Page 23 of Livewire Witch

I shake my head. “How else was I supposed to get you back safely? Don’t forget, you’d used your powers to stop the worst of the blast hitting us.”

“But my powers aren’t illegal. You were reckless. Then you did the same thing with Seb, used your powers to stop Felix before he could hurt the kid.”

“Ye-es.” I really drag the word out and enjoy how his eyes roll in response. I can’t tell if he’s telling me off, or what. His tone suggests that he is, but somehow, I don’t think that’s what’s happening here.

“You’re an idiot when it comes to people you care about. Zero self-preservation instincts.”

That one’s definitely an insult. But somehow, it’s not?

“Okay.” I still don’t know what point he’s trying to make.

“You need someone looking out for you. Probably more than one someone, if I’m honest. Someone to stop you from throwing yourself into danger and getting yourself killed.”

I bristle at the insinuation that I’m too stupid to live, purposefully martyring myself by throwing myself bodily into the way of threats.

“Quit trying to laser me with your eyeballs, Little Witch,” Zeph huffs, squeezing my foot.

“Don’t call me a cutesy nickname when you’re being an ass.”

“All I’m saying is, you could do with having people on your side. And since Seb’s a kid and a sick one at that, and Fab turns his head and forgets about you—” That earns a wince from me, which he acknowledges with another quick squeeze to my foot, then barrels on. “—and Ro clearly has a wholethingfor you so he’ll be looking out for you anyway, but there’s every chance he might get distracted by your ass or a squirrel, or a particularly glittery pen or some shit—” He rubs the back of his neck and pats my calf. “—I’m volunteering to be on your team, in case it wasn’tclear. Can’t guarantee I won’t be an ass, but I’ll do my best to be on your side instead of against you.”

I blink a few times, feeling overly warm all of a sudden. The hand he has on my leg is radiating heat through the blanket.

It doesn’t help that he’s staring at me intensely, like he’s trying to imprint the acceptance of his offer into my brain.

This is the closest we’ve been to one another in a while. And I’m not sure I can cope with his proximity. There’s something about Zeph that’s so magnetic. So intense. He’s the eye of a storm and I’m drawn to him.

Just like that night in the alleyway where we collectively lost our minds.

“That night we met—” I croak out through a dry throat, needing to get this out and clear the air. “—I just wanted to make sure you know, I didn’t... it wasn’t like I put a woo-woo mind control spell on you, I didn’t...”

“I know. I believe you.” He runs a hand through his curly hair and then grimaces. “I dunno what happened that night, but I know you wouldn’t force me to finger-fuck you in an alleyway.” He smirks. “Doesn’t really seem like your style.”

His words, plus thatsmirk?Fuck, I have to rub my thighs together. The memory of us meeting in that alleyway is seared into my brain as one of the hottest encounters of my life.

“I’m not averse to casual hook-ups,” I tell him, although I’m not entirely sure why I’m elaborating. “But not like that. I’ve never done anything quite like that before.”

“Me either.” His eyes are focused on my lips, like he’s imagining kissing me again. “I’m not averse to fucking in one of our club’s bathrooms.” He shrugs. “But an alleyway, thirty seconds after meeting someone was a new one for me.”

I squirm slightly in my seat, wetting my lips with a flick of my tongue.

That small movement seems to be enough to break the hold my mouth has on his attention. He draws back to his corner of the sofa, breaking the tension between us. I throw the blanket off my lap, just about fighting the urge to fan myself.

The two of us fall into pretty comfortable silence as we return to watching the amateur bakers failing at making bread.

“I dunno if I told you this, but my mom married a vamp. He was... a lot of things. A creep more than anything. He was also the reason I wound up moving into the Nexus District.” The sudden switch in topic has me blinking at him again. This entire day is messing with my head. I barely know which way is up. Zeph is being nice. Comforting me. Opening up.

It’s weird as hell.

But I don’t say a word, afraid to interrupt in case it makes him stop speaking.

“He’s the reason I can’t go near a vamp without wanting to punch them in the face.”

“Right.”

“Like Ro said earlier, we need to find the vamp that cursed Fabian. Plus, there’s the bullshit job Felix gave us. The Archarcans have a bunch of vamps we need to find information on. Pretty sure we can kill two birds with one stone. And since none of us exactly has a good reputation with the vamps, we really need you.” He gets to his feet and grabs the file Fabian left on the table during his escape from the room, which he then deposits in my lap.

There’s absolutely no way my brain can handle any of this, so I fall back on humor. Teasing Zeph is something I know how to do and it’s familiar territory for the both of us.

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