Chapter 5 #2
The three of us got to work, and I soon understood why Willo wanted my help.
It wasn’t difficult, but it was tedious.
We had to tie a long piece of twine around the property’s fence posts to create a perimeter.
It went faster with my help, but it still took a while.
Every time I felt my own warming spell fade, I ran to the river to refresh Sterling’s.
It was awkward to pull his sexy ass out of the river and cast a hot spell on him while he stood shirtless, dripping, and flushed from the warmth of the spell.
Every visit I made to him made me rethink my decision, and by afternoon I was hoping we’d have a full house again tonight.
When we finally tied off the twine on the last post, Willo said, “Now, we’ll each grab one end of the twine and meet at the middle, chanting the diagnosis spell.”
She recited the enchantment to me, and then we got to work. I held the thread carefully between my thumb and forefinger, eyeing the glowing trail left behind in the fibers.
About halfway through the enchantment, my energy dwindled fast. The enchantment took more magic from me than I had anticipated, and I didn’t think I’d make it to Willorunia. The energy I had spent protecting Sterling and myself from the cold was more than I thought.
I tried to make it another ten feet, but the magic running out of my fingers stopped completely. The snow falling on my face stung harshly, and the winter air blew right through my clothing. My warming spell was gone.
My heart nearly stopped when I realized what else that meant.
Sterling’s spell was gone too, and he was still in the river.
STERLING
The water burned my legs like fire.
I tried wading to the bank, but I couldn’t feel my feet. By the time I crawled out of the river and sat in the wet snow, my feet were somehow both numb and also in excruciating pain. My muscles cramped and seized up, and I couldn’t reach for my shirt or coat.
It hadn’t been close to an hour yet. Did Cassian know? Was Cassian okay?
“Sterling!” He shouted distantly.
I tried to answer, but I couldn’t. I couldn’t even turn to look.
His footsteps crunched through snow, and then my shirt came over my head just before Cassian’s arms wrapped my dry coat around me. He pulled me up and rubbed my arms. “I’m so sorry!” he said, watching me with wide blue eyes as he walked me toward the inn. His brows angled upward. “Are you okay?”
“G-g-ood t-t-t-timing,” I stammered. Speaking was much more difficult than I expected.
He threw me a confused smile, which made my stupid answer worth the surprising effort. “What?” he asked, pushing me through the inn door.
“Th-the j-j-ja-jar is f-f-full.”
He watched me for a moment, his mouth falling open. “Oh my gods, you’re insane,” he said. “You could have died!” He pushed me a little firmer through the lobby and into his bedroom. “You could still die, actually. Let’s warm you up.”
“Y-you d-d-don’t n-need to d-do that,” I said. Now that we were indoors, it was getting a little easier to speak, but it was still out of my control.
“Hush,” he said, reaching for the buttons of my trousers, but he hesitated. “May I take your pants off?” he asked, flushing deep red and refusing to look me in the eye.
I wanted to say anytime you want, but I knew it would not sound very sexy right now. “Y-yes,” I said.
Cassian unbuttoned my trousers and peeled the icy fabric away from my legs, which were almost blue.
He muttered to himself and sat me down in an armchair beside the fire, pulling off my boots before peeling my trousers all the way off.
He fetched a towel and a blanket, and then draped the blanket around my shoulders.
“Cassian—”
“Sterling, don’t,” he said, patting my damp legs down with the towel.
“I wasn’t going to…” I didn’t know what he thought I was going to say. Did he really think I would flirt with him at a time like this? This was the unsexiest situation I’d ever been in. Except for the fact Cassian was there, of course.
“You were going to tell me you can do this yourself and I should go back outside and keep helping Willorunia because you’ll be fine, and it’s all okay now because you’re by the fire,” Cassian said.
Oh. So he did know what I was going to say.
He looked me in the eye while still patting me down as if challenging me to refute it. When I didn’t speak, he said, “You can let people help you. You don’t have to do everything yourself.”
“Can you b-blame me for wanting to do this myself?” I asked. It was much easier to speak now. “This isn’t the most flattering look on me.”
Cassian focused on the towel, a shy smile creeping up on him. “I wish I could say I agreed.”
I watched him carefully, afraid to respond.
He said I was being inappropriate earlier, so I was ready to give up.
I was being inappropriate, but something about him brought out an unrecognizable part of me.
Everything new I learned about Cassian made me want him more.
Some deep part of me begged me to win him over no matter what, because I’d never met anyone like him.
He had asked me to stop, and I tried hard to respect his wishes, but now he was flirting with me?
“I prefer to do things myself. It’s just how I am,” I said.
Cassian shook his head, wrapping the towel around my feet and squeezing. “I’ve noticed. You’ll make yourself uncomfortable just to avoid someone’s help.”
“Like when?” I asked.
“Like…” He paused. “I truly believe if I didn’t bring you food, you would learn to hunt before asking for a meal.”
I scoffed. “That’s not unreasonable. I have no money. Why should I ask you to feed me?”
“Because everyone deserves to eat, including you,” he said. He moved his hands under the towel to rub my feet. “I’m trying to get your blood flowing, sorry if it’s uncomfortable,” he said.
It wasn’t uncomfortable. It felt better than I wanted to admit, and I was afraid he would get my blood flowing somewhere else. “Seriously, I can do this myself,” I said.
“I know you can, but that’s not the point,” Cassian said, pushing his thumbs into the ball of my left foot.
His hands were soft, and he used just the right amount of pressure.
“I want to help you, Turnip. I like helping you,” he said, smiling at me.
The light of the flame highlighted his delicate face.
His pale hair glowed under the orange light, framing his kind eyes.
If he reciprocated even a little, I would give him a lot.
