Scent Of Magic

by Jeanine Berry

  As she’d hoped, he did not hesitate. His hands caressed the wet, rounded flesh of her buttocks and followed the enticing curve of her flesh downward to the hot emptiness that waited between her thighs. She spread her knees wider to open herself up to him and groaned with pleasure as his fingers probed her hungry depths. Another wave splashed over them both, drenching her with warm water. Then something hotter than the sea slid between her legs and plunged deep inside.

  She bucked her hips up to receive him and gasped for air in a silvery cascade of water as he probed her depths. His hands gripped her wet buttocks, his fingers digging deep to keep his purchase on her damp skin as he thrust into her. Wild, erotic sensations filled her as the hot sea washed over her skin and his hotter length probed her. His heavy breathing mingled with the rushing water and the deep, eternal voice of the ocean. The pounding surf set the glorious tempo as they mounted together toward an ecstatic climax.

  Her fingers dug into the wet sand, her drenched hair falling into her eyes. Ange lost all inhibition. Heat exploded in her inner core, spiraling outward toward the infinite blue horizon. The setting sun blazed its fiery heat into her eyes as she came with intense spasms.

  When the powerful waves of her orgasm finally stopped, she found herself resting on her elbows, her hair falling forward into the swirling white foam. She was breathing hard. Blane gave a final groan and withdrew from her as his own climax ended. Together they staggered out of the sea and collapsed on the sand, sitting side by side, leaning against each other for support. She let him gather her into his strong arms and rested her head on his chest as he bent to kiss her. She could hear the beating of his heart against her ear. A sense of peace suffused her body. She was safe in Blane’s arms. He was her lover and she welcomed his lust.

  Did it matter if the glamour was a part of who he was? It was a part of who she was, too. She needed to let go of the bitter experiences of the past and open up to the possibility of love again.

  Perhaps she too had the glamour singing in her blood. But she had no doubt that Blane saw her as she really was—and wanted her still.

  His arms tightened around her. She watched the waves rushing to the shore one upon another relentless and unceasing, like the passion they shared for each other. Her nipples hardened and the peaks jutted out into the air at the thought. He smiled and kissed her and she felt his hard length stir again. His flesh was warm, driving back the chill of the wind. She pressed closer as he pulled them both down onto the sand. His passionate gaze promised a night of love. She gazed into his soul and saw beauty.

  The setting sun glazed their bodies with a supernatural glow as they tangled in the sand.

  As the first stars came out in the sky, they sat snuggled together in front of an open fire and feasted on freeze-dried meals and bottled water from the lander.

  “Thanks for a wonderful day!” Ange said, resting her head on Blane’s shoulder. She sighed as he stroked her hair. She wished the day could blend into the night and she could spend it in his arms. But the mystery of the meadow still called to her. She squinted at the last rays of the sunset dying on the far horizon, turning the sea to flame.

  “Time to be going if I’m going to get to the meadow by double moonrise.” She turned her head to plant a soft kiss on his cheek and before he could say anything, moved out of his arms and up on her feet.

  “Guess we’d better put out the fire.” She scanned the beach, drinking in the beauty one last time.

  Blane reached up for her hand. “I don’t want you to go, Ange.”

  She let him curl his fingers around hers, although she knew she would have to disappoint him. “We’ve been through this already. I’ve got to.”

  “The Otherworld.” A pleading look came into his eyes. “There must be a reason we can never remember it. What if Oberon takes you and you never come back?”

  She shivered. Blane had a point. She had no idea what purpose the Fa’erie had in appearing on Kyffin, or what their powers were. But if she let this chance go, she would spend the remainder of her days wondering.

  “I’ve got to,” she repeated.

  “You can’t. I’ve disabled the lander. It’s not taking off again until I fix it. And that won’t be tonight.”

  “What! When?” Even as she spoke, she remembered his visit to the bushes while she’d run ahead down to the beach. “Why, you dirty piece of Morgorian slime!”

