Magic & Memory Loss

by Eleanor Rousseau

  Later that night, I was just drifting off in Vince’s bed when my phone rang.

  “Sorry it took me so long to call back, is everything okay?” he asked the moment I answered.

  “Mmm, yeah,” I murmured sleepily.

  “So... why’d you call?” he asked, his tone amused.

  “Oh, um, your father stopped by earlier, I thought you should know.”

  The silence on the other end was so complete that I wondered if he was still there. “My father? Did.. you didn’t let him in, did you?”

  His tone had me a little worried. “No, I mean, I would have but I didn’t know him and the kids were here. It’s not like you talk about him much.” Or at all.

  “So, he’s gone now?” he asked, sounding a little relieved.

  “Yeah. Was that your father? He did kind of look like you but you sound worried. Should I be worried? Trip’s not far away if you think I should let him know there's a problem.”

  “You’re rambling, love. It’s okay, maybe just have Trip keep an eye out, I’ll be home soon. I’m in the car, would you mind keeping the line open until I get there?” he asked.

  I turned on speakerphone and set it on the pillow next to mine. “Sure.” I lay back down and gave Trip a mental nudge, silently asking for him to be on guard.

  “What are you doing right now?”

  “I’m just in bed, the kids have been down for almost an hour now.”

  “They weren’t any trouble were they?”

  “Good as gold,” I assured him.

  “So... what are you doing in bed?” he asked, his tone suggestive.

  I grinned, the guy went from worried to seductive with surprising efficiency. “Not whatever it is you hope I’m doing.”

  He chuckled. “So, this thing you’re not doing, are you doing it naked?” he pressed.

  I rolled my eyes and bit down on my forefinger. “I’m not naked, I’m wearing panties,” I told him.

  He groaned. “What colour are the panties? And is there a matching bra?”

  I laughed softly. “They’re dark blue and yes, there does happen to be a matching bra but that’s currently on the floor of your bedroom.” It was actually on the chair in the corner of the room but it didn’t sound as sexy to say.

  “You are killing me, love. When I get back I’m going to take away those panties and show you all the fun things we can do without them.”

  “Oh really?” I skimmed my fingers over my abdomen, imagining it was him touching me.

  “Absolutely. Have you eaten?”

  “Yeah, I left you some food in the microwave in case you were hungry when you got back.”

  “I knew there was a reason I love you,” he teased.

  My heart thudded, were we using the L word now? Was I ready to use the L word? Was I even ready to hear it?

  “Did I screw up? Because you should know I throw around the word love all the time when it comes to food,” he told me.

  “It’s okay, I didn’t- I mean... it’s okay,” I said, feeling flustered.

  “We should definitely go back to talking about what I’m going to do to you when I get back.”

  I pressed a hand to my cheek but smiled. “I don’t know, it might be too late by the time you get here. I could be fast asleep when you get back.”

  “I’m pretty sure I’ll be able to find a good way to wake you up but feel free to nap until then.”

  I shifted against the covers. “I might just do that, do you still want me to keep the line open?” Something about the guy at the door had shaken me a little, so I wasn’t opposed to the idea.

  “Yeah, I’ll be back soon.”

  “Okay, I’ll see you then.” It felt like only minutes after I had closed my eyes when I was awoken by a warm body pressing against mine.

  I rolled over and kissed his neck sleepily. Making a soft sound in pleasure, he kissed me back, nipping lightly at my skin. He’d already undressed and I felt the heat from his body. My touch found his skin, starting at his hips and sliding up the hard planes of his chest.

  “What’s this?” I asked as my hand brushed something on his shoulder.

  “A small scratch, don’t worry about it.” He pulled my leg around his waist and rolled me beneath him. The act was enough to incite carnal desire low in my belly.

  I wanted him.

  “It must be serious if you had to bandage it,” I murmured distractedly as he pressed closer, sliding one hand down between our bodies.

