The Professor Woos The Witch (Nocturne Falls Book 4) by Kristen Painter Page A

both.”
    “Good.” He smiled with weak resignation. “We’ll come to dinner tomorrow night. I don’t know how I’m going to live with this. And Kaley’s going to need guidance I’d never be able to give her.”
    He stared at Pandora’s hand, then slid his back across the table toward her. “I like you, Pandora. I feel…drawn to you in a way I’ve never felt with another woman. If that’s whatever’s inside me responding to who you are, so be it, but I don’t like being afraid of touching you.”
    He raised his head to meet her eyes. “I don’t think I can stop feeling this way either.”
    She lifted her fingers, her instinct to lay them on top of his, but she stopped herself and dropped them back to the table. “I’m okay with that. I feel drawn to you too, despite the fact that I don’t really like you much. Didn’t really like you much.”
    “I’m sorry about that. I’ll work on being more likable. I swear.”
    “I’ll believe that when I see it.” She smiled. “We’ll figure this out. I promise.”
    He stood, putting some distance between them. “I need to call my dad. He owes me a big explanation for why he and my mom kept this from me all these years. I’d really like to know what the hell they were thinking.”
    She got up. “I should go anyway. Work tomorrow and all that. I’ll text you with the time for dinner.”
    “Sounds good. Thanks for not giving up on me. I’m sorry I was such a bonehead about the whole witch thing.”
    “You were just being human.” She smiled, her heart thudding a little at how handsome and vulnerable he looked.
    A thin half smile lifted his mouth. “I’d like to kiss you good-bye, but I’m not sure that would be a good idea what with the shifting and all.”
    “Right. We totally shouldn’t do that then.” But she couldn’t bring herself to move toward the door. “Or I could try to…help with that.”
    “How?” He took a step in her direction.
    “A little suppression spell. That’s the best thing I can think of. You willing to give it a shot?”
    His answer came without hesitation. He threaded his fingers through her hair and tipped her mouth up to meet his.
    She sank into his kiss with none of the hesitation she’d felt the first time. If he wanted to kiss her, she was going to give it her complete effort. She was also going to do her witchy best to keep him from shifting again and freaking out. He could learn to manage that in his own time. With that in mind, she pushed a little spell over him.
    His mouth was hungry and searching and fit hers as perfectly as if they’d been made for each other, which she guessed was kind of the case.
    She could practically feel his pulse thrumming through his skin. Or maybe that was hers. For a moment, it seemed like they were one person, one being, one perfect entity. A whirlwind spun around them, lifting them, making them lighter than air…
    And then he broke the kiss and backed up. His eyes were a little wild, wide and feral with the kind of animalistic need she’d seen in him right before he’d transformed in the attic. She whispered a calming spell on top of the one to suppress his shifting.
    He relaxed and took a breath. “Did you just use more magic on me?”
    She nodded. “A calming spell. You looked a little freaked out. Like you were going to shift.”
    “But I didn’t, right?”
    “No.”
    “Thanks for the help, but it makes me think we need to practice more.”
    “Practice more what?”
    “Kissing.” He reached for her again.

    Half an hour later, Cole had said good-bye to Pandora three times. This time they’d somehow made it stick, and he gave her a wave as she pulled out of his driveway.
    He was crazy. He knew that. But at a certain point, you couldn’t fight the inevitable. So if he was going to be crazy, he was at least going to enjoy himself.
    And Pandora was very enjoyable.
    But it wasn’t just a physical attraction. He felt complete around her. And that wasn’t a feeling