Page 16 of Hex You Very Much


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"Scout's honor. My mother took pictures."

"Please tell me you still have them."

"Absolutely not. They're classified pack embarrassment."

Their laughter faded into something warmer, more connected, and Lyra found herself studying the way Cade's entire face changed when he smiled. He looked younger, less burdened by alpha responsibilities, and she caught a glimpse ofwhat he might have been like before duty and loss had taught him to carry the world on his shoulders.

"We should probably get back to work," she said, though she made no move to step away.

"Probably," Cade agreed, not moving either.

The afternoon heat was building, and after an hour of heavy lifting, Cade pulled off his flannel shirt and tossed it onto the porch railing. Lyra tried very hard to focus on the lumber measurements she was supposed to be checking, but it was difficult to concentrate when her peripheral vision kept catching glimpses of broad shoulders and the kind of muscle definition that suggested he did more than just run through the forest for exercise.

"Hand me that level?" Cade asked, and Lyra reached for the tool without thinking.

Their fingers brushed as she passed it to him, and the contact sent a jolt of electricity up her arm that wasn’t due to her unstable magic. Cade felt it too—she could tell by the way his pupils dilated and his breathing changed.

"Thanks," he said, his voice rougher than it had been a moment before.

"No problem," Lyra managed, though her heart was beating fast enough to power the inn's electrical system.

They worked in increasingly charged silence for another hour, the air between them thick with awareness and the kind of tension that made every accidental touch feel significant. Lyra found herself hyperaware of every movement he made, every shift in his breathing, every time his attention focused on her with the kind of intensity that felt like she was the most interesting thing in his world.

It was when he was positioning a replacement support beam that disaster struck.

The beam was heavier than expected, and when Cade adjusted his grip, a splinter of wood caught the edge of his palm and opened a gash that immediately started bleeding.

"Shit," he muttered, setting the beam down and examining the cut.

"Let me see," Lyra said, moving closer before she could think better of it.

Cade held out his hand, and Lyra found herself cradling his much larger palm in both of hers. The cut wasn't deep, but it was bleeding steadily, and she could feel the warmth of his skin against her fingers.

"It's not bad," she said, though she made no move to let go. "But it should be cleaned."

"I'll be fine. Wolf healing, remember?"

"Still." Lyra looked up to find Cade watching her with an expression she couldn't quite read. "I have a first aid kit inside."

They stood there for a moment, her hands wrapped around his, both of them acutely aware of the intimacy of the contact. Lyra could feel Cade's pulse under her fingertips, strong and steady, and when she looked up, his green eyes had gone dark with something that made her mouth go dry.

"Lyra," he said, her name coming out like a warning and a plea all at once.

That's when her magic decided to make its opinion known.

Power sparked through the space around them like visible electricity, drawn by their proximity and the emotional charge crackling in the air. Lyra's phone, sitting on the porch railing, started buzzing frantically before the screen went completely black. The inn's lights flickered in sequence, and somewhere inside, something that sounded like a smoke alarm started beeping.

They sprang apart as if they'd been burned, both of them breathing hard.

"Well," Lyra said, her voice shaky. "That's... new."

Cade was staring at his hand, where the cut had already stopped bleeding. "Your magic. It's..."

"Completely out of control around you," Lyra finished. "Yeah, I noticed."

"That's not what I was going to say."

"What were you going to say?"