  He kissed my cheek, his stubble lightly scratching my skin. “It’s fine, I already healed the wound.” I felt his hard shaft rub against my sex and I moaned softly, arching my back. “I need you, little one,” he breathed, his thumb brushing the sensitive nub at my entrance and making me gasp.

  That light touch was enough to drive me wild with lust. I lifted my hips, letting him fill me. A strong hand cupped the back of my head, fingers buried in my hair. My lover kissed me as he began to rock his hips, sinking a little deeper into me each time.

  A soft squeak escaped my throat and his lips moved down to my neck. “You’re so damn beautiful.” He grinned and his hand came up to cup my breast.

  I nipped at his bottom lip. “You're no slouch, either,” I murmured, sliding my hand down his chest.

  He kissed a sensitive spot on my neck, causing a soft moan to escape me. “Mmm, well, I do have a pretty girl I want to impress.”

  I laughed softly, then gasped as he began to take me faster, his whole body moving against mine with each thrust. His hands gripped me, urging me to move with him until every coherent thought was driven from my head.

  MY LOVER STOOD OVER me. Our skin was still damp from our recent swim. I lay limply against the ground, which was cushioned by moss. He sat down beside me and his hand caressed my stomach idly. “You know what I love about you?” he asked.

  I smiled and bit down on my forefinger. “Is it that I’m pretty?”

  “Well, you are very pretty but that’s not what I was going to say.”

  “Is it that I let you do naughty things to me?” I asked, grinning.

  He chuckled. “I do love that about you,” he murmured. “But I was going to say the way you look at me, you have the prettiest eyes and you look at me like you want me to do all those naughty things to you.” He grinned and leant down to kiss my neck.

  I laughed and rested my hand against his chest. “Then what are you waiting for?”

  “Oh, you are a bad girl.” He climbed on top of me, straddling my hips.

  “The worst,” I agreed, beaming up at him. “Come on, I need you, right now.”

  He sighed softly in pleasure before positioning himself between my legs. He cupped my ass as he entered me slowly. I gasped in pleasure. “I love having nothing between us, being able to feel all of you. I want it to be like this, forever.”

  “I didn’t sign on for forever,” I teased.

  “No, not yet, but you will,” he said, in a voice so confident that even I was hard pressed to doubt him.

  I blinked slowly back to consciousness and smiled as those same dark eyes met mine. “I was dreaming about you,” I told him.

  He smiled back. “You were?”

  I nodded. “It was a good dream, a very good.”

  He kissed a slow trail across my collarbone. “I think I hear the kids moving about. Stay put, I’ll sort them out,” he said, reaching to tuck my hair behind my ear. I turned my head to kiss his palm before snuggling back beneath the covers.

  Chapter Twenty-Six

  “So, I like the new place,” Vince told me, sliding his arm around my waist.

  I grinned. We were sitting on the downstairs rug, both completely naked, except for a blanket that we’d pulled across our laps. “I have something to show you,” I declared excitedly.

  “Not to put a damper on it, but I doubt it will top what you're currently showing me,” he teased, his eyes dipping down to my chest.

  “Yup, there’s no competition there, my boobs are fantastic,” I conceded
. “But this is pretty cool too.” I reached over to grab something out of the pile of clothes I’d dropped sometime in the past few hours and he was still laughing when I settled back into place.

  “Alright, love, dazzle me.”

  I showed him the two metal ball bearings in my hand.

  He quirked a brow. “Is this about to get kinky?” he asked.

  I lightly hit him with my free hand. “Ew, no, you pervert. Just watch.” I concentrated a little and the balls melted into a pool of liquid metal in my palm.

  “Wow, impressive,” he said, smiling as he leant closer to study the metal.

  “See, I didn’t even need an incantation or anything! And look-” I pulled back my magic and the metal solidified again. “Isn’t that crazy?” I asked, lifting the metal and holding it between my thumb and forefinger.

  “Yes.” He shifted closer. “You,” his hand came up to cup my face, “are magic.”

  I laughed and he nudged me down onto my back. Wrapping my arms around his neck, I pulled him with me.

  He kissed me for a slow languid moment. “How’d you learn that?” he asked curiously, nuzzling my neck.

