Aurora’s Coven: The Lost Coven | Book 1

by K. A Knight

  “Thanks.” I nod at him.

  He moves closer.

  “Anything else wouldn’t fit you. Bathroom is down the hall, just shout if you need me.”

  I look everywhere but at him until he lifts my chin. I meet his eyes and find them filled with caring concern.

  “You going to be okay in here?” he asks with a quiet voice.

  “Yes.” And for once, I tell the truth.

  He gives me that smile. Leaning forward, he kisses my forehead. “Goodnight, Half-pint.”

  “Goodnight, cupcake.”

  He shakes his head and with a grin, turns to leave, closing the door softly as he does.

  I sit on the end of the bed with Ezra’s shirt in my hands, and before I know what I’m doing, I lift it and sniff. Groaning, I lie back on the comfy bed. So, my plan worked well to stay away from them. With a snort, I stand up and get ready to turn in.

  Just as I’m about to jump into the bed that’s calling my name, something scratches at my door. With a smirk I walk in Ezra’s shirt to open it. Nev comes trotting in happily.

  “Traitor,” I hiss.

  “Oh, erm, sorry. I thought I’d bring him to you... Ezra mentioned you were staying, and I thought it might make you feel better or safer...” Jason rubs the back of his neck looking everywhere but at me.

  “Thanks, I wondered where he had gone to.” My voice is soft, and he drags his gaze to mine. He gulps, and his eyes lower to my exposed legs. He glances back up, and appreciation fills his gaze.

  “Night, Aurora. Thanks for today, I had fun.” Before I can say anything, he spins and heads down the hallway.

  I close the door and turn back to the bed. Nev is spread out on one side snoring. I snort and head over to my cuddle buddy.

  18

  - AURORA -

  Re-energised and happy, I wake up slowly and stretch. I search for Nev, but he is no longer on the bed. Bloody dog. Falling back, I stare at the ceiling, realising I didn’t dream last night. Holy monkey balls! My nightmares stopped the same time I started dreaming about Mikael, but last night? Nothing. Frowning, I can’t tell if I’m happy or sad about that. I mean, I have crazy amounts of energy, but I didn’t get to see him and worry slithers through my body for my dream man.

  The bed bouncing next to me interrupts my morbid thoughts, and I sit up quickly. Ben lies on his side facing me with the most innocent expression on his face. I grin at him before I can stop myself.

  “Morning, Sunshine.” His voice is soft and matches his sweet smile. I lie back down and turn on my side to face him because hey, if I’m going to keep breaking my own rule about these guys then I might as well have fun doing it.

  I stare into his eyes and find nothing but happiness there—Ben is an open book, and I’m weirdly glad for it. His blond hair is pulled back again, and he looks younger, still as handsome but in a different way.

  “Hi.” Not my greatest conversation starter but I haven’t had caffeine yet. My eyes flick down, and my mouth drops open at the tanned skin that greets me. He. Is. Shirtless. Jesus does exist.

  I’m staring, but I can’t seem to stop myself. He stretches, and his lean swimmers body moves in the most delicious way.

  “See, you are a pervert.” His humour only partially contained.

  I slowly raise my gaze to his, and lust darkens his eyes. He doesn’t even try to hide the fact that he was checking me out. With a start, I notice my shirt rode up while I slept, and it bunches around my waist underneath my boobs to display my white, lacy panties.

  “Wouldn’t have thought you were a lacy girl,” he mummers.

  I watch in fascination as his hand slowly makes its way to me, giving me plenty of time to stop him. Yep, I’m going to hell.

  He strokes my thigh, and I can’t help but get hot at the image of his hand gripping it. My pale skin contrasts against his tanned one, and his hand can nearly reach all the way around it, which is hard as my thighs are quite curvy.

  “So beautiful,” he mummers, gaze holding mine, and I can’t seem to look away from him.

  His eyes dilate, and I wet my lips with my tongue. His eyes—burning with lust—follow the movement.

  “Such a tease, Sunny.”

  “Who said I was teasing?” My voice comes out low and velvety, lust colouring my words.

