Page 20 of Of Poison & Pumpkins (Of Witches & Men #3)

CHAPTER FIFTEEN

Rynn

S tomach full of the three-course meal Viv and Elias had cooked together, I watch Elias chuck off his shoes. His back is towards me when he flops one suspender off at a time, letting it drop at his waist. Those damn suspenders will be the death of me.

Purposefully, I stay by my chosen bed—on the opposite end of the row. The eight beds between us should eliminate any lingering temptation. If there are ghosts sleeping in any of them, they’ll get better rest than me tonight because I’ll be tossing and turning until dawn, my body on high alert.

To distract myself, I dig in my bag for my current knitting project, a sweater for Maya, and cast on to start the first row. I wonder if Elias noticed the callouses on my fingers when he held my hand.

After so many years of practice, I barely need to focus.

Muscle memory takes over my hands while my mind plans Palooza’s winning marketing campaign and how to afford giving Tinsley a well-deserved raise.

That’s not even the least of my worries, though.

The Dazed epidemic is at the forefront of my mind.

What if I can’t find the antidote’s ingredients soon?

Or what if the antidote doesn’t work? Or worse, what if Elias continually asks me out and I eventually cave?

“If you keep thinking so hard, you’ll burn a hole through your skull,” Elias says softly.

I stare at my project like my life depends on it. Five more rows have been added to the sweater without me realizing it.

Thunder rumbles again. Outside the window, it’s as dark as midnight, skewing my sense of time.

“Aren’t you tired?” I ask.

Thankfully, he still has his clothes on.

“Even if I were, I wouldn’t be able to sleep when you’re this freaked out.”

Regrettably, I face him. Shit. It doesn’t matter that he’s fully clothed. The man is my favorite flavor of dessert. He leans back, both palms behind him, supporting his weight on the mattress. And his greatest weapon is on full display—his heart-breaking smile.

“I’m not freaked out.” I continue to loop the yarn around my needle. Loop. Pull. Tug.

“Sure, sure.”

When he pats the spot beside him on the bed, I stay where I am. Nope. Can’t go over there. Won’t.

Elias chuckles low. “I won’t bite unless you ask. Though, I can’t guarantee I won’t tie you up. Did you know suspenders have more than one function?”

“I know what you’re trying to do,” I say, whipping the yarn around the needle.

“I think anyone could guess that I’m trying to seduce you.”

“No, you’re trying to distract me from my thoughts.”

“Maybe a listening ear could help.”

I force myself to lower my shield. If I’m going to learn to trust anyone, he’s the easiest one to practice with. “I don’t like storms,” I confess.

“Something bad happen?”

“Twice actually. The first time, Tinsley’s entire family died in a hurricane. She was supposed to be with them that night.” I suck in a deep breath and wipe away a single tear that escapes.

“Oh, Sunflower, come here.”

Stupidly, I slide onto the bed next to him. When he puts his arm around me, I melt into his warm, comforting embrace and lean onto his side. He might be the one person on this planet who soothes my racing heart. I release the breath I’ve been holding and begin.

“Second time, Tinz was pregnant, and I was driving her to the hospital at one in the morning,” I say quietly, watching his thumb rub my wrist back and forth.

“Her contractions were close enough that she was gripping the ‘oh shit’ handle with deathly white knuckles, but she was still trying to keep the energy light by singing along to the radio every time pain crashed through her.

“It was storming. The roads were windy and so dark. And I have astigmatism, so night driving is already hard, but in the rain, it was impossible to see anything. I was doing my best, focusing so hard. That tree came out of nowhere and?—”

He tenses.

“We slammed into the tree trunk so hard. Too hard. I remember gaining consciousness in the dark. I was so confused. I didn’t know what happened.

Tinsley was crying and screaming next to me.

I didn’t know if she was hurt, or because Maya was on the way.

When I tried to reach her, my seatbelt was stuck.

I couldn’t get out. Somehow, I wrangled my phone out of my pocket and called an ambulance.

It was all such a haze. I don’t know how long I listened to Tinz screeching.

She sounded like she was dying. And I was in shock. ”

Elias’s finger rubs my wrist. He waits patiently.

“Two ambulances came. Took us separately. I had a concussion, bruised ribs, and a pounding headache. The whole time I was in the ER, they wouldn’t tell me if Tinsley and her baby were okay. I was near hysterics.

