“No, he wouldn’t have. “ Natasha pinned Jim to the floor. She pressed his arms down, her eyes blazing. Her strength intensified as her rage surged through her.
“How dare you take him from me?” she screamed.
“Let me up, Natasha. It’s better this way.”
“No!” she cried. With a roar, she leaned down toward him and tore a mouthful of flesh from his neck. He screamed as the blood poured out of the gaping hole. Natasha reached down again, and this time she latched on. She drank hungrily and fully for the first time in decades as his fists pressed against her strong grip. He bucked and wriggled, but her strength was greater.
His screaming and kicking soon ebbed, and finally, he stopped moving.
Natasha continued to feed until she could feed no more. When she had finally drained enough from him, she sank back against the bed.
“Oh my God,” she wept. She wiped her blood-smeared mouth with her hand. “What have I done? What has he done? Oh God. Oh Gus.”
Natasha’s bloated and full belly sloshed and gurgled as she crawled over to where Gus lay. He was still, lifeless, cold.
She opened his shirt and saw the silver bullet glinting in his chest through the meat of his bloody wound.
With a shriek, she collapsed on top of him, sobbing uncontrollably.
Chapter Seventeen
Healing brings freedom.
Natasha Goes to See Lucy
Gus lay on a cot in the middle of the circle, naked except for a cloth draped over his groin. There were chunks of amber, citrine and tourmaline on the floor as well as quartz and rose quartz. Candles and incense burned. Around him, 12 hooded friends prayed for his recovery.
His chest was bandaged where Lucy had removed the bullet earlier.
“He’s not dead yet. We got him in time,” Lucy had said when she examined the bullet. “Jim did nice work. Right down to the symbols.” She placed the bullet into a bowl. “The bullet paralyzes him for a while, but we may be able to save him if we can get him revived before the poison takes hold. Unlike you, he’s not eternal. Call the others while I put a poultice on him.”
Within hours, the circle had been formed. All with the exception of Gwen, who was flying through China that night. Everyone was eager to help Gus. Even Maggie was able to get there in a timely manner. The women arrived solemnly and focused all their energy on helping their new friend.
“Let’s call upon the spirits of a higher power to come down and fill Gus with the life force,” Lucy called out to the air. “Everyone focus on sending healing energy to Gus.”
The women chanted foreign words, staring intently at Gus. Natasha said the words, trying to put meaning into them, but she was so numb that she wasn’t even sure if her mouth was working.
If Gus was dead, she wanted to forget him. She wanted to forget all they could have been if only he had lived.
The women sang several songs as the candles burned and the incense smoldered. Ellie and Adele kept bursting into tears as they sang along with the others. The mood of the room was beyond depressing. The worst part was the sorrowful stares from Lily and Ursula. Natasha didn’t know if she could stand to be that woman whose lover was murdered.
The humming and singing seemed to drone on forever. Natasha kept staring at Gus, as if her stares alone could bring him back.
At last, Lucy closed the circle.
Quietly, the women hugged Natasha good-bye, and soon everyone was gone. The room seemed so empty and Gus seemed so small and lost.
“Oh, Lucy…it didn’t work.”
“No, it doesn’t seem as though it did, does it?” Lucy said.
“I never even really got a chance to get to know him. I never even…” Natasha sobbed as Lucy put her arms around her.
“Wait,” Lucy said. “Oh my! In all the flurry, I forgot one more thing that just might help.”
“What is it? I’ll do anything. Anything at all,” Natasha said.
“The locket. We must use the locket. Of course.”
Natasha took it off and handed it to Lucy. “There. Use it.”
Lucy waved the locket over one of the burning pots of incense and then walked over to Gus. She held the locket over him, closing her eyes and whispering words Natasha couldn’t hear. Lucy muttered and hummed while Natasha stared expectantly at Gus.
“Is it working?” Natasha asked. Lucy shook her head. She placed the locket over Gus’s heart, where the wound was bandaged. She stepped away and stood beside Natasha.
