“Ouch.” Calli traced the scar beneath her finger. “I’m really sorry I woke you, by the way.”
“It’s fine.” He shot her a crooked grin that was oh so dangerous. “You need some time to shake off the dream?”
“Probably,” she admitted. “I can make some hot cocoa if you want.”
“Sure. I’ll help.”
She pushed her sheets back and stood. Malcolm’s lips twitched when he saw her matching orange pajamas with black bats on them.
“You really love Halloween,” he said.
“You don’t?”
He shrugged. “It’s a solemn holiday for my father. He doesn’t see it as fun. My mother loves it, though.”
“You said she’s non-magic, right?”
“Yeah. She always pestered my father to cast spells all over the house to make it feel extra magical for any kids trick or treating. But for my father and me… a magical holiday just made our strained relationship worse.”
“How come?”
“My father’s side of the family is…prestigious in the magical world. He married a non-magical human, something that everyone in his family and his world frowned upon, and then there was me…a half-blood. I was a disappointment to him.”
There was a hollowness in his voice that tore at Calli, but she didn’t press him with more questions. The lingering effects of her nightmare had left her shaky, and she focused instead on making some cocoa for them.
Down in the kitchen, she heated milk on the stove and added some cocoa while Malcolm watched.
“I thought you said you’d help?” she said. She couldn’t help but sneak glances at his mostly naked body and the way his green eyes focused on her every move.
“Sure. I’ll help you drink it.”
Calli chuckled. She’d never been really comfortable around men, but there was nothing uncomfortable about Malcolm. He was a sexy, irresistible, masculine presence that had no place in a sleepy town like Moonstone Falls, yet he seemed to fit into her world in a way that she couldn’t explain.
“Whipped cream?” she asked, holding up a tub.
“On you or the cocoa?” he asked with a flirty grin. Rather than upset her, his words cut through the tension still coiled tight inside her.
“The cocoa,” she giggled. “Do you flirt with everyone like this?”
He winked. “Only when it wins me a smile like yours.”
She poured the cocoa into two pumpkin-shaped mugs and put whipped cream on top of each, followed by a dash of nutmeg.
They went into the family room, which held her favorite leather couch and a pair of armchairs that faced the fireplace, surrounded by built-in bookshelves covering the walls on either side. She pretended to blow the fireplace a kiss, and a small burst of light struck the logs, starting a healthy blazing fire. She curled up on the couch, while he took one of the chairs.
“Nice trick,” Malcolm said as he sipped his cocoa.
“Thanks.” She smiled and licked whipped cream off her lips.
“If I could do that, I’d probably make my signature move?—”
“Wait, let me guess. Finger gun.” She mimed the firing of a six-shooter and blew out the imaginary smoke.
“That obvious, huh?”
“Well, you are a guy. It was either that or one of those Japanese anime energy blasts.”
“That was my second choice, yes.” Malcolm eyed his mug with an arched brow. “You really do love pumpkins, don’t you?”