I felt a stir in my stomach, and I just hoped the blanket was enough to cover where my blood was flowing. Clearly, I wasn’t in such a bad state, but I couldn’t exactly point it out to him.
“I’m supposed to be helping you, Cassian,” I said.
Cassian frowned, burying his thumbs into my foot and warming me up in a way he probably didn’t intend to. “Why can’t we help each other?”
“I don’t know, Cassian. Why can’t we?” I asked.
We held each other’s gaze for a tense moment before Cassian’s gaze turned downward. “I like you, Sterling,” he said. “I don’t want it to hurt more than it has to when you leave.”
He didn’t want me to leave? That’s why he was avoiding me? I didn’t know how to tell him I would come out here every single free day I had to see him if he let me, because I was already driving myself crazy over him when he was as far as the other room. “Ladiall is not that far away,” I said.
Cassian stopped rubbing my foot, looking up at me with his big blue eyes. He moved his warmed hands to my other foot and started rubbing again, and this time I let out an involuntary breath.
He stopped, watching me curiously. “Did that hurt?”
I shook my head, too embarrassed to explain myself.
“You liked it?” he asked.
I hesitated, and then I nodded.
He smiled mischievously before he continued, still making eye contact. I tried to keep a neutral expression, but my attempt to suppress it only made it worse, and the sigh that left me was nearly a moan.
Gods damn it.
Cassian’s smile overtook his face, but he rubbed my foot more gently.
His eyes flitted down to my crotch, where not even the thick blanket could conceal the growing bulge.
He looked me in the eyes again, still rubbing my foot with his perfect grip.
I couldn’t stop myself from imagining his hands working other parts of my body.
Three light knocks on the door tapped through the room, breaking us out of this comfortable pocket of warmth and desire. “Cassian?” Willorunia called. “What happened to you?”
Cassian jumped up, pulling the blanket down to cover my legs. He hesitated before throwing the towel over my lap too. “Come in!” he replied.
Willorunia stepped into the room, eyeing me slowly as she shut the door. “Where did you go? I had to finish it myself,” she said.
“I’m so sorry, Willo. I ran out of magic, and Sterling’s warming spell wore off while he was in the river. He could have frozen to death,” Cassian explained.
Willorunia sighed. “Are you all right, Officer?” she asked.
“Cassian did a very nice job thawing me out. Sorry for inconveniencing you,” I said.
“Did you finish the enchantment?” Cassian asked.
Willorunia nodded. “I haven’t pulled up the diagnosis yet because Officer Thorndrop wanted to see it.”
Cassian frowned at me. “He is in no condition to go outside. I don’t want to risk it.”
I leaned forward. “I have to, Cassian. It’s my job.” I reached for my damp trousers, but Cassian snatched them before I could.
“You are not putting these back on! Are you crazy?” he asked.
“I have to,” I said. “This is why I’m here.”
Cassian hesitated, looking from me to Willo, who seemed surprised. “Can I draw the sigil for you instead?” Cassian asked.
“I’m sorry, Cassian, but I have to see it with my own eyes,” I said.
“You don’t trust him?” Willorunia asked. “He’s a trained witch; he can draw a simple diagnosis.”
“It’s not that I don’t trust Cassian. This is standard practice. I’m an investigator, and I, unfortunately, can’t take people at their word.” I frowned at Cassian, reaching my hand out. “Please give me my pants.”
“No,” Cassian said. “They’re wet.”
They were acting strange. Neither of them wanted me to go out and see the sigil for myself, which wasn’t a good sign.
I didn’t believe Cassian was up to anything, but I still didn’t know what Willorunia had said to him that made him distant.
She seemed to want him to keep me at a distance, and now she was throwing my trust for Cassian in my face to keep me inside.
I didn’t think Griffin did it, but I couldn’t help wondering… Maybe Willorunia had something to do with the curse that she didn’t want me to see. Was this even a real diagnosis?
Willorunia rolled her eyes and marched forward, ripping my trousers out of Cassian’s hand.
She muttered a spell, hovering her hand over the damp bundle of cloth, and then water rose from the trousers.
She flung the hovering water into the fireplace, where it hissed into swirling steam, and then she tossed the pants at me.
“Witchcraft is about trust. Cassian is not a liar, and neither am I. Put your pants on. I’ll wait for you outside,” she said, and then she left.
Cassian watched me with defeat. “Are you sure you’ll be okay? I don’t want you to lose your legs.”
I stood up to pull my trousers on, buttoning them while I answered him. “I’m fine, Cassian. My blood flows hot when you’re around.”
Cassian bit his lip, smiling as he eyed me up and down.
“Damn it, I’m sorry. I’m trying to be professional, but I can’t seem to stop myself,” I said.
Cassian tugged a lock of hair at his neck, twirling it around his finger. “It’s okay, Turnip. You don’t have to be professional with me.”
I considered the invitation, taking a step toward him.
I lifted my hand to his face, brushing his golden hair out of his bright eyes.
Gods, he was beautiful. I moved my knuckle under his chin, tilting his head up toward me.
“There are a lot of very unprofessional things I would like to say and do to you.”
His smile spread, and he leaned closer, tilting his head. “I’m ready.”
I moved in, inches away from his pretty pink lips, but I stopped myself. With the last ounce of willpower in my body, I stepped back. “I… can’t. I have to be professional. I’m sorry.”
Cassian pouted. “I won’t tell anyone.”
“I know, but…” My thumb slid across his cheek. “I want to do a good job for you. Maybe when it’s over.”
“But you’ll leave when the case is over,” Cassian said.
“I’ll come back whenever you want.”
Cassian closed his eyes and sighed. He turned away and stepped toward the door. “Don’t worry about it. Let’s just get the diagnosis.”
“Cassian—” I tried to stop him, but he was already through the door.