by Eton, Kris
Water dripped from her jeans. The fabric clung to her, making it difficult to walk. Sand coated her bare feet. Somewhere in the lake she’d lost her shoes. To add insult to injury, the sun disappeared behind a thick band of clouds, and she shivered at the loss of heat.
Justin had grabbed the cooler and was using it as a bench, watching her. Even though she knew he was upset with her, when his gaze settled on her all she could think about was his naked body handcuffed to his bed, his penis erect under her ministrations. Her already hard nipples tightened further, two knobby points of desire.
“What did you mean back there?” Since he clearly didn’t want to share his bench with her, she found a rock and perched on it. “You said that you ‘knew what I was’ when we met.” She combed her wet hair with her fingers.
His gaze met hers. Dark and pained. “I knew you had other . . . men . . . in your life before me. Quite a few, in fact.”
Her face heated. Never had she been more embarrassed about her behavior. It had never mattered before. She’d never cared what any human thought of her. She did care what this one thought, though. “I’m done with that part of my life. I told you that. I thought you understood.”
“You didn’t look so ‘done’ with that Thursday night.” He scratched a brow and waited for her reply.
Thursday? She’d been miserable at home Thursday, thinking she’d ruined everything with him. “Okay, why don’t you spit it out? I don’t know what you’re talking about. If you’re accusing me of something, just tell me.”
His gaze shifted to focus on the lake. “I saw you with another man at the pub on Thursday. He kissed you. You left with him.”
Confusion flooded her brain. “What?”
His brow furrowed. “Are you telling me you don’t remember that?”
“I was home on Thursday night.” Her mind explored the possibilities. “Are you sure it was me?”
He gave a dark laugh. “Oh, yes, it was you. The tight red dress, the long dark hair, the smile . . .” His gaze flickered over her.
“Did you talk to me? Look me in the eye?” Her theory grew more solid by the second. He seemed so sure, and she’d heard rumors of a certain witch with a certain magical cream.
He picked up a rock and chucked it into the water. “You were a little too busy to talk with me.” The disgust in his voice chilled her.
“She cheated.”
“What?”
When the idea came to her, a weight lifted off her. She didn’t have to live up to the terms of her bet if Demetria cheated. It wasn’t too late to come clean. “That wasn’t me, Justin, I swear to you.”
He tossed another rock. “Uh-huh. Right.”
She crossed the sandy divide between them and knelt down. “You need to listen to me. That night in your apartment when I uncuffed you . . .”
He stared down at her, the fear returning to his eyes.
“Please.” She clasped his hand in hers. “Hear me out. I’ve never shared this with anyone.” She took a breath. “I’m a witch.”
He blew air out of his nose and quirked a smile. “Yeah, right.”
“You saw it that night—the sparks, the handcuffs coming unlocked, and then when I disappeared. In your heart, you know it’s true.”
He shook his head and pulled out of her hold. “No.”
“The reason you’d seen me with those men was because of a spell my mother cursed me with many years ago. When I was too small to make up my own mind. I have a magical kiss.”
“You’ve got to be joking.” Justin got up from the cooler and backed away from her. “This is how you explain everything? You’re a witch? And you have a magic kiss. God, you’re just as bad as Jana. No, you’re worse.”
Marissa cringed at the comparison.
“At least Jana never hesitated to admit she’d cheated on me when I caught her in the act.”
“Justin. I swear to you this is the truth. I’m a witch; I made a bet with another witch that I could make a man fall in love with me, without using my kiss. And I chose you, Justin. I chose you.”
He kept shaking his head.
“I couldn’t tell you any of this, or I’d lose the bet. I’d lose you forever. Don’t you see? Demetria cheated. She was the one you saw at the bar, not me. Think about it.”
“I did think about it. I saw you. It was you.”
“Did you look her in the eyes? Just tell me if you did that much.”
“I didn’t want to. Jesus, Marissa, why did you do it? Am I not good enough for you? Did I not satisfy you?”
