Page 133 of Untraced Magic
“I’m not the one with the attitude here.”
I turned to face her again.
She continued. “You act like you’re some gift from above with your brooding eyes and…” She swirled her fingers in the air in a way that meanteverything.Which meant she liked what she saw.All of it.
I almost chuckled at her boldness. Her confidence, like kryptonite. It suited her. I chanced a cocky remark, because the alternative was getting us nowhere. “Obviously you like what you see.” I mimicked her swirling finger over myself. “So what’s the problem, Skip?”
She narrowed her glare at the use of the nickname I had called her in our youth, because she had skipped everywhere on our adventures together.
“Don’t call me that,” she seethed, her chest rising and falling repeatedly.
She had always hated the name. I’d called her it anyway. I sighed. “Then tell me,Skye. Why are your panties in a twist?”
I chanced a step in her direction, our connection never wavering as I moved closer, until only three feet separated us. Enough to feel the air between us thin, but far enough to look like a friendly chat to whoever caught sight of our interaction. Like her brother.
I fought the urge to reach out, to caress her cheek to cool her fiery demeanor.
She let out a giant huff, charging past me to the wall, slumping against it. Her irises flared ice blue. Her fire element. Damn, it was hot knowing I could cause such a reaction in her. She dodged my gaze, as if she were thinking the same.
I let my gaze travel over her figure where her petite frame curved in more places than I remembered. The apples of her cheeks were more prominent now that her face had thinned. But those eyes.
She looked at me again, and I forced myself not to break the connection. Stepping closer, the intensity between us caused a tremor inside me. Annoyance flooded my bloodstream, my head and my heart wanting different things.
My insides were on their knees, my senses awash with her. But my head was a fucking mess.
Her irises darted around us, checking we were still alone. “Do you think this is some sort of game?” she demanded.
Moving closer again, I took hold of the open door, effectively blocking her in on three sides, a clear exit on the fourth if she needed it.
Stripping my voice of emotion, I lowered it until barely a whisper left me. “This is no game. You know it, and I know it. Ty will understand eventually.”
She gave me a look as if to say, 'Are you nuts?'
I stepped closer until we were both hidden behind the door. The air between us thickened into something more personal. Skye held in a breath, as if letting go would drop her to the ground.
“Look, I know this is unexpected, and we have... history. It won’t be easy, but I know you feel the mate bond too.”
Her pupils blew out at my comment, her gaze capturing mine, wide, with an inferno burning in the depths of them. I looked down at her pebbled nipples peeking out from beneath her tee. There was no denying the attraction between us.
Her palms slamming into my chest caught me by surprise.
“You’re such a jackass!”
“I beg to differ,” I mused.
She pressed a finger to my chest. “You think you’re so smug, don’t you? Think I’ll fall to my knees like all the other girls that have ignited your huge ego. Well, I hate to cook your goose, Wesley, but that’s not me.”
For the first time in my life, speech evaded me.
She stepped into my space, raw emotion in her gaze. “Never joke about us being fated mates again.”
With that, she stormed off inside, leaving me somewhere between, did that just happen and what the fuck was going on?
I white-knuckled the door. None of this made sense. Skye’s scent lingered in the air, continuing to send my senses into overdrive. Usually I only sensed magic, but she hadn’t even used hers and she waseverywhere, invading my mind.
I had to take a moment to control my breathing, push down the urge to stride back into the room, wrap my hand around her arm and march her into my bedroom.
But that wasn’t me. Consent was one thing I never dismissed. It was as important to me as the air we breathed.
