by E. M. Moore
I wished I could think more clearly without the idea of Travis being with this Kaitlyn chick in the back of my head. While the rest of the guys made plans to check out the sorority house tomorrow, I sat back against the couch and prayed it would swallow me right up. Instead of focusing on what was important, I wondered if Travis could feel my glare. Or if he also held feelings for me deep down. So deep down that he’d probably never admit to it.
It was useless to think about it at all if that was the case. But apparently, I loved torturing myself.
21
I was just pulling on my pajamas before getting in the plush bed Liam said I could take when the door creaked open. I looked back to see Gabe standing there, a pair of sweats hanging off his hips and nothing else. Jesus hell. The perfect cut of his muscles disappeared just beyond the waistband and I couldn’t help that my eyes were drawn there immediately, admiring him for the athletic guy he was. I expected him to say something funny, but when he remained quiet, I looked up. “Hey.”
“Your door was ajar. Okay if I come in?”
A smile peeled my lips apart. “You never have to ask, Gabe.”
He turned, shut the door, and then made his way to me. He reached out for my hand, and I put mine in his. “You nervous about going to the sorority house tomorrow?”
I shook my head. “No. We don’t even know if it’s anything. And if Dupre is there, at least we’ll have our answer. The only thing I don’t like is not knowing what’s going on or why we’re being targeted.”
He nodded, his head tilted away and finding something very interesting on the wall behind me.
“Hey,” I said, putting my finger under his chin and tilting it back toward me. “What’s wrong?”
He took a deep, steadying breath, then squeezed my fingers. “I just got off the phone with my grandfather.”
“Right. He was in the Order, too,” I hedged, not understanding why a phone call with a family member would make him look like this.
“For a while.” Gabe pulled his hand from mine and scratched the back of his head nervously. “I don’t know how to say it so I’m just going to come out with it. I asked him about girls being in the Order, like if it ever happened, and he said that ‘couldn’t happen’ and there were rumors that a long time ago women were allowed in the covens, but—”
His voice broke off, and I nearly came up off the bed. “What?”
“He said there was something about the connection the coven members all had. That it was more powerful than just five men and that because of this, the magic…destroyed them. All of them.”
My breath caught in my throat. Their magic destroyed them? That didn’t seem possible. “Like in…”
“In that they all died, Norah.”
My stomach hollowed out. At the same time it sunk in, I couldn’t accept it. “But if that’s the case, why would magic pull me here? Why would it want that?”
Gabe dropped his head, looking very, very tired. I reached for his hand again and he wrapped his around my fingers. “I’m not saying I totally believe it. He did just say it was a rumor.”
“Did you tell Liam so he could look into it?”
Gabe shook his head. “I wanted to tell you first.”
My stomach clenched. Maybe Granny had been right. I was somehow exactly where I should be, yet not. She’d said she’d heard of instances where people OD’d on magic. Well, that made perfect sense now, didn’t it? My very presence here could hurt the guys if we wanted to believe these rumors. The color drained from my face. It was one thing to hear Granny say it, but it made it all the more real if Gabe’s grandfather had also heard the same thing. I’d left Liam that note to start researching it, but with everything going on, he might not have had the chance yet.
“Don’t freak out,” Gabe urged. “This is why I was debating on whether I should tell you or not, but I figured it was only right and that you probably wouldn’t forgive me if I didn’t.”
“I should leave, right?” I asked him, my eyes wide as I caught his stare.
“No,” he said forcefully, practically growling the word at me. “We don’t even know if it’s true, and even if, by some miracle it is, there has to be a reason why magic brought you here.”
Gabe searched my face, and when I didn’t—couldn’t—say anything in return, he darted forward, his lips sealing onto mine. On instinct, my lips parted for him and he drank from me, my body responding automatically, and my magic brimming at the edges.
“You’re not going anywhere,” he said in between kisses. His hands wound around my back and he carefully laid me on the bed. “I told you so we could fight this together. So we could go through this together.” He shifted his weight to one side, trailing one hand up the inside of my thigh until it hit its target. “Mmm,” he murmured after my knees fell to the sides, giving him as much room as he needed. “I need you.”
