by Thorn, Lacey
“Thank you,” she whispered. The truth was Alice did feel her grandmother. In the cottage and the woods and in every little thing she touched. It comforted her on days when she felt the loneliest. “Oh, Lola was here yesterday!”
Desiree laughed again. “Is she as vivacious as I remember?”
“I can’t imagine her being more than she is now,” Alice offered.
Lola had been a delightful surprise. The cottage had been cleaner than Alice had expected and fully stocked with groceries, which she’d assumed was her mother’s doing. Alice had spent most of her first night in the cottage exploring her new home until she’d finally fallen into an exhausted slumber on the couch, surrounded by her grandmother’s things. A firm knock on the door had awoken her the next morning, and she’d found a woman with short, white hair, who’d bustled inside, unwrapping the scarf from her neck and rubbing her hands on her jean-clad legs.
“I’m Lola, Ms. Alice. Your mother asked me to stop in and get the place ready for you. Pantry and fridge are fully stocked, but there’s a market in town if I’ve missed anything. Ms. Lucy gave me a list of all your favorites. All the utilities have been turned on. I cleaned the place top to bottom, and I’ve been hired to come back once a week to keep it up.”
“I…” Alice had struggled to get her brain awake and fully engaged. “Thank you. I’m more than capable of cleaning up after myself, though. I really do appreciate the offer.”
“Truth is, I could use the work,” Lola had admitted, looking nervous.
“If it’s money, I’m happy to—”
“The work, not the money,” Lola had interrupted with a wave of her hand. “Busy hands and all that. Plus, your mom thought I could tell you more about your grandmother.”
That had brought Alice wide awake. “You knew my grandmother?”
Lola’s whole face had softened. “Alice Savoy was my dear friend. Listened to my problems over one of her herbal teas. Showed me how to make things bloom in the garden. Shared recipes. A wonderful woman. Spoke often of her granddaughter who was named after her.”
“I’d love to hear your stories of her,” Alice had admitted.
“Then that’s what we’ll do, every week when I stop by,” Lola had stated, and Alice had laughed and given in with a nod.
Desiree snorted as Alice recalled that first encounter. “Sounds just like her. She’ll tell you all sorts of stories about your grandmother. Maybe some about your mom if you ask.”
Alice shook her head. “No. Those should come from Mom.” She needed them to come from her mother. For all the love Alice had been given, Lucy had remained silent about her past and Alice’s father. From the moment Alice’s father had died, her mother had whisked her away from her grandmother and the magic that had surrounded her.
“She misses you. Wandering around this old place like she’s lost,” Desiree told her.
“I miss her, too,” Alice shared.
“You should call her,” Desiree admonished.
“She could call me,” Alice countered.
“It nearly killed her to let you go,” Desiree whispered. “You’ll have to be the one to call. You’ll know when. She’ll always be here for you. Same as me. Love covers any distance, girl, and don’t you forget it.”
With a whispered blessing, Desiree hung up, leaving Alice restless with her thoughts. Glancing out at the night sky, she jumped up, grabbed her pack, and headed toward the door, wrapping the fluffy pink scarf more securely around her neck as she stepped into the cool autumn night. The moon was high overhead, casting a pale glow on the yard and the woods just across the road.
As she went, she noticed a different vehicle parked beside the only other house on the lane. A big, black truck that made Alice think of sex and power. A shiver trickled over her skin. Maybe, her neighbor, Caitlyn, had finally ditched the young punk she’d been hanging around with and found a man more worthy of her.
Not that it was any of Alice’s business. She shrugged as she breathed in the fragrance of the night-blooming jasmine she’d meticulously transplanted as soon as she’d moved into the small cottage. Still, if not for her magic hands, her favorite flower wouldn’t have survived the move and wouldn’t have thrived in the soil she’d transferred it to. There were some things a woman couldn’t do without. For her, night-blooming jasmine was one of them.
There was a hop to her step as she pushed open the gate, stepped through and let it swing closed behind her. This was her favorite time of night, and with Samhain approaching, it was a time to look toward her ancestors more than ever. More specifically to her grandmother, whom she’d never had the opportunity to meet in life. Just the thought of all she’d missed out on had sorrow rising inside her. Alice could have learned so much if her mother hadn’t hidden her from the world—and the world from Alice.
