Page 8 of Wickedly Yours

“Hm. Is it prying if I asked how you got through the wards?” I tilted my head, watching him.

“I suppose not.” Zain mused, but I noticed he didn’t answer my question.

His presence was unusual. But that wasn’t too strange, given that most people in this town were witches. But it was different—a sort of power I could almost feel, down to my bones—something I’d never encountered before.

Except… His presence felt familiar, too. Like?—

“What?” He murmured, turning his head to meet mine. “You’re staring.”

My heart skipped a beat in my chest. “Nothing.” I shook my head, shaking off the feeling.

We’d reached the end of Main Street, and if we kept going, we’d reach the residential streets of town. A few blocks overwas my childhood home, the one my parents had left to Willow and me when they’d passed away.

Turning in a different direction, I headed towards the gazebo in the middle of town. He slipped his hand back into mine.

“Where are we going?” Zain asked, keeping pace with me as we kept our fingers interlocked. I kept my powers tampered down, willing myself not to look into his future.

Our future?If we had one. For once, I didn’t want to know how it would end. I just wanted to enjoy the night. Besides, the warm fuzzy was a good feeling. I wanted to sink into it.

The entire square had a faint glow thanks to the orange lights strung around the gazebo. On Halloween, the entire block would bustle with trick-or-treaters, laughing children, and families of witches, but tonight, it was empty.

Dropping our hands, I plopped down on the grass, looking up at the stars. Zain laid down beside me, his knuckles pressing up against mine.

“I’ve always thought this was the best spot in town for looking up at the stars,” I whispered. This moment felt intimate—almost precious. “You can see so many constellations here.” Cait, my cousin, loved astrology and had taught me about all of them when we were younger. I could name most of the star formations visible in our sky easily now.

When the city was upgrading to modern lights years ago, they’d created local ordinances that no lights could point up towards the sky, preventing light pollution. It was incredible because on clear nights like tonight, it felt like you could see an entire galaxy—a world beyond our fingertips. If I stretched my fingers up, I could almost imagine them.

“It’s wonderful.”

I rolled onto the grass so I could look at him. He’d thrown one arm behind him, resting his head on it, but kept his eyespointed upwards, giving me the perfect view of his undeniably handsome side profile. That powerful jaw, beautiful eyelashes—it should be illegal, actually, how long they were—and I wanted to run my fingers through his dark hair. It looked soft. But I kept my hands to myself. God, he was gorgeous.

“So…” I wiggled my fingers through the grass, feeling the magic of the world all around me. “Should we ask each other questions or something?” I hoped the darkness would hide the blush on my face. “I didn’t bring you out here with ulterior motives anything.”

He looked amused, giving me the nod of his head. “What do you want to know?”

Everything.But I couldn’t exactly say that. I traced patterns in the grass instead of looking into his eyes. “I don’t know. Do you have any siblings?”

“One. That I know of, at least.”

There was bitterness in his voice, and it made me frown. “Older or younger?” I asked.

“I think it’s my turn to ask something now.” A chuckle slipped from his lips.

“Oh. Right.” Returning to my back, I looked up at the stars. “Ask away.”

“What do you do?”

A laugh burst out of me. Unexpected but… exhilarating. Because he truly had no idea who I was. And in this tiny town, that wasn’t something I experienced very often. A chance to bejustLuna. Not a Clarke daughter who had lost her parents. Not Willow’s sister, who needed protecting. Not the baker who smiled at everyone each morning. Just me. I was all of those things, and yet, I was so much more.

“Is that not a normal question to ask?” He was frowning when I looked over at his face.

“No. Yes. Of course it’s normal. It’s just that no one’s everasked me it before. Everyone knows me in town. I run the local bakery.”

“Ah. And you like it?”

“My question,” I reminded him, poking at his arm. It was firm.Hard.

I’d never taken the time to properly appreciate a man’s arms before, but then again, no one had ever worn a suit quite like he did. Black shirt, black suit coat—no tie—and black slacks, and he was mouthwatering. Delicious.Was I still drunk?

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