“You know,” he continued. “If you need to drain some of her emotions, you could always flood her with happiness.”
I was going to ask what he was talking about but the way he wiggled his eyebrows answered before I asked.
The idea of doing both of those things through sex was intriguing but fuck that was wrong. I wanted Miranda every second of the day but I wanted that part of us to not be wrapped up in the coven or bringing her over to us.
“It’d work,” he said. “If you do it right.”
“I do it just fine,” I told him.
“Just fine?” He snorted. “Miranda’s a lucky girl.”
“Fuck off,” I said with a sigh. But he was right. It wasn’t a bad way to spend some of her energy. “I have a favor to ask you.” Though I hadn’t decided to ask until just this minute. When I’d found the address, I thought that would be the end of the whole thing but the more I found out about this town, the more I knew something had to be done.
“Want me to take care of Miranda’s energy for you?”
I closed my eyes and clenched my jaw. “I’m going to knock your teeth down your fucking throat.”
He chuckled. Miller and I had never fought each other in our lives but if we were going to this would’ve been the best reason possible. Him talking about Miranda that was had my blood boiling.
“What is it?”
“There’s a guy—”
“Luken, I never knew. I still love you though.”
I sighed. “Would you just listen?”
“Go ahead,” he said with humor still in his voice.
I told him about David and what he’d done to Miranda. I told him about the pictures he said he had and the way Miranda had looked when she admitted it. The way I wanted to pound that guy with my fists until he stopped speaking to my girl.
“Want me to kill that guy for you?” he asked, though he’d know that wasn’t my intention. We didn’t kill people for fun. Hurting someone was for immediate defense only and it had to be done without dark magic. “Cuz I’ll kill that guy for you.”
“Fuck off. No. I want you to go to his house using your witchy charms and make sure he doesn’t actually have any pictures of her. If he does, get rid of them.”
“Yeah, I can do that. As soon as I can slip away. I’ll wipe his phone and see if there’s anything in his house.”
“Thank you,” I told him. Miller was a good friend.
We pulled into the driveway and his car stopped next to my bike. We both rushed into the house looking for Miranda. She was in the kitchen, against the counter, with a box of donuts in front of her. Looked like one was missing from the box. Her black sundress swayed against the back of her legs as she danced to music I couldn’t hear.
I couldn’t help myself. I rushed right to her and pulled her into my arms.
Chapter Nineteen
Miranda
It felt like I’d been waiting for Luken and Miller for forever. My emotions were all over the place, out of control after what had happened in the grocery store, clawing at way at my insides like they were an actual beast trying to get out and I just wanted to see him. To know everything was going to be okay. To figure out what the hell had happened and somehow I just knew that he’d be able to tell me. Or at least understand.
Whatever the outcome, his presence alone would put me at ease.
I’d learned early on not to get attached to anyone. Losing parents could do that to a person and Grandma had reinforced it. I’d loved my grandmother but obviously had never been as close to her as I could’ve been. Maybe I’d held back some but she’d locked me out of a huge part of her life as well as a huge part of my life.
Now, in walked Luken and suddenly I was throwing caution to the wind. I’d allowed him into my heart the first moment I’d seen him. I wanted to share everything with him. My home. My heart. My life.
“Hi,” I whispered into his hair after he wrapped his arms around me. He scooped me up into those strong arms and began walking out of the kitchen.
“I’ll just… be down here. With the donuts,” Miller called out as we left him alone in the room.
I giggled, certain I knew where this was going and while I was curious about what he’d been doing all morning, I was more curious to see why he was carrying me up the stairs as if I’d weighed nothing at all.
Luken full-out tossed me onto his bed. The one in the room I’d originally given him, the one he was “renting” though there wasn’t a chance in hell I’d take a dime for it at this point. Not the luxurious one next door. Well… not next door, but it sounded better in my head than secret mansion.
Then he descended. His lips crashed into mine, moving and demanding them to open as he took the kiss deeper. His hand cupped my face as his body covered mine. Feeling him on top of me got my body on full alert. I could suddenly feel my heartbeat throughout my body, not just the chest. His fingers against my skin caused me to shiver like I was hypersensitive to his touch. I used my fingers to brace on his strong shoulders. His muscles jumped under my skin.
When he leaned onto one side, I missed his weight against me. Until one hand began sliding up the side of my thigh, pushing my dress up with it. Holy hell, I was on fire. A fire only he could put out.
Luken leaned back to yank his shirt off with one hand. Holy hell, I’d never tire of looking at him. Smooth skin covered hard muscle. The man was beautiful and I was still in awe of the fact that he wanted to be here with me.
“Is this OK with you?” he asked, his breath feathering against the side of my face.
I let out a completely unattractive giggle. This right here was why I questioned him wanting to be there with me. I wasn’t the kind of woman who knew how to be smooth… to act as if I was unaffected by him or the events around me. Maybe I would’ve learned that if I’d had friends in school but right now the scent of his soap… something minty, was far too distracting.
I slapped a hand over my mouth and said a muffled, “Sorry.”
He gave me a great smile and pulled that hand away. “Don’t get embarrassed. I love that you’re the real you with me. If you think that laugh didn’t shoot right to my dick, you’re wrong.”
