Page 51 of Witch You Weren't Here

He nodded and lifted his chin, his eyes hooded as he looked down at her. ‘So much.’

There were a couple of small dark freckles, sitting at the edge of his lips where they met his skin. She touched her finger to one then followed the generous curve of his mouth, tingles racing down her hand and up her arm. Not magic tingles. Not space cookie tingles. These were Harry tingles.

She ran her tongue along her own lower lip and his breath shuddered out and over her skin.

He cupped her face, sliding his hands up, so his damp fingers caught in the strands of her hair and his fingertips rested, cool and gentle, against her scalp, sending shivers down her neck. He leaned in. ‘Still do.’

Her heart had fought its way up to hammer at the base of her throat. Electricity crackled beneath her skin. She was sixteen, in the cave again, the hope that she was finally going to get to kiss Harry Ashworth making her weak. She wasn’t going to risk the chance being taken away from her this time.

She took him by the collar, lifted up onto her tiptoes and fitted her mouth against his.

His lips were as amazing as they had always looked, soft but firm, and she was already melting from the feel of them on hers, when he responded and everything became a dizzying rush of the world falling away, but her body sparking to life in an agony of awareness.

His mouth brushed over hers, again and again, gentle as waves lapping at a shore, approaching, and retreating, learning what made her breath hitch, teasing her by doing it again, drugging her with a slow rhythm, winding her desire tighter and tighter within her until she was desperate for more.

She ran her hands down his shirt, the feel of his lean, warm muscles beneath adding to the charge building within her. She clutched handfuls of the material, pulling him closer, and his fingers mirrored the motion, tightening in her hair, tipping her head back further. The glide of their mouths grew faster, greedier, as he guided her head from one angle to another, exploring so thoroughly, she could barely catch her breath. The confidence that this was happening and it was good sinking in. So good.

Her legs lost their strength, the bones and muscles dissolving. She had to come down off her tiptoes, making a dull thump against the door as she leaned back against it. Harry’s body crowded closer and Kay slipped her hands around his waist, tugging his shirt free of his trousers until her palms could slide up his back, skin against skin.

A moan rumbled up from his throat and he grabbed her by the thighs, lifting her up, carrying her the couple of steps over to the bathroom counter and sitting her on the edge of it. She tugged him even nearer with her fingers hooked in his belt loops. A sound that was somehow both surprise and relief escaped her as he slotted into the space between her spread thighs, pressing against her where she was growing heavy with warmth and anticipation, where he was solid and thick.

He swore under his breath and his hand was at her jaw, thumb tracing her bottom lip, dipping inside just enough to make her gasp, to make her hungry for their next kiss. His hands dropped to the counter, bracketing her hips as he bent to find her mouth again with his. Their tongues met, slick and addictive. She wrapped her arms around his shoulders, trying to hold herself up, as everything liquefied inside her.

The kiss deepened, and he gripped her waist, jerking her closer to the edge of the counter. There was nothing but this and their bodies, fused from hip, to stomach, to chest, making heat bloom inside her, from her heart down to the pulse between her legs, which she rolled against him, seeking more friction.

A desperate noise escaped his throat and he broke away, pressing his temple to hers, as damp gusts of air fell from his mouth. She was breathing just as fast. He nuzzled her hair and his head nudged the arm on her glasses, shifting them to the side. She reacted automatically, releasing him, and leaning away so she could push them back into place.

He was straightening up too, space growing between them, and even now – even in the centre of this storm – she recognised that her fear of releasing her gift had managed to override every other pleasurable sensation flooding her body and mind. She should have just taken her glasses off and carried on kissing him.

But she couldn’t do it. He might have told her how he felt, and she definitely had the evidence of his desire, but she didn’t want to use her gift to see anything more. To know if that was all there was between them now. To know if there was something he hadn’t mentioned. To see the extent of what she felt herself.

The effort of holding herself upright became too much and she fell back onto her elbows, her head hitting the mirror behind her.

‘Shit, are you OK?’ Harry’s voice was rough, his body close again, but he was cradling her head gently and encouraging her to sit up. ‘What happened?’

She slumped against his shoulder, her cheek crumpling his shirt, or his shirt crumpling her cheek, one of those. There was ringing in her ears. ‘I’m great,’ she slurred into the crook of his neck.

‘You’re really not. Did you hit your head really hard?’

‘No. It’s fine. Doesn’t hurt at all.’ She tried to rub her hand up his chest, but it flopped like a dead fish instead.

‘Are you feeling ill? This can’t be Leon’s magic—’

‘Not magic. Space. Space cookie. I might be stoned.’

‘You ate a space cookie?’ His laugh was weak, incredulous. His skin smelt amazing, she turned her nose into the crook of his neck and breathed in deeply. A wave of dizziness washed over her. ‘Kay?’

‘Oh. Yes? Just one bite. One big bite.’ She put her hand on his other shoulder to try to push herself upright. ‘Guess it’s hitting me now.’

Harry was quiet for a moment, and she felt him taking a few deep breaths. He smoothed his hands down her back and then gripped her shoulders gently to help her sit up.

She squinted at him, her eyes already feeling heavy-lidded. His face was pale beneath his freckles, apart from two reddened patches on his cheekbones, his kiss-swollen mouth downturned at the corners. ‘Are you all right to stand?’

‘Yeah … but …’ She bit her lip and pushed her finger against his bottom lip, admittedly not with the same gentle caress she’d used before since her co-ordination was a little off and her arm weighed two tonnes. Weirdly, gravity had also disappeared. ‘Why … don’t you want to kiss me anymore?’

He swallowed and looked down. ‘Kay, you’re not yourself. I didn’t realise. This isn’t right. And you need to try to sober up as much as possible before we go get the car.’

A disappointed noise surfaced from her throat, but she nodded. Then brightened. ‘Hey, we get to do a road trip. We always wanted to, didn’t we?’

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