Discovery of Magick (Dark Light Academy Book 1)

by Tabatha Stephenson

“Best wake him up, or he’ll cream his pants,” Brent continued. “He did it at the dorm once or twice, dreaming about you.”

  Really? I mentally preened. Wait, no, bad Tuesday, bad! We’d barely started dating and were in my grandmother’s house, in bed with his two best friends. Just no, no, no!

  “Laurent,” I tried again, a bit louder, placing my hand over his to remove it from my breast.

  “Huh?” he startled awake, coming to with a jerk, which managed to surprise me as well, just enough that my hand froze. So, now he was awake, and it looked like I’d been the one to put his hand on my boob. I should have just shouted Jumanji, I realized, and hoped for the worst.

  “You were having a sex dream,” Charles said, returning from the bathroom.

  “Oh, well,” Laurent said, “It doesn’t appear as if she minded very much.” He sounded pretty smug about it, too.

  I released his hand. “I was just about to move your hand off me,” I said, trying to muster up some dignity. Where was a rampaging herd of rhinos when one need them?

  “Sure, tell yourself that,” he teased.

  I shifted, hoping that he couldn’t tell just how wet my panties had gotten.

  He slid his hand down, under the covers, fingers skimming where I’d just hoped they wouldn’t. “You’re wet,” he whispered.

  Damn it!

  “I can’t sleep now,” Brent said, getting out of bed. “Come on, Charles, let’s go read for a bit in the library.”

  I watched them go in disbelief, my eyes widening at the matching pitched tenting of their sleep pants. I swallowed. Well, at least I wasn’t the only one turned on by what had happened.

  “We’re alone now,” Laurent purred, nosing my throat.

  I shivered. He was still raring to go.

  “Can we?” he asked me softly.

  “What if they come back?” I whispered. “Maybe they won’t find a good book or get bored.”

  “They left so we could be alone,” he countered, nuzzling me more.

  Oh. Ohhhhh. They were probably going to go be ‘alone’ in the library, too, given the state they’d left in. Talk about having a lightbulb moment. But did I really want to do this? My body was saying yes, and he’d done nothing to show me that he didn’t see me and not just the magickal possibilities our bonding would bring.

  I rolled over onto my back. “Well, let’s not waste another moment,” I said, praying to the heavens that I wasn’t making a mistake. That and any other coherent thought flew out of my head when instead of climbing over me, he slid down, taking the covers with him. He pushed my nightie up higher, baring me to my waist, dropping a kiss onto my stomach.

  “Naked,” I gasped. “This would be so much better naked.” I sat up and shrugged off my offending garments, tossing them onto the floor.

  He gave a low chuckle, his eyes drinking me in. I watched as his eyes darkened, his pupils blown wide with hunger, a predatory gleam in their depths. He quickly shucked off the sleep pants and the briefs he wore beneath them to safeguard my sensibilities, as he put it. He reached down to grasp a knee in each hand, using his hold to pull my legs apart, baring me completely before him. “So fucking beautiful,” he said, moving his hands down to part my soaking folds apart with his thumbs.

  I blushed, but once more, I didn’t have the chance to form a rational thought because he settled down between my thighs, resting on his forearms. Then he leaned in and licked me down the length of my pussy lips once. I moaned. Encouraged, he lapped at my wetness there, every now and again dipping his tongue in to breach my wet core. He began rolling my clit between his fingers. I shook with the effort to not make noise.

  “Let me hear your voice,” he said, looking up. “Take your hand away from your mouth.”

  I did so with a whimper and was rewarded by him sucking my nub into his mouth and thrusting two fingers into my sopping channel. I rode the crest of the waves of pleasure that washed over me before finally crashing into the chaos of light and darkness.

  I panted, willing my heart to slow as I slowly gained awareness. Laurent was now leaning over me, bracketing me between his arms. “You’re gorgeous all the time,” he said, “but most of all, when you’re falling apart under me.” He dropped his lips onto mine in a soft, sensuous kiss. I could taste myself on him, and it turned my insides to fire once more.