His other hand rested against my breast through my thin tanktop. Gabe’s ferocity didn’t confuse me. I was feeling the same thing now. Him touching me was like making sure I was still here, reassuring myself that I wasn’t going anywhere after I took in that information.
“You’re not leaving.” Gabe’s fingers bypassed the small shorts I wore and stilled when he noticed I wasn’t wearing any panties. “Jesus, girl.”
“I don’t have very many clothes,” I told him, my heart thudding inside my chest.
“We’ll have to fix that.”
I thought about what Liam and I talked about earlier. About moving my business up here and getting my stuff. Even about moving in with them. I’d been perfectly content with that, but now? Gabe’s fingers dipped between my pussy lips. My hips came off the bed, urging him on.
“Or you could just wear nothing from now on. I doubt any of us would mind.”
“Travis,” I said, snorting his name as if it was obvious.
Gabe kissed his way up my ear and bit the lobe. “Are you kidding? He’s got a hard-on for you, and I notice how jealous you get. Give it a few days and…”
He kissed his way down my throat. Heat poured between my thighs. “And what?” I asked, breathless, picturing Travis’s stern mouth pleasuring me. It didn’t mean I didn’t want Gabe, it was just the opposite, really. I wanted them all. I wrapped my hand around his wrist and guided him in and out of me.
“You’ll get exactly what you both want—explosively, I think.”
My head fell back and Gabe took the opportunity to move my tanktop out of the way, kissing his way up my ribcage to my nipples. His hot mouth latched on as he continued to work my pussy. My hands dipped under his sweats and claimed his dick. I stroked him toward me. “I want you inside me, Gabe.”
He groaned into the pillow. “I want that too, Love, but I don’t have anything again.”
“Gabe,” I said more sternly. “I want you inside me.”
I pulled his sweats down, his cock stood there proudly, thick against his muscled torso. Moving forward, I licked him from base to tip. Gabe swore, his fingers inside me slowing.
I relieved myself of my tanktop, and Gabe’s eyes hooded over. I brought both my hands up and cupped my own breasts, rolling my nipples between my thumbs and forefingers. “I want you to fuck me. Please.”
“God, you’re so fucking hot.”
I moved my hips in time with his fingers pumping inside me. He watched me play with myself, my body arching into his. “Take my shorts off,” I ordered.
My shorts were off so fast, I’d barely blinked.
He went to continue with what he was doing, but I pushed his fingers away in favor of my own. With one hand cupped around my breast and the other in my wet pussy, I had Gabe’s dick straining toward me. “Take your pants off.”
He did so slowly, not taking his eyes away from me. When his sweats were on the floor, he started stroking his dick. Oh fuck. And here I was thinking I was going to tease him. On his knees in front of me, I moved so both my knees were on either side of him, my feet by his calves. I increased my movements, mo
aning at the pleasure I was giving myself and at the sight right in front of me. Cum had beaded at the top of his dick, and I ached for it, for what it represented.
“Fuck, Norah,” he groaned, looking from me to his dick.
“Put the head of your cock inside me. Just the head.”
“I don’t know,” he said, already angling toward me.
I threw my head back on the bed. I could feel my orgasm coming. “Gabe, please. I’m begging you. I’m clean. I’m on the pill, and I want so bad to feel your stiff cock inside me, I could scream.”
“I just respect you,” he said.
The bed dipped near me, and I worked myself harder, the anticipation of feeling him inside me exciting me even more. “I fucking love that you said that, but right now, I want you to fuck me. Please do as I said.”
Gabe made a strained noise before his cock nudged me. I pulled my hands away and a second later, felt the glorious expansion of my walls as Gabe’s tip pushed inside. My eyes flew open and my mouth dropped into a silent scream as my orgasm rushed forward.
