Page 43 of The Magic of Discovery
“Gods, I have wanted to do that since the freaking cookout at the lake,” she panted above me. I pushed my hips up against her core, the movement blessing me with a small whimper.
“The sounds that you make would bring any man to his knees before you,” I gritted out between clenched teeth.
Carefully pushing myself upright since she was still wrapped around me like a monkey, I held her tighter, loving the feeling of her curves against me. I tucked a strand of hair behind her ear then gathered the rest into one hand behind her back. Tugging gently, her neck stretched, and I buried my face into the nook between her shoulder and throat, inhaling. I ran my nose up her neck, peppering her jawline with kisses while I held her hair tightly to keep her locked in place.
“Fish!” The breathy sigh that slipped from her lips had my cock jumping, and I was ready to hear it again and again.
“Sweetheart,” I growled, “you are something else, but as badly as I want to take this further, I can’t. I want to romance you and win your affections, learn everything there is to know about Saige Wildes. I have never been so captivated by a person in my life.”
Leaning back, I dropped her hair so that she could look into my eyes. I felt exposed, and for the first time in my life, truly seen.
“You’re a good man, Fischer Bahri. I didn’t peg you as being such a romantic, but I guess I just got lucky.” She slid off my lap and put some distance between us.
“I don’t know about all of that, but I do have something to confess. A couple of things, actually...” I trailed off, swiping my palms down my thighs, hoping to dry some of the moisture that had come out of nowhere. Raising her eyebrows, she nodded and waited. I wasn’t a good man, and I’d done some really dark and disturbing shit in the name of my job. The underground criminal networks all knew who I was, shit, they knew my entire team. If they got stuck in a room or cell, and I walked in,Iwas the one who struck fear into the hearts of our enemies. I’d seen some of the most ruthless and depraved men shit their pants when they realized I was going to be doing an interrogation.
Feelings of guilt rose up inside me. I was already beginning to hate having to lie to her about who I really was, who we all really were, but that was the job, and the job always had to come first. Beforeeverything. We were all in our thirties, or close to, and only one of us had ever had a serious relationship. I’d never given a shit about that since Sloane always took care of my sexual desires and a relationship always just seemed like too much work for someone with my affinity.
Deciding that I wanted to be a little more honest with Saige, I started, “So, I wasn’t being completely honest at the cookout; I can’t actually read you. At all. You don’t give off any readable emotions or feelings.” Her brow furrowed, a flash of alarm spiking in her eyes.
“Really? Is that... normal?” I could hear the concern in her voice, so I took her hand in my own.
“I’m not sure if it’s normal or not, but itisvery rare. There has only ever been one, maybe two peopleI can think of that I couldn’t get a read on. Some witches and mages are better than others at mentally shielding themselves from cogs, but I don’t think that’s what you’re doing, especially since it’s not conscious on your part. It would be incredibly hard to keep that up for longer than a few minutes,” I surmised, thinking out loud.
“No, I’m just being my regular self. That’s so weird.” She bit her bottom lip, and I could almost see how hard she was thinking by the little crease that showed up between her eyes.
“It’s not a bad thing; it’s one of the things I enjoy most about you. Since I was a teenager and all of this started, I don’t feel like I’ve been able to just be myself. The guys are all great with shielding their minds around me; they’ve done it so often that it’s second nature to them,” I reassured her. Running a hand through my hair, I stared at her through my dark eyelashes.
“So that’s why you’re so attracted to me? Because I’m the first person you’ve been with who you have to actually interact with? You know, the peasant method of dating.”
I blanched, but amusement danced across her face.
“Are you... teasing me right now?” I asked her, letting false disbelief filter through my tone.
Giggling, she shrugged. “I think it’s cute. You’re learning what it’s like to read body language for the first time. I just thought you were studying me so intently because you liked my face.”
“Oh, sweetheart, Idolike your face, and the rest of you for that matter. But yes, you do show what you’re thinking through your facial expressions, and this is all new to me. You’re the first person I’ve taken on a date. Just never saw the point before. Sometimes, my affinity is more of a damn curse. When it comes to the mind, sometimes the less you know, the better,” I explained.
“I’m glad you asked me out. I’m having a great time, and you deserve a break from your powers.” Her hand squeezed mine, and she was handling this first hurdle so well that I was just so tempted to skip the next for now.
“We should head back to the bike before it gets dark,” I thought out loud, looking up at the darkening sky.
“You said there was something else you wanted to say?” She tilted her head to the side and reached over to grab her sweater. Slipping her arms through, she pulled it tight around herself.
Fuck. I hope this isn’t a deal breaker for her.
“Yeah, so I told you before about how it’s hard for me to get out of my own mind. When I was seventeen, I kind of found a way to achieve that even though it doesn’t last for long,” I explained, wringing my hands together.
“That’s great! I’m sure any break, even a small one, probably feels so freeing.” She smiled, that small reassurance giving me the push to just fucking tell her.
“Sloane and I, we have a little more than a traditional friendship...” I cleared my throat as she gave me a puzzled look. “He likes to be in control, and I like to completely let go.”
“You mean, what? Like BDSM?”
“That’s part of it, yes.”
“You two...” She paused, her cheeks turning the reddest I’d seen. “Have sex?” She squeaked the last part out, but it wasn’t in disgust. More like... curious and slightly confused interest.
“We do.”
