Page 34 of Magic & Mochas
“Anything,” I breathed.
“Ever since I ran away from home, I haven’t stayed in one place for long.I was afraid to be tied down by relationships with others, only to be uprooted and chased out all over again.”Instead of sorrow, his eyes were filled with a sort of wonder.“But that fear…it’s starting to fade.”
Did he mean that it was fading…because of me?
“Can I tell you a secret?”I repeated, my heart fluttering like a hummingbird’s wings.
“Anything,” he murmured.
“When I came back home, I swore to myself I would never open myself up to the kind of pain Rasmus put me through again.”A lump rose in my throat, but I swallowed it down.“But…”
“But?”he prompted quietly.
“But then you came along.”Being this honest scared me.These feelings scared me, especially so soon after my breakup.
Were we moving too fast?
Was I simply fooling myself?
“And you barged right into my bathroom like a wild little thing.”He chuckled, and I felt my face flush at the memory.“Then had theaudacityto put the most feared shadowmancer in the land to work as a barista, of all things.”
“And I’ve appreciated every moment since.Every early morning and every late night.”Despite myself, I reached out a hand to trace the thin scar that cut through his eyebrow with my thumb.
If I asked him to stay, would he?
Why was I so afraid to find out?
“I’m happy to help you every day of the week, Clove Morelli.”Our faces were inches apart now.
My eyes dropped to his lips, and I found myself wondering what they would taste like covered in stardust and sugar.Thorne closed the gap, pressing his lips against mine with a tenderness that made me ache.
I wrapped my arms around his neck and tangled my fingers in his dark-as-night hair, enjoying the feel of each silky strand.He cupped the back of my head, his other hand going around my waist and tugging me against him.A third, cool caress startled me into opening my eyes to see a tendril of shadow was brushing my hair back from my face.
I laughed against his lips and took his face in my hands.His trim goatee scraped against my hands, which he then kissed, his molten amethyst eyes rooting me to the spot with their intensity.
Thorne kissed me again, so thoroughly that I forgot the names of the stars in the sky.
I could hardly remember the last time I’d felt this at peace, this happy.And that scared me.It made me wonder if something terrible was about to happen, like it always seemed to whenever things went too right in my life.
Was this wise?
Or was I setting myself up to be left behind with another broken heart?
Chapter thirteen
Ballgowns & Blows
Thorne
Icouldn’tstopthinkingaboutthe question Clove asked me a couple days ago.The problem was, I didn’t really have an answer for her.
When I had wandered into Willowmere, I hadn’t exactly had much of a plan.No goal, either.I had simply been surviving with the funds I had amassed from my fighting days, and seeing how long the locals would tolerate my presence.
If I were being honest, I hadn’t expected I’d be in Willowmere for this long.Usually, a few months was the best I could hope for.
But then a few months had turned into half a year, and then nearly a full year… And now here I was, pretending to be a witch’s boyfriend in exchange for another three months in this peaceful little town.I had never allowed myself to even consider staying here permanently.Stayinganywherepermanently.
Was that really an option for me?