My heart swelled with his words. “Yes,” I whispered. “I’m more than OK with this.”
Luken’s hand on my thigh hadn’t moved when he leaned in to kiss me again. Everything was forgotten. The diner. The Mather Twins. Miller downstairs who could possibly hear us. None of that mattered. What mattered was Luken pulling the top of my dress down and undoing the front clasp on my bra, exposing my breasts to the air. My focus was on the way he took one of my nipples into his mouth. I shouldn’t have been watching him doing it. That was weird, right?
Then his teeth scraped against the sensitive nub and I didn’t care if it was weird of not. My eyes fluttered closed and my head fell back against the pillow. That felt amazing.
I was so lost in the way he was making me feel that I wasn’t even self-conscious when he slid down between my legs or when his hands disappeared under my dress, grasped my panties and slid them down my legs.
I wanted him there. To bring me the same kind of pleasure he had in the attic.
His big hands settled on the backs of my thighs and parted my legs enough for him to fit in between. He licked me gently and I almost shot out of the bed. My back arched… an unflattering moan came out of my mouth. It was like I was starved for his attention when he’d just lavished me with it yesterday.
Being that I was already a live wire, it didn’t take much effort on his part to bring me to the height of pleasure. I was coming undone with a few minutes of this whole thing starting.
“Fuck,” he muttered then climbed back up my body. He was on his knees between my legs and hovering above me. “I will literally never get tired of that.”
“Of what?” I stupidly asked with a voice that was more horse than it should have been. “Doing that or watching me…”
“Both,” he said quickly. “You so beautifu
l, Miranda.” His lips met mine again. I’d already been breathless so when he pulled back, I felt like I was gasping for air. “But you have too many clothes on.”
I snickered at that given that all of the parts of me that were supposed to be covered weren’t. Still I leaned up so Luken could pull my dress over my head then I pushed my bra off my arms. But still I raised an eyebrow in challenge at him. He still had pants on. After chuckling, he shed those as well and was back on top of me.
“You know there are…” I swallowed hard. “Things I’ve never done to a guy.”
He groaned and dropped his head to my shoulder. After a few seconds, he lifted to look into my eyes. “I didn’t know but I assumed.”
I shrugged. “I’m just saying… I wouldn’t know what I’m doing but if you ever want me to—”
My words were cut off by his mouth on mine. He knew what I was talking about and from his reaction I assumed it was something he wanted but maybe not right now. We were both already too far gone.
This time there wasn’t any conversation or hesitation before he pushed inside me. There also was the uncomfortableness that I’d experienced yesterday. It was just him and me while he held me tightly and made me feel the best I ever had.
I allowed my hands to explore. Across his broad shoulders and down his strong back. I scraped my nails gently over his skin causing him to groan. It sounded like a good kind of groan so I kept going as my hips moved to meet his with every thrust. When my nails scraped over his hip, he began to move faster.
With no idea how long we’d been there, even with his friend in my house, I didn’t care. When his movements became a little more erratic and then stopped, I wasn’t disappointed. Not only had he given me one of the best experiences I’d ever had, I knew we could do this again and again whenever we wanted to.
Luken pushed off me, looking as reluctant as he could as he shuffled off to the bathroom. When he came back with his boxers on, boxers I hadn’t seen him grab, I did the same. The thought occurred to me that Miller could’ve been out in the hallway when I went out there, so I grabbed his shirt and dropped it over my head. Yes, Miller would know what we’d just done but he wouldn’t see me naked. Besides, I was fairly certain that he already knew.
As soon as I could, I snuggled into his side on his bed.
I took a deep breath and stretched out all my muscles. My feet reached just past his knees. Being with Luken not only felt amazing but was oddly calming. Everything I’d been feeling at the diner and after had magically slipped away as if it had just been a regular day. Actually, I began to have a hard time remembering exactly what I’d been so upset about and now… nothing could upset me at all.
It was as if I’d found my nirvana.
“Feel better?” Luken asked as I lay there remembering every touch from moments before.
“Much.” I smiled, though he wouldn’t have been able to see it. But wait… “How did you know I was upset before?”
“I could feel it coming off you in waves as soon as I got here,” he said. “Plus, you sounded it on the phone.” Yeah. Duh. That phone call had been forgotten the moment he’d taken me into his arms. “Thought you needed expel some energy.”
My hand froze on his chest. “Wait.” I pushed up to a sitting position next to him. “Did you just use sex to calm me down?”
Luken fought a smile. The corners of his mouth twitched with the effort. “Are you complaining about that?”
I thought about it for a moment. Was I? I had needed to calm down after my run in with the twins. I had loved every single thing he did to me. “No. I’m not.”
“OK then.”
“Aren’t you worried that you’re conditioning me to use you to calm down every time I need calming down?” Like Pavlov’s dogs but I wasn’t about to compare myself to a dog with him.
His deep chuckled made my cheeks burn. Not in a bad way. The sound traveled to the far reaches of my body and I had a suspicion that Luken was going to turn me into a sex addict.
“I hadn’t thought about it that way but I also wouldn’t complain if you did.”
