Page 37 of Curses and Cauldrons

“If she doesn’t, I will.” My head whips around to where Stellan is splayed out on the floor. A pillow from one of the chairs is shoved under his head, and a throw blanket that’s too short to cover his feet lays over his body. “I always thought I’d be into voyeurism, but it turns out, it’s not my kink.

“Your friends are annoying,” Roman says as I scramble off him, my entire body heating with embarrassment. I nearly step on a still-sleeping Piper. She’s the heaviest sleeper I’ve ever met and is snoozing through all the conversation.

“We also have excellent hearing,” Stellan groans from the ground. An arm thrown over his eyes.

Ava’s mouth forms a silent “wow” as she points to a disheveled Roman Blackthorn. On my couch. I nod because, yeah, a sleep-rumpled Roman is delectable.

“I think you’ve all officially seen that Josephine is safe, and I haven’t molested her. You can leave now.” Roman is stretched out on my couch, his arms under his head. There’s a dark shadow on his jaw that, combined with the shirt that’s riding up and displaying very firm abs, makes my head swim. He’s far too hot to be sleeping on my couch and grabbing my butt. What is happening?

“It might be a stretch to say you didn’t molest her. I saw where your hand was creeping,” Stellan grumbles.

“Okay.” I cover my face with my hands. “Okay. That’s just great. Yep. I think everyone should go so I can die alone of embarrassment.”

Ava chuckles, sliding off her stool and setting her coffee cup in the sink. She crosses the room to stand over Stellan and kicks at his side until he snatches her foot. She hops around but manages to wiggle free and deliver one more kick. With an exaggerated groan, Stellan gets up, tossing his pillow back on the chair and neatly folds his blanket. Ava squats down by Piperand wakes her much more gently. It takes a lot longer for her to rouse.

Stellan walks over to Roman’s side, clapping him on the shoulder. “We’ve been evicted. Time to go.”

“Stellan,” Piper warns in her soft voice, barely awake but already being the voice of reason. Ava grabs Stellan’s arm and tugs him away.

“We’ll let the two of you talk things through.”

The door clicks shut behind them, leaving the apartment glaringly quiet in their wake. Roman’s presence almost swells, taking up extra space. I scramble off the couch, escaping to the kitchen. I need something to do other than panic at Roman being in my apartment.

“Would you like some coffee?”

“Sure.” Roman pushes off the couch, taking the seat Ava was previously occupying. His hair is messy from sleep. He looks so human. Obviously, I know he’s human, but he always looks perfectly put together. Like he doesn’t have the same flaws as the rest of us do. It’s nice to see him this way. It’s also a reminder that I probably look like hell.

I’m still in my jeans and T-shirt from the night before. There’s a hair tie around my wrist, and I gather my long hair in a ponytail. There are still flyaways, but it’s got to be better than it was before. At least I wasn’t wearing any makeup last night, so the only raccoon eyes I’m sporting will be from the permanent bags I can’t get rid of. Although now that I stop and think about it, I feel…great. The exhaustion that literally crippled me last night is gone. The small aches and pains that greet me every morning are absent. My magic pulses in my chest, a warm glow that’s brighter than I can ever remember it being.

I rub my palm over my sternum as I turn away from Roman, confused about how different things are from last night. I’ve never woken up the morning after a new moon ceremony andfelt like this. My eyes dart over to Roman, who’s watching my hand like he wants to replace it with his.

I spin away from him, grabbing two mugs out of the cupboard, then fill them both. I slide one across the counter toward Roman, feeling his eyes on me the whole time. I need a shower and my toothbrush. Coffee isn’t going to help that, but Ava made a fresh pot, so who am I to let it go to waste?

“Cream? Sugar?”

“Sugar, please.”

I push the bowl of sugar over to him, along with a spoon.

“You drink it black?” He raises a brow and lifts his cup for a sip, wincing and then blowing on the coffee before taking another drink.

“Just like my heart,” I joke.

“I doubt that very much.” Roman sits back, crossing his arms as a frown mars his face. “Can I ask what happened last night?”

I pick up my coffee and take a big gulp, burning my tongue. I shake my head. “I don’t know.”

“I guess I assumed your coven’s new moon ceremony was similar to ours.”

Our coven leaders don’t share a lot of information about the Tenebris coven, unless it’s to curse them or talk about how evil their dark magic is. To hear them talk about it, the Tenebris coven are a bunch of abusive, self-serving narcissists, but that hasn’t been my experience.

Still, I know next to nothing about their ceremonies or coven traditions. I always assumed they were vastly different from ours.

“Ours, uh, is supposed to be a gathering to renew our magic.”

Roman nods, but his mouth is pinched.

“And my family uses it to strengthen our particular magic as well.”

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