Page 8 of Resting Witch Face
“Are you okay, Miss Byrne?” The low tone of his voice made it seem like he genuinely cared, and the way his gaze searched my face only twisted the ache inside me until I was scared it might double me over.
“What kind of a dumb question is that, Mr. Blackman?” Looking down my nose at him over my shoulder, I said his name mockingly. “Of course, I am fine. About those testicles though …”
“I don’t need testicles.” His jaw clenched, and his eyes narrowed on me.
The asshole that I am, I dropped my gaze to his crotch, giving it a skeptical once-over. “I dunno …” When a muscle started dancing on one side of his face, I shrugged. “Suit yourself, just don’t say I didn’t offer.”
“I see,” River purred so close behind when I gave him my back again, his breath tickling the short hairs on my neck.
“You see nothing.” Hoping my dismissive, toneless words would send him on his way, I stepped sideways to get away from him.
“Yet you still think I’m pretty,” he jabbed, and my head snapped in his direction to find him watching me with an expression that said he knew something I didn’t.
“Whoever sold you that lie should give you your money back.”
“You.” That stupid smile on his face would crack my molars if he didn’t wipe it off soon.
“What about me?” If River had a bit of a brain, he would see the warning in my glare.
“You sold me the lie.” The light coming in sheets through the domed roof and floor-to-ceiling arched windows made his blonde hair glow like gold on top of his head when he folded his arms and leaned a shoulder on the bookshelf.
His black button-down shirt stretched over his shoulders and biceps, creasing at the elbows, and the cufflinks he had blinked at me. The flame etched on them announced to any witch he had fire magic and was proud of it since it was openly displayed like that, unlike a lot of others who kept their powers hidden to make those that want to cross them wonder about it. Pretty arrogant, if you asked me, but I was jealous so no one should take my word for it. His dress pants had sharp lines in the middle of his strong legs the fabric couldn’t hide, falling over loafers shined to a point you could use them as a mirror. If I didn’t know him for the snake in the grass he was, I would need to rub my eyes to make sure I wasn’t dreaming and he was indeed real. The Goddess didn’t shy away when gifting him in the looks department, pouring them in with a ladle. She used a fork with me and I was happy with that. I knew how to work with what I had.
“I’m a pro at lying.” Realizing I’d stared way too long, my face warmed up and I turned away from his knowing gaze. “But that lie was free since you looked pathetic when you walked in, so no money back.”
“I see that, too.” River chuckled, and the melted chocolate of his irises lightened to warm brown in the sunlight.
“You sound like a parrot, and I’m bored, so how about you go bother someone else, huh? I’m busy.”
If Sissily and I were right about something going on behind our backs that involved the other covens, River was deep to his eyeballs in it, no matter how enticing those said eyeballs were. Dropping my guard around a pretty face had never seemed more dangerous than at that moment.
“I didn’t mean to upset you, Hazel.” Pushing off the shelf, he straightened, all humor vanishing from him. I stiffened, expecting him to reach for me. “I just wanted to introduce myself the way I thought it should’ve been done in the first place. Unfortunately, my arrival in your coven had bad timing.”
I could tell he was fighting the urge to touch me when his right hand fisted at his side. Catching myself eyeing him warily sent a fresh wave of anger through me. River Blackman’s presence unsettled me in more ways than one, and I didn’t like that one bit. I would’ve been all for playing a game of cat and mouse if he’d picked any other time. Right now, when I could feel the storm brewing just around the corner, when it was ready to unleash on my life like a tornado, my patience was wearing thin no matter how wobbly my knees got around him. He was the most beautiful man I’d ever seen, but I valued my life more than beauty by miles.
If anyone were to check my record so far, I was nothing if not a survivor.
“So you did. Congratulations on that great achievement. Now, if you would kindly leave me alone, I’d like to return to my task, thank you.” The vise around my lungs contracted as I watched him debate whether he should say more or not, but reason won in the end. With a small nod, he turned and strode toward the door. “And that’s Miss Byrne to you, not Hazel. Familiarity is reserved for friends and family only,” I called at his back and didn’t need to see him to know he was staring at me.
I felt the weight of his gaze pressing on my shoulders like a mountain being dumped there. After a while, the click of the door closing surrounded me, and releasing a sigh, I leaned my forehead on the dusty books sitting mutely on the shelves. Taking one deep breath after another, I kept my eyes closed until the galloping in my chest slowed to a steady thump. If I was going to get out of whatever was going on, I needed to be on my best game and now allow my hormones to put me off kilter.
When Sissily returned, she found me like that.
“What happened?” My friend rubbed my shoulder in comfort, provoking a smile from me. Leave it to her to sense my turmoil without me saying a word.
“Nothing. I was just thinking about what we talked about before we were rudely interrupted.” A change of subject was in order, so I gave her a side-eyed glance. “Should I assume you let Sasha get away or …”
“That idiot will end up forcing my hand one day to kill her, I swear.” As I expected, Sissily’s attention turned toward our mutual pain-in-the-butt covenmate. With jerky movements, she tugged the elastic band from her hair so she could retie her ponytail. “You should’ve seen her run down the hall, all the while glancing over her shoulder like I have nothing better to do than chase her dumb ass.”
“You are scary when you get pissed off.” Snickering at the mocking glare she threw my way, I raised both hands in surrender. “I’m just saying. I wouldn’t want to cross your path when you get that look on your face.”
“What look? You are mistaking me with yourself. I don’t have a look.” Done with her hair, she dramatically flicked her ponytail over her shoulder. “I’m as sweet as they come.” Which was not far from the truth, and many had made the mistake of judging her by her doll-like exterior, expecting a lamb to only find a ferocious wolf instead.
“Anywho … back to what we spoke about. I have every intention of digging into it.” Stomach dipping low, I wiped my all-of-a-sudden clammy hands off my shirt. “If something is about to hit me, I’d rather see it coming.”
“We will be digging into it.” Sissily flicked a finger between us. “This is a two-women job, and they’ve never hidden anything from us for long before. We got this.”
“Right. Let’s finish this up so we can clean up the ritual room first.” Just thinking about it made me grind my teeth. Danika knew how much I hated doing that, and that was why she made me.
