by K. A Knight
“Friend, did you need something?”
Lane coughs, obviously covering a laugh, and mutters, “Oh shit.”
“Friend, huh? A friend who you see when you’re bored?” Ben’s voice misses his usual tease. He looks easygoing again, but his fists clench on the table.
Well, they definitely overheard that, then.
“Are you fucking him?” Ezra snaps.
I slam my hands down on the table, and they all jump. “Listen up, buddy. I won’t let you or anyone else make me feel bad about what or who I do in my spare time. I only just met you four, and yes, I like you. I’m having fun spending time with you, but that does not mean you can barge into my life and get mad about my decisions.”
Alexander goes to interrupt, and I put my hand in the air to signal for him to stop.
“No. I’m an adult. I don’t sit here asking who you fucked before you met me. We aren’t in a relationship, and you can’t sit there with a double standard, mad about my sexual exploits when I’m betting you all have had one-night stands.” I stand up straight and make eye contact with every single one of them. They range from shocked to proud... Not going to touch that one.
“If you want to carry on this,” I hesitate, “friendship, you’ll need to understand that I can speak and act for myself, and you have no right to judge me for things we both know you do yourself.” With my rant finished, I lean back and wait.
Lane claps, and I ignore her for a second.
Alexander stares at me with a little grin flirting his lips. Ezra clenches his teeth but nods his head. Ben looks crestfallen, like I just kicked his puppy, and Jason looks happy. What the space balls. I need a drink.
“Your right, Aurora. You don’t need to justify your life to us. While they didn’t mean it to come out the way it did, I’m sorry. I guess the guys, and I speak for myself as well, just feel like there’s a connection between us, and we let that cloud our judgement.” Jason’s voice leaves no room for argument, and I want to hug him for supporting me.
“Jason’s right. You had a life before we met and so did we, and we cannot expect to judge or question you on that. I’m sorry.” Alexander’s strong voice rings out, and he drops his mask just enough for the happiness and lust in his eyes to shine through. Again, not going to ask, there’s only so much a girl can handle.
“Sorry, Aurora. Guess I was a little jealous.” Ben runs his fingers through his hair, and I almost falter in my anger and self-justification.
Jealous? I look at Ezra, not willing to respond to Ben’s comment.
He stares at me and then at the table.
I huff. “Fine, now that that’s sorted, what do you want to eat?”
I’ve just nipped to the toilet when the door behind me slams closed. I whirl ready to shout at which ever stupid idiot wandered into the employee toilet, and the breath leaves me without an angry word uttered. Ezra stands in the doorway staring at me. My face scrunches in confusion.
“Ezra?”
He doesn’t respond but prowls towards me. I don’t back away from him because I know he won’t hurt me. In one stride, he grabs the back of my thighs and hoists me up, walking until my butt meets the sink. He perches me on it and stands between my parted legs.
I blink my eyes, staring at him dumbfounded. His hands tighten on my thighs. His eyes are dark, the darkest I’ve ever seen them, and his mouth forms a harsh slant. In this moment, he resembles a demon more than a witch.
“Ezra?” I ask again, my voice faltering and betraying my nerves.
“I’m a jealous idiot.” His voice rumbles out of him, and my heart almost stops when it registers what he said.
I go to say something—what, I don’t know—but he squeezes my legs and steps even closer so no space exists between our bodies.
“I’m a jealous idiot, Aurora, and I hate it. I’ve never wanted to punch a smug expression off a dickhead’s face so much in my life.” He takes a deep breath, his chest moving against mine.
“You drive me crazy. Jason was right. I have no right to feel this way, but I can’t help it. I don’t know what you did to me, Half-pint, but I’m wrapped around your little finger.” He lowers his head, and his soft lips brush mine.
I try to work through his words when he does it again but harder. With a grunt, he bites my bottom lip softly then licks away the sting. I moan and push my body against his, responding now. He smirks against my lips. Smug bastard.
