Page 12 of Paws for a Minute

He nodded, curt and short to keep from accusing her. That wasn’t going to go over well, especially not when they had agreed to a truce only a few hours ago, and they were due to join Mason and Lila in a couple more to help with wedding plans.

Accusing the maid of honor and his would-be sister-in-law’s best friend wasn’t the right way to start the evening, but Cohen had to know why the witch wasalwayson his mind.

“Sit,” she instructed. “We both know I am the only witch in town. If you think someone has put a spell on you, then we must both acknowledge that you thinkIhave done magic over you.”

Cohen sat in the seat beside her, but he refused to meet her eyes. “A witch could’ve spelled me from far away, right? She wouldn’t have to be close to me? Geographically speaking, of course.”

“No, and it wouldn’t have to be a woman either. Men are fully capable of being witches too. Who have you pissed off?”

The sheriff puffed out a breath. “I’ve angered a whole lot of people in my life. I’m a cop. Some people hate me on that fact alone.”

“Well, can you think of anyone who wouldwantto put a spell on you? What makes you think that you’ve even been cursed?”

Cohen considered his answer, but he couldn’t find the right words. Words that wouldn’t accuse Alana of putting thoughts in his head. “I don’t know,” he finally responded. “It’s just a feeling I have.” He turned to face her and pressed a hand to his heart and then his head. “It’s here. There are thoughts in here that just pop up, and I don’t want to have them.”

Alana took a deep breath and crossed her legs. Because Cohen was an asshole ... or maybe because she was doing it on purpose to make her spell really hurt him ... he noticed that her crossed legs gave him a clear view of how shapely her legs were. The hem of the blue dress slid up, giving him the perfect shot of Alana’s calf and ankles.

He shook his head to stop from picturing himself kneeling in front of her to slowly lift the dress a little higher while he kissed the curve of her leg. “I’m telling you, I am having thoughts that are not just fun to have. I need help to block these thoughts.”

Alana didn’t move from her chair, but somehow, when she spoke, she felt impossibly close to him, as if her lips were pressed to his ears. “I have not put any kind of spell on you, Cohen. It’s not my style. You think you can’t trust me, but you can. I would never use magic to get something that isn’t mine. It’s against the rules.”

He laughed, shaking his head again. If he didn’t stop shaking, he was sure to give himself a really bad headache. “There are witch rules?”

“Of course, there are. What? Did you think we were given this insane power over others without guidelines?”

“Sort of, yeah.”

“Well, there are rules.”

“And who enforces them? Who makes sure that no witch is out there using her powers to make a man insane?”

Her eyes went wide. “You think someone is making you insane?”

He hissed a curse under his breath and looked away from her, the green of her eyes too bright. She was sure to see right through him if he continued to let her stare at him.

“Cohen,” she whispered after a little bit too much time had passed in silence between them. “Do you think someone is trying to make you insane?”

He nodded. “Yeah. I keep having these very powerful thoughts, and …” He cleared his throat and rubbed a hand over his mouth because he didn’t actually want to tell her that he kept thinking about her mouth.

What it would taste like.

What it would feel like.

Cohen hated Alana because he could never move away from the lust she built in his blood, and after everything that happened with his ex, he had to believe that he was no longer capable of love. How could he be? How could his heart function again after everything he was put through? Hell, how could his cock even be interested in another woman after Amanda?

When Cohen finally tried to meet her eyes, he noticed that Alana was no longer sitting in her chair. Instead, she stood mere inches from him, bending over to meet his eyes as he remained seated.

“Cohen, I never put a spell or a curse on you. I promise you.”

“There has to be something wrong with me,” he admitted.

“Okay, I can see that your distress is real. I can see if someone has put a spell on you, but to do so, I have to touch you. Are you okay with that, or are you going to bite my head off?”

He gave another tiny and tense nod, and he waited. When Alana lifted her hands, horrified, he jumped up from his chair and stepped back. She snickered. “And here I thought you said that you weren’t afraid of little old me.”

“I didn’t realize you would have to touch me to see if there is indeed a spell on me.”

She gave a sad smile. “Yes, Cohen. I have to touch you to see if there is magic on you. Now, stop being a big baby and stand still.”

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