“The next day the nurse reviewed all the paperwork I had signed the night before and you know who I told them was my emergency contact? You.”

His jaw drops and his eyes widen. “What?”

“Exactly. I was so out of it that I gave them your name. It had been four years since I’d last seen or spoken to you. I must’ve been out of my mind.”

“I didn’t get a call.” He shakes his head, maybe in disbelief. “I would’ve come if they called, I swear, Rynnlee.”

I sniff and he wipes my eyes with his sleeve. Too scared to dive deeper, I pull out a fresh ball of yarn from my bag and toss him some needles, too.

He fumbles them, both needles clinking against the floor. “Hey! Could’ve warned me first.”

“Want to learn the basics?”

He pauses, like he’s ready to say something meaningful about the storm, but I need a distraction.

“Please, Lias the lion.”

He clutches his chest dramatically. “Lias. That’s it! That’s my official nickname and you can’t change it. Swear it. Swear that I am your lion!”

“I swear.” Laughter finds a way through me once more—because of him, this adorable lion. “Look, this is how to make a slipknot.” My voice becomes shaky.

“World’s best nickname,” he whispers.

If I look at those brown eyes, I won’t be able to contain myself anymore. The need to kiss him is an overwhelming pulse dictating my thoughts. If I taste his lips, I’ll never be the same again. I’ll never be okay with not having him as mine. I’ll never be able to let him walk away.

“Look, twist the needle around like this.”

Instead, Elias leans closer, and his scent fills my everything. All I can breathe is him. A shiver runs up my thighs.

His piercing gaze travels down my body like he’s addicted to the way my body reacts to him, then back up again.

He slowly wraps the loose end of the yarn around my wrists once, twice.

Heat sparks hot in my belly and tingles run up my inner thighs.

Goddess Above, I’d let this man do anything to me—tie my ankles together and hang me upside down, strap me to a chair, hook me up to shackles.

Imagining it gives me gooseflesh all over.

At this moment, Elias owns me, body and soul. Every sensation belongs to him. He bites my shirt and tugs the sleeve off my shoulder. He’s my puppet master, pressing all my buttons with the slip of his tongue against my collarbone.

“Oooh …” I moan. Which is unacceptable. No more of that, thank you very much.

“Distracted enough, Sunflower?” His voice is in full teasing mode, which is when I realize my eyes are closed.

I drop the needles, and they clatter to the floor. My neck cranes up, exposing the softest parts of me to his wicked mouth.

“That’s right, relax,” Elias whispers against my neck as he draws more seductive lines with his tongue, clutching my waist hard with his hands.

“Tie my hands to the bedpost,” I manage to say between whimpers.

“You serious?” He pulls back fast.

My eyes snap open. Raw hunger flashes in his gaze. I’ve never seen his chest rise and fall so fast. My own heartbeat is exploding, threatening to burst free.

“You sure?” Elias licks his lips, breaking me. “I will not do this if you’ll regret it later. You must be positive, Rynnlee, because I won’t restrain you if you’re not willing.”

“Yes. Now.” I pant, surprised by how much I want this, how much it turns me on. “And make me ask three times before you untie me.”

In unison with his growl, I’m quickly thrown onto my back. Pressed against the mattress, my wrists collide. Yarn tightens around my skin. Pulls tighter. Tighter. There’ll be red lines there later. At this angle, all I can see are the ceiling’s windows being attacked by rainfall.

“Try to escape,” Elias practically growls again, eyes wild as he moves into a straddle above me. I don’t think I’ve ever held eye contact with someone for this long.

Raw desire whips up my center. I bite the inside of my cheek to keep from thrusting my hips up. I try to wiggle, writhe, and pull against the yarn. It doesn’t give. A look of sheer success covers his features, and I can’t help but soak in his excitement.

“Excellent,” he murmurs as he lowers his face towards mine. “But unfortunately for you, I won’t be touching you until you tell me how much you want me.”

I buck my hips against his obvious erection, driven mad by his weight.

“Kiss me,” I demand with frustration, eyes still locked onto his.

“Goddess, Rynnlee, I’ve imagined you saying that hundreds of times, and no fantasy compares to how that sounded.” He positions both palms on the mattress by my ears. “But say it again, with my name.”

