Page 33 of Just a Little Wicked (Wicked Sisters #2)

Winter swallowed, her nails digging into her palms. She’d been so wrong about this man.

She’d allowed herself to be fooled by the image he presented instead of focusing on the small things he did that gave away his true nature.

He was fiercely loyal and observant, but he was also thoughtful and romantic.

Erikson was a man who would one day love a woman with his entire soul, shining all of his playfulness on her like the sun.

That woman wouldn’t be Winter—but why couldn’t she allow herself a taste of his warmth, even for a few days, before she was consigned to a lifetime of cold isolation?

His hand slid higher on his thigh, his eyes darkening.

“I know what I want, Winter. Yes, I want to be between your thighs more than I want to breathe—but I want to be in your life, too. Because even though you’re prickly, I’ve seen the tenderness inside you.

I’ve seen you do everything in your power to keep the people you love safe.

I admire you, and I like spending time with you.

I can’t say the same for a lot of my so-called friends.

” He leaned forward, his breath coasting across her face, and her eyelashes fluttered.

“No matter what happens over the next two days, whether I get to see you naked or not, whether we kick the Shadow Council’s ass or not, you won’t shut me out.

You won’t decide for me that I’m better off without your friendship.

Even if I’m a thousand miles away filming a show, I’m not leaving you in this lifetime, Winter. Don’t you leave me .”

This freaking man. He really did know her.

“Say it,” he growled softly, his lips hovering just above her ear. “Say what I want to hear.”

“We’re friends,” she murmured, her heart softening at the quiet admission.

“Friends,” he repeated, his lips brushing her skin.

“With benefits,” she added, wrapping her arms around his neck.

For once, she was going to make the selfish choice.

She wanted her two days with Erikson, and she was so, so tired of depriving herself of what she wanted.

He was confident that they would remain friends after, but she knew it wasn’t going to happen.

She would lose his number the minute she was recruited by the Shadow Council, and she would avoid him at all costs afterward.

He was too important, too incredible, too much of a bright light in this miserable world, for her to put him at risk by associating with him once she was under their thumb.

The very thought of how that bitch had looked at him at the side of the road, had suggested that Winter gift him to council, made her skin ice. Never. They would never touch him.

But she and Erikson could have these two days. She could bask in his light, in his gentleness, for what remained of her free life.

“Fuck yes, with benefits.” He plowed his fingers into her hair and arched her neck, his mouth descending a half inch from her lips, when her phone rang.

Frustration flashed in his eyes as she wriggled out of his grasp and snatched up the phone, her pulse thundering and her body practically shrieking with disappointment. She cleared her throat. “It’s Holly.”

Erikson glanced at the clock and swore. He scrubbed a hand over his jaw and said gruffly, “You want to do this?”

The phone continued ringing in her hand, and she knew he was giving her a choice. He’d pushed her into the situation by setting up the phone call, but he wouldn’t make her answer it. He wouldn’t make the decision single-handedly the way she’d accused him of doing.

Winter’s instincts were to ignore the call, to continue to try to find a solution that kept her family safe and in the dark. It was what she’d been doing her entire life; it was the only way she knew how to show her love.

But Erikson was right: Atlantes was barely any help, and time was running short.

As much as she hated the idea of burdening her family days before her older sister’s wedding, Erikson had said something that had continued to stick in her mind: And what about their choices, Winter?

Don’t they get a say? If the situation were reversed and one of her sisters was about to be coerced onto an assassin squad and didn’t say anything because she was trying to protect Winter, Winter would never forgive her.

She owed her sisters the same courtesy. She owed her family the truth and her trust in sharing this burden with them.

She owed them a warning that she’d be leaving soon, and that eventually, the Shadow Council would come for them too.

She hit the green answer button, and the screen opened on her phone.

Everyone was present, stacked behind Holly like dominoes: Connor, with his gray eyes already sharp on her face; Missy, drinking a glass of wine; and Aunt Daisy and Aunt Rose.

Spikes slowly waddled across the bottom of the screen, meaning Holly’s pet hedgehog, Prickles, was on the loose and exploring the desk where she’d propped the phone.

Winter dropped onto the bed next to Erikson and extended the phone so that he was in view too. “Well, I guess we’re all here,” she said.

“What’s going on, Winter?” Holly asked immediately.

Her dark eyes were shadowed, and Winter felt a pang of guilt for worrying her.

