Seduced and Enchanted

by Stephanie Julian

  With a laugh, she threw her arms around his neck and hugged him tightly before stepping back to grin at him. “Oh my God, Rio. I can’t believe it. This is so amazing.”

  Yeah, this really was amazing. But he was pretty sure they were thinking about two different things.

  “I can’t believe I’m able to finally control that,” she waved her hands in front of him like jazz hands, “power. It’s just so cool.”

  They definitely weren’t thinking of the same thing. While she was talking about her newfound power, he was thinking about the feel of her half-naked body pressed against his.

  They’d stripped down to bare essentials a few hours ago, after a quick lunch of Sal’s fantastic prosciutto, basil, provolone panini and homemade lemonade. Rosie wore only her black bra and a pair of soccer shorts Sal had dug out of a bedroom drawer. Rio had lost his t-shirt hours ago but had kept on his jeans. He didn’t want to have mat burns on his ass from his many trips to the floor. They’d interfere with his plans for later.

  And, boy, did he have plans.

  “No need for thanks, babe. Believe me, I’ll be taking my payment in trade.” He winked at her.

  It took a few seconds for his words to sink in but then she smiled. His cock throbbed as she let her gaze wander down his bare chest to his stomach then to the ridge behind his zipper. Her eyes lingered before she looked back up. “So you’ve just spent six hours getting thrown across the room just because you wanted to get laid?”

  The corners of his mouth lifted at the enticement in her tone. Even with everything going on, he couldn’t remember ever having a better time with a woman. “Oh, getting laid doesn’t begin to cover it.”

  Her smile turned impish…and hot as hell. “Don’t you know all you had to do was ask?”

  Every muscle in his body tightened and that ever-present fire low in his body raged. “And what fun would that be?”

  “So you want a little fun?” she teased.

  Oh Great Goddess, he wanted a whole lot of fun with this woman. A whole lot of times, in a whole lot of positions, with a whole lot of orgasms.

  Without warning, he dropped to his knees, pulled the nylon shorts and her panties to her ankles and slipped one hand between her legs.

  “Rio! What—”

  She couldn’t finish the sentence because she gasped when he slid two fingers straight into her dripping sex. Her hands clasped onto his shoulders, to either hold herself steady or make sure he didn’t go anywhere, he wasn’t sure which. But she didn’t have to worry. He wasn’t moving anywhere until she’d come.

  The trimmed, pale brown curls on her mound were silky soft. He couldn’t resist getting closer and running the tip of his nose through them. He inhaled. She smelled aroused and wet and hot. All for him.

  Rio didn’t wait to taste her. Using both hands, he spread her legs until he saw the folds of moist pink flesh and the small nub of her clit. Her fingers urged him closer and he settled his mouth directly over her clit, letting his tongue lead the way to flick over it a few times before he gently nipped at it with his teeth.

  Rosie moaned so loudly it reverberated off the stone walls. He worked her with his tongue and teeth for a few minutes, licking and sucking. Her body thrust toward him, at least as much as he allowed, his hands holding on tightly to her hips. He wanted her begging for release, wanted her to equate pleasure with him only. Then he would give it to her.

  With his eyes closed, he relied on his senses of taste and touch to guide him. Swiping his tongue along her folds, he lapped up the moisture gathered there. The sweet honey was more intoxicating than any alcohol. Like an addict, he wanted more.

  He moved one hand between her legs and thrust two fingers into her wet sex. Her pussy sucked them in eagerly. He finger-fucked her, alternating fast and slow thrusts until he felt her orgasm begin and heard her whimper. When her muscles clamped onto his fingers and she cried out, he drew out her climax until she was gasping for air. Only then did he increase the speed and rush her into release. When her knees buckled, he caught her and laid her out on the mat.

  Rosie looked sated and a little dazed. Both good things.

  But Rio was far from finished. In fact, he’d only just started. He tangled with her bra for a few seconds before he got it off and threw it over her head. After he tossed the shorts and panties from her ankles, he wrestled with his jeans, easing them off his hips and making sure he didn’t catch his aching erection in the zipper. When he was finally naked, he spread her legs, crawled between them then sat back on his heels, watching her.