Tears pricked her eyes. Demetria had shattered what little trust they’d built between them. Ruined everything. “All I ever wanted was you.” She shivered. The wind had picked up, and the sun still hid behind the clouds. Her wet clothes and hair clung to her. “I’ll prove it to you.”
He stopped throwing rocks and faced her. “How are you going to—?”
Marissa flicked her fingers at a pile of dry driftwood along the shoreline. Sparks exploded around the wood, and the whole pile rose into the air. Another flick, and the wood organized itself in a neat stack. She swirled her finger around in the air, aimed, and flung a red, sparkling flame into the dry material. A fire blazed up instantly.
They both sneezed.
“Dammit, I hate that.” She rubbed at her ticklish nose and stepped up to the fire. “See? I’m a witch.” The little bit of heat coming from the fire didn’t help to warm her much, but it was better than nothing. “I swear to you that was Demetria. She doesn’t have my magical kiss, so there was no way she had control of the man you saw her with. Did he follow her right out the door?”
Justin seemed too stunned to speak. He stared at the fire and stepped up next to her. “You did that, right? I just saw you make the wood fly though the air . . . and your finger with the fire . . . . Hot damn, you are a witch.” He grabbed her by the arms and turned her toward him. “Is that why you haven’t kissed me? Is that why they don’t remember you afterward?” His hands on her body warmed her. His touch was like lightning on her skin. He must’ve felt it, too, because he quickly let her go.
She nodded. A strand of drying hair blew across her face. He reached out and brushed it away.
“You know that wasn’t me in the bar. Deep down, you know it.”
His hand trailed from her hair to her cheek. “I want to believe it, Marissa.” Her lips trembled, and he brushed his thumb across them.
“Then believe,” she said. “I want to be with you, and no one else. I love you, Justin. Don’t you see I’d give everything up for you?”
His face softened, and his eyes grew warm. He scanned her face, as if searching for something. He cupped her chin and drew her toward him. “I really want to kiss you right now.” His mouth hovered above hers, his breath hot on her cheek.
“I know.” The warmth of his body radiated toward her. Her hips moved forward. He snaked an arm around her waist and pulled her up against him. “But there are better things than kissing.” She rubbed a hand across the bulge in his pants.
He groaned. “God, Marissa, I wish we were back at my place.” Burying his face in her hair, he moved his hand to cup her ass and press her against his erection. “I’d fuck you so hard.”
“Why do we have to wait?” She unzipped his pants, the wet material making it difficult.
“It’s broad daylight, for one.” He grunted when she touched the ridge of his penis through his boxers. “And I don’t have any protection.” A speedboat zoomed past, reminding them both of how exposed they were.
“You forgot; I’m a witch.” She snapped her fingers, and dozens of condoms rained down on them in a shower of sparks.
He raised an eyebrow. “Well, that comes in handy.”
She smiled at him. “Yes, it does.” She ran her knuckles over his erection. He shuddered and dug his fingers into her hips. “We can take care of the other problem, too.” She snapped her fingers again, and a tall canopy tent surrounded them. A pile of soft blankets and pillows covere
d the beach under their feet.
His mouth curved in a sideways smile, which deepened his dimples. “So, if you can make things appear, can you make them disappear as well?”
She frowned. “Such as?”
He tugged at her wet jeans.
“Ah.” She laughed. “As a matter of fact . . . .” She snapped her fingers again, and both of them were naked. His cock pressed against her stomach.
“Perfect.” He palmed her tits, shaping and reshaping them, rubbing his thumbs over her hardening nipples. He leaned down and sucked one into his mouth, nibbling at the tender flesh.
A flood of heat swept through her. Without much thought, she threaded her fingers through his hair and pushed him harder against her breast. He massaged it gently as he worked on the nipple. This time, she wanted him to explore her without any orders. She gladly gave over control to Justin without any worries or fears. While he sucked her tit, he touched her between the legs. Two fingers parting her labia, stroking the wet flesh he found there.
