Spell Me Once

by Cherie Marks

  He pulled away and reached for her hand. “Come on. I know somewhere we could go.”

  She ran with him through the forest until they came to a stone circle with a flat stone in the center. From his backpack, Maverick pulled some blankets and laid them over the stone. He sat on it and patted the spot beside him. Gemma slid right up next to him.

  His mouth found hers again. The kiss was carnal and sent tendrils of electricity spinning through her body. By the time, he pulled free of her mouth and began kissing her jaw and neck and collarbone, she was breathless with need. She couldn’t believe how much her heart raced with a mere brush of his fingers over her skin.

  Her mind reeled as he pulled his shirt over his head and tossed it to the ground. Her hands automatically flew to the corded muscles of his chest. She traced his skin, hot to the touch, including the raised, red circular mark burned right below his collarbone, above his heart. The brand of a hunter. It looked like it had been painful to receive, and she had an intense desire to soothe his long-forgotten pain with her mouth. Before she could lean in, though, he reached for her shirt and with a few tugs, pulled it from her body, dropping it to the ground next to his.

  His hands slid across her belly and energy whirled there, following his light touch. He undid her bra again and watched it fall away. “You are a fantasy. I’ve been thinking about this from that first night in the cave.” He lifted his gaze to hers. “I need you right now.”

  “I’m yours. Take me, Maverick.”

  They made quick work of their pants, and Gemma removed her panties. Mav wasn’t wearing any underwear, and the minute he removed his pants, his arousal sprang free, wetness glistened on the tip. She couldn’t take her gaze from the engorged erection.

  He eased down to the stone table, and she laid down next to him, letting her fingers explore his chest once more. Her hands traveled low, running along his mid-section and lower. Her hand wrapped around his erection and stroked up and down the shaft a few times before he growled and turned her to her back, hovering above her. He lowered his head for a series of slow, deep kisses and a sweet ache began between her legs, keeping time with her pounding heart. Her hardened nipples slipped against his chest as she squirmed beneath him, shooting the feeling of hot fiery energy straight to her midsection.

  His mouth searched down her neck and chest, enclosing his lips around her nipple with stomach-clenching possessiveness. He sucked hard and when she cried out at the pleasure, he moved to the other one while his hand slid down to touch her where her need was hot and intense.

  He slid a finger inside her, and she moaned as the sensations took over.

  “You’re ready for me. So ready.”

  * * *

  His cock throbbed with need as he felt her slick readiness. He rubbed his palm against her clit, wanting to see her pleasure as it filled the expression on her face. He couldn’t wait any longer.

  As he repositioned himself over her, staring down at her glistening body. She was so beautiful, laid out before him, and he could barely breathe at the sight of her.

  The head of his cock slipped against her wet entrance. He groaned in pleasure as desire overtook him. He felt himself losing control, and he shuddered with need.

  “What are you doing to me?”

  “Please, Maverick. I need to feel you now.”

  The desire in her voice was his undoing. He positioned himself at her entrance, feeling the sweet ache as he began to pump his hips slowly. He felt a barrier just inside, but gently worked his way through, seating himself inside and stopping.

  He rose up over her, concerned that she was in pain. “You were a...virgin.”

  She nodded. “Assassins don’t do close.”

  But, in the next instant, she rocked her hips into him, and her wetness beckoned. “I’m good, Mav. Really good. Take me over the edge.”

  He lowered his mouth to hers for an electrifying kiss as he pulled out and pushed back inside her. So good! He raised himself up on his arms and watched each stroke of his body play across her face.

  He began to saw in and out slowly, as he braced himself on his left arm and reached between them. He rolled his thumb over her clit, making small circular motions as he pumped his hips back and forth. She wrapped her legs around him as her hands traced the hollows of his back. She began to meet each thrust with one of her own. The rhythm of their bodies worked in sync, and he felt a tingle start in his lower back. He was getting close.

  Slowing his movement, he concentrated on her clit, watching her face as her pleasure built. He became deliberate in his thrusts, adjusting as her breathing became irregular and her moans began to build.

  As he felt the first tightening around his cock, he went mindless. She threw back her head and called out his name as she orgasmed around him. Over and over, she clenched her sex, and it was enough to push him over the edge. His thrusts grew erratic as he pumped hard against her. Ecstasy exploded in his brain as his orgasm raced through him in waves of uncontrollable pleasure. He buried his face in her neck as he rode the wave to completion,

  The cool night air blew over his too-sensitive skin, and he pushed up onto his arms, looking down at the incredible fantasy come to life that was Gemma. He marveled at how her flushed skin glowed and her hair splayed like a beautifully woven blanket beneath her head. She was his. All his, and he knew in that moment that he loved her.

  Yet, doubts began to creep in. She was a princess, and he had taken her for the first time on a stone slab in the middle of the forest. He wasn’t worthy of her or of this.

  He looked away and rolled to the side, covering his face with his hands. “I’m sorry. I didn’t know you were a virgin. I would have been gentler, and I would have made sure we weren’t in some time-forgotten fairy circle.”

  She rose up to her elbow and touched his arm. He lowered his hands and met her gaze.