  He broke the kiss and rolled next to me. “Enough. Let’s sleep now.” He pulled me into his arms, settling us into our usual spoon pattern.

  “But you didn’t get-” I protested.

  “It’s fine,” he reassured me. “I wanted our first time to be all for you.” I felt his lips curve into a smile against my skin. “Next time, you can return the favor first.”

  I’d never given head before, but I was sure game to try. Right now, in fact, except for the languor now edging back into my limbs.

  I’ll just close my eyes for a minute, I promised myself, luxuriating in the feel of being cared so gently for by my lover after delivering a toe-curling orgasm. A soft purring sounded, luring me to follow it into the darkness.

  Chapter 18

  I awoke to find myself still naked, with an also very nude Laurent softly snoring behind me. I blushed, remembering my wantonness the night before, quickly followed by a feeling of contentment.

  I had a boyfriend! Not just a guy I’d like to try dating, nor just someone who was my fiancé by arrangement, and not merely a magickal bondmate. An honest-to-God boyfriend and lover. A soft knock sounded on the door, summoning us for breakfast. The three guys beside me stirred from the sound. I slid out from under Laurent’s arm and picked up my nightgown, quickly slipping it back over my head, so I could answer the door.

  “Thanks,” I told the young maid at the door. “We’ll be down shortly.”

  I watched her nose twitch, a knowing expression crossing her face. What was that about? I wondered.

  I turned to find Charles standing next to the bed, stretching, Brent sat on the edge next to him, sleepily rubbing his eyes. Laurent was blinking up at the ceiling, covering a yawn.

  “I’m going to grab a shower,” I told them.

  “Good, wash the pong off of you from last night,” Charles teased.

  My cheeks flamed. I’d had no idea they could smell what we’d done.

  “Better get used to it,” Laurent told him, sitting up and swinging his legs over my side. “It’ll only smell stronger once my jizz is added to the mix.”

  I fled, my whole face now crimson at his crudity, I was sure of it. He’d all but told them what we had and hadn’t done!

  “Sorry, babe,” Laurent called after me. I slammed the bathroom door shut, figuring out only afterward that I’d not brought any clothes in with me except for the nightgown I’d hastily thrown on. Crap. Never mind, I’d just have to wrap myself in a towel and make a break for my dressing room. I turned the water on, waiting for it to get warm enough to climb under. Of course, since this house belonged to one of the richest and oldest families of witches in the realm, that happened almost instantaneously, so I pulled the nightgown back off and climbed under the spray. I closed my eyes, tilting my head down towards my chest, and turned around to get the water out of my face. I blinked in surprise as I heard the door open, then stared open-mouthed when the shower curtain pulled back to reveal a roguishly smirking Laurent.

  “I thought we should save time and water,” he said. He reached past me, adjusting the angle of the shower spray.

  “Thanks, I guess I’m still rather tired. I should have thought of that,” I said.

  “Yeah, you’re not much good until you get that first cup down you, huh?” he teased.

  He wasn’t wrong. I loved my coffee, but in a pinch, a good cup of tea would also do. The main thing was I needed my mug of caffeine to kickstart my brain. I looked up at him to make some witty riposte back, but the words died in my throat as I took him in. Whoa. He was stunning to start with, but wet, the water sparkling over his skin like that, misting his dark, long eyelashes?
>
  I turned around fast, knowing that we’d be taking a very long time indeed if I kept looking at him. I’d failed to take into account the slipperiness of the tub as I did so, and stumbled. He caught me, making things a million times worse as my body reacted to his touch, remembering the feel of his hands on me the night before. I swallowed, my tongue suddenly too thick in my mouth.

  “Easy! You could really hurt yourself doing stuff like that. And you could have knocked me down along with you. Do you want me out? I didn’t mean to make you uncomfortable. I just thought that after last night, you’d accepted me as your lover.”

  “Nnnng,” I tried.

  I felt him shake as he laughed. “Oh, it’s that kind of shyness. Baby, if this is because you want me naked and wet, we can do that, but it’ll have to wait until tonight.”

  I nodded. “‘Kay,” I managed.

