by Diana Bocco
He sat back up and unbuttoned his pants to free his cock, ready and powerful. Laurie moaned at the sight. Not only was he ready, but he was big. Her hands moved forward to touch him, but he reached her first, tugging at her skirt and underwear.
“Let’s play fair,” he said as he drank in the sight of her, naked and flushed with desire. His eyes left a trail of fire on every inch of her body. Then he leaned down and kissed her again, his skin pressing against hers everywhere he could reach. And still she needed more.
His hands slipped up her thighs again, resting on the outer folds of her sex. She held her breath.
“You’re so wet, Laurie,” he whispered against her mouth, sliding a finger inside her.
A moan of pleasure escaped her throat. Everything felt raw and on fire.
He thrust his finger in and out, then two. His thumb reached for her clit and stroked it in soft circles. When he took his fingers out, she moaned in protest.
He just smiled and slid them into his mouth, savoring her taste. “You taste good, baby,” he murmured, thrilled by the raw want in her eyes.
She’d never seen anything so erotic. She couldn’t help but to moan and kiss him, her hands moving down to reach his erection.
It was his turn to moan. Any sliver of decorum she had was gone. She wanted to taste him too, to feel his power. She pushed him onto his back and moved down his body. Alex’s eyes followed her until she stopped right where she wanted to be. He chuckled and closed his eyes.
“God, you’re full of surprises.”
She smiled and then slid her lips around his cock, her tongue swirling around the head. The salty taste made her sex pulse in anticipation. His hands reached for the back of her head, urging her on. She took him deeper into her mouth, and her hands settled around his girth, pumping rhythmically. He growled, and the deep, guttural sound of pleasure only made her more feverish. She wanted to keep going, wanted to taste him when he came, but he pushed her head back.
“Stop. I can’t take it much longer.”
“Then don’t.”
He was panting as he reached for her body to pull her towards him and onto the bed.
“Sorry, ritual rules,” he whispered against her mouth. “You’re supposed to come first.”
Laurie smiled as he licked her lips. “Well, lucky me.”
He broke the kiss, and his lips reached for her breast, then moved south to hover over her belly. His hands settled on the curves of her hips so he could lift her off the bed enough to settle down with her legs draped over his powerful shoulders.
When he looked up into her eyes, he was like a warrior, a Viking taking the woman he wanted with no mercy, no questions. And all she could think was oh, yes, please.
Whether he read her mind or just her eyes, he smiled and said, “As you order.”
He licked softly at first, waiting for her response. When she moaned and arched her back in pleasure, he licked again, now tasting deeper, tracing every inch of her. The buzzing in the room had become a softer sound, almost like a humming. It was a mix of liquid fire and comforting caresses. But it wasn’t just in the room. It was in her, the waves of sound cresting and falling in response to Alex’s touch.
His tongue slid in and out, mimicking the pleasures to come, and Laurie’s whole body vibrated. But he stopped just as she got close to her release and slid up to kiss her, covering her body with his.
“Do you trust me?”
She knew the answer immediately. “Yes.”
“Keep your eyes open,” he ordered as he moved to nestle perfectly between her legs. She felt the head of his cock just touch her sex, and her hips instinctively pushed against him. But he didn’t enter her. He was breathing heavily, and she could tell it was taking every single ounce of control not to push inside her at once.
“Alex, please … I want you inside me, please…”
He groaned and pushed in just slightly. The slow invasion was driving her insane, melting her. He kept moving into her slowly, pushing in slightly and then drawing back out. Whether this was part of the ritual or his idea of torture, she couldn’t take it anymore.
She wrapped her legs around his back and thrusted her hips against him.
He groaned one last time before burying himself deep inside of her.
“Oh, Laurie,” he groaned against her lips. “Damn, baby, you feel so tight.”
Her eyes were heavy with pleasure, but she kept them open and fixed on his. His breathing was just as erratic as hers, and they moaned as he started to move.
He moved slowly at first, and with each thrust the humming became more intense, more … musical.
“Alex…?”
“I can hear it,” he groaned, moving faster against her. His lips reached for hers, his breathing hot and harsh against her mouth.
And then the humming turned into light. Her skin started shining, almost as if it was no longer reflecting the candlelight but emitting its own glow. As the glow expanded towards his body, the pleasure started to mount in her belly. His muscles were slick with sweat, golden with the glow, and she cried out in pleasure at the sight.
Whatever she was seeing, he was obviously seeing it too, because his eyes moved with the light, following the twists and turns as their bodies melted into one.
