by King, Thayer
“Why? We’re not done. We’ve got an ownership matter to settle.”
****
Why had she challenged him? She should have just agreed that it was his pussy from the start. She could barely drag herself out of his bed. He’d fucked her until she’d finally said yes, yes, it was his pussy, all his. No, she wouldn’t let any other man fuck her. She didn’t know what else she’d agreed to as he’d ridden her pussy well into dawn.
Even then, shortly after falling into a nearly oblivious slumber, she’d awakened to find him sucking her clit. He’d eaten her until she’d called his name. That was another of his demands. With each orgasm, she was to say his name. Domineering, egotistical bastard.
Her thigh muscles and her pussy were sore. Her legs would barely hold her as she bent to pick up her robe. She gave Sean’s still form one last glance before leaving his suite to return to her own. She made a beeline for the shower.
Her plan, born out of desperation, hadn’t been well thought out, she reflected as the soap and water washed away Sean’s scent. She’d stupidly assumed that he wouldn’t be able to please her. She’d never been easy to bring to orgasm. Her plan had been to give him a hot night of sex and hopefully be rid of him forever. What she hadn’t counted on was her own out of control reaction to the man.
It frightened her that she might be his soul mate. She wanted to dismiss the idea but it could explain why she was so attracted to him.
Last night had definitely been a mistake. She’d never be able to forget the incomparable sensation of having her body joined with his.
Chapter Ten
Sean stretched. He could still feel the electrical current of energy pumping through his veins. Making love to Mystique had done this to him. He’d never felt more in touch with his powers before. There was no doubt that she was his mate.
He opened his eyes. He wasn’t surprised to find that she had left him. “Damn,” he muttered. He’d been too rough with her. The overwhelming urge to possess her, claim her as his had been driving him. Using a condom with her had been difficult. He wanted his stamp on her. He couldn’t be sure, but he thought he might have revealed himself to her, letting the light of his true nature shine through his eyes. Holding himself in check had been next to impossible.
Neither he nor Mystique was scheduled to be onset today. He wanted to see her before she could leave for the day. Instinct told him that she would try to avoid him. He showered quickly. Twenty minutes later, he was standing outside her suite.
When she opened the door, he was taken once more by her natural beauty. Her hair flowed in ringlets around her shoulders. She’s mine, he thought with awe. How did he explain to her that they would be together for always? “Mystique.” Simply saying her name set off a spark in him. He could feel the flash of strength. “I wanted to make sure you were all right.”
She stepped back to let him in and closed the door behind him. “I’m fine.”
Unable to resist, he drew her into his arms, his hand settling at the base of her spine. “I wanted you so much I was too forceful with you. I’m sorry.” He smoothed her hair back from her forehead and her eyes closed. He kissed her full pink lips. As always, his body reacted to hers, his cock hardening. He groaned and she withdrew.
“I’m fine,” she repeated. She crossed her arms over her chest and she wouldn’t meet his gaze.
Unsure of how to begin, he took her hand. “Last night meant so much to me.”
“Please, don’t.”
“Don’t what?”
“Don’t make more of it than what it was. Last night was all there is going to be between us. It can’t happen again.”
He captured her chin and tilted her face up so that he could study her. She averted her eyes. “Look at me,” he ordered. Her dark eyes were wet with tears. “You don’t believe a word of what you just said to me.”
“I can’t be with you.”
“Yes, you can. I love you.” He knew it was true the second the words left his lips. He’d never told a woman that he loved her before. “I want forever with you.”
She gripped his wrist and shook her head. “No.”
“I mean it. I’m not saying this to get in your pants. Obviously.”
“You’re not listening to me. I can’t be with you.”
“Mystique, you’re mine. Accept it and this will be easier on you. I want you to marry me.” Traditional would be the way to go. He could tell her the truth about himself after they were married and once their connection was more secure.
“No.”