  “It was perfect. This is exactly how a witch wants her first time to be.”

  “In the middle of the woods?”

  She laughed lightly. “With the right person. I wanted it to be you.”

  His confusion was surely written all over his face. “Why would you want it to be me? I’m just an orphan turned Royal Guard. I’m nobody.”

  She looked at the inky sky, broken only by a few stars and tree branches reaching for them. “I...I don’t exactly know why, Mav. What I do know is that it felt right, and I don’t want to overanalyze it.” She looked at him again. “Tomorrow could be the end. I didn’t want to die without feeling this...with you.”

  His heart broke hearing her heavy thoughts. Hadn’t he considered the very same thing? His mind was at rest with the thought that he hadn’t taken advantage of her. She had wanted to be with him, if for no other reason than he was the best option in the moment. He’d take it.

  “Besides, you’re somebody to me.”

  The breath left his lungs in a rush. His chest tightened. He couldn’t believe how much her words meant to him—how much, all his life, he’d wanted someone to say that very thing to him.

  He didn’t want this to be the end. How disappointing if this was all the time they ever got together. He couldn’t let that happen. A strong determination fell over him like a red haze.

  “Tomorrow is only going to end one way. Your father will be alive, and we will be free. I refuse to accept anything else as a possibility.”

  “Goddess, I hope you’re right.”

  Yet, not for the first time, her eyes shone with doubt. He’d have to watch her. This was exactly the thing that, in the past, would have made Gemma run, but she had to know that she didn’t have to face the danger alone. Not anymore. None of them would ever be alone again.

  Chapter 20

  The night of the new moon, Gemma stood outside the palace once more. She’d been in this situation too many times to keep track—on the outside of everything, looking in and wanting to make things happen. So often, she had felt that her life was out of her control, that the only option she ever had was to run
away. But Jeff had been right. That option had never worked all that well.

  Until now. She’d run straight into the most misfit, and yet magnificent, band of people she’d ever met. She looked at the people surrounding her, and for once, she felt whole. Kylie was the closest friend she’d ever known, and Gemma was amazed at her loyalty. Jeff was cranky and crotchety, but he had her best interest at heart. And, even Gaston had surprised her with his good, but lazy, intentions. Not to mention, she had a little brother to spoil now. She had every intention of sticking around long enough to teach him the proper way to stab. Or, at least, how to tie his shoes. Yeah, that was probably more appropriate.

  No one, though, meant more to her than Maverick. As she looked at his strong profile, she thought back to the day in the antique shop when she’d nearly sliced him open with her dagger. Now that she’d had this time to get to know him, she was glad she hadn’t killed him. He was honorable, strong, and, whether he realized it or not, good-hearted. Of course, it didn’t hurt that he was attractive, but it was his character that made him the man she loved.

  Whoah! Gemma repeated that to herself. She loved him. He would probably say he wasn’t worthy of her love, but she knew the truth. He was more worthy than all of them put together.

  “Are you ready?” Mav gave her a tight smile as he caught her watching him.

  She smiled back and nodded her head. “I’m ready to try.”

  “To try?”

  She nodded again. It would have to be enough for now.

  As satisfied as he probably could be with that answer, Mav took a deep breath and pointed toward the palace.

  They approached from the backside of the outer wall, toward the kitchen. The grounds were quiet, except for a few stragglers here and there. Mav, Kylie, and Gemma were once again dressed as monks. It helped them move around mostly unnoticed.

  As they stepped to the closed door, Gemma knocked lightly. “Hadden, are you there?”

  The door cracked open slightly before it was swung wide, and a little body threw himself at Gemma’s legs. She pulled Hadden from the voluminous, brown fabric of the robe, and after another quick hug, they went inside the kitchen.

  “I’m so glad to see you, Gemma. Tonight is the night that we will bring Mother back.”

  Gemma’s chest tightened at his hope. She still didn’t know how to tell him that she didn’t have a way to do that. She didn’t have any idea where her mother had gone. How would she know which point in time to visit in order to change things?

  “First, I have some big jobs for you, Hadden.”

  He clapped his hands together a few times as he asked, “What is it? I can’t wait.”

  “The first job is going to be to help me get the spell book. Do you think you know where it might be?”

  “I know exactly where it is. Mother showed me where people keep important things.”

  “Great. I need you to think really hard. Picture the room where the book is kept and hold Maverick’s hand while you do it.”

  Mav had told Gemma that he was going to try something he’d never attempted before. He was going to span using transference. He was hoping that Hadden could transfer the image to Mav, and Mav could span them there together.

  Gemma’s hopes were high when they disappeared together, but they flagged somewhat when they didn’t return immediately. It was the most unsure part of the plan, and yet, it was the most important part. They couldn’t complete the spell without the book. Gemma was horrible at memorization, but she wished she’d practiced more before the book had been taken from them. She just hoped Hadden and Maverick could come through for them.

  In the next instant, Hadden appeared again with Mav holding his hand. “We did it, Gemma!” He handed her the spell book, and Gemma nearly clapped herself when she saw that it was the right one. She hugged her brother to her abdomen and thanked them both.

