Then, her smell hit me.
I closed my eyes, and took a deep breath. Her familiar, gently floral scent hit my nose, and sent a fist of desire straight into my gut. I tried to compose my mind, to pull out of the tailspin of debauchery. I hit the lock button on my phone and slid it into my pocket. Chivalry would have to wait.
“How are you doing, Keira?”
“Huh? How’d you know it was me?”
“Roses,” I said simply.
“Oh, right, that.” Keira shrugged, walking closer to me. “I feel like somebody turned me inside out, rolled me in broken glass, and set me on fire.” She leaned up against the car. “Is this your baby?”
“Aye.”
“Let’s take a spin.”
Fucking car. Oh, the treachery. “It’s not starting. I’ve checked everything and I can’t figure out what’s wrong.” I said this like it was a diagnosis of cancer. Dante trotted over to Keira and nudged at her leg, pushing her towards the driver’s side.
“Are you helping Weylyn fix his car, Dante?” She bent down, briskly rubbing him all over. Dante whined, then pawed at the driver’s door. “What’s that boy? Timmy’s in the well again? No? Oh, look in the car?” She opened the driver’s door and lowered herself into the bucket seat. Dante put his paw on her lap and tilted his head.
I shoved the rag in my back pocket. “What are you doing?”
She was looking at the dashboard gauges, grinning like the Cheshire Cat. “Rule Number One. Always make sure your car has gas.” She got out of the car and patted me on the back. “Your car won’t start, if it has no gas.”
“Don’t be silly, I would always... check...” I palmed my face, feeling as sharp as a beach ball. “I can’t believe it. The one time I forget to check. Unbelievable.” I looked in at the dashboard, and the needle well past ‘E’. Damn.
“It happens,” Keira said. “You know, you sound kind of out of gas yourself. Normally, at this point, you’d be lavishing me in compliments and throwing ‘my darling Keira’ around everywhere.”
I stood up and leaned against the car. She moved closer, standing in front of me. I generally run hot, but having Keira this close made my body temperature rise to an unnatural degree. My heart thumped so hard I could have sworn that she could see it. Our eyes met and she smiled, I reached out and grabbed her gently by the hips and tugged her closer. She rested her forehead on my chest and I gently wrapped my arms around her and rested my chin on her head.
“I feel so raw today,” I tell her in a low vulnerable voice. “I thought I was going to lose you last night, my darling.” I paused and sighed.
“But you didn’t. I’m here now with you.” She looked up to my darkened eyes. I glanced back down at her and cupped chin in my hands.
“I’m supposed to protect you, keep you safe. Yet last night I found you defending us. You have a strong spirit and an even braver heart, and it makes you take too many chances. The thought of losing you shattered me.”
“It wasn’t me. It was all of us, together.”
“No, Keira. It’s not just your power, or your magic. There is so much more in you. I see the kind of love that people say can’t exist. A love that lives on, beyond a single lifespan.”
Her eyes were filled with a genuine kindness. Compassion as big as the ocean. For the first time since she stumbled into my life, I felt my body and mind relax. She looked at me with a twinkle in her eye.
“I hope you know what you are getting yourself into, wolfman. I have crippling insecurities, overactive tear ducts, and an obsession with coffee. I’m clumsy, and I laugh at my own bad jokes. But if you still accept me for all of my faults we can walk through this life hand in hand.”
“I know what my wolf tells me. I want you.” For a mate, I thought, but did not say out loud.
“Without a test drive?” She leaned in and pressed those soft full lips to mine. She ran her hand over my ass, with an appreciative Mmmm.
We stared at each other for a second, and I took the cue to lean in for a longer kiss. I’m just about to drop the hand...
“KEIRA BEVERLY MORRIGAN, where are you? You better not be stroking someone’s tail!” The annoying voice of her eejit mate Katie echoed through the open garage door. “Keira? Where are you? C’mere! I really need you!” She was yammering on from outside, somewhere.
Keira rolled her eyes. “Can it wait?”
“Can ‘it’ wait? Can ‘I’ wait? How about no? Come on, Keira, this is really important!” I really didn’t care for the pouty impatience in Katie’s voice.
“It’s all right,” I said to Keira. “Go see what the hell she wants.”
“All right, fine,” Keira called to Katie, sounding more than a bit put out. She ran a naughty finger across the top of my jeans. “Rain check?”
“Always.” She ‘boops’ my nose and walks away, with Dante hot on her heels. As Keira left to go see what Katie was on about, I sucked in a deep sniff, clawing back remains of her scent. Even if the odds were against her being exclusively mine, I was going to treasure every and any moment I could get with her.
This is How You Magic
- Keira -
I walked out of the garage, onto
