When I finally caught my breath and opened them, it was dark. I thought I had gone blind until I sat up and saw the subtle glow of moonlight on his face as he stared up at me in wonder. I slid back and looked up at the sky. Stars twinkled, the moon shone, and the orange glare had finally gone.
"You…" That was the only word he could say as he slid back, stood up and held out his arms, making slow circles beneath the night sky.
Finally, he stopped and bowed again at my feet.
"Lady Night, I cannot begin to thank you."
"Are you sure it was me?" I asked hopefully. Maybe somebody at the castle found the switch…
"Of that, I have no doubt. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. A thousand times."
"Once was enough," I said embarrassedly. It's not like I was trying to do it. Just got lucky.
Lucky like a goddess, a soft voice chuckled in my head.
Yeah. You're going to have to explain what the hell just happened.
You made a pact with the prince of the realm. He already worshipped you as a woman, then he worshiped you as a god. The sphere that was already your father's, truly became yours. Your powers will keep growing until you will be strong enough to save your father.
Then I can go back to being normal Dot?
You have never been normal.
Did you know I had a sister? I figured I might as well ask her while I had her on the line.
Yes.
Why didn't you tell me?
Safety. The less she knows, the better off she will be. You, as well. I am almost sorry you found out.
I shouldn't tell her is what you are saying.
She is already your sister in your heart, would hearing the truth make any difference?
No.
Then you have your answer and it came from you instead of me.
Thank you. Again.
Keep growing, Daughter. Or should I start calling you, Niece?
Call me whatever you wish. Just don't let me get out of control. I don't care for power.
Just like your father…
I felt the connection break as she moved on.
"You stopped glowing."
I opened my eyes and Ellis was sitting in front of me, cross-legged. "I was glowing?"
"Yes. And not from the moonlight."
"Golden?"
"No. With blackness."
"How does something glow black?"
"Like you. You were radiating the night."
"Must have been the Mexican food."
He gave me a strange look. "I do not understand."
"You will when you come visit me. I'll take you to Taco Bell. Then you can radiate darkness for a while."
"It sounds like a pleasure. You were quite beautiful."
"Maybe it wasn't the Taco Bell then. I've had some ugly radiations from that."
He just nodded like he knew what the hell I was talking about. I gave him a smile and stood up off the ground.
"Well, enjoy your darkness. I need to get home."
"Until next time, Dot." He smiled as my name rolled from his tongue like honey.
"See you around, Ellis."
I touched the rune on the gate, stepping through without taking my eyes off him and without letting go of the silly grin on my face. When I made it through, he was gone and I was staring at the mouth of the cave in the basement of the warehouse.
"Fidget, help me find my house, please."
It chirped from my pocket, the first noise it, or any other shadow I'd seen, had made.
"Awww," I said as I stepped into the shadows.
Epilogue
"So, yeah. Thanks for that." I was practically snarling over my cup of coffee at my mother. The other patrons of the diner were pointedly ignoring us and had been since we walked in.
"Thank you for what?"
"Of all the beings in the world, you had to do the horizontal mambo with a damn god. How does that make you feel?"
"Well, at the time, pretty damn good…" My mother got a dreamy look in her eye.
"Ewww. Just ewww. No."
"You brought it up, Daughter."
"We're talking about how this is affecting me now, not how it affected you then."
"You wish me to apologize for having you? I would never."
I sighed and took a sip of my coffee. "What was he like?"
"Pure intensity. He was like a lightning storm on a cloudless night. No one, mortal, immortal, fey, or god has ever made me felt the way he did."
"I have to rescue him, you know this, right?"
"You know where he is?"
"Tartarus."
"Yes. One does not simply walk into…Tartarus."
"It's not Mordor, Mother."
"No. Mordor would be a walk in the park compared to that."
"Well, no matter what. I have to save him. It's the only way to give him his power back."
"Told you, you should have given the gem to me," she said snidely, sipping her tea.
"And it would have driven you insane. Er. Insaner? Is that a word? More insane than you already are."
"There is truth to your words, Granddaughter," Nana said as she slid into the booth next to me. I hadn't even heard her come in.
"Well, if you two are going to sit here and gang up on me, I shall take my leave. I have a coven that respects me and needs my supervision."
"Only because half of them are too stupid to think on their own because all they can think about is their next tryst with you…"
"You sound homesick, Mother."
"Not in the slightest. I'm quite content here. The list of handy men in the area is quite large. As are their tools."
"Please be talking about their hammers. I already ordered," I said and rubbed my eyes.
"Hammers. Apropos. Especially since the last one did resemble Thor…"
"At least I know you're talking about the actual god and not that drool worthy actor they have playing him in the cinema," Mother answered. "Your Nana dated him before the great flood."
I couldn't help it. I chuckled. One point for Mother.
"At least I went to school. You were busy with the boys while they built all those triangular sculptures in Egypt if I recall correctly.
Nana evens the score.
"Well, I had to have someplace to bury you. Pity you escaped."
Mother for the win!
"Witch."
"Hag."
