by Eton, Kris
“So how do you get in touch with this Demetria?” Justin adjusted the rudder to guide them toward the boat ramp at the far end of the lake.
“The bet requires her to appear at my place.”
“Requires her?”
“Trust me. She can’t avoid the consequences of the bet. I don’t know why she risked cheating when she knew what would happen. Maybe she thought we’d never talk, and I’d never find out the truth?”
“She must really want your power.”
“I guess.” Marissa shrugged. “But if she knew what it was really like, she’d change her mind.” She looked out over the shining surface of Clear Lake. The clouds had drifted east, and the sun shone brightly once more, though it rode much lower in the sky than when she’d first arrived.
“Don’t worry. We’ll be back in Santa Cruz soon.” He’d read her mind. The worry must be written all over her face.
She wouldn’t feel relief until she knew for sure the magical kiss was gone.
* * *
Marissa’s house was quiet. Too quiet.
Mink meowed and appeared out of the shadows.
“Demetria was here,” Marissa said.
“The cat told you that?”
She glanced over her shoulder at Justin, her lips quirked in a smile. “Um, no, the parchment on the coffee table told me that.” She pointed at the sealed and rolled parchment in the other room. The same paper she and Demetria had signed in blood. “She acknowledged my win.”
She picked up the parchment, broke the seal, and unrolled it. “I just need to burn it, and the terms of the bet will be ended.” She flung a shot of sparks into her fireplace, and a fire roared to life.
Justin was close behind her. “I still can’t get used to that.”
“You will.” She tossed the parchment into the fire and watched it burn. No one could take Justin away from her now. That part of the bet was over.
Justin settled an arm around her shoulders and squeezed. “Now we just need to find your mother.”
He made it sound so easy. Her mother had been able to find her because she’d kept the same address for years. She wasn’t the type of witch who liked to roam. Her home was comfortable, she liked Santa Cruz, and once she’d befriended Justin she really had no desire to move. Her mother was a will-o-the-wisp. Here one day, gone the next. Marissa’s childhood had been a succession of moves from one end of the world to the other.
“It might not be that simple.” She sighed and sat down on the edge of the raised hearth.
Justin joined her there. “I thought you said she had a cure. A spell in some book that would work.” He caressed her hand, sending chills up her arm.
“She does, but I don’t know how to find her.”
Mink jumped up into her lap and meowed.
“Later, little kitty. I’ll feed you later.” She gently pushed Mink off her lap, but the cat leapt right back. “What?” Marissa made eye contact with the feline. Mink meowed again, jumped to the floor, and trotted into the laundry room off the kitchen. Marissa stood.
“What’s up with your cat?” Justin asked.
“I’m not sure.” She entered the kitchen. “Mink? Where are you, honey?”
The cat scampered out of the laundry room and dropped a bracelet at her feet.
“My mother’s bracelet! I forgot she dropped it when she was here.”
Justin joined her in the kitchen. “Is that good?”
She clutched the bracelet in her hand. “That’s very good. I can use a personal object to make her appear.” Without hesitating, she closed her eyes and chanted. Golden sparks erupted from her hand, filling the kitchen with their bright light.
Justin stepped back.
There was a poof of smoke.
“Dang it, Marissa! What do you think you are doing?” Astrid stood in the middle of the kitchen dressed in only a bathrobe. “I was busy.” Her gaze lit upon the bit of jewelry in Marissa’s hand. “Ah, my bracelet. I’m glad you found it.” She snatched at it, but Marissa closed her fist and tucked her arm behind her back.
“Not so fast, mother. Before I give this back, I need something from you.”
“Is this the man?” Astrid peered over Marissa’s shoulder at Justin standing behind her. “Yes, he’s a fine one. I can see why you had to have him.”
“Mother!”
“It’s okay,” Justin said, stepping between Marissa and her mother. “She can say whatever she wants, as long as she helps you.”
Marissa could feel the tension in Justin. He wanted to protect her, and the knowledge warmed her heart.
Astrid smiled. “Yes, I can definitely see what you liked about him, my dear. If I were twenty years younger . . .” She reached out to touch his chest.
“Mother . . . .”
Justin narrowed his eyes at Astrid.
“Fine, fine. I’ll help you. Better to rid you of the kiss than have you try to bet it away again.” She flicked her fingers, and the family spell book appeared. “Honestly, Marissa, all you had to do was ask.” The pages flipped so quickly, they created their own wind.
“Just do it,” Justin said.
Marissa snaked an arm around his chest and pulled him back toward her. His heart beat rapidly under her palm. Although he acted brave, the beating of his heart told her adrenaline was pumping through him. “Step back. She’ll need some room.”
“Ah, yes, here it is. The removal spell. Never thought I’d have to use this.” She let the book float at chest level and gestured at Marissa. “Come here. It’ll only take a minute. I don’t want your loverboy to get in the way. That could pose some problems.”
Justin grabbed her hand, unwilling to move.
Marissa leaned forward and whispered in his ear. “It’s okay. I’ll be all right. She’s my mother.”
Only then did he let go and step aside to let her join Astrid in the center of the kitchen.
Astrid placed a hand on Marissa’s mouth, chanted some words out of the spell book, and a surge of bright green light transferred from her hand to Marissa’s mouth.
“There,” Astrid said. “I hope you’re happy. I don’t think I’ll be sharing this book with you anytime soon.” Astrid made the book snap shut and disappear in a shower of sparks.