She shoved away the memories and hitched the strap of her backpack up on her shoulder, the heavy weight pulling and causing an ache. Rubbing it brusquely, she continued across the lane. Fate had brought her to this place in this time. Fate or the spirit of a deceased grandmother, who’d been just as anxious to meet Alice as Alice had been to meet her. Either way, Alice had no doubt she was where she was meant to be.
Stepping through the trees, she walked the now-familiar path by rote. The moonlight trickled through the treetops, casting weak beams to play with the shadows. With a whispered spell and a flick of her wrist, she cast a ball of light to illuminate her way. Giggling with delight, she sent up a few more just for fun. Living so far out of town meant she only had one neighbor to worry about, and Caitlyn’s house had been dark when Alice had slipped out.
Alice pushed aside all her musings as she slipped into the clearing. Taking a deep breath, she eased the pack from her shoulders and knelt before the stone that had given her such a jolt. Her heart told her it was her grandmother’s, though the only word on it was Savoy.
Opening the pack, she removed what she’d brought. She placed the candles around her in a circle then laid out a cloth in front of her at the base of the stone. On it, she put apple slices, some freshly baked cranberry cookies, and a thin slice of ham. Next, she grabbed one of her grandmother’s wine glasses, unwrapped it then set it beside the food. Uncorking a bottle of wine, she filled the chalice to midway then placed the bottle aside.
She sat, legs crisscrossed before her, and closed her eyes. With her thought alone, the candlewicks flamed to life. Calling to the four corners and giving thanks to the goddess and her consort, Alice cast her circle. She wasn’t surprised when the solid ground beneath her was replaced by air.
“All I am and all I’ll be comes to me through all of thee. Blood to blood, and bone to bone.” Her eyes flicked open. “Alice Savoy is finally home.”
Chapter Two
Hudson jerked his shirt over his head and used it to wipe sweat out of his eyes. He’d planned to sleep in, but years of routine had him awake before the crack of dawn. He’d slipped into shorts and a T-shirt, thrown on running shoes and hit the pavement. Maybe, all he needed was a long run to put him back into exhaustion. Ten miles later, he hadn’t succeeded.
He slowed as he came around the last corner toward home and saw a splash of bright pink in the yard next door to his. As he drew closer, he realized it was a woman with a long, blonde ponytail, her body contorted into a position that had his blood heading south and his dick twitching with interest. He slowed to a walk, swiping at his face again while he watched her flow from one boner-inducing position to another.
When she dropped to her hands and knees and arched her back while lifting her head to the sky, he damn near came in his shorts. He’d just hooked his shirt into the front band of his shorts to cover the wood she’d given him when her eyes flicked open and seemed to zero in on him.
She immediately rose to her feet, all feminine grace and flexibility, and moved toward him. He took in the high breasts compressed in the tight bra she wore. Her flat stomach flared into nice hips, perfect for
holding onto while he rode her hard. He’d already seen her ass, though he’d give anything to peel off the tiny shorts and squeeze the round globes with his hands. Christ, the woman was a walking sex dream, and she was headed right toward him.
She stopped mere inches from his naked chest, and he almost groaned when she licked her lips as her gaze moved over every inch of exposed skin and muscle. He wanted to flex, to display how big and bad he could be, which was the most ludicrous thought he’d ever had. Then she touched him, her smooth palm gliding between his pectorals, following the trail of hair lower and lower on his belly. He caught those exploring fingers before they could move past his bellybutton. Coming on the hand of a woman he’d yet to meet wasn’t what he had planned. Between her thighs was another thing altogether.
“I’m—” He gave a hiss of breath as the little minx leaned in and licked a drop of sweat from just above his nipple. Jesus, god! She had drops of pre-cum beading at the head of his cock.
“Inappropriate,” she muttered, and big moss green eyes met his, her gaze pleading, which only created fantasies of seeing that look while he took her. Fuck, he’d never been into submissiveness, but damn, if he didn’t want to see her on her knees, sucking his cock with that same look.
