Ryder rested his forehead against Liam’s hip and caught his breath. He felt used and dirty and light, the sexiest he’d ever felt. He closed his eyes when Liam’s shaky hand stroked the back of his head, sighed when Liam thumbed come off the side of his mouth and cupped his face.
Liam had moved the water, bending it to his will until it lifted from the showerhead and poured down on them. It was lukewarm, verging on cold. Ryder pressed his lips to Liam’s hip, kissed the tight skin stretched across his abdomen, and trailed his mouth to his chest and collarbones as he stood.
Liam’s head was tilted back against the shower wall. His gaze rested on Ryder, lips parted, cheeks flushed, vulnerable in a way Ryder hadn’t seen him before. Their small piece of the world was quiet, shadowed by a dark apartment and a darker magic, waiting for them to move or breathe or break it apart.
Ryder reached back to turn the shower off.
Liam leaned forward and caught his lips in a quick, fluid kiss.
There was still an air of caution between them. Their uncertainty watched from the corners, blinking from the darkness, waiting for the chance to convince one of them to flee. Ryder didn’t know if the reading had pushed them to each other, or the darkness, or his long-term feelings, or Liam’s hidden fondness.
Maybe they were just going through the motions like two people would when they’d been put in a situation like theirs.
Maybe it would pass and they’d stay friends, and never speak of it again.
They dried off and Ryder gave Liam a pair of clean briefs to wear for the night. Opal bounced into the bedroom and perched on the top of the vanity. Percy slept on the windowsill while rain pitter-pattered the glass.
Ryder stared at the ceiling as he lay in bed next to Liam. He felt eyes on him, but didn’t have the courage to look. So much could be said in a glance, and Ryder didn’t know if he’d say the right thing if he took the chance to gaze back at Liam after what they’d done together—to each other.
The quiet turned into the rhythm of Liam’s soft breath as he slept, rain on the window, a breeze rustling the tree branches outside, and Ryder’s magic stirring restlessly in his chest.
Chapter Four
SUNLIGHT BEAMED THROUGH the window. Sleep peeled off Ryder in layers. He inhaled a deep breath. The short hairs on the back of Liam’s neck tickled his mouth, and his chest lifted and fell beneath Ryder’s arm. Sometime while they slept, Ryder had fit himself against Liam’s back, resulting in the tangle of their legs under the comforter and the dips of their bodies curving into each other.
Percy jumped on the bed in front of Liam and meowed. Liam stroked the cat’s back lazily and hushed him. “You’re so loud,” he whispered, voice sleep-rasped and lulled. “Even Opal’s quieter than you, Percy.”
Ryder moved his hand from where it rested on Liam’s sternum and scratched behind Percy’s ear.
“Thought you might be awake,” Liam said.
He pressed the bridge of his nose against the back of Liam’s neck. “You sleep okay?”
Liam hummed. “Yeah, you’re like a furnace, though.”
His lips curved into a smile, and he pressed them against Liam’s shoulder. “Fire witch, remember?”
“Necromancer,” Liam corrected gently.
“Necromancer,” he agreed, “but still Fire.” He pressed his hand against Liam’s chest and his magic pulsed, sending heat under Liam’s skin.
“You did that last night,” Liam mumbled, playfulness threaded through his words. He twisted around to face Ryder, expression hazy in the morning light. “Will you lose it if you…”
“Die?”
Liam’s hand smoothed up Ryder’s side and he nodded.
Ryder traced the lines of Liam’s tattoo with his fingertip. A crashing wave, a set of swirling clouds. “I don’t know. Jordan didn’t know either.”
“If you choose not to…”
“You can say it,” Ryder bit. “Die. And I don’t know what’ll happen if I go through the ceremony. If I do it, one of my family members will slit my throat, bring me back, and I’ll be declared a necromancer. If I don’t, my magic will keep freaking out.”
Liam’s eyes narrowed. His thin mouth pressed down and his nostrils flared. Anger looked strange on Liam, like he was conflicted over the feeling itself. His fingers dug into Ryder’s ribs. “I don’t like thinking about your death, all right? What about the bloodletting? I thought that was supposed to help.”
“It did—it will, but that won’t stop my dark magic from surfacing. Look at what happened at Tyler’s. I got mad, my dark magic took over, and now everything’s fucked up.”
“Not everything,” Liam said. He tilted his head, bumping the tip of his nose against Ryder’s. He went quiet for a moment, mouth open as if he grappled with what to say. “I’ve had to be careful with this,” he confessed. He snaked his hand around Ryder’s back. “I never drank around you, I never dated anyone for long, because I’d have to introduce them to the circle, and then they’d have to meet you.” He paused to give a short laugh. “God forbid.”
“I thought you didn’t like commitment?”
“I didn’t, I liked you.”
“I’ve been staring at you for two years, and you’re just now telling me this?” Ryder arched a brow. Liam’s breath on his mouth made it hard to concentrate.
“Well-trained puppy, remember?” Liam’s tongue darted across his bottom lip. “Tyler would’ve lectured me daily until we broke it off.”
“He still might.”
“I’ve had your blood in my mouth,” Liam said nonchalantly, as if it dismissed their consequences. “And things weren’t as simple as I thought they were. You aren’t…”
“A white witch?” Ryder teased. He let his pupils expand, black pouring across his eyes.
Liam’s breath hitched. His gaze flicked from Ryder’s eyes to his lips. “No, you’re definitely not.”
“Speaking of blood in your mouth,” Ryder whispered. His lips parted against Liam’s. They kissed deep and slow, the kind of kissing that vibrated in him, wet and breathless and unhurried. Steam trickled between the parting of their lips.
Liam winced and pulled back, unable to inhale the steam without burning himself.
“Sorry,” Ryder mumbled.
Liam shook his head and pressed closer, chest to chest. “Don’t be,” he said softly, leaning in to slot their mouths together again.
A loud knock splintered the silence, annoying, and halted whatever the morning had in store, more annoying.
Of course.
“Feel that?” Liam said through a sigh.
“Sure do.” Ryder could recognize Christy’s fluttery, positive energy anywhere. “Get dressed. I’ll—” he flung an arm toward the door “—deal with this.”
“Be nice to her,” Liam said. He slid out of bed and gestured to the dresser. “Can I borrow something?”
“Go for it.” Ryder didn’t bother with a shirt. He grabbed his jeans on his way out of the bedroom and tugged them on. Percy paced behind him.
Willow was already inside. The little white mouse peered up at him in from the floor and wiggled her nose, beady red eyes flashing from Percy to Ryder and back again.
“It’s a little early,” Ryder said to Willow.