Witches Get Stitches

by Juliette Cross

  Ty glanced up, surprise in his eyes, then he smiled. Fucking smiled. Somehow, that made me more nervous.

  “Hey yourself.”

  Then he went back to wrapping Violet’s tools in bubble wrap while she joined him. Well, we were off to a brilliant start.

  “You know, Ty,” I said quietly, “I really am sorry for what happened.

  “For an incredibly intuitive werewolf, you’re kind of an idiot.” He said it with a smile, no malice whatsoever.

  “Huh?”

  “I agree,” said Violet, tilting her pretty smile up at me.

  “I’m sorry, but what does that mean exactly?” I tried not to sound aggravated, but the kid just called me an idiot.

  Ty stopped wrapping and stood straight, shoulders back. He was more filled out than the last time I’d seen him. Broader chest but with muscle still left to fill in. Must be almost eighteen by now. He was just over six feet, not quite as tall as me, but could still grow a few more inches. And yet, his gaze was as steady as any grown man’s.

  “I never blamed you for this.” He pointed to the scars along his jaw. “You never gave me a chance to say so, but I know it wasn’t your fault. It wasn’t your intention. So do us both a favor and drop the guilt trip you’ve been giving yourself.”

  His brown eyes held mine, a gentleness in the young man. It had always been there, but there was also something more now. Confidence. Self-assurance. What comes from knowing yourself and liking who you are. No sadness. No regret. No trace of malice toward another. Toward me.

  Finally, I held out my hand for him to shake. His stern expression loosened into one of relief as he shook my hand.

  I jerked him into a hug and whispered, “Thank you, Ty.”

  “How about you thank me by keeping in touch?” He pulled back, and I caught the first glimpse of sorrow in his eyes. “You were my friend before that all happened.”

  Glancing at Violet who watched our exchange with obvious joy, I cleared my throat. “Give me your phone.” I held out my hand to him.

  He paused for just a second before pulling his phone out of his back pocket and handing it over. I’d changed my phone number when I left Austin, trying to cut all ties like the stubborn asshole I was. In my attempt to protect myself from emotional harm, I’d told the pack they didn’t matter anymore. I’d thought I was doing them and myself a favor when I was really just hurting them more. No wonder Shane believed the only way to get what he needed was by taking Violet. This whole shitshow was as much my fault as his.

  After taking Ty’s phone, I added my name and number to his contacts then passed it back. “Call or text me anytime.”

  “Thanks.” In a flash of memory, I saw the happy-go-lucky kid when he’d first started to come around the pack and follow me around like a puppy.

  “Come by the shop while y’all are still in town.”

  He nodded, his Adam’s apple bobbing as he tried to hold back his smile. “I will.”

  I wanted to ruffle his hair like I used to, but he was becoming too much of a man for that so I patted him on the shoulder then hefted the duffle bag onto my shoulder. Violet grabbed the smaller bag and tucked her hand back in mine.

  As we hustled toward the exit, the Jeep already out front, I leaned down to Violet. “When we get in the car, I need you to call your sisters and tell them you’re all right.”

  “I planned on it.”

  “Then I need you to tell them you’re not coming home.”

  “Oh?”

  We walked through the gouged-out garage doors. Tugging her against my body, I wrapped my hand around her nape, giving her a firm squeeze. “I need you at my house.”

  “But I really need a shower and—”

  “I’ll take care of that. At my house.” Sweeping down, I nipped at her lip again. “I’ll take care of you, Violet.”

  At the slow rumble of her name that poured out of a growl from my lips, she whimpered.

  “Just say yes,” I commanded.

  “Yes,” she said softly, looking at me with the most submissive expression I’d ever seen on her face.

  It annihilated me. Decimated me. And filled me with the insatiable need to tuck her close and hold her in my arms until I was sure she was indeed mine.

  As if sensing my sudden desperate desire, she stepped closer, cupped my jaw and whispered gently, “Take me home, Nico.”

  Without another word to anyone, I did just that.