  “Pass me the shampoo, and I’ll wash your hair,” he said, releasing me.

  This time, I moved with more care, picking up the bottle of magickal shampoo the stylist had left for me. It smelled lovely, like cherry blossoms and honey, the aroma subtle but there as I uncapped it before handing it to him. He passed it back to me a moment later, and I recapped it, placing it back in the shower caddy. I straightened up, and his hands almost immediately palmed the shampoo onto the top of my head. His fingers worked up a lather, massaging my scalp before working it down the short length of my strands.

  It felt good, and I suddenly realized that this was something I could probably look forward to every day of my life. It felt right, despite the circumstances of how we came to be together. I simply had to trust him and myself, as well as the guys, to do what was right for all of us. I could do that, right? It didn’t have to be because someone else wanted us to be together.

  He began to soap my body with a washcloth, from neck to ankles. “Lift your foot, he said as he knelt down. I pressed a hand against the tile wall and did as he asked. He gently rubbed between my toes and over the top of my foot. He guided it back down and urged me to lift my other one before repeating his gentle and almost ticklish, ministrations. Straightening back up, he tugged my shoulder to get me to turn around.

  “I best do my front,” I said, my breath ragged. I held my free hand out to the side, and he dropped the still soapy cloth into it.

  “Alrighty then,” he agreed easily.

  I did so and rinsed off quickly, leaving him to finish washing. I didn’t miss how his cock stood bobbing a greeting at me or how he took the cloth we’d used and soaped it back up before wrapping his member in it. He began to stroke, and I licked my lips.

  “I’ll, um, just go towel my hair dry and get dressed,” I said.

  “Right behind ya,” he replied.

  I grabbed a towel, wrapped it around me, and snatched the clean Zorbee hanging on a smaller rail. If we didn’t hurry, we really would be late for breakfast, and I really didn’t want dear old Grannykins thinking she’d gotten us to do her bidding. No, what we had was just between us, nothing to do with whatever plans she had for more status. Bracelets, Wtichagrams, and parties notwithstanding.

  Chapter 19

  “Okay, I think you’ve got the basics pretty well down,” Laurent said to me.

  I sure hoped so. We’d spent a little over two weeks in this place, with nothing to do except study, show up for meals, and suffer through endless fittings and beauty appointments. Okay, those weren’t so bad. I did not really mind at all going to have mani-pedis and getting my hair done. That shampoo had done wonders for my hair. It was now vibrant and soft, and when I’d gone into the salon, they’d given me a trim that didn’t take off too much of my hair, but basically re-shaped my usual style into something sassier.

  Oh, and we had time for more making out, though we still hadn’t gone all the way. I wasn’t complaining, though, and neither was he. We gave each other plenty of orgasms. Based on how often Charles and Brent found excuses to go off alone and came back with kiss-swollen lips, they weren’t suffering in that department, either.

  “I think we should try a locii-focused spell,” Brent said.

  Now that got my attention. For one of those, all four of us had to have our magick intertwined. In addition to how mine and Laurent’s were now deeeply entangled, or so I hoped, we and the guys needed to blend our auras more thoroughly. Now that our magicks were tied together at the base of their origins thanks to the bracelets, it shouldn’t be too hard an effort. Kind of like how it’s easier to braid hair after fastening it in a ponytail first, only the rubber band, in this case, was a permanent feature. I’d never be able to bond magickally with anyone else, and they would never be able to have another locii, either. And to power up our auras enough to cast a powerful spell for me to focus meant we’d have to get our engines revving, so to speak. Hoo, boy.

  “You okay with what you’ll have to do first?” Charles asked me, as if he’d read my mind.

  “Kissing two hot guys?” I joked, with bravado I didn’t really feel. “What’s not to be okay with? I’m down for that.”

  Laurent gave me a worried look. “You know I’ll have to as well, right? And, it’d work better if we all, ah, engaged at the same time.”

  That was cutting it a little close to my fevered imagining several nights ago. Okay, and some of the days and nights since. I was turning into such a perv!

