Page 15 of Unhinged Magic (Cutters Cove Witches #2)

“I told you, I have a plan.”

“And that involves a house in the middle of nowhere.”

She turned to face me; her bright orbs were crazed like she got off on this shit. “Scared?”

I huffed a laugh. “Not a bit. What’s the plan?”

Her grip tightened around the bag strap on her shoulder. “Well… I thought that, away from everyone, we could try to summon your brother.”

My brows piqued. “We couldn’t do this in your bedroom?” The comment wasn’t smart mouthed. I just didn’t understand her reasoning for being here.

Her teeth dug into her bottom lip before releasing it again. “I get the feeling he doesn’t want to talk, and if things don’t go well…” She trailed off.

I didn’t understand why she thought my brother’s ghost would not want to talk to me. But, at this point, she knew more about this than I did, and I didn’t want to think about what 'not going well' could mean. “Enough said.”

Skye continued talking, choosing her words carefully. “I did some research into Ouija boards, and bringing spirits forward this way. I haven’t done it before… So I guess what I’m trying to say is, I don’t know how your brother will take this.”

Your brother.

“Landon.”

The word sounded strange as it left my tongue. I rarely said his name, my parents preferring to speak of him only as my brother. “His name is Landon.”

Skye bobbed her head, a small nod of acknowledgement.

I peered around the room, where we stood on a landing staring straight up a stairwell. I had no plans to venture up there. This whole thing felt wrong. I couldn’t shake Reid’s words from my mind.

' Personally , I wouldn't fuck with the dead.'

I wound my gaze back to her, unable to shake the uncomfortable sensation filling the pit of my stomach.

“I don’t like this...”

“Wes, try. For us. He won’t talk to me.” She dropped the bag to the ground, stepping toward me until her fingers sank into the material of my jacket at my sides. “ Please . If what you feel is real, and you truly believe we are fated mates, don’t you want to make this right?”

I reached for her shoulders, my thumbs rubbing small circles over her collarbones. “Of course I want this. Never doubt how much I want to fix this, okay?”

She stared up at me, the depths of her eyes searching mine. When they dipped to my mouth, I held my breath.

This was Skye making her move. At her own pace.

She lifted onto her toes, delicately brushing her lips against mine, a contrast to her hand against my throat earlier.

Her kiss told me everything as she unwound her inner demons, one layer at a time until hunger replaced her hesitancy.

As her tongue found mine, her nails sank into my shoulders, holding me tightly.

I pulled her closer, sliding my hand into her hair, relishing this moment I had longed for since she had stepped foot back into this town. Skye’s advances on her own accord.

An ungodly moan crawled from my mouth into hers, the mate bond, a beast toying with my unhinged heart. I held back, because this was Skye tasting her freedom, her future. This needed to be on her terms. I would not rush this.

When she pulled away, my hands lingered in midair, not sure where to place them.

Finally, she had come to me, and I looked to where her hand sat on my chest. It was excruciating knowing my heart was metaphorically held in the palm of her hand.

One squeeze would be all it took to splatter my soul on the floorboards of this manor.

She stared up at me, pleading . “Are you on board with this?”

I couldn’t say no. Not now. Not after this.

I wished I could know what she was thinking. What hold my brother had on her. This could hold all my answers. My doubts vaporized. I nodded. “Okay.”

She took my hand in hers and I moved with her, soundlessly taking in the eerie vibe of the place.

There was no magic here, but I got the feeling that many a soul lurked, and not just after dark.

The floorboards moaned as our footsteps moved across them.

The late-afternoon chill, brushing my neck through hollow windows.

At this time of the year, daylight would dissipate quickly.

Skye let go of my hand, digging into the contents of her bag. She pulled out five candles and set about placing them in a circle. I knew little about this side of witchcraft but recognized the placement of them instantly. The pentagram. She set the Ouija board in the middle.

I studied her every move, watching as she raised her arms to her sides.

When a flame ignited each candle, my insides ignited with it.

I had never seen her use her magic, but the power she bestowed produced a tremor through my veins.

Be it the mate bond or something else, I felt my magic reach out to it, sensing her from the inside out.

What I felt made her external display of magic merely an ember.

Skye’s magic glowed within her, the ebb and flow of her fire element a destructive thing if given the chance.

It turned me the fuck on, my dick hardening at seeing this side of her. Raw, powerful .

I had seen her eyes light up before, but nothing like this.

Her irises glistened a bright blue, almost silver.

It was nothing like Ty when he used his gift.

He kept it all in. Skye, on the other hand, unleashed a beast within her and I could not get enough of it.

I was fascinated. Addicted to this. To her.

No wonder she had the temper of a deprived carnivore. Because keeping that element in control would surely be a force to be reckoned with.

She turned to me. “Are you ready?”

I wasn’t sure I was ready for any of it. But if it meant one step closer to fixing our bond, then I would do this.

For her. For us.