  Her heavy-lidded gaze connected with his. Watching. Waiting. Wondering.

  If he were an artist, he’d paint her just like this. But since he didn’t have one artistic bone in his body, he settled for using his hands to trace every curve, every line, every hollow, from her beautiful face to her gorgeous toes. Her webbed toes.

  Cool. That must be her aguane heritage.

  He opened his mouth to say something but completely lost his train of thought when she sat up and cupped both hands around his cock.

  It was his turn to groan at the sensation of her cool hands on his heated flesh. His shaft jerked in her grip then thickened even further as she stroked him. Closing his eyes, he let her caress him with long pulls, alternated with light tugs on his balls.

  The sensation made sweat slick his skin but he forced down his desire. When he came, he wanted to be buried deep inside her, hopefully while she came as well. And that meant holding on—

  She slipped her lips over the tip of his cock and sucked.

  The sound that came out of his mouth was animalistic in its intensity and he reached for her head to hold her in place. After she’d played her tongue around the tip for a few seconds, she let her lips slide down on him, taking more of him until his shaft was completely enclosed in her mouth. His cock head reached inside her throat. No woman had ever let him in so deeply. The wet heat, the scrape of her teeth and the motion of her tongue shot fire into his balls.

  Oh Christ, he wasn’t going to last. His hips pumped involuntarily as she drew back, letting her teeth drag against the tender flesh. The slight pain and the cool air on his moistened skin made his cock jerk in warning.

  “Rosie, I’m gonna—”

  The swift downward motion of her mouth forced all the air from his lungs in sheer pleasure. No more words were needed. The fierce suction she induced as she hollowed her cheeks made it more than clear what she wanted.

  Rio gave in to her, the rush of fluid pulsing out of him and into her mouth. It was sensual and binding in the most primal way.

  His. Always his.

  Back flat on the mat, arms over her head, Rosie stretched her entire body.

  She felt completely sated and, for the first time today, not totally freaked out.

  She could get addicted to sex with Rio. Real fast.

  On his stomach beside her, the object of her obsession had his eyes closed as he tried to catch his breath. His hand lay heavily on her stomach, his skin warm. She wanted to bask in that heat for hours, like a cat in the sun. Wanted to rub her body all over him, make him come— Oh wait, she’d already done that. But there was no law that she couldn’t do it again.

  At that moment, Rio opened his eyes. He must have been able to tell exactly what she was thinking because he smiled that maddeningly erotic smile.

  “Babe, just give me a minute.”

  She laughed, because there was no way he’d be ready again in a minute. He looked completely replete. She had done this to him. Rosie had never felt this sexy and powerful.

  His smile turned rueful. “Okay, maybe more than a minute. But definitely no more than five.”

  Leaning over, she smacked a kiss on his lips then rolled away to get her clothes. “We should get dressed and go upstairs. I’m sure Sal knows what we’re doing down here, so I’m already going to be embarrassed when I see him. But if we do it again, I won’t be able to look him in the face.”

  Rio pushed himself up on
an elbow to watch her. “Believe me, Sal’s not gonna judge.”

  Pulling her bra on, she shook her head as she searched for her shorts. “Still, it’s not like I know the guy and here I am, having sex in his basement.” She finally found the shorts all the way across the room. How’d they get there? “I’m not normally this…” Slutty? Horny? “Eager.”

  “Glad to know it’s just me,” Rio said, smiling. Damn, but that man’s smile did wonderful things to her libido.

  “And that’s, ah, something I wanted to talk to you about.” She pulled on the shorts and panties. “You know I’m not a virgin. I’ve slept with other guys before. So is what happened, my powers unlocking, just because you’re…magical?”

  He didn’t answer right away, just stared at her until finally she put her hands on her hips and prepared to interrogate him. “Rio…”

  With a sigh, he sat up, reaching for his jeans and pulling them on, not bothering with his boxers. Since he was naked under them, she held her breath for a second as he dragged up the zipper.