“That’s the best I can do. That’s the best anyone can do,” Lucy said. “I’m sorry, dear.” She patted Natasha on the cheek and headed out of the room.
Natasha stood over Gus and closed her eyes. She willed his heart to start beating, for his lungs to fill with air, for his eyes to open and see her waiting for him.
When she opened her eyes again, the locket was glowing. Around her, ghostly forms whirled. They were her ghosts and other ghosts. Spirits from hundreds of years of life in Hermana and the world flooded into the room. They floated, weaving in and out of each other in a wave of ribbons. The vision reminded Natasha of a braided basket.
As the ghosts connected and swirled, a circle formed in the air around Gus. Natasha was aware of a new surge of energy. The ghosts twittered and hummed light, tinkling sounds, like glass wind chimes.
Natasha watched as the locket grew brighter. She could almost feel heat emitting from it. She laid her hands on Gus and focused on the light energy beaming down from the sky and through her fingers. She didn’t know if reiki worked for vampires and werewolves, but she had watched it enough to know what to do. Her fingers grew warm as she focused. She willed the light into Gus, hoping it would be enough to bring him back.
The whirling above her grew faster. A light wind swept through the room, and Pete’s essence soared through. He floated above Gus for a moment, an anguished look on his face. With an unearthly moan, he flew toward Gus and tunneled into him. Natasha waited for him to emerge, but he never did.
The ghosts above continued to spin, creating almost a vortex. Natasha grew fearful they would create a portal for something even more terrible.
“It’s okay,” she said. “I think we’re done here. We’ve done all we can.”
The ghosts slowly stopped whirring and wafted apart. Many of them floated to different areas of the room to watch while others wandered off to other areas of the house.
Natasha turned her attention back to Gus. His chest was flinching. For a brief moment, she worried Pete would come bursting out of him Alien-style, but in fact, Gus started to cough. He coughed hard and long, racking his body so violently that he leaned over to perch himself on his arms.
“Oh my God,” he wheezed. He sucked great mouthfuls of air in and out, coughing up clots of blood onto the carpet. “I’m sorry,” he said as he wiped his mouth with his hand. “I’m sorry for everything.”
Natasha stared at him with joy. “You’re back. Oh Gus! I can’t believe it.”
She hugged him and he held her hard in his embrace. His body shook as his coughing turned to crying.
“What happened, Natasha? I’m so confused.”
“You died, Gus. You were shot. But the witches brought you back.”
Gus grinned. “Your witch friends, huh? They did that for me?”
“I told you.”
“Even knowing what I am?”
“Yes, even knowing what you are. It’s all going to be fine now.” Natasha grinned. “You’ll see.”
Chapter Eighteen
Try a new recipe. Experiment with new food.
Natasha and Gus
Natasha led Gus into the bedroom. Gus was glistening from his shower. Natasha was naked, and her body cast long, sexy shadows on the walls. Gus gasped as he saw all the electric candelabras glowing. There were six real candles flickering on the nightstands. The smell of sweet incense filled the air.
“I’ve waited so long for this,” Natasha said as she led Gus toward the bed. “Take me before we’re in
terrupted again.”
Gus laughed as he flung off his towel. The mark where he was shot had almost healed in just a few short hours.
“You don’t have to ask me twice,” he said. He pushed her back on the bed, cradling her face in his hands. “My beautiful Natasha. Together at last. I think.” He kissed her on the lips quickly. “I must say, something sure smells good,” he said as he raised his head, looking toward the kitchen.
“My horoscope said to try a new recipe today. So I did. While you were in the shower, I made dinner.”
“Oh, a woman who cooks. I like that.” Gus nibbled her ear.
“Take me, Gus. Oh, take me like you were going to the other night.”
Gus kissed her, licking her neck. She tilted her head back so he could nibble along the length of it. His mouth pressed warmly along her jugular, and her heartbeat quickened. His breath grew shorter, and beads of sweat formed on his brow.
Natasha kissed him on the lips again, noting that his face felt a bit rougher. She pushed him back.
