about Juliet's well-fucked look.
“They're going to make such a racket. Please don't take it personal.”
Uriah's smile didn't slip by even a millimeter as he put the truck in park and got out to the raucous sound of a bunch of witches howling like wolves. Certain she was bright red from head to toe, Ivy waited for Uriah to get her door.
She opened her mouth to apologize to him, but he reached in and scooped her up, hitching her legs around his waist as he pushed her back against the side of the car to kiss the daylights out of her.
In the wake of his sensual assault, the sounds of her coven sisters giving them a wild welcome home faded away. Everything but the feel of Uriah's lips on hers, his tongue tangling with hers, the pressure of his heavier body mashing her against the truck... all gone.
Her worries of being embarrassed by her coven evaporated like morning mist.
When Uriah lifted his head, Ivy gasped for breath, struggling to stand up on her own when he put her down. He nuzzled her nose with his and gave her butt a hearty squeeze. “I'll be back for you as soon as I put out this string of stupid fires.”
Tongue tied and blissfully dizzy, Ivy could only nod and smile drunkenly. Seeming to understand her problem, Uriah grinned and kept his arm around her waist, walking her right up the stairs and into the bosom of her waiting coven.
She was pleased to see the mixed looks of loving envy and open-mouthed awe, and giggled when Uriah winked and tipped an imaginary hat,
“Ladies.”
He gave her one more kiss, patted her on the ass, and jogged back to his truck while whistling a merry tune. It was Rowena's arm that slid around her waist to steady her, all of them watching Uriah disappear down the driveway.
Juliet gave a low whistle, Callie started giggling, Astrid sighed happily, and Kerrigan fanned herself with her hand.
“Dayum,” Kerrigan declared.
The girls all started to laugh, and Ivy was so happy she burst into tears. Panic erupted around her as her sisters all started talking at once, trying to figure out what was wrong with her, if Uriah had done something terrible and Ivy hadn't felt safe enough to do anything until he was gone.
Ivy tried to answer them and explain the adrenaline and excitement had worn off, and now all she felt was such intense relief, but the only way she could process it was to cry.
“If that hairy fucker hurt you, I will peel the fur from his bones and use it to mop up Callie's shit-hole experiments!” Juliet hissed, her voice ice cold and filled with vengeful promise. Sparks of her wild magic danced in the air around her, making all of them wince as it popped against their skin.
Ivy shook her head, uselessly fluttering her hands in front of her to dispel the rising rage around her. “N-no... I jus-just...”
She couldn't get out more words in between her sobs, and some of the fury whipping around like a tornado gentled to a high wind as Rowena wrapped her up in a tight hug. One by one her sisters joined in to surround her with love and support.
It didn't take long for the flood to ebb, and when she could take an even breath, she tried to explain, but the words were stuck in her throat.
One by one, the girls peeled away from her, and after dashing the tears from her cheeks, Ivy gave a watery smile and left the circle to pick up the potted gardenia she'd grown from a seedling.
She blew out a breath and took a moment to bring up the memory of this morning, held in Uriah's strong arms, his voice rumbling in her ear.
Picture it in your mind, not as it is, but as it could be.
The little bush was struggling, and she'd been babying it for weeks. She looked at the beautiful green leaves and imagined them waxy and shining in the sunlight. The branches thick enough to support enormous white flowers that would give off an intoxicating perfume.
Before her eyes, the small plant shivered and grew. It grew and grew until the terracotta pot shattered in her hands, and she had to walk out into the yard to put down the bush that was quickly growing.
She'd have to re-pot it, but for now, the three-foot-tall tree burst into bloom, and the palm-sized flowers burst open dramatically.
When Ivy stepped back and looked