It seemed Erikson’s lie about them escaping for a fling hadn’t done much to alleviate her stress.

“The aunts got home an hour ago, and they’ve been acting like someone murdered their pets but they won’t tell us what’s going on.

” She slanted a narrow-eyed glare at Aunt Rose, who made a sheepish face.

Out of sight of the camera Erikson gripped her thigh in support, and she took a deep breath. “There’s something I have to tell all of you.”

Her family listened in silence as she laid everything bare, starting with the horrible, sickly vision she’d had of their murders, and ending with Atlantes’ promise to teach her how to shield her future.

She watched as their expressions vacillated between worry, rage, and fear while she spoke.

When she finished, everyone was silent for an awkward ten seconds, and then they all began shouting at once.

“—I’ll create a disease that takes out their bitch-asses if they so much as think about hurting my twin?—”

“—maybe I can ask Stacy what a Pillar Witch is?—”

“—why are you suddenly having visions of?—”

“—underestimated this family?—”

“—you shouldn’t have kept us?—”

“—why did you wait so long to?—”

“Enough!” Erikson roared, and everyone fell into shocked silence.

“There won’t be any accusations slung at Winter.

Everything she’s done up to this point, she’s done with your safety and happiness in mind.

” Connor’s eyebrows lifted and the corner of his mouth twitched, like he’d heard something in his brother’s voice no one else had.

“This is the situation now, and these are the facts.”

“I’m sorry, Holly and Connor,” Winter said, forcing down the guilt threatening to overwhelm her. “That last thing I wanted to do was dump this at your feet two days before your wedding.”

Holly narrowed her eyes. “Winter Celeste, I would never forgive you if you had kept this to yourself over a wedding . You’re my sister, and you’re more important to me than a ceremony that can easily be pushed to another day. I’m only sorry you didn’t tell us weeks ago.”

Winter swallowed as the rest of her family nodded in agreement, and for one of the few times in her life, she allowed herself to feel the love of the people looking at her from the other side of the screen.

Connor held up a pen and clicked it. “Holly is right. We can get married anywhere, anytime. She’s already mine.” Ugh, they were so cute. “Now, tell us again what powers you witnessed the Shadow Council using.”

Connor took notes as her family asked insightful, pointed questions.

And all the while, the walls she’d spent decades fortifying to keep them safe from her, slowly crumbled.

Erikson’s hand stayed warm and stable on her thigh, as if providing her steadiness, and she basked in this strange new feeling of support, both physical and spiritual.

“You need to come home,” Holly finally said. “We need to make a plan.”

“I’m seeing Atlantes tonight. We’ll come back after that.” She glanced at Erikson, and he nodded his agreement.

“All right. Missy and I will talk to Stacy in the meantime and learn as much as we can about Pillar Witches, shielding, and anything else we might be able to use against the Shadow Council,” Holly said. “Connor’s going to do some research too. Look at how excited he is.”

Connor indeed had a gleam in his gray eyes. He was like a dog with a bone when it came to investigating stories. If anyone could dig up dirt on the secretive Shadow Council, it would be him.

“Aunt Daisy and Aunt Rose, you’ll contact the new Wicked friends you made?” Holly asked, assigning duties as only the oldest sister could.

The aunts nodded.

But beneath Winter’s fresh bloom of hope, there was a film of unease growing thicker by the moment.

“This all sounds great,” she said, “but if we can’t produce a miracle in the next few days, you have to let me go.

There won’t be any fighting the Shadow Council.

They’re ruthless, and they know how to wield their powers.

I won’t allow anyone in this family to die for me. ”

Silence deadened the air.

“Is that clear?” Winter demanded, and maybe she sounded a little panicked, because Holly’s eyes softened.

“We aren’t there yet, Win. Don’t give up on us before we’ve even started.”

“No, I want a promise,” Winter insisted. “I knew I shouldn’t have told you. I knew this was a bad idea. I knew?—”

“Winter,” Erikson murmured, “give them time to wrap their heads around this. You’ve had weeks to come to terms with it.”

She hesitated. It was true. How could she expect them to accept letting her go after only half an hour? “We’ll talk at home,” she muttered.

“I’ll call you if I learn anything interesting from Stacy,” Holly promised. “Now we have to go. We have a lot of work to do.” She leaned closer to the screen, blocking out the others with her head. Her dark eyes were stormy. “We’re sisters by blood and choice, Winter. Don’t you forget that.”

The screen went black.