“Oh, don’t stop kissing me,” Gus pouted as he wiped the sweat from his brow. Natasha looked down at his erection. It was growing larger and longer. She leaned over and sucked it into her mouth.
“Oh my God,” Gus moaned. “That feels so good.”
She licked him along his shaft in long, slow strokes. Her hand cupped his balls, pressing them warmly with her fingers, tugging on them lightly. His cock kept growing as she licked him. She took him in her mouth, opening her throat to slide him all the way in.
“Oh Natasha,” he growled, holding her hair in his hands. He pumped her head up and down, gripping her hair firmly. Natasha sucked him, her head bobbing as his hips thrust up to meet her.
He was so big that she couldn’t fit the length of him in her mouth. She stroked his erection with one hand while sucking on his tip. He quivered and trembled as excitement grew. His hands were rough in her hair, scratching her.
She looked up at him and noticed the sweat was pouring down his face in rivulets; his chest gleamed with moisture. Even his neck had a steady stream of perspiration trickling down.
“Are you okay?” she asked, pulling away from his clutch. As he released her hair, they both saw that his hands had turned to claws. He jumped up.
“Oh no,” Natasha said. “Now what?”
“This time isn’t supposed to be so bad,” Gus said, pacing in a circle. “It’s the next time I have to hide myself away.”
“But aren’t you hungry?” Natasha asked.
“I’m always hungry,” Gus said.
“Well then, maybe we should eat first. If you think you can.”
“It does smell good. But you know what I need to eat.”
“I know, darling. However, we are here, and we can only have what is lying around,” Natasha said. “Come, let’s go eat.”
Natasha led Gus into the dining room. She took one of the cloth napkins from the table and gave it to him to dab away his sweat. He was still shifting. Fur grew along his face as his nose and mouth were elongating. His chest grew furrier, and he had claws that could barely hold the napkin. She went into the kitchen.
“Smells good,” Gus shouted to her, his voice low and gravelly.
Natasha returned with two plates piled high with slices of rare mea as well as a baked potato and broccoli.
“This looks familiar.” Gus smiled as he stared at the food.
“I was hoping you’d remember,” Natasha said. She poured red wine for both of them. She placed a black goblet in front of him. “Drink this. It will help you relax.”
Gus tried to wrap his claws around the glass, but they didn’t bend that way.
“Damn it,” he growled.
“Now don’t go getting all upset,” Natasha said as she went over to him. “I’ll help you. It’ll be kind of fun.”
Natasha took the glass and tipped it to his mouth. He slurped noisily, drinking the wine until it was gone.
“A bit thirsty?” she asked.
“I just thought I’d get it over with so you can go eat,” he said rather harshly.
Natasha frowned for a moment. “I really don’t mind,” she said with forced cheerfulness as she poured more wine into his glass. “I’m here for you, however you need me.”
She took his knife and fork and cut a big piece of meat. She raised it to his lips, and he ate it hungrily.
“That is so good,” he said. “That really hits the spot.”
“Eat it,” Natasha coaxed, stabbing the meat as fast as she could to keep up with his vigorous feasting.
At last, he had consumed his plate of meat, and she went to get him another.
“I can’t believe how good that is,” he called out to her.
“I’m glad you like it,” she shouted back.
In the end, he ate three plates of meat to her one. He even ate all of his baked potato and broccoli.
They sat back for a moment, their stomachs full. Natasha dabbed her mouth with her napkin as she finished the last of her meat.
“Natasha,” Gus said. He held up his hands. “Check it out.” They weren’t claws anymore. “And I’ve stopped sweating.” He smiled. His distorted face had returned back to normal again.
Natasha smiled. “Look at you. You didn’t turn.”
“I told you I was hungry, and you fed me. It’s strange, though. Regular food doesn’t turn me back. At least, it hasn’t until now. Did you put a spell in it?”
“No, I didn’t.” She smirked. “But it was special.”
“In what way?”
“Well…” Natasha tried to speak seriously, but laughter kept threatening to spill from her lips. “Remember Jim Hawthorne? The one that shot you?”
