My voice was muffled by his armpit. “What if it’s okay with me? What if I want you to kiss me again?”
“I…”
My arms circled his waist. A few minutes earlier, the man lying between my legs had pulsed with desire, need, and sexual power. The man who helped me stand was as wooden as a coat rack. The Tanner who held me tight in this moment and nuzzled my hair was somewhere in between, and whatever was going on in his body—and maybe his heart or his soul, I didn’t know—was big enough to split him into pieces.
Mine. The voice was muffled, and I finally understood what it meant.
The voice didn’t want the old tree in the other section of the orchard or the tender green leaves popping out underground. The voice wanted Tanner.
I hugged him a little tighter and a little longer until his heart rate slowed. His arms and legs relaxed against my body.
A shout from River startled us apart.
Tanner took a step back as the other agent jogged into view.
“Hey!” he yelled. “Find anything interesting? Calli was just debriefing me on her adventure.” He squeezed my hand before he released it. Nothing in my body reassembled in its right place.
River wasn’t even breathing hard when he plopped onto the grass and helped himself to what was left in the bottle of water. “I think we need to come back with full spelunking gear, more lights, more help. The tunnel’s a marvel of engineering and magic. Or magical engineering. Anyways, count me in when you’re ready to explore further.” He drained the refillable bottle and handed it to me. “And you?”
I blew out a fast breath and shook off the sensation of Tanner’s mouth consuming mine. “I’ll frame this by confessing I’m not fond of tight, dark places.”
River chuckled. “You were right at home, then, hey?”
“Not exactly,” I said, joining him on the grass. “But something magical’s alive in this section of the orchard, and I connect with it.”
“Me, too,” Tanner murmured, although he didn’t look as blissed by the connection. Or any other connection.
I reached into my bag and pulled out a container of dried fruit, tearing a piece of pear in half for a needed boost of sugar. River’s interest in my story piqued when I got to the part about the voice saying mine in the tunnel.
Tanner paled slightly. “Was it male? Female? Other?”
“Female. -Ish?” I picked at the other piece of pear and thought about it. “Definitely female. Any thoughts? Either of you?”
“I didn’t hear anything underground,” River said, “but I get an overall sense of well-being when I’m amongst these trees. Or maybe it’s that Rose and I have gone twenty-four hours without irritating each other.” He laughed to himself. “Speaking of my favorite sister and witch, I should get back to her. We’re hoping we can leave the Pearmains to their own devices.” He flopped onto the grass and sighed before he bounded onto his feet and extended his right arm. “Calliope Jones, it has been my pleasure to begin to get to know you.”
“River, same here. I’m sure we’ll be in touch.”
He released my hand. “Tanner, what’s your plan?”
“I’ll head to Calli’s house when we’re done and likely hop a ferry to the mainland later tonight or first thing tomorrow.”
River nodded. “One more thing. I removed all the charms hanging off the front gate when I fixed it. They’re in a sack, which I’ll leave at your car. Take a look at what’s in there. Might have something to do with the spell they were under, might not.” He set off down the path, his walk loose and relaxed. “Keep me in the loop,” he shouted before a turn in the path took him from sight.
Tanner crumpled onto the grass beside me.
Chapter 10
“I like him,” I said, “I like Kaz and Wes too. And Rose, but she’s…”
Rose’s focus was the health of her patients. My contact with her thus far had been perfunctory.
I tried not take her lack of warmth personally.
“Rose is complicated, Calli, but she’s the best herbalist I know and she’s dedicated to keeping her lineage going. And if she lives long enough, she’d like to see it expand and thrive.” He shifted closer to me then changed his mind and reclined on the ground, folding in on himself as though the kiss we shared had never happened.
“Tanner, you feel it, don’t you?” I was unwilling to chalk up everything about our physical encounter to an invisible force, but I needed to hear his take.
He crossed his arms over his face. “Why don’t you explain what you mean?”
I pressed my palms onto the grass and closed my eyes. Well below the surface, a palpable presence rolled and stretched, pleading with me to shed my clothes for an afternoon of naked sunbathing and apple-sampling and kissing. More and more kissing.
Releasing the connection, I turned to face Tanner. “Close your eyes. And tell me you don’t feel desire.”
Tanner shook his head and scrabbled to stand. “Calliope, I…”
“Come here,” I said. He really was going to fight me on this. I rolled onto my hands and knees and crawled the three feet that would bring me within reach of his ankles. I grabbed the bottom of one of his pant legs and tugged. “Come. Please.”
“I believe you.”
“Then why won’t you relax and feel it with me? Aren’t you an investigator? Isn’t this what you do?” I licked my upper lip and sat back on my heels, thighs parted. The ground below my legs warmed and softened. I wanted Tanner to get over his resistance and crawl over to me.
Feline in its desire for touch, the ground agreed. I spread my knees wide, arched my spine, and offered Tanner a silent invitation.
He stared. Stormy weather clouded his eyes and put a damper on my otherwise lovely afternoon. “Calliope, get off the ground.”
I refused. I sprawled on my back and rolled my head. No. The little rocks underneath me didn’t hurt at all.
