When his lips touched mine the feeling slowly traveled to my toes. It may have sounded like romantic comedy nonsense, but that was where it went.
I kissed him back like my lips knew what to do because I sure as hell didn’t. The awkward movements of my previous experience had somehow disappeared. I could trust Luken and follow his lead.
His lips were soft against mine. Moving with purpose until his tongue probed at the seam of my lips. I opened and he slid in. The wet heat of his mouth against mine sent shivers down my spine as I clasped my hands against his shoulders. His strong shoulders.
I might not have known what I was doing, but Luken for sure did.
I’d imagined kissing someone a million times, had dreamed of it, but never, not once, had I imagined it could be like this.
It was like my entire body lit up with excitement, desire, and all the good things in the world. The things I’d missed out on.
“Miranda,” he murmured against my lips.
Something inside me burned with a desire that couldn’t have been normal. But for once, just this once, I wanted to throw caution to the wind. Wanted to be one of those girls from school who knew boys desired them.
I felt that way with Luken, but there were so many more layers to it.
Physically, his hands touching my body created an electric connection that I wouldn’t dare break. But it was also as if I could feel what he was feeling. If I really was a witch as he’d insisted, maybe I could. Whatever it was, I wanted more of it. The connection was intoxicating.
Then we were moving. Luken moved us across the room to an old couch that probably hadn’t been used in decades and I’d certainly never seen it before. He yanked at the blanket protecting the fabric and flung it to the floor. I hadn’t known this couch was up there but now I’d never forget it. The fabric had protected it and I wondered again, why Grandma had never let us use any of the good stuff in our actual house.
Before lowering me onto the cushion, Luken pulled my shirt over my head leaving me in only my bra on top then dove back in to claim my lips.
This really wasn’t like me at all, but to say I was drawn to him would’ve been a complete understatement. This burning need pooled low in my abdomen and I couldn’t stop until that need was met. I wouldn’t have stopped last night if he hadn’t.
And Luken was the one to meet my needs.
His lips didn’t leave mine until we were settled on the couch. Then they traveled down my neck, over the swells of my breasts, no man’s land before, then down my stomach. He popped the button on my jeans, then yanked them down my legs. There I was before him in only my bra and panties. Not even particularly sexy ones at that and yet, I didn’t care at all. I wanted him to see me. Wanted him to want me.
“Miranda,” he said, but it was more of a warning.
“Don’t you dare stop.” If he stopped, I was pretty sure I’d spontaneously combust. And after last night… this needed to happen. And even if he regretted it in the morning, I sure as hell wouldn’t.
He moved himself off me a little and that weight was sorely missed even if he hadn’t gone very far. “Maybe we should talk about a few things first.”
“I’ve been on birth control since I was fifteen. What else do we need to discuss?” Unless his second thoughts were about me. Maybe I wasn’t what he had been expecting. No. I pushed that self-doubt aside and willed myself to believe I was enough. The embarrassment of talking about my period was a totally separate thing that I hoped he wouldn’t see.
Luken groaned and kissed me again. He made quick work of my bra and panties as if he’d removed them a thousand times. For all I knew, he had. Just not mine. The warmth of his body over me was gone as he removed his own clothes and I hated that he had to break the connection but if I wanted him out of his clothes—and I did—it couldn’t be helped.
Suddenly, I was naked with a man. On the list of things I never would have expected to be happening right now, this was very near the top. Waiting for him to return was torture. I had no idea what I was doing but I was going to dive in headfirst.
But he didn’t return over me the way he had been. Instead, he leaned down and kissed then sucked on the inside of my thigh before moving in to lick and nip at my most sensitive area. My legs tensed but his big hands pushed them open wider.
David hadn’t done this to me. Hadn’t even tried to do much to work me up before he just went for it. But he was the furthest thing from my mind right now.
All of my senses were overtaken by Luken. His mouth and hands were the only things I could feel. His earthy scent was the only thing I could smell. My heart ticked up a notch as Luken worked his magic tongue on me.
For all the love in the world, I’d never thought someone going down on me would feel the way it did. Where the other guy had used me for his own pleasure, or his own benefit depending on how I looked at it, Luken clearly cared about my pleasure.
Maybe this was the difference between a boy and a man.
Now that I was experiencing it for myself, I certainly didn’t want him to stop. Not until the pressure forming replaced the need that had once been there and exploded in an all-consuming wave of pleasure. A wave that crashed against my shore again and again until that attention I previously hadn’t wanted to stop became too much for me to handle.
It should’ve been uncomfortable and yet it was the sweetest pain I’d ever known.
I pushed at the top of his head until he got the hint and pulled back. My body still trembled as he dropped kisses against my stomach then breasts, then neck, until he found my lips again.
Luken took my breath away as he pushed inside me.
Given that I’d only had sex the one-time years ago, he didn’t exactly ease right inside. My legs tensed against his sides the way they had before but this time he couldn’t use his hands to keep me from clamping down.