  “It just clicked, I guess.” I kissed his cheek. “Now, I have something else to show you,” I said, laughing as I pulled him closer.

  After another long, thorough make out session, I lay back down and struggled to catch my breath. “Will you ever tell me what a Daemon is?”

  He tensed. “You haven’t,” he hesitated, glancing down at his hands, “researched it?”

  I reached up to touch his cheek. “I didn’t want to go behind your back and... it does sound an awful lot like Demon.”

  With one hand, he pulled me closer and the other came up to comb through my hair. He seemed uncharacteristically nervous which, in turn, put me on edge. It had to be bad if, after all we’d been through, he didn’t think I could take it.

  “I’m not a good man-” He cut himself off, as if he’d almost said something he hadn’t meant to.

  “Demons; they’re evil, they lie and they cheat and they hurt everyone around them. You are nothing like them.” Of that, I had no doubt.

  “Elsa, sweetheart, I’d like nothing more than to let you go on believing that, but I’m not entirely human. And I’m not entirely good.”

  “Entirely? Does that mean you’re part human?”

  “Half.”

  “Which would make the other half...” I eyed him, half knowing what he was going to say.

  “Demon, I’m half Demon. But that doesn’t change who I am or what I feel for you,” he said, his deep brown eyes pleading with me to understand.

  I frowned a little. “I don’t even know what that means, to be half Demon. Hell, I don’t know what it means to be a Witch. But I don’t want things to change between us.”

  “They won’t, love, I promise they won’t,” he murmured, bending down to kiss me softly. “I just want to be with you. No supernatural bullshit can come between us.”

  “I’M SCARED, AVON.”

  “Look at me, little one, everything is going to be just fine.” He kissed my forehead, which was damp with sweat.

  “No. I’m not ready, we’re not ready, I can’t do this,” I whimpered softly as spasms of pain rocked my body.

  “Yes, love, you can. You can get through this, we both can,” he said, his tone unwavering and his hold on my hand gentle but firm.

  “No, no, I’m so sorry, Avon, I can’t.” I’d never before experienced such agony, I wished desperately that I could sink into oblivion but I couldn’t.

  “Try and keep her calm,” said April, she stood on my other side, a calming presence.

  “I know it hurts, beautiful, but you can do it,” he said, kissing my cheek and squeezing my hand.

  I whined softly in pain. “I can’t, you don’t understand.”

  “It’s time,” said April softly.

  “Okay, beloved, time to push,” my lover told me, in a voice that I suppose wanted to be soothing.

  “No, no, no, no, no!” I cried out at the pain and it felt as if my body was being torn in half...

  “Love, settle down, it’s okay, it’s okay,” murmured Vince soothingly.

  I blinked as my thoughts, still muddled from sleep, began to clear.

  “Was it a nightmare?” he asked, his fingers grazing my cheek.

  “I- I don’t know, it was weird.”

  “You’ve been restless at nights lately, is everything okay?” he asked, holding me closer.

  I rested my hand against my stomach. “Yeah, might be something I ate.”

  “What can I do?” He nuzzled my neck.

  “I’m fine,” I assured him.

  “Then go back to sleep, little one,” he mumbled as he squeezed me close.

  I murmured an agreement but wasn’t sure I could sleep. These dreams were weird as hell. Why would I dream of having a baby with Vince? And why would I call him a different name?

  It must be hormones. I finally had a boyfriend and it was clearly driving my romance-starved self crazy. Some of these dreams had seemed like memories, but I knew this one couldn’t be.

  If I’d had a child, I would know, there would be evidence of it on my body. I reached down, touching my unmarked skin. No scars and only the faintest of stretch marks.

  Well, no scars that would be the result of having a baby. There were plenty of other scars. Maybe, one day, I could trace my history by the marks left on my skin.

  I turned my attention to Vincent. “What happened here?” I whispered, softly tracing the scarred tissue on one side of his chest. It looked kind of like a pale starburst, even completely healed I could tell that it must have hurt like hell.

