Page 66 of Best Hex Ever
Scott had sometimes wondered how it would feel to have no bones. This was probably as close as he was going to get. Contentment didn’t even begin to cover it. Dina’s scent was all over him, and after they’d finished, they’d lain on the bed in a tangle of sweaty limbs. At some point, Dina had fallen asleep, and Scott had woken her up by kissing along her collarbone. Then he’d continued trailing that line of kisses all the way down her body, past her navel, to the warm seam of heat between her thighs. They’d lost themselves to each other for a while again after that.
Dina had left the room to clean herself up, and while she was gone Scott had smoothed the crinkled bedsheets. He’d lain on the bed, staring at the ceiling, enjoying the cool air of the autumn night and the sound of rain on the roof of the cottage. He wasn’t sure how the next part would play out; would she come back into his arms? That was what he wanted, no doubt aboutit.
Or would she put her guard back up? The façade that said:I’m not ready for this, stay back.He wasn’t sure what to make of it. Sometimes it was like she was two different people. She was clearly stopping herself from fully relaxing around him, safety-belting her emotions.
He couldn’t fathom why, but if it was something that was in his power to fix, then he’d bloody fixit.
There was no doubt in his mind now that he was perilously close to falling in love with Dina. If it was possible, the sex had only made him fall further. The way her body had taken him in, safe and warm and secure, as if she’d been made for him.
Scott wondered if he should offer to go back to his own bed, in case that’s what Dina wanted. He leaned over to flick on the side lamp, but the bulb was blown. It wasn’t just that lamp; he tried all the light switches in the room. All of them were out.
“Promise you won’t laugh at what I’m about to tell you,” Dina said, standing in the doorway of the room, her skin still glistening from the shower.
“Hand on my heart,” he said. He was glad she’d come back, but how was he supposed to think straight now he knew that’s what she looked like wet? His cock was already swelling just at the sight of her luscious curves and soft belly.
“I think I might have caused a power cut.”
“What? How?”
“When we, um, came together. I think my magic just—pfff.” Dina blew out a raspberry from between her lips. “And then there was some lightning, and boom.”
“Oh, sorry, I think I’m going down. Oh no.” Scott collapsed backward onto the bed. “I can’t take it, it’s too heavy,” he moaned.
“What’s heavy?” Dina asked, coming up to him.
“My ego, it’s just too huge. How am I supposed to carry this around now I know I can turn you into a walking, orgasming EMP bomb?” He let out a huff of laughter as Dina fell on top of him, and he cradled her in his arms.
“I knew you’d be insufferable about it,” she said, but she was grinning from ear to ear.
“Can I stay with you tonight?” Scott asked, tucking a stray curl behind her ear. The smile slipped from her face, and an unsure expression remained. “Only if you want,” he added. The last thing he wanted was to make Dina feel like this was going too quickly.
“I do, it’s just…” She frowned.
“Just what?”
“I think we might get hurt,” she said, her voice ever so quiet.
His heart stuttered. “I won’t hurt you, Dina. I could never hurt you.”
“People around me. People I care about, they get hurt.” She breathed against his skin. Scott reached out and tipped Dina’s chin up so their eyes met.
“Dina, I know there’s stuff you’re not ready to tell me. I know that. And I’ll never push you. But I’m not going anywhere. You’re not going to wake up one morning and find that I’ve disappeared, nothing like that. I know it’s a lot to ask of you this early, but you can trust me.”
Dina looked searchingly into his eyes, like she might find her answer there, though Scott wasn’t sure what she was looking for. All he could do was hold her and be there. And love her, if she let him.
Eventually, Dina closed her eyes, tucking her head onto his chest.
“Is that what happened to you? She just left?” Dina whispered, her hand absentmindedly stroking the dark hair that trailed down Scott’s stomach.
“I wish. I think it might have been easier if that’s what happened. Cleaner, maybe. No, I was away looking at artifacts in Scotland. I finished early, so I caught a train home to surprise her.”
Scott felt himself falling into the memory of it, the bittertaste of that day sticking to the roof of his mouth. The excitement he had felt on that train journey home, thinking about how he could surprise Alice and take her out for a fancy dinner.
“When I got back to the flat, the first thing I heard was the creaking of the floor. It really is such a cliché. I walked in on her and one of her friends, a guy named Marc.”
“Marc with a ‘c’?” Dina asked.
“Yeah.”