  Turning from him in disgust, she began pulling on her clothes. “What did you do? Remove some part? Hide it in the sand somewhere?” Her mind whirled, seeking a solution. Soon the moons would rise. She had to make it to the meadow…had to.

  “Ha!” She turned and glared at him, her hands fisted at her sides. “I’ll call Jake! Bet you didn’t know an android can fly landers. He’s so fast it will sizzle your socks off. I’ll still make it to the meadow by moonrise.”

  Blane’s face fell. “Ange, please! It’s dangerous, I tell you.”

  She strode up to him with a harsh laugh. “Don’t tell me about danger. I was facing dangerous situations out in space while you were a toddler holding on to your mother’s hand. I’m going and that’s that.”

  “Okay.” His violet eyes darkened and filled with shadows. He stood and dusted the sand off his naked body. Her anger faded as she licked her lips and admired the view. He was gorgeous and they had a breathtaking beach to themselves. Was she crazy? Her chin came up a notch at the thought. What if she was? She’d always blazed her own path and she wasn’t going to stop because of some man. If this dirt ball human couldn’t stand the heat, he’d just have to get out of the way.

  Blane pulled on his clothes and headed up the sandy ridge to the top where the lander waited. “Don’t worry, I can fix it,” he called over his shoulder.

  “You’d better!” she ordered. “And cross your fingers that I don’t make you walk back to New Hope.”

  Chapter Fifteen

  Midnight was approaching on the final night that the two moons would rise together. Ange stood under the shelter of a tall tree and watched the mountain meadow as the double crescents appeared over the jagged mountain peaks. A fresh snowfall covered the tops of those peaks and a cold wind swooped down into the valley.

  The chill in the air reminded her of the frigid atmosphere that had prevailed in the lander as she’d flown Blane back to New Hope. Did he think she was some gutless wonder who would shut up and sit down, grateful for his male protection? She smiled at how she’d bluffed him with the threat of calling Jake. Her basic model wasn’t programmed to fly the lander, but he need never know that.

  The wind rattled the leaves of the trees and sighed down the valley with a hollow moan. Her smile faded at the loneliness in that sound. Maybe she’d succeeded in tricking Blane and maybe his attempt to strand her had been ill-conceived, but she missed his stalwart presence at her side. She remembered the pain in his eyes as he turned and walked away after she landed. A lump formed in her throat. She had wanted to go after him. She tried to believe the void in her heart was only the scent, working its evil magic, but she knew it was much more than that.

  She lifted her hand and rubbed her head. Men were trouble, she’d always known that. Somehow this particular one was robbing her of her hard-won self-sufficiency. She turned her attention back to the meadow, half fearful, half excited. Try as she might, she could recall nothing of her first journey into the Otherworld. She prayed it would be different this time. She would resist whatever spell the Fa’erie king cast. She would confront him and demand answers to the questions that continued to haunt her.

  She stiffened as the first bell chimed. It was beginning. Despite the turmoil of the night before, the Fa’erie had chosen to return. Or were they involved in some mysterious process that gave them no choice? A third, more ominous, possibility occurred to her. Did they know she was there? Were they coming for her?

  A second sweet note rang across the long grass. Out of nowhere, low sweet notes began to sound on the chilly air. In the meadow a golden li
ght appeared as a third bell chimed. Quickly, it coalesced into a brilliant ball as bright as a noonday sun, as it had the night before. Ange raised her hand to shield her eyes as she waited for the Fa’erie king and queen to step out of their hidden realm.

  Behind her in the shadows under the trees a twig snapped. She turned to stare down the hillside. The darkness and the thick undergrowth hid the approach to where she crouched. She strained her eyes, but nothing moved. Maybe it was an animal on the prowl. She was dangerously ignorant about the local species. Her hand patted the gun underneath her jacket. There were times when being a spacer was a decided disadvantage.

  Her ears strained for any further sound but the night grew quiet again. With a sigh, she returned her concentration to the meadow. The Fa’erie queen and her retinue had emerged from the golden light while she’d looked away. They moved out into the meadow in a graceful spiral, creating pulsing rainbows of iridescent brilliance, as they found their positions for the beginning of the dance.

