Chapter 7 : Movie Night

Seraphina's POV

"Oh, no. Don't have sex with him! He's clearly the killer!" I muttered, fisting my hands into my hair as the final girl character started undressing in front of the sketchy boyfriend. As ridiculous as the plot was, cheesy slasher flicks were my guilty pleasure.

"No, no. That's too obvious. It's gotta be her best friend," Kit rebutted, eating a handful of popcorn, feet propped up on the ottoman. The black t-shirt he wore clung to his arms, distracting me just as much as they did in the kitchen.

"Well, if it is the best friend, then the boyfriend is about to get murdered," I replied, reaching into the bowl and popping some popcorn into my mouth. The spice mix I made danced on my tastebuds. Cheesy and salty. I really outdid myself.

"I think the big carnal rule of horror movies is to not fuck anyone until the killer is caught," he continued casually. I'd never heard him curse before, but I'd also never seen him when I didn't have Annika with me.

I cleared my throat, trying to ignore how it twisted my stomach, and not in a bad way. "What do you think, Rosie?" I asked, looking over at the recliner.

And she was out cold, mouth open, snoring softly.

Kit chuckled under his breath. "I told her she'd fall asleep."

"It's only 9:30," I stated, amusement turning my mouth up.

He nodded, eyes glinting playfully. "She's been like this since we were kids. Movies always put her to sleep. I swear she's never watched a single movie through."

Oh, that was funny. Even as the sketchy boyfriend got horrifically murdered on screen, Rosie didn't stir. "I guess you were right, it has to be the best friend," I admitted, reaching for another handful of popcorn.

My fingertips brushed over his in the popcorn bowl and instantly, heat flushed down my arm, and I could feel the warmth of his hands even after I yanked my hand back. I turned my gaze back to the movie with heat mottling my cheeks.

"Sorry," I murmured.

"I don't mind, Sera," Kit offered, drawing my attention back over to him, a light flush dusting his cheeks. For such a large man, I found it really cute when I noticed him blush.

My heart thudded hard. I tucked some hair behind my ear, curling it between my fingers.

I rarely wore it down since Annika liked to pull it, but I thought maybe Kit would like it.

Why did I care?

Suddenly, the movie seemed so far away as my eyes raked down his thickly banded arms again. He had marks on his skin, like silver strikes of lightning painting the muscle. Scars. Almost like mine.

I wondered what happened to him. I'd ask, but that felt like stepping over a line. It wasn't any of my business.

But some part of me wanted to run my fingertips across them so whenever he looked at them, he wouldn't see an injury, he'd only think about how it felt when I touched them.

The intimacy in my thoughts startled me. I barely knew him, so why did I feel so close to him already?

I gazed at his angular jawline, dusted in dark hair like the strands cropped to his head. Unruly and thick. I wanted to run my hands through it. Know what his stubble felt like scratching my cheeks.

Tingles pricked my arms, coiling a foreign type of desire in my belly.

What the hell was I doing?

I had to get out of this room before I did something I'd regret. This was not a good time for me to get involved with another man, despite how magnetic it felt. "Want more popcorn?" I asked, snatching the mostly empty bowl before I stopped myself.

"Sure. I'll pause it for you," he replied, reaching over to the remote to pause it.

I could still feel where my fingers touched his, like the electric tingles after a shock. I sighed heavily, rubbing my hands to make the touch go away.

I walked into the kitchen, trying to get out of my head.

A sudden loud crash hit the door and I gasped, dropping the bowl.

My immediate thought was, "He's here. He's here for Annika." My heart skipped a beat, adrenaline firing on all pistons. Fight or flight, but I knew I'd fight. My hands started to shake violently.

My vision faded around the edges as I got tunnel vision on the back door. Everything in me zoned in on the door, forgetting anything else. At that moment, all that mattered was protecting Annie.

"It's a cat," Kit said from the entryway, breaking me out of my head. "I can hear it meowing."

Relief washed over my body, settling the tightness in my shoulders, but my hands didn't stop shaking. "O-oh, g-good," I stammered, gulping thickly around the lump in my throat. I got down on the floor to clean up the mess I had made.

"Are you okay?" Kit asked, a genuine worry in his voice as he stepped into the kitchen. He got down on his knees across from me, scooping popcorn into the bowl. "I hope the movie doesn't have you too spooked."

"It's not the movie," I murmured before I could stop myself, pulling up my sleeves so I'd stop getting butter on them. My hands were trembling so badly, I had to clench them into fists to quell them.

Both of Kit's hands reached forward, encasing mine warmly. "Are you okay, Sera?" His thumbs rubbed against my knuckles, sending electric shocks through my entire body. The sensation should have made me shake harder, but instead, the trembling slowly stopped.

I looked up from my hands into Kit's kind eyes. He was analyzing me intently, sliding his thumb along my wedding band. But every time he touched it, I could feel it thrum with magic. I don't know if Kit could feel it too, but whispers of my magic frothed right under the surface.

