Page 18 of Unhinged Magic
I shook my head. “Nope,” I said, popping the 'p’.
He took a long drink of his beer, and I took the moment to step closer. His hand landed on my hip, more cautiously this time, before pulling away again. Glancing over my shoulder, he gestured behind me. “You sure about that?”
Suddenly Wesley was at my side, his presence exuding pure dominance. “Leave,” he warned.
My fire element tore down my arms. I bundled my hands into fists.
The fucking nerve.
The two of them stood face-to-face, and I wondered if this would turn into flying fists. If I was honest, I didn’t like Wesley’s chances against this wolf, but, shit, he seemed to have no conception of the size difference between them.
The stranger whispered something in Wesley’s ear before stealing a glance in my direction and moving on.
“What the hell is wrong with you?” I demanded, staring daggers at him, my heart pounding in my chest. He was quickly becoming the single most infuriating person I had ever met.
Wesley’s glare flared dark again, his jaw grinding in some maddening ritual I could lose myself in. He drew closer; the intensity rolling off him combustible. “How long are you going to ignore this?”
“Ignore what?” I retorted sharply.
He scrubbed a hand over the side of his face, an exasperated look contorting his features into something desperate and animal like. “Us,” he ground out.
He reached out to touch me, retreating his hand only at the last second, an internal battle seemingly raging inside of him. We stood face-to-face, our bodies so close I swore I felt the vibration of his heart beneath his ribcage.
I dug my pointer finger into his chest. “Whateveryouthink this is, I don’t want it.”
Something inside Wesley shattered, his jaw releasing tension. His irises spiraled from feral to fractured in seconds. Suddenly, he seemed to change his mind, taking hold of my hand and pressing it flat against his chest. His heartbeat crashed into my palm.
“You think you can ignore this? Fine.” His thumb grazed the underside of my wrist, and a surge of warmth coiled deep inside me, low in my stomach. “But you can’t fight chemistry, Skip, it’s in our gods damned DNA.” A final squeeze of my hand and he let it fall free of his chest.
With that, he swerved away. “Let’s go. Nightcap at ours!” He nodded at the guys who had made their way to the dance floor, motioning toward the exit.
I stood deathly still.
He touched me. Hetouchedme. He touchedme. My heart.
Only, to do so seemed to cause him pain.
I didn’t understand him. This. Any of it. My heart slammed in my chest, my breath coming in short, hurried bursts. I hated thathe could rupture whatever he just had. I didn’t know what it was, but it was something.
I had never met a man like him before. Able to wind me up to no end yet consume my every thought just the same.
Our group headed outside, the midnight chill nipping at my exposed skin as we made our way down the street to Tyler’s house. I caught up to Morgan, nudging her in the side.
Anything to distract me fromhim.
“On a scale of one to ten, how was your first night out in the elusive town of Cutters Cove?”
She side-eyed me, a smile beaming over her face and brightening her dark brown eyes. She tugged the side of her dress down as we continued walking. “Music?” She tipped her head to the side in thought. “I give a ten.”
“Agreed.” I had to say, it fit the vibe of the bar.
“And bar staff?” came Reid’s voice from right behind us. We turned to find him walking beside Jade, who had arrived with Scar not long before we left. He flashed us a cheeky grin, and I was certain he was one of the reasons the patrons in the bar were predominantly female. He was easy on the eye and easygoing.
“Ten,” I said, laughing as I heard Morgan speak the same word simultaneously.
Scar, who was walking on the other side of Morgan, sped up a few paces, turning to face her. She walked backwards as she spoke. “And company?” She wiggled her brows suggestively.
At that moment a commotion sounded from behind us, and I turned just as Wesley went hightailing it into a bush. Colton wrenched him out of it, much to Wesley’s disgruntlement. He mumbled something I couldn’t hear, and Colton gave him a subtle shove, a quiet word.