  He groans. “I only came to wake you up and to tell you that breakfast was done, but I’m seriously contemplating having you for breakfast.” His voice sounds pained, and I can’t help but laugh.

  His eyes narrow at me. “Think it’s funny I’m going to be a walking hard-on, imaging you in nothing but these panties all day?” His voice goes low again, but his teasing makes me smirk. Loving that he never holds anything back from me, I smile evilly at him.

  It’s strange how comfortable I am with him. I usually don’t want to talk with guys—nothing good comes of it. And this teasing? Forget about it, I only stick around long enough to get what I want. Something about these four, sexy witches is different, and I’m so out of my depth here. Unwilling to let them know that, I play with the sexy half-naked man in my bed.

  “What about in nothing at all?” I wink at him and slowly trace my finger along his arm, back to his shoulder, and then down his chest. He shivers, and goosebumps appear, which makes my smile grow at how much he wants me.

  “Maybe Alexander was right, you are a little evil.” His groan makes me laugh, and I slowly sit up, allowing his hand to slide in to my lap. He stops breathing and freezes.

  An idea comes to mind, and I do feel a little evil like Alexander accuses me of. I turn to him slowly to find his eyes locked on my every movement.

  I lean forward before I can talk myself out of it. As quick as I can, I straddle his waist, forcing him on to his back. His hands go to my hips, holding me in place, and longing fills his eyes. I look my fill of him, and my panties grow wet with need at the sight of this hot man stretched out beneath me. I lick my lips and allow my gaze to drop to his perfect stomach. Shuffling back, his hands drop and I lean forward towards him and lick a trail over his upper abs and between his pecs.

  His breathing picks up, and he moans my name. I kiss my way up his neck and to his ear. Forcing myself to be pressed tight against him, it almost has me grinding my hips, but I force myself to carry on. Allowing my warm breath to hit his ear, I wait a moment, delaying his torture and mine. His hands tighten on my hips, and the proof of his need presses tightly against my ass.

  I lick his lobe and whisper to him before I get distracted, “I’ll race you to breakfast.” I scramble off his lap and run out of the open door, sliding on my bare feet. I turn at the doorway to see him still lying in the bed, breathing heavily, and bewildered. I laugh all the way down the stairs.

  I just reach the landing when he swears. His footsteps pound down the hall after me. I slowly walk into the kitchen with forced casualness. The others sit around the breakfast nook gazing at me in question as the witch comes in swearing behind me. I smile sweetly at them and plop down in the chair next to Ezra.

  “What’s for breakfast?”

  All the way through breakfast, hunger emanates from Ben’s eyes, and he shifts a lot which makes me smirk. It wasn’t until I stood up to get some juice from the fridge and the room went silent that I remembered I was still in Ezra’s shirt. In my haste to get away from Ben—before I actually jumped him—I forgot to put on pants. Turning around, they run their eyes over my half-clad form.

  Deciding to own it rather than be embarrassed by it, I sashay back to the table and take my seat.

  I carry on eating like nothing’s wrong and a few seconds later, they do too. I grab my juice about to take a drink when Ezra leans in to me.

  “You look fucking hot in my shirt.” His whisper almost makes me choke on my juice, and I glare at him as he laughs, knowing he did it on purpose.

  It goes back to normal after that—well, as normal as breakfast full of supernaturals can be. Ezra and Alexander look hot in sleep shirts and pants. Jason surprises m
e the most, wearing only mesh shorts, and Ben is still just in his trackies. Honestly, it’s a miracle I’m not a puddle of need on the floor right now.

  I laugh along with their banter and stories as happiness bursts to life in my chest.

  “Where’s Nev, by the way? He was gone when I woke up.” Not asking anyone in particular, I wait to find out where my wayward sidekick is now.

  “Oh, he was scratching at your door when I walked past, so I let him out. He disappeared into Ezra’s room,” Alexander says casually.

  “When was that?” My eyebrow quirks.

  “Middle of the night.” I turn to Ezra in question, and he grunts at me.

  “Bloody dog hogged half my bed.” He doesn’t even glance at me when he says it.