  The radiance intensified and Oberon stepped out, followed by his men. Ange drew in a long breath of wonder. His body was even more magnificent than she remembered, a gleaming paean to all that was male. Her gaze drank in his muscled arms and long, strong legs, his broad chest and slim hips. His nudity in no way detracted from the sense of royal command that surrounded him. He lifted his proud head as his dark eyes probed the trees at the edge of the meadow. With a shiver, she realized he was searching for her. After all, she’d been here the previous night. She should have known he would look for her tonight.

  Their eyes met, the king’s as dark as a midnight sky, sprinkled with silver starlight, hers wide with wonder. Ignoring his waiting queen, he started walking across the meadow toward Ange and the golden light flowed around him like a river. As he came near, his dark eyes shifted to her right and widened. A look of anger passed over his regal features.

  Stopping, he focused on a place just over Ange’s shoulder.

  A voice spoke behind her, cold with rage. “A bit of a crowd here tonight, wouldn’t you say?”

  Ange whirled around and stared into Ryol’s icy gaze. The moonlight glinted on the cold steel of the laser pistol in his hand.

  Ryol sneered at her and aimed the pistol at her chest, his face taut with bitterness. “I’ll not abide betrayal, captain. We had a deal. I pay for transport to Kyffin and you leave my activities alone. What are you doing here?”

  Ange forced out a laugh despite the pistol pointed at her chest. “Why, I thought I’d visit your beautiful mountains while I was on your world. I have as much right to wander around as anyone.”

  Ryol sneered, his mouth twisting. “Do you think I’m naïve enough to believe you found this place by accident? I’ve seen the looks you give Blane. The two of you are working together to keep me from gathering the dust I need.”

  Ange made a face. She didn’t need to fake the disgust in her voice. “Blane? Forget working with him, the conceited prick! If you want to pick up some more dust, I’m not going to stop you, although they might.” She moved to Ryol’s side as if joining ranks with him and tilted her head toward the meadow where Oberon stood with his arms folded across his mighty chest, eyeing the two humans with proud disdain.

  “I’ve stolen nothing of value to them, only the dust left behind by their visits.” Ryol lowered his gun and glared at the Fa’erie. “They’ll never miss it. Hell, they probably never even realized they left it behind until last night when Blane started a fight between us and made a hash of all my plans.”

  “Let’s ask them if they’ll never miss it.” Moving with lightening speed, Ange grabbed Ryol’s shoulder and pushed. With a shout of dismay, Ryol stumbled away from the shadow of the tree and out into the golden light of the meadow.

  The king of the Fa’erie glared at the merchant, his face darkening with displeasure. His dark gaze grew hard as he saw the gun in Ryol’s hand.

  “Sha’Bat!” The alien word rumbled through the meadow like thunder. Light blazed up around Ryol, engulfing him. He screamed and vanished.

  Oberon turned his attention to her. She took a step back, suddenly afraid, but the anger was gone from the Fa’erie’s face. Once again, he radiated waves of arousing sensuality. His face glowed with desire as his dark eyes scanned her body. Their pupils widened and engulfed her like a black hole.

  Dizziness swept over her. She blinked in dismay as a strange sense of languor engulfed her body, starting with the soles of her feet, spreading up her calves and thighs, to flow through her middle. Her muscles began to slacken, her fear fading away. Fight! she screamed to her own mind. Fight!

  The languor filled her chest and throat. Her betraying body relaxed, all resistance flowing out of her. Oberon took her hand and pulled her after him into the shining brilliance of the meadow. Light flared and a rain of colors pulsed around her. Everything spun. For a second she fell through nothingness. Then the world solidified again.

  She stood on the edge of a lush green field surrounded by a forest. Beyond the trees, tall mountain peaks pierced the sky. Her mouth gaped open in amazement. In many ways it looked like the meadow she’d just left, but the twisting sensation in her stomach told her it was a universe or more away from the field on Kyffin. And there were subtle differences. The grass grew tall and emerald green under a sky of silvery blue. She saw no sun, yet the whole circle of the horizon pulsed with a golden glow. A tree laden with fragrant scarlet-red blossoms stood a few steps away. Silky soft petals drifted on the shifting breeze and littered the ground. A round bed covered with silken sheets and piled high with pillows lay beneath the sheltering arms of the tree.

