November Reign (Northarbor Coven #3)

6. Flirting Basics

Flirting Basics

Thyme

Oak was right. Taking things back to the start was just the thing we needed to ignite some passion for magic in our students.

Cody, naturally, did better than Damon, who lived for Cody bettering him at something. Out of the best friends, Cody had the previous knowledge from his training as a child before his parents gave up on him. We’d all believed Cody had no magic of his own, or barely enough to make him a witch. Only Poppy’s insistence that he was included in the coven gave him the protections being a coven member afforded us. Useful when the hit was put out on him. Then we’d found out about his demon parentage and half the coven wanted him out. Not me. I was fascinated about the two supernatural species merging. I’d never heard of it happening before.

For Damon, going back to basics finally gave him the context he needed for many of the harder, defensive spells we’d had him learning. While I didn’t think he truly loved being a witch, he seemed to no longer hate that part of himself, a huge deal in my eyes.

Physically, both changed before our eyes. Cody was more confident, standing taller and letting his demon side out more often. I quickly became accustomed to seeing his ears change shape or his horns curving up from his head. He wasn’t quite comfortable having his wings or tail on display like Toth was. I understood that. They were sensitive to touch and hardly practical for defense or magic training.

Damon was calmer. Held himself still more before springing into motion. He was quicker when he did move, using his magic to speed his movements.

Going back to the start had other benefits. Damon discovered a love of potion making. Truly, he was talented at it. With more time, he would be coming up with his own recipes!

Having something he was good at outside of fighting did something to my little brother. I think it helped him see his magic wasn’t a burden. In his life, there hadn’t been many opportunities for him to help people outside of doing contracts as a hitman. Making healing salves, sleep draughts, medicinal tinctures, gave him a new purpose.

He was still ruthless, could kill in the blink of an eye without it affecting his conscience, but he had a new softer edge .

Weeks passed, until we were nearing the end of October, with real progress from our students. They weren’t resisting the training anymore. Useful since there were a string of attacks in Northarbor, all of which likely came from Basil.

As far as I knew, he was still working with the Northarbor aviary. He’d sought allies and sanctuary there after our other run-ins. A strange choice, considering his views on shifters. He saw them as beneath him. Poppy, on the other hand, had worked hard to foster a great relationship with the local packs, in particular the Sweetwater pack where her friend, Kade, was the Alpha Mate.

Oak was just back from a patrol with some of the other coven members and a few of the Northarbor pride shifters. They had an alliance with Sweetwater, so we were trying to work with them too. Important since we were often in their territory.

“How’d it go?” I asked, as Oak stripped off his jacket and hung it in the closet.

“No sign. They were long gone by the time we got there.” Oak shook his head, the disappointment evident.

Our relationship had undergone a welcome change over the last few weeks. Since the decision to change the training, Oak had been friendlier to me. He didn’t seek me out, but didn’t avoid me either. He was less confrontational, which really didn’t help my crush situation.

Oak was gorgeous. His Thai background gave him golden skin I envied. I was so pale I was almost transparent. His eyes were the deepest gray before black. He was tall, just over six feet compared to my five-six, and more muscular than me with long dark hair he more often than not tied half up in a bun, the rest around his shoulders.

So many times I caught myself longing to run my fingers through his hair as he kissed me senseless. I just knew his lips would be soft under mine, His mouth was wide, his lips inviting though on the thinner side. He had a sharp jawline and cheekbones that would make most models cry. Seriously, his bone structure made him look like he’d been carved from marble. He was just so beautiful.

“Were there any injuries?” Oak had taken Damon to make use of his fighting skills with shifters involved. They’d taken plenty of Damon’s new and improved healing potions.

“None.” Damon came into the hallway almost looking irritated he hadn’t had a reason to use his skills. “It was all done by the time we got there. Sweetwater got away with their delivery intact.”

“That’s good. ”

“Yeah,” Oak agreed. “Listen, I’m going to go shower, maybe take a nap.”

“Still not sleeping well? Want me to make more of that milk for you later?”

He attempted a smile. “Sure.” Then he turned and headed for his room.

I’d noticed a pattern. Oak always withdrew from everyone, me in particular, after he’d been out on patrol or an attack had happened. Considering how we used to be, I didn’t mind too much. Things between us were much better than they had been.

“I know that look. Knew it! You’ve got a crush on Oak,” Damon teased. “I thought it for a while, but just then, I saw it! Hearts in your eyes!”

“Shh!” I looked to see if there was any sign of Oak lingering in the halls.

“Not denying it, I see.” Damon’s face was more animated than I’d seen it for a while.

“It’s nothing.” I tried to play it off.

