~

 

“Whatcha doing?” Koren’s voice drifted down all around Nestor as the elder stood frustratingly locked into place with his feet planted firmly on the earth.

“Oh no…” Nestor allowed the slow, pent up rumble of a growl to roll out of him.

“Oh yes.”

Nestor could hear the absolute glee in the vampire’s tone, and he wasn’t impressed. When he caught up to his mate; he was going to kill her.

“Go away!” Nestor growled.

“Are you sure?”

“I’m damn sure. I’m damn certainly sure.” Nestor’s growl was getting deeper by the moment.

“Yeah — no. If you think about it…”

“I don’t need to think about it — damn it!” Nestor’s growl was designed as a warning, and if the vampire carried on then, he would damn well sink his fangs into the man’s behind as his Wolf salivated at the thought. “Go away — go away and don’t come back!”

“I think your pride is overriding your brain.” There was a teasing, sing-song quality to Koren’s voice that annoyed the elder all the more.

“Well, I think you’re stupid is overriding your brain. So why don’t we say we’re even and you can bug out?”

“I think you need me…”

“Like I need a hole in the damn head,” Nestor growled.

“Think about it…”

“I don’t need to damn well think about it – go the hell away!”

The vampire may have been right about Nestor’s pride, but right then and there — it was the last thing that the elder cared about. His mate was walking off to goodness knows where and he was stuck in place like someone had glued his feet ground.

His beast wanted to tear free and chase down their mate, and that was never a good thing. The last thing that he needed was the vampire enjoying his misery.

“Bug out. Bug off, or I’ll…”

“What? Stand there and wave your hands around like you’re a windmill?” Koren chuckled, and that sound stomped all over Nestor’s last nerve.

“Now look here…”

Nestor bit of his words in stunned silence at the sound of the very feminine scream. His blood ran cold at the realization that his mate was in trouble.

“Too late to let you put the pieces of the witch’s puzzle together,” Koren said as he dropped down in front of the elder, but Nestor wasn’t looking at him. The elder was staring off into the woods.

“Aggie…” Nestor growled. His heart raced, his blood pumped, and his temper raged.

“Look at me!” Koren demanded. “Looking at the dead will release you from the spell.”

The vampire’s words were like a triumphant punch upside Nestor’s head. The elder’s gaze snapped towards his friend, and he felt the instant release of his mate’s magic rush through him.

“Move those feet old man – your witch is in trouble…” Koren shouted back over his shoulder as he took off into the woods with the elder hard on his heels.

 

~

~

~

 

“No — that’s wooing!” Lewis growled hard as he drew back ever so slightly from his mate after kissing her beyond all reason. He thought he’d answered her question in the best way possible.

Mia wanted to answer, she really did, but there seemed to be something of a disconnect between her brain and her mouth. He’d kissed her, oh boy, had he!

There was kissing, and then there was kissing — and then there was Lewis. She didn’t feel like she’d just been kissed — she felt as if her whole being had been wrapped up inside of his.

Talk about a connection; she’d never felt the like of it before. But the biggest problem that she had with that was that she wanted to feel it again. And again. And again.

“Oh look — speechless — and you a snazzy, sassy, badass witch and all.”

The alpha had a crooked smile upon his lips that called to her to take a look. She did, and she found that she wasn’t too keen to look away despite his taunting words.

“Do you want me to hurt you?” Mia hissed out the words, but it was the last thing on her mind.

She found that she’d much rather be kissing him again. Even if that did pull, and tug on her annoyance gene.

“A witch has got to do what a witch has got to do, but no, I’d much rather be kissing you,” Lewis said as the hungry growl rumbled through his chest.

That makes two of us. Mia thought that he might just have read her mind.

I could do the hungry growl right about now.

Well, I couldn’t — or maybe I could — but I won’t. But I want to.

Boy, do I want to!

The man’s got that… I don’t know — stick like glue — sexy as hell — animal magnetism — animal magnetism? Maybe, scrap that one!

I need a brain.

I need some willpower.

I need for him to be kissing me again.

No — definitely scrub the last one. Go back to willpower — a big dose of it.

Yeah — no! I think I’m will-powered out.

If I can’t even resist chocolate cake then how the heck am I supposed to get enough power to resist him?

What’s a girl to do?

“And what if I don’t want to be kissed?” Mia frowned so hard that two little ridges formed between her eyebrows, and Lewis found it adorable. He wanted to reach out and gently rub over those ridges with his fingertip, but he resisted that urge.

“I don’t think that’s a problem that we are going to have to face, do you?”

His words were more than a little challenging. If it had been the other way around then, Lewis might have had to react to that challenge, and maybe, if it had been anyone else issuing a challenge then Mia might have felt the need to rise to the occasion. But as it was, her body and mind were pretty much mushed out.

“You are so…” She searched her brain for the right word, but Lewis jumped in before she’d found it.

“Irresistible?”

There was a small smirk on his lips, but luckily for him, the amusement that was etched on his face and in his eyes saved his backside from getting zapped.

“Yeah — I wouldn’t go that far…”

“Moreish then?” That good humor still danced within his eyes.

“I was thinking more along the lines of up your own backside — but, whatever makes you feel better about yourself.” She gave a small shrug of her shoulders and a big triumphant grin.

“You do.”

“Do what?”

“Make me feel better about myself.” He gave a small shrug that matched hers.

“Wow, that’s a good line…”

“It’s not a line.” Lewis offered, and she didn’t just hear the sincerity in his voice, it was written all over his face.

“Maybe.”

Lewis had to wonder if he’d missed a step or two. He thought he’d been doing a good job of following the conversation along, considering that his little brain was still trying to override his big brain, but maybe not.

“Maybe what?” He hated to ask because he didn’t want her to feel that he wasn’t listening to her.

“Maybe I’ll mate with you,” she said. There was a teasing look within her eyes, and amusement, a whole big dollop of amusement, but there was so much more than that.

“There’s no maybe about it.” Lewis couldn’t contain the hungry growl that rolled through him. “I think we both know where this is going to end up, Mia.”

“Oh, we do, do we?”

“I don’t see any other way. I don’t think you could walk away from me if your life depended on it.” He teased.

Mia bit down on the amusement that rolled through her, but she couldn’t hide the smile. She took a step back from him, and he let her go. Then she turned on her heels and looked back at him over her shoulder.

“I’ll let you watch my backside as I’m walking away,” she said, and she was as good as her word as she started for the door.

There was a long, low, deep, hungry growl that followed her, and she turned her head once more to look back at him.

“Well, you did give me permission.” Lewis chuckled.