Spells Trouble (Sisters of Salem #1) - P. C. Cast Page 0,99

the whole team knows our business?” Mercy felt her cheeks flame. Her anger was so intense she felt dizzy.

“Mercy. Babe. All us bros talk about our girlfriends. It’s, like, a compliment.”

“A compliment? Telling the ‘bros,’” Mercy air-quoted, “personal and private things about our relationship is only a compliment to douchebag misogynistic pigs like your father! To normal guys—decent guys—it’s a betrayal—an invasion of privacy.” She shook her head, super pissed that tears had started to leak from her eyes down her cheeks. This really wasn’t going the way she’d planned. To herself more than Kirk she said, “I’m such a fool. I thought you were different.” She cried brokenly. “I can’t believe I was so stupid.” She wiped at her eyes and started to storm past him, intent on touching the trees and ending the spell, but Kirk surprised her by grabbing her wrist. As he stopped her he dropped to his knees and stared up at her.

“You gotta believe me,” he begged from his knees. “I didn’t mean nothing. I promise. Just—just tell me how to do better and I will.”

Mercy looked down at him. His blue eyes were huge. His face had paled and he was truly upset. Had she overreacted? Kirk seemed genuinely sorry. She wiped her eyes and shook her head. “Kirk. What you did was really bad.” She crossed her arms over her chest and waited for him to make it right—for him to be the guy she believed he was.

“Babe! Like I said, I just didn’t know. But I totally get it. I’m not gonna say shit about us again. Seriously.” He reached out for her and Mercy let him take her hand. He kissed it and smiled up at her. “You know I’m an idiot about this kind of stuff. Sorry, my witchy woman.”

Relieved, Mercy pulled her hand from his as she started toward the line of trees. All she needed to do was to touch them to close the spell and then she and Kirk could—

But before she could reach the trees Kirk had snagged her wrist and pulled her around to face him. “No, please, don’t walk away!”

Mercy meant to shake off his vise grip and touch the trees, but when she looked down at him what she saw had her frozen with shock.

He was on his knees again.

Oh, shit! He totally misunderstood!

And he was crying.

Really sobbing.

“Kirk.” She spoke as softly as possible. “It’s okay. We can talk about it.” Her eyes darted from him to the trees as she tried to shift her body to bring herself within reaching distance of one of their sticky branches.

“Mercy, I mean it! I didn’t get what I was doing. I was just happy! I wanted to tell everyone so they’d know how much you love me, and how much I love you.” On his knees, he lurched forward and wrapped his arms around her waist. He pressed his cheek against the softness of her stomach as his sobs made his voice hitch. “Y-you know h-how much I n-need you.”

Mercy felt the beginnings of panic. She’d expected him to apologize—to have a good excuse for what he’d done—to reassure her and react like a sweet guy who’d made one stupid mistake.

She hadn’t expected him to be so clueless, and then to fall apart and cry.

Mercy tried to break the hold he had on her waist so she could get around him and be close enough to the trees so that she could close the spell, but Kirk was too big, too strong. The harder she tried to pry away from him—the tighter he clung to her.

“Okay, okay,” Mercy tried to soothe. She stopped pulling at his arms and instead stroked his sweaty hair. “I—I overreacted.” Her eyes darted from him to the trees as she tried to shift her body closer.

Through streaming tears he looked up at her. His eyes widened as he misread her worried expression.

His arms tightened around her.

“No, you can’t do this!” Tears flooded his voice with desperation. “You know how much I love you.”

“Kirk! It’s okay. I forgive you!”

“I need you! You can’t leave me.”

“Kirk, shh.” Mercy pressed her fingers against his lips, physically trying to dam the tide of his words. “It’s hard for me to listen to you if you won’t let me go.”

Abruptly, he released her. She staggered backward until she touched the trees and surreptitiously stroked their sharp leaves. They quivered once more in response, and then stilled. Breathing a sigh of relief, she turned to