Borrowed Souls (Soul Charmer #1)(93)

“You will take this magic back.” If she could figure out how to actually make him do anything.

Derek took her hand and squeezed it. They left the Charmer’s shop together, and she hoped he planned to stay at her side for more than the drive home.


Derek hadn’t spoken a word since they’d left the Soul Charmer’s shop. The black and silver flask was back in Callie’s pocket. Even its heat and the realization she’d continue to work within the world of soul magic couldn’t distract her from the tension between them. She should have spoken as soon as they exited the building, but words failed her.

Derek had treated her like she was special. He’d told her she was a good person, and he’d meant it. Now, he’d know the awful truth, and she ached with the thought of losing his trust. She wanted to keep him, but she’d known this would happen from the start. Now he would understand.

He followed her up the stairs to her apartment.

Once inside, though, he didn’t beeline for the bedroom. The shower was running and the bathroom door closed, which left them brother-free in the living room. He strode to the couch and plopped onto a cushion. His cushion. “We going to talk about this?” His voice scraped along gravel.

Rubbing her palm against the side of her neck didn’t soothe any muscles. The nervous act only telegraphed her emotions. He’d broken her walls, and now she couldn’t muster a decent poker face. This was going to hurt. “This is why,” she whispered.

“Come over here.” He patted the couch cushion.

She did, because sitting would limit the mess when she melted into a puddle of shame.

“Tess.” He didn’t spit her name, like Callie would have. There was no inflection in that four-letter word.

“I had to—”

“Why?” There wasn’t any judgment in his tone, but the curiosity was obvious.

“He wouldn’t let me take you unless I did.” The image of him crumpled and bleeding flashed in her mind and she winced.

“You’re going to have to give me a little more here, doll. Why wouldn’t you wait for me to come around?”

Wait, what? He wasn’t mad?

“You were out from the blood loss and the Charmer wouldn’t let me take you home until he had answers from Tess,” she said. “He said I had to get them. I couldn’t leave you with him. They weren’t watching you. What if you’d stopped breathing and I hadn’t been there?”

He smiled. “He wouldn’t have let me die.”

“I couldn’t risk that.”

Derek reached forward and ran two fingers along Callie’s jaw before placing them on her lips. “Thank you.”

She started to speak, but he pressed his fingers more firmly against her mouth.

“Did you really think I’d judge you for getting answers?”

He pulled his fingers away.

“I did awful things at the Charmer’s, and then to protect you from them I did awful things here. I couldn’t imagine you wanting to be with me after you knew I’d done that. And if you’d helped with the break-in, too? I didn’t want to force regret onto you. I have enough of it, and I wanted you to be safe.”

He nodded and the simple act conveyed more understanding than she’d been allowed in her life. “We protect what’s ours. I didn’t want that for you, and I’m sorry you had to do it. But if you want me to be mad at you for looking out for me, it’s not going to happen.”

“You’re not pissed?”

“Just tell me next time. We all have to make hard choices, do shit we aren’t proud of. I wouldn’t hold that against you. That said, I’m still not going to take so much as an aspirin from you for a very long time.”

She had the good sense to look chagrined.

He pressed a light kiss to her lips. “It’s hot to have a woman protect me.”

“You think everything is hot.”

“Only on you, doll.”

Reaffirming their relationship in the bedroom strengthened Callie. Her muscles were sore after their activities, but the ball bearings of stress and fear hidden in her torso relinquished their hold on her. Trust was fucking weird, but nice enough.

“I think Tess was right about my magic,” Callie blurted, then paused. She’d startled herself by claiming ownership of the fire teeming below her skin.

Derek skimmed his fingers along her hipbone, his trajectory never faltering. “You sure about that? Woman was crazy.”

She nodded. “Totally batshit. Agreed. The Charmer isn’t taking the magic back, though, is he?”

“No. I don’t think so.” Disappointment crushed her with those five words.

“Tess said he couldn’t take it back anyway. So I guess I already knew I wasn’t going to be able to go back to normal. I’ve been thinking a lot, about us, about me, about what’s happened in the last two weeks. Maybe this is some fucked up sign I need to learn how to use the magic for now, and go from there.” Hope lifted her voice an octave.

“That sounds smart … ” Derek narrowed his eyes as he met her gaze. “But you’re about to use the good sex we just had to make me agree to something, aren’t you?”

“No. First of all, it was better than good.” She waited for him to smile before continuing. “Second, I’m not asking you to do anything. Well, except to be cool about it.”