  Chapter 31

  ~VIOLET~

  * * *

  “I think I like this mode of transportation.”

  I swung my legs back and forth that were dangling over one of his arms, my own linked tightly around his neck as he carried me like a bride through his courtyard. He arched a brow at me, still quiet. He’d gone super silent on the way home, simply keeping hold of my hand in his lap as he drove. Fred’s clucking caught my attention.

  “Oh, Fred. Is he hungry, you think?”

  “You can tend to him later,” he said gruffly, shoving open his door and slamming it shut with his foot, all while keeping me in his arms and barely jostling me.

  “You need tending to first?” I queried with my own arched brow.

  “No.” He stared down, his expression intense yet tender. “You do.”

  I wasn’t going to argue. When we hit the top of his stairs, I expected him to toss me on the bed and strip me naked, but he strode directly into his bathroom instead. After setting me on my feet, I went to unzip the dress on the side, but he pushed my hand away.

  “Let me do it,” he whispered low and serious. So serious.

  Just like that, all levity evaporated. The nearness of our bodies, the heating of our blood, the ever-present magnetism sluicing through our bones, coupled with being separated by force, charged the room with a sudden and jarring spark.

  Still, he slid my zipper down with care, then gently pulled my dress over my head. His hands tracked my body, sliding over my skin as if to ascertain any bruises or marks he hadn’t catalogued yet. He was careful not to touch the scratch at my hipline. It wasn’t deep and had just a little dried blood caked there. With gentle fingers, he removed my bra and panties, then put a hand on my hip to keep me in place while he reached over and turned on the shower.

  “Get in,” he urged me when the steam started to billow behind the glass door.

  The hot water felt like heaven pouring over my body. I stood under the stream, letting it wet my hair as I watched him remove his clothes and step inside with me. Being confined in the space of his shower reminded me how big of a man he was. And how beautiful.

  “Nico—?”

  His mouth was on mine, firm but gentle licks, coaxing my lips wider apart so he could invade. His big hands slid over my slick skin, down my back, over the curve of my ass, squeezing then trailing back up my waist, my hips, my breasts. And yet, his hands weren’t seeking sexual pleasure or arousal, but more like simply seeking me instead. Gripping and holding and caressing, making sure I was real and here and safe. With him.

  “Fuck, fuck, fuck,” he grated out against my lips, his hands back on my waist where he squeezed hard and held me against the tiles so I couldn’t move as he pulled away.

  The wreck in his eyes made me pause. “Hey. What’s going on?”

  He swallowed hard, his Adam’s apple bobbing, the water dripping over his black hair that stuck in whorls to his cheekbones and down over his face. His hands cupped my face gently, a tremor shivering through his body. He shook his head and closed his eyes tight, the words seeming to have lodged in his throat.

  “Look at me, Nico.” I cupped his jaw, mirroring his hold on me, demanding that he open his eyes.

  When he finally did, my breath caught. The devastation there sliced through my flesh and ribcage, right down to my heart.

  “Baby,” I whispered, “what’s wrong?”

  He brushed his thumbs along my cheeks, then one hand curled into my wet hair, fisting tightly, almost to pain. His voice was sandpaper and jagged nails.
>
  “You’re so precious to me, Violet.” He swallowed hard again, water dripping from his beautiful, perfect mouth saying beautiful, perfect things. “When I thought you could be hurt, I nearly died from the agony.” Shaking his head, water droplets dripped from his chin. As he swept his thumb over the wetness of my bottom lip, he added, “I can’t live without you.”

  “Oh, baby,” I soothed, dragging his face closer so he could see me clearly when I said, “I love you, too.” I pressed a kiss to his wet lips, whispering against them. “I so do.”

  His eyes fell closed on a groan, his lips trembling as they pressed against my mouth. But when his tongue slipped inside and licked against mine, it was with the gentlest care.

  He showed me with languorous sweet kisses how precious I was to him. When my happy tears mingled with the water and his desperation faded, he simply held me close underneath the shower, his heart beating wildly against mine.