“You gotta relax,” he said, his voice barely above a whisper as if he thought someone might overhear yet he sounded out of breath at the same time.
I took a deep breath and as I exhaled, all the tension left my body, giving him the opportunity to sneak in. It didn’t hurt like it had the first time but being only the second time, him being inside me felt like an uncomfortable intrusion. One he must’ve known about because as he got himself settled he didn’t move as if waiting for me to get accustomed to him being there.
I kissed his neck because I wanted to. There was no right or wrong in the moment or at least I didn’t think there was. He moved against me a few times and that was when the 3pleasure set in and on my life I didn’t know how I’d go back to never doing this once he left.
Because I assumed he was leaving eventually given that he hadn’t told me why he came in the first place. He’d said he was here for work but never went anywhere. I couldn’t think about that. About the fact that he’d known my grandma’s secrets before I did. Was that his job? I made a mental note to ask him later so that I could focus on the way he was making my body feel.
My focus was on Luken. He surrounded me. I could smell his soap, taste him as we kissed. He was everywhere and not nearly enough places and I was lost.
Lost in him.
Chapter Thirteen
Luken
Fuck.
I really shouldn’t have done that. Taken advantage of Miranda’s situation that way. But her coming into the attic had taken me by surprise. The look on her face told me she knew exactly what I’d been feeling in the moment. The loss of my mother. The dressing down from Michael. The need to not let anyone down. She’d somehow known it all even if the details had been lost to her.
It took me all of twelve seconds to figure out she had some empath abilities. At least partly. She could feel what I was feeling that much was clear.
It had taken less than twelve seconds to know that having sex with her when she couldn’t see the whole picture was wrong and I was an idiot for doing it. No matter how much I’d wanted to.
“That was… something else,” Miranda m
urmured into my chest before looking up at me. We were still on the couch in her attic, naked as she curled around me, my arm wrapped around her. “Is it always like this?”
Fuck again.
If she hadn’t told me what that other asshole had done, I would’ve thought she was a virgin. Not just because of her unsure movements but also due to how she’d felt when I pushed inside her. Surprisingly she hadn’t been timid for a moment as I would’ve expected. It was like she’d decided she was going to be with me and once the decision was made, it was done.
“It can be between the right people.” I trailed my fingertips up her arm. It’d never been like that for me before ever. “It always feels good though.”
“Not always,” she murmured and once again I cursed that I’d missed the opportunity to punch that other asshole in the mouth. “But that’s not what I meant.” She sat up and snagged her bra from the floor and put it on quickly before pulling her shirt back over her head. Next came her panties and I guessed this was the time to put ourselves back together. I’d rather lay there with her a while longer but she called the shots. “You say I’m a witch. So you’re a witch too right?”
I nodded as I button up my own pants then grabbed my shirt.
“I’m not saying I totally believe you about all of that but my mind keeps turning with questions. How did you get this room open? How did I get the safe open? How is there a whole other house attached to mine that no one can see on the outside?” She took a deep breath and closed her eyes for a moment. “So something is going on here and why not it be witches? But my questions is, if we’re both witches, is that how it is with all witches?”
“I don’t know,” I answered honestly. “I’ve never been with another witch.”
Her face scrunched up the way it did when she was about to get curious and ask about those experiences, which highlighted just how few she’d had. I didn’t care about that. But I also didn’t want her to poke around in that part of my life, given that I wasn’t exactly proud of all it. Looking for approval from others sometimes meant you fucked people you didn’t necessarily love. Or like. Or really wanted to be with.
I absolutely didn’t want her to see that part of me. Not yet.
Instead of letting the conversation go any further, I decided to distract her. I gently grabbed each of her arms and pulled her into my space, us standing so closely that my mind began to drift to what we’d just done. And it definitely wanted a repeat. Hopefully it was enough to distract her as well.
“Now that we’re in here, care to check out the attic? You said you’ve never been up here.”
Miranda sighed but nodded then glanced around the room. As she sat down on our couch and put her shoes back on, memories of us together just before this flooded my mind. The way she’d tasted, the way she’d moved beneath me when I’d touched her as she’d never been touched before.
And damn, my dick came alive again. I groaned softly and ran my fingers though my hair. I needed to calm the hell down, but it seemed I couldn’t get enough of Miranda Deerborne.
“My friend Miller is on his way here,” I told her. Better to rip off the band aide.
“Why?” she asked.
“He wanted to get out of town for a bit.”
Her eyebrows slammed down and her mouth opened.
Before she could respond, I said, “I didn’t know he was coming until he was on his way here.”
“Oh.” That look of confusion or concern left her face. “I can understand that.”
I blew a breath out slowly. “How much would you care if he stayed here with us?”
“Not at all,” she responded quickly. “Of course he can stay. Not that it’s much of a place to stay.”
I pulled her into my arms and squeezed before kissing the top of her head. “It’s a great place, Miranda.”
“Wait.” She pulled back. “Is he a witch too?”
I chuckled. “Yeah.”
“Oh. Then he could stay in the nice part of the house.”
