Eleri Stone - Witch Bound

“She didn’t though.” He kept his voice low, a natural habit having lived with a hound all his life. Rocky didn’t need to hear more people talking about her. She was under enough pressure.

“Could have though.”

Fen reached down and hauled Audrey up. “Tonight’s not the time to worry at it. Let her rest, sober up, and we’ll give it another shot.”

“You’re right. Okay then, well, I’m going to warm up the car.”

“You drove? You’re three blocks away.”

Audrey pulled on her jacket, one of those subzero parkas even though the overnight low was only going to be about forty or so. “I hate the cold.”

A hat, gloves. “You’re from Colorado.”

She grinned. “Still hate the cold. Don’t worry, I didn’t have anything to drink other than the soda I brought, unlike my lush of a sister.” The laughter in her eyes faded and she was suddenly serious. “She doesn’t usually drink like that. I’m worried about her.”

Fen wanted to ignore that. He’d been trying to figure out all night how to put some distance between him and his friend’s drowsily adorable bride. “Hopefully we can figure out how to break her block.”

“That’s not—” Audrey clamped her teeth down on whatever she’d been about to say and shook her head. “Yeah, if you can help her out with that, it would be a huge relief. I know she feels bad about everything. Mom was the one who kept her from talking. Well, that and the no contact rule in effect until last week. I knew Rocky wouldn’t be able to keep quiet until the wedding. She’s god-awful bad about keeping secrets.”

He’d seen some of that himself. She was extraordinarily transparent about...everything. He didn’t plan to share his own secret with her. It was a doozy. And he thought Rocky felt a glimmer of that same attraction. As awkward as it was to dance around, he hoped to God she didn’t want to talk about it. Ever.

Audrey paused at the door as though she wanted to say something else, but then just smiled and waved. “Send her out when she’s done. When are we going to try this again?”

“In a few days. I’ll play around with the design.”

She nodded and was gone, hands tucked under her armpits for warmth as she darted out to the car. He waited until she got it started before going to see what was taking Rocky so long.

He rapped his knuckles on the bathroom door.

“Just a minute.” Her voice was muffled, but even through the door he could tell something was wrong.

He rested his fingertips on the wood. The water wasn’t running, and he couldn’t hear her moving. He couldn’t hear anything but her strangely deep breaths and the too-rapid beat of her heart. His own picked up speed. “Are you all right?”

“Yeah.” A querulous sound that made him reach for the doorknob and push open the door before he thought it through. Fuck. He couldn’t go on like this. She reduced him to a bundle of impulse and instinct. Nothing but want and all the jealousy and guilt that came along with it.

She was sitting on the toilet seat, fully dressed and staring at her arm. Her sleeve was pushed up to her elbow and she hadn’t even tried to scrub off the runes. “I think I might keep them.”

She looked up and the panic in her eyes caught his heart and squeezed tight. “We’ll try a different combination in a few days. One that might work better.”

“I was just thinking, what if it doesn’t work at all next time? This time worked a little. Maybe you should cut these in now.”

“I’m not going to cut you and these...well, they’re not my finest work.” He took a washcloth from the cabinet and ran it under warm water, adding a bit of soap and squeezing until he saw suds. He knelt in front of her, his feet hitting the heat register mounted on the wall behind him. He smiled and took hold of her wrist. “It’s professional pride, you understand? I can’t have you running around like this and telling everyone it’s my work. We’ll do better next time. Get it exactly right.”

He heard her swallow but continued wiping the runes from her skin. He didn’t want to look up and see the tears he could scent. He didn’t trust himself with her this way. Not when she was vulnerable and hurting and all he wanted to do was wrap her up in his arms.

“At least it did something .” She’d barely gotten a thread of magic to pull through the block. Their weakest witch could do better. She wouldn’t be satisfied with that if she were thinking straight. This was fear talking.

“I can always place these again, only maybe with a little more care. This was just a test run, remember.”

“I wanted it to work.”

“I know.”

Her skin was so soft, like the petal of a rose. Creamy white against his charcoal-stained hands. She swiped at her face with her free hand. “Where’s Audrey?”

“Warming up the car, probably wondering what’s taking you so long.”

“I’m sorry.” She gave a halfhearted laugh. “I keep falling apart on you.”

“I don’t mind. You’re under a lot of stress.” He stood and tossed the washcloth in the sink, offered her his hand and pulled her up when she took it. “Christian...” He winced, catching his own expression in the mirror. Want. Guilt. Jealousy. He didn’t know how to finish the thought.

Raquel didn’t make him. She leaned into him, or fell against him. Either way, her hands splayed on his chest and he sucked in a mouthful of air at the contact.

“I know,” she whispered, and he thought that she did. Her face tipped up toward him. One inch, he only had to drop his chin a bit and curve an arm around her shoulders to snug her in tight against his body. Tears still gathered in the corners of her eyes though she’d never cried, not really. Vulnerable and hurting, adjusting to their crazy town and all of its ornery inhabitants. If he were Christian, he wouldn’t let her out of his sight.

He touched her waist and turned her, regret making his smile stiff. Audrey honked the horn and he pushed Raquel into the hallway. “You go. I’ll call you when I have the new design ready.”

She only glanced back once, at the door. “I’m sorry.”

He nodded.

The damnedest thing was that he believed her. He thought if she was free, she might have kissed him. And for her, he might take the chance of losing himself. But he knew the cost. He only had to look at Brian and Julia to remember why he’d made that vow to never take a mate. He didn’t intend to bind himself to anyone ever and certainly not to this woman. He wouldn’t betray Christian. And Rocky... Fuck. He was not going there.

And none of it mattered anyway because right now, Rocky wasn’t offering him anything more than an apology.

Raquel copped another peek at Christian when he wasn’t looking. He’d offered lunch and she’d asked if they could take it out to the lake so she could get another look at the fault. Maybe without Lois looking over her shoulder, she’d see something she’d missed the other day.

But Christian was just as distracting, albeit in an altogether different way. He was like some kind of god. Thor reincarnate. Strong body, straight and tall, dark blond hair and those sharp blue eyes. She didn’t know how to handle him—not his deep silences or his aggressive charm. He made her edgy and uncertain, uncomfortable in her own skin.

She wondered if that was what had made her seek out Fen for help rather than going to Christian. Fen was far more approachable—weird, since he was a hound and most people gave the pack wide berth. There were challenges to being a hound that outsiders couldn’t possibly understand. She’d always thought it would be hardest to be a counselor crow. Cool to be able to fly, yes. And you’d also have the respect people naturally afforded to the Odin’s counselors. It would be fun to have a twin too. But to live for that long, watching people born and die while you remained the same for centuries...uh-uh, she wouldn’t choose that for all the world. Nor would she ever choose to be a hound.