Page 70 of Lost Touch
Still.
“I couldseeNate’s magic, Drew. I believe them. And seriously, it’s not that unlikely, is it? I mean, I know I’m not that interesting. But this would be kind of cool. If I had…something. Something about me that wasn’t completely ordinary.”
Drew’s lips quirked up. “You mean unlike the amnesia, and the mysterious past, and the way you look, and the way you keep rolling with punch after punch when a normal person would just go down and stay down? Yeah. You’re totally average, babe.”
I blinked at him, biting my lip, trying to decide how much of that could be construed as a compliment.
The last part, sure. The rest? I definitely didn’t look average. The average person didn’t have visible ribs. I knew he hadn’t meant to hurt my feelings, but…yeah.
“So maybe the magic fits right in with all the other weirdness,” I said finally. “Anyway. I don’t totally hate the idea, okay? It’s cool. It’s interesting. Maybe I’ll never do anything worthwhile with it except find this place, and maybe it’s not good for much. It won’t make me much more useful. But it’s something I know about myself. I don’t have a lot of that.”
“I’m sorry.” Drew reached out and picked up my hands again, wrapping them in both of his, and I was too weak to stop him. God, I’d never get tired of how it felt to have him touch me now that I could appreciate it. Like every time his skin and mine met, my whole body lit up from the inside. “If you’re happy, I’m happy. And—Ash, listen to me. You don’t need to be useful. I mean, that’s not why you exist. That’s not why I want you around. Okay?”
That I did believe. From the beginning—driven by all the weird magic and mating instincts and what have you, but who was counting—he’d been willing to keep me around and protect me no matter how inconvenient I became.
Once we got the magic off of him, that might change.
But I couldn’t accuse him of being insincere.
“Okay.” I forced a smile, because the searching, intent look in those dark eyes deserved some effort on my part. “As long as you don’t hate me for the magic thing?”
His eyes darkened even more. “I could never hate you.”
When he leaned in to kiss me, I met him halfway.
***
Breakfast could have been more awkward.
Maybe.
It started with me saying, “Sorry we’re late for breakfast!” as Drew and I hustled into the room, having gotten dressed in a hurry and run downstairs, following our noses through the big house’s living and dining rooms and a couple of hallways.
I gave the group in the kitchen the brightest smile I could manage and hoped they didn’t notice the hickeys on my neck or the way Drew and I looked like we’d just fucked in the shower.
That hope died when Nate got up from his seat next to Ian and peered at my neck, saying, “You should probably buy a scarf. We left you some eggs.”
Matthew and Arik were also at the big scarred wooden table that dominated the kitchen, their plates already empty. Introductions went smoothly enough, Nate gave us the eggs, and then no one seemed to know quite what to say.
“What are your plans, exactly?” Matthew asked after half of our food had disappeared.
At least the eating-and-staring hadn’t taken long; maybe food had been this amazing before my bout with not being able to taste anything, but in the moment it seemed impossible. I had to actively force myself not to moan and make everything ten times as awkward.
Luckily Drew spoke up, because I had my mouth as full as a chipmunk’s.
“We’re going to keep heading south,” he said, making me swivel my head and stare at him. We were? We hadn’t even figured out a permanent solution to his problem yet, let alone mine!
“This spell I put on you isn’t going to work for you long-term,” Arik put in, and I nodded at him frantically, chewing as fast as possible. “Drew, you’ll start to lose your shit again if you’re separated from Ash for more than a few hours. And Ash, by the way you’re eating your breakfast—because it’s fine, but it’s not that good. I’m guessing the spell helped with your problems too?”
I managed to swallow the last of the food in my mouth to say, “I can taste again. And feel, too. It’s amazing.”
Matthew raised a hand to his mouth, coughing in a way that didn’t even come close to covering his laugh, and Arik made a face.
“Yeah, I figured that out by the noise last night—”
“Like you’re one to talk,” Nate muttered.
“Not like you are, either,” Ian said, and then, “Ow!” Nate glared at him and pulled his elbow back. “I’m not complaining,” Ian muttered.
