Page 26 of Unhinged Magic (Cutters Cove Witches #2)

She kissed my shoulder, and one word was all it took for my heart to soar. “Always.”

Skye dozed in my arms, and I soaked in every part of her beauty, having not spent time with her like this before.

Thick dark lashes hid the eyes I knew would hold me at mercy every moment from here on in.

When she looked at me, nothing else mattered.

And those lips, how innocent they looked at this moment.

I smiled, remembering the fierce bite in her words that could summon me in a beat and yet unravel me in seconds. She was special. Mine.

It must be excruciating feeling our bond for only moments, knowing the full extent of its magnitude. It was a cruel thing to have felt its strength only to lose it again just as quickly.

I slumbered in her arms until the sound of a raven’s raspy craw woke me again. So as not to wake her, I slid off her bed, collecting my clothes, pulling them on in silence. I made a quiet effort of scribbling a note on her bedside table before leaving her room, sliding her door shut behind me.

Edging myself over her balcony to the ground, I made my way back to the house Ty and I shared.

After showering and changing into some fresh clothes, I made my way out to the kitchen.

Ty sat at the counter, wolfing down bacon and eggs.

Scrap that. Inhaling them would be a better term.

The guy ate more than I could fathom, his stomach a bottomless pit, it seemed.

He looked up, hearing me approach him, giving me the once-over with suspicion.

“Where’d you get to yesterday?” He shoveled another forkful in his mouth.

I grabbed a mug, needing caffeine to hit my bloodstream right the fuck now. “Nowhere of your concern.”

I felt his gaze longer than needed, and I inwardly cursed, mentally thumping myself for not just saying 'work'. It was true, I had been there most of the day.

Ty motioned to the kettle. “It’s hot. You’re good to go.”

I went about pouring my morning pick-me-up before taking a drink.

Leaning against the kitchen counter, an uneasiness settled between us.

I had let rip at him a few nights ago after finding him sucking face with Morgan.

I’d let him know exactly what I thought of it, and it wasn’t my finest moment.

It didn’t help that I’d used my magic on her the next day in a way I had never allowed myself before, but my curiosity was biting to know what was up with this new girl.

Turns out he was right. Because Ty is always fucking right. She’s a witch, and the power that woman has rivals anything I’d felt before.

“What’s your plan today?” I asked, taking another sip from my mug. Pulling the top drawer open, I fished out a fork, proceeding to stab a mouthful of his eggs from his plate onto it. Nothing like pissing him off to help break the ice.

“Do you mind?” He fixed me with a glare. “Cook your own.”

I chuckled, shoveling the forkful into my mouth. “Are you still pissed at me? I was only trying to help.”

He didn’t answer.

“You really need to get your dick wet,” I added for good measure, staring at him from over the top of my mug.

He lifted from the bar leaner. “Give it a rest.” He placed his plate in the dishwasher, shutting the door.

“C’mon man, I’m having a laugh… If you’re into her and it feels real, jump in.”

Ty ground his jaw, his hardened gaze zeroing in on me momentarily before giving way to a softer version. “It’s real.”

I nodded, hiding a grin. Maybe my grumpy as fuck best friend was getting laid after all.

As much as I wasn’t sure about this Morgan girl, I was genuinely happy for Ty.

It had been a long while since he’d even looked at another woman after his last girlfriend passed away.

Besides, him getting some action might keep him occupied.

Keep him from noticing what was going on right under his nose with me and his sister.

I didn’t expect Ty to talk about his love life. He was never one to indulge any details. For him to say 'it’s real' spoke worlds alone.

I nudged him on the shoulder as I passed. “Happy for you. Just be careful.”

When a half-grin broke over his face, I knew I was right. “Will do,” he replied before heading to the front door toward Morgan’s house.

I made my way into the garage, setting about changing the tire on my dirt bike. Jacking it up onto the stand, I replaced the old tire with a new one, noting the nail sticking into the tread. Fuck, I wasn’t sure that could be repaired. I made a mental note to run it past Ty when he returned home.