“Oh, fuck yes,” Gabe said, slamming into me, pumping into me with everything he had as my orgasm ripped through me. I dug my nails into his back as he continued to thrust inside, my arousal never really going away even after one of the biggest orgasms I’d ever had.
“I knew there was a beast inside you somewhere,” I moaned. “Mmm. I can’t wait to go to one of your football games and sit back on the sidelines smiling about how your naked cock has been inside me.”
“Oh fuck,” Gabe said, his body tightening.
He pulled his cock slowly out of me, backing away. Before I could ask him what was wrong, his hands propped my ass up and brought my pussy to his lips.
“Don’t worry. You want me to come inside you, and I will, just not yet.” He groaned as his tongue slid around my already sensitive lips. “I can taste me on you. Fuck.” His tongued moved up, caressing my nub.
“Right there,” I told him, holding his face. “Oh, God, right there. Don’t stop.”
The room filled with my whispered gasps as Gabe ate me out. His attention to detail was something to be admired as he did just what I said, staying right at my clit, licking, sucking, flicking his tongue over it until my body locked up in pleasure.
“Yes!”
“Jesus. I love how unabashed you are. I think the whole house can hear you.”
The thought of the other guys listening in on us, sent me over the edge. “Gabe!” My insides clenched, sending me spiraling. Gabe stayed in his spot until I pushed him away breathlessly. He knelt in front of me again, waiting at my entrance, his hand sliding up and down his cock.
Feeling more than fulfilled, I reached out to take over Gabe’s strokes, urging him toward me. His head pushed inside and again, I bit down on my lip to keep the strangled noise of pleasure at bay. Inch by inch, he pushed inside until he was fully seated. He rocked back and forth. “You really do feel like heaven. I’ve never been inside someone without a condom before.” His face pinched as if he was trying to hold back.
I grabbed his hips. “Don’t,” I told him. “Don’t you dare hold back. I want all of it. I want all of you.”
His eyes focused, and he bent over me, his hands fisting the bed as he dove inside me. Again and again, he hammered inside me until we were in a rhythm and remarkably, I felt like I could orgasm again.
“Jesus, Gabe. I think I’m going to come again. Whatever you do, don’t stop.” Stroke after stroke he urged cries from my throat until I teetered on the edge. “Oh fuck. Oh Gabe.”
“I’m right there,” he said through clenched teeth.
My orgasm hit hard and fast as his dick started to pulse inside me. The more I clenched around him, the more he shuddered.
“Bloody hell, Norah,” he said finally, falling on top of me.
Still, his dick twitched inside me and I held him to my chest. He kissed my nipple and I trembled. “Round two?” I asked, jokingly.
“Are you kidding? I need sustenance.” We both dissolved into laughter. He moved up, laying his head on the pillow next to me. “Sorry about that,” he said, his expression turning serious once more. I felt like I was losing you.”
I placed my hand on his cheek. “I know.” I wanted to reassure him, but what could I say? Who knew what the future would bring?
That was one of Granny’s favorite sayings. I always thought it was weird considering we were witches. Of all people, shouldn’t we know? What good was magic if you couldn’t do stuff like that? This was one of the times my foresight would come in handy, but it didn’t work on cue. We’d just have to play this story out to see what the end result was.
“I don’t want to tell anybody else right now,” Gabe said. “I think we should just keep it between us.”
I changed positions restlessly. On one hand, I didn’t like keeping secrets from the rest of the guys. On the other, I agreed with him. It was one thing having Granny say she heard something like this happening, it was a whole other thing hearing a former member of the Order say it. It made it all the more real. “For now,” I said. “But Gabe, if it becomes apparent they should know, we should tell them.”
He nodded.
Thank fuck we agreed on that. Gabe, Liam, and Randy might not care, but if we were going to drag Travis into this too, he should have an opinion. This affected all of us.
Gabe pulled me tighter and ran his hands through my hair. I let him soothe my frayed nerves before falling into a dreamless sleep.