Justin and Marissa sneezed.
“I don’t want it, mother.” She joined Justin at the far end of the kitchen. He immediately circled an arm around her waist and drew her close. “I might be a witch, but I want to live life my way. You keep your spells.” She tossed her mother her bracelet. “I don’t need them.”
Her mother caught the bit of jewelry and snorted. “We’ll see about that.” She snapped her fingers and instantly disappeared.
Marissa and Justin were quiet for a moment, the reality of what just happened settling in.
“So,” Justin said. “Should we try it out?”
Marissa could feel the hard heat of his erection against her back. “By all means.” A thrill ran through her. She was no longer cursed. The kiss was gone. Forever. She turned in his arms. His gaze burned into hers. She moved a little closer, stood on her tiptoes to line her mouth up with his.
His lips were soft—softer than she expected. Instead of the zap of her powers flooding into her victim, she sensed only warmth in her center that radiated outward. She opened her mouth to the tender penetration of his tongue.
Justin caressed her buttocks and thrust his hips down and forward. His erection seated between the V of her legs. Hard, hot cock against soft, moist pussy.
She moaned into his mouth, drawing his tongue in deeper. She grabbed at the back of his neck, holding him there, so she could kiss him deeper, longer, wetter.
Now this was a kiss. The kind of kiss she’d dreamed about. Her dominant side took over. She pushed him against the refrigerator, her unusual witch strength aiding in her goal to control.
Justin smiled against her mouth. She kissed him lightly and bit his bottom lip.
He liked it when she played rough with him.
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She pushed his hands away from her ass, grabbed him by the hips, and ground her body into his. Kissing was just the beginning. She didn’t want to stop there. She wanted all of him. Now.
A flick of her hand, and Justin was naked. He gasped. She ran her hands over his well-sculpted chest and down to his hips.
“You. Now you.” He groaned. She was still fully dressed.
She flicked her fingers again, and his hand were tied behind his back. She smiled. “Now it’s my turn.” In a shower of sparks, her clothes fell away.
His eyes smoldered. “You’re not playing fair.”
“I’m not?” She fisted his cock.
“God.” He closed his eyes and tipped his head back.
She tugged at his rock-hard penis. It grew bigger in her hand. “But you like this, don’t you? You like the way I touch your cock?”
He opened his eyes. A fevered heat filled his gaze. “Yes.”
She flicked her fingers again, and she was seated on a stool. She spread her legs and tucked her knees so that she gripped the seat. The stool brought her pussy in line with his erect penis.
“Do you like my pussy, Justin?” She spread her labia with one hand, exposing her wet, pink center to his gaze.
“God, Marissa, yes, I do.” He licked his lips, his gaze focused on her cunt.
“Do you want to touch me like this?” She trailed a finger from clit to slit. She paused there a moment then slipped a finger inside. “God, that feels good, Justin. I’m so wet for you. Mmm.” She slid her finger in and out of her cunt, all the while watching his reaction. “Your dick would feel so good in my pussy.” She trailed a hand up her side and cupped a breast.
“Untie me, and I’ll show you how good. I’ll fuck that juicy pussy of yours ‘til you scream.” He nudged her leg with his knee. “Then I’ll lick your clit so you come again. You taste so good, Marissa.”
His words sent her higher. Cream seeped out of her. Her cunt needed something bigger than a finger. She pinched her nipple and sighed. Her inner muscles clenched.
She took her finger out and pressed it to his lips. “Lick it clean. Taste my pussy, Justin.”
He sucked her finger into his mouth, his soft tongue caressing and cleaning the cream from it. With her other hand, she flicked her fingers. The stool scooted forward. The tip of his penis aligned with her spread pussy. He leaned forward, and his cock entered her. Hot and hard. With her inner muscles she clenched him.
She withdrew her finger from his mouth and set her hand on his shoulder, drawing him closer, his cock deeper.
“Untie me, Marissa.” His hips thrust forward and he buried himself in her cunt.
She curled her legs around his waist, the stool barely supporting her. She seated herself further on his cock and then bucked her hips back and forth to help him penetrate her.
The stool fell. She clung to him with her thighs, her hands holding tight to his shoulders.
“Please, Marissa.”
He was so hard and hot inside her, but she needed him to move. Now. She flicked her hand again, and the rope bindings fell away. Immediately, he grabbed her buttocks and pounded into her. His dick acted like a battering ram. They fell against the counter. He pushed a stack of clean dishes aside. They crashed to the floor. He fucked her using deep intense strokes that coaxed an inner fire to life. Her clit pressed against the base of his penis, and as he pumped, the friction brought on an intense orgasm.
She screamed his name, surprised at the climax. He continued to fuck her, and a second orgasm sparked, rolling from within as his dick slid across the sensitive inner ridges of her pussy. When she peaked, he also groaned out his release, his seed spilling inside her.
“Jesus, Marissa.” He pressed his face into her hair. “Jesus.”
She clung to him, his penis still embedded in her. “I love you, Justin Heller.”
He withdrew, scooped her in his arms, and carried her to the sofa in the living room. As he stood above her, his naked body glorious in the twilight, he leaned down and kissed her gently. Then he knelt beside her and touched her kiss-swollen lips with his fingers.
“I love you too, Marissa.” He leaned down once more and gave her the sweetest of kisses, tender and slow without any demands.
The type of kiss she would enjoy again and again for many years to come.
~The End~