Order of the Akasha: A Reverse Harem Paranormal Romance (Complete Series)

by E. M. Moore

  He chuckled, then pulled away from the curb. “But you like Liam, right? So, that’s not such a bad thing.”

  As Travis drove through the busy, more modern section of Salem, I stared down at my still buzzing fingertips. I didn’t quite comprehend why I had such a strong reaction to him. I could barely stand him sometimes. There was no sense in denying I felt the pull to him, and that just maybe he felt the same thing for me even though he fought against it. But why the intensity? That, I didn’t get.

  16

  “Will you be okay if I let you off here?”

  I stared down the familiar cobblestone street busy with tourists at this hour of the day. I unbuckled my seatbelt. “Yeah, of course.”

  “I’ll catch up to you later then.”

  I turned to get one last peek of him, but he was already facing straight ahead, making that typical Travis face where he was wiped clear, and as dark, as a chalkboard. It was impossible to get any kind of reading off him. “Yeah,” I agreed. We’d definitely catch up later. If this same Travis was still around.

  I lowered myself down and then closed the door behind me before taking off toward the shop. I hoped some of the food Liam bought earlier was still there. My stomach growled, and I realized I felt a little of the aftereffects of using too much magic. It wasn’t bad—yet. It hopefully wouldn’t get that bad either. Before heading straight to my shop, I took a right and stopped into a candy shop I’d noticed the other day. I grabbed a few things and made small talk with the nice cashier before heading out toward the shop again, my mind filled with everything. Travis, the shop, dead bodies. If this wasn’t Dupre, or the mysterious Jay, who the hell was it hurting people?

  A sexual predator?

  I’d almost forgotten about that. I looked around as if I could tell if the people walking and talking next to me were deviant in nature. Some of them were families, some of them were clearly business professionals out on lunch or break from their normal, everyday jobs.

  My foot caught on the edge of a cobblestone and I pitched forward, just catching myself before I speared a woman head-on in the stomach, and dropped my chocolate.

  “My goodness, Dear, are you okay?”

  I laughed nervously, looking at the street, practically calling it out for tripping me. “I’m fine,” I told her.

  When I looked up, I noticed I was right by the shop. Just outside Madame Serena’s to be exact. I peered left and noticed what looked to be a line coming out the door to her shop. That was odd. I’d never seen that happen before.

  “What’s going on?”

  The woman cocked her head forward. She clutched a small purse in front of her. She was an elderly lady, gray hair with white streaks combing through it. “Madame Serena.”

  I smiled. “I see that, but what’s up?” I glanced at all the people in line. Most were middle-aged or older. Some had pictures clutched in their hands, and others were holding hands with children. “I’ve never seen a line outside her door before.”

  “Oh, it’s because of Martha, I expect,” the lady said.

  “Martha?”

  “The lady in our bereavement group. She came last night to tell this amazing tale about how Serena connected her with her Bill. It’s probably just a glimmer of hope, I suspect, but…” She shrugged and trailed off.

  The line in front of the woman started to move. The men and women pushed ahead as Serena held the door open for them. When she saw me, she waved. “Hi, Norah. Lovely day, isn’t it?”

  I followed the lady right to the front door and then stopped just inside the shop. It was bright, and airy, with mostly white walls and pastel colors filling the space. The crowd lined up near the cash register as they wrote their names on a list. I looked up at Madame Serena. “I see business is going well.”

  Her eyes widened. “I know. All it takes is one person bragging. You just keep that in mind when you start your place up soon. I believe you’ll do great things.”

  I searched the area again and found the lady I’d been talking to a few people back from putting her name on a list. “I hear you helped out someone who needed it. A Martha? Looks like she told everyone she knew.”

  Madame Serena watched on the same as me, her ample body wrapped in another shawl. “Yes, Martha. Just terrible what happens to people when they lose loved ones. Especially if they didn’t get the chance to say goodbye. They’re just so caught up in their own guilt, wondering and hoping the person they loved knew how much they loved them and appreciated them.”

