Page 29 of The Tea Witch’s Secret

Chapter 16

Lian

I didn't expect it to be already dark when we finally returned to the Town Hall. We had been out for a long time, and I hadn't even realised how much time had passed. We hadn't even really done anything other than walk around the herb garden and then pick up some rolls from one of the bakeries that we passed on the way back because I'd been starving.

"We missed dinner," I said as we entered through the side entrance. "Eva and Max⁠—"

"Are fine," Pepper assured me, gently steering me further into the hall. "I left meals in the kitchen for lunch, and they went out for dinner. I arranged this with them in advance, and they were happy to go out and explore."

That did sound like my cousins, but even with Pepper's reassurances, I could feel the beginnings of guilt rise up in me. Was it really fine for me to prioritise myself and cause inconveniences for them? It went against everything I had been taught my whole life. And what if it wasn't fine, even if they said it was?

If I thought about it logically, I knew that neither of my cousins had ever tried to make me feel bad about anything that prioritised myself, but that didn't stop me from worrying about it, especially because it wasn't as easy to silence the voices of our parents in my mind. There had always been so much pressure on me to behave in a certain way, and to the tea witch support that the twins would need. It would take more than a couple of attempts at reassurance for me to fully start believing what they said.

"You look like you have a lot of thoughts," Pepper said. "Would you like to talk to your cousins and make sure they aren't upset?"

As tempting as that sounded, that meant putting an end to our night together, and I didn't want that. I was having a good time, a great time. It had been so long since I let myself feel like this around someone else, and I could tell that I was craving more, like a flower getting its first drop of water after a long drought.

It was greedy of me, but I simply hadn't had enough.

Besides, maybe it was good for me to decide that talking to them could wait. If they were mad at me for it, what would it matter if I faced that now and not tomorrow? It was a foreign thought, but one that I was going to embrace. Today was a chance for new things, and potentially new beginnings. I was going to make the most of that.

"I will talk to them later," I said firmly.

Pepper gave me a proud smile. "All right."

"But right now, I would like to spend some more time with you." Feeling emboldened by our time together, and how good the kisses had felt, I reached out to pull her to me with an arm around her waist.

"You're not tired of me yet?" Pepper asked as she rubbed her nose against mine. It was a surprisingly tender gesture, and one that I liked.

I felt something stir in me. "No, far from it."

"Then perhaps you could come to my room for some tea?" Pepper said, brushing her lips against my cheek.

"Do you mean tea, or are you trying to bed me?" I asked, not wanting to misread the signals.

Pepper sucked in a sharp breath. "I meant tea, but I won't lie and say I haven't thought about sleeping with you."

The stirrings in my lower belly turned into a spark. "Then yes."

"To tea?" Pepper asked, her voice lower than before.

"To both."

Pepper let out a funny sound and pulled me in for another kiss, her lips firmer and more demanding. I wasn't the only one who was craving more, and it felt good knowing that. I could feel it in her touch. Her desire, but also her restraint. Her hands smoothed over the swell of my hips, making me very aware of my body in the best way.

"Where is your room?" I asked. My coherent thoughts were starting to slide away, but I was still aware enough to know we were out in the hallway.

"This way," Pepper said, taking my hand and pulling me into a corridor that I hadn't been in before.

Until now, I hadn't really thought about Pepper living in the Town Hall. I wondered how she had come to live and work here, realising I didn't actually know. There was still a lot to learn about each other, but maybe that was all right. After all, we had the time to do that. And it wasn't as if I'd shared everything about me either. But we'd shared a lot, and I felt like I knew her in a way I hadn't gotten to know many people over the past few years. It was as if she'd slipped beneath the walls that I usually kept up in order to protect myself.

Her room wasn't that different to mine. It was slightly smaller but with more personal items and touches sprinkled throughout the space. Probably because she wasn't living out of several trunks while waiting for a house to be ready for her. This was her home, and she was inviting me into it. There was a knitted throw on her bed and spare aprons hanging over a chair. There were loose recipes on the table and her shelf was decorated with dried flowers in a jar and small wooden carvings of pieces of fruit.

It was warm, inviting, and comforting, all things I thought of when I thought of Pepper. Her name was a good choice for her in that respect. Pepper was warm, just like her.

She closed the door behind me, and I took my shoes off, not wanting to drag in any mud that I might have picked up in the herb garden or elsewhere in the village. I expected to feel nervous taking this next step, but not having to worry about whether we were having tea or tea was taking away a lot of the stress. We were going to sleep together, and that was that. Instead of worrying about the if, I could think about the how.

"I might need assistance with my hair," I said, not wanting to get into bed while having hairpins in. Eva had insisted on doing it for me and had used a more elaborate style than I was used to. It looked good, even if she'd avoided the dangly ornaments she liked, but it was harder to undo by myself.