Page 33 of Best Hex Ever
“Actually,” Eric cleared his throat, “I think we’re going to try and get an early night. Big day tomorrow, and all that.” They both stood up abruptly.
“Don’t they say something about the bride and groom being apart for the wedding night?” Scott teased.
“Tradition, schmadition. The wedding isn’t even tomorrow.” Immy laughed, before Eric practically carried her out of the room. Dina’s heart felt light, seeing Immy this happy.
“Are you going to bed too?” Dina asked Scott. She suddenly became aware that they were alone in the parlor. Immy’s writer friends must have trailed off to bed while they were chatting.
The fire crackled merrily in the hearth, the scent of burning cedar warming the air.
“I won’t if you won’t,” Scott all but growled, a challenge clear in his voice.
The star anise was clearly getting to her because she was just about ready to jump Scott’s bones.
She exhaled slowly. If she met Scott’s gaze, she knew she would be defeated byit.
“Let me read your palm,” Dina said, her voice hoarse.
Ever so slowly, she shuffled closer to him on the sofa, turning so she faced him. Her body was hot and slick and ready, and it didn’t help that she was imagining what Scott’s head would look like buried between her thighs, his rough, calloused hands gripping her ass.
Scott’s hair was jet black in the firelight. He rested the back of his palm on her thigh, and that touch alone was enough to send another surge of desire through her. Dina felt the heat of his hand through the velvet of her dress. Only a few inches to the right, and a little higher, and she’d be done for. What would that hand feel like caressing her clit, plunging into her nowsoaked pussy? Dina forced the thought away. If she was actually going to perform an accurate reading, she couldn’t let her own desire get in the way.
She delicately pressed the tips of her fingers, still cold from being outside, against Scott’s fingertips, opening up his hand.
“Your fingers are cold,” he said. He lifted her hand up to his mouth and blew gently on them, his breath warming her. Dina sucked in a trembling breath.
“There, now you can start,” he said. This man was going to be her undoing.
“You see this line here?” she said, as she stroked a finger across the center of Scott’s palm and down to the sensitive part of his wrist. She felt goosebumps rise on his skin as he shivered imperceptibly at her touch. “This is your life line. See how long it is, going all the way down to your wrist?”
Scott nodded, leaning in closer. “What does that mean?”
“It’s a good sign. It means you’ll live a long life.”
“I guess I’ll go ahead and book that skydiving trip then,” he joked, making Dina roll her eyes. He tipped his head to the side and laughed, the corners of his eyes creasing, making her stomach tumble. She felt positively giddy.
Dina drew a finger along the line that cut horizontally through the center of Scott’s palm. She could feel the thrum of his pulse.
“And that one?” he asked, his head bending closer to Dina’s. She couldn’t help herself; she inhaled the scent of his cologne again.
“This is your heart line. It’s…it’s deep.”
“What does it mean if it’s deep, Dina?” He growled her name.
“You’ll have one great love in your life. You’ll…be with them for a long time,” she whispered.
Dina felt part of herself deflating as she read Scott’s palm and thought of the woman who might be the love of this man’s life.She wondered if she would treat him like he deserved to be treated, with kindness and passion. At the same time, she mourned her own love life, knowing that because of the curse she could never be this person for him.
But then Scott reached his hand up to cup Dina’s chin, bringing her face up toward his. His eyes were a bottomless brown flecked with gold, and she could see the bump along his nose where he must have broken it. Their breath mingled.
Scott’s gaze flicked to her mouth, and she found herself biting her lip. Half an inch more, and their lips would meet. Maybe it didn’t matter that he could never love her.
“Ahem.” Someone obnoxiously cleared their throat nearby. Dina looked up, just about ready to throw a hex at whoever had dared to interrupt this moment. Martin, the steward of Honeywell House, stood in the doorway, holding a tray of half-empty glasses. Unfortunately, Immy would be very angry at her if she hexed the butler two nights before the wedding.
“I was just coming in to clear away the glasses,” Martin said peevishly. Dina screamed internally as Scott pulled away.
“That’s fine, Martin,” he said, suddenly composed. Dina did not feel composed. She had nearly kissed him, and what would it have meant to her? It would have been more than a kiss, she knew. She wasn’t in the business of lying to herself. But she couldn’t go down that road. After all, she’d be the one that got hurt in the end.
“We were just going back to the cottage anyway,” Scott said, reaching out for Dina’s hand. She wanted to go with him, she wanted to hold his hand. Desperately. But she pulled away, standing, smoothing out the crumples in her dress.
