“I like smart girls,” she said.
I smiled. “You go for the nerds, huh?”
Shetilted her head, a little smirk on her lips. “I like that you see the world in patterns. You notice things others don’t. And yeah, I guess I find your nerdy side pretty cute.”
I laughed.
Crap, was it wrong of me to try and pry secrets out of her? Was I being manipulative?
But I’m not just going out with her because I think she’s a witch. I like her regardless—her confidence, her charm, the way she looks at me like I’m a snack. The way she listens to me with her whole attention, leaning into every word. I just think that if she is a witch, she should know I’m someone she can confide in. I know about magic, and she can trust me to keep her secrets.
My plan to get a witchy confession out of her, however, was dissolving under the molten heat of her touch. She pushed my thighs apart and stepped between my legs, bending to graze her lips over mine.
“Thank you for showing me that,” she murmured into my lips. “I like seeing your creations…learning how your mind works…”
“N-no problem,” I stammered, losing the ability to form coherent thoughts as she teased me with her tongue.
She toyed with my waistband, her fingers brushing the sensitive skin at my hips. “Makes me want to do naughty things to you.”
My heartbeat quickened, and I squirmed. “Like what?”
“Like lick you from head to toe.” She planted a gentle, teasing kiss on my lips.
“Uh-huh. And then what?” I was breathless, my body responding to her every touch.
“Then…” Another peck. “Once you’re shaking beneath me, I’ll reward your patience and lick you right here…” She cupped a hand between my legs, making me let out a soft, hungry noise.
“I’ll start off slow,” she murmured in my ear, tonguing my earlobe, “licking you so softly that you’ll be begging me to let you finish. I will…but I won’t be done with you yet. Before you’ve caught your breath, I’ll get on top of you and slide my fingers inside you. I’ll fuck you until you’re clinging to me with your thighs and screaming my name. I’ll make you come again and again until you can’t take it anymore.”
I became feral after that, grabbing her hair and wrapping my legs around her hips. We started clawing at each other, leaving a trail of clothes between the kitchen and bedroom.
She kept her promise, making me come until I lost count. I did the same for her, devouring her like I was ravenous, relishing the sight of her lying sweaty and out of breath on the tangled sheets.
Afterward, as we lay in a daze, I traced my fingers over the tattoo on her shoulder—the purple butterfly that matched the ones in her collection.
“Your brother,” I said softly. “Is he…?”
“Gone,” she replied, her voice tight. She didn’t elaborate.
I nodded, pressing a kiss to her shoulder. “I’m sorry.”
She turned to kiss me back tenderly, something soft and unreadable behind her eyes.
I know, I know, I still haven’t gotten an answer out of her about the chimeras or witches. We keep getting distracted by…other activities. But I’m not expecting her to spill that secret easily. It took Katie’s near-abduction before Natalie was forced to tell her she’s a witch, so I expect that whatever Oaklyn is hiding from me won’t be easy to pry out of her either.
I’m okay with that. I’ve got time…and I’m enjoying the process. In due course, I intend to learn everything I can about this amazing and mysterious woman.
Chapter 14
Katie andHazel’s School of Questionable Inventions
“We’vegottwentyminutesleft to revolutionize chimera-catching, and this isn’t looking good,” I tell Hazel, scanning the carnage. Sweat prickles under my T-shirt, and I pluck it away from my chest to let some air in.
“This one will work,” Hazel assures me, pushing back the hair plastered to her face. “Pass me the duct tape.”
I wade through the tools, toys, and sports equipment, stepping on a rubber duck in a top hat that somehow made it into the pile, and hand her the nearly empty roll.
Two hours have flown by since Natalie smuggled her in, and the pair of us are alone in the same Alchemy lab Natalie and I used, frantically trying to reinvent a century of chimera-catching techniques before Fiona is done meeting with the Shadows. A T-shirt cannon sits defeated betweena tangled fishing rod and a bow and arrow. And those were our more successful attempts.