She spread her legs apart to give him more access, and the waves of sensation across her pussy kept her quiet. He found her moist center, and dipped a finger inside. The touch made her jump. Intense pleasure rocketed through her. The rough penetration took her higher and higher. He switched his attention to her other breast, this time sucking harder, taking the whole areola in his mouth.
She moved her hands to his shoulders. She was losing stability as her legs spread even wider.
Without warning, he stopped everything, spun her around, and urged her to her knees. “Get on your hands and knees for me, Marissa.”
She’d never taken orders from a man before. All along, she’d thought she liked to be the one in charge. She’d never really had the chance, though, to experiment since her sex partners had all been under a spell.
There on the pile of soft blankets, the idea of Justin fucking her from behind made her blood run hot. She did as he ordered, leaning forward on her forearms to give him better access.
“That’s it, baby.” He knelt behind her and rubbed a hand across her ass. “God, you are so beautiful like that. Your pussy is so juicy and sweet, Marissa.” His hard cock rubbed across her exposed labia.
A jolt of desire made her moan. “God, I need you inside me, Justin.”
The sound of a tearing condom wrapper let her know release was coming soon. Moisture seeped out of her in anticipation of sex.
“I love looking at you this way.” He spread her labia with his fingers. Cool air hit sensitized flesh. “Should I fuck you here?” His finger penetrated her.
She curved her back at the invasion and moaned. “Yes. Please.”
He added a second finger to her wet hole and stroked slowly. “Is this what you want, Marissa?” He leaned over her and whispered in her ear as he continued the assault on her cunt.
Each stroke of his fingers took her higher. “I want your cock in me, Justin. Please.”
He grabbed her hair and pulled her head back. “Get ready, Marissa. I’m going to fuck you so hard.” In a flash he’d wrapped his other arm around her waist and plunged his dick into her.
The quick penetration caught her off guard, and she cried out as he filled her. Hard. Deep. Her buttocks pushed back against him as he fucked her. The slap of flesh against her ass and the wet sucking sounds of sex filled the tiny tent. She spread her knees as far as she could, drawing him deeper inside.
He tugged on her hair, and the pain in her scalp took her higher. She liked it. Loved it. The savage thrusts drew more wetness out of her. Her breasts ached, her clit swelled. Her vaginal muscles clenched around him, building toward orgasm. The tightness only caused him to fuck her harder.
“Jesus, Marissa.” His arm tightened around her waist. “God, I’m going to come.”
She thrust back against him as hard as she could, wanting him to be deep inside her when he ejaculated.
He cried out, let go of her hair, and grabbed onto her breast instead. He stuffed his dick inside her one last time and climaxed. “Thank you.”
He rolled off her and lay face up on the blankets. Marissa hadn’t reached her own peak. Still on hands and knees, she reached between her legs and rubbed at her clit. She was so close and only a few strokes should push her over the edge. She circled her finger around and around the wet nub of flesh.
Justin, watching her, reached out to massage her breast and thumb her nipple. “Come on, baby. That’s it.”
Marissa needed something more. She stopped touching herself, snapped her fingers, and a dildo fell onto the blankets in an explosion of sparks.
Panting, she looked over at Justin. Their gazes met. He quirked a brow, and without saying a word, he picked up the dildo and slipped it into her wet opening.
“Oh, God!” The hard, thick dildo violated her cunt.
“You are beautiful, Marissa,” Justin said, taking care to slide the dildo all the way inside of her. “I especially love this pussy of yours.”
“Faster, Justin, faster.” She massaged her clitoris again, and she could feel the orgasm coming. The sure, quick strokes of the dildo plus the whispers of encouragement from Justin took her over the edge. A hot rush of release ran through her. Justin thrust the dildo to milk more out of her. A second orgasm followed quickly behind the first, stealing her breath. A deeper one. More satisfying. She grunted, pulled her fingers away from her overly sensitized flesh, and fisted the blankets in her hands as the orgasm rippled through her.
When she was finished, Justin pulled her to him, his arm tight and possessive around her waist. As they drifted off to sleep, he whispered in her ear, “I love you, Marissa Glenn the Witch. I love you.”