"Enough!" I put an end to their little debate, laughing. Before they blew up the diner. Or the town.
"Well, it is time I left you two. I really do need to get back. Daughter, I am proud of you," Mother said out of character. Even more so, when she gave me a smile.
"Thank you, but before you go…"
"Yes?"
"Did you know?"
She narrowed her eyes and tilted her head. "About?"
"My sister."
She sighed and sat back in the booth, looking up at the ceiling. "Yes." She looked back down at me and frowned.
"How did you find out?"
"From the high priest of the Church of Night. I was in the shadows while he spoke to the unseleighe queen."
"So, she knows as well?"
"As does her son."
"Well, at least they are a tight-lipped race. You can't tell her."
"I know. I spoke to the goddess about it. Josie is many things, prepared for any of this isn't one of them."
Nana, apparently, did not know. She was staring at the two of us incredulously. "He cheated on you?"
That is what I had assumed, too. My mouth fell open when Mother shook her head. "It was at the Imbolc Festival… We were all drunk, it only happened the one time. Your father and I had already decided to have a child… Apparently Miranda felt the same way."
I gagged. So did Nana. "You had a threesome… With Miranda Barton?"
"She was much thinner and much more attractive back then. And only half the lunatic she is today."
"Miranda? Barton?" It was the only words I could form, trying so har
d not to open my cranial cavity and dip my brain in bleach.
"Not my proudest moment. No."
Then everything made so much more sense. "That's why you hate her. And Josie. And why she hates you and me."
Mother nodded.
"I knew it had to be something. Not like that, but I knew there had to be something. Oh, goddess. I'm thinking about it again." I gagged.
"Well, I'll leave you to your dry heaves. Let me know if there's anything else I can do to make you retch." She rolled her eyes and stood from the booth.
"Mom?" She stopped at my unusual address.
"Yes?"
"Stay?"
A single tear rolled from her eye and she sat back down. "You want me to?"
"Yes. Stay for a few more days. I hardly got to see you while you were here, and I do miss you."
"I missed you, too, Dot."
"Anybody need a refill?" Marge made her way back to the table. "Oh, Dot. Herb told me to tell you he has the paperwork for you in his office. You can drop the check off whenever. The total price is on the paperwork."
"Perfect. Thanks, Marge."
"No problem, sweetie."
∞ ∞ ∞
Wandering down the street, by myself, I sighed in content. It seemed like it had been forever since I'd had a moment to myself, and I was determined to enjoy it. I might have become the embodiment of the night itself, but the feeling of sunshine washing over me felt amazing. Especially in the cold, winter air.
I waved at Chief through the front window of the station. He was on the phone, or he probably would have come out to see me. I scrunched my eyes at his goofy grin as he waved back. I would see him tomorrow night, anyway. We were meeting for dinner. Tonight, was Jimmy's night. He promised me a home-cooked meal and an evening of cuddles. I intended to collect on both.
I still needed to run home, take care of a few things, and pick up a change of clothes. But, before then, I wanted to drop in on the book store and check on Jason.
The front doors, painted green, were locked. I rapped against the glass and saw him peek out from around one of the racks of books in the center of the store. His smile was warm enough to melt my heart and I stuck my tongue out at him as he headed for the door. With a twist of the lock, he pulled it open.
"Uh, sorry. We don't open until Monday."
"That's two days away? I don't think I can wait that long."
"Was there something in particular you were looking for?"
"A handsome man, in jeans. With a green apron."
"Oh! You're in luck. We just happen to have one of those," he said with a chuckle, stepping back and letting me into the warm book store.
"Holy shit, Jay. The place looks amazing." I twirled around as I walked inside, taking everything in. "I can't believe how much you got done in such a short time.
I wasn't kidding, either. Nearly all the dark wooden shelves were full of books. He had signs printed and placed above all of them, denoting genres. Everything was themed in dark forest green, except the cream-colored walls. It was everything I had pictured in my head and so much more. I squealed and launched myself at him, wrapping my legs around him and kissing him fervently.
"You taste different," he said, tilting his head when I finally let go of his lips.
"Just had lunch with Nana and my mother. That's enough to leave a bad taste in anybody's mouth. Might even be garlic."
He pulled me close again and sniffed my neck. "No. You even smell different."
I saw where he was going with it. "If you say I taste and smell like the night, I gonna bop you."
"No. You smell…sweeter? Taste sweeter? I don't know. Just a little different, and I like it."
"It's probably all that honey from your tongue," I said with a chuckle and set my feet back on the floor.
"Come on. Check out your office," he said and pulled me toward the back of the store.
We rounded a partition wall into the storeroom. In the back of that was a wood door with the word "Boss" emblazoned above it. I scrunched my nose in excitement as he pulled it open and ushered me in.
A mahogany desk nearly filled the room. One wall was filled with monitors that blinked with security cam footage of the entire store. High hat lights illuminated the room in a soft warm glow, not fluorescent, and it felt homey. I absolutely adored it, and the man responsible for it all.
"Jason."
"Yes?"
"It's perfect. Thank you!"
He pumped his fist in achievement. "You are so welcome."
