“Maeve,” I say.
“Pretty name for a pretty witch.” His cheeks dimple this time when he smiles.
Will spins me again, but this time, different hands grab me mid-twirl.
They’re solid. Cold. Possessive.
I know who it is without needing to look up and meet his midnight eyes. And I know that my plan worked exactly the way I intended it to.
As one of his hands finds my waist and the other takes my hand, I smile.
“H-hey,” Will protests, but Severin doesn’t say anything, just spins me off in a different direction, moving us deeper into the crowd of swaying dancers. I catch sight of Alina and Raelan, and she glances over to give me a curious look, but then Raelan twirls her away.
“It’s quite presumptuous of you to assume I want to dance with you,” I say, moving a bit closer to Severin, feeling his firm chest against mine.
“Not at all.” His tone is low, sharp.
“No? Why not?”
“Because your eyes have been telling a different story since you walked in here.” He tips his head, and I finally look up to meet his gaze. He’s wearing a simple black mask, and his high-collared jacket and crisp white cravat give him an old-world feel that might look ridiculous on anyone whoisn’tSeverin. But on him, it all looks toe-curlingly sexy.
“What story is that?”
His mouth doesn’t lift into a smile. Stern faced, he says, “That you had every intention of torturing me until I finally came over to do something about it.”
My lips pull up, and Severin draws a breath when I lift onto my toes to press a kiss to the corner of his mouth. “I’ve not even begun to torture you yet, Professor.”
His fingers tighten around my waist, and his length twitches against me where our bodies are pressed together. In response, my panties get wet.
“But we can start now if you’d like,” I whisper.
I slip one of my hands between our bodies, gliding my palm along his shaft, making him harden at my touch.
A distinct hiss tickles my ear, and he snaps, “We’re in public, Miss Vandermere.”
“So?” I press my hips into his, grinding against him along with the slow rhythm of the musicians’ song. It makes him suppress a groan.
He meets my eyes, and for one moment, I get lost in how beautifully dark they are. Then his gaze flicks to my lips, and a breath later, his mouth is on mine.
And he’s none too coy about it, whether we’re in public or not.
Suddenly, I’mverygrateful for these masks. I’m not sure he’d have kissed me like this without them—anonymity and all.
He tastes like whiskey, and I get lost in the sensation of his mouth moving against mine, his hands on my waist, his chest firm beneath my hand. I trail my fingers up his body to wrap them around the back of his neck. Every part of me feels on fire.
I’ve kissed more people than I can count—boys and girls alike. But no kiss has ever made me feel like this. There’s something about Severin that’s... different. Dangerous and tempting and too delicious to resist.
Beneath my skin, my magic flares up, and a spark zaps us both, making Severin pull abruptly away from the kiss.
“Sorry,” I whisper, fingers trailing through the dark hair at the nape of his neck. “My magic likes you.”
“Why?” He pulls back slightly, enough for me to look into his eyes.
And I take a long moment to consider his question.
Why?
The past few years I’ve been at Coven Crest, I haven’t been interested in anyone. No one who caught my attention ever kept it, and eventually, I stopped being interested at all. But when I saw Severin in our history lecture hall that day, it was like a candelabra flickering to life—gently at first, but the flames have only been burning brighter and brighter ever since.