  “Sorry, he has a mind of his own,” I say sweetly, not at all blaming Nev for wanting to sleep next to the giant.

  “Yeah, well, he’s still asleep.” He shoves more pancakes into his mouth.

  Jason leans across the table. “He snuck over the other day and followed Ezra around then, as well.”

  “Is that right? Got a little friend, have you?” I bump my shoulder into his.

  “I’d much rather have his owner following me around and sneaking into my bed.”

  I gulp at his calm statement.

  “Who wouldn’t,” Jason mumbles, and I raise my eyes to his in shock. He looks so serious, and holy shit, did he just mean what I think he meant? Okay, enough time staring at the hotties, Aurora. Time to move to a safe subject. Erm, okay safe subject... Why is my mind blank?

  “Can one of you drop me at home in a bit? I have work later,” I blurt, leaning back finished with the amazing breakfast Alexander cooked. I know the man can cook. Not even going to pretend that doesn’t make him ten times hotter.

  “Sure,” four voices ring out in unison, and I grin at them all. Cute.

  “I will,” four voices say again. They glance around at each other with narrowed eyes.

  “You can’t all take me.”

  They stare each other down, before Jason suggests, “Rock, paper, scissors?”

  Ben leans back and with a wink at me, suggests a new way. “Dick measuring? Aurora can be the judge.”

  Before I can even react—which, of course, I would of be outraged... right?—Alexander smacks him across the back of the head. Ben laughs, and I shake my head wondering if they are always like this.

  I sit in amusement and watch the rock, paper, scissors contest until it’s only Alexander and Ben left. The intense expression on both of their faces is hilarious.

  “You cheated!” Ben stands up and points at Alex dramatically, who just sits back and stares at him with a smug smile on his face.

  “I’ll go get dressed then.” I stand up, hoping to end the tension in the room.

  Ben instantly turns towards me. “Need a hand?” He wiggles his eyebrows at me, and Jason smacks the back of his head as he walks past him. I ignore them and head upstairs to the room I claimed as mine.

  When I reach the room, Nev sprawls on his back on the bed. Bloody dog. Laughter floats from downstairs as they joke between them, causing me to laugh and shake my head. Fuck my plan, I need a new one. Trying to figure out a way to be friends with the crazy witches whilst hiding my secrets keeps me busy until I’m dressed and headed downstairs. I say a quick goodbye to everyone, distractedly lost in my own head.

  Alexander puts his hand on my back and guides me out the front door and to his car.

  19

  - AURORA -

  I stare out of the window still lost in my thoughts as Alexander drives me home. His hand lands on my leg, which bounces up and down, stilling the movement and jarring me back to the present.

  I turn to him in question, and he takes his eyes off the road for a second to throw me a concerned look.

  “You okay?” His quiet voice fills the car, so unlike his usual tone.

  “Yeah, sorry, I was miles away.” I stare at his profile as he drives, running my eyes over his model-like appearance. Seriously, he’s way too pretty for his own good. Ezra has this intense, scary sexiness to him, Jason takes on the boy-next-door cuteness, and Ben... well, Ben is a lady’s wet dream. But Alex is perfect. I imagine he resembles a god. Sharp, high cheekbones, straight noble nose, perfectly shaped eyebrows, and long lashes that every girl wishes for.

  “I noticed, sweetheart. Look, if it’s about last night with me and Ezra, you can tell me. We overstepped a little, but well, you drive us a bit crazy.”

  Wait... what? I drive them crazy?

  “No, it wasn’t, but what do you mean?” I cross my arms sullenly.

  “Your eyes are always filled with such deep emotion. You can be laughing with us, and we know it’s real. Do you realise how rare that is? To have someone actually listen and care? It doesn’t help that you’ve got this whole fallen angel look going on.” He eyes flick to me as he says it and something low in my body tightens at his honest lust-filled words. “A body that has everyone begging for a taste and the best bit? You don’t even know, but most of all, Aurora, it’s you. Whenever we’re with you, we feel the same way we do around each other. How we felt when we first saw each other as kids.”

  “What’s that?” My voice lowers as I try not to let his words affect me, but hot damn, they do.