  “Now, Hadden, your second job is going to be taking these two cats for a walk.” His nose scrunched up as if he thought it was not as important as she made it out to be. She continued quickly, “I need you to walk them to Captain Narcus’s office. They have a job to do once they’re there, and you can help them with the buttons they need to push.”

  His face lit up once more. He was on board. “I love pushing buttons.”

  Mav chuckled, and Gemma smiled at the unusual sound. He rubbed Hadden’s hair and said, “I just bet you do love pushing buttons.” Hadden smiled up at him, nodding vigorously.

  The two cats and Hadden headed in one direction, while Mav, Gemma, and Kylie went in another. This time, they took the stairs to avoid the elevator and to give the cats time to work their part of the plan. However, the idea of climbing fourteen flights of stairs seemed a whole lot easier on paper.

  Out of breath, they nearly collapsed outside of the hallway that led onto the fourteenth floor. Yet, when the lights flickered like as before, they sprang into action. Kylie shifted into her mouse form and took off down the hallway, running past the two guards standing outside of Gemma’s bedroom. The guards watched Kylie run past three times before they looked at each other and decided to give chase.

  As soon as Kylie jumped onto a table near the elevator and then onto the arrow to go down in the elevator, she took off down the hallway again, running right between the two guards. Once the elevator chimed, she shot toward it, slowing just a little to let the guards catch up. When the guards were on the elevator, she ran around them three times before the doors began to close. She leaped out of the elevator, too small for the door sensors to notice. The elevator doors slammed shut, and Kylie shifted back into her human form.

  “They’ll probably be up in a few minutes, so you two need to get inside the room now. I’ll keep them busy.”

  Gemma stepped into her room slowly and Mav followed. Her childhood bedroom hadn’t changed at all. The lilac and purple colors that she’d fought so hard to use to brighten up the drab sadness of being alone still covered the walls, bed canopy, and window curtains. Even some of her stuffed animals that the baker’s husband had secretly given her were propped on the bed. Unlike when she was younger though, there was a picture of her on the table next to the bed. It was the one from her father’s study, and she was surprised to see it there.

  “How did your father ever believe you could be a killer?”

  “Hey, now! Don’t judge. I might have been more feminine than most assassins. I still got the job done.”

  He smiled at her. “I just like seeing a glimpse of the girl who became the woman you are.”

  She rolled her eyes and motioned toward the closet. “This time, I want to hide and wait for the assassin to roll in.”

  “I think that’s a great idea.”

  She looped the necklace her mother had given her over her neck, opened the door, and stepped inside, unsure once again that she was doing the right thing. Then, she understood something. She didn’t have to do this alone.

  “Come with me.”

  “What? Are you sure?”

  “I can’t do this without you. Come with me.”

  “I’m not prepared. What could I possibly use to ground me?”

  “What focuses you on the present?” He stared at her for a moment before walking to the table beside the bed and picking up the framed picture of her. He pulled the picture from the frame, lifted his shirt, and carefully placed the picture into a leather pouch he had slung across his chest. Gemma noticed there were a couple more knives and throwing stars sheathed in the strap there, too.

  “Got it.”

  “My picture?”

  He nodded and didn’t hesitate as he stepped inside the small space with her. “I’d travel to the ends of all the dimensions and back again if you asked me to, but only if you asked me to. You’re my focus here and always.” Hearing his words, she could hardly contain the warm feeling that filled her chest. She was sure that her pleasure showed on her face.

  Once the door was closed, she flicked on the flashlight she’d pulled from her backp
ack, opened to the page in the spell book, and began to chant the words. Once again, the small closet began to blur as time passed quickly, taking them back just a few months. It didn’t take as long as the last time she’d tried to make things right.

  They stopped and heard movement on the other side of the closet door. Someone was muttering as they paced the room. Gemma could only make out a few words, but she recognized the voice. It was her father saying, “Thought I’d lost them all.”

  She wasn’t sure what he was talking about, but she waited as patiently as she could to try to catch the assassin before he or she could complete the task of killing the King.

  Finally, her father seemed to settle into bed and was snoring softly before too long. Gemma began to get nervous that the assassin wouldn’t make any noise until the deed was done. She reached for the doorknob, only intending to crack the door slightly, but Maverick stilled her hand as a soft click sounded, like the door to the room being unlocked.

  Chapter 21

  She could hear the click of heels on the hard floor. More than anything, she wanted to open the door and see the killer, but she was afraid she might see her own image staring back at her. Her hand rested on the knob this time, but still she waited.

  A pair of boots followed the click of the first intruder. There were two of them. Now, Gemma was thoroughly curious. She never worked with a partner.

  “Now that Hadden is back, Zolunder has outserved his purpose. We no longer need him alive. You are sure that the princess was in his room tonight?”

  Gemma recognized the voice, but she couldn’t quite place who it was.

  “Yes! She entered through the balcony and left the same way.” She knew Captain Narcus’s voice immediately.

  “Good. It will be easy to put the blame on her for her father’s death. She’s played right into my hands, as have all of the royal family.”