Page 49 of Witch Undecided
Conversation...We needed conversation to distract me from the fact that a sexy, half-naked shifter was in my bed. “You really think the vamps might attack before the six weeks are up?”
“I don’t know. But I’m not into taking risks. We know too little about them to let our guard down.” The bed shifted as he turned onto his side. “We need to be prepared, but so do you. The guys and I will train you physically, and I spoke to Sloane about helping you hone your power. My first choice would have been Elijah, but he left a day or so ago and no one has any idea where he went.”
Shit. “I think he might have gone looking for the vamps’ hideout.”
Tor frowned. “Alone?”
“I don’t know.” Anxiety squirmed in my belly.
He looked worried but then exhaled. “Elijah can take care of himself. You start training tomorrow. When these fuckers come, we’ll be here to protect you, but I’m gonna make damn sure you protect yourself too.”
“Sounds good.” My eyelids were getting heavy.
“Close your eyes, Cora,” Tor said softly. “I’ve got you. You know I don’t sleep.”
Wait a second. “So you’ll watchmesleep?”
He rolled onto his back and plucked his phone off the bedside table. “I have an ebook app on my phone.”
Books? “You like to read?”
He shot me an amused look. “Why? Don’t you?”
Now I was curious. There was something kinda sexy about a guy like Tor reading a book. “What are you reading?” I craned to see his phone screen.
He pressed the phone to his chest. “Nosey.”
“Oh, come on, now I need to know.” I made a grab for the phone and he whipped it out to the side, so I ended up half lying on his chest.
I froze, breasts pressed to his pecs. My pulse kicked up. Don’t look at him. Don’t. Just retreat. Slowly.
His hand brushed up my spine, branding me through the cotton of my shirt, and the temptation to sink into him and stay there rushed over me in an aching wave. But boundaries needed to be upheld.
I pulled back onto my side of the bed.
“We can do this,” Tor said softly. “If this is what you want.”
Urgh. What I wanted was to straddle him and rub against his arousal, what I wanted was to be fucked, but that was the damn mating bond pushing me. But the memory of what Charlotte had done, what she’d been driven to do, acted like a bucket of cold water. It didn’t matter what Heather or Bee said. They weren’t the ones taking a risk with their hearts.
I didn’t want to cross those lines with the guys, but it was unrealistic to think I could avoid knowing them or caring. Friendship was a kind of love, after all, and I could love them like that if I wanted. Was I delusional? Probably, but I was also a stubborn bitch.
I propped up on my elbow and looked down at him. “Tell me about you. Favorite color, favorite food, and what the heck are you reading?”
His smile was slow burn, touching his steel-gray eyes with warmth. “Cornflower blue, steak, medium rare, and…” He held up his phone to show me the epic fantasy title. “I have a soft spot for dragons.” He set his phone down. “Now you.”
“Red, pasta, and I haven’t read a book in a while.”
He stared at me as if I’d told him I didn’t like breathing. “What was the last book you read?”
I scrunched up my nose. “Do magazines count?”
He groaned and then his lips curved in a slow smile. “Cora, Cora, Cora. I’m going to enjoy educating you.”
Fuck it, I was going to let him.
I’m notsure how long we chatted. I’m not entirely sure when I drifted off. But I woke tucked to Tor’s side, my head pillowed on his chest, one leg thrown over his thighs. He was warm, solid, and prime with morning glory.
I tipped my chin to look at his face, finding him awake and studying me with a strange expression.
