Page 54 of Hexes and Exes

“Holy fuck.” Ava falls forward, but I grip her hips and pull her back to me as she stands up. She spins around and holds on to my arms. My hands shift with the movement, ending up on her rounded butt. Her hair is disheveled, and her face is red as she blinks up at me.

“Maiden, you scared the crap out of me.”

“Afraid some stranger was groping you in the hallway.”

Ava’s eyes narrow. “Why are you grabbing my ass?”

That’s a very good question. Just last night, I told her we should stay away from each other. “It was just waving at me.”

“My ass can’t wave.”

“Fair enough.” I squeeze, and Ava sucks in a breath.

Her mouth parts. I sense the snarky comment coming, but instead, her gaze drifts over my face and down my shoulders before coming back up to meet my eyes.

“I thought we were supposed to stop doing this?” She lifts her chin, and I know she’s talking about me and her in compromising positions. I was pretty clear on my feelings last night. In the light of a new day, I’m making things really damn muddy.

“We are.” My voice is too low, rough with need. That’s what I’ve tried to convince myself is best for Ava. But I’m so fucking weak when it comes to her.

Ava licks her lips and opens and closes her mouth twice before she speaks. “Listen, Bram. I don’t need something serious.”

My heart pounds and her cheeks flush.

“I just got out of a long relationship.”

A low growl rumbles in my chest. I don’t want to think about that prick of her ex. I don’t want her thinking about him either.

“I don’t need to be tied down with anything serious again. I just want to live life and be happy. Have fun. Maiden knows we don’t get much of that around here.”

I slide my hand up her back, and she arches into the touch. “I’m pretty sure you’re a picket fence kind of girl.”

She steps forward, closing up the last bit of space between our bodies. “I’m not looking for marriage and kids. I think we both know why that would be a disaster.”

Fucking curses.

“Maybe it’s just an itch that needs scratching.”

An itch.

The word grates against my skin. The thought that we could be a temporary stop and then she’d move on to some other pathetic asshole who doesn’t deserve her. But I can’t say that. I can’t be with her. Except maybe I can. If we can keep this casual. Friends with benefits who both know there’s nothing more to be had between us. Maybe we can make this work.

“Nothing serious.”

Ava’s eyes go wide, as if she didn’t expect me to agree, but then her jaw sets. “Not serious, but no screwing other people on the side. I might not have a lot of pride, but I’m not that sad. Yet.”

The thought of her grinding on some other guy’s dick, writhing beneath him as he fucks her, has a snarl curling my lip. “No one else. You won’t be able to walk when I’m done with you anyway.”

“Big talker.” She snorts and then gasps when I grab a handful of her hair and tug her head back. I lick up her throat and scrape my teeth over the lobe of her ear.

“That’s a promise.”

“Piper found the spell.” Ambrose’s voice cuts through the air like a bomb. Ava practically shoves me away and I almost stumble back. Ambrose is sitting in a gilded chair with filigree legs eating a piece of toast. His grin is wide as he looks between the two of us. How long has he been there? He shoves the last bite of bread into his mouth and brushes his hands together as he stands.

“Let’s regroup, and then don’t forget, tonight’s the new moon ceremony.”

The new moonceremony is a whole coven gathering where we restore and enhance our magic for the month. This is technically the first new moon ritual that we’ve had as a new coven. Ironically, even though we were previously two separate covens, we both perform the same ritual. Gathering at midnight in the Grimwood. Offering up thanks to the Maiden or the Mother and requesting they give us strength. For years we’ve excluded the Crone from these ceremonies, and I believe that’s been amistake. We haven’t been tapping into all our natural power and denying a very important part of ourselves. I’m not sure if our newly formed coven will continue with the status quo or if they’ll be worshiping the Triad as they should.

Our magic is multifaceted. The Maiden, Mother, and Crone are manifestations of power at different points in our life, as well as the representation of different aspects of ourselves. In the past, the Tenebris coven worshiped the Mother, while the Lumen coven worshiped the Maiden. The Crone was labeled evil and excluded entirely. Agatha Fitzsimons told Josephine and Ava that was a mistake. While the coven may not have embraced the Triad, I’ve been thinking about my own magic in a new light since I found out.

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