Page 27 of The Tea Witch's Promise

"Oh, right." He chuckled sheepishly. "Hadn't thought of that."

Amused, I leaned in so I could kiss him. His lips were cold which made me wonder how long he'd been out there and what he would've done if I hadn't opened my window. His arms wrapped around my waist and he pulled me down to join him. His lips moved against mine as he returned my kiss with such intensity that it took my breath away. It hadn't been that long since we saw each other but I'd missed him.

I never would've imagined that I would be so infatuated with Rooibos Brewster, but the evidence was right here, making my heart pound and setting my body on fire. His tongue flicked against my bottom lip, and my pulse quickened as I melted into his embrace. I pulled him closer by the back of his neck and he groaned, his eyes darkening.

"That's not what I came here for but I'm not complaining," Brew murmured against my lips, his voice lower than usual.

I shifted in his lap, pleased to feel how much my kiss had affected him. He groaned when I moved again and looked almost apologetic. If only he knew how much I didn't mind it. I liked that I was doing this to him.

"What did you come here for then?" My voice was hoarse from the kiss, making me sound more sultry than I intended to.

"I wanted to ask if I could take you on a secret date," he said, his hands sliding down to the small of my back.

I kissed him softly. "I would. When?"

"The day after tomorrow? I have the early shift, so we could go for dinner, or a walk, or something else. Anything you want, I just want to spend time with you."

He was so damn earnest, it was impossible not to be charmed.

"I look forward to it." I moved in his lap, pleased when it caused him to groan again. Maybe it was a good thing he'd kept his promise and climbed through my window, because he wasn't the only one affected by how close the two of us were.

I pressed my lips against his, kissing him deeply as I trailed my hand down his arm. I wanted to move it under his shirt, but I wasn't sure how he'd respond to that. Or I did, but I wasn't sure if he really wanted that.

"Katie," he murmured against my lips.

"Mmm?"

He broke away from me and started peppering kisses across my throat, each one leaving a tiny trail of fire in its wake. "You don't know what you're doing to me," he murmured.

"Oh, I do," I responded, shifting on his lap.

He leaned his head against my shoulder, his breathing shallow.

I pulled back so I could look at him properly. I cupped his cheek in my hand, making sure I met his gaze so he could see that I meant what I said. I wanted him, he needed to know that.

I leaned in to kiss him, but a knock on the door made us both freeze.

"Katie?" Oliver's voice carried through the door and he knocked again.

I groaned. "Seriously?" I muttered.

"What's he want?" Brew asked.

"No idea." I cleared my throat. "Just a moment!" I shouted back, jumping up and almost kneeing Brew somewhere delicate.

A panicked expression crossed his face and he headed to the window, but I reached out and grabbed him before he could.

"You'll break your neck," I whispered hastily. "Just hide." I pushed him towards my changing screen, assuming that would be safe from Oliver's scrutiny.

"Is everything all right in there?" my brother called.

"Fine." I winced at how high andun-finemy voice sounded. I smoothed down my clothing, relieved that I wasn't Brew right now and didn't have something else to hide. Satisfied that I was in a reasonable state thatdidn'tmake it look like I'd just been about to undress my brother's best friend, I made my way over to the bed and sat down, patting Banjo. "Come in."

The door shrieked open and Oliver came in with a sheepish smile. "Did I wake you?"

"No, I was just getting ready for bed." Technically, that wasn't a lie, though it hadn't been for sleep. "What do you want?"

"I need some help. Advice. I wanted to ask Brew but I haven't seen him in a few days. Not sure what's going on with him."