Page 12 of The Blood Witch

“Just one knee,” Fey protested, as though that made a difference. She plucked a corner off the brownie in front of her and popped it into her mouth, rolling the treat over her tongue. “But yes. Right in the middle of the store. He just…dropped down and knelt.”

Goddess, Regina’s brownies had no right being this delicious. Fey let out a soft moan as she swallowed the bite of chocolate goodness. She licked a few errant crumbs from her fingers, finally feeling like herself again.

She was glad she’d stopped by here. These days, when her thoughts became too loud and her rage flared too close to the surface, it was oddly comforting to swing by The Last Drop. Even with the sun still hovering above the horizon, and the club yet to open for the night, at least she could find some company here. A distraction.

For whatever reason, this club was starting to feel like home.

“Well,” Jasper said, leaning over the bar to pull the brownie toward himself. “I certainly can’t blame a guy for getting on his knees for you. Especially when you make noises likethat.”

Fey laughed and flicked a crumb at him.

“How often does this happen to you?” Jasper asked, face turning serious again. He broke off a piece of brownie for himself, ignoring Fey’s scowl.Greedy fucking Wolf. He’d devoured the pork buns she brought him in a matter of seconds, and there’d be blood if he ate much more of her dessert. “The, uh, kneeling, I mean?”

Fey shrugged. She plucked a cherry from her drink and rolled the stem between her fingers. “Depends, really… when I’m in our neighborhood? Hardly ever. But anywhere else? At least once a week.” She exhaled slowly, letting her head tilt back. “And then there are the posters…”

“Oh, is that why you’ve become a hermit?” Jasper asked, licking chocolate from his fingertips.

Fey shot him an irritated look and then quickly glanced away. The way he licked and sucked the chocolate from his fingers was borderline pornographic. “I haven’t become a hermit,” she argued, staring at her drink. “I go places.”

“Where?” Jasper asked with a laugh. “And here doesn’t count!” he added when she opened her mouth to respond.

“What do you mean here doesn’t count?” Fey asked incredulously.

“I mean exactly what I said. It doesn’t count. You’re here… what? Maybe once every few weeks? If that? And only when we’re not busy. You see me and Alastair, and no one else. And as much as I love to see you, gorgeous, it doesn’t count.”

Fey scowled. Her rage remained tightly leashed, but it didn’t stop her irritation from bleeding through. “I go to work. I go running every morning. And I go see Joy and Alice at least once a month, for family dinner.”

“Also doesn’t count,” he answered smugly.

Fey curled her lip at him, but rather than backing down, Jasper just smiled wider at her, giving her a sharp-toothed grin.

“How do those not count?” she demanded.

“Your sisters live right on the outskirts of our neighborhood,” Jasper said, ticking his points off on his fingers. “You run alone, despite knowing every Wolf working here would run with you, in whichever form you wanted. Me included, fuck you for never asking, by the way. And you don’t see anyone at work. Do you ever go shopping in the other districts, Fey? Go to the bars or restaurants there?”

No, of course she didn’t. Why would she?

“I have everything I need here,” Fey insisted with what she hoped was a casual shrug. Jasper snorted a laugh.

“Look, I’m not trying to get on your case,” he told her in a kind tone, tearing another piece from her brownie with his fingers. Fey reached out to snatch it back, but he playfully batted her hand away. “But even you have to admit you’ve put some pretty thick walls around yourself, Fey.”

He tossed the piece of brownie into his mouth.

“I’m here spending time with you, aren’t I?” Fey argued, her irritation clear in her tone and gripping her drink a little too tight.

Eyes locked on hers, Jasper swallowed, his throat bobbing with the motion. As he leaned across the bar, angling himself closer to her, his smile slipped. “Yeah,” he said in a husky voice, eyes drifting to her lips. “You are, aren’t you?”

They were close enough now they were nearly touching. Fey froze as he reached up to touch her face gently, his thumb tracing the corner of her mouth.

“You have chocolate on your face,” he told her. Fey’s breath caught as he drew his thumb over her bottom lip. Then it was gone,Jasper bringing that finger to his mouth to lazily lick the chocolate off.

“If you eat one more crumb of my brownie,” Fey whispered, trying to ignore the quaver in her own voice. Her skin was hot where he’d touched her. “I will skin you and hang your pelt behind the bar.”

Jasper laughed and opened his mouth to reply. But then his eye snapped to something behind her, and the laughter died on his lips. He straightened, pulling away from Fey, his eyes narrowing.

“Viv?” Jasper asked, a mix of irritation and concern in his voice. “What are you doing here? Is everything okay?”

Fey turned, following his gaze across the empty club. No, not empty, not quite. There was a teenaged girl there, striding across the vacant dance floor, smiling sheepishly at them as she approached. Her soft brown hair was just long enough to brush over the top of her shoulders as she walked.

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