Page 43 of Magic's Rise

Warmth envelops me, chasing away the chill and soothing my frayed nerves.

Hot tubs and I are oh-for-two on happy experiences, and I’m not sure I want to ever try again.

My mind races with questions as I scrub my body. Could I have been mistaken that we were being watched? Maybe I looked up at the wrong time and someone was simply passing by? Could he have been one of the hotel staff? I mean, Tris and I were making out in a public space. What if the guy didn’t vanish and was actually coming to chastise us?

But I can’t shake the feeling that it wasn’t so innocent.

“Your pajamas are on the counter.” Tris pokes his head around the curtain. “You okay in here?”

“Yeah, almost done.” As I wring my hair, my gaze catches on his bare chest. “Grab me a towel and I’ll trade places with you so you can wash off the chlorine, too.”

Grinning, he steps into the shower, bathing suit and all. “You don’t want to help me scrub down?”

My eyes drop to his cherry-covered swimming trunks, where the hot spray of water molds the material to his hips. His cock twitches with interest, and I lick my bottom lip before shaking my head. We can’t be getting frisky in here when Haut and Levi return, and Aspen’s right outside the bathroom.

I reach for the curtain. “You’d better wash up on your own.”

Tris hooks his thumbs into his waistband, slowly pushing them down. “Are you sure I can’t tempt you to stay?”

“You know you’re tempting.” I step out onto a folded towel on the floor, courtesy of Tris, since I didn’t have the forethought to put it down before hopping into the shower. “Hurry, so we can snuggle.”

He reaches for the soap. “Yes, ma’am!”

Closing temptation inside, I grab one of the bath sheets to dry off, wrapping my hair into a turban. Sleepy sheep and numbers cover the royal-blue, silk shorts Tris brought in for me, with Zs peppering the blue top.

As I button up the front, the water cuts off. I step to the side to get a fresh towel for Tris, passing it to him when he pushes back the curtain. He scrubs it over his sandy-brown hair and pats his body before slinging it around his hips to stride out of the bathroom once more.

When I emerge a moment later, he wears a matching pair of sleepy-sheep pajama pants and a clingy white T-shirt.

Aspen sits near the window, gazing out into the night with his brow furrowed in concern.

Tris pulls a wide-toothed comb and blow dryer from the open bag on the bed and points to the empty chair across from Aspen. “No going to sleep with wet hair.”

The words bring a twinge to my chest. Ros usually helps me with my hair, and I do the same for him. It’s only been half a day, but I miss my fanged mate.

I unwind my turban and settle onto the soft cushion. “Any sign of them out there?”

Aspen shakes his head. “They went over the fence into the woods and haven’t come back out.”

Worry rises, but I tamp it down. Haut is a powerful wolf shifter, and Levi’s a big, strong man who can handle himself.

Tris lifts the bottom of my hair to work the tangles out. “They’ll be fine.”

The reassurance doesn’t stop the sinking sensation in the pit of my stomach, though. The memory of that man’s stillness fills me with a sense of dread I can’t shake.

Aspen’s cool blue eyes shift to us. “Where were your wands? You could have stunned the man, Tris. You’ve learned the spell.”

The comb moves higher. “It was in the pocket of Rowe’s robe, but the guy was gone before I even turned around.”

My spine straightens in surprise. I hadn’t even felt it there.

Aspen’s focus shifts to me. “And yours?”

Guilt pricks at my conscience, and my gaze jumps toward the bathroom, where I left my wand sitting in its sheath on the counter so the chlorine wouldn’t damage it.

Aspen sighs. “You need to be prepared at all times. Both of you. What if you’d been attacked while in the hot tub, and Rowe summoned lightning without an outlet to funnel it through? She could have fried you.”

My shoulders hunch. “I’ve only summoned lightning once, and there was a storm.”

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