Page 78 of The Witch is Back

“Bastian...” She pulled in a breath, pressed her lips together. When her eyes opened, there was resolve in them. “We should stop.”

“You sure?”

“Yes.”

He leaned down, nipped her lip. “Then why are you still holding me?”

She followed his gaze where she still clutched him. He’d never seen anyone move so fast as she backed up.

He let out a breath. She was probably right.

She was still hiding something from him, but the fork in the road had been reached. Either he had to accept that she might have known about everything but had been forced into it by her mother—which was almost justifiable, he reasoned—or he had to keep himself back from her. And he was fast coming to the conclusion the second wasn’t an option.

“It’s a bad idea.” She folded her arms, but not before he saw the twin points of her nipples saluting him. His mouth went dry, head veering into foggy territory again.

“I’ve been thinking about that.” Since his hands wanted to reach for her, he mirrored her pose and crossed his arms, leaning casually on his back foot. “Why is it such a bad idea?”

Her mouth dropped open.

“Is that an invitation?”

That made it snap shut.

Even from where he stood, he could swear he heard her back molars grind. “We said we’d be friends.”

“That is friendly.”

“That’s how you are with your friends?”

“Sure.”

“Then maybe that’s why you have so few.”

The wryness only made him want her more, and his reservations were easily buried. Time to let go of the past. Even just thinking it made him feel like he’d shed a coat whose pockets had been filled with rocks. He gave her a wide smile, relieved to have made a decision to let her secrets lie. “Emma, we’re getting married.”

“I heard that.”

“Would it be bad for a husband and wife to have sex?”

“It’s complicated.”

It really was.

“You’re leaving after this,” she barreled on before he could say anything. “I think it could get messy if we tried to be anything more than friends. We should be practical.”

Just like that, without warning, memory snuck up on him and his smile dialed down to childhood nostalgia. “Shy, sensible Emmaline.” He used his telekinesis to tug her top like a boy in the playground. “Don’t you ever want to go a bit wild?”

She batted at the invisible hands. “Being sensible isn’t a bad thing.”

She had a point, and he admitted that letting his base desires win probably would only make everything more complicated in the long run.

But he’d already boarded the Runaway Express and passed Complication Station, and she needed to get on this train. “Maybe we should put a pin in it. Just think. Weigh up the pros and cons.” His eyes caught on her lip, which she was biting again, and his throat went dry. His next words were involuntary. “I’d make it worth your while, Em. I’d make you scream.”

CHAPTER 15

I’d make you scream.

Just think.

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