Page 11 of Bonded By Tea and Tarot

“I’ve been kind of out of it, I know,” she says, shrugging one shoulder. “What did I miss?”

I clear my throat. “Well, it seems like they were saying someone should stay with you for a couple days? Is that, I mean, I could…”

She’s staring at me when I flick my eyes to her and then away again, and my cheeks heat. I’m being too forward. She’ll want one of her friends to come stay with her, not me. Probably one of the ones taking the class with her.

“Nevermi—”

“You’d stay with me?” she whispers. Her scent softens, some of the spicy fear dissipating as it turns a touch sweeter.

My gaze darts to her and holds this time, locking with her crystalline blue eyes. “I’d stay with you for as long as you’ll have me,” I say. And then my entire face and neck heat up because what in the foolish, besotted world was that?

She blinks for an eternity, her eyes roving over my face, searching out my truth. But I laid myself bare before her. There’s no deception or lie to be found. So I let her search, sitting at this stop sign for as long as she needs while indecision flits across her face.

Finally, she swallows hard. Licks her lips. And nods.

“I’d really like that, Aury,” she whispers. “Thank you.”

A smile blooms across my face and I straighten in my seat. “Good, then I’ll stay.”

Her scent sweetens further, and a tiny smile pulls at the bruises on her jaw. I wonder if there’s a way to speed up healing for bruises? I’ll have to look it up. Or maybe she knows of something; she is quite witchy, after all.

I pull up to her house in no time, and my jaw falls open. “This is where you live?”

“Yeah,” she says with a light huff. “I inherited it from my great-aunt. Not much family to pass it down to, and my parents had no interest in staying in town once I turned eighteen.”

She shrugs, but there’s pain behind her words.

“It’s beautiful. And huge.”

She laughs this time, then grimaces and puts a hand to her head.

“Ah shoot, sorry,” I say, reaching over to unbuckle her. “Stay there.”

She grumbles under her breath, but I can’t make out what she says.

I leap out of the car and round to her side, pulling open her door and helping her step out. I keep one hand hovering over her head to make sure she doesn’t bump it, then I take her hand in mine, holding her steady as we make our way to her front door.

All the while one thought circles in my brain, permeating and suffusing itself like smoke into all other thoughts.

She wants me here.

I try not to hover, I really do, but it’s impossible not to. Everything is a threat: her shiny wooden floor, the many layered rugs, sharp corners, and endless bookshelves. So many hazards just waiting to further injure her.

I manage not to plaster my ear to the bathroom door when she insists on showering, but it’s a close call. Finally, she emerges and I follow her into the kitchen where we rummage up some water and snacks.

“I feel loads better,” she says with a sigh. “Would you like a tour?”

I shake my head. “Maybe later. You’re supposed to rest and you’ve been on your feet long enough.”

She rolls her eyes, and one side of my mouth quirks up. So it’s like that, is it?

“I’ll just show you the basics, then.” She wanders down the hall, looking like an ethereal fairy amid the ferns and foxes and moths that adorn the deep green wallpaper on either side. She points out her bedroom, cracking the door to show a wall of bookshelves and a bed with dark purple blankets and pillows covering it. Three guest rooms are next, which she tells me I can take my pick of, then there’s an extra bathroom that has the darkest blue wallpaper with thin, metallic gold stars and moons falling from the ceiling. The mirror looks vintage with a thick gold frame, and plants hang from the ceiling in front of a frosted window. Lastly, she flicks her fingers at the closed door at the end of the hall. “And my nest.”

I try not to breathe too deeply for fear of her catching me trying to huff more of her tea-infused scent. It’s addictive, even for me as a beta. Her entire space is soaked in it, and it smells like heaven.

We make our way back down the hall and settle on a plush velvet couch in the living area for now. It’s more like a reading room, with floor to ceiling bookshelves filling two of three walls. I’d love to peruse them someday, when an at-risk omega isn’t needing my full attention. There are crystals of all shapes, sizes, and colors on nearly every surface.

“I’m on screens enough for work,” she says. “I don’t have a TV, but there’s a hidden projector if you want to watch anything.”