by Linda Wisdom
“So are you.” Lili angled her head to one side, allowing further exploration as her fingers moved toward his belt. It didn’t take her long to release the buckle and work on his fly and the button at the waistband before pulling his shirt up and over his head. For someone locked away for so many years, he was muscular, and his smooth skin was a dark bronze.
She paused for a moment, stroking her fingertips over his shoulder where she knew the brand marred his skin. Even now she sensed the sharp tingle of demon magick lurking underneath. Masked, but still there, like the deep burn it was. She placed the flat of her hand there, keeping her power flared over it like a healing blanket, except she felt something dark backlash against her. She swallowed the whimper that crawled up her throat.
“No.” Jared covered her hand with his and pulled it away. “If you try too long, it will only make you sick.” He kissed each fingertip.
She edged her fingers under his waistband and pushed his pants down.
“What? No using your magick to strip me of my clothes?” he teased softly as his nose nudged a stray stand of hair back.
“Oh please, that’s so last year.” She couldn’t stop smiling as she looked at the dark and dangerous demon who just made her want to beam—although tearing his clothes off wouldn’t be such a bad idea, either. She felt a raw need for Jared sinking deep inside her bones.
“Oh, Jared.” She breathed his name, drawing the scent of his skin deep into her lungs, committing it to her memory, the way she knew he did with hers as he buried his nose in her hair.
Jared was agonizingly slow as he peeled each piece of her clothing off her, dropping them by their feet.
“Beautiful,” he murmured.
“I bet you say that to all the witches.”
“Just one very special witch.” He nudged her back to the bed until they both fell onto it. “I can’t even say you’ve bespelled me.”
“It goes both ways.” She glanced down, seeing his erection nudge her hip. She was already melting inside, and he hadn’t even touched her yet the way she wanted him to touch her.
Lili pushed the pillows off the bed and wrapped her legs around his hips as he dipped his head, pulling her nipple into his mouth. His tongue wrapped around the dark, rose-colored nub, moistening the skin before he blew gently on it.
She felt the action all the way to her bones and whispered his name as she nibbled on his neck, grazing her teeth over the taut skin.
Jared shuddered, tightening his embrace. He moved up, capturing her mouth, kissing her with a hint of the ferocity of his kind. Instead of the angry sex demons were known for, she felt a sense of him holding back, as if he wanted to give her something more tempered. In the flick of a second, his kiss sizzled with heat. She met him with the same intensity.
He slid his fingers into her, finding her wet and receptive. She rotated her hips, arching up as she wrapped her fingers around his cock.
“Purr for me, witch,” he whispered with a dark edge in his voice. “Show me how much you like it.” He growled in her ear as he closed his other hand over hers, increasing the pressure. At the same time he moved his body slowly up and down over hers in the sensual dance of what he intended to do.
Lili closed her eyes, feeling his magick weave a path around her body. It prickled like tiny electric shocks darting across the surface.
“Now, Jared,” she gasped, tightening her hold on him.
Not needing any further invitation, he shifted and thrust deeply into her. Lili’s cry of satisfaction was smothered by his mouth as he kissed her with the same ferocity his body demanded of hers.
At first he feared he was hurting her, since she was tight, but she quickly assured him that wasn’t the case. Her inner muscles clenched around him.
He knew this wasn’t just sex. This was something more. A sense of belonging.
“Mine,” he said between tight lips.
Lili’s eyes widened at his one-word declaration that vibrated with demon power the way it hadn’t when he said the word on the Ferris wheel. While she didn’t know a lot about demons, she did know what had just happened.
Jared claimed her as his.
And all she had to do was say the same back to him.
There was no bond stronger.
She looked up at Jared, seeing the bare need in his eyes, the barely disguised raw desire. She framed his face with her hands, knowing there was gentleness inside and so much more.
“Mine.” She said the word without hesitation, without looking away from his dark gaze. “Always mine.”
