Page 60 of Witch You Would
“Why are we—” I started to ask.
“Shh!” Penelope whispered, twisting so her mouth was closer to my ear. “They might hear us.”
“This booth is soundproof,” I whispered back.
“Are you sure?”
I tried to remember what Ed had told me about sound booths, but, well, butt. Distracting. “No.”
“Then shh!”
Her scent filled the tiny space quickly, especially since she was practically in my lap. This was worse than the elevator.How long did she want to hide in here?
“Even if it isn’t totally soundproof, they won’t hear us whispering,” I said.
“Can we hear them?”
“No, it works both ways.” Hold up. “You wanted to spy on them?”
“Maybe. Yes.”
“What if they find us?”
“It’s a casting room. We pretend we were doing spell stuff.”
Right. With no reagents. I didn’t even have chalk.
Penelope took a deep breath, held it, then let it out slowly. Her muscles were so tense, they shook. I had to stop her freak-out, since I didn’t know how long we’d be stuck.
I sat down on the chalkboard-painted floor, then made her do the same, nestling her between my knees and wrapping my armsloosely around her upper body. Not totally snuggled up, but close. She gripped my forearms with both hands.
Hmm. There was something else we could pretend to be doing in here.
“Hey, girl,” I whispered. “Is your name Chamomile? Because you’re a hot tea.”
Penelope covered her mouth with one hand. “Oh my god,” she whispered through her fingers. “Do not.”
“Feel my shirt. It’s made of boyfriend material.”
She made a sound between a muffled snort and a squeak.
“If you were part of a contract, you would be the fine print.”
“Stop!” she whispered, but now she was shaking from trying not to laugh.
I tightened my arms around her. “You must be a great caster, because every time I look at you, everyone else disappears.”
That one didn’t make her laugh. Probably because I meant it. Ah, Penelope. All the reasons I should keep my distance seemedso unimportant as soon as I was holding her.
I kissed her under her ear. She sucked in a breath. My lips kept going, down her neck to the collar of her shirt. She angledher head, giving me better access, so I trailed more kisses all the way up to her hair, then dropped one on the back of herear.
I had no idea whether the booth was ventilated, but it was getting hotter inside.
Penelope turned so she could reach my mouth with hers.Mmm. Our second kiss was as delicious as the first, but sweeter and slower. No film crew to hurry us along, no fake smiles, no producer-mandated creeping. Only her and me in this small, quiet space, finding our rhythm, feeling our way along each other’s skin.
I sucked on her bottom lip and she opened for me. Our tongues danced the bachata, the tango, stroking and teasing. My heartraced like I was moving my whole body instead of just my mouth. My glasses bumped her face and I ripped them off, tossingthem on the shelf above us without looking. I didn’t even worry she might recognize me. The wrong head was doing all my thinking.
I’m not sure which of us got more... impatient? But between one kiss and the next, Penelope climbed on top of me. Her armstwined around my neck, and she rode my thighs while I grabbed her ass with one hand. With the other, I skimmed my fingersover her breast; she gave a throaty little hum, so I did it again, and she pushed into my palm.