“I’m so sorry. I saw you…and there was this jolt…and I wondered what you’d taste like.”
She rambled, obviously nervous and perhaps a little uncertain of his reaction. He reached down, cupping her ass in his hands and lifting her against him while he ducked his head toward her. She met him with a ferocity that nearly had his legs dropping from under him. Her slender arms wrapped around his neck, and their lips met in a clash. She parted easily at the thrust of his tongue, opening to him then tightening around him to suckle. He pressed her hard against his aching cock and growled at the whimper that left her lips.
He was ten seconds from dropping her onto the mat she’d been using and mounting her like an animal, with no care as to who might wander by and see them.
“Inside,” he muttered.
“Yes, please. Yes,” she agreed, grinding the heat of her pussy along his shaft.
It took everything he had to hold himself in check. “Is your door open?”
“What?” The words were murmured against his neck where she licked and sucked at him.
“The house. Can we get inside?”
“Yes.” That seemed to be all she could say, and he was all aboard with those yeses. She waved her hand toward the front door. The breeze must have picked up at that moment because it swung open though he didn’t feel any coolness across his skin. She had him too hot.
He barely made it inside, kicking shut the door behind them and turning to press her against it. With one tug, he had the bra over her tits and his lips around one berry-red nipple. She arched and moaned, rubbing him even closer to orgasm.
“Fuck,” he growled again. When had he ever growled at a woman? This one had him feeling primitive. He’d always scoffed at the term alpha male, but damn if he didn’t feel like one now. “Hold on,” he ordered and dropped both hands between her legs. Grasping the seam of her shorts, he ripped them wide open and encountered bare skin, smooth and damp. He shoved down his shorts, and his cock bobbed up, painting a trail where it touched the lips of her pussy.
She mewled and gripped his hair, tugging his head back up and kissing him with a need that matched his own. Her hands slid through the strands, nails scraping his scalp as he grasped his cock and led it to her sex. He ran the shaft along her lips, coating his cock in her juices. Condom. He needed a condom. The thought was there and gone as he lodged at her opening. The head barely slipped inside, and her sheath already gripped him tightly, while tiny flutters tried to suck in more of him.
Everything left his head except possession. His. She was all his. He moved one hand to brace her hip against the door, and she wrapped her legs around him crossing her ankles and lifting herself a bit higher on him, arching her sex at the perfect angle for more of him to slide inside.
“Yes.” It was a sigh as her eyelids dropped closed, and she leaned her head back, offering her neck to him. He dropped his mouth there, sucking hard at the base as he thrust deep into her. Some part of him registered her virginity, and he paused, wide eyes jerking to her face in time to see a single tear slide from her eye.
“Fuck,” he groaned.
“No,” she pleaded. “Don’t stop.” One small hand reached down and grasped his ass, urging him to move. “Don’t stop. Please.”
It was the please that undid him. He meant to be slow, to be easy, but her responses, the needy sounds she made had him rutting on her like an animal. The door vibrated with the sound of their bodies joining. He took her mouth again, loving the taste of her on his tongue. She was sweet, and he knew he’d easily become addicted to her if he wasn’t cautious.
“Whose pussy is this?” The words were out of his mouth before his mind engaged. So much for caution.
She looked confused for a moment, then a smile touched her lips. “Yours.”
His chest swelled. He wrapped his arm around her and held her tight while he took the few steps to have them at the couch. He kept her on him while he dropped down, half-reclining while she adjusted so her knees rested along his outer thighs. He jerked the bra upward, and she lifted her hands to help him as he tugged it over her head. Cupping her breasts, he brushed his thumbs over her nipples, loving how hard and tight they were, how much harder and tighter they grew.
“Whose cock is this?”
Her eyes turned a deeper shade of green as a flush colored her checks. “Mine.”
“Mmm,” he agreed. “Take what you want, baby.”