  “And that’s what you’re giving these people?” I asked. “Closure?”

  “Exactly,” she said, smiling. “Closure. It’s what we all need.”

  She nodded to herself as the line moved forward again. I rubbed my arms when goosebumps spread out over my skin. I really needed to get in contact with Granny. If Serena could help me… Not that I wanted Serena knowing my business and who knew if Granny could be discreet. I swear if that woman didn’t come to me in a dream soon, I was going to kick her ass.

  Serena cocked her head to the side and looked at me. “You okay, Norah? You look like you got a lot on your mind.”

  “I’m fine,” I told her. “Just a lot going on with getting the shop ready, and other things. I’m happy to see you’re doing so well.”

  “Well, you just remember that my offer still stands. One free reading. I bet that grandmother of yours would love to hear from you.”

  I took a step back and knocked into a shelf. A bunch of Salem postcards slipped from the pale wood and fluttered to the floor. “S-sorry about that.”

  I bent over to pick them up and put them back, completely ignoring what she’d just said. Had she seen Granny? Why was she always bringing her up?

  When I straightened, Madame Serena herself was bent over picking up a postcard that had landed just on top of her feet. The shawl slipped down, showing a bit of skin on her neck where a blue snake tattoo was coiled there, its head cocked with a sliver of red tongue. What an interesting tattoo for a grown woman. Bet she regretted that.

  Serena grinned at me when she straightened. “Nice tattoo,” I told her.

  Her cheeks colored and she brought her shawl up around her shoulders again, hiding the ink. “Just a stupid tattoo I got in college. I should be thankful it’s not a tramp stamp.”

  A tramp stamp? Why was that term in this woman’s vocabulary? “You don’t like it?” I asked. That was one of the reasons I wasn’t sure about tattoos. I loved them. I thought they were beautiful, but I wasn’t sure of anything I’d want to put on my skin forever. What if I hated it in a year, or ten, or even a week?

  Serena shrugged. “It has its purpose.”

  My forehead wrinkled at that. Never heard of a tattoo explained away like that. Who knew? Maybe she’d dated a biker with a nickname like Cobra or something. Or, she was in a gang, and they were called the Vipers. Whatever it was, it seemed as if she was embarrassed of it now. I gave her a small wave. “Well, good luck with all your new customers. Congratulations.”

  “Thanks, Norah. See you around.”

  17

  I’d just gotten the last box unpacked when heavy footsteps sounded just outside the backroom. Already I could smell the faint trace of maple right before Randy peeked a head in. He looked around. “Wow, you got a lot done.”

  I straightened up and dusted off my jeans. “Thanks.” I shifted in a circle. Everything was completely put away and easy to find. Exactly the way I wanted it. Strong hands surrounded me and pulled me close to an even stronger body. “Good job.”

  I twisted in his arms. “Why thank you.” I pushed up on my tiptoes and gave him a quick kiss on the mouth. “Was there still a line outside Madame Serena’s when you came by?”

  “Madame Serena’s? No, why?”

  I laughed as I straightened one of the bottles of herbs on the shelf so its label could clearly be seen. “There were like ten people in line when I went by before. Apparently, she connected some woman with her dead husband? I don’t know. I didn�
�t get the whole scoop. So, everyone in the grief group is going to her now. Oh, and she has a tattoo of a snake between her shoulder blades.” I looked back, my mouth open in mock horror. I still couldn’t picture someone like her with that tattoo. “Did you know that?”

  Randy chuckled. “I don’t know the tattoos of every single person in this town, Norah. It’s not like there’s some secret tattoo group we all belong to.”

  I smiled to myself. “Yeah, I guess not. I just thought it was an odd choice.”

  “I think it’s more odd she has any customers at all. That lady is a fraud.”

  I sat on top of the desk and dangled my feet over the edge. “That’s the thing though. These people seemed really impressed by her.”

  “Some people are just really good con-artists. They know how to twist and turn everything so it seems like it could’ve happened to you, or could be the person you’re thinking about. It doesn’t always mean they know what they’re talking about. I feel bad for them. She’s taking their money in exchange for a promise she’ll never be able to deliver on. It’s sick.”

