Page 9 of Rise of the Witch (Witches of Keating Hollow #17)

Melissa parked out front of Briggs’s sweet yellow house and wondered what she’d find inside. Was she crazy for offering to come over and act as a buffer?

Probably.

But she just couldn’t imagine leaving Briggs alone with Kassie.

Not after what had happened that afternoon at the pizza place.

The way his magic had sparked out of control had rattled her.

But at least she’d been able to pull him out of the spell.

She’d come to the conclusion that just getting him to focus on something—or someone—else was enough to neutralize his magic.

But what if it got away from him again and she wasn’t there?

Kassie certainly wouldn’t be a help then.

Not when she was the cause of all his frustration.

Her stomach grumbled as a wave of hunger washed over her. It was enough to finally get her out of her Audi. With her overnight bag in hand, she hurried up the steps onto the porch, and just as she was about to knock, the door swung open.

Briggs gave her a tight smile. “You made it.”

“Seems like I’m just in time,” she quipped.

“More like ten minutes late.” He grabbed her hand and pulled her into the house. “Come on. Your burger is waiting for you.”

Melissa let Briggs lead her into the kitchen-dining area, where Kassie was sitting at the table with a deconstructed hamburger in front of her. She’d removed the bun, the cheese, and the onion and was busy cutting the patty with her knife. The fries were nowhere in sight.

“Want something to drink?” Briggs asked Melissa.

“Do you have diet soda?” she asked hopefully.

“Are you kidding? Briggs doesn’t have diet anything,” Kassie said.

“Sorry,” Briggs added. “I’m afraid she’s right about that one. I have regular though.”

“No, it’s too sweet for me. Just water then,” Melissa said, musing that she didn’t need the caffeine anyway.

Briggs brought them both glasses of ice water and then delivered their plates of burgers and fries.

“This smells delicious,” Melissa said right before she picked up the burger and took a big bite. Her mouth was in heaven as she savored the chargrilled goodness.

“Do you have any idea what you’re doing to your body when you eat that?” Kassie asked and wrinkled her nose as if she’d just smelled something rank.

“Making it happy?” Melissa chirped as she picked up a fry and stuffed it in her mouth.

“You’ll probably wake up with zits all over your face after eating all that grease,” Kassie muttered.

“Maybe,” Melissa said with a shrug. “But I doubt it, and if I do, well, I sure enjoyed the hell out of myself tonight.”

Briggs chuckled softly. “The only thing that would make this better would be a couple of cold beers.”

“Too bad they don’t let us take them to go,” Melissa said.

Kassie got up abruptly and left the room, leaving her half-finished plate on the table.

“Do you think she’s coming back?” Melissa asked.

Briggs lifted one shoulder. “Your guess is as good as mine.”

They ate in peace after that. Kassie never did come back to the table, so when they were done, Melissa grabbed the plates and stuffed them into the dishwasher while Briggs wiped down the table and counters.

“I feel so domestic,” Melissa said as she hung a dish towel on the ring that was mounted by the sink.

“I like having you in my kitchen,” Briggs said as he moved to trap her between his body and the counter. “It just feels right.”

“You know, that line could sound a little sexist,” she said even as she slipped her thumbs into his belt loops and tugged him closer.

“I didn’t say you belonged in my kitchen. I said it felt right having you here.”

“Hmm, okay, I can get on board with that.” Melissa stared at his lips, waiting impatiently for him to brush them over hers.

“Good,” he breathed. “Because right now, all I can think about is lifting you up onto this counter and?—”

“Get a room,” Kassie said, breaking the mood entirely.

Briggs took a step back and turned toward the woman. “What do you need, Kassie?”

“Tea,” she said. “After all that junk food, I need to soothe my throat.”

Junk food? Melissa thought. Sure, a burger and fries weren’t the healthiest meal on the planet. But it’s not like they had cake for dinner. Not that she was above that. Especially if it involved carrot cake.

“Let’s go, Melissa,” Briggs said, his voice gruff as he tugged her down the hall to his bedroom. Once they were inside, he leaned against the door and closed his eyes as if he needed a moment to decompress.

Melissa took the hint and left him there while she went to get ready for bed.

When she came out of the bathroom, she found him already in bed, his eyes closed and his bare chest rising and falling in a rhythmic pattern.

She quietly worked her way across the room, flicked off the lights, and slid in beside him.

Almost instantly, he rolled over and pulled her into his arms, spooning her from behind. “I could get used to this, too,” he murmured.

Unexpected tears pricked Melissa’s eyes because she didn’t need to get used to anything. Nothing had ever felt so right to her.

