Page 61 of Resurrecting the Witch
“Don’t kill him.” I stood up finally.
“Thanks, lass, I knew I cou—”
“I wasn’t finished,” I cut Rory off. “Yet. Don’t kill him yet.”
“Why can’t we kill him yet?” Drew asked. Wait, Drew? When did he get here?
I didn’t get a chance to look for my friend. Instead, I was tackled back into the cave wall by a hard body that gripped at my flesh like it was the only thing tethering them to the earth.
“My mate,” Patrick murmured in my ear as he ran his hands up and down my arms before cradling my cheeks in his big palms. “Tell me he didn’t hurt you or I will kill him whether you say so or not.” Before I could answer, he hoisted me up, both his hands gripping my ass, and took my lips with his own.
Kissing Patrick was like drinking water fresh from a mountain stream after days of dehydration. It was like lighting the first fire in a hearth for the winter season. It was like whispering a prayer over new seedlings before planting them in fresh soil. It was like breathing in the smell of fresh cut grass on a brisk spring wind.
His kiss was a gift.
It was everything.
And it wasn’t gentle. No, it was claiming, a brutal assault against my senses that caused everything else to blur into the background. Cave? What cave? I wasn’t anywhere, yet I was everywhere all at once. I was with him, and he was with me, and his tongue parting my lips open for his exploration was beyond anything we’d shared prior.
He pulled away just as quick as he showed up and I took his features in closely for the first time. His eyes were near solid black with veins of black stretching beyond his eyes. He was hungry. But I thought he only needed to feed on the full moon? Or had something changed? I didn’t want him to suffer through an undead craze episode. I’d read about them when I found out I was dating a zombie, and while the literature wasn’t complete since there weren’t many undead walking about, it shed enough light on the whole Brains = Good, No Brains = Bad situation. “Cliona,” he growled my name against my lips like it was the only thing keeping him in the moment.
“Sorry to interrupt.” Rory really had a death wish. I wasn’t entirely sure I would stop Patrick from gutting him, no matter how sincere his claim was about his sister being held captive. “But we’re on a tight schedule. Glad ya have yer mate back, Patty boy, but I need to get me sister back, who is in actual danger.”
“Actual danger?” Dom asked at the same time Lennox asked, “What is he talking about?” She popped up right next to me. “Move out of the way, beast.” She hip-checked Patrick, who thankfully allowed her to do so, and grabbed me in a tight hug. “I don’t think I can compete with that welcome kiss. Fuck me, Cliona, we need to talk about what else he can do with that mouth of his.”
“Save me,” Drew said from his position next to Rory.
“Hah! I knew I liked this female for a reason. She is full of wit.” A new voice registered from behind the others.
“Grom?!”
Sure enough, my big green gentle orc giant had walked in with Drew during that kiss.
“The one and only, High Priestess.”
I rolled my eyes. Grom, as an orc, was big on titles. Moreso than anyone else in the town. I was his leader, and he took being on the council more seriously than anyone else expected him to. It was sweet, and the fact he came when Patrick no doubt called, meant the world to me.
“Thank you, Grom!” Lennox bowed in his direction. “Some appreciate my foul mouth, Andrew. Jealousy doesn’t look good on you, wolfy.” Lennox winked back at him before giving me another quick hug. “I missed you, babe.”
Thoughts of Lennox lying prone on the pavement swarmed my vision, and I choked back a sob. “I thought I killed you.”
“You didn’t.” Dom approached now that Drew was by Rory. He pulled me into a hug, somewhat stiff since we didn’t hug all that much, but it was a sweet gesture.
“But you were—”
“Patrick and Anya saved us.” Lennox pushed a loose strand of hair behind my ear and leaned in to kiss my cheek.
“I’m…” I paused, unsure how to finish my overwhelming amount of thoughts. “I’m so sorry.” I choked on a sob, but before it could turn into a full meltdown, Patrick gripped my hand and brought it to his cheek as if my touch grounded him more than his own did for me. I blinked the fresh tears away and saw the black lines recede from his eyes and then caught a small blue line of his irises. He was calming down.
Did my touch help him like his helped mine?
“I know this is a real heartfelt moment, ya didn’t kill yer friends, so on and so on,” Rory interrupted what had been, indeed, a heartfelt moment. “But Orla is expectin’ me to open the portal any minute, and I will not risk Kady for you lot, no matter how much I might’ve grown fond of ya over the last months.”
“What is this gorgeous red-haired muscly bastard talking about, Cliona?” Lennox perused Rory with an interest I’d seen too many times before. Polishing her words off with a wink at the redhead.
“This is Rory, formerly known as Warren, who isn’t quite the bad guy. It’s a long story.”
Lennox walked into this cave with the intent of chopping Rory’s dick off, but she had always been good with judging people. And apparently, she didn’t need to be around Rory long to know he was not a threat.