She eased her body all the way down, taking him to the root then swiveling her hips in a move he was sure had his eyes rolling back in his head at the pleasure that rushed through him. She did it again, and he pulled her to him, his mouth landing between her breasts. He kissed her there, nuzzling before turning his head and flicking his tongue over her nipple. He moved closer, scraping it with his teeth before giving it a tug. Her nails bit into his shoulders, and he gave a chuckle before sucking as much of her breast into his mouth as he could.
She cried out and began rising and lowering on his dick. He ate at her tits focusing on her responses as he discovered what gave her pleasure. She liked a rough touch, which suited him fine in the moment. She rode his cock with abandon, her sheath a tight fist, milking him with every glide. He knew the moment her orgasm approached. He heard it in her breathy gasps, felt it in the jerky shifts of her hips as her movements become uncertain. He grabbed her ass with one hand, thrusting into her.
“Look at me,” he commanded, sliding his thumb between them to rub tight circles over her clitoris. She mewled, eyelids dipping low. “Look at me,” he ordered again.
She forced the lids open, and he held her gaze, watching everything she felt reflected there. He witnessed the moment she found her pleasure. Her mouth dropped open with a gasp before silence reigned as if she’d stopped breathing momentarily. Her eyes glazed, though she kept them open and on him, and his dick was bathed in her juices.
Turning them quickly, so she was under him, he pulled free and moved lower, bracing one arm over her stomach and forcing her thighs wide to make room for his shoulders. He drove his tongue into her sex, fucking her with it while he drank every drop of cream she gave. He waited until she gasped for air, and he felt the tug of her fingers in his hair before licking up to suckle at her clitoris. He stroked two fingers in and out and worked her into another orgasm.
While she was still in the throes, he moved again, coming to his knees and rolling her onto her stomach beneath him. One tap against her thigh had her rising under him. He pressed her shoulders back down to the sofa then gripped her ass and thrust back into the slick heat of her pussy. He rode her hard, hitting deep with every penetration, reveling in the feel of her tight sheath gripping his shaft.
He pounded, taking what he needed, an
d unbelievably, he felt her coming a third time. His balls tightened with every hard contraction of her sex around him, and his cum shot out to coat every inch of her. There was so much it spilled from her, the mixture of their juices sliding down their thighs. Still, he kept riding her. He couldn’t stop. The pleasure was more intense than he’d ever experienced in his lifetime. Even when he collapsed over her back, his hips gave small thrusts, his dick content to stay inside her.
“Mmm,” she moaned, reaching back to trail her fingers along his side before dropping her arm limply onto the sofa. Her body went boneless beneath him.
With a groan, he forced himself to move, gritting his teeth as he pulled his still-hungry cock from her. He stood, his glance taking in the combination of their releases where it glistened between her thighs. Glancing down, he saw the same thing on his.
“Fuck,” he muttered. Who was this woman? With her, his common sense went right out the window. He’d never had sex without a condom. Never. He groaned as the first part of his thought took root. Who was this woman? Christ, he’d just had the best sex of his life, and he didn’t even know her name. Alice, his mind corrected. His sister had said the new neighbor was named after her grandmother. Alice. He planned to get to know her even better. The thought brought a smile. It didn’t get much better than this morning, but he was willing to try.
Chapter Three
Alice woke with a big smile on her face and a delicious soreness between her thighs. She had a lover. She bounced up from the couch then reached out with wonder to run her hand over the wet spot that stained the cushion. She brought her fingers to her nose, inhaling the scent the two of them had left behind. He’d put his mouth on her. Down there. Tasted her. Hell, devoured her as if she were a favored treat, and it had been pure heaven.
She wrapped her arms around herself and danced around the living room, uncaring that she was half-naked. She pranced into the bathroom, shoving the ripped shorts off her as she took in her appearance in the mirror. She had abrasions and red spots. Love bites. She had love bites from her lover. She giggled, one hand covering her mouth as she gave a little jig. And what a lover. He’d taken her virginity against the door, his strength supporting her weight. Then he’d taken her to the couch and let her ride him. When she’d come, he’d gone down on her, tasting the residue of her pleasure and bringing her to another release. Then he’d flipped her, mounted her, and taken what he’d needed to join her.