Witches Get Stitches by Juliette Cross

Chapter 21

~VIOLET~

“Like spy listening devices?” I stared at Henry, a little astonished.

Apparently, Sean’s brother took it upon himself to do more than watch the shop. On instinct he’d said, he swept the shop for bugs.

“Found two here in the lobby and one right under the seat of your tattoo chair. We can talk freely. I deactivated them.” He passed me one, a small, black innocuous-looking thing. “These have radio transmission, but I’m unsure of the reach. I’ll have my cousin check them out.”

“Where the hell would someone buy something like this?”

Sean laughed from the other side of the counter in the front lobby. “Everywhere.”

Shocked, I looked up at him. “Really?”

“Best Buy. Amazon. You can even get them at Target and Walmart.”

“Walmart sells spy-listening stuff?”

What the hell? What rock was I living under that I didn’t know this?

The Blackwater brothers shared a smile between them at my expense.

“Like I said, I’ll have my cousin check them out, see if we can get any telling information from tracking. But I’m pretty sure we can guess who put them there.”

I remembered Shane paying me that visit on the first day in my workspace while his buddies stayed in the lounge. They all had easy access to place the devices that day.

“But why are they spying on us?”

“They’re spying on you,” said Henry emphatically.

This grim with his coal-black hair and eyes easily put most people on edge, but my psychic eye liked him. Trusted him.

“And I think you know why,” he added. “They want that spelled tattoo.”

I didn’t ask how or how much Henry knew about my ability to spell tattoos. Grims seemed to know everything. Hell, they probably had the entire city bugged and on video surveillance. I didn’t bother explaining to them that we still had no idea what Shane and the Blood Moon pack thought my tattoo could actually do. I suppose that’s why they were listening in. Who the hell knew?

I tried to recall all the conversations I’d had in my workspace or the lobby since that day, and I remember talking to Nico and others about it. I mean, I wasn’t trying to keep it a secret or anything.

“I better go tell Nico,” I said offhandedly. “Is he in the back?” I asked Sean.

“Not sure.”

He’d checked on the new electrical outlets earlier to be sure everything was working properly, so I wandered down the hall to see if he might be tinkering in the back.

In the kitchen, Tom and Lindsey sat close together at the table, their to-go bags from Red Dog Diner in front of them, burgers half eaten. Tom was pointing out some artistry of a tattoo he’d designed on his sketchpad while Lindsey looked on in total concentration. And admiration.

“Hey, guys. Y’all seen Nico?”

They both looked up, but it was Tom who said, “I think he said he had a project to work on at his place. But we should get him if we needed anything.”

“Thanks.” I nodded.

Immediately, Lindsey was again riveted to Tom’s explanation of the technique he’d used in his design, and I was more than relieved to see there might be some sparks between those two. Not sure if Tom was aware of it because he seemed kind of clueless about personal matters. He was so deep and cerebral that he sometimes missed social cues. I might need to inform him if he couldn’t figure out that Lindsey’s admiring gazes meant more than she liked his tattoo designs.

I headed back down the hall toward the back door leading to Nico’s courtyard but stopped in the lobby to tell Sean, “I’m going to step over to Nico’s.”

Sean gave me a head nod while talking to his brother at the door.

When I walked into Nico’s courtyard, I certainly was not expecting what I found. Nico was in the grassy area of his yard, hammering away at a chicken coop. Fred was circling him and his construction, watching, perhaps critiquing, but not getting too close.

With mouth half ajar, I walked across the brick and onto the grass. “What’s this?”

Nico glanced up from where he was crouched at the ramp into the coop, a lock of dark hair partially over one eye. “Thought it was pretty obvious.”

Stunned, I braced my hands on my hips. “It is. You did this in one day?” I swallowed past the lump quickly forming in my throat.

He stood, hammer in his hand, his sleeves rolled up to expose his veiny forearms. The fact that I couldn’t even focus on the hotness of the arm porn on display told me something was wrong with me; there was some other emotion besides lust welling up inside.

“It came mostly constructed. I just had to put all the parts together.”

“Nico,” I protested softly, “you didn’t have to do this.” And just like that, tears sprang into my eyes, threatening to spill. I blinked quickly, trying to make them go away, trying to get control of my swirling emotions.

What was wrong with me?

I never cried. For some reason, this sweet gesture had caught me by surprise then squeezed my heart into a ball until I reacted.

He dropped the hammer in the grass, frowning as he strode right up to me. He cupped my face, his voice so tender. “Hey, hey, hey. What’s wrong, baby?”

I tried to swallow the quiet sob, but the tears fell all the same. His frown turned into deep concern as he swept the tears away with his thumbs.

“What’s this about?”

I tossed my hands in the air in exasperation before gripping his forearms. “What, you’ve never seen a girl cry over a chicken coop before?”

He smiled, tilting my head up and bridging the gap to press a tender kiss to my lips. “I have to be honest. I’ve never built a chicken coop for a girl before.”

I slid my hands up over his long-sleeved shirt and laced my fingers at his nape. “I’d say this is getting pretty serious then,” I whispered against his lips.

“Indeed.”

Remembering why I came out here, I told him, “Henry just left. He found some eavesdropping devices in the shop.”

Nico scowled, his hold on me tightening. He didn’t ask who put them there. He knew. We both knew.

“Can Henry track them to the owner somehow?”

“He says he’s bringing them to his cousin to see if he can. I imagine if anyone can, one of those grims could do it.”