  Invisible musicians began to play a soft, haunting melody.

  Her eyelids grew heavy as the peaceful music flowed over her. She wanted nothing more than to lie down on the soft bed and sleep.

  Oberon dropped her hand and stepped backward in the misty light that still glowed behind him. Light to you, halfling child. The thought brushed her mind as he vanished.

  She turned at a flutter of movement deep in the shadows beneath the trees. A young man stepped out of the shade, his tall, slender form moving with a fluid grace that took her breath away. Glossy silver hair hung down to his waist, its sleek mass shimmering against his olive green skin. Slanted eyes as black as a night bird’s wing probed her from beneath curved brows. Iridescent wings of light shimmered around his body as he moved toward her. Apart from the gossamer covering his wings provided, he was nude. Shadows played over his bare chest, outlining the hard muscles. Wings or not, there was nothing effeminate about this being. She swallowed and her eyes widened as her gaze followed the lines of his body to his narrow waist and slim hips. Whatever this creature’s origins, his sex was clear. His phallus jutted out, swaying slightly with each step he took.

  As he approached, he held out his hand to Ange. An angelic smile curved his lips.

  The music that filled the air changed, became more complex, another melody weaving into the first. The sound deepened and took on a darker note as the Fa’erie drew closer. A breeze blew through the leaves of the forest, stirring the air. Ange caught a sweet, intoxicating scent in the wind, a scent that filled her lungs and entered her blood, heating it.

  Scent of Magic. Whatever potent chemical gave the perfume its power to stimulate the erotic impulse, it permeated the air of this realm, suffusing her body with every breath she took, saturating every cell of her being, clouding her mind with strange, arousing fantasies. That bed, covered with silky petals…so many voluptuous things could happen there, and when she awoke again in the real world, it would all be a dream, forgotten…

  An alarm went off deep inside her, but as much as her mind struggled to respond, her limbs felt cumbersome; her eyelids drooped with the heavy weight of her lashes and her very thoughts slowed their pace to a laborious crawl. The male Fa’erie reached her side and touched her cheeks with his long fingers, gently blowing his scented breath over her face. She sighed and tried to speak, to ask the questions th
at had brought her back to the meadow, questions now fading into the drowsy mists of pleasure-filled reverie. Only slurred words such as a drunk might speak emerged from her lips.

  “Rabuth.” The male jerked his thumb at his chest as he spoke, indicating the word was his name. “Light to you, beloved.”

  Smiling, he touched her elbow. His alluring scent swirled around her, mingling with the sweet smell of the falling pedals and the lush, rich aroma of the grass. The whole experience began to feel like some wonderful dream. Her resistance melted away. She stumbled along after Rabuth without protest as he pulled her toward the bed beneath the trees. Her legs and arms hung like heavy weights from her body and she sighed with soft pleasure each time she inhaled the sweet scent that filled the air.

  Together, they reached the bed. The golden light around them grew stronger, enfolding them like a cocoon. At her side, the male Fa’erie began to sing, his voice rich and haunting, his words weaving in with the melody all around them.

  Bright is the hour

  Of love’s wildest joy.

  Passion holds no sweeter

  Surrender than this,

  Joined in the bliss

  Of erotic union

  As he sang, his words echoed in her brain, dancing at the edge of her understanding. His song was a summons to love. An eager look appeared on his face, a look of intense desire meant for someone other than her. On the other side of the bed, a woman emerged from the golden light, her body covered only by the flame-colored hair that cascaded to her waist. She looked like an angel, all white flesh and golden light, her silky hair falling over her bare shoulders, her slender body and small, high breasts delicate as fragile glass. Rabuth’s dark eyes grew luminous with passion and desire as he sang to her.