Chapter19
Oakley
“Did you replenish enough of your magical stores for this last night? Lynx briefed me on your situation.” Saros held eye contact, all business, like he wasn’t asking if I got my freak on under the full moon. My cheeks heated. “I know it’s an awkward question, but I need to know before I cast the spell, otherwise you could be putting yourself in danger.”
My gaze dropped to my lap. “I replenished some… I still don’t have much, but I’ll use whatever I have to find Hazel.”
He cleared his throat. “Okay. Good.”
“And are you sure you’re okay with Lynx and me?” I clenched my pants, not sure what to do with the nervous energy thrumming through me. “You don’t feel…I don’t know, left out?”
His evergreen eyes snapped to mine. “Was that an invitation, Midnight?”
Damn.
I tittered nervously, afraid of what that answer was. I wouldn’t ever want him to feel obligated to be interested just because Lynx was. Meanwhile, my chest heated, spreading up through my neck, and my throat dried at the thought of the two of them together…with me. Desire thrummed under the surface, curious to see if I’d send any his way with the little magic that I had. There was part of me that was curious if he wanted that invitation. If I did release some Desire, it would only work on him if it existed there already. But if it didn’t, I wasn’t going to look like a fool in front of Saros more than I already did.
Cutting into the silence, he continued, as if he hadn’t just sent a smolder to my witchy bits.
“I’ll need to see your tattoo.”
I turned around, pointing over my shoulder at the center of my upper back.
“You’ll need to shift your top so I can access the whole thing.”
A wail came from the seat next to us, and my chest tightened, tingling as my breasts filled in response.
Just perfect.
“Well, this should make it easier.” I laughed awkwardly, leaning over to pick up Aspen. Saros went and shut Luna’s service window. Holding Aspen in the crook of one arm, I reached behind me to fumble with the clasp of my halter top, thumbing over it a few times and missing the latch.
“Allow me,” Saros offered. I nodded, and a moment later it was undone. He moved so deftly, his fingers didn’t even brush my skin. “Do you need me to grab anything else for you?”
“A burp cloth would be great.” I shimmied the top down until my front was uncovered, pulling Aspen to me.
I stayed quiet, listening to the rustle of him combing through my diaper bag. A moment later, a Luna’s-branded towel had been draped over my shoulder. “I didn’t see what you were looking for, but you can just use this.”
“That’s fine,” I said, massaging the breast Aspen was currently latched to, stroking in downward motions to hopefully speed this up and ease the discomfort. “You can go ahead and do whatever you need to, unless the spellwork is going to do anything to him while he feeds?”
“Not at all. I just need to put some balm on it to establish the connection with you and your sister’s communal magic before I do the incantation.”
The scent of pine and eucalyptus filled the truck, wiping out any previous coffee smells that had accumulated there. I wrinkled my nose.
“Sorry, I know it’s strong stuff.” It was cool against my skin, tracing my tattoo, outlining every leaf and stroke of ink it was composed of. He did a few coats, all using magic, never actually touching me with his hands. Goosebumps flitted down my arms. “Cold too,” he added.
Yeah…it was the cold doing that. Not the fact that I was half naked being ghost-touched by this rugged and unattainable witch.
“I’m going to cast the spell now.” I felt the energy from his palms hovering over either side of the tattoo, as if an electric thrum pulsed within the small gap between the pads of his hands and my skin. I wanted to erase that distance. To feel those strong hands, his calloused fingers trailing down my spine, gripping me tightly—
Aspen smacked my chest, halting my wayward libido. He was still hungry and had managed to drain me on that side, leaving me lopsided. “Hold on. Let me switch him.”
“No problem.”
Flicking my pinky against his lips to get him to unlatch, I switched him, trying to stay as covered as possible, not wanting to make Saros uncomfortable.
When I finished adjusting, I nodded for him to continue. The magic from his hands moved slowly up and down either side of my spine. My Desire perked in response, surging with what little magical juice it had to the spot. The lines where he’d etched burned a bit, and he mumbled the spell so low in his rich timbre that I only caught every few words as he summoned the connection to Hazel.
It felt almost like getting tattooed all over again, only less painful. My magic pulsed through the outline, then scraped up and down along the shading until my back arched and I hissed out in pain.
