This Coven Won't Break - Isabel Sterling Page 0,111
would be gross.” Alice shudders, but the elaborate show makes me laugh. “See you around.”
“Don’t be a stranger!”
Alice flips me off as she walks away, and somehow that’s more perfect than anything she could have said.
* * *
On the screen, a vampire confesses her love for a mortal girl, but Morgan and I aren’t paying attention at all.
It’s the first time we’ve been alone without adult supervision in forever, and her hands are all tangled up in my hair. We’re supposed to be passing out Halloween candy while Mom teaches an evening class, but we turned off the porch light as soon as Mom’s car was out of view.
When Gemma got up to make more popcorn, Morgan pulled me into her lap and drew my lips to hers. She releases her hold on my hair and lets her hands slide down my back, slipping her fingers under the hem of my shirt, pressing her palms against my warm skin.
She pulls away to press fresh kisses along my neck. Her Blood Magic soars through my body, and goddess, I cannot get enough of her. My magic swirls the air in the room into a frenzy, buffeting against our hair. When she notices the wind, Morgan leans back.
“We can’t let Gemma see,” she whispers.
“I can’t help it.” I cover my burning face with my hands, pushing down on my magic. The air slowly stills. “When you kiss me there, it gets all tingly and then the air just kinda . . . reacts.”
Morgan brushes my hair back into place. Her expression goes serious, all flirting gone. “Have you made a decision?”
“About?”
She worries at her lower lip. “Benton.”
I scowl. “No.”
Benton’s been sending almost daily letters since he returned to jail. He wants to see me, wants to apologize in person, but I don’t know what I want yet. I don’t know if I can handle seeing him. When it counted most, he came through for me. And this new version of Benton, the boy without all his Hunter memories, has no idea why he hurt me in the first place.
“You don’t have to decide right away,” she says, brushing one final stubborn section of hair back into place. “But I have a feeling the letters will keep coming until you make a decision.”
“I don’t want to talk about him.” I lean close, my lips a breath from hers. “Not tonight.”
“Who’s ready for popcorn!” Gemma’s voice fills the room, and we spring apart. “Gah! It’s every time with you two!” She sets the bowl of buttered popcorn on the coffee table. “Should I go? I should go.”
I scramble off Morgan’s lap and grab the popcorn from the table, tossing a piece into my mouth. “Don’t be silly. Come on.” I scoot over so there’s room for Gem on the couch with us. “We’ve been having movie marathons since our parents decided we were too old to beg for candy. We’re not about to skip our last Halloween in Salem.”
“Oh, I hate that,” Gemma says, letting her head rest on my shoulder. “I don’t want to think about next year yet. I’m not ready to leave you.”
“Like you could get rid of me that easily anyway.”
The doorbell rings, and Gemma jumps up. “I’ll get the pizza, but I swear, if you two are naked when I get back, I will lock you in a room until you’re sick of each other.”
Morgan kisses my cheek. “I don’t think that’s possible, Gem. Sorry.”
“You’re hopeless,” she grumbles as she heads for the front door.
“Jealous!” Morgan calls back, teasing, but in Gemma’s absence, I reach for Morgan’s hand.
“Maybe we should,” I say, watching the screen instead of looking at my girlfriend. “After Gemma goes home, of course.”
“What? Get naked and lock ourselves in your room?” That teasing note is still in her voice, but my face burns anyway and I nod. “Wait, really?”
I finally look at her. “I’m ready if you are.”
Morgan bites her lip. “Any chance we could fast forward through this thing?”
“Be careful. If Gem catches you talking like that, she might stay all night.”
Gemma returns with the pizza, and we spend the next hour yelling at the screen, debating whether or not we’d date vampires if they were real.
I laugh along with them and let myself imagine a future of my own. One where witches can come out of the shadows. Where we can give back the magic that was stolen. Where we can tell the people we trust—people like Gemma—who we are without fear.