Storm Read Online Free Page B

we use magic together, only a thousand times more.”
    “Addicting?”
    She shrugs. “A little, but in a good way. Like somehow this is who I was always meant to be.”
    I don’t like that thought or the look on her face. Just because we’re halflings it doesn’t mean that we’re meant to do anything with void magic.
    “No, that’s not right, either.” She waves off the thought. “I haven’t found the right words yet. Maybe there aren’t any. Like being with you.”
    I can see the sincerity carved into her face, but that doesn’t mean I like being compared with demon magic. But, if being with me is like what I feel when I’m with her, then I get it. There’s something freeing and terrifying all at once. Debilitating and invigorating. Words I’d never imagined I’d use for another person.
    “I don’t want to lose you,” I say. And the fact is, if anyone finds out, I could. I’m not sure what I’m more afraid of: the Triad finding out that she can access it and exiling her forever, or what my dad would say and do under the guise of protecting me. If there’s one thing I know more than anything, even more than demons, it’s that nothing matters more to Victor Prescott than me.
    Prescott men protect themselves above all others.
    Or rather the Prescott name, which I have the lucky misfortune of bearing.
    Penelope sits down beside me on her bed. “Where’d you go?”
    I shake my head, then look at her, raise an eyebrow, and smile. “You don’t want to know where I went.”
    “What if I do?” Her cheeks get a little rosy—I love that I can do that to her. Making her blush is one of the highlights of my day. That and the way she can practically purr under my lips when we kiss. And the feel of her skin on mine. Really, everything. Even when she pisses me off because she risks herself like she does. Maybe especially then.
    “Do you think you can handle it?” I ask her.
    She nods and sits up straighter next to me. “I’m braver than I look.”
    I lean in closer to her so my mouth is a breath from her ear. She inhales when I speak. “I went here,” I say, and I press my lips in that spot under her ear. “And here.” I kiss her cheek. “And here,” I kiss her jaw and run my hand over her stomach. My fingers touch the skin under her shirt. “And here,” I say, kissing her neck. She’s practically on fire under my touch as my fingers trace a line up to her belly button.
    “And—” I move to kiss her but she turns her mouth to me first. Her hands press against my back, pulling me in closer to her as her tongue slides into my mouth. Then, there isn’t any thinking. My fingers are all over her skin and she seems to curve into my touch. Every time her body responds that way, it makes me feel invincible. Like I can do anything and we can be anything and together, unstoppable.
    “Why is this door closed?”
    Pen and I separate and launch up from the bed. Connie, Penelope’s sister, stands in the doorway, eyes filled with laughter. Penelope throws a pillow at Connie, and I look down at the floor and count to ten. One, two, three…
    “You should knock,” Penelope snaps.
    A fast breeze swishes past my head and then back again, a soft thud landing on the bed. A pillow. “You shouldn’t have the door closed. You know the rules. What if I was Gran?”
    Pen scoffs. “As if you don’t break the rules every day.”
    Nine. Ten.
    Maybe I’ll go to twenty.
    “True, but at least I was always sneaky. You’re pretty obvious,” she says. Eighteen . “Ric and Maple are downstairs. That’s why I volunteered to come up here for you. You’re welcome.”
    I look up to see Pen cross her arms. Connie’s in the doorway staring between us, smile on her lips. She looks like Penelope does when she’s gotten her way. No one says anything for a minute. This is awkward.
    “Thanks, Connie,” I say, and flash her the Prescott smile. One of confidence and assurance that my dad taught me was part of the Prescott