I slapped a hand against his chest. He reached up and covered mine with his.
“That’s not funny,” I told him.
“Didn’t mean for it to be.” He slid up so that he was sitting against the headboard. His long legs were crossed at the ankles and his dark hair looked like my fingers had been running through them because they had. “Seriously Miranda. I know we haven’t known each other long but I don’t intend to leave you unless you want me to go. I can’t explain my feelings exactly or why they formed so quickly but—”
“I don’t,” I told him quickly. “I don’t want you to go and you don’t have to explain anything to me. I get it. Because I feel the same way.”
I pushed away from him and slid to the edge of his bed, grabbed my bra, dress, and panties to put myself back together. We couldn’t lay here in bed all day if for no other reason than Miller was somewhere in the house.
The steel case I’d formed around my heart was threatening the break open and let him in. If I was being honest with myself, it already had.
“OK, so tell me,” I said, facing him once I was dressed. He was still on the bed with his eyebrows furrowed as if he didn’t understand. As if he’d forgotten that I had things to tell him and expected him to tell me where he and Miller had been all morning. “Don’t worry. I won’t get distracted.” I dropped into the nearest chair to sit alone and folded my hands over my chest. My chin jutted out, I asked, “So, what’s going on in this town?”
Chapter Twenty
Luken
Unsure of how I wanted to tell her about everything considering that she was still coming to terms with the fact that she was a witch, I did know that we should include Miller since he’d been with me. I swung my legs over the bed, pulled my jeans on as I stood, then I walked over to her. She’d discarded my shirt near her feet and I’d need that to be complete. Miller knew what we’d been doing up here but he didn’t need to see evidence of it.
We’d expelled some energy that was for sure. Any thoughts I’d had about putting distance between us was long gone. I couldn’t keep myself from getting completely lost in her.
I had a job to do and falling for Miranda Deerborne wasn’t part of it yet here I was, knowing her less than a week yet being completely sure that I didn’t want to lose her.
I took her hand in mine and led her back down to the kitchen.
Miller was at the table, a donut, looking to be his second after glancing in the box, was at the table sliding his thumb across his phone. When he saw us, a sly grin crossed his face.
“Hey guys,” he said as I dropped Miranda’s hand so she could take a seat then went to get us each a glass of water.
“Miranda was asking what we learned today,” I told him then slid into the seat next to her and set the glass in front of her.
He nodded but the look in his eye told me he’d give me shit later. “Yeah. That Whitaker guy knows a lot. He didn’t even have to look anything up.”
“You talked to Mr. Whitaker?” she asked us. I nodded. “I think he has a photographic memory or something because he knows everything without having to think about it. He gave a presentation on town history when I was in tenth grade, I think. It was so interesting.”
“Yeah. He didn’t even seem to care why we were asking.”
“Miller,” she said. “You have no idea how many people ask him questions on a daily basis. Property question? He knows the answer. Want to know what something used to be? He knows. He’s also been here forever. Like he looked sixty when I was five.”
My head snapped for her direction to Millers and we both raised an eyebrow. Maybe there was something magical about Whitaker after all.
I cleared my throat and said, “A lot of generations back, your family lived in Salem.” Her eyes widened just slightly. “During the witch trials. Your family was prosperous and it was a beautiful place, I’m told. However, there were o
thers who were jealous and found their power in the pulpit.”
“As in pastors?” she asked. The connection she’d made was immediate. After all, it sounded like the Mather Twins had been her worst tormentors and the ones who egged on the others.
I nodded but Miller picked up from there. “They began spreading lies about witchcraft when what they were really fighting, the real danger, was the voodoo Satanic culture that was everywhere among those desperate to rebel and control their own destiny.”
“You’re insane. Voodoo? You found that out in town?” she asked.
“Not all of it,” I told her. “A lot about you personally, we already knew, but the historian was quite helpful.”
“Wait.” She held her hands up. “About me personally you already knew?”
Miller leaned in on his elbows. “Your grandma was pretty famous… or at least infamous in our coven.”
“What? Why?”
He looked to me and I nodded. She should know.
“Well,” he began. Miller loved to tell a good story. “A long time before we were born, Serena Good had a falling out with our council.”
“Council?”
I set a hand on her back and explained, “Our council is kind of the governing body of the coven. Sort of like the police, I guess you could say. If there’s a beef, it goes before the council. If they have a job for you to do, you’re probably going to do it because it’s all part of being in the coven. But the coven also protects you. Keeps you safe from people that might want to cause harm to witches or keep you safe from dark magic.”
Miller snorted. “Law and order… yeah. That’s it.”
“Wait,” she said again. “Are you saying they aren’t good people?”
“No,” he told her. “But the head of the council, Michael, who sent Luken here when your grandma died tends to be a little… I don’t know exactly what you’d call him.”
“An asshole?” I asked. Miller’s grin spread wide.
“That’s one way to put it.” His chest rose as he took a deep breath. “Nobody knows exactly what happened except your grandma, who can’t tell us now, and Michael, who wouldn’t tell us if we promised to sacrifice our first borns. But something happened to cause a rift.”
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