Page 18 of Bad Witch

Five

Fender

* * *

Tempest followed me into my room, and I tried really hard to silence the beast rumbling in my chest. The pleasure of it, though, of having her in my den rushed through me. It was a full-body shock of pleasure and possessiveness, a need to protect this female with my life—and a hunger so fucking strong it flowed over me like a wave of heat that pooled at my groin. My cock thickened instantly. My leg almost crumpled under me as the realization dawned.

How the fuck had I missed it?

Probably because I’d convinced myself that my head was all messed up and I didn’t know what I was feeling. I’d told myself that her help with my healing had twisted things, and because of that I’d written off the strange sensations I’d been having around her, convinced they were tangled up with her help, her healing, and her kindness.

I’d been so wrong.

What I’d been feeling, I now realized, were burgeoning emotions unfurling inside me, and there was a good reason I couldn’t stop thinking about her the moment I left her and why I counted down the days, hours, fucking minutes until I could be with her again—the evidence was clear and pointed to one thing.

Tempest was my mate.

My fucking hand trembled as I placed the pies on the kitchen counter.

“This is bigger than I expected,” she said as she checked out my place. “Brick said the old quarters were made bigger when some of your brothers mated. I assumed these would be smaller.”

I swallowed thickly. Keep it the fuck together. “We decided it best to prepare for the future. Make them family-sized now so we won’t have to expand again later.”

“When you find your mate?” she asked as she continued to looked around my open-plan living and kitchen area.

“Yeah,” I said, and if she heard how fucked my voice now was, she didn’t let on. “You want to see the rest?”

She gave me that bright smile, flashing her pretty dimples. “Please.”

I showed her the bathroom, and thankfully I’d tossed the pile of towels that had been on the floor in the wash that morning. Pushing the door open, I showed her the spare room next. It was small but big enough for a bunk bed and room for a couple pups to play and hang out. My gaze slid back to Tempest, and my cock throbbed. Gritting my teeth, I fought down the lust as best as I could and strode to the end of the short hall and pushed the last door open. “My room,” I said unnecessarily, then watched as she took in the space.

I followed her gaze to the bed, the dresser, the closet, trying to see it through her eyes for the first time. Natural light came down from the edges of the walls, like the rest of the place. We’d dug tunnels that allowed natural light and fresh air to filter into our rooms. This was a new thing. Before Willow moved down here and had Violet, we hadn’t bothered, but that needed to change now that we had people born topside living in our dens.

“That’s a…a very impressive bed.”

“Yeah,” I said roughly. “Made it myself.”

She turned to me. “You did?”

“Hounds are big,” I said by way of explanation.

Her gaze slid down my front and back up. “Yes,” she said.

Fucking hell. That look wasn’t practiced. She wasn’t trying to flirt or tease. She was just being her sweet, curious, and awkward self. I dragged in another rough breath to steady myself and got a lungful of her scent instead. “We should probably head back to the common room. The movie will start soon.”

She followed me back out to the living room. “What are these?” She’d spotted the books Wills had left for me. “They look incredibly old. I can feel residual magic on them.” She looked up, her eyes wide. “They belong to a witch.”

“They’re from Willow’s family library. War has me on the hunt for something, and I’m borrowing these while I look,” I said.

“What are you looking for?” she asked, brushing her fingers over the old tomes, then her gaze darted back up. “Sorry, you don’t have to tell me.”

“Weapons, old ones.” I didn’t see any harm in sharing that with her. From what Mags said, Tempest didn’t have many friends, and the ones she did have were from Willow’s own family.

Excitement filled her eyes. “Like a treasure hunt?”

My stomach clenched at the way her eyes lit up like that. I immediately reined it in. “Yeah, I guess so.”

She lit up even more. “I can help if you like? It’s kind of a hobby of mine.”