Page 34 of Hooked on a Witch
“I’m wet. I’m not a huge fan of being wet when not in a bathing suit.” She plucked at the top now plastered tight to her skin and cast a glance at the beach. Thank God it was the right beach. “Let’s go inside the house, shower, and change.”
“No.” His jaw tightened. “I need some answers for what the hell is going on.”
“I’m not discussing anything out here when you can drown me at whim.”
“I’m not going to drown you.”
“You almost did once already.”
“I didn’t. I saved your life. I deserve a bit of gratitude.”
“You did make everything better somehow. For that, thanks. But you pulled me underwater. In my book, that’s a clear almost-drowning.”
“I didn’t try to drown you.”
She pushed at him to get free without effect. “A little warning before dunking me would’ve been nice.”
“I told you to hold your breath.” He released an agitated snort. “You’d been hit by poison knives. There was no other way.”
“I didn’t know you had some sort of magical water healing ability. That would’ve been useful information before being dunked.” She wriggled against his grip. “Let. Me. Go. Don’t make me hurt you.”
His eyebrows rose in a clearGive it your best shot.Eagerness sparkled in his eyes.
Ugh.Typical alpha-male bullshit. He enjoyed this game. His grin pushed her with the insane need to win. She couldn’t overpower him. Tactic-change time.
She gripped his head and kissed him, making sure to graze his lower lip with her teeth. As expected, his mouth parted. She pressed her tongue inside.
Wowzers, he tasted amazing. Hisoh-yeahgroan signaled he thought it pretty darn good too.
The kiss shifted. His large hand cupped the back of her head. What had been all her became more him. She opened for the bold thrusts of his tongue. She couldn’t get close enough to him. His hand cupped her ass, rotating her body and pressing her tight to his ready-to-rumble down south. Guys taking charge wasn’t usually her thing. She liked control, but with Merck she melted beneath his touch and felt wild to the point of almost woozy.
Her legs automatically wrapped around his hips. A violent shudder wracked through her. God, she wanted this man.
Uh-oh. Don’t let your plan backfire.
But good Lord, this man could kiss. Her brain shut down all argument against stopping. Sensation sucked her into a desperate desire to get naked. She wanted to see him completely, without clothes, and have her hands on him. On his tattoos, his skin, his muscles, and everywhere else.
No. Not naked.Definitely not naked.
She needed to get away. The second his other hand started roaming, she’d make her move. His hand caressed from her ass up her back. His touch was far gentler than expected, yet provocative and addictive.
His mouth dominated again. Her resolve to escape wavered. This was so, so good.
She couldn’t follow through with him, not when she didn’t know what exactly he was after the revelation of his water powers. He may be after Poseidon’s Trident, and maybe that was why he was hanging around her, except it didn’t ring true. He seemed genuinely as surprised by the snake creatures as she was, and saved her life.
She pulled her mouth off his and shot him a glance she wished was a lot lessoh shitand a bit moregotcha. With a strong push off, she broke free of his hold and swam for the shore.
As she stomped up the beach with him close behind, her mind whirled with confusion. What had she done? She hadn’t experienced anoops, shouldn’t have done thatmoment with a guy since, well, maybe the last time she’d kissed him next to his car.
Be a big girl.You played with a fire you could normally control and got burned.Or, more correctly, she got betrayed by her own body. It’d been too long since she’d been with a guy. Yeah, she tried to convince herself that was the problem, but the effort failed. With guys, she could always detach and remain in control. With him, he retained control, now and in the past. Maybe it was whatever god powers he’d inherited that made him irresistible to her. She wished she wasn’t so attracted to everything about him.
Maybe he was destined to be her soul mate.
Impossible. She’d already been over this and dismissed it.
Great. Now she’d have to convince him to help her locate the Trident, perhaps by using one of the magical items he had at his office, and avoid the urge to dothatagain. She hoped he wouldn’t try to use sex as a bargaining chip. He didn’t seem like that kind of guy, but she didn’t know much about who he’d become. He might be a player, but he didn’t come off as a user. The fiendish girly-girl side of her danced around while screaming,“You won’t forget kissing him.”If he put sex on the table she might not be able to sayno, at least not easily.
She stood at the front door and stared at the numeric front door lock for several long seconds while her mind tried to remember the code. Her birthday. It worked.
