“It’s real,” he whispered, brushing his lips over my temple. “You and me. Nothing else matters.”
The next morningcame much quicker than I wanted it to. All I wanted was to stay tangled in Maple’s arms but I knew we both had to face her family. As much as I didn’t want them here, I knew I wanted them to leave on a good note. Not for their sake, screw that. No, for Maple’s. I wanted her heart to be lighter. I wanted her to feel better about making this her home permanently.
Even though we’d technically consummated the marriage contract, I would never trap her here if she wanted to go. She had magic now. If she wanted to go back, I didn’t blame her, but I also hoped she wanted to stay. My chest tightened at thethought of her leaving, but it didn’t matter what I wanted. All that mattered was what she needed.
Maple was sound asleep, tangled in my sheets on the other side of the bed. I itched to run my fingers down her creamy skin and kiss my way down her body, but I knew the moment I started that, we would never leave this bed, and I needed her family to leave my coven as soon as possible.
I slipped from the bed as soundlessly as I could and padded to the bathroom, where the previous night came slamming back to me. Our now damp clothes were scattered around the bathroom, and there was mud smeared across the shower glass. I closed my eyes and breathed through my nose. I didn’t know how I was going to get us out of here without another taste.
Ancestors. I clenched my fists at my sides as I kicked our discarded clothes away and brushed my teeth quickly. My body was burning thinking about all the ways I wanted to take her again. I needed a cold shower, even if I didn’t have time for one.
I dressed quickly and left Maple sleeping in my bed. She didn’t have any more clothes left in my room, and the last thing I would do was parade her around in my clothes. Neither one of us was ready for the coven to know everything, but I had a feeling I would have to address them soon, especially with Babette now gone. She still had followers and friends that lurked here, and I would need to root them out, but until then, I would have to pretend that I thought she worked alone.
My magic slithered along the walls, trying to crawl back to Maple. The shadows were about as enamored with her as I was. I smiled to myself as I opened the door to her room and was enveloped in the smell of her. I closed my eyes and inhaled deeply before I went through her closet. I ran my finger over one of the spines of her books as I looked through her things.
It wasn’t a particularly chilly day, but it was overcast, which meant the temperature would be unpredictable at best. I choseone of my favorite outfits for her—a long floral skirt, a pair of sandals, and a cropped top with a cardigan she could tug tighter if the air turned cool. I scooped the clothes into my arms and quickly made my way back to my rooms. I didn’t want her to think I’d left her after everything.
When I kicked my door open, gently, I found her sitting up in my bed with the sheets wrapped around herself. Her cheeks were pink, and her hair was a messy halo around her head. There was a golden glow to her skin that I wanted to taste, but instead, I smiled at her.
“Good morning,” I put the clothes on the bed next to her and tried my best to keep my hands to myself.
“I thought…” she trailed off as her cheeks darkened. “Never mind, I’m glad you’re back.”
“Me too,” I leaned forward to press a soft kiss to her forehead.
“What happened with Babette?”
While she dressed, I dove into everything that happened and my plan for what was to follow with her friends. Once she had her clothes on, all I could think about was tearing them off. I stared at the wall over her head as she tried to tame her wild curls.
“What are we going to do about my family?”
My grin was feral. “We are going to show them the best the city has to offer and send them on their way.”
Her shoulders seemed to slump, and I wasn’t sure if it was a good thing or a bad thing, but I decided I would find out later. My heart and body could only take so much, and I was already fighting off the temptation to drag her back to the bed.
Our bellies werefull of beignets, and the sound of smooth jazz wrapped around us as we left the French Quarter. Rune’s twin sisters waited for us in their little magic shop and then filled up bags with things for my family to take home with them. Enchanted fabrics, voodoo dolls, crystals, and candles. The tension that had been thick enough to cut the night before was lighter.
No curses or magic were mentioned, and for the first time in my life, I was thankful for that. I didn’t want to feel dread when I was around them. I wanted forgiveness to take hold and stay,and the only way that could be done was by moving forward, not looking back.
There was now a different kind of hurricane blazing through me that hadn’t been there before.
Want.
With every brush of Rune’s fingers against mine, there was a coiling heat only getting hotter and hotter in my belly. I didn’t bother with looking at him because I knew if I did, I would be an inferno. I couldn’t afford it, not right now, not with my family so close. I had to wait, and I hated that more than anything else. It was hard enough to keep my thoughts innocent, but all I could think about was the steady ache between my thighs at what we’d done the night before.
As we hopped off the trolley near the coven house, I watched my family’s faces. Their stiffened shoulders and tight smiles were now relaxed and genuine.
My grandparents didn’t seem at ease, and I didn’t exactly blame them. It would take a lot for them to feel normal again, especially around me, I figured. They had stolen so much from me, even if they’d convinced themselves it was to save me. No amount of apologies would change the fact that I had grown up half-alive because of their choices. It was unfortunate that they wouldn’t get to know me now, not really. But they had chosen fear over faith, and I had to live with the pieces.
So would they.
Rune pressed a kiss to the back of my hand as he looked at my family. I was so thankful for him. He’d made a lot of this healing and forgiveness possible. I wouldn’t have been able to do this day without him. He took the tension away. He made everything lighter.
“So what’s the plan?” Rune asked my papa.
Papa rubbed the back of his neck. “We didn’t plan on staying but a night. Our flight leaves in a few hours.” He looked overat his parents with a weary expression. “I don’t know what they have planned, though.”
My grandmother stepped forward, her arms overflowing with bags. “We would like to know if we could stay for a little bit. We haven’t had a coven in a long time, and I don’t think it would be wise to go back to the West Coast just yet.”