“Why not?” She didn’t answer, simply turned her back on him. He followed. Nothing with her had been easy so far. Why should his proposal be any different? “Is it my rep? We both know tabloids make up half the shit they run. I will be faithful.”
“That’s not it.”
“You don’t want to date an actor? We could be low key about it. I’ll make sure my publicist knows that our relationship isn’t fodder for—”
She whipped around and glared at him. “Damn you, it’s because you’re a witch! I cannot and will not date a witch.”
Shock held him mute for several seconds. There was no point in denying it. He would have told her someday. “How did you find out?”
“It’s all over you. I knew it the first time I saw you on screen. It’s in your eyes. You just have to know what to look for.”
He arched a brow. “And you know what to look for? How is that?”
She looked away and he felt in his bones that she was about to lie to him. “My father is a witch,” she said at last.
He studied her but sensed nothing supernatural about her. “You’re a witch. How are you hiding your power?”
“Don’t ever call me that. I never studied the arts, never used witchcraft. Not so much as even a wish. My father, the witch, left my mother before I was born. He seduced her, told her she was the one, and once he’d had his fill of her, he was in the wind.”
Sean ran a hand through his hair. She was biased against her own kind. How was he to deal with this? “Myst, you are my one. I feel it. I can prove it. I’m stronger today than I’ve ever been. You have to feel the energy running through your veins. We’ve been sharing dreams.”
“None of that matters.”
“Deny it all you want, we’re a mated pair. The link between us—”
“Is incomplete. I’m not going to live the life of a witch for you.”
He ground his teeth together, frustrated by her obstinacy. “I don’t plan on making you use a broom for transport or catch toads at midnight. Your life would change very little at all.”
“This isn’t up for discussion.”
“It is. You’re my mate. This isn’t just your decision.”
“That’s where you’re wrong. It is. I live my life the way I want and no one tells me different.”
“You’d rather be alone than with me?”
“Who says I have to be alone?”
Sean growled and gripped her arms. “You’re mine. I will kill any man who touches you.” Her eyes widened. He realized how irrational he sounded but wouldn’t retract his statement. He meant it. She belonged to him, and he to her. He wet his lips. “I’m not letting you go.” He bent to kiss her and she whipped her head away in defiance. He brushed his lips over her cheek and down her throat. She whimpered as he opened his mouth over her skin. Blood roared into his groin. It was as if last night had never happened. He wanted her as much as ever.
He filled his hands with her breasts. She wasn’t wearing a bra. Her nipples hardened instantly. He tugged the stiff points and flicked them with his thumbs. Her gasps filled his ears.
The pale pink blouse she wore had a line of tiny buttons. Far too many for his limited patience. He gripped the top and tore it open. And then he was suckling her nipples.
Her hands fisted in his hair. “Sean, please, don’t,” she moaned, but arched into his mouth.
“Don’t take what’s mine? This is my pussy, Mystique. Mine to kis
s, mine to touch, mine to lick, and mine to fuck. Remember yelling that to me last night? Begging me to fuck you?” He grinned as her cheeks reddened. Her slacks were next. He undid the snap and they fell to the floor. He stepped on them and lifted her physically out of them. She wrapped her arms around his neck. The passion between them crackled like an electrical storm. He didn’t even try to control the glow of his eyes.
He placed her on the bed and slowly removed his clothes. “So you’ve known all along that I was a witch?”
“Yes.”
“Then why did you let me fuck you last night?”
She wet her full lips and looked away. “I was hoping…hoping to get you to leave me alone.”
Sean would have laughed if he didn’t know she was serious. He covered her, gripped the edge of her panties and ripped them off. She gasped and her eyes locked with his. “Poor plan. Did you really think that once I had some of your delicious pussy, I wouldn’t want anymore?” She nodded mutely. “Extremely poor plan.” He kissed her, his tongue thrusting deep. She moaned and sucked his tongue. He could feel the suction all the way down to his cock. Thrilled by her acquiescence, he let the kiss go on and on until she was arching wantonly against him. He buried his face in her neck, inhaling the intoxicating scent of her hair and skin.
