Page 31 of Hexy Beast

Darius opens his mouth as if to argue with me some more, but then his aha moment hits, and for the first time all day he genuinely smiles at me. All the breath leaves my lungs at the sight, because seeing this man be all snarly is hot enough. Seeing him actually happy? Fucking deadly.

He’s off on the next breath, running so fast that it’s obvious he was going slow on my account before. I mean, yeah, I know he is way faster than I am, but does he have to rub it in my face? I’m not sure whether to be offended or not at that, and since the only other thing I have to do is count down the seconds until the proximity hex zaps me to Darius or the pack gets to me first, it seems prudent to roll the question through my mind.

But really, all I keep thinking about is how Darius’s ass looked as he booked it through the woods.

Hey, I’m nothing if not true to my appreciation of art in motion.

Then the tingle starts in my fingertips, buzzing like I just brushed them across an electric wire. It travels up from there, making my arm feel like it’s resting against a vibrating plate, before moving into my torso and then down toward my toes. My cheeks are just starting to buzz and the woods are starting to blur when the first pack member appears on the periphery of my vision. The woman is partially transformed into her wolf form, and she’s magnificent with her black skin morphing into ebony fur. Next to her is a younger werewolf who lifts his snout and sniffs the air before spotting me. He lets out a howl and the woman sprints toward me a second before the trees and the birds and the wolves disappear, and I’m in the in-between.

The next thing I know, I’m in Darius’s arms, wrapped tight around him as he weaves his way through the pine trees toward a quick-moving river heading away from a waterfall that spills through a break in the hillside. He steps into the water, pausing to adjust his stance as it rushes around his shins. And yes, I know, he’s carrying me now. I should object. I have every intention of demanding he put me down…but not quite yet.

“This will throw them off the scent,” he says before walking toward the waterfall, the river rising with each step he takes. “Whatever you do, don’t look down.”

I do exactly what you think I would do the second those words are out of his mouth—I look down at the water rushing around us. There’s not much to see. The water tugs at Darius’s legs with the strength of a riptide as he walks, but that’s all there is until I see it.

Or should I say, until I see her.

The naiad’s long, flowing hair is wrapped around Darius’s legs, and her pale blue fingers yank at his ankles with every determined step. I’ve read about the river goddesses, but I’ve never actually seen one before. She couldn’t be more than four feet long, with shimmering blue scales for skin. Half woman and half fish, she is one hundred percent looking at me with her dark green eyes. There’s a moment when the sound of the water, the distant howls of the pack, and the wind rustling through the trees disappears. It’s only me and the river goddess, and the water starts to look so comforting, like a big fluffy robe I can wrap around me and sink into. I drop my hand so my fingertips glide over the top of the water, not quite breaking the surface, but there’s only the thinnest of lines between. All I have to do is extend my arm the tiniest bit, and I can go under, swim the river’s length, and float away on the current.

“Forever,” the naiad says in my head.

The creepy, breathy voice that does not belong in my skull snaps me back to the here and now. “Oh shit.”

Everyone in Witchingdom knows that making direct eye contact with a naiad means a high likelihood of being hypnotized. And like a doofus, I fell right into those big green orbs of hers.

“You looked, didn’t you,” Darius says as he picks up the pace so he’s practically sprinting through the water despite carrying me while the naiad is trying to pull him down.

“Of course I did.” I start summoning my magic, calling to it and drawing it forward so I can be of help in getting us out of here rather than just a weight Darius is carrying. But instead of a honeysuckle-scented rush of power, I get a floral dryer-sheet-smelling puff of nothing much.

Fuck.

My.

Life.

“What did you think I’d do when you said don’t look down?” I grumble.

Instead of answering, Darius walks straight through the cold waterfall and into a cave. Okay, it’s a small cave, but it’s more than enough space for the two of us, and a little more.

Darius sits me down and takes a few steps away from me. A chill seeps into my skin that is more than just the wet from the water or the damp from our hiding spot. Without thinking, I take a step closer to him, and instantly my core temp goes up a few degrees.

That is…weird. I mean, it’s not like he’s any drier than I am. In fact, after wading through the river, he’s definitely more soaked. Maybe it’s a werewolf thing? Maybe they just run hot? It’s not that my body is seeking his out. That would just be…inconvenient.

Wanting Darius is one thing (and totally explainable, because he’s one of the hottest guys I’ve ever met), but needing him? Oh no, that’s a wand made of a different kind of wood. I am not here for that.

Not.

At.

All.

So even though it makes my skin sting like an icy wind has just rushed through our cave, I reverse and go back a step.

Then he reaches behind his head and pulls his shirt off, dropping it to the smooth ground, which it hits with a wet smack loud enough that I would have jumped if it weren’t for the fact that I’m frozen with horniness.

Do you know how far gone you have to be for lust to make you immobile?

Really fucking gone.