Page 19 of Untraced Magic (Cutters Cove Witches #1)

Tyler

I pretended not to notice two things. One, the cute little smile hidden behind her coffee mug. And two, the way her thighs clenched together at my last comment.

But it was true. All bets were off.

Since Morgan’s arrival, I’d been living an internal battle trying to keep her at a healthy distance, tucked away in the ‘you can look but can’t touch’ box.

Morgan being a supernatural meant what I thought I couldn’t have, had been flipped on its ass and tossed sideways. Where did that leave me? Somewhere between I wanted this woman so badly it kept me up at night, and she could still be the fucking Devil in disguise. Surely not.

My gut told me otherwise, my instincts certain I could trust her. But until I found out everything, I had to keep my dick in my pants, and that alone had been a feat the last twenty-four hours.

Morgan shifted in her seat and her knee grazed mine, the contact lighting my nerves on fire.

The reaction of such a touch was so unknown to me, and I couldn’t grasp any reasoning for it.

Ava had been my first girlfriend, and we had shared so much together.

But in comparison, our connection was nothing compared to the intensity between Morgan and me.

The dark-haired beauty sitting beside me had no idea that from the moment I’d met her, she had set my nerves on fire and my heart in a knot. At times Morgan had almost rendered me speechless, left my limbs in chains, and I’d never imagined a woman could make me feel those things.

We chatted for what seemed like hours with no awkwardness. I found out she liked lattes because of the extra milk, that she's allergic to cats, and she had moved towns a lot growing up.

Skye’s voice sounded from behind us. “Morgan, are you still here?”

Morgan looked over her shoulder. “Yeah, we’re out the back!”

Wes and Skye came through the glass doors on the porch, and she looked at them expectantly.

“Did you find anything?” she asked.

Skye held what appeared to be a book in the air. Bound in dark leather and pressed with aged creases, it looked centuries old.

She nodded. “I think so. It took a while, but we found this.” She lowered to the deck, and we gathered closer.

“What exactly is this?” asked Morgan, tracing her hand over the etchings on its front.

“It’s a history of witch bloodlines,” Skye replied with reverence.

Her forehead creased. “And that’s just available for public knowledge?”

Wes moved closer. “There’s a part of the library that to everyday humans doesn’t exist. ”

Morgan shrugged. “Right. So did you find anything that can help me?” She gestured to the book.

Skye flipped through until her hand landed on a withered page with the same symbol on Morgan’s locket displayed.

Morgan pointed, nearly knocking over her empty coffee mug in excitement. “Look! The symbol, it’s the same”

Skye’s lips pursed into a line. “Yeah. Only, there’s a problem.”

I fired a look at Skye. “A problem?”

A breeze fluttered through the pages, and she splayed her arm across the book to hold them steady. With her other hand, she ran her finger down the middle seam.

I looked closer, my heart sinking. I hadn’t seen it before, but there was a page missing that looked as if it had been ripped out.

Confusion rippled Morgan’s forehead. “There’s a page missing.”

Humble silence settled in the air between us.

Air deflated from Morgan’s lungs, her shoulders sagging in defeat. “Meaning I’m no closer to finding out anything about me than I was five minutes ago.” She huffed.

“There must be a reason for it,” I offered, catching Skye’s attention, but her shoulders just raised discretely. No luck there.

After a moment, Wes spoke, “Morgan, do you mind if I try something on you… with my gift, I mean?”

My ears pricked at his comment, every hair on my skin suddenly spiking.

What the fuck was he on about?

“What do you mean by try something?” I snapped, the tone of my voice drawing the attention of the group .

Morgan’s hand landed on my thigh. “Tyler,” She murmured beside me.

Wes turned back to Morgan. “I mean that something’s not right with your gift. What if we sat down and held the locket together, almost as a tether? It might help me get past whatever this is and find out what’s going on.”

“No way,” I argued. “It’s not happening. You’re not using her as your guinea pig.”

Skye shot me a hard look. “Ty, we keep coming up blank here. Wes is only trying to help.”

“And it’s a bad idea,” I challenged.

Morgan’s hand gripped my thigh tighter. “Wesley, have you done this before?” she asked.

He popped his knuckles. “Not exactly. I mean, I usually brush people as they walk past or get a sense from a distance. What I did with the locket before, I don’t usually do on people. I’m not sure how this would work. But I’m willing to try it if you’ll let me.”

Wes refused to look at me. Like fuck I was going to let her be his crash test dummy. I didn’t know how this whole sensor thing worked, but Wes dabbled in ways I didn’t understand.

“There is no fucking way I’m letting this happen,” I said, rising to my feet and putting myself between them.

“Tyler,” Morgan cried out, but I didn’t move. “Please sit down. Let’s just hear him out.” She moved out from behind me, her eyes burning into the side of my face.

I didn’t take mine off Wes. He couldn’t seriously be considering it, could he ?

“If you fucking hurt her…” I warned.

“STOP!” Morgan’s hands fell between us. “I want to give this a go.”