  “Arrow,” he mumbled.

  I glanced up at him surprised, not so much at his answer as how freely he’d given in. He was apparently still deep enough into sleep that his filter was malfunctioning.

  I let my hand drift down to a small mark on his hip. “And this?”

  “Bullet,” he murmured, shifting closer to nuzzle my hair. Like a weirdo, a sleepy, dishevelled, sexy weirdo.

  “I think I have one like that too,” I said, my voice barely above a whisper.

  “Mmm,” he murmured, and his hand found the small scar on my back with unerring ease.

  “Someone had to have stitched me up, there has to be some record, somewhere. We spoke to the authorities when I first awoke, but that was before I even noticed the scars.”

  He nuzzled closer, kissing my cheek. Then he slowly blinked. “I, um...hmm?” Slowly, the confusion began to clear from his eyes. He sighed softly, maybe the sound was just him giving up on trying to get back to sleep, or maybe it meant more. However, his next words alleviated any anxieties that had been raising their head. “It might be worth a try.”

  I relaxed and it felt as if a weight had left my shoulders. I hadn’t realised it before but I’d been worried that he wouldn’t want me to remember, that he’d be too afraid that I might leave him if I remembered. I’d worried that he wouldn’t understand how very badly I needed to remember.

  He reached up to tuck a strand of hair behind my ear. “But no getting your hopes up, okay? I don’t want you to be disappointed.”

  “You don’t believe they’ll find me,” I accused softly.

  “It’s not that, little one, I just-” He took my hand and gently rubbed my palm with his thumb, feeling the scars there. “You’ve been hurt before. I don’t want you to remember that pain, to have to carry the weight of it.” His tone was so sincere, and the look in his eyes so earnest

  My hand came up to cup his cheek. “How did you get to be so sweet?” I asked softly.

  Chapter Twenty-Seven

  It was afternoon, the next day, and the sun was doing little to combat the chill in the air. “You know, it’s a little cold for a picnic,” I commented.

  “Not for a Werewolf picnic,” Wilson informed me.

  I laughed softly.

  “So, what are you having?” he asked as he pla
ced a couple of patties onto the BBQ.

  “I’ll have a veggie burger.”

  He turned to me with a look like I’d just asked to eat his firstborn.

  I held a straight face for a moment or two, then I broke into laughter. “Kidding! I’d like a couple of sausages.”

  He pointed the spatula at me like it was a loaded weapon. “Don’t even joke, meat is a very serious matter,” he said, deadpan.

  I giggled. “At least throw on some corn on the cob.”

  He rolled his eyes. “Next you’ll be asking for a salad,” he said with disgust.

  “Don't worry, there is salad, even if they refuse to acknowledge it,” Beth said as she stepped up to the grill. She reached up to ruffle his hair, then bent to kiss my cheek.

  “I see they dragged you out here too.”

  “Oh, you know they’d be lost without my help,” she teased. “I’m just glad the whole pack won't be traipsing through my living room.”

  Every so often, the pack got together to discuss things and air grievances and they often gathered at Beth’s place because it was where the Alpha lived. Beth didn’t really mind, but there was only so much space within the old farmhouse.

  Two hands suddenly blocked my vision and I felt the warmth of a body at my back. “Guess who.”

  Excitement stirred low in my belly at the familiar voice. “Wow, I didn’t know people still did stuff this cheesy,” I said, turning to face him.

  “What can I say? I’m old fashioned.” He caught me in his arms, sliding his hands down to cup my ass as he bent to kiss me.

  I laughed softly. “What are you doing here?”

  “Beth invited me, she thought you could use some civilised company,” he said, kissing my neck.

  “Civil, you?” Murray strode over, carrying an armload of bacon.

  Vince smiled goodnaturedly. “I can act civil, when it suits me.” As if to prove that point, he set me on my feet with just a brief pat on the ass. I pinched his arm in retaliation.

  “Well, it better suit you today, because I’ve got enough to deal with, keeping these mutts in order,” Beth declared, with all the authority of an alpha.