  “Home, Kitten, you feel like home. We’re drawn to you. Have been since we first laid eyes on you.”

  I swallow hard, unsure what to say. Out the window, the trees pass. Alexander squeezes my leg and lets go, obviously not expecting a reply, and I instantly miss the heat of his hand. I consider what he said and how comfortable I’ve become in the short amount of time I’ve known them. Why I keep letting them break my plans and my resistance to letting anyone in.

  “I know what you mean,” I whisper.

  From the corner of my eye, I see him glancing at me but refuse to turn to him, scared of what I might admit next. There’s something about him that draws out my deepest fears and secrets. I would happily hand them on a plate to this man if only to see that soft caring expression in his eyes. Ben makes me want to have fun, Ezra grounds me, makes me safe in his arms, and Jason brings out my soft and geeky side.

  Their sexy strong leader? He challenges me in a way that has me split in two. I want to run towards him but run away from the searching look in his eyes at the same time. No half-truths for him, he takes what he wants and doesn’t stop. He expects one hundred percent, and I can’t help but want that too. Just to let go, to let him in. To let him see everything, even if it means he walks away.

  We both get lost in our heads for the rest of the journey, but I can’t help but steal glances at him. He smiles at me whenever he catches my gaze. When we reach my drive, I practically sprint from the car and its intensity. He doesn’t say anything but gets out after me letting Nev out of the backseat. Nev runs up to the door and stops at the steps.

  I sense it the same time he does. His fur sticks up, and he growls as he runs back to me and stands in front of me.

  I take a deep breath getting ready to search the area for any threats when I remember Alexander. I argue myself in circles, but as Nev starts barking, I throw my hesitation to the wind and spread out my senses to get a feel of whatever it is.

  “Aurora.” Alexander’s voice is deep and low with barely controlled menace lacing his words.

  “One minute.” My voice sounds distracted even to me, but he doesn’t question me. He steps towards my back, not quite touching but close.

  When I stretch my magic out, I gasp as it touches his. Behind my eyes, his green magic twists and spins with my multi-coloured one—no time to analyse why they don’t attack each other like they would normally for witches from different covens. I pull back and spread my magic farther out.

  A darkness surrounds my property. Frowning even harder, I test my boundaries searching for gaps, and the darkness stops mere centimetres from the boundaries of my property where my wards are. Relieved nothing got through, I add a push of magic to re
inforce my wards.

  I hesitate once again, wondering if it will stop my guys now. Then, I remembered they got through before. Huh, I guess I didn’t consider that. When I designed my wards and walked the circle with my blood, I added my will that no one who meant any harm may pass.

  As I go to pull my magic back, I spot a thread, almost invisible but there, connecting me to Alexander. I turn to face him as my magic recedes, wondering if he can see that, too. His face darkens as his power lights up his eyes. He looks so otherworldly, surrounded by power, like a predator hunting its prey. I involuntary take a step back, and when I realise what I’ve done, I stop myself.

  “What was that?” His voice is gravely with his power, and I panic.

  Did he feel me pushing out my senses and touching his magic?

  Before I come up with an excuse, the front door slams open behind me, and I spin to find a furious Lane standing there. Giving my back to an angry witch is probably not a good idea, but hey, a girl has got to prioritise, and when my best friend is involved, I drop everything else.

  Lane paces back and forth, ranting about how worried she was when she couldn’t get hold of me. Her bubble gum pink dress swishes around her, mirroring her anger. Her anger and accusations of me being selfish get my hackles up, but before I explode, I take a closer look at her. Her eyes are wild, and I take a moment to see through the anger to her panic and worry for me. My anger recedes to be replaced with guilt—I’m a shitty friend.

  Alexander doesn’t speak a word, and for that, I’m grateful. He sits, staring at me with the same intensity as before, his power slightly visible through his amber eyes. Okay, one problem at a time, Aurora. Ignore the witch and focus on the human. I take a deep breath, I’m more scared than facing a horde of angry witches. Huh, who knew one little human could scare me so much.

  “Lane.”

  She carries on ranting. It takes three more times before she hears me.