She had never wanted to be kissed more than at that moment.
It was such a bad idea. He wasn’t the kind of guy who would be content living in a small magical town. Being with him could be wonderful. It could be magical. But it couldn’t last. Sooner or later, he’d leave. It was better not to get attached.
That was what she told herself right before his lips covered hers.
Magic exploded all around them. Her skin tingled in the most erotic way, as if he was somehow kissing her everywhere and all at once. Her knees buckled as Malcolm let go of her wrist and held her up against him with his strong arms. His chest was like a warm fire on a cold night, making her want to snuggle closer.
She parted her lips to let his exploring tongue in and, oh God, he tasted like her favorite cinnamon and spice cookies. She groaned and dug her nails into his shoulders. A second later, the smell of something burning jerked her out of her sensual haze.
The rug was on fire.
“Shit!” Malcolm lifted her up onto the couch, setting her safely away from the flames before he grabbed the blanket from the couch and threw it over the small fire, stamping it out with his feet. Gray smoke coiled up in the air, and he looked at her with a dark, unreadable gaze.
Calli’s lips were swollen from his kiss and her breasts felt heavy. She felt like she could drift away on the cloud of desire he had created for her, but the smell of singed carpet and their ragged breaths kept her grounded in the moment.
“Still think teaching me magic is a good idea?” he asked, a hint of self-deprecation in his tone.
She swallowed hard, looking between him and the burned patch on the rug. “I think it’s more important than ever…”
CHAPTER FOUR
A cold, wet nose pressed against Malcolm’s arm just before dawn, rousing him from sleep. Hades rested his head on the edge of the bed, his puppy dog eyes were soft and his ears alert as he waited for Malcolm to drag himself out of bed. With a groan and a stretch, he got up. Calli had healed his broken arm, but the rest of his body still ached after his unexpected and disastrous arrival in her garden. He couldn’t believe he’d set fire to her garden… and her rug. His magic was being a real pain in the ass right now.
Even though he didn’t really use his magic, he still had a few things he knew he could comfortably do, like dry his clothes after the rain or snap his fingers and light a nearby candle. But the cool stuff? The stuff his father could do with ease? Yeah… not so much.
But Calli’s magic? God, her magic wasn’t just powerful, it was beautiful. He wondered if she was aware of just how powerful she was. Her magic rivaled his father’s in sheer power, even if it was a slightly different kind. She was connected to everything around her, he could sense that much. Moreover, she made it seem so effortless.
He wasn’t jealous, not exactly, but he wished he could have that connection with his own magic, if only to keep him from hurting anyone by accident, if nothing else. But he’d given up a long time ago on learning how to control his magic.
He stepped out into the hallway. The house was quiet, surprisingly peaceful given all that had happened the previous evening. Not even the floorboards creaked as he padded down the staircase and into the kitchen.
Given the silence, he assumed Calli was asleep. He didn’t blame her after the chaos he’d brought to her door, including the kiss that started a rug fire. He glanced at the burned rug as he passed the living room before stepping into the kitchen, searching for food to satisfy his grumbling belly.
He stole two blueberry muffins from a plate in the kitchen and ate them. Then he located the laundry room, put the wet clothes in the dryer, and folded everything that was dry until he found his shirt and pants. He carefully set her clothing in a neat stack, including her panties, which he put at the bottom in the hopes she wouldn’t be embarrassed that he’d seen them. Then he and Hades headed into the garden to sort out his bike. Hopefully it would still run.
Under the harsh light of morning, he could see just how much destruction he’d caused last night. Not a single pumpkin had survived, and the vines were now scorched, black ropes with crisp leaves. His magic had really destroyed Calli’s pumpkin crop.
“No wonder she broke my arm,” he muttered. He lifted up his hands, studying his palms with a frown. “And when I want to start a real fire in a fireplace? Where are you, huh? Not around, that’s where.” His hands tingled as if his magic was insulted at his words.
Hades stared balefully up at Malcolm and let out a low grumbling sort of growl. “I know, I know,” he told the dog. “If I didn’t have magic, you wouldn’t be here, and trust me, bud, I need you here with me.” He ruffled his hand in the dog’s fur and made his ears wriggle. “I just wish I didn’t keep messing up everything.” He looked once more at the burned up garden plants, his stomach twisting into knots.
His motorcycle was lying on its side, covered with smashed pumpkins. It took some effort to get the bike upright and double-check that the sidecar was properly secured. Then he used the garden hose to wash the pumpkin off. When he tested the engine, it turned over with no issues. He turned it off and pushed the bike through a gate to the long driveway, parking it next to a small Honda Civic that must belong to Calli.
With the sun now climbing in the sky, Malcolm made his way back inside the silent house and wondered what to do next. Hades’s growling stomach made their first stop the kitchen, where he tossed his familiar a pumpkin muffin.
With still no sign that Calli had woken up, he found a notepad and left her a note, telling her he and Hades were going into town to find Jasper if he was around, but he’d be back.
Malcolm touched his lips and chuckled. He could still taste Calli. That kiss last night had been incredible, but far too short… because he’d turned the moment into a pyrotechnic event. If he had been able to control his damn magic, they might have had a chance to see where that kiss would have led. That alone was enough reason to stay and take at least one magic lesson from Calli.
After the kiss they’d shared, the last thing he wanted to do was leave. He’d wanted to wait for her to wake up, to see if that kiss had left her as electrified as it had him, but the whole situation was awkward as hell. It was probably best if he got out of her hair for a few hours, until she was properly awake anyway. He wasn’t sure he wanted to see what her hexing was like before she’d had her morning coffee.
What he needed to do was find Jasper and tell him what happened. Even though Jasper was a non-magic, he was always rational, always calm and collected when Malcolm tended to spiral into disaster mode in any given situation. His best friend would offer him sound, logical advice, and he could really use that right now. A small part of him knew he could go back to New York immediately, but the very idea of leaving Moonstone Falls made his stomach hurt and his chest tight. He wasn’t going to leave.
Besides, he owed Calli at least one magical lesson, even if he made a total fool of himself. He just prayed he didn’t set fire to anything else in her house.
And who knew? Maybe she actually could teach him a bit of self-control, enough so he wouldn’t open up anymore witch wormholes or set fire to everything when he was kissing a beautiful woman.
He was worried. That had never happened to him before. Not with any of the women he’d dated in the past. Was his control getting worse somehow? Then again, he’d never kissed a witch, so maybe it was connected to that. Regardless, he didn’t want that to happen again. He wanted another kind of fire to start, one in his and Calli’s bodies, not on a rug.