  After some time, he shut off the water and wordlessly dried me off then himself. He dressed me in one of his Tshirts and slipped on some boxers then carried me not to bed but downstairs. He then tucked me on his sofa with a warm, cushy blanket and left me there.

  I didn’t say anything, drowsing slightly as I heard pans clanking as he moved around the kitchen. He nudged me awake I’m not sure how much later, helped me sit up, and made me eat a burger he’d whipped up with sauteed onions and mushrooms with a side of jalapeno cheese fries. The heavy carbs and protein tasted like heaven.

  “I really do love you,” I muffled around a bite of delicious burger.

  He chuckled, watching me eat while he did the same. “Is it just my talent in the kitchen?”

  “All your talents.” I grinned as I swiped a glob of cheesy fries in ketchup.

  After we ate, I took his feet into my lap and massaged them, yet again admiring them. Let’s be honest. Every part of Nico utterly fascinated me.

  “Foot fetish, Vi?”

  He had his hands linked behind his head at the head of the sofa while he watched me with those wolf-green eyes. I liked that he was calmer now. His panic was gone, now that I was safe at home.

  Home? When had I thought of his home as mine?

  A ping of magic flashed through my mind, like deja vu. This was the vision I saw that day when I did his reading with the Tarot cards. I smiled.

  “And if I do have a foot fetish?” I arched a brow at him.

  “You can play with anything of mine to your heart’s delight.” Then he wiggled his toes.

  I tickled the bottom of his feet. He jerked them away with a bark of laughter.

  “This is a fascinating discovery.” I crawled up the sofa and over his body till I could tickle his ribs.

  “No, Violet!” he yelled and laughed at the same time.

  I kept going till he twisted and moved my body beneath him, wrangled my wrists with one hand and pinned them above my head. We panted, both still chuckling. His gaze drifted up to the injury on my forehead.

  “I’m sorry about that.” He traced the line of my jaw with a gentle stroke. “I should’ve punched Shane one more time for that.”

  “It wasn’t his fault, to be honest, but that guy Rick. And if we’re keeping score, then I should punch you for banging up my knee.”

  He winced, a slight groan rumbling in his chest.

  “Jeesh, I’m fine. I’m tougher than I look. I can handle a few bruises.”

  “I don’t want you to ever be bruised again. I forbid it.” He pressed a kiss to my lips, a chaste but pleasant one.

  “Well, if you forbid it, then”—I yawned—“I suppose that makes it final.”

  He smiled. “Let’s get some sleep.” He stood and lifted me into his arms and carried me up to his bed.

  “I do have working legs, you know.”

  “I know.”

  “Though I could get used to getting carted around.”

  “Just let me do this without all your sass.”

  “Yes, sir.”

  He groaned. “Once you’re well-rested, I’m going to get you to say that a lot.”

  “Yes, sir.”

  He narrowed his gaze on me as he slipped me into his bed. I laughed, utterly content, as he slid in underneath the covers with me. I curled onto my side, and he spooned his body around mine, the warmth and luxury of it feeling like heaven.

  My eyelids were already drooping when I said, “We need to talk about the werewolf issue.”

  “Tomorrow.” He kissed the crown of my head, banding my waist and pulling me flush to him. “It’ll wait.”

  “’Kay.” I yawned again. “Night, Nico. I love you.”

  Funny how easy it was and how natural it felt slipping from my mouth now. A heartbeat passed. And another. A heavy sigh huffed against the back of my neck as he nuzzled into my hair.

  “I love you, too.”

  Then I fell into the most blissful sleep of my whole life.

  Chapter 32

  ~NICO~

  * * *

  I stared at the scribbled writing in my journal on my lap. Trying to focus was a herculean effort after last night. I’d woken next to the love of my life, my mate, and couldn’t stop grinning like a fiend. I’d snuggled closer, contemplating ways I could wake her that might put the same smile on her face.

  But she was so tired after that long ordeal. It would’ve been selfish to wake her just so I could see that look in her eyes when I made her come. My need to know she was rested and cared for overrode my need to bury myself inside her. Another reminder of how absolutely she’d ensnared my heart.

