She tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. “Hi.”
My hand itched to follow the same path, to caress her cheek, to feel her soft skin under mine.
“Hi,” I said back, giving her body a long, blatant perusal. Fuck, I hadn’t let myself look at her this long before. And it was a problem, considering how my dick was already reacting to the sight of her. “You look…” I trailed off. “Wow.”
Eryne did a little spin, her eyes lighting up. “That good, huh?”
I took another sip of my drink. “Mmm. Very.”
She smiled, sliding onto the stool next to mine. The bartender, a witch with bright blue hair, came over, quickly taking Eryne’s order. A few minutes later, her drink slid across the counter, unassisted.
Shaking my head, I almost laughed at the absurdity of it. I still hadn’t gotten used to how they used magic for such mundane things.
“How was your day?” I asked, leaning my chin on my hand as I watched her sip the cocktail.
“Mmm.” Her tongue darted out to catch a drop on her lip. “It was good. Quieter than normal, but that’s a relief. And I didn’t have to work the counter, so I just worked on inventory and ordering.” She looked up at me, then wrinkled her nose. “This is weird.”
“How so?” I rotated my glass in my hands.
Eryne shrugged. “It’s like you said last night… it feels like I’ve known you forever. Not only a few days.” Her eyes met mine. “Idon’t know why I feel so comfortable around you. It’s just so… easy.”
I placed my hand on her thigh, slowly rubbing my thumb across her skin. “I know what you mean,” I said.
Her eyes fluttered shut as I continued caressing her thigh. Now that I’d started touching her, I couldn’t stop. “What are we doing, Barrett?” Her words were barely a whisper.
“Having drinks,” I answered, leaning over to brush my lips over her ear. “What else would we be doing, sugar?”
She let out a little whimper, and I sat back up straight, deciding to change the subject in an effort to control myself. “So, you like it? Your job?”
Her eyes darted over to me, a little hazy. “Huh?” She blinked. “Oh. Yeah. I do.” She traced the rim of her drink with her thumb. It was a shimmering, purple liquid that looked sweet. Just like her. “When Willow and Luna had first offered me the promotion, I didn’t know anything about running a business, let alone a coffee shop. But it turns out… I’m pretty good at it. I like being out there, serving customers and chatting with everyone in town, but I like being in the back office even more.” That stubborn curl sprang free from her ear, and she tucked it back again.
“Healing, coffee making, business running—what aren’t you good at?”
Eryne blushed, like she didn’t see how amazing she was. “Enough about me. How was your day? Did you find anything out in the library?”
I ran a hand through my hair. “No. A lot of dusty old books that hadn’t been opened in a century, though.”
She looked disappointed.
“Hey.” I reached out, squeezing her shoulder. “I’m not going to give up. Don’t worry—we’ll figure out what’s going on. And how to keep the town safe.”
She finished her drink, and I signaled for the bartender to bring us both another. As we both sipped on our second drinks, she told me all about her new coven and the twelve other witches that belonged to it, including Iris, the bartender.
“We should go to the Gazette tomorrow.” Eryne announced. “Constance will help.” She shuddered. “I only find her slightly terrifying, but she’ll help.”
I frowned. “Why?”
“Why do I find her terrifying?” The redhead next to me laughed, then gave me a deadpan look. “Have you ever met a necromancer?”
“No.” I shook my head. And I wasn’t really sure I wanted to.
She bit her lip. “She digs up all the best gossip though.” Eryne leaned over. “Pun intended.”
I let out a howl of a laugh. “You’re just fucking with me, right?”
“Oh, no. She actually does terrify me.” She lowered her voice. “Don’t get on her bad side.”
“Noted.” I took a deep pull from my glass. “Are there any other members of your coven I should be scared of?”