I tried for confident, but I heard the unsteadiness in my tone. Nico must’ve heard it, too.

“Don’t worry.” He brushed a kiss to my temple.

My emotions were all over the place. Concerned about the bugs, stressed about the grand opening coming up, overwhelmed by Nico’s kindness with Fred’s new house, with everything he’d done for me, I clung tighter to him and kissed from his jaw to his perfect mouth.

He returned the kiss, gentle at first. Then his tenderness morphed into something ravenous as he crushed his mouth to mine, scooping one hand to the small of my back under my shirt where he pressed me tight against him. He tasted me with aggressive nips of teeth and strokes of his tongue, while his fingers glided gently over my skin along the top of my jeans. When a whimper slipped from between my lips, he clutched me tighter on a groan, breaking the kiss to nibble his way down my throat.

“Nico.” I clenched both fists in his hair, pulling him closer. “What’s happening between us?”

Rather than answer, he asked, “Can you stay?” Then licked along my collarbone.

“No. I have an appointment in a few minutes.”

“What’s a few?”

“Like eight.”

“No problem.” His hands went to my jeans where he unsnapped and unzipped.

Now he had me laughing where I was crying just a minute ago. I glanced around, but the brick walls were high and you had to have a key to open the door from the shop, which I happened to have. “Did you hear me?”

Then he was on his knees, and oh fuck, he was so beautiful on his knees in front of me, looking up through wolf-green eyes.

“All I need is five.” He grinned, yanking down my jeans and panties to my ankles.

The air was cold, but Nico’s hands on my ass and thigh, his breath on my sex, were molten.

“I’m starting to see a trend here,” I murmured right before he swiped his thumb over my clit, his eyes gone heavy. “You’re in love with my pussy.”

“We’re deeply involved,” he said without missing a beat, still stroking with his thumb. “I hope you’re not jealous.”

I held my breath as he eased closer, knowing the brain-hazing sensation I was about to experience.

“I’ll share with her.” My fingers sank into the dark locks of his hair. “But only her.”

“So generous.” He stared up at me, leaned forward, and licked his thick tongue right through my slit then circled my swollen nub.

“That’s me,” I panted, bracing my hands on his shoulders now, nails sinking into the shirt-covered muscle. “Violet the Benevolent.”

He grinned against my heated flesh. “And Lady V, the Conquering Werewolf Slayer.” Another long, hard swipe.

“She’s a lady?”

“Compliant, agreeable.” Another long, hard lick. “Easy to please.”

On a breathless exhale, I said, “Glad one of us is.”

“Now be a good girl and let me suck you till you come on my tongue.”

“Fuck, Nico,” I breathed out harshly. “The things you say.”

I could already feel my sex clenching.

He lifted his palm and smacked my ass before grabbing a big handful and squeezing. “Quiet. I’m trying to concentrate.”

I grinned and closed my eyes. “Shutting up.”

Moving one hand to the back of his head, I held him harder against me. But it wasn’t an orgasm I was chasing. It was that tender, raw emotion ever-present whenever Nico was near me now.

In these moments of ecstasy and intimacy, he drew it out of me like it had always been there. Waiting for him to weave his own magic and seduce not just my body but my soul too. My own magic sung to life, pumping through my blood, whispering the rightness of this. Of me and Nico. Of me finally opening my heart to the one who was meant to hold and cherish and care for it.

When his sweet mouth sent me over the edge, I sobbed at the realization that I was falling for him. Or I already had and didn’t know it. I couldn’t even help the tear that slipped with the overwhelming emotion that had been ripped out of me without my consent.

Nico caught me when my knees buckled, pulling me into his lap. He didn’t say a word as he pressed his mouth to my temple and wiped the few tears that slipped down my cheeks with slow swipes of his thumb.

He didn’t ask me what was wrong. He knew. He’d slipped into my jaded heart so fast. Or perhaps, it wasn’t fast at all. He’d been doing it since the day I met him on the rooftop that New Year’s Eve.

“Can I come to your place tonight?” he asked quietly a minute later, voice roughened as he swept another kiss to the crown of my head.

“Yes,” I whispered, noting the vulnerability in my own voice.

He held me for another minute, simply caressing his mouth with chaste kisses along my forehead, seeming to recognize my need for comfort.

In true Nico fashion, he didn’t demand to know what my tears were all about or insist that I tell him what I was feeling. He simply hugged me in his strong arms and let me be. Let me come to grips with what was between us. As if he already knew and was perfectly patient and willing to give me the time I needed to adjust.

When I could speak, I said, “It’s the first night of the new moon, so I’m casting the werewolf charm.” I combed my fingers tenderly through his hair, finally glancing up at him. “Really hoping to get this right. For you. Do you want to come?”

His expression shone with deep affection. “Would me being there break the spell or something?”

“Not at all.” I brushed my fingers along his hard jawline. “Someone watching has no effect on the spell.”

He lifted me out of his lap and helped me slip my panties and jeans back on, then stood and angled my face to sweep another kiss to my lips.

I stared up into those beautiful, expressive eyes that had watched me for so long. I shivered at the thought of him wanting me all this time. Then a pang of regret followed in its wake, knowing we could’ve been together so much sooner.

“I’d like you to be there,” I finally said, realizing in that moment that I wanted him to always be there. “Please.”

“Then I will be,” he said softly, tenderness shining in his eyes as I turned and walked back into the shop.