“Stop thanking us, sister,” Evander presses, resting his hand on my shoulder. “Or else you’ll give me a complex.”
“Like you don’t have one already,” Felix chuckles.
“Is Kristy going to be mad she missed the fun?” Naomi pours the hot water into the teapot and brings it over to the table to steep.
“She’ll probably feel bad she wasn’t here to help.” Yawning, I look up at my friends. “But I know she’ll be happy she missed me slicing open a deer’s belly and slowly watching it bleed to death,” I say with a shrug.
Nicole laughs. “Good point.” She holds her hand over the teapot, feeling the energy coming off the invoked herbs. “Are you sure you’ll be fine tonight?”
Lucas, who’s sitting next to me at the table, slips his arm around my waist. “Callie will be in good hands tonight. Specifically, my hands.”
“Ugh,” Eliza huffs. “Should I leave now so I don’t have to listen to you two fucking all night again?”
Lucas trains his blue eyes on her. “Do what you want.”
Eliza’s full lips push into a pout. We both know she’s not leaving Lucas tonight. Like me, she needs reassurance the curse is actually broken. “Do that magical soundproofing and I’ll tough it out.”
“I can do that, actually,” I tell her. “Just, uh, remind me.” I rub my forehead.
“Do you want me to make you something for a headache?” Naomi offers.
“No, but thanks. I don’t have a headache. More like head rush.” I blink a few times and lean against Lucas. I need to ground myself and get rid of some of this extra energy…though at the same time, I like it.
“It’s common when working spells of this caliber,” Evander says as he opens the fridge, looking for something to eat.
“Can I take the squirrel?” Felix asks. “I’d like to observe it until the curse finishes its course.”
“Please do,” I tell him. “And thank you again.”
He grins. “I’m going to agree with Evander here and tell you to stop thanking me. I’m glad I had the opportunity to put my years of research and work to the test…and then to have it work. It’s incredible. We have to discuss this in detail. Tomorrow, of course. I need to break everything down in detail so we’ll know how to replicate it again.”
My eyes meet Evander’s for just half a second. “How’s that tea coming?” he asks quickly, shutting the fridge. “It should be ready now.”
“Just about,” Nicole says, sensing our discomfort. A hush falls over the room, and an awkward minute of silence ticks by. And then Scarlet comes running, crashing into the wall and tripping over her water bowl, spilling it everywhere.
Lucas gets up, speeding to the cabinet to get a towel to clean up the mess.
“Come here,” I tell the puppy. Scarlet’s whole body wiggles from the force of her wagging tail. I pick her up, leaning back so she can’t lick my face.
“We had a Golden Retriever when I was a kid.” Felix extends his hand for Scarlet to sniff. “They’re nice dogs.”
“Yeah,” I agree. “They are.”
“How old is she?”
“Uh,” I start. I’m not much of a dog person. I think Scarlet looks maybe two months old, but does she act like it? She’s a century-old hellhound glamoured to look like a fluffy puppy. “I’m not sure when her birthday is.” It’s not a lie.
“She looks maybe eight weeks old.” Felix scratches under Scarlet’s chin. She stills, not quite sure of him yet. Only two seconds later, she’s squirming to get out of my arms and crawls to Felix. He laughs as she licks his face. Just don’t sense that she’s anything other than a cute puppy, please.
“Put the puppy down,” Naomi says, as if she can read my thoughts. “The tea is done.”
Felix gives Scarlet one more cuddle, and the puppy runs around, trying to get attention from anyone else. Lucas picks her up and lets her gush all over him, just to prove a point that the dog likes him better than she likes Felix.
We all sip the tea, and my head isn’t quite so fuzzy after. Evander does a good job getting Felix to leave without more questioning, and only a few minutes later, the house is quiet again.
Lucas’s arms wrap around my waist as soon as the door is closed and magically locked. He presses his lips to my neck.
“I’m taking you to bed, my love.”
I spin around in his arms, and he picks me up as if I weigh nothing and zooms upstairs, closing the door behind us.“Holy shit,” I pant, ears still ringing. “I can’t feel my feet.”
“I’m good,” Lucas growls, slipping his hand between my thighs and raking his fingers up my legs to my still-wet core. A shiver of pleasure makes its way through me when his fingers sweep over my clit. I open my mouth to protest, but no words come out. He carefully strums his fingers over me, knowing damn well that I’m already wound up, body still quivering from the last orgasm he gave me.