Sean cupped her breasts, rubbing the tight nipples against his chest. “Tell me what you want, Mystique.” She shook her head, her bottom lip caught between straight white teeth. “Tell me. I’ll give you anything you want.”
“Don’t ask me. I don’t know what I want anymore.”
“Then I’ll tell you.” He circled one nipple with the tip of his finger. “You want me to suck your nipples.” He painted the tan nipple with his tongue, flicking it before pulling it into his mouth for suckling. Her soft gasps made his cock swell. He moved over to her other nipple and gave it the same treatment before moving down her belly. “You want me to kiss you all over. Here,” he whispered, pressing his lips to her indented belly button. “Here,” he murmured, feathering kisses over her hip bones. “Mm, and here,” he said, pressing her thighs apart and kissing the soft skin close to her pussy. “And especially here.” He grinned up at her. “Like in your dream.” Her eyes widened briefly but before she could say anything, he’d parted her lips and circled her clit with his tongue. He licked her until her hips were bucking beneath him. Sean knew exactly how to caress her. The dreams had been fueled by her fantasies as much as they were by his. “Now you’d like me to suck your sweet little clit while I fuck you with my fingers.” He held her down and captured her flesh between his lips while thrusting his fingers into her molten pussy. Her cry of pleasure was music to his ears.
“Oh, Sean!” She buried her fingers into his hair and rode his fingers. He loved the way she moved. He ached to be inside her again. He curled his fingers, pressing against her g-spot. With a strangled cry and a writhing torso, she climaxed on his fingers.
He growled. He couldn’t wait any longer. Shoving her thighs wider, he fit his cock to her tight cunt. “You want me inside you now,” he said and she gasped as he filled her in one quick thrust. Her heat enclosed him, squeezing his shaft so that withdrawing was an effort. It was like a portal into her mind and body had opened at the moment of their joining. Energy crackled over every inch of his skin. He withdrew from Mystique, the friction of flesh on flesh more tantalizing and erotic than ever before.
“Please,” Mystique moaned. Her fingers closed over his shoulders, her nails digging in as he plunged deep. She embraced him, wrapping her legs around his waist. He placed a pillow under her buttocks, needing to penetrate her, to claim her as deeply as possible.
Sean watched her face, carefully gauging her reaction to his every move. He kept his pace steady, opening her body to his. When she began fucking him back, he thrust harder and deeper. He sped up when she whimpered. As her cries escalated, he lost control, fucking her to orgasm. She milked him so hotly that his own peak soon followed. He buried his face in her neck and groaned his pleasure. His cock swelled and spilled his hot seed inside her welcoming pussy. The spasms seemed to go on forever.
He felt lightheaded as he rolled onto his back, pulling her on top of him. She lay with her limbs splayed. Soon she sighed and stood. Her eyes flashed to his groin then to her own.
Mystique’s eyes widened at the realization that he had taken her without protection, without barriers. As a result of their frenzied and unprotected joining, they were now one. A mated pair forever. All it took to align their souls was for her body to accept his seed. “What did you do? What did you do?”
He wasn’t just a witness to her panic. He could feel it as she slid her hands into her hair and groaned. “Oh, God.” She sank to her knees, tears filling her eyes. “I never should have trusted you. How could you do this?”
His heart seized at her agony. Sean hated seeing her miserable. He moved to her side but when he would have touched her she shrank away from him. “Mystique, our being together was inevitable.”
“You don’t understand!”
“Tell me. Help me understand.”
She shook her head. “You should go.”
“No. I’m not going to leave you like this.” He helped her to her feet. He cupped her face in his hands and felt the energy, stronger than before, surge between the two of them. Tears shimmered in her dark eyes and tracked down her cheeks. He used his thumbs to wipe them away. “I love you, Mystique.”
“Oh, Sean, you should have asked me first before tying us like this.”