  “How about you three start, and then I can kiss you guys?” I asked, thinking how hot it would be to see them kissing, then I could kiss them one at a time, taking turns. Not like what my horny self had fantasized about, not at all. Nope, not copping to it.

  “Okay. Well, if you’re sure,” Charles said. He rubbed his hands together. “How about we set up a protection zone in the garden first, in case this goes tits up. Wouldn’t want to blow a chunk of wall out of the house or something. Then we can grab lunch and come out and see what happens.”

  I nodded. That sounded like a solid plan. “What spell are you going to try?” I asked them since they’d be channeling their cast spell through me.

  “We’ll be in the garden, so how about we try to make the roses all bloom?’ Brent suggested. “Not grow, just bloom.”

  “And if we can do that, we can cut our fair lady a bouquet,” Charles said.

  “Sweet talking will get you everywhere,” I teased him.

  “We suggest kissing, and already she’s aiming for more,” Brent teased.

  Laurent gave me a smile I couldn’t interpret. “She’s enthusiastic, for sure,” he said.

  “I’ll go get the chalk,” I announced, thinking I needed to go before things went a step too far. Our relationships with and to each other were still too new and fragile to risk stomping on them with jokes that might cause jealous or hurt feelings later on.

  “I’ll go to the kitchen to see if they have the herbs we’ll need,” Charles said.

  “We’ll meet you in the garden then,” Laurent agreed. “Brent and I can look for a good spot.”

  Since we were all in agreement, I was able to take my leave. I hurried up the stairs, eager to get to our room and fetch the chalk. We were really doing this! At last, they thought I had enough basic magickal knowledge to be a stable locii., something we hadn’t tried since growing that tree back at the academy. It was exciting as hell! I hoped that maybe tomorrow, they’d let me attempt more magick on my own. The more I practiced, the better I’d get.

  I opened our door, surprising the maid who was in there changing our sheets.

  “Oh! Sorry! I didn’t mean to startle you.”

  She curtsied. “I’m Lisette. I’m your maid for the week, but your fiances made it quite clear you did not need nor wish someone fussing over you unless called.”

  “Yes, nothing personal, but I can dress myself. Been doing it for years.”

  “I can help with your hair and formal wear,” she said, her tone timid.

  “Now, that would be great.” Hopefully that wasn’t something I’d need anytime soon, though.

  She met my eyes t
hen, face beaming. “I will come on the days you request me for that.”

  “I thought chambermaids did bedrooms,” I said. “This isn’t beneath you or anything, is it?” I suddenly felt terrible, in case my not using her to draw my bath and shit was getting her punished in some way.

  “Yes, but I suggested that perhaps you would like only me to have access to the room, so it was more private and secure.” She looked at me steadily, as if willing me to understand, her expression now quite serious.

  I smiled. “I get ya. You’re mine, and not my grandmother’s,” I said carefully.

  She nodded. “Yes, and so, my loyalty is to you, personally.”

  I decided right then and there that I liked her. I was getting those same vibes from her that I got from Joanna and my other friends back at school. It occurred to me then that I was wasting the opportunity to have someone to have girl talk with, and maybe even get some inside gossip about what the hell was going on in this house.

  “Would it be terrible if I asked you to come up after dinner and bring fresh towels and lay out my night clothes?” I asked her.

  “Would an hour after dinner be alright?” she asked me. “I can bring up a tray with tea and scones.” Yep, she was definitely giving me the friend vibe rather than a mere servant one.

  “Bring five cups,” I replied, “and we’ll see you then.”

  Her smile returned. I think she caught my meaning loud and clear.

  “I’ll let you get back to work. I just came up to grab something we needed for our studies.”

  She nodded and went back to changing the bedding. I went over to my changing room and reached into the box that held my pencils and chalks from school. I grabbed the box of chalks and went down the stairs to the kitchen, eager to see if I could find Charles so we could go find our men together.

  I couldn’t wait to tell them that it looked like we had a surprise ally in the house, one privy to the gossip and, therefore, the goings-on behind the doors that were closed to us. If this worked out, I could end tryouts and announce my choice of keeping her on. Yay!