Page 61 of The Witch is Back

“Morning,” he said in his lovely deep voice, and the husky echo of his I want you sounded in her ears.

Even if someone had paid her a thousand bucks to do so, she couldn’t have stopped the heat that spilled into her cheeks.

He gestured to the floor. “I, ah, cleared up the mess.”

That she’d made because her magic had gone AWOL during The Kiss. Oh, boy.

She held up the white paper bag. “I brought bagels!”

“Great.” He shoved his hands into the pockets of his jeans. “Emma...” He stopped, seemingly running out of words. She knew the feeling.

She went to put the paper bag on the breakfast bar, hesitated for a second at the image of Bastian pressing her against it. She tried to wipe the memory out of her mind, but it looked like she’d need some baking soda and vinegar because it stubbornly refused to lift.

“Should I apologize?”

Her head whipped up. “No!” Her voice sounded appalled, which was good, because that’s how she felt. For one thing, he’d been under the influence of alcohol and a potion. For another...she knew it had been stupid and impulsive, but it had possibly been the most exciting moment of her life. If he said he was sorry, that made it cheaper in some way.

He didn’t seem convinced. “I woke up with shards of china in my hair. It’s a bit hazy how they got there, but I’m pretty sure you wouldn’t have knocked me out if you didn’t have good reason.”

She cringed. “You didn’t do anything. Wrong, I mean.” The beginning of his sentence registered. “Hazy? You don’t remember?” She tried to decide if that was good or bad.

He rocked back on his heels. “I remember drinking at the bar. I remember coming back here.” The wall behind her suddenly must have been fascinating. “I remember...kissing you.”

And on a scale of one to humdinger, how did that rate for you?

She pushed that to the back of her mind in case he accidentally picked up on it. As if this wasn’t awkward enough. “That’s pretty much it.”

“And you put a sleeping spell on me because...?”

Oh, Goddess.

She fidgeted with the paper bag, the crinkling sound covering up the awkward silence. “You welshed on the deal,” she finally said, trying to play it off light, carefree. “One kiss, right?”

“Right.” He pursed his lips and memories hit like a flood. She tore her gaze off them as he added, “Sorry about that.”

She shifted from foot to foot. “In the interest of honesty, ah, it wasn’t entirely your fault.”

She actually felt the weight of his gaze. “You wanted to kiss me?”

Holy Mother Goddess. Her cheeks burned as she sidestepped the question. “Tia may have...well, she might have... I didn’t know until after and I would have stopped her but...she, ah...”

Bastian’s eyes widened. “She put a truth potion in my drink.” Before she could do more than nod, he stepped into her, body vibrating with tension. “What did I say?” he demanded. “Did I say anything about why I left?”

She blinked. “No...”

If anything, he looked disappointed. One hand swept the back of his neck as he jerked a nod. “Right. ’Course not.”

“Do you have something to tell me about why you left?” she asked, curiosity nudging nerves out of the way.

His gaze whipped to her, then back to the floor. He didn’t say anything for a moment that stretched to an uneasy point. Then he huffed an amused breath. “I can’t believe Tia got one over on me. With all the times my friends pulled that prank on each other, I’d have thought I’d remember the taste of a truth potion.”

Emma refused to acknowledge her disappointment. She didn’t really have the right to it, considering what she was keeping from him. “I think it tastes different with alcohol. But I hope you’re not too upset; I know it’s a violation.”

He waved that off. “Please, it’s kids’ games, like I said.” Speculation crossed his face. “Just tell your friend if she wants to play kids’ games, she’d better watch her back.”

Goddess save Emma from witch society.

She restrained herself from rolling her eyes and instead said, “I got sesame or plain.”

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