Page 30 of Witch Upon a Star
And here I was trying to rationalize pushing myself onto her because she wasmine. It was not a smart or healthy start to any relationship, let alone one like I wanted to build with Calliope.
But I couldn’t make myself back down. Couldn’t make myself step away. I could claim I only came here today so my cat could visit her dragon, but we would both know it was a lie. I’d come here for her, with every intention of standing right where I was and declaring myself to her,claimingher.
I’d like to say that I would step away if she told me ‘no’. Whether I believed she meant it or not, the word ‘no’ should always be respected. Above all, Calliope should feel safe with me. Friend, boyfriend, ghost haunting her ass to ensure no other man touched what was mine, it didn’t matter. If she said ‘no’, it should be respected.
I couldn’t make that promise, though. Now when it came to sex, that was an entirely different scenario and I certainly would never force myself onto her. But physically being with her, standing here as we were, being in the same room as her, watching over her, protecting her… If she told me to leave right now, I didn’t think I could. Less than twenty-four hours ago, I was so sure that I would be a bachelor until the day I died. And now?
Now I was more positive than ever that Calliope was mine.
“I need to consult the cards.”
I blinked, having no idea what that meant. “Is that like phoning a friend on that millionaire show?”
A light chuckle escaped her kissable lips. “No, I mean my tarot cards.”
That did not clear things up for me. I knew what tarot cardswere, but not how they were used or how they would help Calliope in making her decision.
“If it means letting go of you, I can’t let you do that.”
Calliope looked over her shoulder at the empty space towards the back of the store. “I don’t have my table set up yet, but I was sorting through my supplies earlier and put several sets over there. They’re not my good set, but that’s at home. I won’t bring those in until I’m actually open for business.”
I made a face. “I’m really going to need a Witch 101 lesson or something because I understood none of that.”
Calliope shook her head, but I saw the smile on her lips. When she made to step back, though, I dropped my hands from her neck to around her waist, keeping her pressed up against me. “Quinten, I need my cards,” she insisted again. I noticed, though, that she didn’t fight my hold on her. Once again, her words were saying one thing while her body said something completely different.
I lifted her up. Calliope emitted a light squeak of surprise as her arms wrapped themselves around my neck and her legs gripped my hips. It was a good thing her skirt was so long and flowy or this wouldn’t have worked. Or it would have, and I would have just ripped her skirt to get her into position. With that line of thought, maybe her large skirtwasn’ta good thing after all.
I maneuvered us around her maze of boxes, bringing us to the back of the store where she had indicated a minute ago. Isaw Oolong and Joe poke their heads out from under the coffee cart in curiosity.
“What do you need?” I asked when we were out of the prison of boxes. I don’t know how long she’d been here already this morning, but there was a good amount of items on the shelves I’d installed for her yesterday. She’d been a busy bee while I was breaking federal laws and then losing a fight with my cat to get some much-needed rest.
“I could have walked,” she remarked with no real censure in her voice.
“And yet you didn’t and here we are. Now,” I repeated my question, “what do you need?”
She pointed over my shoulder. “That box.”
Turning, I kicked a white banker’s box with no lid with my right foot like a soccer ball until I moved it next to the wall. Sitting down, I put my back to the wall and settled Calliope between my thighs. She was so small, I could have wrapped my entire body around her.
She reached forward, rummaging around in the banker’s box. I saw a forest green table cloth, some real and fake candles, a mirror, and some other baubles as she moved items around. Finally, she pulled out what looked to be a pack of playing cards from a purple bag with strings.
“Like I said,” she told me, “this isn’t my good set, but it’ll do.”
If she hadn’t said anything, I would have never known the difference. “What exactly are you planning on doing with those?”
Her head was turned towards me just enough that I saw her bite her lip again. “I’m not usually so out of sync. I’ve always relied on my visions, on my instinct, as truth. Butyou’re different. You always have been. I’ve never been so certain and uncertain about something as I am with you. And I don’t know what to do. Push you away, or bring you close and never let you go. I’m so confused, Quinten, and I need guidance.”
There was so much in that, but two things stood out to me above the rest. “Forget your visions and the cards,” I told her. “What is it that youfeel, Calliope? Because it shouldn’t be so difficult to make a decision.”
But she shook her head. “It’s not that simple.”
I leaned to the right as I guided her to look over her shoulder so I could look into her eyes. I’d messed up by putting her back to my front. I couldn’t see her face this way. “Yes, it is,” I argued. “Put aside the cards for a moment. Don’t think, just answer. What do youfeel?”
Tears swelled in her eyes, and her breath was shaky as she answered. “I love you. I’ve been in love with you since I was sixteen, Quinten, and you first called me ‘mine’.”
Fuck me in the ass. If that declaration didn’t cement my future, nothing would. I was entirely hers. Utterly and irrevocably hers.
I leaned forward. Her eyes fluttered closed as my lips just barely brushed hers. But I didn’t kiss her fully, not as I wanted, as my body demanded. I had my answer, but she still needed hers. “Consult your cards if you have to, Winnie,” I breathed against her mouth. “But it changes nothing.”
