Exclusive Book Excerpt: Witch’s Brew by Heidi R. Kling

Today we are delighted to share with you an exclusive excerpt from The Spellspinners of Melas County: Part 1 – Witch’s Brew by Heidi R. Kling. We are HUGE fans of Heidi’s debut novel Sea, and we’re super excited about her new sexy magic series being released soon on a new platform for the Kindle. But to whet your appetite, today we bring you an exclusive sneak peek!

Lily

Logan and I immediately stepped into each other’s orbit as if we were a planet and a moon with no other choice. Our arms were swinging together like two pendulums in sync. When my fingers accidentally grazed his, I felt his whole body–all tense energy–snap like a rubber band. Logan quickly stuffed his hands in his pockets, leaving me offended and nonsensically disappointed.

I stepped out of his orbit. I don’t like you, either.

“Untrue,” he said aloud with an eyebrow raised.

He was Reading me again.

“Well, I wish it were true.”

“No, you don’t. Remember, Lily”–he leaned into me–“I can Hear your every thought. Even when you try to block me.”

“No, you can’t.”

“Yes. I can.”

Logan resumed walking. I wanted to fill the silence, but didn’t know how. Didn’t know if I should try. He made it nearly impossible to stay on guard. It was the being around him, the vulnerability hidden behind his hard-eyed mask, the joking tone in his voice, the way he looked at me when he thought I wasn’t looking—he was just the opposite of someone I could manipulate. And anyway, making nice did get me ample opportunity to get closer to him, and closer meant an opportunity to catch him off guard, and later…

“Later what?”

“Stop it!” I pulled on my hair, and he elbowed me playfully, leaning his hip into mine and bending so close I could paint the dark of his eyelashes. “You aren’t supposed to talk to me in public. You can’t just approach me in broad daylight and start flirting like crazy–”

He pulled back, surprised. “I’m not flirting. I’ve been on my best behavior. My very best behavior.”

Flustered I stopped, cupped my hips with my palms, feeling the heat radiating where his bone had touched my skin moments before. “Right. You’ve been talking about milkshakes.”

“Exactly,” he held his palms up like I was pointing a sword at and he was surrendering. “Totally innocent of any kind of flirtation.”

I rolled my eyes, and walked over to sit on a bench and look at the sea. Immediately, he followed, sitting cautiously next to me. It was an incredible feeling, Logan’s energy so close to mine. His magic was so strong. Like nothing I’d experienced before.

Heat radiated from his body, and I knew what was coming. Scanning down his arm—his black tank top didn’t hide much—his ink appeared, running down his biceps, his forearms.

I couldn’t decipher the pattern, but it was stunningly brilliant in design. More than art, more than language. More like a message. A code.

Rubbing his arm, he noticed me noticing. Of course he noticed me noticing. There was no way not to notice. Me noticing. His sweat made the ink glisten. Then abruptly he untied the sweatshirt from around his waist and shrugged into it, pulling the black hood up and over his head.

Did he not want to admit I caused his ink to rise?

Then the windows closed; I’d reached in too far. Logan hopped off the bench, long strides crisscrossing in front of me with an old-fashioned almost cowboy-like swagger as he walked up to the wooden railing. Stared out at the sea.

I studied his face; the side of his etched jaw.

He waited until I was next to him, as if he knew I’d come.

Our forearms touching skin on skin, we both stared out at the sea.

“Since we met, everything’s been different. Heightened. I’m risking things I would never have before. Like this now. Talking to you here.”

“Why are you going along with it?”

So many reasons.

Because it feels good.

Because I want to.

Because for once in my life, I’m making my own choices.

“Because I like you,” I said.

Smiling shyly, he looked down. “I told you.”