I tilt my head up and bite his lip, hard. He groans and grinds against me. I kiss him slowly, and he follows my lead. When I go to pull away, he grabs my hair and wraps it around his hand, yanking my head back so my back arches, pushing my chest against his. His lips devour mine, seeking entrance, and I part them gladly. My legs wrap around his waist, and I bend back allowing him better access.
As he fucks my mouth, I grab his shirt. Pushing it up, I stroke the hard muscle I meet. I swallow his growl as he rubs himself against me. The seam of my jeans grinds into my pussy, and I moan wanting more. He pulls back from my lips, and we’re both breathless. I don’t know what he sees, but he jerks against me then slams his lips back to mine. We duel for control, the kiss getting harder until we are almost clashing teeth. The door to the bathroom opens and closes, but he doesn’t pull back for another couple of seconds. He stares at me, wonder on his face, then lays a gentle kiss on my lips. That makes my heart pound—that this giant, powerful man takes the time to be gentle with me.
Turing his head, his face looks smug, and I can’t figure out why until I hear Brad’s voice.
“Fucking slut.” The door slams after him again, and Ezra’s growls make it seem like he’s going to run after him.
I wrap my legs around him tighter, clinging to him like a monkey. “It doesn’t matter,” I whisper, my voice breathless.
He still stares at the door, jaw clenching and unclenching, obviously trying to decide what to do. I pull my hands from his shirt and grab his face, turning it to me.
My eyes lock with his. What I say is true. “It doesn’t matter, I don’t care what anyone thinks,” I hesitate, “except you, the rest of the guys, Lane, and Tom.”
His face softens, and he kisses my hand on his cheek. I smile at him and lean up, giving him another peck. I drop my legs, and he stays there for a few seconds.
“Ezra?”
“Yeah, yeah,” he says stepping back.
I can’t help but stare at his lips, and it isn’t until he clears his throat that I glance back up.
“Bathroom. Work, right? Okay. Erm, I’ll see you out there in a minute.” Obviously taking pity on my muddled brain, he smiles that soft smile again at me.
“Okay, Half-pint.” He looks happier than I’ve ever seen him, his swollen lips sexy as hell, not to mention his dishevelled shirt. He walks out and leaves me with my imagination and damp panties.
What the frickity just happened? I got the shit kissed out of me, that’s what. I don’t remember ever being this turned on by just a kiss. Stupid sexy witch. I jump down from the sink on unsteady legs and turn to see myself.
My hair, which was in a ponytail, is wild from his hands, and my lips are swollen. My cheeks are as pink as a baboon’s ass.
“Aren’t I attractive.” I run the tap and throw some water on my face. I can’t linger on that amazing kiss. If I let myself even think about it a little, I’ll never get any work done. I’d just go out there, find that witch and drag him back here to finish what we started.
An image of a naked Ezra, thrusting into me as my head throws back, pops into my brain. I groan in frustration.
It takes me five minutes to calm down enough to go back out. When I do, I try to act like nothing happened, but when I take their order, Ezra stares at me with stark hunger on his face. I keep myself busy taking orders, wiping tables, and talking to customers, purely to ignore him. Alexander stares at me knowingly, and I ignore that, too.
Lane leaves an hour later with a promise to call me tomorrow. The guys stay all night, their eyes watching me as
they joke around with each other. Something changed tonight, and I feel like a mouse being hunted. The big, sexy witches have decided I’m theirs, and they won’t stop until they claim me.
22
- AURORA -
By the time the end of my shift rolls around, I’m exhausted. I clear the last table and go to speak to Tom, who stands behind the bar cashing out.
“Hey, kid.” He doesn’t look up while he counts. I lean on the bar and wait for him to finish. When he does, he grins at me, then does a double-take.
“What’s wrong?” he growls.
Okay, seriously, what is with the growling recently?
“Nothing why?” I tilt my head in confusion.
“You look like shit.” His blunt tone makes me laugh. Most people would be offended, but hey, it’s true.
“I haven’t been sleeping well,” I admit as I scratch my chipped nails against the wooden bar to avoid his gaze.