  I’d cooked chocolate chip pancakes and fried bacon for her, thinking she’d be up by nine or ten a.m. I was wrong. It was approaching eleven and the woman was still out. But there was something beguiling about having her asleep and safe in my home. A warm contentment seeped through flesh to my bones, rapping out a gentle reminder that she was exactly where she was meant to be. With me.

  Knock, knock.

  Setting my journal on the coffee table, I meandered to the door. I’d wondered how long it would take for a Savoie to show up at my house. By the scent, it was Clara who’d finally broken down.

  “Good morning.” She beamed brightly, her voice chipper as always.

  “I’m surprised you or your sisters weren’t banging on my door at dawn.” I stepped aside for her to come in.

  Laughing, she removed her fuchsia peacoat and set it on the back of a chair in my living room. “I told them she was perfectly well and fine, and they believed me. Especially after Mateo showed up and recounted events for Jules.” She walked over to my bookshelf and perused the books and photographs. “Of course, Jules wants a full personal account as soon as she’s up.”

  “I expected that.” After taking a seat on the sofa, I leaned forward, elbows on my knees, my nerves jacking up. “Clara, I wanted to tell you something. Ask you something really.”

  She turned away from the shelf and plopped down in the cushy chair opposite me. “How can I help?”

  “Do I seem to need help?”

  “Your anxiety spiked to alarming levels three seconds ago, so I think that you do.”

  “You’re right. But not in the way you might think. I don’t need an Aura spell or anything like that. I wanted to tell you that Violet and I are together.”

  She blinked her bright blue eyes, identical in shade to Violet but holding none of the aggressiveness Violet’s usually held. “Yes, I know. And?”

  “And, well, we’re very together. In a permanent way.” That sounded a little creepy. “What I mean is that she’s my mate and, for wolves, that’s as good as marriage. Not that she’s agreed to marriage or anything.” I laughed nervously, wondering how to say this without sounding like a fool. Too late. “But I suspect or hope she will at some point. Either way, what I’m doing a terrible job of explaining is that I love her. And since you’re her closest sister, her twin, I wanted your approval. Of us being together.”

  Her smile grew from serene to blinding, then she laun
ched herself around the coffee table and into my arms, hugging the hell out of me. “Of course, I approve,” she said into my ear, squeezing me tight. “I’ve always known you were soulmates.”

  “You have?” I chuckled, confused.

  She eased back and squeezed my shoulders in a very maternal way. “Your auras have matched since the first time I saw you together.”

  “Matching auras means we’re soulmates?”

  “Of course not.” She laughed and let me go then took a seat on the sofa.

  I settled beside her. “I’m confused.”

  “Hmm. It’s hard to explain exactly. My magic is extremely intuitive. It wasn’t just the matching auras. It was that you matched all the time. Within seconds if there was a shift. If your aura turned blue, so did Violet’s. If hers turned red, so did yours. And then there was the whole lust-field.”

  “Lust-field?”

  “Big time.” She nodded her head vigorously, her blond tendrils sliding in front of one shoulder, then she leaned forward and whispered, “Like y’all were sexually in-sync.” She straightened again and said matter of fact, “But, of course, you weren’t.”

  “We weren’t?” I was so fucking muddled I had no idea what she was talking about.

  “It wasn’t your fault.” She patted my knee in that maternal way again. “It was Violet’s. She’s the most stubborn person I know. Except Jules maybe.”

  “I can believe that.” Finally, something that made sense.

  “So you see, even though I knew you two were fated to be together, it didn’t matter. Violet has to see things for herself. If you tell her to do something, she’ll only run in the opposite direction and reject whatever it is. Bit of a rebel.”

  “Just a bit.”

  “And a dummy if you ask me. I wouldn’t have made you wait that long.”

  Wow. Clara was...something else. The most forthright, direct person I’d ever met. I almost felt sorry for the man who finally snagged her because he probably would have no idea how to handle her insanely honest nature.