Page 5 of Spellbound & Speechless (Witches of Starbrook #2)

Mac

No sign of the one I’m looking for, but there she is—the blonde woman from the motel. Aspen. In a town this small, running into her again is inevitable. I expected it to happen at the motel, not at the Moonlit Tavern.

She spends most of the evening stumbling over herself. It’s cute, but it’s nothing like the charming woman I spoke to before. I guess she wasn’t lying about being a local. Apparently, she works here.

No matter how much my wolf wants to, I can’t pay her any attention. I rub my chest to soothe the whining creature. I’m still drawn to her as she dances and sways in the middle of the room. All by herself.

“Let me guess. Aspen caught your eye?” Laurel asks from behind the bar.

The green-haired bartender introduced herself to me first, not vice versa. She’s personable, but I’m low maintenance, so she spent most of the night tending to other patrons. Laurel is probably good at gathering information, given how chatty she is. That could be useful for me .

I nod, swallowing thickly. “I guess so, but I’m not the only one.”

Most people are looking at Aspen, but she doesn’t seem to realize or care.

“Yeah. You should get used to that. That’s just… Aspen. It happens everywhere she goes.”

“You know her well?”

“Sort of.” She tilts her head to the side. “I’m getting to know her again, I think.”

There’s a story there, but it isn’t my place to ask about it. That’s not the kind of information I’m here to collect.

I squash my curiosity and turn back to Laurel. “Interesting.” I lift the beer I’ve been nursing all night.

“She’s a love witch, just so you know.”

“A love witch.” I narrow my eyes. “What does that mean, exactly?”

There’s only one type of witch I know about, and it’s not a love witch. It’s something more sinister. These witches have the scent of magic on them, but it’s nowhere near as rotten as the magic I’ve smelled in the past.

Aspen smells like candy and sunshine.

“Exactly what you’re experiencing right now,” Laurel says. “She has… aura, I guess.”

“Right. Aura.” Whatever that means.

Aspen is a love witch. Makes sense. The pull I feel for the near stranger isn’t something I experience often. Of course, there’s a magical explanation for it. It couldn’t be anything else. That doesn’t discourage my wolf’s interest.

Laurel’s words are a warning, but I won’t take it. Not right now. My wolf made up its mind, and I’m along for the ride.

“Two shots,” I say. “Whatever she’s drinking.”

The bartender pours me two pink shots, and I carry them to Aspen. It’s like something possessed me, but I know that’s not it—it’s my fucking wolf. He’s practically panting, desperate to get closer to her.

Aspen stops twirling. Her skirt settles around her thighs, and she laughs breathlessly. “Oh! Oh! I know you.”

Swollen lips. Pink cheeks. She makes my heart race.

I clear my throat and look away. I’ll melt like cotton candy if I hold her gaze much longer. “Sort of.”

Guess she considers meeting me once to be the same as knowing me. I don’t. No one in this town knows shit about me, and I don’t intend to let the bubbly blonde be the first to.

Then what the hell are we doing here ?

My wolf’s impatience leaks through.

I hold out a shot glass. “Got you another drink. I hope you don’t mind.”

She squints and takes it from me, dipping her pinky ring into the glass. After a moment, she inspects her pinky nail. “Good. You’re not trying to poison me, I see.”

Must be some kind of charm on her bubblegum pink nail polish. That’s handy.

“I wouldn’t.” I should have considered that before. “I’ll buy you another drink if you want to watch them pour it.”

“This is fine.”

My jaw drops as she wraps her glossy lips around her finger.

I tear my gaze away and drink my shot. What am I doing here again?

“Well, I uh…” I point a thumb over my shoulder. “I’ll be over there?—”

“Oh, no, you don’t!” She grabs the collar of my jacket, pulling me in as she drinks her shot. “You owe me a dance. ”

I should have considered that it would go this way. I shake my head. “Not much of a dancer.”

“Don’t start with that. Anyone can dance!”

“Not me.”

She sets the glasses on a table.

This isn’t exactly a place for dancing, at least not tonight. She’s the only one dancing, and I’m the only one she invited.

Everyone is watching her, but for some reason, she has her eye on me . Maybe it’s because I’m the first to approach, but I don’t care. Pride rushes through me.

When I decide to take her up on the offer, it’s not my decision. It’s my wolf’s.

She wraps her arms around my neck and pulls me closer. Heat rises to my cheeks and ears. I’m captured in her sparkling eyes.

“I didn’t think I would see you again,” she says.

“Really? But we’re neighbors.”

“Not anymore.” She pushes closer to me, and her breath grazes my neck. “I moved out.”

The news puts my wolf at ease, relieved she found a better place to stay. She’s safe now.

My hands hang limply at my sides. “Good. No one should live in that shit hole.”

“Not even you?”

“Forget about me. I’ve lived in worse places.” Is it the wolf or the alcohol that speaks next? “Did you want to see me again?”

“Maybe.” Her fingers slide down my chest, nails grazing against the fabric. She guides my hands to her hips and pulls back, her eyes flickering up to mine. “Should I be embarrassed? You weren’t thinking about me?”

Anyone would think about her. My hands rest on the curve of her hips. I hold back a sound—a groan, a growl, some way for the wolf to embarrass me.

I shouldn’t answer her question. There’s a reason I turned down a drink from Antoni. I can’t be doing things like this, no matter how interested my wolf is in her.

“That’s a loaded question for me right now.” I squeeze her hips. I shouldn’t. It’s too much. My pants tighten just a fraction. How long has it been since I’ve been touched?

“Fine. No more questions.” She presses her hips into mine. “Let’s just dance for the rest of the song. That’s all I want.”

“But—”

“We’re already halfway done. One song. Please?”

I nod wordlessly. It’s all I can give her. For the next minute and a half, it’s worth it, even if it means going through the pain of pulling away from her when the song fades.