  “Rosie…” He imitated her pose and attitude, which made it impossible to hold on to her anger. Then he turned serious. “This explanation is a little more…involved than the others.”

  Her eyebrows lifted. “You mean more involved than learning how to control this magic that has somehow taken over my body? More involved than learning there are men like Sal in the world? More involved than—”

  “Okay, okay.” He held up his hands like a traffic cop, grinning a little. “I’m sorry. You’re doing great, dealing with all of it. But this is a little different.”

  “Different how?”

  Sighing, he ran a hand through his hair, tugging on the ends before releasing it. “Different in that it involves our…relationship.”

  Relationship? He thought they had a relationship? Rosie tried to squash the flare of happiness that erupted in her chest at his use of the word. Yes, she wanted them to have a relationship. She’d fallen for him the second she’d seen him and although she couldn’t—wouldn’t—put her feelings into words just yet, she knew Rio already meant more to her than any man ever had. Still, they’d only met yesterday and relationships didn’t work like that, did they?

  For all she knew, Rio might tell her he was going to leave her with Sal to wait for her godmothers’ return. But then he’d practically instructed Lora, Vivian and Fanny to get lost and that he’d take care of her.

  Unable to bear the suspense any longer, Rosie said, “Just spit it out, Rio.”

  Hands stuffed in his pockets, arms tight with tension, he said, “I’m pretty sure the reason the spell broke when we were together was because we’re soul mates.”

  She blinked. “Did you just say…soul mates?”

  He nodded. “Yeah.”

  Rosie might be more than a little bit of a hopeful romantic but she was also pragmatic enough to know that most men did not believe in love at first sight or soul mates. Still, Rio didn’t look like he was kidding. On the contrary, his expression was completely serious, not a hint of a smile in sight.

  “And by that you mean…”

  He stared straight into her eyes. “That we’re meant to be together. I believe we were blood-bound in a former life.”

  Her eyes widened until she could feel her forehead scrunching. “Former life? Blood-bound?”

  He nodded solemnly. “Yes. In a former life. I believe if we look, we’ll find a mark on your hand or on your body, some mark you’ve always had, that you thought was a birthmark or a blemish. That will prove it.”

  Her head spun from information overload. “What does blood-bound mean?”

  He paused again and his mouth twisted, as if he wasn’t quite sure how she was going to take what he had to say. “It’s a ritual, a magical ritual that binds our souls together throughout all eternity, ensuring that we find each other in every life.”

  Whoa. That sounded…permanent. “And how does this happen?”

  “We exchange blood during sex.”

  Her mouth opened then closed then opened again. She didn’t have a clue what to say to that one.

  Rio’s expression never changed. Actually it was curiously blank. Rosie had no idea what he was thinking. Was he happy about this? Was he pissed off that he’d been trapped by a past self into believing he should spend the rest of his life with her? Did he want to run fast and far and never look back?

  Maybe he was wrong. Maybe there was no proof. “So where would this mark be?”

  “Well, it could be on your hands, your chest or…you might not have a mark at all.”

  She frowned, her brain at a dead stop. “Why not?”

  “If you’d have been a virgin when we first made love, I could’ve cut myself and our blood would have mingled when—”

  She held up her hand, blushing irrationally. “Got it.”

  Now he smiled, the blasted man. “That’s considered the most preferable way.”

  She snorted. “Yeah, I bet it is for the guy.”

  “Ah Rosie, what man wouldn’t want to be his true love’s first and only?” His tone was completely sincere.

  Well, when he put it that way, she couldn’t hold on to her sarcasm. “So do you have a mark?”

  He didn’t speak right away and the pause made her heart beat heavily in her chest. Then he lifted his right hand, palm up. She wasn’t close enough to really see what he wanted to show her, so she had to move toward him. “What am I looking at?”

  With his other hand, he pulled her flush against his body. Her arms went around his waist automatically, her hands spread across his back, her fingers kneading his firm warm skin. The man’s body had her hooked like an addict on crack. Even though she still tingled from their last go-round, she wanted him. Again.