“Kiss me like in my dreams,” I whisper, raising my head a little. “Kiss me like I’m your last first kiss.”

A strangled groan rips from his throat. But he doesn’t make a move. He’s taking too long. I’m reaching my snapping point. Desire pulses through my veins like a shockwave. Like a current. Like a volcano ready to erupt.

I lift my head and press my mouth to his, more delicate than a butterfly, like a soft experiment, testing the connection.

In one sweep, his hand cradles the back of my neck to deepen our kiss. It’s like I’m his first encounter with hunger. His tongue eases against mine, exploring, and I swear to the Goddess that he tastes like magic and dreamsicle ice cream. Like sunlight and lazy days and golden specs.

I’ve imagined every way his kiss might feel.

And nothing prepared me for this. I arch my back off the bed.

The yarn yanks at my wrists, but I don’t give a shit.

He drops onto his forearms, burying me under his chest, pelvis, legs.

If only I could rip his clothes off. I can’t get enough.

Want him to smother me. If I die, I die.

His skin is so warm and his lips work like an angel fallen from grace, cunning and corrupt. I’m hooked. Obsessed forevermore.

“Fuck, Lias,” I gasp between kisses.

“Mmmmmmm,” is all he manages as our legs entwine like pretzels.

His mouth strips me of all rational thought.

My breathing grows faster, but his matches mine.

Every inch of me is alive, awake, wanting.

His grip grows more intense, more possessive.

And yet, I crave more. More. Damn it all.

I want to tear off his suspenders, rip off his shirt, and see what is mine.

Because this is it. He’s mine and I’m not letting him get away. No fucking chance.

“Rynnlee.” His voice shakes as his fingertip softly glides over my tied arm, up and down the tender spot that makes me squirm. Thankfully, the cage of his legs keeps me in place.

His teeth playfully drag at my lower lip and the way our bodies are pressed together still feels too distant, like we’re two beings when all I want is to become one. It’s basically insanity how he’s so good with his mouth. This precious man writes a sonnet with his lips, mesmerizing me.

“Lias,” I pant, as an unbearable ache throbs between my legs. “I … oh Goddess …”

His tongue knows what the fuck its doing and I never want to stop. “I need to touch you. Now. Untie me.”

“No.” The amusement in his voice is too much to take, and he rises to straddle me again. “Only the third time you ask, my Sunflower.”

“Aaaah!” I’m not even sure what type of animal sound I mimic. I pull against the yarn, but it doesn’t release.

Elias looks down at me with wonder. His fingertip rests against my temple, and he slowly caresses the side of my jaw, down to my neck. Another shiver possesses me like a separate being is trying to break free from chains within my soul.

“Tell me to take off your shirt,” he says, calmly, with such control it’s mind-boggling.

“Take off your shirt.”

Over his head it goes. And I’m transfixed.

I’ve seen part of his body already, but never at this angle.

Somehow, he’s even more gorgeous from down here.

I wouldn’t change a single thing. Not the mole under his clavicle, or the few curly, dark chest hairs.

Each line and curve of his tattoos tell a story I yearn to know.

My hands tingle with the immediate need to trail my fingers over the path of his body art.

“Untie me. Now,” I moan, shimmying beneath him again.

“Our safe word is ‘sailboat.’ If I ever start something you don’t like or want to stop whatever we’re doing, all you have to do is say ‘sailboat,’ and I’ll immediately listen. Understand?”

I nod, heart pumping at the thought of doing something so erotic that we need a safe word.

“I have half a mind to tie your ankles by your ears. Have you taken yoga recently?” he asks. “How bendy are you?”

“Elias Gabriel! You wouldn’t dare!”

“Oh, we will try that one day. Maybe not tonight, but it’ll happen.”

He lifts the bottom of my shirt just enough to trail a finger along my stomach, then leaps off the bed. “I think I’m going to grab a snack from the kitchen. Want anything?”

“What!? Get back over here.” I twist against the binds, but don’t tell him to untie me a third time.

Because a crazy, irrational side of me longs to make him suffer, to make him want me more than I want him. And somehow, I know that wherever he runs off to, all he’ll be thinking about is me tied here and waiting for him to devour me.