It also didn’t help that he dreamt about her last night and every night since the graduation party. She was the sea witch, but also not.
It was different.
And sexy.
And hot.
And completely annoying.
“I won’t sue you,” Mercedes teased. “But seriously, I was planning on keeping my distance from you and not…well, this is hardly keeping my distance.”
“And I was planning to do the same.” Magnus crossed his arms. “I don’t like that you’re working here.”
“I got that impression the day I was hired. Actually, I got that impression the day you saw me walk into that restaurant in Tallowfield. You know, before you went off on your tangent.”
Magnus bristled, but then felt some embarrassment over the whole thing. “Besides, you called me a bear’s butthole.”
A smile flickered on Mercedes lush lips. “I know.”
“I was triggered when I saw you.”
“I gathered, but I’m not the one who cursed you. I’m not Yrsa.”
“You are a descendant and a witch all the same.”
“So that means I deserve to be punished?” she countered.
“Yes.” He tried not to smile, because whether he wanted to admit it or not, Mercedes had a fire in her that he was highly attracted to. He’d always been attracted to women like that, but with her it was something else. It fired him up in a way no one had ever done before.
Which was bad.
“Punishment? Seriously?” She crossed her arms, tapping her foot. Her talk of punishments made him suddenly think of all the naughty things he wouldn’t mind doing to her. The things he’d been dreaming about in his sleep.
By Odin, she was adorable when she was angry.
Remember who she descends from.
Maybe he’d been a bit too hasty lumping her in with her ancestor. He ran his hand through his hair. “I’m sorry.”
Mercedes eyes widened and she relaxed. “You’re…sorry?”
He nodded. “I mean, I still want to keep my distance from you, especially now that you work here, but I think if we keep out of each other’s way, we can let bygones be bygones.”
“Okay.” A hint of shock and uncertainly laced her voice. “I appreciate that.”
“You don’t sound so sure.”
“I’m not,” she responded. “I don’t trust you.”
“The feeling is mutual. Even if you’re not her, reincarnation within bloodlines is a powerful thing.”
“I’m aware,” she replied stiffly, neither confirming nor denying anything. Those big dark eyes narrowed and it sent a shiver down his spine, just like when he ran into her ancestor a millennia ago.
Only it wasn’t Yrsa here, that’s what he had to remember.
“Well, I’m going to let you finish your work and I’m going to put some clothes on.” He walked past her, drinking in the clean scent of her hair, ignoring the urge to hold her close and touch her, drink in that smell that he found so intoxicating. It reminded him of home.
Something he hadn’t had in a long time. When you were bound to a place for all eternity, it was impossible to go back and visit the place that you came from. But when she had been in his arms there for a moment, he had a flash of home, and it made his heart ache.