Page 43 of Untraced Magic
She sighed. “Honestly, I don’t even know what to say, let alone ask.”
“How about we leave it for the morning?” I suggested with a reassuring smile.
“Thanks, I’m just a little overwhelmed with… well, everything, right now.”
The warning from Wes still played in the back of my mind. I hadn’t decided how much I wanted to tell her, knowing something didn’t add up. Wes could sense magic, but he couldn’t senseher.
“I’ll crash on the couch. You can have my bed. It’s this way.” I stood, motioning down the hall.
She waved me off. “Really, it’s okay, I’m happy on the couch.”
“No, please, I insist.”
I led her down the hall, opening my bedroom door, and for more reasons than one, I wished the neat freak in me hadn’t made the bed look so inviting this morning. I held the door open for her, noting her hesitancy as she walked inside, taking in the new surroundings. Mypersonalsurroundings. Damn, this was a bad idea.
Her gaze swung around the room, to the photo of my grandfather standing in front of his mustang. Her fingers traced the silver frame I’d found in his garage after he had passed. It seemed fitting to sit the photo in it.
Then she foundher. The photo of Ava.
Fuck.
Words failed me, or abandoned me rather.
I waited for her to say something. Should I tell her?
Morgan’s gaze flitted back to mine. Soft, and with no judgement. Like somehow, she understood.
“Sorry, I… wasn’t expecting you in my bedroom,” I admitted.
I moved passed her, placing the photo of Ava in my top drawer.
“You didn’t need to do that…” she murmured, following my movements.Studyingme.
I walked back over to the doorway, gripping the doorframe. “It was probably time I did.” I shrugged.
“Oh, okay,” she said, her tone quiet.
Her eyes searched for mine. I could feel it.
Drawing mine to hers again, I felt naked, like she’d just stripped me bare. Seen the parts of me no one else had. It was strangely comforting to have her bear witness to the act, but to me… placing that photo in the drawer wasintimate.
I’d been avoiding it for years.
Like a riptide pulling me away, I felt it setting me free, a wave of relief replacing the agony that had haunted me for years. If only she knew the gravity of the situation that had just unfolded in front of her.
I didn’t know what to do. What to say.
Morgan stood in my bedroom only feet from my bed. I felt the pull to her, the pull I’d resisted until tonight.
“See you in the morning,” I said, tugging the door closed before I did something stupid.
***
Two hours later, sleep had evaded me as I tossed and turned, unable to get her out of my mind. It didn’t help that the couch was the most uncomfortable fucking thing I’d ever slept on in my life, and I’d slept in some interesting places.
I was restless as hell thinking of Morgan sleeping in my top next door, wrapped in sheets I had only pulled myself from this morning.
The thought of our encounter in the alley played over my mind as I lay staring at the ceiling. Soft moans had fallen from her lips under only my slightest touch. They echoed in my mind. Every. Single. One. On repeat.