“Yes.”
“Well…”She raised her eyebrows.
Gus looked down at his plate and back at her. “You didn’t.”
“Why not? They were just going to put him in the ground to rot, if they ever found him, that is. Why let the bears have what is rightfully ours?” She sipped her wine.
“You’re right, we are going to be good together,” he said as he went over to hug her. He kissed her long and hard. She responded hungrily, her heart pounding.
He scooped her up in his arms and carried her back to the bedroom. “Do you think this time we can finish what we started?” he asked.
“Oh, I most certainly hope so.” She sighed, stroking his jaw.
He lay her gently down on the bed and kissed her. His cock was already hard and ready. She spread her legs and cried out as, at long last, she felt the warmth of his penetration. She raised her hips up to meet him, gasping as his size.
“Oh, Gus,” she cried as she pulled him down on top of her.
He plunged into her deeply, and she cried out with joy. He pumped her faster and harder. She wrapped her legs around him, rocking against him.
She rejoiced in their union, enjoying him filling her up at last. Her hunger quelled, she was able to enjoy the glorious sensation of his penetration as she’d not been able to do with any other.
He pulled out of her, and she gasped as the fullness of him left her.
Gus rolled her over and turned her around so she was on her hands and knees. As her breasts swung, he pulled on her hips to draw her back against him. He fucked her slowly and sensuously, kneading her bottom with his fingers. She turned back to look at him, at his rippled chest and strong abdominal muscles tightening as he pumped into her. He smiled at her.
“Do you like that?” he asked as he fucked her.
“Oh, yes. Harder. Faster.”
He pushed into her deeply and pulled out again, picking up the pace of his rhythm. His hand rubbed her clitoris, and she moaned as a shuddering thrill passed through her.
He turned her over again, this time lifting her legs up onto his shoulders. As he plunged into her repeatedly, he kissed her. Their tongues met and mingled as their bodies churned together.
His pace grew more frantic, and he tilted her up higher to thrust into her de
eper.
“Oh my God,” Natasha cried as a climax spread through her. She gasped and shook her head back and forth as he pumped into her faster and harder.
He stiffened, and with a groan, he released into her. Natasha felt him pulsing inside her tight, warm hole, and she came again.
For a while, he stayed inside her as they savored the delicious sensation of their excitement subsiding. Slowly, he pulled out of her and lay down beside her.
They both gasped, catching their breath as they lay staring at the ceiling. “That was amazing,” he said.
“Oh yeah,” Natasha agreed. She noticed some of the ghosts were hovering above them. They were quiet and seemed almost approving. She turned back to Gus. “I’m glad we found each other. I think we’re going to be a good team.”
“I think we’re going to be just fine,” Gus agreed as he pressed his lips against hers.
Excerpt from Aquarius: Haunted Heart
Book Two in the Witch Upon a Star Series
Chapter One
Reflecting on your past will help you make wiser choices in the future.
The heat of the sun bore down on her. She squinted, pushing her hands against the broad shoulders of the faceless stranger as his velvet tongue sought out her innermost desire. She spread her legs wider, allowing him deeper access with his fingers and mouth. He slowly ran his tongue along her labia, in and out of her moist folds, until he found her clit again. She moaned and pushed up against him, urging him to suck her hard, little nub. His noisy slurps excited her, and she braced herself for a quick and powerful orgasm.
The alarm clock buzzed.
Madeline slapped it off with a groan. The dream image faded, but her urgent desire didn’t. She curled up under the blankets, pressing her groin into the mattress until she made herself come.
Another day had arrived.
* * *
It was a cold February morning as Madeline stared at herself in the mirror. She had just emerged from a hot, pounding shower, and it was the best time to indulge in a bit of self-scrutiny. It was a daily ritual and one she imagined most people in North America performed. But probably unlike most people, after she had her morning glance, she usually didn’t bother looking at herself again until the next day. Even when she brushed her teeth, she often stared down into the sink instead of checking out her appearance. She often realized she didn’t really look how she felt.
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