  Focus, Rosalia. This is important.

  If what he was saying was true, Rio was destined to be hers. Forever. Wasn’t that what she’d dreamed of since she was a little girl? The man of her dreams who swept her off her feet?

  Rosie looked back at the hand he still held out for her, searching for whatever it was he wanted her to see.

  Rio’s hands weren’t huge but they were strong, hands that could make her scream with desire. “What am I supposed to be looking at?”

  His right palm was lined, just like every other palm she’d ever seen. Except…there was one line that wasn’t like the rest. One line ran counter to all the others, from his pinky to his thumb.

  “I noticed it when I was thirteen and I was playing some stupid game with my brother Teo. He looked at my hand and laughed. He said, ‘Kid, you’re screwed. Women are more trouble than they’re worth.’”

  He shook his head, still staring at that line. “Of course Teo, being Teo, wouldn’t tell me what the hell it meant, so I had to ask my dad. He took one look and called for my mom. The rest of the males in my family aren’t as enlightened as I am.” He smiled at her and it did wild and wonderful things to her insides.

  She held up her left hand and looked at her palm. No out-of-place line.

  “Rio, I don’t have a line.” He wasn’t her mate. Worse, she wasn’t his. The thought hit her like a ton of bricks. “I’m not—”

  He placed his fingers over her lips, his gaze holding hers. “Yes, you are. I know it. I knew it the first moment I saw you. I just didn’t realize what I was feeling.”

  “But how can you be sure?”

  Rio saw fear in Rosie’s eyes and he hated it. He wasn’t handling this well.

  His brothers would be all over his ass. He had a reputation for handling women, charming them. Mostly charming them out of their clothes. But this was his woman. He didn’t want her to be upset, not about this, not about anything.

  “Because I’ve never been more positive in my life. Pull your shorts down, hon. Let me check something.”

  Her eyebrows rose and the corners of her mouth lifted just a little. “I think you’ve checked that already.”

  Wiggling his eyebrows made her smile spread. “Now who’s got t
heir mind on sex? I want to check if your mark’s on your hips or your back.”

  Twisting her body in a way that made her breasts thrust out and lust pound through his veins, she pulled her shorts off her right hip.

  Her lips pulled into a frown until he said, “Try the other hip, hon.”

  She turned, doing that lust-inducing twist again. “Oh my God, Rio, look. I never even noticed that before.”

  Rio had no doubt she was his. Nonetheless he released a silent sigh of relief. Leaning forward, he pressed his hand against the mark of her skin. It was tiny, just a small straight line, so very pale against her skin.

  Wearing a big grin, she wrapped her arms around his shoulders and hugged him tightly.

  “Guess we’re stuck with each other for a while, huh?” she whispered.

  Not just for a while. Forever. But he didn’t want to press that point just yet. His arms came around her waist and he pulled her even closer. “I wouldn’t have it any other way.”

  Chapter Nine

  When they emerged from the basement, they ran upstairs to take a quick shower before getting dressed and heading back to the kitchen and Sal, who was waiting for them.

  “All right, you two.” Sal pulled the cork out of a bottle of Merlot and poured them each a glass. “Try to contain yourselves for a little while. We’ve got stuff to discuss.”

  Rosie sighed, knowing she couldn’t continue using sex to keep her mind off everything else. It would be nice though…

  “So, Rio,” Sal picked up his glass, “I think I know who you should take Rosie to see about her powers.”

  Rio picked up his glass and swirled the ruby red liquid. “Yeah, I know who you’re going to suggest. I thought the same thing. This is going to make her decade, you know that, right? First Nino then Cam, now me.”

  Rosie knew those names. They were Rio’s older brothers. So who was the “she”? “Are you talking about your mother?”

  Rio pulled a face, not meeting her gaze, but Sal laughed before he said, “Yeah, Tana’s gonna love you.”

  She couldn’t tell if he was being sarcastic and she should be worried. Maybe Rio’s mother wouldn’t like her. Maybe his parents wouldn’t be thrilled with a salvanelli in the family.