She was right. He hadn’t thought of her feelings. The drive to possess her had been foremost in his mind. “You would have said no. And I was right. We belong together. You sense it too, don’t you?” She nodded mutely, her expression miserable. He tugged her into an embrace. Her misery saddened him. He didn’t understand it. Didn’t all women want love and commitment? What he’d just done was more binding than any marriage. What more could she want?
****
Sean’s compassion beat at her in waves until she couldn’t stand it anymore. Through their link she could also sense his remorse at his presumptuous behavior by making them mates. She didn’t want to forgive him. Mystique extracted herself from his embrace. “I’m going to shower.”
His large blue eyes were sad as she left the room. This was as much her fault as his. She’d wanted him and hadn’t thought to make sure he used a condom, knowing what the dire results would be if he didn’t.
If only being with him didn’t feel so right. The sizzle of her magical powers hummed beneath her skin. She avoided looking at her reflection in the mirror for fear of what she’d see there. The spray of the cool water shocked her and alleviated some of the numbness she was experiencing.
“What now?” she whispered to herself.
“Spend the day with me,” Sean said from the other side of the shower curtain. She’d been so preoccupied she hadn’t heard him enter the bathroom. “Please.”
“Yes.”
****
It was a beautiful day to spend at the beach. The sun was bright against a lovely blue sky. A cool breeze blew off the water, keeping them cool as they strolled along the water’s edge. Mystique held her sandals in one hand. The fingers of the other were entwined with Sean’s. She laughed as he regaled her with tales of the escapades he and his brother had gotten into when they were children. He’d made a conscious effort to keep the mood light and not to press her about their relationship.
Staring up at him, she couldn’t help but think that he would be her perfect man if he weren’t also a witch.
“I’ve noticed a pattern in these stories,” she said when he fell silent. “According to you, Keith was always the mastermind behind your mischief.”
He chuckled. “He was. Though if you met him now, you’d never know he was the same boy our mother gives credit to for her first gray hairs. He’s grown staid in his old age,” he said with a grin. Mystique recalled that Keith was only a year older than Sean’s twenty-eight. “K
eith is the more powerful of the two of us. I’ve never really applied myself because I didn’t have the latent talent he has.” He shrugged. “I was blessed with charisma and that was enough for me. Acting was a natural career choice. How did you get into it?”
“I was in a play in high school. I enjoyed it so I took drama in college and loved it. It wasn’t what I’d envisioned I would do growing up…”
“Oh? Let me guess. You wanted to be a doctor?”
She bit her lip and shook her head. “Actually, I wanted to breed Newfoundland pups. I still watch dog shows every chance I get. I gave up that dream pretty early though. I was supposed to go into the family business. My mother was very disappointed when I didn’t.”
“What’s the family business?”
She shook her head. “It doesn’t matter. I’ll never be welcome now.” His quick inhalation of breath and the pain in her chest told her that she’d hurt him. She squeezed his fingers and brought his hand up to her mouth. She kissed his knuckles. “Sean, I didn’t mean to sound as though I was blaming you. I’ve been an outcast…since I was born. Leaving to pursue an acting career only widened the chasm between my mother and me.”
“Why, Mystique Gray, I do believe you’re being nice to me.”
“You say that as though it’s never happened before.” At his arched brow, she blushed. She had been tough on him. “I’m sorry.”
“No, it’s fine. I’m a big boy with a big ego. I can take it.” He brushed her hair back from her face and kissed her brow. Pressing his forehead to hers, he stared into her eyes. She tensed, worried another declaration of undying love might be forthcoming. Instead his lips curled upward in a sexy grin. “I’m hungry.” He gave her a quick kiss and led her back to the car.
They decided to try a restaurant called The Bridge Tender located at the foot of the Wrightsville Beach Drawbridge. The interior was beautiful, as were the views of the Intracoastal Waterway. Though their menu featured fresh seafood, they both ordered the Angus beef steaks. It wasn’t until dessert that Mystique realized she was enjoying her time with Sean.