Page 70 of The Nowhere Witch
“Don’t think. Just relax,” he said.
He leaned down, the scruff of his shadowed jaw grazing my cheek, and all I could smell was his woodsy scent. The fifth wind stopped as his heat enveloped me. His lips grazed mine, teasing until I closed the rest of the distance.
The purpose of the kiss was clear. This was business. It didn’t change the heat that boiled up in me, or the feelings that it dredged up with it, the need that always overcame me with his touch.
I molded into him, and we fit together seamlessly. He was throwing off massive amounts of heat that seemed to seep into me, making it even easier to relax into him, let him take whatever he wanted.
No, no, no. You don’t let him take whatever he wants.
I pulled back, scared by how fast I’d fallen again.
If he knew how startled I was, he didn’t show it. He was looking at the wall.
“The magic is missing something. It was there, but it’s being leached away in spots. That’s what’s causing the breaks.”
“Why? How?”
He shook his head. “I don’t know, but hopefully the patch will work.”
“Did you feel anything else?” I asked.
“Like what?”
I stared at the wall, knowing I sensed a hatred seething out behind it, directed at me. “I don’t know. Nothing, I guess.”
I shifted away, instantly missing Hawk’s heat as I did. He didn’t try to stop me and let me have my space.
I grabbed another handful of goop, trying to make quick work of the last of this. I needed to get away from him, and fast. I’d get my head back together in private.
He leaned on the wall beside me again. “By the way, I thought I was flat, no sizzle?”
Clearly, he’d felt more than just the wall when I’d let him in.
“Like day-old seltzer,” I said, continuing to work even as my cheeks burned.
He crossed his arms, getting more comfortable. “I’m not sure why you keep trying to make things work with Gregor.”
“I’m not surprised you’d think that, considering the way your relationships work out.”
“My relationships?” He raised a brow.
“Belinda? That was a grand success?”
He laughed. Hawk’s laughing was almost as addictive as his kissing. It made my stomach swirl in the craziest ways. I’d have to make a point of trying not to amuse him, not that I’d meant to.
“I’m glad you find the mockery of your situation so funny.”
I tried to highlight the fact I was insulting him, and he smiled wider. Not good.
“You should probably break it off now if you care about him,” he said. “It’s cruel to string him along, since it’s not going to work out.”
“You have no idea whether my relationship with him will work out, so I suggest you mind your own business.” Half my goop was landing on the ground at this point, and I didn’t care. I needed to be done.
He gave a slight shrug. “I’ve got a pretty good idea.”
I stopped gooping. “Care to tell me why we’re doomed for failure?”
“Do you really want to know why?”