Page 6 of Bonded By Tea and Tarot

“What?” she whispers back as we slowly turn.

“I’m…” I trail off and try to subtly wave my hand, but she shakes her head, not understanding. “Perfuming.”

Her mouth forms a perfect O, and her eyes dart to the front of the room before coming back to me. She takes a step in my direction and sniffs delicately, and although she tries to hide her nose twitching, I catch it. “It’s not that bad,” she says.

I sigh. She’s sweet, but she’s a terrible liar.

I do my best to keep my thoughts on the movements and my eyes away from Aury, instead watching the older Chinese women in front of me as they follow Aury’s movements. It’s much less effective, significantly less enjoyable, but at least I’m not making a fool of myself by filling the entire room with my sweetened chai perfume.

When the lesson ends, Sage and Wren nearly sprint from the room. Sage shoots me a thumbs-up as she slips out the door, and I smile. They really are good friends. I grab my water bottle and tip my head back, letting a stream of cool water slide down my throat, stalling until everyone else has left as well.

And then it’s only the two of us.

I finish packing my bag, then straighten and turn around, sucking in a steadying breath while I stride over to him. I can do this.

“Hey, Aury.” I fidget with the straps of my bag, and he turns to me, a smile already pushing at his high cheekbones. I haven’t been this close to him maybe ever, and his cinnamon and honey scent is strong after a day of sweating and teaching classes. It’s a fight with my self control not to lean into his neck to huff him deep into my lungs.

“Siobhan,” he says. His voice is smooth, a moderate tenor and perfectly soothing. “Have you taken tai chi before? You’re picking it up so fast.”

My cheeks heat at the praise, and I shake my head, astounded to realize I feel shy. Not something I can ever remember feeling before. I tuck a loose strand of hair behind my ear and clear my throat. “No, um. I haven’t. It’s my first time.”

And then I’m thinking about what other first times I could have with him… I’ve been with all variety of genders before, but there are plenty of things that could be a first for us.

My perfume explodes out of me, and my eyes flare with mortification while his widen with alarm.

“Oh my— Shit,” I say, panting as I clamp my thighs together and try to step back, all at the same time. “I’m so sor⁠—”

His hand darts out and one finger presses into my lips, halting my words.

“I know you aren’t about to apologize for how incredible you smell right now,” he says, dark eyes blazing.

I don’t know what to do, so I shake my head. His finger is still pressing a divot into my lips.

I stick my tongue out and lick it, swiping the sweet, lightly floral taste of his skin into my mouth. Pleasure trickles through me, and since he hasn’t moved his finger yet, I open my lips wider, then close them around it.

His mouth drops open and he gapes at me. It’s only then that I realize exactly what I’ve done.

Did I think I was mortified before? It’s nothing compared to how I feel now.

I gasp and take a jerky step back, allowing his finger to fall. He glances down, taking in the shine of my saliva, and I’m about to collapse to the floor and die when he does that last thing I could have predicted.

He sticks his tongue out and licks his own finger.

Now I’m the one shocked, and my entire body freezes halfway between running away and melting into a humiliated puddle. He groans, a barely-there rumble in his throat, and then he sticks his whole finger in his mouth and sucks my saliva from it.

His eyes land back on me, and he’s taking two steps forward before I can blink in surprise. One firm hand lands on my hip, and the other tangles in my messy braid. He tips my head back and leans over me, our scents swirling in the air around us, and I let my eyes drift closed. This is everything I wanted, everything I’ve been dreaming of. For Aury to kiss me, see me, want me.

Instead of his lips kissing mine, though, his forehead rests against my temple and he sighs.

“Siobhan,” he breathes out, the air ghosting across my ear.

I open my eyes to see a pained expression on his face, and rejection tries to slide its poisonous fangs into my vein. “What is it?” I ask. “I’m sorry, if you don’t want⁠—”

“No,” he says, interrupting me again. “I do want. I very much do want. But not like this. You deserve better than this.”

He pulls away, but his hands don’t release their hold on me. He bends his knees so he can look me straight in the eye, and my gaze flits back and forth over his earnest, handsome face. He starts to smile, but before he can say anything else, my intrusive thoughts make themselves known.

“Do you date?” I blurt out, then slap a hand over my mouth. Moon Goddess, have I lost all sense? That was barely a sentence!