That was all he needed. His rhythm increased as he brought her legs up over his hips, tipping her upward.
Jared felt his balls tighten to the point of pain before he fell over the edge, plummeting into an abyss of sensation that took his breath away. He was vaguely aware of her saying his name over and over again as her orgasm took over.
It was some time before Jared felt as if he could breathe normally again. He closed his eyes, concentrating on the scent of Lili’s skin and hair, the silk of her skin, and her husky voice bringing further images to mind. He wanted so much for her. To be with her as a whole male. Not just when the shadows could protect him. He was ready to tell her that and more, but sleep overtook him like a drug, and he felt her boneless body mold itself against him and do the same.
***
Lili was warm and content. If she hadn’t known better, she’d have thought she had turned into a cat. She lay in a haze of partial slumber, aware of the hard, warm body next to her. She sleepily ran her hand down Jared’s bare chest and below. Husky laughter rumbled under her ear as he caught her wandering hand.
“Someone’s awake,” she murmured.
“No wonder, with you teasing him like that.” He started to roll over and continue the play when they both became aware of muted sounds beyond the bedroom door.
Lili’s smile of bliss disappeared. She sat up, uttering a few choice curses. “What in Hades is going on out there?” she grumbled, staring at the door.
Jared twisted to follow her gaze, seeing bright lights gleaming under the door.
“The privacy spell mutes the sound out there,” she said, nodding at the door. “Peace and quiet no more. Tell me what’s beyond the door.” She winced as ear-piercing yowling invaded the room.
Jared covered his ears. “What is that?”
Lili looked fit to kill. “That’s it. That damned cat is going to be turned into tennis racquet strings,” she said grimly, waving her hand to retrieve their clothes.
They dressed quickly. A cacophony of sound blasted them the second they stepped out of the bedroom.
“No!” Lili stared at the dark blue glass bottles littering the carpet. “That damn cat!” She charged into the family room.
Jared almost ran into her back when she skidded to a stop.
Cleo lay in the middle of the floor, sprawled on her back, staring intently at her frothy plume of a tail as it waved back and forth. She hummed a snake charmer’s tune as the tail danced in circles before her twitching nose.
The feline twisted her head around and stared at the witch and the demon with glazed eyes.
“What do you do with a drunken kitty? What do you do with a drunken kitty? What do you do with a drunken kitty, early in the morning?” Cleo howled loud enough to shatter glass.
“If I didn’t know better, I’d think she was drunk,” Jared choked back a laugh. He hastily erased his grin when the witch turned to spear him with a look fit to hex.
“She is,” Lili said grimly. “That furry twit was unhappy because she couldn’t go to Asmeth’s, so she managed to get hold of catnip wine. How did you get all those bottles?” she demanded of the cat. “I never keep more than one bottle in the house. Do you know what each bottle costs?” Her shriek rang through the house, rattling the paintings on the wall, and a vase on the mantel started to teeter back and forth before settling back in its original spot.
Cleo laughed boisterously as she waved a paw in a wide cir
cle. “Did you know they deliver and all you have to do is give them your credit card number? And for an extra fee, they’ll even magick express it?” She purred. “So that’s what I did. I gave them your Visa.” She started waving both paws in the air. “They’re even willing to set up an auto-delivery, so I said yes.” The cat cackled with glee.
Jared looked down at the clattering sound on the floor. He watched in amazement as the many bottles rolled into the kitchen and tossed themselves into the recycling container.
“You’re the one who’ll have to suffer the hangover in the morning,” Lili snarled, standing over the intoxicated cat. “And it won’t be pretty. Remember 1936? You were sick for days.” She threw up her hands. “I should make you sleep outside.”
Jared turned away to hide the grin that was stretching his mouth to the limit.
“And here I thought I’d seen it all,” he muttered, struggling not to laugh and quickly losing the battle.
“Don’t even think about it,” she warned him. “You’ll only encourage her.”
“I’m only a puss in a gilded cage,” Cleo warbled, rolling from one side to the other.
