Nope.That was equally impossible. There was no way he was looking at me like I thought he was. It was a trick of the light. My desperate gift nudging me to act on my attraction to him. I was in a baggy shirt, covered in drool, with a messy bun and an underwireless bra. There was no way—no freaking way—he’d be interested.
The grating chirp of the phone ringing pierced the silence, pulling me back from my trance. Aspen gave an annoyed grunt from my lap.You and me both.I carefully lifted him, setting him in the bouncer where he curled into its embrace. Then I shuffled toward the phone.
As I drew closer, I realized its screen wasn’t lit.
“Okay, I’ll be there in thirty,” Lynx said from behind me, sounding frustrated with whoever was on the other line.
When he hung up, he helped me put everything that had been unpacked into its rightful place in the kitchen. Every so often, when our bodies grazed each other or our eyes caught for a moment, the remnants of my gift would flit up beneath the surface of my skin, desperate to latch onto something. Someone.
This witch was going to be a problem.
“I am so sorry I have to run for a bit, but I’ll be back in a few hours to help you get more done.”
“You don’t have t—”
“Iwantto. We’ve got the living room, and I saw the nursery needs tackling. Got to give this wildling a cave to call his own.” Lynx gave a quick smile toward Aspen, who was still asleep. “In the meantime, I’ll go ahead and shoot that text over to my contact at the police department and see if he knows anything.”
“Thanks.”
With a nod, he opened the door and shut it gingerly behind him.
My Desire sizzled impatiently, alltoo eagerfor his return.
Chapter6
Oakley
Afew hours later, Lynx returned, toting a small paper bag. “I come bearing treats.”
My mouth watered, about a fifty-fifty ratio on the cause being the man in front of me and whatever was in the bag wafting of flour, butter, and all things sugary and good. “Thanks! Smells delicious.”
He stepped inside, moving fluidly toward the cabinets like he was right at home. Taking out a plate and setting it on the counter, he snapped his fingers, the assortment of muffins and cookies piling up on it. “Go ahead and grab something to eat. I know it’s rare to have a moment to yourself when you’re a new mom, I hear it all the time from Ivy and Jade.” His eyes scanned the rooms, as if taking inventory of the things we still needed to do. “I recommend the pumpkin streusel muffins with cinnamon cream cheese filling. You’ll never find anything else like them.”
Two of them sat side by side on the plate, and I quickly scurried over and grabbed one, along with a paper towel. Sitting on the barstool, I brought the treat to my lips, inhaling the sweet spices before taking a bite. The perfect amount of cinnamon cream cheese oozed from the fluffy pumpkin muffin. With buttery, crumbly streusel on top, it coalesced in a decadent blend of flavors and textures.
I moaned, unable to control myself.
“Right?” He smirked, lifting a framed photo of Hazel and I from when we were teenagers. Holding it up, he looked at me for direction. I pointed to the wall across from the couch and he took it over, placing the photo in various positions until I nodded in approval. Then he released some magic, adhering it to the onyx wall.
Watching him move so effortlessly to get all this done really made me miss having my magic. It was always on my mind: whether or not to summon it back the coming full moon. It was hard to know how many more I’d have left before it was decided for me. Maybe one to two.
I took another bite, then swallowed it down, suddenly full despite not having eaten much all day. “This could be the best muffin I’ve ever tasted. Where did you get them?”
“I made them.” His chest puffed up with pride. I raised my eyebrows in surprise. “You’ve got a little…” He pointed to my lips, and I lapped up a few stray crumbs, not wanting to waste a morsel.
“Better?”
“Almost. May I?” His brown eyes twinkled in the dim light. I froze, my head the only thing moving as I nodded silently. He brushed his thumb along my lower lip, and I jolted at the unexpected static prickle, starved for more.
A wail echoed off the walls, snatching my attention to the open bedroom door. Aspen was up.
Were we about to kiss, or did I just imagine it in my sleep-deprived state?
“Mind if I grab him?” Lynx asked, clearing his throat and hiking his thumb toward the room.
“Umm. Sure?”
He headed to the nursery, and I tried not to drool over the ripple of his back muscles or the way the gray sweats hugged the biteable globes of his ass. Pausing in front of the slightly cracked door, he rested his hand on it, a smile curving his profile before he slipped inside.
