Page 71 of Hooked on a Witch
Chapter Sixteen
Boom. Boom. Boom.
Shannon blinked into the darkness around her. The glow from the bedside clock and the moonlight through the open window mingled to cast a cool light over the entire room. Merck’s arm banded her tight against his front in his bed.
Boom. Boom. Boom.
The front door.
“I’ll get it. Stay here,” Merck grumbled, pushing off the covers. As he rotated to sit on the edge of the bed, the muscles in his back rippled beneath his skin. His fingers scratched through his hair, but did nothing to tame the disheveled look. With an agitated exhale he pulled on his jeans, hooked his knife against his hip, and stomped out of the bedroom.
She buried deep beneath the covers again, using his residual heat to warm her in the super-cooled house. She didn’t want to move. She wasn’t even sure she could and was shocked at how spry he seemed.
A few seconds of him gone and she already missed the warmth of his body next to hers. Her heart kicked up, worried her father might be the one who’d arrived. The bedside clock read a little after two a.m.
“Hey!” a voice called in greeting. “You in there?” The knocking became more insistent.
She relaxed, silently thanking Eli for keeping her location secret. He just earned himself more pie.
“Coming, Danny,” Merck called out. Seconds later, he said, “Come on in. Why’re you here?”
“You haven’t answered your cell phone for the past four hours. This can’t wait.”
“I’ve been busy.” Merck’s voice came out rough. “What’d you find out?”
Shannon couldn’t make out what Danny said. She caught fragments of conversation, but Danny rapid fired, flipping between Spanish and English. Merck replied in Spanish. More back and forth she couldn’t make out. Learning Spanish needed to be a priority.
There was a pause and then Danny spoke heatedly, “You didn’t. Tell me it’s not Sleeping Beauty in your bedroom.”
No reply from Merck.
Danny asked, “What the hell is going on? You made her another one of your girls? Every time there’s a girl involved this happens.”
Every time.Her stomach dropped.
“One thing led to another. Things happen,” Merck replied. Nothing was said about her being any different than his normal. “I’m not dead yet.”
Them together, for him, was about him dying soon and going out without regrets? Maybe about thanking her for what she’d done for him? She’d fallen into his arms more than willingly. That wasn’t his fault. She’d been chomping at the bit for years to get a taste of what it’d be like with him. Every moment more than exceeded her fantasies, but this wasn’t as serious for him as it was for her. She’d really thought he had to be her destined guy. Still did. After being capable of dimension hopping and magically healing him, he had to bethe one. Death date aside, she didn’t understand how he thought them together was insignificant. Just another notch on his belt or a simple distraction. Another willing bed partner.
Absurd. She didn’t buy it. Their bond was unique, but she didn’t have time to sort out his psychology or convince him of fate. Merck would come around, even if it might be too late when he did. Time for her to return home and work on finding the Trident. Maybe her father found someone she could ask. Doubtful, but she had to hope.
She pushed off the covers and hunted for her clothes, finding them in the bathroom. She slipped on her underwear and dress, then stared at herself in the mirror for a long moment, searching for and finally finding the resolve to do what she needed to do.
Her phone sat on the bathroom counter. With sigh she typed out a quick text message:Can you pick me up at the end of Merck’s road in a few minutes?
She hit send and slid the phone into the side pocket on the dress.
The guys’ argument was still going on when she entered the hallway. She did all she could to tune it out. Her heart couldn’t handle overhearing Merck explaining away what they had.
After a deep breath, she marched into the fray. The argument cut off when she became the center of both guys’ gazes. Merck looked bored, whereas Danny’s eyes blazed with anger.
“You two can stop. Sleeping Beauty is taking off. Just pretend none of this happened. I’ll go back to my life crisis and you return to yours.”
Merck’s lips thinned. “All right.”
“That’s it? That’s all you’ve got to say?” Wasn’t he even going to try to stop her from leaving?
“You need a ride somewhere?” he added.
