Her breath catches in her throat. “Don’t—don’t say things like that—”
“Why?” I ask. My hand comes up. She freezes. I slide my fingers along her jaw, down her neck, curling softly, possessively around her throat. Not squeezing—just holding. Just claiming territory I know belongs to me.
Her eyes flutter. Her lips part. Magic crackles between us like static in a storm.
“Slade…” she whispers, voice breaking.
“You want answers,” I say.
My thumb brushes her pulse. “Fine. We’ll find them.”
She shivers. “But right now,” I murmur, leaning in, “you need to sleep. Before the curse gets another foothold.”
I press my lips to her temple—slow, warm, intentional. A kiss that is not a kiss. A claim disguised as comfort.
Her knees soften. A soft, helpless sound escapes her throat—barely audible. Heat floods off her in waves. Sweet. Wild. Unmistakable. Piper’s scent shifts—warm, sultry, blooming with magic she can’t hide.
Desire.
I inhale once—slowly—and it hits me like a blow to the chest. She’swet…forme.
She stiffens immediately, sensing the change in my breathing, the way I go still. Her eyes dart up to mine, wide and defensive, like she knows I’ve just discovered a secret she didn’t mean to reveal.
I lean in, my lips brushing her temple. “Go to bed, Piper.”
She tries to scowl at me, but the edges of it tremble. Her pupils are blown, pulse fluttering against my fingers. Her magic skitters over her skin like sparks desperate to leap. I tilt my head, inhale again—purposefully this time. And she goes bright red. “Slade,” she hisses through clenched teeth, “don’t.”
“You’re soaked for me,” I murmur.
She lets out a shocked, furious noise—somewhere between a gasp and a squeak. “That is—NO—it’s—SHUT. UP.”
I smile against her cheek. Dark. Slow. Knowing. “Liar.”
She shoves me again—weak, embarrassed, and absolutely melting under my hand. “I hate you,” she snaps.
“No.” I step back just enough to let her breathe. “Youwishyou did.”
She whirls around and storms down the hallway, curls bouncing violently, indignation in every step. I stay where Iam. Listening.
Her heartbeat—fast, uneven, desperate. Piper’s magic—humming, needy, reaching even as she tries to push it down.
The moment she throws herself into bed, I hear it. A soft, helpless exhale of frustration and want. A woman trying very, very hardnotto think about me.
Exactlyas intended.
Chapter 7
Piper
Morning filters through my curtains in a soft wash of winter light, warm enough to tease but too faint to soothe. I wake with a start—not dramatically, just a sharp inhale that hits the back of my throat and reminds me of everything I’m trying very hard notto remember.
Slade’s hand on my throat. His breath against my skin. His mouth brushing my temple. The way my body answered him—quick and helpless—as if it had been waiting for that moment longer than I’ve been alive.
Absolutely not.
I shove off the blankets and roll out of bed, willing my legs not to wobble. They do anyway. I pretend they don’t. What can I say? A girl deserves her delusions.
The scent reaches me before I turn the corner—something warm and savory, threaded with the faintest curl of smoke.
