Page 20 of Best Hex Ever
Chapter 9
Once Dina was in his arms, Scott twined Juniper’s lead around his wrist and felt around Dina’s head for any lumps and bumps; she seemed to be fine, just dazed. Her breath smelled quite strongly of spiced wine though, which Scott suspected might have been the cause of the dizziness rather than a concussion. He was surprised by how relieved he was that she wasn’t badly hurt. Just a scrape under the chin and a bump on the elbow by the looks ofit.
She looked, quite frankly, adorable in his arms. And she fit perfectly, like she was meant to be there. Dina had tucked her head into his collar, smooshing her face up against his neck. From this angle, he had a fantastic view of her cleavage, but Scott was a gentleman so was trying very hard not to ogle. He figured Dina would be mortified to know that he’d had to carry her home. And that she’d told him he smelled of pine and soap and dog.
Juniper trotted happily beside him on the pavement, her little paws trampling the dried leaves underfoot. He’d decided to take her to the pub with him, to use as an excuse in case he wanted to duck out early. He’d been on his way there when he’d bumped into Dina.
Scott had passed Cypress Street earlier on his walk, andthankfully Dina had specified it was the last house on the right before she’d fallen asleep.
From the outside, Dina’s family home looked surprisingly normal.What were you expecting?he asked himself. He knocked on the door using the hamsa door knocker. Her family must be into protective charms too.
He heard a shuffling, then the door opened, revealing a woman who looked like an older version of Dina, albeit a little shorter and rounder, a silk wrap around her head.
“Dina fell over. I think she’s okay,” Scott said hurriedly, as he saw the woman’s—presumably Dina’s mother—face grow pale. Then she looked up at Scott and held his gaze just long enough that it started to feel uncomfortable.
“So it’s you,” she mumbled, and then beckoned them in. “Bring the dog too!” she called over her shoulder as she hurried Scott into a small sitting room where a fire crackled in the hearth.
“Put her down here, I’ll go fetch my kit. I’m Nour, by the way,” Dina’s mother said, indicating a sofa piled high with fluffy cushions. Scott laid her down as delicately as he could, making sure to rest her head against one of the pillows. His arms felt strangely empty without her there.
While this was happening, Juniper had managed to detach herself from the lead, which shouldn’t have been possible without Scott noticing, and was now letting out little snores from a dog bed in the corner of the room. Weirdly enough, the dog bed looked oddly similar to her bed at home.
Dina’s mum returned in a panicked flurry, crouching down beside her daughter. She had a small bag with her, presumably the “kit” she had gone to retrieve. She pulled out a small tin and rubbed some salve into the cuts and bruises on Dina’s chin and elbow. Then, she uncorked a small vial filled with an amberliquid and tipped the contents down Dina’s throat. This wasn’t like any kind of first aid he’d ever seen.
A moment later Dina opened her eyes, blinking slowly.
“I feel like someone stamped on my head with steel-capped boots,” she groaned.
“That’s what you get for drinking too much,” her mother replied, but not in a mean-spirited way. “You’re lucky this young man and his dog brought you home safely,” she added, brushing a stray hair out of Dina’s face.
Dina looked up at Scott then, her dark eyes focusing, drinking himin.
“Scott?” she said, sounding a lot more like herself already—no more slurred speech.
“Hi. Juniper fell asleep in your dog’s bed. I hope that’s okay.”
“We don’t have a dog,” Dina’s mother chuckled. “Would you like some tea? You both look like you need it.”
“Tea would be lovely,” Scott said, wondering why they had a dog bed but no dog.
And then it was just the two of them, alone.
“It would be you, wouldn’t it. My knight in shining armor.” Dina smiled, patting the sofa next to her. Scott sat down, with just enough space between them that he was acutely aware just how easily he could pull her onto his lap, her legs cradling his thighs.
“How are you feeling?” he said.
“Rough. Could you hand me that ice pack?” she asked, nodding toward the coffee table. He passed it to her, momentarily wondering where on earth it had come from.
Dina moaned with pleasure as she held the ice pack to her head, her frown smoothing out. All Scott could think was how much he wanted to hear her moan like that again.Get yourself under control man,he chastised himself.
“So. You again,” she said with a smirk.
“Me again.”
“Are you stalking me or something?”
“Last I checked Isavedyou when you fell over on a dark street at night, and now you’re calling me a pervert?”
“Hmph. I would have been fine,” she replied, sounding a little unconvinced. “About the train earlier,I—”
