“Hey!” I glared at him. “You can’t eat my apology desserts.”
“Well then, come here and enjoy them before I do,” he challenged with a smirk.
Taking a few steps toward the plate, I swiped my finger through the cup of dirt, making sure to get all the layers of chocolate and crumbles. “This is mine.”
I moaned as I licked it off my finger, unable to stifle the reaction. Goddess, it was divine.
Lynx stared at me, his pupils eclipsing the sienna of his irises.
Heat spread through my chest. “Sorry.”
He looked… I must be misreading things. This was just the full moon’s ascent playing tricks on me.
His Adam’s apple bobbed in his throat before he cleared it. Then he mimicked me, scooping up some dirt cup with his fingers and licking them clean. “Oh yes, it’s actually much better this way.”
“Excuse you.” I grabbed the cup, taking some more and holding it up to show him. But before I could bring it to my mouth, he snatched my wrist, gently guiding it toward his lips. Wriggling my wrist, I smeared the chocolate over the tip of his nose.
“Excuse me.” He dipped his hand in the cup, and I backed up a few steps out of reach, coming around the other side of the kitchen island. I shifted on the balls of my feet, watching as he stalked toward me with his chocolate-striped nose. When he quickened his pace, I scampered to the cup, but instead of chasing after me, he managed to hop over the island and get me back, the cool, wet pudding with bits of Oreo streaked across my eyebrows and down my cheek.
I squeezed my eye shut, wanting to make sure no wayward dessert plopped into it. Taking my wrist, I wiped off my lid until it felt okay to open. Lynx was standing in front of me, smiling, irises softened into amber pools.
He brushed his thumb across my brow line. The crackle beneath my skin skittered to where he touched, craving it. His eyes dropped to my cheek, and he swept his finger along it, before his palm came up to cradle my jaw.
My Desire followed the caress, flitting to the spot where his skin met mine. His brows lifted a bit, as if he could sense the shift as well. Pressing onto the balls of my feet, I gripped his shirt, my gift prickling beneath my lips as I pined for his.
A small halfhearted cry came from the nursery, inflating my breasts into full-on balloon mode, luckily well hidden beneath my drapey dress. I breathed through the tightness in my chest.
“If you’re more comfortable, I can wait out here while you feed him,” Lynx said.
“How did you—”
He merely raised his brows.
Empath. Duh.
“Could you sense him or me?” I had to ask. If he could sense my boob alerts, I didn’t know if that was highly considerate or extra creepy.
“A bit of both.” His lips pressed into a thin line, as if he hadn’t meant to say all that. “I try not to share too much of what I read from people since I know it can bother them.”
“So you could sense my…” My gaze dropped to my breasts, crossing my arms over them as I started walking toward the nursery. A sliver of light spilled into it, not quite reaching the rocking chair. I grabbed Aspen out of the crib, then sat back in the rocker, tossing a burp cloth over my shoulder. Then I pulled the top of my dress to the side to give Aspen access to eat. His eyes were still shut, fluttering every few seconds until he latched and began suckling. “You’re welcome to hang in the doorway, Lynx.”
At least that wouldn’t be so up close, and I was still mostly covered in darkness anyway.
“Who do you work for?” I asked, rocking in the chair, more to get out my nerves than to soothe my already mostly asleep witchling.
His jaw screwed tight. “I. Can’t. Say,” he gritted out.
“You’re here on some secret investigation?” I supplied. “Undercover?”
He gave one slow nod, veins pronounced. “Looking into the missing witches.”
“Like Hazel?”
“Yes, like Hazel.”
“So all of this is just a front? To get to know the neighbors, like me?” My voice cracked a bit as my eyes darted in the direction of the kitchen.
Aspen had already fallen back asleep, apparently sated by a light snack, so I rearranged my dress.