Jared shook his head and walked into the kitchen. He dropped onto one of the chairs and buried his face in his hands, his shoulders shaking with the laughter he could no longer hold back. The sound sounded foreign and rusty to his ears. When was the last time he’d laughed in true amusement?
“It’s not funny!” Lili stormed in, her magick flying around her in erratic flutters. “Cleo can be out of control when she’s sober, but you have no idea how bad she is when she’s drunk on catnip wine. One time she even snuck into a zoo and tried to seduce a lion!”
He shook his head, unable to form any coherent words. His mouth worked. “My stomach hurts,” he finally gasped. He lifted his head when he felt the beginning of the pull that would return him to the hospital. He knew his time was ending before he was ready to leave her.
Jared stood up and turned to Lili.
“I have to go,” he said simply.
“Oh.” She managed a brief smile, her rant abruptly forgotten. She gulped. “I—” She held out her hand, looking to say more but unsure what it should be.
“I know,” he said with sincerity, even as he felt the painful tug growing stronger and knew he’d be gone very soon. “There’s just one more thing.”
“If you want to take Cleo with you, I’ll just warn you she snores,” she joked.
“No, this.” He pulled her into his arms before he could think twice and lowered his mouth to hers.
Nothing that happened that night had been in his imagination. She was as responsive as she’d been before. She made him forget the murk in his life, and she claimed him as he had claimed her.
Soft sounds traveled up Lili’s throat as her hands rested on his shoulders, her nails digging into the soft fabric of his shirt.
He rubbed his mouth against hers, tempting her lips to part.
“So good,” he whispered, sliding his tongue past her lips and once again tasting bliss. “You make me feel as if my life isn’t such a waste after all.” He groaned and deepened his kiss, drawing her even closer against him. He wanted nothing more than to rip her clothes from her and lay her down on the table. No woman compared to Lili—the way she fit so perfectly against him, the way her breast fit so neatly in his palm, her nipple springing up at his touch.
He tightened his hold on her, fighting the wrenching awareness on his spirit. The insistence he had to go, whether he wanted to or not.
He wanted to stay with her!
“No!” He growled, pulling away. He stared at her with stark eyes, raw with emotional pain. A second later, the shadows wrapped around him and he was gone, leaving only a bare hint of sulfur behind.
Lili grabbed hold of the table as her knees turned to pudding.
She refused to believe Jared could leave her that quickly and looked around the room, even as she knew she was alone. She blindly groped for a chair and dropped into it.
“You’re in trouble now,” she whispered to herself then winced as Cleo continued singing, further off-key than before. Her body still tingled from his embrace and her mouth hungered for more.
Jared had her experiencing so much that she’d never felt with any other man.
She knew he wasn’t the insane creature Dr. Mortimer and his own kind said he was. Now she just had to find a way to prove it so that Jared could be released from the hospital.
She smiled, reliving the kiss, when reality thumped her on the head as Cleo’s crazy idea of music kept falling from her mouth.
“Bubble of silence, come to me. Give me some blessed peace, that’s the key.” She flicked her fingers toward the family room and waited for the slightly audible pop that told her the bubble was in place. A tiny silver key dropped onto the table in front of her. Lili picked it up and turned it over in her fingers. The lock keeping the bubble in place would remain intact until she used the key to release her drunken kitty. She slowly rose to her feet and walked past the cat rolling around on the carpet and singing at the top of her lungs. Luckily, Lili now couldn’t hear a thing.
“Good night, you cat from Hades,” she told Cleo in Greek.
Lili returned to her bed, burrowing her face in the pillow Jared had used, reveling in his musky scent mixed with her own. She didn’t think she’d sleep all that easily. Not when images of their lovemaking still danced in her mind.
After tossing and turning in bed, she thought of releasing Cleo from the bubble just to have company. She even went so far as to go to the family room to check on her feline. One look at the cat spread out on her back, looking as if she was snoring loudly, made her mind up for her.
