Page 23 of Witch of My Heart

I cocked my head at the sudden change of subject.

“Well, I’d give it one helluva try if that’s what needed to be done,” I told him and meant it.

“Do you remember who I said my sire was?” he asked.

I gave a somber nod.

“Ginger Barrel,” he said a second later.

“Are you afraid of her ghost coming back?” I asked before he had to say it.

“It’s illogical. I’m afraid somehow she’ll come back and do something to my kids. I was holding Xiam. He’s Xi and Starry’s baby and thinking about how cute he was and how much I wanted a baby…” His words trailed off.

“There’s nothing wrong with wanting to start a family, Cord,” I said, letting go of his chin.

“You can keep holding onto me. You make a nice chin rest,” he grinned. “It was easier to talk about it when you weretouching me. It’s intimate. Almost too intimate but not quiet and in a good way. Shit. I’m rambling again.”

“I don’t mind,” I said and traced my thumb up and down his throat.

His pulse danced under my digit. I just double dosed on the blood shakes. It wasn’t his blood that drew me in, but the sound of his beating heart. It beat just for me like a beacon calling me home after too long of a hunting trip. He swallowed hard but didn’t pull away.

“I know there’s nothing wrong with wanting a family. It just hit me that if she escaped Frost’s Pit maybe she’d come to finish the job. She kidnapped me and all you know,” he said.

“I don’t know the whole story,” I squatted down in front of him.

“That angle will make your neck hurt. You can sit with me on the bed.”

“I always wait for an invitation before crawling into bed with someone,” I smirked.

“No one else better invite you into their bed. I’ll scratch their eyes out and eat their brain with a spoon,” Cord said.

“I’ll keep that in mind,” I said as I sank onto the bed with him. “With a spoon?”

“Yeah. I have manners.”

We both laughed and Cord rested his head against my shoulder.

“No one’s allowed to kidnap you anymore, just so you know. I won’t eat their brains or anything, but that’s just not allowed.”

“I don’t think she was technically allowed to do it when she did it,” Cord said and let out a sad chuckle.

“Well, I’m better at enforcing rules than the Moonscales,” I said, trying to keep things lighthearted, but my wolf and my fangs were both more alert than I liked them to be in casual settings.

Cord looked up at me and took a deep breath.

“Can I see them?” he asked.

“See what?” I shot the question back at him, confused.

“Your fangs,” he said matter-of-factly.

“Of course,” I nodded and gave into the pressure they put on my gums.

They fully elongated from the top of my mouth, and I sighed. It really was like unclenching a muscle to let them out. Sometimes they got in the way of things, but I usually kept my canines a bit longer than normal just to keep the pressure off.

“I like them. They’re pointy,” Cord said. “Almost as pointy as my canines. They’re the most important teeth. It’s important to be able to rip into--- My cat’s gone and done it again.”

“It’s okay. I don’t mind talking about what he wants to talk about too.”