Briggs pressed a soft kiss to her neck and shortly after she heard the deep, steady breathing of a person who’d fallen asleep.

Melissa covered one of his hands with her own, snuggled in a little closer, and then drifted off to dreamland.

A shout, along with thrashing of the covers, woke Melissa out of a sound sleep. She sat straight up in bed, her heart nearly pounding right out of her chest. “Briggs?”

“Stop!” he cried in his sleep as he thrashed.

“Briggs,” Melissa said softly as she placed a light hand on his chest. “It’s okay, Briggs. It’s okay.”

His eyes flew open and he shot straight up in bed. “What happened?”

“You were dreaming,” she said carefully.

Briggs stared at her with unseeing eyes. “I was?”

Melissa scooted closer to him and placed her palm against his cheek. “Briggs, look at me. Really look at me.”

The glazed look on his face faded as he focused on her.

“Are you with me?” she asked.

“Yeah.” He blinked a couple of times. “I’m here.”

“Good.” Melissa brushed a lock of hair out of his eyes. “Want to tell me what just happened?”

His eyes slammed shut again, and he looked like he’d aged ten years.

“It’s okay,” Melissa said. “You don’t have to talk. We can just sit together, or?—”

“It’s a reoccurring dream,” Briggs said, not looking at her.

When he didn’t continue, she asked, “Are you fighting someone in the dream?”

“No.” He shook his head slightly. After taking a deep breath, he said, “I’m struggling to control my magic.”

Melissa sucked in a sharp breath, but didn’t say a word.

He lifted his head and gazed down at her. “When I was young and my magic flared out of control, my father used to try to beat it out of me. One night he went too far and broke my arm. CPS came, and I never saw him again.”

“Oh gods,” she whispered, squeezing his hand. “I’m so sorry, Briggs.”

“I’m not. He was a terrible human. Not that my foster parents were any better. But I did find King there. He’s the only family I’ve ever had.”

She wanted to tell him that no kid should ever have to go through any of that, but she was quite certain that he already knew that. Instead, she just wrapped her arms around him and held him close, trying to show him that there were people in the world who cared about him. That she cared about him.

“In the dream, I’m using my magic to fight back. I can’t control it and…” His voice caught.

“And?” she prompted.

“My magic is choking my father and I can’t stop it. It’s one of my worst fears, that my magic will flare and someone will get hurt.”

It didn’t take a genius to realize that the nightmare had been brought on by what had happened in the restaurant that day. She wanted to say something to reassure him, to tell him that he didn’t need to worry, but what did she know? Instead, she asked questions. “Has that ever happened before?”

“Have I hurt someone?” he asked.

“Yes.” Though she really didn’t want to know the answer.

“No, not directly. I have had incidents due to my magic. Like when I made a mic go flying by accident and it clocked King in the side of the head.” He let out a small chuckle at the memory.

“He just picked it up and nailed me in the nuts with it. It’s fair to say I got the worst end of that exchange. ”

Her lips curved into a small smile. “Sounds like it. Does stuff like that happen often?”

“No,” he said, sounding stronger now. “Not here in Keating Hollow, anyway. It’s one of the reasons I moved here.

I don’t know if it’s just that I’m calmer here or if it’s the magic that is woven through this town, but I have much greater control over it here.

Or at least I did until Kassie started pushing all my buttons. ”

“Emotions do heighten magic,” she said. “Maybe there’s something you can do about it. Maybe see a healer or an herbalist to see if there are potions to help you?”

“I’ve tried that before. The healer said there wasn’t anything she could do.

The herbalist gave me something that actually made it worse.

Apparently it was something to combat my anxiety, but all it did was lower my inhibitions, making it even easier for my magic to run away from me.

Now I just try not to use magic very often.

Trick my body into thinking that part of me is broken or something. ”

“So what you’re saying is that in order for you to not flood any more restaurants, we need to get rid of Kassie,” she said.

“We tried that already,” he said glumly.

“Okay, since that won’t work, we just need to focus on keeping you away from her outside of the studio. Maybe spend more time with King or your other friends while she’s pampering her voice.”

“My other friends means you,” he said, staring at her lips now. “Are you going to move in while she’s here?”

“I hadn’t planned on it, but if you need me…”

“I need you,” he confirmed. And then his lips were on Melissa’s.

At first, she held back, not exactly sure they were done talking.

But when his hands started to run along the curves of her body and his lips found their way to her neck, she relented and decided that after that nightmare, he needed to lose himself in someone.

And she was more than willing to make the sacrifice.