  I crooked a finger at him, beckoning him to come toward me. “You, uh, really have firm opinions about that, huh?”

  He shrugged, the tension in his shoulders lifting just a little. “I just hate to see people who are already lost and grieving getting taken advantage of. It pushes my buttons.”

  I wound my hands around Randy’s waist and pulled him close. “Are you all done for the day then? No more clients at the gym? No more tats?”

  His shoulders shook with a laugh. “Tats?”

  “It’s a word.”

  “I know it’s a word. I just hadn’t heard you say it before. It’d be like Liam saying tats.”

  “You think I’m as straight-laced as Liam? I’m obviously not doing my job correctly.” A wicked smile played over my lips. I pushed him back and lowered to my knees. I looked up at him and gave him a saucy wink.

  “Norah,” he ground out. “What are you doing?”

  His hand was already in my hair as I smiled up at him. “Teaching you a lesson. That I can say tats if I want to.” My hands ran up his thighs and hinged over the waistband of his athletic pants. A tent formed in front of me, and I licked my lips.

  He leaned against the desk, and with his hands over mine, he worked his pants down until his cock sprang forward. He ran his hand up and down his shaft, teasing me. Just like the other day, the area between my thighs heated like molten lava. I reached out and caressed the tip of his dick with my tongue. He moaned. “Fuck, you’re so hot, Norah. Lick that. Right there.”

  I inched closer on my knees, taking Randy deeper. He worked his cock into my mouth until I pushed his hands away and used my own. His fingers gripped the desk as his hips moved forward almost infinitesimally with my movements. Short strokes, careful not to barrage my mouth with his long, hard cock, but I took him all in anyway.

  “Mmm,” I moaned, drinking up the pre-cum pebbling from the tip. “Tell me I can say tats, Randy,” I teased.

  His body still vibrated in an almost laugh, so I went back to my task at hand. I worked him into my mouth faster, sucking him until his hips were coming off the desk. “Christ, Norah. Fuck yes. Your mouth is so hot.”

  “Not what I want to hear.”

  I ran my tongue down the underside of his cock, and Randy’s jaw tensed. He pulled me up by the shoulders and sat me down on the desk in one swift movement. He quickly unbuttoned my jeans and pulled on the zipper. I lifted my ass, so he could pull everything down to around my ankles before he slid me forward on the desk and entered me. “Oh, shit.” My pussy clenched around him, making room for every last inch of him.

  His chest warred against mine. “I had to stop you. I was going to lose it in your mouth. I need you to come too. It’s so hot to see you so worked up.”

  “Thank fuck,” I breathed, moving against him. I loved they wanted to get me off as much as I wanted to get them off.

  He took my hands and clasped them together above my head before reaching down and pulling my shirt off. His hands fell to my breasts, kneading and playing with them as I continued to move against him.

  “Bra needs to come off,” I sputtered. “Your shirt, too.”

  With one smooth movement, he unclasped my bra. The straps fell around me, my breasts spilling out in front of him. I worked it off, throwing it next to us on the floor, and then reached up to take his shirt off. He helped me, pulling it the rest of the way over his head and then dropping it on the floor on top of my discarded clothes. He stared down at me, then at the spot where we joined. He shook his head. “I don’t know what I did to deserve you.”

  I swallowed, a smile splitting my lips apart. I reached up and kissed him, our lips locking onto one another’s as if it was a gas mask needed to breathe. My hands ran down his arms, his chest, everywhere, stopping on his piercing where I gave him a slight pinch. His hips hitched forward, slamming solidly into me.

  I broke the kiss. “Oh, God.”

  Randy groaned his approval, hiking my butt back toward him on the desk. His hands stayed clutched there as he resumed our kiss. His fingers kneaded into my ass muscles and then held me steady as he slammed into me again. He didn’t let me break the kiss to react this time. He kept at it, his lips overpowering as they drew every last sensation from me.