I ran my hand over the desk and slumped into the chair behind it. "Everything is just as I imagined it. But better."
"Thank you." He grinned at me and sat in one of the chairs on the other side of the desk.
"Where's your office?"
"I don't have one."
"We can share…"
"I figured you would have me off doing bigger better things."
"Nope. The bookstore is it, for now. In the future… We will see."
"Good. I'll enjoy working here for a while then."
"Good thing. Mr. Manager."
He nodded and smiled. "Did I just get a promotion?"
"Yep. Right hand man and store manager. You'll be getting a sizeable raise."
His face darkened. "That's not necessary, Dot."
"Jason. Shut up."
He sighed but did as I said. He was worth the money, now I just needed to convince him of that. "Josie all set to open, too? Or do I need to light a fire under her ass?"
"She's set for a soft opening with a limited menu."
"Good. Starting slow is probably a good idea for her."
"Candace can handle it."
"She's not going back to the hospital?" I felt bad. I'd been dealing with so much, I hadn't had a chance to talk to either of them about their plans. Not even the wedding, which we needed to start planning.
"No. Josie asked her to quit and work at the coffee shop."
I nodded. They belonged together. "Good."
"So, do you have any plans tonight?"
I frowned. "Yeah. I'm having dinner with Jimmy tonight. Chief tomorrow."
"That's okay. I'm glad. Just seeing if you were free." I could tell by his face, he wasn't upset, but I still felt bad.
"Come here."
Without question, he got up out of the chair and came around the desk to my side. "What?"
"Sit." I pointed at the desk in front of me.
I pushed back, giving him enough room. When his butt touched the wood, I grinned at him, evilly. "Gotta break in some of the office furniture," I said with a chuckle. "You know, test its durability."
"I thought you were having dinner with Jimmy?" He asked, but he leaned back, putting his hands on the desk behind him while I scooted forward and flipped his apron up over his stomach.
"I am. But that doesn't mean I'm not hungry now." I unzipped his jeans and fished him out through the front of his pants. I really wanted to strip him and have my way with him on the desk, but I wasn't sure how long we had before someone knocked, walked in, or in any other way, disturbed us. It was probably better to let him keep his pants on.
I leaned forward in my chair, he wasn't hard yet, but I could fix that easily. I smiled up at him as I licked the tip. Just that was enough to make him twitch in my hand.
"What are you going to do?"
"What do you want me to do?"
"What don't I want you to do?"
I kissed the tip. "Do you want me to suck you into my mouth?"
He nodded.
"Tell me."
"I want you to suck me into your mouth."
"No. Tell me."
"Dot, suck my cock."
His words sent a shiver down my spine. It was the first time he had ever told me what to do, and I liked it. A lot. I closed my lips around the tip and pulled him into my mouth, using only suction.
He wasn't completely limp anymore, but he wasn't hard, either. He twitched against my tongue as I felt his condition change. I fucking lov
ed feeling him harden in my mouth and I groaned against him as I started bobbing my head and working him with my mouth.
"Holy fuck."
I pulled him free with a soft pop and a gentle lick of my tongue across his opening. "You like getting blown by the boss in her office?"
"Fuck yes." He reached out and let his fingers gently caress my cheek.
"You want me to keep going?" I bobbed on his cock again, sucking him hard as I pulled him from my mouth again, waiting for his answer.
"Yes. Keep sucking."
"You want to come in my mouth?" I rubbed his tip across my lips, feeling the heat of him, the softness of his skin. And the twitching of his muscles.
"Yes."
"Yes?" I went down on him again, taking all of him into my mouth until my nose was pressed into his downy soft hair above.
"Yes. I want you to make me come, I want to blow in your mouth, and I want you to swallow all of it."
I rubbed my tongue back and forth along the underside of him as I slowly worked him free. "But you really want to fill my pussy full of your come, don't you?" If I wasn't having dinner with Jimmy, I would have let him. I might have still let him, if I were going straight there. Jimmy would probably appreciate that.
"Yes," he answered with a grin.
I took him into my mouth, just the tip and cocked an eyebrow at him. "Next time. Maybe I'll let you come all over me," I said as I sucked him back in all the way and started pumping him with my hand as I worked him in complete earnest.
"Will you let me come in your ass?"
Jason, my little sweet Jason, was getting a pervy streak big enough to match that of the master, Jimmy. I felt myself gush at the thought. I sucked him, stroked him, and did my damnedest to make him explode.
"Dot," he said almost frantically.
I forced him as far as he could go into my mouth, reaching around him and pulling him in tight.
"Fuuuuck," he said breathlessly as he unloaded a torrent of hot wetness into my throat. I let him finish before pulling away, standing, and kissing him.
For all his talk, I expected him to pull away, but he didn't. He kissed me with everything he had and I found myself whimpering into it, snuggling against his chest as he held me.
"Your turn…" He turned me around and bent me over the desk.
"Jason…"
"Shush," he said and sat down in my vacated seat.
Fifth Essence: A Reverse Harem Tale (Lovin' the Coven Book 5) Page 20