Page 15 of Feverburn

His face softened along with his posture.“I like talking to you,”he sighed, almost like he didn’t want to admit it out loud. I wondered why.

“I like talking to you, too.”Running with the feeling of us both softening, I shared what was on my mind.“Your artwork isamazing, by the way. I didn’t get a chance to tell you yet.”I nodded toward the mural, making him shrug. He was too humble.

“Anything for Kaylee. Right?”

“Right. Do you want music?”

“Sure, you pick. Anything but good old Garth.”He pointedly looked at my shirt, making me chuckle.

“You probably don’t want me sitting here watching you. I can go to the office if you—”

“Stay.”His Adam’s apple slid up and down his throat as he swallowed. It distracted me for a moment, and he noticed. I shook my head, ripping my eyes from him while I hit shuffle, hoping Garth would play.

Carson set to work adding some stars to the night sky. Hisstronglegs and nice ass were on full display in his Carhartt pants as he climbed the ladder. I have a theory that if a guy has a good butt, he has some muscle to thrust with, so he’s probably good in the sheets. Carson was a promising contender.

I opened a box of inventory and was glad there weren’t any cheap-ass neon pink geode slabs or crackle quartz. Nothing is more insulting than people botching the beauty of what mama earth grows herself. We agreed to never sell dyed or heat-treated crystals or anything from a closed Indigenous practice like certain types of sage. It was a no-brainer.

I cut open a bag, pouring stones into a wooden bowl. The clatter caused Carson to look over his shoulder,“What kind are those?”

“Bloodstone. You can tell by the speckles of red on the green stone. That’s how it got its namesake. It brings youcourageand endurance. Very popular with theancientRomans.”

Next, I unraveled tiny chunks of brown clustered crystals, ensuring their edges didn’t break.

“That looks like popcorn chicken,”Carson said.

I snorted in amusement because he wasn’t wrong.“This is aragonite. People say it’s a very grounding stone that can help your confidence. I find it keeps nightmares away. I always have a piece of it by my bed.”

“Tell me more. This is fascinating,” he said, squinting at a line as he dragged his brush.

Unpacking palm stones that were mossy green with black swirls, I walked closer to his ladder to show him a piece the size of a dinner roll.“This is kambamba jasper, sometimes called crocodile jasper. It’s a three-billion-year-old algae formed into a sedimentary fossil. It’s only found in Madagascar. Neat, huh?”

Stopping to touch it, he asked, “I can’t believe stuff like that islyingaround. What do witches use it for?”

“It’s good for peace and tranquility. It helps you see the big picture.”

“With how old it is, that makes sense,”he mused, returning to his constellations. I liked how quick and insightful he was. It was infectious.

The next day, he came over on his lunch break to paint, saying no more than a few words to answer Kaylee’s questions. The second she left with Harley, he launched into conversation. Carson was like a frozen lake, calm on the surface, but underneath, he was teeming with complexity. I found his guarded ways enthralling like I had special access to him. But I also wondered why he’d wall up the way he did, even with his family.

Towards the end of the week, Kaylee took a couple of days off to go on one last adventure with Harley before we opened. I didn’t mind. She had been holding down the fort for months before I got here. But with no interruptions, Carson and I got bolder.

When I’d show him a crystal, he’d stand so close to me that his body heat radiated. I caught myself holding his shoulder as I leaned in to see a painting technique, the dense muscle burning into my palm. All the little touches felt possessive and testing, weaving us closer. I loved watching him eat the muffins, scones, and cookies I made under the guise of testing out recipes. And how we’d stare at each other, only to realize we were both forgetting to talk.

One afternoon, he asked me about the tattoos on my fingers, which were runes and other mystical symbols. I wondered how much ink he saw when he rescued me from Rambo. I wanted him to find out how much tattoo coverage I had, maybe with not only his eyes…but his lips and tongue, too. Thehopeputraunchyvisions in my mind of his mouth gliding all over me, from head to toe.

“Crescent moons?”he gestured to my pointer fingers, snatching me from mynastydaydream.

“Yep!”I extended my hands between where we stood for him to see, my glossy almond-shaped black nails tipping each finger. I had a symbol on every finger in the space between my nails to where my finger bent at my main knuckle. Each symbol was delicate yet crisp with black ink.

“How cool.”He stepped closer, placing his hand underneath mine to hold it up for inspection. An immediate buzz traveled up my arm. His hand was so big compared to mine. His skin was a beautiful shade of tan, making mine ghostly. We both stared at my left ring finger, lacking a ring. His thumb brushed the symbol sweetly before his light eyes flashed to mine.“And this rune?”

I gulped, hoping he didn’t notice.“That one stands for harmony, undyinglove.”

“Beautiful.”His gaze deepened to something more intense as he brought my hand to his lips tokissthe ink. Before I could reply or fully swoon at the chivalrous move, his eyes flicked above my head out the front windows. He coolly stepped back and picked up a brush on the table.

The door opened behind me, with Kaylee staring at the mural in awe.“Bro! It looks so damn good! Hey girl!”She side-hugged me, still distracted.“Wait, is that glitter on the wings of the faeries?”she all but squeaked.

“Yeah,”Carson said, looking at his work.

---