Wickedly Dangerous (Baba Yaga, #1)(107)
So now she and Liam were alone together. No Riders. No dragons. No Otherworldly threats to fight or battles to win. Just one ridiculously attractive sheriff with broad shoulders, dimples, and shaggy hair, and her. She could feel her heart beating like a caged bird, its wings fluttering against her ribcage like jungle drums in the night. Fear and desire danced a tango in the pit of her stomach, and she took another sip of wine to try to quiet their tapping feet.
A gentle hand pried the goblet out of her fingers and placed it on the table with a quiet but decisive click, then lifted to stroke her cheek.
“Barbara,” he said. Then corrected himself. “Baba. Don’t be sad.”
Baba blinked, surprised. “I’m not sad,” she said. “What would I be sad about? Everything worked out perfectly.”
Liam raised an eyebrow. “You seem upset. I thought maybe you were sad to see the Riders go. I know they’re old friends.”
A smile tugged at the corner of her lips. “I love the boys, but they are always a little intense. Not to mention rough on the furnishings. I’m fine with them leaving.”
He slid a little closer, dropping his hand to her shoulder to knead muscles she hadn’t even realized were clenched. She tried to ignore the feelings that rose in her like heat from a summer road, but his nearness made it hard to think.
“If it’s not the Riders, are you worried about trying to raise Babs? I think you’ll be a great mentor.” He turned her slightly so her back was toward him and he could rub both shoulders at once. His breath tickled the back of her neck, sending shivers down her spine. “She’s lucky to have you.”
Baba shrugged under his strong fingers, fighting the impulse to shift even closer. Fighting thoughts of a future she couldn’t possibly have, with a man she shouldn’t want nearly as much as she did. But her pulse raced anyway, and longing rose up in her like the tide, irresistible and overwhelming. The scent of him—masculine and woodsy and something purely Liam—snared her senses. His very essence seemed to have entangled itself around her soul when she wasn’t looking. How had that happened? And what was she supposed to do about it? Babas didn’t stay. Did they?
“I hope you’re right,” she said. “I’m not all that good at being Human myself; I’m not sure I’ll be able to teach her everything she needs to know. But she’s a tough kid; I suspect we’ll find our way.” She sighed, feeling herself relax despite herself. His hands felt wonderful on her, and she had a momentary fantasy of what else they could do before she pulled herself together.
“Baba,” Liam scolded, moving even closer. “Stop tensing up. We won. Everything is fine. You should be celebrating.” He slid his hands down her arms, then slowly turned her back around to face him. “Tell me—what’s wrong?”
He was so close; she could see the flecks of brown in his hazel eyes, the thick lashes casting burnt-umber shadows as he gazed at her with a look she couldn’t quite decipher. But why should she be able to decode what he was feeling when she could barely make sense of the emotions surging up like a wildfire inside her own chest?
“Liam.” His name was like a prayer, a spell, an invocation—as if uttering it could make magic happen, no matter how impossible that might seem. After all, who knew more about magic than a Baba? And what was more magical than this strange thing that had happened between them, despite all the odds against it? “You asked me, once, if we were a pair. Do you remember?”
He nodded, his expression solemn yet hopeful, watching her as if he was afraid she would vanish. “I remember. You never answered me.” The hint of a smile played around the edges of his lips. “Are you going to answer me now?”
Baba felt as though she was teetering on the edge of a precipice; for one last moment she clung to the safety of the old and familiar, then with a joyous abandon she barely comprehended, flung herself over the cliff into the strange abyss she’d been avoiding for days.
“Yes,” she whispered, leaning in to kiss him, feeling the curve of his smile blossoming into fruition. “The answer is yes.”
Then his strong arms were around her, holding her tight against the rock-hard muscles of his chest, all warmth and shelter and unconditional acceptance. No more witch and sheriff, only Baba and Liam, and the passion they’d both been holding in for far too long.
He kissed her back, his lips firm and soft against hers. “It’s about damned time,” he said in a husky voice. “If I had to wait five more minutes to kiss you, I think I probably would have turned into a dragon myself.”
And then his lips came down on hers again, and there was no more talking, only the sweet taste of his mouth on hers, his tongue slipping inside to savor her, his hands sliding through her hair, then down to her body, which waited so eagerly for his touch.
Heat burned through her from the tips of her toes to the top of her head, and too impatient to wait for him to finish unbuttoning her shirt, Baba made their clothes vanish with a gesture. Liam looked startled for a moment, then laughed out loud, pressing his naked skin against hers with a restrained strength that made Baba even hotter.
“That’s a useful trick,” he muttered as he nibbled his way down from her ear to her neck and then set about exploring her as if he could solve all the mysteries she’d hidden from him for so long. She stifled a groan, feeling warmth spreading out from her center in a turbulent aura of need and wanting and emotion.