“Don’t come crying to me when you have the ultimate hangover from Hades,” she muttered, making her way back to her bed and curling up with Jared’s pillow again.
***
Lili woke with a smile on her lips, thanks to erotic dreams that brought back her time with Jared. But she also felt a bit unsettled and worried about Jared still locked away at the hospital’s asylum. She decided to take her troubled mind to the shore at dawn. Her cotton skirt whipped around her ankles as she walked barefoot on the wet sand. She lifted her face, inhaling the tangy air and listening to the sound of waves crashing against the rocks plus the hoarse barking sounds from the sea lions. They all made an appropriate background music for her somber mood.
When she found the spot that felt right to her, she knelt on the sand and looked out over the gray-green ocean waves and hint of fog hovering over the water. She closed her eyes and drew in the salt air.
“Listen to my plea, Panacea,” she beseeched the Greek goddess of healing. “Show me how to soothe minds of the troubled ones and take away the blackness that surrounds their lives.” She fingered her moonstone pendant, feeling the warmth of the stone pulsing against her skin. “Hecate, keep my gift strong so that I can protect the weak from those who choose to deliberately hurt them,” she begged the goddess of witchcraft. “Help me find my friend and those who were taken, as she was. I know you haven’t abandoned Sera, and I refuse to believe she has left this world for good. Wherever she is, please keep her safe and help me find a way to return her to her friends.” She held tightly to her moonstone pendant, allowing the warmth of the stone to leach into her bones.
All the witches from the class of 1313 at the Witches Academy wore moonstone pendants, and, later on, they added to their bling with gold ankle bracelets bearing a gold broomstick charm, each one topped with the gemstone that spoke most powerfully to the individual student. For Lili, it was the deep blue sapphire that winked against her skin.
Lili stayed on the beach for some time, ignoring the biting wind pelting her face. She thought of the village she grew up in, the warmth of the Mediterranean sun that used to bathe her skin, the many plants her mother gathered for her herbal remedies, and how collecting them turned into lessons for the girl as soon as she could walk. Her smile at the memories dimmed when the
y changed to mental pictures of that last day. The vision of what had happened to her mother the night when she was killed was a dark image she kept in a tiny compartment of her mind. It would never be forgotten—because there was no way she could—but she knew her mother wouldn’t want her dwelling on her senseless death, either.
She told herself that the salty liquid streaming down her cheeks was from the sea spray and not tears.
“Lili?”
She started at the sound of the familiar male voice, one she shouldn’t have heard again so soon. She opened her eyes and looked to her right. Jared didn’t look the way he did only hours ago. He stood by her, dirty, with a bruise purpling on his jaw.
“How are you here?” Her voice came out raspy as she got to her feet and reached out, touching his face, allowing her power to heal the bruise. A second later, the mark was gone. “You must have used all of your power last night.” She stroked his cheek, feeling a weakness that hadn’t been there before. “You need to rest.”
Jared smiled and shrugged. “I don’t know. I had this strong feeling that you needed me, and the shadows took over from there. It was like that first time I showed up at your house.” He touched her face with his fingertips, pulling them away, and staring at the dampness on his skin. “Don’t cry for us, love. We’ve all been demented for so long, we don’t know anything else. Heal the ones above and leave us to our punishment.”
It was then she realized that he somehow heard her plea to Panacea.
“You all deserve to be healed, Jared, not tormented like wild animals,” she whispered. “I don’t care that Dr. Mortimer feels you’re too dangerous and that he says I can’t treat you. I intend to get back down there for you.”
His smile warmed her. “My stubborn little witch. No one can stop you, can they?” He brushed his fingers over her hair, allowing a curl to wrap itself around his forefinger. “You want to find out what happened to your friend, and you want to help us in the asylum. Don’t take on too much, Lili. I don’t want anything to happen to you. You’re too precious to me.” His cobalt eyes showed his worry.