Page 34 of Bewitched By the Voodoo King
“You’re telling me, you’ve never worn that dress before? I don’t believe it.” I held my elbow out to her, and she smiled softly as she placed her hand in the crook of my arm.
She shrugged. “No one’s ever taken me out before.”
The words were enough to derail me, and the previous musings of her being a virgin came slamming into my head. “Apretty girl like you has never been on a date? Don’t tell me that vampire was your first kiss.”
I wouldn’t be able to live with myself if it was.
She rolled her eyes, and I found myself not wanting to look at anything but her. “No, he wasn’t my first kiss.”
“But you’ve never been on a date before?” I didn’t know which was worse… The vampire kiss or this.
Her shoulders went rigid. “There was a lot of sneaking around back home. Though I didn’t have a boyfriend or go on official first dates, I’m not an innocent spring chicken, just so you know.”
My stomach twisted. The thought of her with others was almost as bad as the thought of her being a virgin. I hated myself for both of the thoughts.
Maple glanced up at me, eyes sharp despite the softness of her voice. “You don’t have to look so horrified. I didn’t say I was out there breaking hearts. You don’t have to worry about past scorned lovers.”
“No,” I said quickly. “It’s not that. It’s just…” I blew out a breath and looked away for a second, trying to find the words that didn’t make me sound completely unhinged because that was exactly how I was feeling. “You’re not what I expected.”
One of her brows arched. “What did you expect?”
“Honestly?” I looked at her again. “A girl who would’ve had her pick of anyone. Not someone who had to sneak around for scraps of affection.”
She didn’t smile. “Yeah, well. I was the black sheep of the family, which didn’t gain me many admirers.”
Her words hit harder than I was ready for. I slowed our steps, the buzz of the Quarter fading around us for a moment.
“They were all dumb then. Every single one of them that passed you up because of something silly like not being like all of the others.”
She glanced at me, surprised, but there wasn’t anything happy in her gaze. “Rune… You have no idea what you’re saying.”
“I don’t say things I don’t mean.” I cleared my throat. “And tonight isn’t scraps. It’s the damn whole meal.”
That earned me a small smile. “Then I hope you’re hungry.”
I groaned. “If you only knew.”
She laughed and shook her head, the sound of it like sunlight, even in the dark.
We rounded the corner, and the warm glow of the restaurant lit up the sidewalk in front of us, the smell of butter and spice hanging heavy in the air.
But I barely noticed. All that mattered was her, and that meant I was in big trouble.
I staredat my flushed cheeks in the mirror and let out a shaky breath. Dinner was everything Rune promised he would show me and more. There were even a few coven members seated nearby who came to talk and peer closely at me. Rune didn’t seem to mind, just as he hadn’t when we had gone to get beignets. It was weird… but in the most magical way.
The food was the most incredible thing I’d ever tasted, and we had crème brûlée on the way to the table now. I closed my eyes as I thought of the way Rune’s eyes had darkened as he watched me across from him. I didn’t know if this was a good thing or a bad thing just yet.
The stall slammed open behind me, and I startled. I hadn’t realized anyone had been in here with me. I moved away from the sink and dried my hands. I was just about to move toward the door when the person stepped in my way.
“Excuse me,” I said politely.
The woman crossed her arms. “You’re that new witch.”
I was pretty sure she hadn’t meant to say witch with the tone she used. I straightened and looked the woman in the eye. She didn’t look familiar, but that didn’t mean anything. There were many people in the coven I hadn’t met yet, and I was sure that I wouldn’t know all of them for years to come. New Orleans coven was massive, and many of the witches that were a part of it didn’t even live in the city, which completely baffled me.
“My name is Maple,”
Her dark red lips curled as she looked me up and down with bright golden eyes. Her skin was paler than mine, and she was also a good two feet taller than me, it seemed. “Of course it is. Maple. How adorable.”
