while in a relationship with me. The thought makes me see red, though I try to quell my internal reaction before it can externalize itself.
Karsyn smirks, and I have the irresistible urge to either punch it off of him or kiss it. “Poly relationships can be a lot of different things, but what I mean is a committed relationship between the three of us.”
“A…”
“Of course, I need to talk to Elias about it. And we need to decide if it’s something we all want. And we need to—”
I cut off his ramblings by giving in to my yearning to kiss him. He responds immediately, his lips going soft and pliant under my careful ministrations.
“I’ve never felt this way about anyone before,” he breathes. “I know it’s too soon for love, but I…” He punctuates his words with a kiss to the corner of my lips. “With Mariabella, it…” Once more, he trails off, a guilty expression shadowing his features.
“Hey, you don’t have to say anymore. She told me.” I cup his cheeks in both of my palms, loving the way his whiskered face tickles my skin.
“She told you?” Karsyn questions in wide-eyed disbelief. And then, his eyes narrow, expression contorting from guilty to suspicious. “That sly bitch.” He smiles slightly. “Do I have to worry about her stealing you from me as well?”
I giggle as he runs his fingers down my bare ribcage, tickling me. Karsyn lowers his eyes to my bouncing breasts, before taking one into his mouth. He releases it with a dramatic pop before rolling onto his side next to me. I twist as well, so we’re sharing a pillow, staring into each other’s eyes.
“I think she’s my best friend,” I confess as he lovingly kisses my nose.
“She’s mine, too,” he says. “And in all seriousness, I’m happy that she has another person to confide in. I know she’s been lonely and afraid, and having you as a friend has definitely helped her flourish.”
Light explodes in my chest at his praise, and I have to bite my lip to contain my goofy smile. I feel drunk off of the sensations he evokes within me. Drunk off of him.
His own smile is glorious. He leans closer…
Just as my phone begins to ring from my backpack.
“Ignore it,” he pleads, kissing my bare shoulder, but I shake my head and slide out of bed.
“It could be important,” I tell him, padding on bare feet to where he placed my backpack when we arrived at his house. I dig through the pockets until I reach my phone, Nana’s name flashing on the screen. Instantly, the lust shifts into fear as I press the green button to answer the call.
“What’s wrong?” I ask without preamble. Karsyn moves silently from the bed to stand behind me, wrapping his arms around my waist and pulling me against his hard chest. I allow myself to relax for just a second, for one brief moment of weakness, before stepping out of his embrace.
“You need to come home, Peony. Now,” Nana instructs. Her dogmatic tone sends a cold chill coursing through me.
“What’s wrong?” I repeat, fearing what she’s going to say.
“It’s your mother… She’s here.”
Chapter 42
“What do you want?” The words fly from my mouth before I even enter the house.
Karsyn dropped me off only a few minutes earlier, demanding reassurances from me that I will explain everything later. He still doesn’t understand what it means to be a witch, what it means for us, and I never told him about the Bloods either. They’re the biggest threat our community faces, even more so than witch hunters, and if he’s serious about this, about me, then he needs to know every facet, the good and the bad.
“Peony.” Mom rises gracefully from the chair she’s sitting on, allowing me to see her for the first time since I left California. She’s a vision of beauty, a portrait that is better fit on a church’s wall than in the flesh. I sometimes wonder if she uses magic to make her skin so clear of blemishes, but I don’t dare ask. Her black hair, the color of a raven’s feathers, glides down her back in perfect curls, framing an angelic face of slitted green eyes and Cupid’s bow lips.
“Where have you been?” she asks curtly, gliding forward. She wears a white pantsuit that accentuates her slender, hourglass figure. The jacket is unbuttoned, revealing the gray, frilly blouse underneath. She moves with an elegance that I can only attempt to replicate.