Page 14 of The Witch & the Hound
He moaned something about Brigid before he came, and my heart melted a little.
I coaxed him awake in the wee hours of the morning, hungry for him again. And when his knot locked us together, he cradled me on his chest and we slept until dawn peeked through my sheer curtains.
He kissed me at the door, and I wasn't sure I'd see him again.
Chapter 8
Maggie
The house smelled like rosemary and lye, sharp and clean, clinging to my hair as I stirred a pot on the stove. The rhythm was comforting, steady, and my body needed that after… well, after discovering that barghest knots were as advertised and then some.
I tried not to think about last night. Tried not to think about the way Bram had carried me upstairs, or the way his teeth had mapped every inch of me like he was memorizing it, or the way I’d woken up still knotted to him, warm and unbearably full.
The phone buzzed against the counter. I wiped my hands on a towel and answered.
"Morning, witch," came my sister Riley's voice, far too cheerful for 9 AM. "What's brewing? Love potion? Hangover cure?"
“Soap.”
“You sound suspiciously… glowy for someone babysitting rosemary and lye.”
I grimaced, adjusting the heat under the pot. “I’m fine.”
“Maggie.” Her tone sharpened. “You met someone.”
“No.”
“Yes. Who?”
I sighed. “His name’s Bram.”
“Bram,” she repeated, savoring it. “Tall, dark, and handsome?”
"Taller. Darker. Midnight skin. Horns. Tail."
Silence. Then: “Oh.Oh.”
I winced.
“Maggie! You—oh my God. You had sex with a monster-man!”
“Don’t say it like that.”
“Iamsaying it like that! Was it good?”
I pressed my lips together, but my silence was answer enough.
She squealed. “It was good. It was so good you can’t even speak.”
“Please stop.”
“Oh, I am not stopping.” She lowered her voice conspiratorially, like anyone in her house cared. "What variety? Big raging orc? Fae? You have to tell me!"
"Barghest," I told her.
"Ooooh!" She exclaimed. “Did he… knot you?”
The spoon clattered into the pot. “Absolutely not discussing this.”