  I’m going to come, I thought. Fuck yes. Right on his rock hard cock.

  That thought sent me over, and this time Randy did give me a reprieve. He pulled away so I could scream silently into the air as my pussy clenched around him.

  Every time. Damn, he was so good. “Again,” I said, almost unable to breathe.

  His eyes darkened as they filled with excitement. He pulled out of me and then helped me off the desk. “Turn,” he said, motioning with his hand to face the other way. I did as he asked. “Hands on the desk.”

  He walked back, taking my hips with him as I put my hands on the desk in front of me. I knew what was coming. I gladly spread my legs and lifted my ass in the air.

  He hummed an approval and gave my ass a quick pinch. “Jesus, Norah.” His cock pushed at my entrance and I arched my back more until he slid inside, my back bowing with the pleasure.

  “Yes, please,” I said, pushing back against him.

  His hands roamed over my back as he pumped inside me. “I don’t think you know how fucking hot this is.”

  “Oh, I do,” I assured him, rocking back into him. I’d gotten the perfect view when it was Gabe doing me from behind. “Please make me come again.”

  With one hand on the small of my back, he leaned over me, his hand trailing up my stomach until he found my nipple and fondled it. God, that felt good. I lifted a hand to give my other nipple the same attention when Randy said, “Both hands on the desk.”

  I did as he said and he rewarded me by touching me with his other hand. He pumped into me, still keeping pace with his fingers as he teased my nipples. God, fuck. I was already starting to shake, my orgasm on the horizon. I could almost reach out and touch it and I fucking wanted it. When he slammed into me, I ground against him. He quickened his pace. “Oh, Randy.”

  “You’re ready again, aren’t you?”

  “Yes. God, yes. You just feel so good.”

  He groaned, his fingers pinching my nipples and sending me over the edge. I yelled out, my pussy clenching him again, this time faster as he thrust inside me. Randy started to shake, too, and within a few more pumps, he slammed into me one last time, his hips pressing firmly into mine until he’d emptied everything inside me.

  I let out a grateful, shuddered breath. Randy leaned over and kissed my neck and then backed away. I turned and gave him a saucy smile. He said he didn’t know what he did to deserve me? It was the other way around. All of them. It was too good to be true.

  Randy went into the bathroom to wash up while I pulled my clothes on almost hesitantly. It seemed like I was always ready and willing to get naked with these guys. The best thing? The edge that touching
Travis had given me was worn off now. I was completely back to normal.

  When Randy came back out a bit later, he bent over and kissed my forehead. “You want to go for a ride on the bike?”

  “Really?”

  “I was thinking that you deserved it.”

  I grinned, lifting my eyebrows up suggestively. “The sex?”

  He chuckled and bumped his shoulder into mine. “No, all the work you’ve done here. It looks really nice. I figured both of us could get away for a bit.”

  “What about Gabe and Liam?”

  “I’ll text them and tell Travis he’ll have to pick them up from school later on, and that you’re covered.”

  I pulled on his arm. “Alright. What are we waiting for? Let’s go.”

  He let me pull him through the shop and out the front door and onto the cobblestone street before slowing me down and sliding his arm around my shoulders. “I thought we’d take a ride out in the country again. You liked that last time, didn’t you?”

  “Loved it,” I told him.

  He squeezed my shoulder and kissed my hair. When we got to the bike, he held a helmet out to me and got us situated before helping me on after him. I wound my arms around him and hugged him tight as he started the bike and eased it out into traffic. The day was winding down, and the roads were busier than normal. Randy maneuvered the bike through the crazy traffic congestion until he eased it onto an open road and brought the bike up to speed. I loved watching the world flip by with different scenes. Since we weren’t surrounded by anything like doors and windows, it was as if we were one with the world. Nothing but our own clothes between us and everything living and breathing around us.

  I didn’t know how long we drove, but it was long enough that my butt was beginning to hurt. I didn’t want to give it up. When Randy shouted, “It’s getting late. They’re going to be wondering where we are”, I nodded into him and tightened my hold.