“I am,” Karson replied. One look at his face was enough to let me know he wasn’t thinking about food. Color flooded my cheeks.
“For God’s sake, seriously? I’m going to fucking puke.” Dahlia screwed up her face. “Just eat, Amy, so we can go.”
I headed to the kitchen, opened the fridge door, searching for something to eat.
“Does anyone want eggs, bacon, mushrooms,” I yelled out. “Maybe a knife to cut the tension,” I muttered.
“I’m standing right here, no need to yell.” Karson said from behind me. “And let’s not tempt Dahlia by giving her a knife.” He wrapped his arms around my stomach, pulling my back against his chest. His hot lips feathered my neck, sending shivers of delight down my spine. “Do we need to work on your mood a little more?” he purred.
“Stop it,” I whispered, grabbing his hands and pulling them off.
“The lot for me, and toast if you have it,” Dahlia called out.
I restrained a giggle and swung to face him. He tucked a wayward strand of hair back behind my ear. It was an attentive thing to do. A surge of fire sparked from the bottom of my stomach to between my thighs. I felt my vagina dampen.
He smelled my desire, his pupils grew to a huge size and drowned the color in his eyes. Desire shimmered between us.
He leaned in, his mouth to my ear, and whispered, “Do not be away too long, I have plans that include devouring every inch of your body today.”
The sound of his voice sparked another burst of wetness. Groaning, I stepped back. “Stop it, now I have to change my underwear,” I whispered.
He laughed, a sweet musical sound. “Well, Miss Williams, I can help you out of them right now if you like?”
I would, but shook my head, laughing I turned to the fridge, opening the door.
“Ethan told me about your cooking, go sit, chat to your witch friend, I will cook so it’s edible at least.” He reached past me and grabbed out the bacon.
“I’m not that bad,” I said, as he tossed bacon on the bench.
“Not what I was told.” He grabbed the mushrooms and began chopping them on a wooden board with a blur of speed; they were fully chopped by the time I turned to say, “Coffee?”
He screwed up his face like I’d offered him dirt. He didn’t like coffee then, noted. I opened the cupboard door and got out a cup. “Another coffee, Dahlia?” I called out.
“Yes, black, three sugars.”
I grabbed a second cup and placed one beneath the machine. I pressed the button and waited until it ground down and coffee trickled out.
“Thanks.” She took the cup. Her lips drew into thin, taut lines, as if she was physically struggling to keep the words she wanted to say sealed behind them.
“I’m not boiling frog legs, sacrificing a lamb, or pulling out my hair for any weird ass spells Dahlia, so you can cross that off the to-do list today.”
“Do I look like the kind of girl that stands around a cauldron chanting shit?”
I could see her sacrificing the lamb. I didn’t answer.
She rolled her eyes. “I’m a fucking fighter, Amy, I was sent to teach you to get a knife and place it in the heart of a vampire. Not that they have one.”
Horrified, I took a step back. “I’m not . . . no way.”
She smiled a wicked little smile. “I’m just kidding . . . maybe.”
I headed back upstairs to change my underwear. I made it to the bedroom door when my phone beeped. I reached into my jacket pocket, the text from Ethan read:
‘You’re safe, little witch x’
I wasn’t sure how to process the news of my being safe. It was disturbing and gut-wrenching to have to disentangle the knowledge that my safety came at the cost of another life. I sat on the bed. I had my freedom, yes. I could come and go as I pleased without Ethan trailing along with me. Not that he ever really bothered me. I was safe now, but there was no sense of relief. Instead, there was turmoil. A woman had died. Her family or friends wouldn’t be seeing her again. She’d died so I could live. The day didn’t seem brighter, and I didn’t feel any freer. Guilt bled through my veins, spreading darkness like a black cloud.
I went back into the kitchen, hovered at the door watching Karson. His muscles rode his arms as he tossed the mushroom. He didn’t turn around.
