Page 27 of Spirit Witch

“You get reacquainted with your roommates, Nizhoni.I will get us some food,” Judge said and winked, kissing me on the lips before turning around.

I ignored the wolf whistles from the girls as I watched him go.I couldn’t look away if I tried.He had on a pair of brown leather pants, a long-sleeved, white thermal shirt with a flannel on top, and a brown suede vest with long fringes over both.He wore motorcycle boots and had his hair in a sloppy man-bun on top of his head.

I smiled at the picture he made, a mix of his heritage and modern grunge, and I smiled at how the other males greeted him.Magnus and Brandon said their hellos with heavy slaps on his shoulders, while Enok and Arlo took turns shaking his hand.Fin gave him a tough boy nod, which Judge returned.They all went with him to grab food and chilled cups of cider from the stands Jubilee and the other Sprites were running.

“Holy shit!What the fuck happened to you?”Rio remarked, spinning me around like I was on a runway.

“What do you mean?”

“You look crazy good.Like wow, did your face change?”

“What?”I repeated touching my hands to my face.

“I think fucking is exactly what happened,” Tana snarked.

Maia play slapped the fire witch on the arm and shook her head, mumbling something about tact.Tana exchanged more light slaps with her until Rio squirted them both with perfectly aimed blasts of water from Bryn Lake.

“Enid, we just want to know if you are okay,” Mabe said, and the blood witch looked very concerned.“Wow, you do look different.”

“I’m fine,” I told her, maybe a little too quickly.“Look, there is a lot we need to go over before we can plan how to do this thing, How about we just enjoy this, whatever this is—”

“Solstice festival,” Jade supplied.

“This Solstice festival,” I repeated and grinned at the curvy earth witch.“Tomorrow we can work out the details and I will tell you everything,” I promised, to both myself and them.

“Okay, but you won’t wiggle your way out of explaining things tomorrow.”

“I won’t even try,” I replied, grinning when I saw Judge heading back to me with two kebabs in one hand and two mugs of cider in the other.

“Where’s mine?”Rio snapped, hands on her hips, when Magnus came back empty-handed.

“What?You’re hungry again?”the kraken shifter asked, scratching his head.

“Really, Magnus.Again?What the heck does that mean?”she snapped.

“Oh, he must have a death wish,” Tana commented.

I laughed as the two went back and forth while they walked back to the food stands where Jubilee was just dishing up the order Rio’s mate had sneakily already placed.The water witch jumped in Magnus’ ever-ready arms, only to be swallowed in his embrace as she kissed him.

Having already witnessed their way of communicating hundreds of times before, I was more than relieved that this time I didn’t feel any envy.In fact, I knew exactly why my friend got so lost in her mate’s kiss that she was willing to maul him in public with no thoughts for discretion.Hard to care about others’ sensitivities when you were being so thoroughly claimed in front of all and sundry.

CHAPTER11

My gaze flashedto Judge’s, and I smiled widely, since his eyes were already on me.For once, I was the object of a man’s unwavering affection.I was the woman he wanted.The witch he loved.And I felt it down to my bones.

“Look what I got for us.Here, try this,” he said, handing me the frosted mug of hard apple cider garnished with orange and apple slices and a thick cinnamon stick.

I took a healthy sip, moaning at the vibrant, crisp apple taste as it slid down my throat.Next, he fed me bits of lamb and beef from the two kebabs he’d purchased, and it was sublime.The meat was perfectly cooked and flavored with spices I couldn’t identify.But what I especially liked was the careful way he placed each piece between my teeth, kissing me after I swallowed each bite, as if he couldn’t stop himself.

After he tossed the wood sticks into the nearest bonfire, Judge moved behind me, pulling me back against him.He was so tall, so big, I felt almost small, wrapped in his embrace.It’s not that I was particularly tall like Tana, and I didn’t have Jade’s curves, but I was not small, either.

Only with Judge did I feel safe and loved, taken care of in a way I’d never experienced before.More than that, he believed in me on a whole other level.His quietly reassuring confidence was just what I’d needed to break through the wall I’d erected around my past, and my magic.He was everything I needed.

“I swear, I’m like a kid who can’t get enough candy when it comes to you, Nizhoni.The years apart were hard on me, and I am afraid I will want you with me all the time.Will that bother you?”he asked, seemingly concerned.

“Will having my hot-as-fuck mate wanting me all the timebother me?Um, hard no,” I teased.“Seriously, I’m so sorry we were separated.I don’t remember all of it yet, but I feel it too,” I murmured, leaning my head to the side as his lips found my neck.

I shivered in his arms, loving the feel of his hot mouth against my skin.Snow flurries started falling from the darkening skies, and solstice carols played in the background.My roommates had all snagged seats around the fire and they were snuggled up against their mates.Only Judge and I were standing a few feet away yet, needing this time to reassure ourselves what we’d shared before had actually happened.

---