A stiff gust of air swept between us, causing her hair to fall across her face. Like the elements were sounding a warning. She swiped it away without breaking eye contact.

I held her gaze for what felt like an eternity. A week ago, she’d been a stranger to me. Today, I didn’t understand the feeling that urged me to protect her so fiercely.

I lowered my voice, my hand capturing her forearm. “You don't have to do this.”

She stared up at me, a silent plea. “I know. But I want to try.”

“He could kill you,” I reminded her, stating the obvious, uncertain she knew what she was getting herself into.

“Please, let me try this.”

I forced my hands through my hair in frustration as she turned to Wes with folded arms.

“What do I need to do?” she asked.

Wes held my stare, a nerve grinding his jaw. “Let’s go inside.”

Morgan cautiously stepped away, and we now stood chest to chest. If looks could kill, he’d be six feet under, and I’d happily dig the hole myself.

Skye shoved my shoulder. “Okay, enough with the dick swinging contest. Let’s go.”

I tore my eyes from Wes, reluctantly following them inside as I muttered under my breath .

In the living room, Wes moved the coffee table to the side until there was an empty space in the middle of the room. He motioned at Skye, refusing to look at me. “If you could both sit to the side.”

A thumping shunted my bones to the marrow, my heart storming blood through my veins.

I controlled every aspect of my life but was powerless to make them see how dangerous this was. If Morgan wanted to do this, I couldn’t stop her.

Morgan and Wes sat crossed legged facing each other, the locket in her hand. Her eyes met mine as if wanting my blessing, but I couldn’t grant it. Not when her life was at stake.

She drew in a breath, slowly letting it out again. “Are you sure about this?” she said, suddenly looking not so confident.

Wes rolled his shoulders, straightening. “Like I said, I haven't done this before. Not like this. You’re just going to have to trust me.”

Uncertainty rolled off them in waves.

Skye looked as uncomfortable as I felt, twisting her ring around her thumb.

Jacked full of adrenaline, it coursed through me, my jaw holding tight. I shot Skye a look, but she only shrugged her shoulders in response. Fuck. This was happening whether I liked it or not.

Wes moved closer to Morgan until their knees touched. “I’m going to place my hand over yours, so the locket is between our palms, then our free hands cover them.”

She nodded.

“Now, close your eyes. ”

I watched as she followed his instruction, unable to believe she was even considering this. My gaze fell to her hands now encased by another man’s, and a predatory storm brewed inside of me, pushing through my veins in a jealous wash.

Wes rolled his head forward. I figured he was trying not to freak everyone out with his black-as-all-hell eyes when he did this shit. The guy was a freak of nature.

To be fair, we all were in our own way, but Wes was something else.

His hand gripped hers tightly, a line of sweat sliding down the nape of his neck. Moments passed and nothing happened. Then without warning, Morgan’s head shot back.

A tremor ripped through her body, her eyes wide and saturated a milky white, fixed on the ceiling above. It was as if the moon had fallen from the sky and taken residence inside of her, or maybe it was something else. Or someone, rather…

“Wes!” I yelled, rushing to her side. “What the fuck?”

I didn’t dare touch her, her breath matching the faint rise and fall of her chest.

Her pupils suddenly returned to normal, a gasp of air filling her lungs before she fell limp into my arms.

“What the hell just happened?” I demanded.

Skye ran to Wes’s side, his lungs violently heaving air, droplets of moisture coating his forehead. “Holy shit, Wesley, are you okay?” Her voice pitched as her hands landed on his arms to shake him.

His pupils dilated, casting swiftly around the room as he tried to focus his disoriented gaze .

“Morgan, can you hear me?” I urged. She mumbled incoherently in my arms, and I patted her cheek. “Open your eyes.” I pleaded as terror gripped me in a chokehold, pressing its hands around my throat.

“Are… they okay?” Skye stammered in shock, her blue-green irises flitting back and forth between the two.

Wes shakily pressed his hand to his forehead. “I’m good. Morgan?” he rasped.

My voice dipped, not bothering to hide my distaste. “I don’t know.”

Morgan stirred in my arms, and relief flooded through me. Thank fuck.

I stared down at her. “Hey, are you okay?”

She attempted to sit upright but lacked the strength, falling back into my arms. “I think so,” she mumbled.

I brushed hair from her face. “You had me worried there.”

Morgan narrowed her eyes at Wes. “What the hell were you doing in there? It felt like you were clawing at my brain.” She winced.

Wes rubbed at his temples, giving her an apologetic look. “Yeah, sorry, that was all new to me.”

Skye surveyed his face, moving his head with her hands to inspect him. “Did you find anything that could help?” she asked.

It was a loaded question, one only Wes knew the answer to.

Whatever Wes just did was not the usual shit. That much was fucking clear. He lay spread on his back, knees bent with an arm draped over his forehead.

“Yeah. We need to find Betty.” He stated .

“Betty?” we all said at once.

He nodded. “I could smell that hideous perfume she wears and heard her voice chanting a spell. Find Betty and you have your answers.”