Page 13 of Bonded By Tea and Tarot

“That’s so cute.” I grin, imagining a tiny, chubby Aury crawling after his ye ye.

“It wasn’t until I was about six, when he realized he wasn’t getting rid of me, that he started officially teaching me tai chi. I think he thought I’d grow out of it.” Aury huffs a laugh and his eyes refocus on me as he comes out of the memory.

“I guess you never did.” I tilt my head, contemplating the beta in front of me. “Your parents were both betas?”

Aury nods. “All my grandparents, too.”

I hum, wondering what that means about his thoughts on pack life. Then I internally scoff, because I am getting wayyyy ahead of myself. I decide to plant myself firmly in the here and now, so I look back down at the cards in my hands. I tap the deck three times and tell him to gently blow across the top, and finally I splay them in an arc on the cushion between us. He leans forward, sending another hint of his scent wafting over us, and I peek up at him.

“Close your eyes,” I instruct, taking the opportunity to absorb the details of him.

Dark shiny hair, cropped in a neat fade on the sides but just a touch long and messy on top. Warm, tawny skin with golden undertones on his sharp cheekbones. Thick brows, a straight nose, full lips, and a strong jaw and neck that my fingers ache to trail down. Slender, defined muscles peeking out from his short-sleeve shirt.

My mouth starts watering and heat builds low in my stomach. I force my eyes away before I start perfuming again.

“Now reach out your left hand.” I use it as an excuse to touch him, guiding his hand over the cards. “Starting here,” I say, our hands hovering over one end of the arc and then slowly moving across to the opposite end. “All the way to over here. Let the fates, Mother Earth, or your own intuition guide you.”

I reluctantly release his hand, and his fingers follow mine for a moment before he catches himself and returns them to the cards. I bite my lip to hold in a pleased grin.

“Pick whichever you feel called to.” My eyes continue to devour him, taking in the tendons and veins cording his hands and forearms. How his fingers look strong, and long enough to wrap all the way around⁠—

I clear my throat, my thoughts coming to an abrupt halt when his eyes pop open and catch me staring. Then I notice his finger has landed on a card, and he nudges it towards me.

I flip it over, then freeze with my hand in the air above it.

Do not perfume. Do not perfume. Do not perfume.

I clench my thighs together and lick my lips, sucking in a slow breath to try to calm the images that are bopping around in my head.

“What is it?” Aury says, eager curiosity lining his voice. “What does it mean?”

I look down at the card, a picture of two wolves running together, the moon and sun both shining down on them.

“The Lovers,” I say, my voice raspy with want. My cheeks flush, but I force myself to continue. “It means mutual attraction, the potential for love.” I pause to glance at him, but the way his eyes are searing into me, his white teeth biting at his plump bottom lip, only makes me hotter. “With this deck in particular, it means finding strength in unity, embracing what’s in your heart. It…” I hesitate, but he nods for me to continue. “It indicates trust in the power of love and… bonds of companionship.”

At the word ‘bonds’ my perfume explodes out of me, and I gasp, half in mortification and half in desire. I can’t look at him. I’ve certainly scared him away, and he’s probably trying to figure out how he can get out of staying here with me.

“Siobhan.” The tightness in his voice doesn’t sound like anger or judgment. No, it sounds like…

I peek up at him again, and he’s beaming. A broad grin that transforms his face from handsome to downright devastating in its beauty. He reaches out one hand, then pauses.

“May I touch you?”

I nod and remind myself to blink, to breathe.

He cups the unbruised side of my jaw in his palm, so tenderly it nearly brings tears to my eyes.

“Siobhan,” he whispers. “When it comes to you, everything you just said rings true for me. This card,” he pauses to pick it up, holding it between us. “This card is not fully accurate, only because there’s no way one card can fully encompass the way I’ve been falling for you.”

He can’t be serious. We barely know each other, despite knowing of each other for a couple years now. He reads the doubt in my eyes, and he’s quick to dispel it.

“I know it might seem fast, but from the moment I met you, I sensed you were special. I just never thought I’d be deserving of you. Never thought I’d be enough, or that you’d ever…” he trails off, suddenly looking concerned.

It takes my concussed brain a few seconds to process his words, to figure out why he’s pulling away. I grab his hand and bring it back to my face.

“I feel the same way. I…” I wrinkle my nose, not wanting to admit it, but feeling it’s the right thing to do. “I’ve kind of had a crush on you for a while.”

He brightens again, his smile shining back at me as a hint of mischief twinkles in his eyes. “Oh yeah? How long is a while?”