He sighs and leans down until I’m forced to look at him. “I know you won’t tell me why. Why don’t you head out and take tomorrow off?” His voice is low and serious. Before I can deny him, he grabs my hand, stilling my nervous movement. “I mean it, Aurora, take tomorrow off. You can make the time up next week.”
I swallow hard at the compassion in his eyes. He’s serious when he calls me by my full name. I nod, and he smiles flashing his sharp teeth.
“Good, head off will ya, and take them nosey witches with you. They’re way too pretty to be in here.”
I laugh. They would hate him calling them pretty.
“Sure, see you later.” Impulsively, I jump up and kiss his cheek. Before he can say anything, I walk over to the awesome foursome who sit at the table they claimed earlier.
Stubborn witches never left. They all glance up when I stop by the table. Ben grabs my waist, yanking me onto his lap. With an oomph, I sprawl across his knees. I try to wiggle away, but he slaps my thigh and grabs me harder. Righting myself so I’m sat sideways on his knee, I shake my head, too tired to resist the touchy-feely nature that is Ben.
“I’m heading off, you guys better too.” I meet Ezra’s eyes, and I quickly look away. He probably thinks I’m being shy, but really, if I stare at him for too long, I’ll climb him like a tree.
“Sure thing, Kitten. We will follow you.” Alexander downs the rest of his beer and moves to stand.
“Huh?” Not my most intelligent answer, but fuck, they threw me.
“We will follow you,” he says it slower and gestures this time.
“Yeah, I heard that, but what I didn’t hear is why?” He smiles at my confused face but doesn’t answer. Douche canoe.
“We thought we could stop at yours tonight,” Jason says helpfully, smiling at me.
“Again, why?”
Out of the corner of my eye, I see Alexander nod at Jason. Jason’s smile falters and dips. He’s sad, and I hate it.
“Erm, well... we don’t have to, we just thought it might be nice. Have a movie night again, but if you don’t want us to...” Jason resembles a kicked puppy.
Rat bastards using sweet Jason against me. Manipulative, bossy, no good—
“Fine,” I grump, and he grins like I told him he could move in or something.
“Great!” He jumps up, and everyone follows him.
I stand and approach Alexander. “You, sir, are a turd burglar. Using Jason against me, low move.” I turn and stomp off to get my stuff as he laughs.
“Did she just say turd burglar?” Ezra sounds amused.
“Yup.” Ben pops the P as he laughs.
They’re all turd burglars. No, wait... bum bandits. Bloody pushy witches. I mutter a string of creative insults on the way to get my bag.
Ben ends up in my car with me while the others follow in Ezra’s. It’s not as late as I thought, which means I have the whole night with my tagalongs. He plays with my CDs and the nobs in my car. Multiple times, I smack his hand away from the volume button, but it doesn’t stop him from bouncing in the passenger seat like the Energiser bunny.
Ben moves to turn the music up again, and I strike his hand. He slaps mine back, and we get in to a slapping match while I’m trying to drive. I end up swerving, and I grab the wheel to right us. Ben and I share a look and burst out laughing. Two seconds later, his phone rings. He grimaces, and I sneak glances out of the corner of my eye.
He picks up the phone and instantly holds it away from his ear with a pained frown. I raise my eyebrows but don’t question it.
“Fine. Okay. Yes. Okay. I said yes!” he mutters into the phone before putting it on speaker.
“Go ahead,” he says sulkily.
“Is he annoying you, Half-pint?” Ezra’s deep voice makes me grip the wheel tighter, igniting my lust again. Not fair.
“No, why?”
Ben grins at me.
“You just swerved, sweetheart. Concentrate on the road, yeah? I would hate to have to punish your pretty ass ‘cause you crashed.” Ezra sounds serious, and I nod.
Ben says bye, then ends the call. He slumps in his seat and frowns out the window. I hate the dejected expression on his face, so I grab his hand and squeeze it quickly before returning it to the wheel.
I watch from the corner of my eye as he stares from his hand to me, a serious expression on his face.
“I’m really not annoying you, am I?” His voice is small.
What I say next will hit him deep. For someone so loud and fun, he has deep-rooted vulnerability.
