Page 54 of Curses & Cold Brew
They’d taken her. They’d taken herfrom me, and the fear of losing her had made all of my inexplicable feelings crystal clear.
She was here, safe, strong, and as wicked as I was in every way. And I loved her. Simple as that.
I finally pulled away enough to murmur against her lips, “I want to fuck you so badly right now, but we need to deal with this whole vampire thing first.”
Iris’s hands slid up my sides as if she couldn’t stop herself from touching me—torturing me—but with a disgruntled sigh, she dropped them. “Later?”
“Later,” I promised. “And many times after that, witchling.”
I took a step back, needing to put some distance between us before my hands delved under the hem of her sweater and slid up her?—
Naphula groaned from behind us.
I turned to see her gasp, her eyes returning to their normal color.
“Ramona. I–I’m sorry,” Naphula spluttered. “I didn’t mean—I didn’t know what I was doing?—”
Blood trailed from her nose and several cuts on her face. I wasn’t sure if they were inflicted by Esme or Iris.
“What happened?” I asked, walking over to her.
“No, don’t,” Naphula warned, terror in her voice. She wiggled against her binds, but the rope was illuminated with a familiar glow that I knew was Iris’s magic keeping them in place. “I can’t fight her. I don’t know when the trance will take hold again. You need to keep me tied up until you break the curse she’s using to contain me.”
“Esme.” I balled my hands into fists. “She’s not content with stealing my marks and hurting my girlfriend. She needs to go after my best friend too.”
“Did you just call me your girlfriend?” Iris piped up from behind me.
It was my turn for a furious blush to burn across my face. “Well, I?—”
“I like it,” Iris offered before I had time to spiral out about my feelings being unrequited.
She liked it. She liked the thought of being mine.
“Can you two lovebirds break this damned curse on me before you fuck each other? Please?” Naphula snapped. “Also—” She stretched her head to look around me and glare at Iris. “If you break my best friend’s heart, I will kill you.”
“You’ve already tried to kill me,” Iris pointed out with a shit-eating grin.That’s my girl.“And look how that turned out for you.” Damn, she was really not helping quell my libido with that sexy retort, especially when her green eyes flitted to mine. “But I have no intention of breaking any hearts.”
At those words, an overwhelming flood of emotions rushed over me. It felt so sudden yet inevitable at the same time.
I leaned in?—
“Ramona!” Naphula cut in. “Where’s a fucking ice bucket when I need it, goddammit? Like, I’m happy for you, but seriously, get your shit together. I don’t know how much time we have before I go full-onManchurian Candidateagain.”
“Okay, okay,” I grumbled, frustrated that I couldn’t indulge in this moment.
I wanted to tell Iris that I had no intention of breaking her heart either.
I wanted to share with her the million secret, scary things that she gave me the confidence to finally say aloud.
But breaking vampiric curses came first. That was the sensible thing to do.
I turned fully to put Iris out of my view, then said to Naphula, “Start at the beginning. How did Esme even get close enough to you to place a curse on you in the first place?”
“I was summoned to make a deal. The mark was cloaked, not that unusual in our line of work.” She was right; it was common for powerful beings to shield their identities, but it was still dangerous. I’d scold her about that later. “The mark wanted me to help her get revenge on someone, but because she’s a vampire, she had no soul to give.”
“What could possibly be as valuable as a soul?” Iris asked.
My pulse quickened. “She gave you a promise. An exchange. Favor for favor?”