I looked up when Skye’s Mini Coop rumbled into the driveway, my heart flooding with warmth at the sight of her. She stepped out, wearing workout tights and a lemon hoodie, the short hem exposing a slither of skin between the two.

My little ray of sunshine.

Skye had quickly become the light to my shadows. The dawn to my dusk. There was nothing that shone brighter than her in this world, and right then I knew: I was falling hopelessly in love with her.

LOVE.

Besides speaking it to my parents, the word had never moved from my lips before.

I wasn’t sure if I could even speak it out loud.

Because my trust for women had flown out the window years beforehand, taken from me in a night of drunken oblivion.

In the process, it had turned me into someone I wasn’t sure I liked.

Before Skye, I’d never let myself get close to a woman, preferring to let them fist my dick and be gone.

Then I saw her and everything changed .

The mate bond could supposedly 'click into place' from the age of eighteen, but only if the two in question were to meet. When Skye had walked into Ty’s house that afternoon, I hadn’t seen her in years.

It had been so unexpected it almost floored me.

From that moment, it was as if her very being was made to bend me into the man I was meant to become.

A man I could be proud of. A man, dare I say it, that could be capable of love.

Skye approached me warily, glancing around the garage.

“He’s next door,” I confirmed quietly, rising to my feet as she made her way closer.

I wanted to touch her so badly, pull her into my arms and greet her the way a man should.

But from where we stood, Morgan’s house was in clear view.

Even if Ty and Morgan were sitting out the back, I couldn’t take the risk of him seeing us. Not yet.

“Hey.” Skye brushed the back of my arm with her hand.

“Hey yourself.” I smiled down at her, a knowing look passing between us. I let my fingers lace through hers for a moment. Our fingers released, and she took a casual step away, the distance between us suddenly feeling like miles.

Her voice lowered to a whisper. “Last night was amazing.” Her eyelids fluttered, cheeks heating.

“It was. I’m sorry I had to leave, but…” I darted a look at Morgan’s place.

“I get it,” Skye assured me, and my chest relaxed. I’d hated having to leave her like that, but I didn’t need more questions from Ty.

Keeping an innocent distance from her, I admired her figure. “You have no idea how much I want to kiss you right now,” I rasped.

Her molten stare captured mine, drinking me in. “I want to kiss you, too,” she whispered.

I chanced another glance at Morgan’s house, wishing I could pull her into my embrace. Breathe in her scent. “It’s too much of a risk. If he found out the wrong way…”

Silence dragged between us, a heavy, lingering look stealing the breath from my lungs.

The pull to her was so intense I tried every effort to resist its tow. “Fuck it.”

I grabbed her hand, pulling her deeper into the garage behind Ty’s van, out of sight.

“Fuck it?”

“Yeah. Fuck it.”

She gasped as I walked her backward until I had her pinned between me and her brother’s van.

Crushing her lips with mine, I kissed her like I had never done before.

Deep and searching. She flung her hands around my neck, opening her mouth greedily for me, our tongues colliding in desperation.

My dick strained against my pants, hard and persistent, the whimper that escaped her as I ground my length against her spurring me on.

I slipped my hands down the front of her tights, sliding them into her heat, dragging the most sinful as fuck moan from her.

“Wes, we can’t,” she breathed against my ear in protest.

I wanted her to come for me. Right fucking now. Here. Against her brother’s van. “Yes, we can. You’re so wet already.”

My fingers danced over her clit, eliciting a mew that brought my thumb over her lips. “Be a good girl and stay quiet for me. Can you do that?”

A single nod. I removed my thumb, and her lips parted slightly.

Her head fell back as I continued my assault on the most sensitive part of her, giving it all the attention she needed in the limited time we had. My fingers rolled over her repeatedly as her breath became uneven, her gasps coming quicker.

One hand on the van, the other in her pussy, I took in every detail. Her flushed cheeks, tousled hair, and dark lashes consumed me. But I needed to see beyond that, speak to her soul.

“Open your eyes,” I ordered, and she obeyed.

I watched her dissolve under my touch, felt the rush of her climax coat my fingers as her eyes rolled into the back of her head.

“Wes,” she gasped, her fingers digging into my arm as she rode out the waves wracking her body.

