Page 119 of Kiss of Magic

“Give it up, princess.” She wriggled fiercely and he smiled. “I could stay here all day.”

“Damn it. If I had my magic you’d be toast.”

“Oh, you still have magic, Blue.” He let his eyes trail over her flushed features, lingering on her lips. “Lots of magic.”

He watched her mouth curve into a smile. She tilted her face up and planted little butterfly kisses along his jaw. Christ, she always knew how to turn him on.

But he was still ready for her when she suddenly gripped with her legs and tried to flip him. He pushed her flat again.

“Nice try. But I’m not some idiot mark.”

“I would never try this on a mark.”

“I should fucking hope not. Then I’d have to kill them.”

“You’re such an alpha male.”

“Damn right, Blue. Now show me those chest puppies again.”

She squealed with laughter as he tried to push up her crop-top, batting his hands away. He finally uncovered the tattoo she’d had done that morning.

It had been inked into her chest just above her left breast. A five-pointed star in a circle. She lay quietly in his arms while he examined it.

“It’s a pentagram,” she said. “A wiccan symbol. I know I’m not a witch anymore but…”

“You wanted a connection. A reminder.” He nodded. “I get that. In fact…”

He tugged his T-shirt over his head and showed her his chest.

“When you were out getting yours done, I went to see Mama Xiaoling again.”

His pec was emblazoned with a freshly tattooed dragon. Dani ran her fingers over it.

“Not basilisk blood this time?”

“No. Regular ink. But it’s a symbol of how we met. A souvenir of the best bounty hunt of my life.”

She kissed him, grateful beyond measure that he’d found her. Without him, she wouldn’t have realised what she had to do. Without him, she would have stayed on the run, her power wasted, and thousands more would have died.

She wished she could tell him how she felt, but each time the words rose to the surface they got trapped inside her chest. All she could do was be with him and hope it was enough.

There was a sudden whining sound outside the dojo. They looked round, puzzled, unsure where it was coming from. The sound came closer and they got to their feet. Blake frowned. It sounded like a bullet or a missile, headed their way.

It came closer still and now he could feel the air moving as if a breeze was blowing through the room. But none of the windows were open.

“What the…?”

He moved to shield Dani as something slammed through the door and shot into the room. It circled like a cyclone before it gradually slowed down. The creature at the centre of it was skinny and blue, and when it finally came to a standstill they saw it had a postal bag slung over one shoulder.

Blake glanced towards his Glock, hanging on a holster on the wall.

“Don’t bother,” sniffed the sprite. “I could run to the other end of the country and back before you got halfway.”

“You’re not from round here, are you?”

“Good guess, ape-man. I’ve brought a message from Arjhan.”

Dani’s eyes widened.

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