“Au contraire, big brother, it’s a huge deal.” He slung an arm around me. Given how standoffish he could be with me, it was rather startling. I froze in place. “Have you seen the way he looks at you when he thinks no one is paying attention?”

That drew me up short. “How does he look at me? ”

“Like he’s the big bad wolf, and he wants to eat you.” Damon chuckled, probably at my expression. I could feel the heat in my face.

“He doesn’t,” I automatically denied.

“You’d so let him, wouldn’t you?” At my confused look he added, “eat you. I thought it was just one sided, but you like him back.”

Dazed, I nodded. My relationship with Damon always felt so fragile that a single lie could topple everything we’d built over the last few months.

“I think we’ll need Mori for this one.”

“For what?”

“Flirting basics. I need you two to fuck, and soon. About time we cut the sexual tension in this place.”

Mori was delighted to be pulled into one of Damon’s schemes. Those two were a dangerous combination. The sheer charisma they held alone made them irresistible when they were together.

Damon breezed into their suite, tugging me along behind him. “Mori, darling, I need you to teach my brother how to flirt properly. ”

Their rooms had a small seating area where Mori was working on a laptop. Parker, our resident hacker and tech wizard, had checked all our computers and phones when we moved in. The bird shifter also joined his mate, Gregoris, on aerial patrols of the mansion and grounds. I didn’t get to see them flying as often as I liked.

“Hmm, who is he flirting with, sweetheart?” Mori had a wicked grin on his handsome face. He and Cody were so alike. There was no denying Mori was his dad when they were together. Damon let go of me to go to Mori’s side.

“You were right. Thyme has a crush on Oak,” Damon admitted with a sigh.

“Pay up then!”

Damon leaned down to kiss his mate. “Happy?”

“Always when I’m with you.”

They were adorable but also reminding me just how single I was.

“Why am I here?” I whined.

“Because Mori is going to teach you to flirt like an incubus does.”

“Um, I don’t have his pheromones or whatever, so that’s not possible,” I pointed out.

“No, but you have something better!” Mori stood from his seat with a grin on his face. “You have chemistry with the one you want. We’ve seen the way he looks at you.”

“Like he wants to eat me. So I heard. I’m not dinner,” I deadpanned.

“You could be something better. The one true love of Oak’s life.”

I scoffed. “After how things have been between us? Doubtful. We’re only just becoming friends.”

“A friends-to-lovers story arc is a beautiful one. It’s a classic for a reason,” Mori argued.

Behind his lover, Damon just grinned. Maybe this was payback of some sort for all the mistakes with his training, for giving him his magic in the first place.

My stomach twisted with regret. Maybe I’d never get to a good place with my little brother.

With a sigh, I gave in. “What do you want me to do?”

“Watch and learn.”

It felt like hours I was in the room with Damon and Mori, though it was only one at a push. They pulled their best moves on each other, the sexual tension between them climbing. Not going to lie, I spent half my time with my hands over my face so I didn’t have to watch the baby I’d helped raise until I’d been forced to leave him act in such a manner.

There were some useful tips in there, like adding touches as I spoke to Oak. Leaning into his space while he talked to show I was properly listening. Some things I’d already been doing but more exaggerated. All the eye contact. Staring into Oak’s gunmetal gray eyes wouldn’t be so bad. The compliments were a little much, some of them downright saucy, but I could tailor the idea to Oak, really build on small amounts of praise to something more.

“I’m going to go,” I muttered as Mori pulled Damon close and captured his mouth in a fierce kiss. They really didn’t care that I was in the room, did they?

The door closed with a click, then locked, probably with Damon’s magic, just after. I rushed down the hall for the safety of my room. I was so embarrassed!

Thud! I collided with someone, momentarily pressing all of me against his hard body. I gripped onto his shirt to stop myself from falling to the floor.

A warm arm wrapped around me, holding me in place. I craned my neck to meet those eyes I knew so well.

“Sorry!”

My face flamed.

Oak looked down at me, the tiniest smile at the corner of his lips.

“I was looking for you.”

“You were?” Neither of us moved. I still gripped onto his shirt. I didn’t want to break this spell.

He continued to look at me, searching my face for something. I didn’t know what .

Finally, he gave a cough and stepped back, tugging my fingers from his shirt.

“Want to, um, make that milk for me again? I could do with a good night’s sleep.”

Looking at him without the lust tinted glasses, I could see the dark circles under his eyes and the way he wore his weariness. Maybe this wasn’t the time to be flirting with Oak. Maybe he just needed someone to be his friend.

“Sure!” I said, keeping my voice bright. “Come on. I wouldn’t mind a mug myself.”

I might have sat closer to Oak than usual at the kitchen table, but I didn’t push it further than that.

Baby steps.