Page 75 of Not Your Ex's Hexes
He shrugged noncommittally. “I also value paying my rent, which if my landlord keeps raising it, I soon won’t be able to do. Contrary to what people think, Guardian Angel salaries aren’t on the top-tier list of highest-paying jobs. So if you’re game, I am, too.”
“For me to move in with you… into your apartment.”
“Once you moved in, it would beourplace, but yeah. I call the second room an office, but I don’t use it. It wouldn’t take much effort to clean it out and throw a bed in there.”
“So that I could move in…”
Bax slid his attention to Rose. “I see what you mean about her needing to get out of there and get sleep. She’s not quite as sharp as she usually is.”
“Why is everyone hiding in the kitchen when there’s a party to be had?” Vi and Linc stepped into the kitchen, her sister’s hair looking a little mussed. “Oh, look! How cute! Little penis cookies!”
Rose and Olive exchanged looks before bursting into laughter, but Rose’s was short-lived. Damian brought up the rear looking better than he had any right to in faded jeans and a dark gray Henley, its sleeves rolled up to reveal his corded forearms. If it were possible to spontaneously ovulate, she would’ve right then and there with everyone’s eyes bouncing back and forth between them.
Clearing a room was one of Damian’s many talents, but this was quick even for him. He’d barely stepped into the kitchen when Vi dragged Linc away, claiming she’d heard someone calling their names. Not long after that, Bax and Olive did the same, and he found himself alone with a flushed-faced Rose.
He didn’t mind.
It gave them an opportunity to talk, something he wasn’t looking forward to, but which needed to happen, and sooner rather than later.
Even so, knowing they had important things to discuss, his libido ramped up and put him on edge. No woman had ever affected him this way, something—thanks to his chat with Julius—of which he was now all too aware.
He’d come to the party with a game plan in mind, a backup plan just in case, and then a last-ditch proposal should Rose be Rose, and refuse to try something far less dangerous than Hunting… like heli-skiing.
Or skydiving without a parachute.
She turned her back on him, effectively acting as though they weren’t the only two people in the room. He chuckled. He wasn’t that easy to get rid of.
Not bothering to tread lightly, he crossed the distance until a cozy blanket of tingling Magic had the hairs on his arms standing at attention. Giving her ample time and space to move if she wanted,he slid his arms past both sides of her waist and braced his hands against the marble countertop.
The position brought his nose up against the softness of her hair, and he couldn’t help but tilt into it, savoring the scent of vanilla and spice. “Found you…”
“I didn’t realize I was lost.” Her hands busied themselves wiping the counter in front of her before switching focus to the burnt cookies.
“Not lost… hiding. With your wolf witch cookies.”
She turned in his arms, taking him by surprise, and peered up at him through her thick lashes. “You knew they were witchy wolves?”
“It’s kinda obvious… but let’s get back to why you felt the need to hide in Linc’s kitchen and make them.”
“I wasn’t hiding,” Rose denied all too quickly.
“Babe, I may not be an expert on a woman’s mind, but I am at evasion tactics, and baking when there’s already a feast on the other side of those doors is a perfect example.” He kicked up his mouth into a grin. “How is this FBA supposed to work if we’re never in the same location to act on it?”
“There will be no arranging of anything, nor acting on it while at my sister’s house… especially if it comes at the price of having to defend my decision to Hunt.Again. I’m perfectly satisfied with Mr. Wiggles.”
It looked as if it caused her physical pain to say it. He chuckled. “Liar, liar, cauldron on fire, little witch.”
He transferred one hand to her waist, dipping his fingers below the hem of her shirt to find her soft, silky skin beneath. “Maybe I don’t want to discuss the Hunt, either.”
He trailed his hand higher.
She trembled in his arms, her breath picking up. “You don’t?”
Damian shook his head, his hand moving a little higher. “I want to remind you there’s more pleasurable ways to spend your time than playing Dog the Bounty Hunter.”
Rose set her hands on his chest, and for a moment, he thought she’d push him away. Instead, she linked her arms around his neck, her gaze dropping to his mouth.
Sucking in a groan, he palmed her cheek with his spare hand, and tilted her gaze up to his. “What do you say, little witch? Are you prepared to be reminded?”
