Page 38 of Unhinged Magic
When she pulled away, my hands lingered in midair, not sure where to place them. Finally, she had come to me, and I looked to where her hand sat on my chest. It was excruciating knowing my heart was metaphorically held in the palm of her hand. One squeeze would be all it took to splatter my soul on the floorboards of this manor.
She stared up at me,pleading. “Are you on board with this?”
I couldn’t say no. Not now. Not after this.
I wished I could know what she was thinking. What hold my brother had on her. This could hold all my answers. My doubts vaporized. I nodded. “Okay.”
She took my hand in hers and I moved with her, soundlessly taking in the eerie vibe of the place. There was no magic here, but I got the feeling that many a soul lurked, and not just after dark. The floorboards moaned as our footsteps moved across them. The late-afternoon chill, brushing my neck through hollow windows. At this time of the year, daylight would dissipate quickly.
Skye let go of my hand, digging into the contents of her bag. She pulled out five candles and set about placing them in a circle. I knew little aboutthisside of witchcraft but recognized the placement of them instantly. The pentagram. She set the Ouija board in the middle.
I studied her every move, watching as she raised her arms to her sides. When a flame ignited each candle, my insides ignited with it. I had never seen her use her magic, but the power she bestowed produced a tremor through my veins. Be it the mate bond or something else, I felt my magic reach out to it, sensing her from the inside out. What I felt made her external display of magic merely an ember. Skye’s magic glowed within her, the ebb and flow of her fire element a destructive thing if given the chance. It turned me the fuck on, my dick hardening at seeing this side of her. Raw,powerful.
I had seen her eyes light up before, but nothing like this. Her irises glistened a bright blue, almost silver. It was nothing like Ty when he used his gift. He kept it all in. Skye, on the other hand, unleashed a beast within her and I could not get enough of it. I was fascinated. Addicted to this. To her.
No wonder she had the temper of a deprived carnivore. Because keeping that element in control would surely be a force to be reckoned with.
She turned to me. “Are you ready?”
I wasn’t sure I was ready for any of it. But if it meant one step closer to fixing our bond, then I would do this.
For her. For us.
Skye
HesitancylingeredinWesley’sfeatures. His shoulders appeared stiff, crowding his every movement, jaw tight as if holding back. I could tell he was nervous, even if he chose not to voice it. I knew he was doing this for us, and that meant more to me than I wished to admit to myself, let alone him. The more time I spent with Wesley, the more he got on my nerves. Therightones. The ones that burned deep inside every time he looked at me likethat.
His eyes had softened, sharing with me a vulnerability he usually kept to himself. The real Wesley.
The crack of his knuckles sounded. “Tell me what to do.”
“Now we sit.” I beckoned for him to join me, and he moved closer.
His fingers threaded through mine as I led him to the center of the circle, where we lowered to the ground.
We stared at our hands between us, a shiver extending the hairs on my arms to their full height. It moved over me in a warm, subtle gust.
Wesley’s thumb grazed my skin, his hopeful stare penetrating mine. “Please tell me you feel that.”
I nodded. “Yeah, I do,” I whispered.
An enormous smile lit up his face in a way that was spellbinding. It was the first genuine smile I had seen from him since returning to Cutters Cove, and the fact it was directed at me had my heart swimming in delight.
He lightly squeezed my hands in his own, his large fingers pressed into my skin. “I feel like the more time we spend together, the more the mate bond tries to connect us.”
“I think you might be right. But I still believe we need to bring Landon forward, I think he’s the answer to fixing this mess.”
“Let’s do it,” he agreed, gathering my hands closer and pressing his lips against them. They were soft, warm, and I remembered how they felt against my mouth when I had kissed him, wondered how they would feel on other parts of me. Heat warmed my cheeks, and I imagined the color flaming my skin would not go unnoticed.
His breath warmed my knuckles, his mouth pulling to a wry smile. “What is it?”
I tried to steady the breath currently pulling inside my chest, faster with each passing moment. “It’s just…” I shook my head, my voice trailing off. Now was not the time to tell him of thoughts I was having about his mouth. There was something else more pressing we needed to talk about. A conversation I had been avoiding.
“I need to tell you something,” I said, barely a whisper.
He cocked his head to the side. “Okay…”
I paused, scrambling for words, physically not sure how to say it. “First, promise you won’t get mad.”