22
The next morning around the breakfast table, we went over our preliminary plan on what to do once we got to the sorority house. I scowled just thinking about it. I wasn’t a fan of sorority houses. To me, they just represented everything I hated about growing up in school. Cliquey bitches. It was unkind, but it was true to my story. So far, the only thing we had was to let Travis do the talking since he was the one who knew Kaitlyn. Oh, did I mention that I really didn’t want to meet Kaitlyn? Because, yeah, that sounded like the last thing I wanted to do. The rest of us were just supposed to tag along, going through the house to see if we ‘felt’ anything. Since Kaitlyn didn’t really know what the guys were, she’d just contacted Travis on instinct. And she was right, he was something ‘other’. Other than nice. Other than… who knew? He just confused the shit out of me.
Despite my attempts at trying to engage Randy in a conversation considering he didn’t look all that enthused about what we were doing either, he avoided me. Finally, just as the rest of the guys went out to get into the biggest vehicle that could accommodate all of us, I pulled back on his hand, making him face me. “What’s going on? You’re totally ignoring me.”
He shook his head and tried to walk away.
“No. Screw that,” I said, pulling back on him again. “I’m pretty sure we all have to communicate here if we want to get through this.”
He ran a hand through his hair. “I don’t want to communicate right now because I can’t think of a fucking nice thing to say. How’s that for an answer?”
I took a step back. “Oh.” I’d mistaken his silence for something else, but no, he was straight up pissed with me. “Well, what is it? I can take it.”
He growled at me instead of answering and I did the absolute worst thing I could’ve done in this situation, I laughed. He turned dark eyes on me. Maple scent filled the room, making me wish we’d had pancakes for breakfast, which only made me laugh harder.
He marched forward and pinned me against the cupboards, his mouth hitting my neck where he— he— “Did you just bite me?” I gasped. A ping of pleasure shot through me.
“You are so damn infuriating,” he said, his hot mouth scorching my neck down to my shoulder where he pulled my shirt away. “First, you’re so fucking loud with Gabe last night that I had a major case of blue balls that I thought about storming into your room, throwing you over my shoulder, and taking you back to my own bed. Now, I have to live with the fact that you think that’s funny.”
> His hand came up to cup my breast. “Shit, Randy.” I propped myself up on the counter and wrapped my legs around him. “I didn’t know you could hear me. Gabe said I was being loud, but I didn’t know. I certainly wasn’t trying to tease you.”
“For the record,” he said, rolling his hips into me and kissing a trail down my chest. “I am trying to tease you.”
At that, he pulled away and sulked out the door. I fell to the floor, thankful my knees were steady enough to hold me up as I watched him go. Motherfucker. I narrowed my gaze at the empty doorway. He was so paying for that. I didn’t know how, but I’d think of something.
I took a moment to calm myself and then sauntered out the door as if nothing had happened. Sure, we had more important things to worry about right now, but what harm could a little game do between couples?
Travis and Randy sat in the front with Gabe in the back while Liam waited for me, holding the door open like a true gentleman. I popped up on my tiptoes and gave him a sweet kiss to the cheek before sliding into the middle. My first thought was to slide right up onto Gabe’s lap and makeout with him just to get revenge on Randy, but that didn’t seem fair to Liam. I’d play along with him, too, except I was worried he wouldn’t like the idea. We were supposed to go out on that date tonight, which I was sure was already going to get postponed due to our little excursion into sorority life. Whether we did or didn’t find anything there, it would be nice to have a normal date and not head out after we got back from “evil hunting” or whatever the guys called it. If I was going to become a coven member, I’d have to brush up on my Order of the Akasha terms and history. I was basically a noob here. That needed to change.
Liam’s thumb brushed over my hand. I looked up at him and smiled before lacing our fingers together for the rest of the ride into Salem. The countryside between Liam’s parents’ place and Salem was beautiful. Trees lined the backroads with older houses spotted across great green lawns. Gradually, the view morphed and turned more rural—stoplights, pedestrians, runners jogging with their dogs. This part of town reminded me of New Orleans, and despite what Gabe had confessed to me yesterday, I hadn’t changed my plans about moving my shop to Salem—yet.