Page 61 of The Nowhere Witch

“Oh, no, not like that.” Was I an idiot? How could I even say something like that to him? Gregor wouldn’t fare well against Hawk. He was too nice. You had to be a certain type of hard to have a chance against Hawk, and Gregor’s slight edge wouldn’t cut it.

“Then how? You can talk to me. You can trust me, Tippi. I would never hurt you.”

The first night I ever came to the broker house, I’d asked Hawk if I could trust him. He’d implied it wouldn’t matter what he said. It would mean nothing. He’d almost had me believing his crazy ways.

“He just has a belief in the way certain things should be that doesn’t always line up. He gets frustrated.”

Actually, plain old mad, and the list seemed to go on and on. He was mad I was in Xest. Mad I was going to get a job. Mad I couldn’t protect myself, even though I was working on that.

“Tippi, talk to me. I won’t judge you,” Gregor said.

The streets were quiet tonight, but even as the sneerers occasionally passed, Gregor never seemed fazed, not even when the black cloud chased everyone else away.

“I know you’re not judging me. I’m judging myself.”

“You don’t need to tell me. It’s all right.” He tucked his hands in his pockets as he looked ahead, strolling beside me.

We walked in easy silence for a little while, sipping our drinks. Maybe this was how it was supposed to be with the man you ended up with? Easy. Comfortable. I felt like I could tell him anything right now.

“I don’t always measure up. For instance, I’m a protectorate who can’t protect herself very well,” I said.

“How is that possible? You fought off grouslies and a dragon,” he said, as if I’d made up the most unbelievable tale.

“The grouslies left on their own. With the dragon, Zab was there. I’d probably be a piece of charcoal right now if it had been only me. I tend to do better when there are others who need help.”

He shrugged, but he was grinning. “I don’t think that’s a problem. It’s just you. You’re a caring person. It makes sense you’d be tougher when protecting others.”

He really didn’t care. There was zero judgment.

“Hawk thinks it’s a problem.”

“Hawk is a bit extreme.” He waved me along. “Come on, I want to show you something.”

We walked to the edge of town and kept going until we were in a pasture with one of those large trees with black leaves and a grey trunk. All around it, tiny streams of blue light weaved their way toward the tree.

“What is this? It’s beautiful.”

He tilted his head toward me. “Streamers. Once a year, they come to this tree to mate.” I took a step closer, but he held up a hand in front of me. “You can’t get too close or they’ll bite. They’ll come after you in a swarm, and you’ll be covered with red welts for a week.”

“Good to know.” I took a step back, and then another. “It’s getting late. We should probably head back. I’ve got work in the morning.”

“Heard about that. You’re a pretty important person now, huh?”

“No. Just plain old Tippi.”

“Nothing about you is plain,” he said. He took my hand, and this time there wasn’t any hesitation.

I stared down at his grip as he tugged me forward. I let myself be pulled closer, knowing where this was heading even as I was unsure about the destination.

Gregor seemed like a fairly safe bet as far as men went. He didn’t judge when I said I couldn’t protect myself, and he wasn’t walking and talking testosterone. If I got involved with him, I wouldn’t be holding on for dear life at every turn. He was everything Hawk wasn’t. He was everything I should want. As he bent his head down, I didn’t turn away. Soft lips brushed tentatively over mine.

It wasn’t bad even if there was a lack of something—urgency, passion, heat. Maybe it needed a little help? I lifted onto my tiptoes, wrapping my arms around his neck, trying to coax some heat into the moment.

He wrapped his arms around my back, arching me into him as he tried to delve with his tongue. Unfortunately, it hit the roadblock of my lips. Not one part of me wanted any part of him inside me, not even a portion of a tongue.

I pressed my hands on his shoulders, pushing out of his embrace. His lips stilled before he dropped his hands, his eyes crinkling at the corners and an unspoken question hanging on his parted lips.

“I’m sorry. I thought I was ready for something, but I don’t think I am.” Or not ready forhim, and I wasn’t sure I ever would be. There was a certain spark that was either there or it wasn’t. This sparkler felt like it had been left out in the rain for a week, but he didn’t need to know that. When Hawk touched me, I melted into him.

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