This is all a ploy.
A ploy I’ll put into effect in just … a moment.
The wolf, who’s been teasing and tormenting me since I was a teenager, grunts in surprise.
Then, he kisses me back. Hard and heady. The sensation so intense that my calculating brain is almost overwhelmed.
But not quite.
After taking a longer-than-planned moment to sup on his savory, warm mouth, I force my focus to get through the haze his solid body and hot kisses have cast over my brain.
Behind Manny’s neck, where the wolf can’t see, I twist my hands in the pattern of coaxing. Magic is an interesting thing. Part instinct, part trained direction. Some witches use words and substances to manipulate the powers of the world. Fernmore witches use our hands, speaking to the growing things through intricate finger movements.
The tingle of my magic surges, and my palms glow green, drawing the nearby roots to me. I feel them respond in the ground, rising through layers of soil to do my bidding.
“Gods, Blossom,” Manny groans against my mouth. “I want you.”
The moment he breaks contact enough to speak the words, I fully regain a handle on myself.
Well,mostlyregain a handle. My pulse is still hammering in an erratic rhythm.
I shove away from the tricky wolf, skipping back a few extra steps to make sure I’m out of his reach.
“You almost had me. But I’m not falling for it,” I taunt. “Have fun detangling yourself. I’ll see you at the finish line.”
I stick around just long enough to watch as Manny’s wide eyes drop to his lower half.
While he was distracted by my awesome kissing skills, I had roots carefully but firmly entomb his legs from his thighs down.
“What the fuck?”
He barks out another few curses, but I have trouble hearing them over my laughter as I sprint away.
5
MANNY
That gods-damn sneaky witch.
I stare at Blossom across the fire, where she chats animatedly with Ame Shelly, pretending she doesn’t feel my eyes on her.
It’s been a few hours since the last challenge, but I’m still not over her trickery in the maze. She kissed the hell out of me, got me hard as a rock, then ran off to claim her victory while leaving me tied up.
I knew she could get competitive, but the duplicity is downright sexy.
Fuck, I want you so bad, Blossom Fernmore.
But the question is, how do I convince her my interest is real? What do I need to do to prove I’m not trying to pull one over on her?
Heather thought Blossom taking her place in this competition would give me a good chance to woo her sister. Before she left on her honeymoon, she sat me down and spelled it out. Blossom’s passion rose to the surface when she was chasing a win. And Heather claimed, by some sisterly bond,she could tell that part of the reason I was so good at pissing Blossom off was because I mattered to her.
But it’s my job to turn that mattering into something good.
Something monumental.
Twice now, Blossom has kissed me on the lips. Both times with the aim of dealing me a blow.
And maybe I have an improperly flipped circuit in my brain because every time she ends a kiss with a menacing act, I only want her more.