Laurie clawed at his shoulders, her body dancing in pleasure at the mix of what he was doing and what she was seeing.
With a groan, Alex lifted his body from hers so he could thrust faster and harder. In between sparks of light and fire, she heard him call her name one more time, and then everything exploded into flashes of light.
“Come for me, baby,” he whispered.
Her body spasmed, waves of pleasure coiling in her belly and ripping through her body. She arched her back and pushed her hips against him one more time, shivering through the climax.
“Oh, God, Alex…” she cried out, and she felt his body jerk and release into hers.
Alex was murmuring some foreign words, but she could barely hear anything except for the musical humming in her head. The entire room had a surreal glow, and so did Alex’s body. Almost as if his skin was made of gold.
He relaxed, covering her body with his and pressing a kiss against her lips.
Laurie…
She looked at him with a smile and then realized he hadn’t spoken. Not out loud, anyway.
I can hear you, Alex.
His eyes widened for a second, and then his crooked smile came back.
Is that so?
Laurie smiled back, her body warm with pleasure and contentment.
Every single word.
He rolled off her and then pulled her close to his chest and into his arms.
“I’ll be damned.”
Chapter 8
It took a while before the humming subsided, and even then, he could still feel the vibration deep in his chest. He wasn’t sure what else the ritual had done to him, but all his senses were reeling with it. He could hear every sound from every corner of the room. If he focused, he could hear his horses in the distance, even through the shut windows. His eyesight was also incredibly acute, catching details he had missed before, like the small scratch on the wardrobe across the room.
And above everything else, he was able to hear Laurie’s thoughts. Not all of them, just the ones directed at him. It was like being in their own secret little world.
Laurie stirred in his arms, tilting her head up to look at him. “Do you feel any different?”
He smiled. Laurie’s body fit against his in all the right places, and he loved it. There was a pull between them, a sort of animal magnetism he couldn’t explain. Around her, his magic felt stronger, more alive. It was almost as if his magic was trying to wrap around her, bring her into its protective reach.
“Besides the obvious? I can still feel the buzzing in my chest, but other than that, I have no idea what the ritual did to me. Well, besides the mind talking we seem to have going on.”
“Do you think that’s permanent?”<
br />
“I have no idea. But I have some idea how Corneliu is going to react once he realizes the ritual is not working for him.”
Laurie’s smile faded. “Do you think he’ll come after you?”
“Or you.”
Laurie’s body tensed up, and he instinctively held her tighter.
“I’m not going to let him hurt you, Laurie.”
“Alex….”
His lips moved closer to hers. “You have my word.”
Laurie pressed closer, and he was very aware of every one of her soft curves, every hot corner of her body. Part of him wanted to protect her and take care of her. The rest of him wanted to fuck her like an animal. He’d never had a woman awaken both feelings in him. It was a primal pull, rolling from his chest and wrapping around her. Wanting to claim, to possess.
“Tell me more about you,” she pleaded, and he knew she wanted a distraction.
“Like what?”
“How am I different from you?”
Flashes of soft skin and curves rushed through his mind, but he knew that wasn’t what she meant. It was a tricky question, because he wasn’t really that different, except for his magic. Then again, his magic had a much broader reach than he could easily explain.
“Are you trying to come up with something?” she teased him.
He couldn’t help but smile. “It’s just not that easy to describe.”
She moved against him, stirring all kind of sensations and bringing that primal urge to the front of his mind again.
She fixed her eyes on his. “Okay, I’ll ask the questions. Can you fly?”
He laughed. “I’m not Superman, no. I can float, and I can make other things and people float.”
She frowned. “And throw them across the room if necessary.”
“If necessary,” he agreed.
“Is there a limit to how much you can lift?”
“If there is, I haven’t found it yet.”
It was a strange feeling, trying to put into words who — or what — he really was. Everybody who knew about his family had known forever, and he’d never had to tell anybody about it. In fact, the rules were pretty strict about revealing the family secret, and in normal circumstances he would have been in a lot of trouble for telling Laurie. Of course, these weren’t normal circumstances.
“You’re not immortal or anything, are you?”
His lips curved into a smile. “No, I’ll get old just like everybody else. And bullets can hurt me, just as they do everybody else.”
“If they get to you.”
“Well, I do know a few tricks to prevent that from happening.” His hand moved up her thigh, and she gasped. He smirked. “Sorry, is that distracting?”
She groaned and he laughed, feeling the flow of energy between them deepen.
“Go on, keep asking,” he urged her.
“You’re making it hard to concentrate on questions.”
He smiled. “Try harder.”
She took a deep breath. “Were you born like this? You know … hmmm … magical?”