I shook my head. “He can stay in one of the other bedrooms.”
“I haven’t opened any of them in years.”
“Well, he can stay in my room then.”
Her eyebrows went up and her mouth fell open for a different reason. Surprise.
“He can stay in with me or he can have it to himself. Your call. But he’ll stay in whichever house we stay in.” Because I wouldn’t pressure her into having me in her bed every night. That’d be up to her.
She nodded but didn’t answer. If she wanted time to make a decision, she could have all she wanted.
Once we were both put back together, we began our inspection of the area. The faint purple haze in the corners of the room told me that Serena had performed a lot of magic in here. Given that the magical essence still lingered when it usually dissipated rather quickly. Still, I wondered why Miranda didn’t at least see the haze.
Along the one wall, there were patio doors with a balcony just on the other side. The way the moonlight streamed into the room was just about perfect. Serena could’ve called on all the elements there and stand outside when necessary to conjure up her magic. No wonder she’d never wanted to leave this place.
I pulled the doors open and stepped out onto the balcony to scan the backyard. What I was looking for, I wasn’t sure but I’d know it when I saw it.
“This is all just old stuff,” Miranda said but probably more to herself.
“It’s more than that,” I told her without looking back.
Some of the things I saw with just a cursory glance around the room was exactly what I’d envisioned when they’d told me I was going to watch over Serena Good’s granddaughter. The stone wall along the perimeter was high enough that prying looky-loos wouldn’t be able to see inside.
When I scanned down, a black mark on the grass caught my eye. Burn marks. Black, scorched burn marks. I held my hand over the balcony railing to see if I’d pick up any vibes, though I’d need to go down there to be sure of anything. Faint as the essence left behind was, given how high above I was, I knew immediately that this spot on the grass was where Serena had died.
Miranda told me in one of our talks that she’d found her grandmother dead in her bed, but I had no doubt in my mind now that she died out there in the yard. Now I had to use everything I knew to figure out why Miranda thought she’d been in bed.
My immediate guess was that the spell cast to mess with Miranda’s memories must’ve been the last spell Serena ever cast. Probably muttered with her dying breath.
Damn, damn, damn.
I glanced over my shoulder at her, me still out on the balcony. “What can you tell me
about your grandmother’s death?” I asked quietly. She probably shouldn’t have been able to hear me yet did.
Miranda came out to join me on the balcony but instead of looking at me and answering, she scanned the area below us. I hadn’t wanted her to see the mark yet. She’d have questions but I’d wanted to know a bit more before explaining anything.
“I noticed that a few days ago,” she said, pointing to the dark mark on the ground. “I wonder what happened.”
“You were out there?” I asked, moving in closer to her. My intention was to just be close but secretly, I hoped she’d pick up on some of what I was feeling which could help her stay calm as she learned about her grandmother and where she came from.
“Yeah. While the authorities were in the house. I needed some air and didn’t necessarily want to see everything they had to do.”
No time like the present. “Did you feel anything when you were near it?”
“No.” Her big blue eyes looked up at me. “Why would I? It’s a weird mark on the grass.”
I took a deep breath. “Think about it. Did you feel anything that you chalked up to something else?”
“Luken, I said… ” But she didn’t finish. Instead her gaze became clouded with something… confusion, curiosity, but while she was looking at me, she no longer saw me. Then her ga
ze slowly slid to the ground below and her breathing increased as if she were walking quickly yet she was standing still in front of me. “Wait.”
“Talk to me, Miranda. What’s happening?”
“I don’t know.” The spot between her eyes scrunched together like an accordion. She was really trying to figure something out.
“Well, try to explain it. I can help.” I didn’t move much because anything, including the loss of contact where my hand touched her arm could jar her out of the moment and we’d have to start over.
“It’s like… ” She took a deep breath. “It’s like a fog is lifting from my brain. But I hadn’t been feeling foggy.”
“OK.” I shifted just slightly into her line of vision. “Let it lift. Don’t push it. Just let it happen. Accept the memories as they come.”
“This doesn’t even make sense.”
I let her statement stand because she wasn’t wrong. Nothing was going to make sense until whatever spell Serena had used was gone and the real memories were the only things left.
Being near it… the energy was coming from the dark mark on the ground and I knew it. As the foggy haze over her memories lifted, she knew. This was where Serena had died and maybe… maybe her memory of finding Serena in bed wasn’t real.
“I heard something. Thought it was outside. Though the last part is news to me in this moment. My memory was of going to say goodnight to my grandmother and finding her dead.” She swallowed hard and stared at the ground. “Now my brain is telling me that I’d heard something. “But I didn’t see anything when I went to the window. Then I was overcome with the urge to check on Grandma and found her dead in her room.”
I nodded. She didn’t seem to think that what she’d just told me made a lick of sense. Yet to me it did. “I’m going to need you to tell me everything about that night.”
She might think my need to know was just morbid curiosity but it went beyond that. Still… she opened her mouth and began to speak, telling me everything she now remembered though it was mixed in with some of what she thought she remembered.
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