I was reminded that my magic was never gone, just hidden.

"You're married?" Kit asked softly.

I yanked my hands out of his grip and my skin mourned the loss of it. I rose to my feet, pulling my sleeves down to cover my hands again. Kit rose to his feet right after I did, setting the bowl on the counter.

Turning away from Kit, I stared out the window at the blinking street light. Panic seized my heart as I imagined William standing under it. The monster in my closet. But when I looked at it again, whatever I thought I saw, was gone.

"Sera?" Kit urged gently, leaning against the countertop. His shoulders strained against the fabric of his shirt, making my throat feel all thick again.

"Technically," I admitted. "He…he wasn't a good man." My head tilted down, wisps of blonde hair falling to the front of my face. Good, I wanted to hide.

Kit's hand came into my field of vision, caressing some hair behind my ear. My face flooded with heat, my heart thundered in my chest. I gazed up at him, pinned by his emerald eyes. Green like the cypress trees back home, thick hearty roots woven through the riverbank.

And I felt rooted into the tile just the same, getting lost in how he looked at me. Not with pity, but with empathy.

Compassion deepened his eyes, drowning me like a moss-covered pond. I wondered who hurt him so deeply that he could understand me.

He took my hand again, magic zapping through me with every stroke of his fingers. His gaze left mine, going down to my ring. "Then why do you still wear your ring?"

"Some things…are hard to let go of," I answered. I couldn't tell him the ring binds my magic, then he'd know I was a sorceress and not a human. Then that would lead to a whole slew of questions.

"Do you still love him?"

"Never did." I could say confidently.

"Good," he said out loud, curling one of his fingers underneath my chin. He tilted my head back, the heat of his body caressing mine. He was so warm, I couldn't help but revel in the affection. The gentleness of his calloused hands.

Even with hands so roughened by work, he touched me with such care.

Coils of longing curled inside my belly, cascading down my legs. His mouth looked plush. Inviting. My mouth felt dry as his gaze dropped to my lips, causing my tongue to peek out to moisten it instinctively.

The color of his eyes darkened as his pupils expanded, narrowing slightly. But I couldn't care less that his gaze belonged to a shifter. He excited me. The longing coiling in my belly morphed, becoming hotter. The excitement became a spinster, looping and threading the desire building inside of me until it wasn't longing anymore.

It was lust.

Getting hotter and hotter until it felt like liquid metal was sliding through my veins, magnetizing to Kit. I didn't know what drew me in so intensely to him, but I liked it.

The fingers curled under my chin moved until his big palm cupped my cheek, and his hands felt so good against my skin. Like somehow, my face fit perfectly against the curve of his palm. His other hand tentatively brushed my hip, winding around my waist slowly as if giving me the chance to back away from him if I wanted to.

But instead, my body helplessly pressed into his.

When his breath puffed against my lips, an ache formed deep inside me. My thighs quivered as I started to get wet. My hair stood on end and everywhere Kit was touching me felt like a livewire pumping lust into my body.

His nostrils flared, eyes darkening as his chest rumbled. The guttural noise somehow turned me on even more. The atmosphere thickened between us. My eyelashes fluttered.

"Can I…Can I kiss you, Sera?" Kit murmured softly, his hot breath only firing me up even more.

I nodded breathlessly. "Yes."

He dipped his neck down, plush lips just grazing mine. I gasped as desire struck down my spine. The fabric of my sweater brushed the sensitive tips of my breasts, sending more pleasurable sparks through my system.

I tilted my head to the side, eyes fluttering closed as his hand slid to the back of my neck with all intention of bringing me in closer.

"Where's the popcorn?" Rosie yawned from the entryway, breaking the spell cast between Kit and me.

We instantly drew away from each other, but my skin whined in discomfort, suddenly feeling so cold. My entire body cried out to be touched again and it really threw me off. I wasn't used to this.

I wasn't used to feeling want. Desire. Lust. All of it felt so new to me. But what the hell was that? Was I about to kiss Kit? I glanced over at him and he blinked slowly, his pupils were still blown to hell. His tongue flicked over his lower lip and my belly tightened again.

Rosie wandered over to the bowl of popcorn, seemingly oblivious to what just happened. "Oh, there it is."

"I wouldn't do that. I spilled it all over the floor. My bad," Kit interjected before Rosie could get a handful.

She scoffed. "Of course. You and your stupid hands. Bummer. Oh, well. Are you ready to finish this movie?"

"You've been asleep for most of it," Kit teased.

Rosie waved her hand. "All slasher flicks are the same."

There wasn't very much left of the movie. But I noticed Kit shifting in his seat, seemingly on edge. I felt the same way.

Fired up. Unbelievably wired. Like I had all this pent-up energy I needed to expend. I couldn't care less about the sketchy boyfriend coming back as the surprise killer. Teaming up with the best friend.

All I could seem to focus on was the ache between my legs and Kit's broad frame only a few feet from me.