“Part of the magic is innate, but we’re all different. Some of us are stronger, some have specific powers.”
What he didn’t mention was that some of them were bent on using their powers for darkness. Corneliu hadn’t been the first. He wasn’t even the worst. When Alex decided to play the part of an illusionist, it had been mainly as a way to get to a few of those people. He wanted to get to the family members who had gone into hiding after doing horrible things — or in preparation for them. Becoming such a public figure had a lot of risks, but it also let him into a world of secrets he wouldn’t have been able to reach otherwise. Of course, all the money didn’t hurt either. In fact, the money had made it a lot easier to find the ones trying to remain hidden.
The luxuries and the women who came with his fame? Well, those were bonuses. Especially the one in his arms right now.
He looked into her eyes. “Are we done talking?
“Why?”
His fingers reached for her clit and she whimpered.
“That’s why,” he whispered.
The next thing he knew, they were entwined, skin burning and fingers touching, exploring, greedy. He wanted her. All of her. No more teasing touches, no more soft play. He wanted to be inside her. Needed it. Now.
Do it, she whispered into his mind, and his whole body jolted in response.
His hands reached under her body and turned her around so she was on all fours. He could smell her desire, wet and hot between her legs. Without a word, he grabbed her hips and slid into her with a single thrust. Laurie moaned in surprise, then pushed against his moving hips to increase the pressure.
More, she pleaded.
He drew himself out and slammed into her again, groaning. She moaned in response and clamped her muscles around him, holding him tighter inside her.
”Fuck,” he growled, rocking into her harder.
The golden fire of the ritual was back, shining over her body and making her look like a goddess. Her breasts bounced every time he thrust into her, and each movement just fired him up even more.
He moved into her again and again. Harder. Deeper. Until their bodies were in a frenzy and the energy humming between them felt like a fire burning through them. Her head fell back, her chest heaving from the heat.
“Is this how you like it?” he growled, burying himself inside her as deep as he could go.
“Yes, yes, please, yes. More!”
His whole body was aching for release.
He heard her cry out as she reached her climax, and he pushed into her one more time. Then his body exploded in waves of pleasure.
Chapter 9
Laurie had finally convinced Alex to let her go back to the city to pick up a few things. But all she really wanted was her gun. It had been a stupid move not to take it with her in the first place, and she was ready to remedy that.
As powerful as Corneliu might be, he wasn’t bulletproof. At least not if she could get him into her line of fire while he was busy doing something else. And even if she couldn’t shoot him, she still wanted her gun by her side.
Alex had agreed to let her go only if Emily picked her up, which was fine with her. She had been dodging Emily’s calls all morning, and she couldn’t keep doing that for much longer. Better to see her and somehow deal with the situation.
When Emily pulled into the driveway, her expression was a mix of confusion and amusement.
“Thanks for coming by to pick me up, Emily.”
“Did you call a mechanic?”
“It’s been arranged, don’t worry.”
She got into the car and fastened her seat belt, hating that she had to lie to Emily about all this. They’d known each other for so long, and it felt like a betrayal. “I’m going to need you to drive me back here in a couple of hours so I can deal with the car,” she said apologetically.
Emily turned to look at her. “So you didn’t get a chance to talk to Volman at all?”
“He cancelled yesterday, and then this morning he left almost as soon as I got there, before I realized my car wouldn’t start.” She cleared her throat before continuing. “He had a meeting of some sort, I guess. But I’m supposed to meet him again this evening, when I pick up my car.”
“So what do you think?”
Laurie had practiced the lines over and over, and she still wasn’t sure they sounded convincing. “I don’t think he’s connected to the mur— disappearances. But he knows what the stang symbol means, so he might be of some help.”
Emily frowned without taking her eyes off the road. “And how does he know that?”
Laurie didn’t want to talk about it anymore, because every word was a lie or led to a lie. And the more she lied, the harder it was going to be to get out of it later on.
“It’s some sort of magical tool used by magicians. I mean, in magic folklore. Witchcraft.”
Emily was quiet for a second. “Do you think the kidnapper could be another magicia
n?”
Laurie was suddenly relieved to have a way out. “Maybe. You could check who else performs in the city.”
Pushing Emily away from the whole situation seemed like the right move. Alex was right; this was something the police couldn’t help with.
** **
As soon as she opened her apartment door, she knew something was wrong. A subtle sweet perfume lingered in the air, a mix of rotting flowers, moss and wet wood. It was the kind of aroma you’d expect to find at a cemetery. Her whole body froze, and Emily bumped into her.