Chapter Fifteen
Hours later, Marissa awoke in Justin’s arms, the canopy of the tent protecting them from the cold wind that had picked up outside. She smiled. Things would be so much easier now. He knew about her powers, but wasn’t afraid. He trusted her.
“Now what?” a sleepy Justin said, his eyes still closed.
She brushed his hair back and traced a finger from his forehead, down his nose, to his lips. “I want to kiss you.”
His eyes flew open. “But the magic—”
She pressed her finger to his mouth. “Shh, it’s okay. Demetria broke the bet when she disguised herself as me. She cheated. The bet’s off.”
“Are you sure?”
“Demetria had already broken the rules before I came out here to find you.” As her thoughts took her farther down this line of thinking, she realized something. Something awful. “Which means I win . . . and I keep this stupid kissing curse.” She sat up, the blanket covering them both slipped away from her body.
Justin raised a lazy hand to her breast and coaxed her nipple into a tight bud. He flipped onto his side to put his full focus on her nakedness. “I love touching you like this.”
She looked down at him as he worshipped her breast. His fingers were light on her sensitized flesh. She wanted him again. Right now. “Justin, we can’t.” She groaned and rolled out of the bed of blankets.
Justin fell back onto the pillows. “Why not?”
“I want to be done with this. I want to be able to kiss you and not worry about putting you under some spell. If we’re going to be together, don’t you want that, too?” She conjured up dry clothes for both of them. Sparks flew. They both sneezed.
“See? Sometimes it must be pretty nice to have all that magic at your fingertips.” Justin crawled up behind her and snatched up the pair of jeans she’d created from thin air. “Although I kinda wish you’d stay just like this.” He pinched one naked ass cheek and slapped her playfully.
“Justin!” She giggled and backed to the far side of the tent, using the clean clothes as a shield.
He dropped the pants and chased after her. Marissa admired his long, lean shanks, bunched muscles beneath tanned skin, and his semi-erect penis. She could hardly believe he was hers. He told her he loved her! Those very words had come out of his mouth. She hadn’t imagined
it. She hadn’t forced him to say it with magic. He’d willingly confessed his love for her.
When he caught up to her against the heavy canvas of the tent, she stopped breathing for a moment. There was a look in his eye. Something she’d never seen in the eyes of any of her one-night lovers. Something tender, something warm. Words caught in her throat. Her mind stopped working. She could only think of one thing: Justin.
His arms snaked around her and pulled her close. Their naked bodies slid against each other, the tender, swollen tips of her nipples raking across his chest. His full erection prodded against her stomach. She stared at his beautiful sexy mouth. How much she wanted to kiss him then. Taste him. Shape her lips to his and explore the warm moist depths inside.
“Don’t ever leave me, Marissa.” The warmth in his eyes was also tinged with worry and hurt.
“Never.” She hugged him close and laid her head on his shoulder. “I’d never hurt you like that, Justin.”
Even though the words had not been spoken, she could feel his body shudder underneath her hands. A last release of the pain another woman had caused months ago. A giving in to the emptiness he’d felt inside. “I know,” he whispered into her hair. “I know.”
* * *
With her magic, she righted Justin’s boat, which was drifting a dozen yards offshore. The paddleboat was nowhere to be seen. Guess she wasn’t getting her deposit back. They’d resisted the urge to jump back into bed together and had swiftly dressed. Marissa made their love tent and all its trappings disappear as easily as she’d made it all appear.
She had a plan, of sorts. First, she’d need to confront Demetria about the bet. Justin was hers, but so was the damned kiss curse. Justin was the more important part, though. She wanted to make sure Demetria admitted to the loss. She didn’t want any loose ends to worry about. Then she’d have to go about finding her mother. Astrid had mentioned a cure to Marissa’s problems. A family spell. If only she’d known about it before she set up the bet with Demetria. Now that she’d won, however, it was just a matter of contacting her mother and asking for her help—if she was still willing.