I be happy about that when Natalie looks like I’ve slapped her in the face?

I shut the door, plunging us into silence. Dread builds over what she’s going to say. How much have I hurt her?

“I’m sorry I went behind your back,” I say, my throat tightening around the apology. “I know you just want to keep me safe.”

“Exactly.”

“And I promise I’m fine,” I say, trying to sound gentle. “Sky came to the rescue, and we succeeded. Now no one else will stumble on the curse, including the Madsens. This is precisely why I can be useful.”

Natalie paces my room, running her fingers through her hair. “Katie, I don’t want this for you.”

I cross my arms. “What do you want for me? To drop me off at my basement suite and never see me again?”

She stops pacing, turning toward me with slumped shoulders.

I stay still, waiting. It’s time for her to make a choice. She can continue fighting, or she can accept where I’ve ended up.

She rubs her hands down her face and lets out a frustrated growl. “I don’t know.”

The silence stretches on. She really can’t figure it out .

“You keep telling me I don’t want to be involved in all this,” I say quietly. “But you don’t get to make that decision for me. I feel like I belong here, which I never thought I’d hear myself say about anywhere but home. So, my choice is to stay and use my ability to help find curses. What’s yours? Are you going to keep trying to stop me from following this path, or are you going to accept that I’ve been offered a job and a room in CSAMM?”

Her fists are clenched at her sides. Her chest rises and falls as she stares at me, her anger flickering like a dying candle.

Something else takes its place—something more intense, so blazing hot that I feel it sizzle in my lips, my neck, my core.

She walks forward, her long strides closing the distance between us.

My breath hitches as her warm hands slide around my waist and into the small of my back. I incline my head, and in the next beat of my heart, her lips crash into mine.

Sparks skitter across my skin. A molten rush of pleasure swells inside me. Her taste is so sweet that I let out a moan, melting into her strong body. I cup her face, her soft hair tickling my fingers, her ears cool against my palms, her cheeks smooth beneath the heels of my hands.

My reaction seems to charge her, and she presses into me so I’m forced back a step. Her lips move urgently, parting mine. Her hands are unyielding, holding me against her.

I arch into her, wanting to feel her against every part of me. Each shift and flex of her toned body sizzles through my belly. Her intoxicating scent fills me, making me open my mouth to taste more of her.

She guides me backward, and I’m too dazed to track where we’re going. Everything around us dissolves until the world is nothing but her soft lips and tongue, her warm hands, the curves of her body.

The wild sensations coursing through me reach my brain, and my inner voice screams in victory.

She’s kissing me. Natalie – is – kissing me !

My back hits the door, and I exhale sharply into her mouth.

A groan rumbles through her, making me quiver. She runs her palms down either side of my waist, tugging my shirt up so she’s touching bare skin. The cool air raises goosebumps over my abdomen.

Oh-God-oh-God…

It’s like I’m rolling down a grassy hill, dizzy, out of control, my body reacting without my conscious decision. Pinned between her and the door, I lift my knee up, using my leg to pull her hips against me.

She hisses out a breath and laces her fingers through mine. The backs of my hands press against the cool door by my head, her palms hot, our fingers interlocked.

Our lips and breaths grow frantic, her body pressing harder against me. Her breasts, her hips, her thighs… I close my grip, my fingertips brushing her knuckles.

“Katie—” She pulls back and rests her forehead on mine, breathing hard. “I want you to stay here. Of course I do. But you’re making it impossible for me to resist you.”

“Then stop resisting.”

I look past her to the bed. My desire builds to an unbearable ache between my legs. I need her to touch me, devour me, slide her naked body over mine…

Anguish flashes across her face. She releases my hands and flattens her palms against the door on either side of my head. She pushes back, her flexing triceps drawing my gaze. “You don’t know how badly I want you. But if anyone finds out—”

I run my fingers over the swell of her breasts and down her abs, my breaths coming fast and shallow. “We won’t tell anyone.”

She grits her teeth, closing her eyes for a moment as if to summon self-control. When she opens them again, her pupils are still dilated, her expression still wild. “Listen. There are witches so determined to keep our secrets that if they think I’m sharing things I shouldn’t be, we could both lose everything.”

“So everyone in CSAMM is supposed to just stay single forever? Devoted to nothing but the cause?” My voice comes out snappy over how ridiculous this is. “What is this, a cult?”

“No. But there are strict rules around relationships, and dating non-magical people is especially complicated.”

“Forbidden? Illegal?” I challenge. “Why are they controlling who people can date?”

“Because there’s a lot of confidential information in here, and if they think you’re trying to squeeze it out of me or use me in some way, we’ll both get in shit. I’m talking probation, suspension, even a trial by jury if they think I’ve shared too much.”

“But—” Okay, it’s true that I’m trying to get information out of her, and they have good reason to suspect I’m using my closeness to Natalie to learn their secrets. I huff, refusing to be intimidated. “Are we really going to let CSAMM stop us from being together?”

She falls quiet, her jaw working. Our faces are close, the tickle of her breath teasing me.

“You’re just too afraid to let yourself have me,” I murmur, giving her my best sultry look.

She holds my gaze, her eyes glinting in a way that tells me a million thoughts are swirling around in her brain.

She exhales sharply, putting her hands on either side of my neck. “The things I want to do to you right now…”

Her words and the placement of her hands light a fire inside me, weakening my knees. I’m about to lose control.

I grip her shoulders and push her toward the bed, bolder than I’ve ever been. “Show me.”

She takes my wrists and stops me. “I can’t… It’s the middle of a workday. I have to return to Fiona and the others. ”

Frustration cinches my insides. I forgot about that part.

“Come back tonight,” I say, and it’s not a question.

Who am I? I’m acting like I’m confident and experienced in the ways of sex, when in reality I’ve only done it with a girl once, and it was mildly awkward. But Natalie is unleashing a new part of me—a shamelessly horny one that desperately needs to be stripped naked.

She steps in, bending her head down, and brushes her perfect, heart-shaped lips softly against mine. Her kiss isn’t urgent this time. She’s lingering, slowing down, savoring the way the air crackles between us.

I could melt into a puddle.

“That’ll give me the time I need with you.” Her murmur travels through my core like a ripple in a pond. “Meet you here at eight tonight.”