Bait This! (A 300 Moons Book) by Tasha Black Page B

fingers. Oh god.
    “Um, yes they were, why?” he asked, trying not to panic.
    She looked at him in surprise, and then began to laugh.
    “It’s just that they’re sort of old, I have fresher spices in the cupboard,” she explained.
    He laughed too, and suddenly he felt at home. Really at home, as if he had been born in this weird little cottage, flipping pancakes with this woman at his side.
    She was smiling up at him, her cheeks pink, those unusual lavender eyes luminous. Her still damp hair gleamed.
    “What?” she asked.
    You make me happy. You like me for me, not for the money you don’t know I have.
    “I was just noticing, how fast you bounced back. You sure you’re not a shifter?” he teased, trying to get out of his own head.
    “I spend a lot of time outside, so I’m used to the hiking. My magic doesn’t bounce back that fast though,” she replied.
    He couldn’t help but notice the wind was out of her sails again. Damn. It would be nice if he knew enough about her to stop setting her off. They’d battled evil together and he didn’t even know what kind of music she liked.
    He plated the pancakes and set them on the wooden table while she poured out two glasses of tea from a large jar.
    At last they sat, fragrant steam rising from two formidable stacks of pancakes.
    Hedda leaned forward to inhale the heat. The bear liked the expression on her face, but not the way she was still lightly trembling with cold.
    Five minutes later, they were still sitting at the table, but with two very empty plates.
    “Better?” he asked her.
    “Yes,” she purred.
    He grinned at the satisfied expression on her face.
    Let’s put a look like that one on her face for another reason, the bear suggested.
    “So what now? Do you have a phone?” he asked hopefully.
    She shook her head.
    “I could call to my sisters using magic, but I don’t have enough. Besides, what I do have I need to save for the demon.”
    “Why didn’t it follow us?” he asked.
    “I have no idea,” she admitted. “But I tend to doubt that it’s given up. It probably went looking for a better body to use to attack with. It must know that this cottage is protected with magic.”
    “So what do we do next?” he asked.
    “I rest,” she said simply, wrapping the blanket more tightly around herself. “And you leave, run while you still can.”
    What?
    “What?” he asked.
    “Derek, this thing is not your problem. And the demon is very dangerous. The protections on this cottage are only good as long as the walls are intact. If it jumps into another large animal, it can eventually…” she trailed off.
    “Yeah, and for that reason I’m not leaving you here by yourself,” he said.
    “Listen, I know all this is new to you, but it’s not like you can spray it with some mace and go about your business. This is a demon, Derek, like the stuff you read about in legends.”
    “I don’t care what it is,” he told her. “You saved my life, I’m staying.”
    “Listen, I have almost no magic left. I have one chance, maybe . And if he chooses to come back here without a physical form, it will be like last time and I won’t be able to strike him,” she explained.
    “So what do we do?” he repeated.
    “I need to rest. You need to go,” she said.
    “Yeah, I know you’re tired. I’ll stay awake in case anything happens,” he told her.
    “No, it’s not because I’m tired. It’s the magic in me. It needs time to replenish itself. I need to rest and warm up so it can come back to me.”
    He realized that she was still trembling. The blanket wrapped around her so tightly he could see her curves.
    “Are you still cold because of the magic,” he asked.
    She nodded.
    “Okay, I’ll tell you what, why don’t you get the fire started and I’ll grab some more blankets to bundle you up?” he offered.
    “And then you’ll go?” she asked.
    He couldn’t say yes to that.
    “And then we’ll talk about it,” he offered.
    He could see the