Page 78 of Outlaw Witch

I push to my feet so I’m not in the direct eyeline of his cock, which I can see the thick outline of through the gray sweatpants he’s wearing. I pull his coat tighter around my shoulders. Him putting it on me is a strangely sweet action. Especially coming from Zeph, who acts like he doesn’t care if I freeze to death most of the time.

“I-is this one of your storms?” I ask him, gesturing to the skyline as another flash of lightning hits. My jaw is tight and my teeth clench together involuntarily, but he seems to understand what I’m saying easily enough.

He shrugs, shifting from foot to foot like he’s uncomfortable. Or maybe the rain has just started to drip down his collar.

“Not consciously one of mine,” he grunts. “Sometimes I can’t help it though. It reacts to my moods.”

“That’ll be wh-why it’s rained so much recently. You’ve been in a pissy mood the whole time.” I give him a grin, but it’s marred by the fact I’m shivering like a leaf.

“Have not.”

I try to smirk at him, but my face doesn’t seem to be working right either.

My awareness is slowly creeping back in and the numbness that’s taken over my body is starting to recede. It’s replaced by awareness of my body and the fact I’m fucking freezing. My skin is pebbled and my entire body is shivering.

Huh, wonder when that started.

“Shit. You’re freezing cold too. Have you been out here this whole time?”

I nod jerkily, pulling his warm jacket closer to me, and Zeph curses.

“D-did y-you need something from u-up h-h-here?” I stammer.

“Nah. I just heard the thunder and... I like to watch,” he says, rubbing a hand across the back of his neck.

Must be the near hypothermia causing my mind, once again, to go to dirty places. Zeph seems to see something in my expression as he growls and tugs me toward him, using his coat to draw my body closer.

“Didn’t know you had such a filthy mind, witch,” he grumbles.

I feel the vibration of his words against my chest just as another shiver goes through me. Although I can’t quite tell at this point if it’s the cold or something else I’m reacting to.

“We need to get you downstairs, get you into a warm shower,” he says, putting an arm around my shoulders and steering me towards the door leading downstairs.

My legs don’t seem to be working quite right. My movements are slower, more sluggish than normal. It’s almost like my brain has a block stopping it from talking to my limbs.

After only a couple of painfully slow steps, Zeph tsks.

“You’re a fucking mess, Silver.”

Story of my life.

He then scoops me up into his arms like I weigh nothing, carrying me as though I’m some fainting maiden. He doesn’t let me down even as we step into the elevator, continuing to hold me silently all the way down to my floor. Carrying me all the way to my door, he then holds one hand out impatiently.

“Keys,” he barks, and I scramble to find them in my soaked jeans. The material is clinging to me like a second skin and I cringe as I jam my frozen fingers into my pocket and grab hold of them.

“Bossy,” I mutter back.

Zeph still doesn’t let me go until we’re in the bathroom. I’m still shivering like a damn sapling in the wind and he gives me a disapproving look as he props me up against the counter.

He flicks on the shower and then turns to me with his arms folded. “You got it from here?”

“P-pretty sure I can sh-sh-shower by myself-f-f,” I snark back. Although my trembling takes some of the power out of my words.

It’s hard to have an attitude when your teeth are chattering hard enough to break.

“Well. Good.” He spins around and stomps to the door. “Next time, don’t let yourself get into such a fucking state. We still need you, remember?”

The door bangs shut behind him and I slowly peel off my sodden clothes with a deep sigh. Zeph’s niceness clearly has a time limit before he’s forced to remind me, once again, I’m only here to do a job.

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