Page 36 of Love’s a Witch (The Scottish Charms #1)
“So eat.” Sloane shrugged out from under my arm, and I grinned, already knowing where this was going. I’d allow her to keep pushing me back, but when she came to my bed, it would need to be by her choice.
“Come on.” I nudged Sloane down a hallway toward my dressing room, and her mouth fell open when she walked through the door.
“Is this how you live?” Sloane twirled, looking at the massive dressing room attached to the bedroom, a meal already set up at a small table by the fireplace.
“Such a shame, I know. It’s a wonder how I get by.” I smirked at the irritation that flashed across Sloane’s face until she realized I was joking.
“Must be nice.”
“?’Tis. No complaints here. But I would like to get you into warm clothes.” I pointed toward a pile that the maid had left out. “Go on. I won’t look, I promise.”
“Like I’d change in front of you.” If Sloane’s lips weren’t tinged blue, I was certain she’d have denied the clothes, but instead she grabbed the bundle and stomped into the en suite, mumbling about how stupidly gorgeous everything was.
When she came back out, her hair tied in a knot on her head, in a soft robe wrapped around knit pajamas, I wanted to go to her.
My arms ached with wanting to hold her close, but there was tension in her shoulders, and a sadness in her expression that I needed to get to the bottom of.
Something had happened today, something significant, that had allowed her magick to create a dragon.
“Do you know the best meal for a storm?”
“What’s that?” Sloane asked, skirting along the walls of the bedroom and staying as far away from the four-poster bed as she could. Which meant she was absolutely thinking what I was thinking, and lust tugged low inside me.
“Cheese toasties and tomato soup.” I pulled the cover off the food and held it up, and Sloane’s expression softened.
“A fan favorite. And one of the few things I can cook.” Sloane glanced at the door to my bedroom and then back to the table. “Will Blue be okay?”
“Blue is currently being roundly spoiled by Henry, I can promise you that. Henry has a soft spot for emberwolves, and he has one of the gentlest hands with animals I’ve ever seen. Despite my parents’ great annoyance with me bringing home every animal under the sun, Henry was always there to help.”
“Do your parents get annoyed with you a lot?” Sloane slipped into the chair and I held the wine bottle up.
She nodded, and I poured us both a glass of a rich cabernet sauvignon and waited until she took a sip and nodded her approval.
Sitting across from her, I relaxed. She looked so warm and lovely by the firelight, more vulnerable than I’d ever seen her, and I wanted to know this side of Sloane too.
“Aye, they do. And yet, somehow, they’ve entrusted everything to me, and not my brothers. Even though they critique every last thing I do.” Compliments were few and far between in my family.
“That seems counterintuitive. Either they trust you or they don’t. If they don’t, they should be here taking care of things. If they do, they shouldn’t get to weigh in on every choice you make.”
“Yes, but then what else will keep them busy in their retirement?” I’d meant it as a joke, but Sloane leveled those all-seeing eyes on mine.
“No, Knox. It’s wrong. You’re doing a great job with Briarhaven, and despite your whole hero complex you’ve got going on, the town is lucky to have you. Your folks should realize that.”
“Thank you,” I said, oddly touched. I hadn’t been seeking compliments from her, but her approval meant something to me. It settled around my shoulders, a warm blanket on what few insecurities I did have, and I beamed at her. “I think you’re finally warming up to me.”
“I wouldn’t go that far.” Sloane sniffed and then took a bite of her toastie, made with thick sourdough and oozing with melted cheese. I was certain Blue would be pestering her for a bite if he were in here. “You still want me to leave town.”
“Och, not anymore, lass. I want to reverse the curse. I’d be a much happier lad if you stayed.”
“Seriously?” Sloane arched an eyebrow at me. “It could take months, nae, years before the curse is fixed. Look what’s happened already. You can’t possibly say you’re willing to put up with this nonsense for much longer.”
Nobody else had.
The unspoken words hung between us, but I could read the underlying meaning as loud as if she’d said them.
My mind flashed back to the sullen-faced girl, her parents screaming inside, and realized that nobody had really stood up for her before.
Which meant I had to. Sloane was mine, and I realized I needed to show her that not everyone would leave the moment they faced a hardship.
“So?” I said, keeping my tone light, suspecting she needed it. “We figure it out.”
Sloane stood abruptly, outrage on her face, and threw her hands in the air.
“Why does everyone keep saying that? Like it’s so easy?
We spent years here and nothing came of it except my parents almost killing each other.
Who is to say the same won’t happen again?
I have the same magick as my mother, Knox.
It misfires every single day. I have no idea what will come, no control over anything, and I’m supposed to just…
to just… to just accept that?” Sloane’s lower lip wobbled, and I went to her.
Pulling her against me, I tilted her face up with a finger to see her eyes swimming with unshed tears.
“Why don’t you let go for a little bit?” I asked, brushing my lips lightly over hers.
“I can’t.” Sloane half sobbed against my mouth.
“Why not?”
“Because if I do… it could all fall apart. Who will take care of everyone? Of me?”
“Your sisters are adults. They can manage. And I’ll take care of you.”
Sloane reared back, blinking up at me, but I held her tight against my waist.
“You? You’ll take care of me? Listen, buddy, I don’t need a—”
“I know, Sloane. You’ve proven to the world you don’t need anyone to rescue you. But what if you let go… just for a little bit?”
“What happens then?” Suspicion rose on her impossibly lovely face.
“Why don’t you find out? What say you, Sloane? It’s just you and me in here. There’s nowhere to go. Nobody needs you for anything right now. This is about you. What do you want? Right now, in this moment?”
I could see the flames of the fire reflected in her eyes, and I waited, the moment drawing out, tension snapping back and forth between us.
“I want you.”