Page 50 of Unmarked Magic

“Glad someone is,” muttered Tyler as he ran a hand over his hair. He walked over to the open fire, lighting it with his magic. The flame ignited, diving the room into a cozy amber, making it feel immediately warmer. Safer, even.

Skye shimmied up beside me. “I have another surprise for you,” she said, motioning to the door over my shoulder. I turned on my heel and, at that moment, Jade walked in, followed by two guys and a woman.

Jade did a little dance, lifting her hands above her head, and a bottle of bubbles swayed in her hand. “I hear there’s a housewarming to celebrate?”

Squealing, I immediately turned to give her a hug, stoked to see my old roommate. “It’s so good to see you again. How’ve you been?” I asked, so surprised she was here. I’d heard little from Jade since she had left to spend some time up with the local wolf pack, so I was looking forward to hearing all about it. She looked stunning in the most casual way. Wearing ripped black jeans and an oversized black leather jacket, her fiery red hair made a statement of its own. It was so good to see her.

“Amazing, thanks.” She turned to a tall guy beside her. This is Rivein, Seb, & Bec. “It’s okay, they’re cool.” Her ‘they’re cool’ meant these new wolfish friends of hers wouldn’t cause trouble. “I hope you don’t mind. They’ve become close friends of mine, and I really wanted you to meet them.”

A beat paused around the room at the uninvited guests, but Tyler quickly smoothed it over, shaking the guy’s hands. Tyler was a tall guy, but these wolves had an extra foot on him. They were huge. One hovered closer to Jade than the others. Rivein? I noted the subtle hand on her lower back and knew my instincts were correct.

I wiggled a brow at her, but Jade gave nothing away.

Awareness suddenly prickled my skin, and I turned to find one of the other visitors approaching me.

“Hey, I’m Seb.” A playful gaze drifted over me with not-so-subtle intention. This stranger was good-looking, with dark hair, blue eyes, and a sharply cut jaw. In the space of five seconds, his vibe screamed, ‘I’m cheeky, this could be fun.’

Alarm bells rang in my head. I ignored them.

I extended my arm to him. “Scarlet.” His large hand latched onto mine. His skin was surprisingly warmer than I imagined. “Whoa, you’re burning up,” I said, suddenly concerned for his well-being.

He tossed me a wide smile. “Nah, it’s wolf heat. We’re weird like that.” He caught a beer Rivein tossed him, unscrewing the lid and placing it in his pocket. “Jade tells us you guys do magic?” Taking a drink, he eyed me expectantly, waiting for me to answer.

“Did she now?” I said with a smirk. “Guess it’s true, then.”

He laughed, unconvinced. Looking around the manor, he whistled low. “So, which wall’s holding the whole place up?”

Wes let out a laugh as he walked past on his way to the cooler. He pointed vaguely. “Hopefully that one.”

Seb grinned. “Thanks, I’ll avoid leaning on it.” An easy smile and he took another sip of his beer.

Everyone seemed to gravitate to the living room, where Skye was setting up a speaker in the corner. A few of the guys had already taken the few bean bags scattered around the room, so I opted to sit on the blow-up couch.

“Do you mind?” Seb motioned to the vacant space beside me, and it felt rude not to let him sit in the only seat left.

“Sure.” I moved to the side to make room for him and the two-seater couch bounced as he made himself comfortable. I felt like it would burst any second.

“So, what kind of magic do you do?” he asked, shifting to face me.

I wasn’t sure about spilling my secrets to this stranger, but Jade seemed to trust these guys, and she was normally a great judge of character.

“I’m a green witch, mostly. I work with botanicals and tonics, but I’ve been known to affect the elements when I…” I didn’t finish my sentence, realizing how close I came to telling him something really personal. I still hadn’t mastered the art of controlling my magic during climax. I closed my mouth, stifling my words.

He eyed me curiously. “When you what?”

I let out a nervous laugh. “Forget it, I shouldn’t have —”

“When you come?” he interjected, cheek filling his sky-blue eyes.

This guy. Words stalled in my throat, and I tried to hide the embarrassment, scorching my cheeks. When I didn’t speak, he took that as his confirmation.

“I’d be happy to help you practice.” He held my gaze, and his eyes flirted with innuendo. He took another drink of his beer, eyeing me over the top of the rim.

My stomach flipped at his blatant offer.

To make me come.

His knee knocked mine, and moths escaped their cage, floating in my stomach. I’d never let a stranger speak to me this way before, because I usually had a smart reply ready to fire back, but not this time.