“Never.” I make my voice as hard as possible and flash him a quick smile to make sure he knows I mean it. He lets out a sigh, and his usual grin returns with a new sense of confidence to it.
I reach and turn the music up louder as a rock song blasts out. I throw him a mischievous look and started singing along off-key. He joins in until we are both screaming the lyrics to each other and dancing in our seats.
By the time we pull up to my house with the music still blaring, I’m dying for a drink. I stay in the car and finish our duet to the latest song. We are laughing when a knock at my window makes me jump. I spin to find Jason laughing. Asshat. See, I’m making an effort to stop swearing!
I turn off the car and get out. Alexander, Ezra, and Jason stand with little smiles on their faces.
“Nice singing,” Jason comments.
Ben rounds the car and slings his arm over my shoulder.
“Don’t listen to them, they are just jealous of our amazing singing voices.” His declaration is met with snorts and laughs. He drags me along to my front door, and I happily stay under his arm.
I unlock the door, and Nev bounds to me. I kneel down and give him love, murmuring sweet nothings to him. When I glance up, they’re all laughing again.
“I think that’s the sweetest voice we’ve ever heard you use,” Alexander comments.
Ezra shakes his head. “Nah, should have heard her talking to her cookies.”
Ignoring them, I head upstairs to change. Their voices follow me up, talking back and forth as I get into my comfies. Nev follows and sits wagging his tail in front of me.
“Yeah, yeah, I know you like ‘em.” I pull the white T-shirt that says Resting Witch Face over my head. I have a weird obsession with funny slogan shirts, especially about witches, but no one usually sees them. With a shrug, I grab a cardigan and head downstairs to where my guys—butterpoop—guys... just guys argue about films in the living room.
I flop on the sofa as they try to decide what to watch. I tilt my head when they get louder. Nev bounces over to them and barks along. Weirdo.
“We could play a game, then watch a film later? Have like a movie marathon?” My suggestion is met with stunned silence, and I fidget as they all stare at me.
“What?” My voice is grumpy as I get defensive.
“Why didn’t we think of that?” Jason mutters rubbing the back of his head.
“Twister,” Ben shouts.
Alexander and Ezra smack the back of his head.
“Monopoly?” I sugges
t.
“Sounds good. Ezra, you set it up. Jason, you get drinks and snacks. I’ll let Nev out,” Alexander orders them, and I quirk my eyebrow.
“What about me?” I ask.
He glances over at me with a wink.
“You sit there and look pretty.” He pats his leg at Nev and walks to the back door. Ezra heads to the cupboard in the hallway in search of games, and Jason heads to the kitchen.
Ben flops on top of me, making me squeak.
“Dude, you’re heavy.” He wiggles around, causing me to grunt again. He eventually ends up with his head in my lap, gazing up at me.
“Hi.” His smile is sweet, and I instantly return it.
“Hi.” Without thinking, I run my fingers through his hair, and he closes his eyes with a moan.
We sit in peace, me stroking his hair as the others get everything ready. Jason walks back in, carrying a tray full of stuff which he puts on the floor next to the coffee table. Ezra walks in carrying Monopoly and starts setting it up on the table.
“Benny,” I whisper.
His lips quirk again. I poke his cheek.
“What, Sunny?” he mutters.
“C’mon, it’s ass kicking time.” I push his head up.
He mutters something but slowly gets up. When he does, he turns to give me his hand. I grab it, and he yanks me up and leans in.
“Love the shirt, Sunshine.” He turns to the others. “I’m the dog,” he shouts happily.
“You are a dog,” Ezra grunts.
Two hours later, only Jason and I remain in the game. Ezra went out first, then Ben, then Alexander. Alexander halfway through stripped his suspenders down and undid the buttons on his shirt, and I was so distracted I flung the dice at Ben’s head. Oops.
Ezra sits behind me, leaning against the sofa with his long legs on either side of where I sit cross-legged in front of the coffee table. Alexander is next to Jason, watching our every move. Ben sprawls on the floor with Nev curled up next to him.
I lean forward and grab the dice. I cup them in my hand and bring them to my mouth.