I held her in my arms, and she melted against me, gathering her breath.

Still drinking in her scent, I pulled my hand from her. “That is the single most addictive thing to watch,” I murmured into her neck. “I don’t want you to leave.”

When she finally looked up at me again, her irises shone brightly. I loved how her fire element showed itself in my presence, licking her irises in a way that I knew was only for a mate. Like it just knew .

“I wish I didn’t have to.” She ran her hands over my chest, moving them up and over my shoulders. My raging hard on still pushed against her belly, her hands moving to the waistband of my pants.

I shook my head. “Not this time.”

She cocked a brow. “I want to.”

I chuckled, loving her enthusiasm. “We’re running on borrowed time as it is.” I lowered to kiss her lips once more, tentatively, before tearing myself from her. Adjusting myself, I asked. “What are your plans today?”

She sighed. “I have to find a dress for the dance. I was going to ask Morgan if she wanted to come with me, but she’s obviously busy with Tyler.”

The dance the local wolf pack put on yearly.

A predatory tone hardened my voice. “Do you have a date?”

She smiled coyly. “No.”

“Then you’re mine.”

“But...” She started to protest but gave up when I moved within inches of her lips, my breath dusting hers as I spoke.

“Scared you won’t be able to keep your hands off me in front of your brother?” I teased, placing my hands on the van on either side of her shoulders.

She shoved playfully against my chest, her gaze flashing the familiar shade of 'fuck off' I had gotten used to. “Is that a challenge?” she said lowly, moving even closer, as if proving a point. Baiting me.

I smiled wryly. “Better start practicing.”

She raised on her toes, the brush of her low husk on my earlobe making my dick ache even more. “I don’t think I’m going to be the one with the problem,” she drawled, before stepping underneath my arm and away from me, an extra sway in her hips.

I smirked, loving how she could work me up so easily. With my dick still straining against my pants, I said just loud enough for her to hear: “Be ready at eight.”

She turned back to me, her mouth pulled into a wry smile before sudden recognition dawned on her face. “Oh, sorry I forgot to give you this.” She dug her hand into the side pocket of her tights, pulling out a small envelope.

I took it, frowning in confusion.

“A woman at the cafe gave it to me, she said you dropped it the other day. I haven’t opened it,” she added.

Confusion gnawed at my sides. A woman? This was not my envelope.

I took it from her, an instant hit of dark magic tumbling through me as it connected with my skin.

What the fuck?

“Ah, thanks,” I said, hiding my confusion. I had never seen this envelope before. “Who gave this to you again? I’d like to thank her if I see her around.”

Skye shrugged. “Some lady. She was really pale, slim, had long dark hair tied into a top knot. Sorry, I don’t know her.”

My mind reverted back to the last time I was at Coffee Cove with Skye.

I vaguely remembered this woman. She had been sitting at a table on her own and didn’t think twice about demanding Skye’s attention, even when it was clear she was short staffed and under the pump.

“Okay all good,” I said, shoving it into my back pocket. “Thanks.”

“You’re welcome.”

When she left, I pulled out the envelope in question. It had no name or address on the front.

W ho even has envelopes these days?

Turning over the envelope, I slid my hand into it. I pulled out a single piece of paper. At the top was my name. Below it, a simple scrawl.

In magic you cannot foresee, is power that belongs to me. Before the rising of the sun, bring to me the gifted one. Meet me at the iron gate, or yield to me your fated mate.

Below it was the date of the dance.

What the fuck?

Suddenly, a vision slammed into my mind of Morgan’s face, the iron gate at the entryway to the Cutters Cove wolves’ packhouse, the familiar ballroom, and then, a vision of Skye. It came at me so hard that the force of it took the air from my lungs.

Who was this woman? And how did she do that ? I’d never had a vision before. It had nothing to do with my sensor magic. For some reason, she had specifically wanted me to receive this message.

Stone cold dread sank into me as I put all the pieces together.

This woman had been watching me. And she had seen me with Skye. For some unknown reason, she wanted to use me to get something of her own, and Skye had, unbeknownst to her, become her reassurance.

I was being blackmailed.