“Dinner. The meal at the end of the day, where three people can sit down and talk?” He chuckled, clearly amused by her confusion.
“But why?” She would admit to the confusion. Why should this man want her to come around for dinner? And he’d said three, which suggested Faye would be there too. Then again, she could think of far worse situations to be in than dinner with the blonde and the owner of the voice at the end of the phone.
“Call it a hunch, but I think it’ll be a good idea,” Reese said, and she could almost hear the shrug he was surely doing as he did so. “Plus, you have Faye’s phone, she’s probably panicking about not having it already.”
“Oh, right, yes.”
“Is that a yes to dinner?” he asked, still sounding amused.
“Yes.” The word slipped out before she really intended it to, but even so, it felt right. There was just something about him, about the situation, that was calling to her.
“Good. See you at seven?”
“Sure.”
“See you then, Penny.” She liked the way her name sounded from him, almost so much that she nearly forgot one, key, piece of information.
“Where am I coming to?”
“I’ll text you.”
“You don’t have my number.”
“I’ll text Faye’s,” he pointed out and she made an odd noise. She wasn’t sure how she felt about reading the other woman’s texts, even if it was accidental. “Don’t worry, there’s nothing shocking on there,” Reese said, chuckling away to himself.
“Are you sure?”
“I should hope so, we’ve been together since we were five.”
Her heart sank, she hadn’t expected that. Maybe a year or so, but even if the two of them were in their early twenties, and it was difficult to tell with paranormals anyway, then they’d been together for nearly two decades. She wasn’t sure how she was going to reveal that she knew they were paranormals. Outing someone’s species was generally frowned upon. Yet one more curse her kind had to endure. They could tell what someone was, just by looking at them. Faye had reeked of witch, meaning Reese was likely paranormal too. He’d have to be for them to have been together that long.
“Okay. Thanks,” she muttered.
“Seven, Penny. At the address I send you.”
“You got it,” she replied half-heartedly. She wasn’t sure how she was going to get through dinner. She had to go. She could feel the pull to go. But watching the two of them together was going to be painful.
“I look forward to it,” he said, before hanging up the phone.
Penny shook her head, before pulling the phone away from her ear and staring at it. Within seconds, it lit up, and she eagerly swiped across the screen, despite the sadness welling up inside her. She was a sucker for pain it seemed.
Except that the message wasn’t from Reese. Instead, it was from someone called Mia. Penny tried to click off it, she didn’t want to intrude into Faye’s messages, but something about it caught her attention: Have you tried the potion yet? ;-) x
Definitely a witch then. Penny had already been certain of that. But what kind of potion was this Mia referring to? Maybe it was a love potion, and Reese wasn’t actually Faye’s mate, but rather someone who just thought he was. She was sure it didn’t actually work like that, but hope welled up inside Penny.
So much so, that the moment Reese’s text with the actual address popped up, she was in her car and planning what she was wearing for the evening. All she needed to do now, was find it. And then get through the following three hours until it was time for them to have dinner. And find out some answers. She hoped, anyway.
Chapter Six
What had Reese been thinking? The words had been going round and round in Faye’s head ever since the redhead sat opposite her had arrived. At least she had her phone back? But that was hardly any consolation given the circumstances. Namely that she couldn’t keep her eyes off the woman. Penny. Her name was Penny.
It suited her. Probably due to the coppery shade of her hair. Or maybe she was good luck, and all Faye had to do was pick her up. She laughed softly to herself, drawing a curious look from Reese. She dismissed it. Let him be curious, he’d brought this situation on himself when he’d invited someone for dinner without actually checking with her first. Not that she’d have been able to say no. She couldn’t, and didn’t want, to deny Reese anything. Especially with so much being off limits to them anyway.
“Can you pass the salt please?” Penny asked, smiling sweetly. Both Reese and Faye reached for the salt pot, that was seated half way between them. Their fingers brushed, and Faye sucked in a deep breath, preparing herself for the shooting pain that was to come. Except it didn’t. Of course it didn’t. She hadn’t felt any pain at all since yesterday. They’d touched briefly again before bed the night before, and then again in the morning, just to check whether or not it’d been a fluke. Faye wasn’t sure whether she was glad it wasn’t, or annoyed. Reese still felt pain, so what was the point? She now wanted to touch him even more, but knew she couldn’t because it’d hurt him.
“Are the two of you okay?” Penny’s voice broke through the haze Faye had found herself in. Her voice had a musical quality to it, that tickled Faye’s mind in an entirely pleasant way. She could get used to listening to that.
“Yes, sorry,” Faye muttered, passing her the salt once Reese had let go.
“No,” Reese said faintly, and the two women swivelled their heads to look at him.
“Reese?” Faye asked, moving her hand so it hovered just over his. Offering comfort, but not touching him like would have been natural. They’d perfected the art of non-physical comfort.
“You can touch me, Faye,” he whispered.
“Not worth the pain,” she pointed out.
“There wasn’t any.”
“What?” She almost couldn’t believe what he was saying. “Are you...”
Instead of saying anything, Reese pushed to his feet, and closed the small gap between his and Faye’s chairs. They only had a small, circular, table, so it didn’t take much doing. Unsure of what he was doing, Faye rose to her feet as well, meaning they were now stood just inches apart. His breathing was heavy, and she found her gaze settling on his lips. A lump formed in her throat and she swallowed down passed it. What was he up to? Was he intending to torture them both? Because as it stood, he was doing a damn good job of that.
“Reese?” she whispered.
His hand came to her cheek. Touching her. And he smoothed his thumb over her cheek. Even knowing she shouldn’t, Faye leaned into his touch, enjoying the closeness. She enjoyed it even more when he leaned down and pressed his lips against hers.
For a moment, she was shocked. She’d imagined kissing Reese so often that she wasn’t sure which fantasy she preferred. But all of those imaginings faded compared to this. This was...magical. She twined her arms around his neck, and pressed her body against his, deepening the kiss. Tingles began to build along her body, and she wondered if it wasn’t just the touch thing that’d been sorted out, but her magic too. If Mia was to be believed, and the other witches she knew, then this was what was supposed to happen when they met their mate.
They broke apart, both breathing heavily.
“Hi,” Reese whispered.
“Hi,” she said back, her voice raspy and dry. She noticed soft sparks playing against his skin, and joy welled up in her heart. She wasn’t broken after all, there was just something that’d been blocking them. Which raised the question of what.
“I take it that’s my cue to leave then.”
Both of them looked sharply towards where Penny was now standing. She was fidgeting uncomfortably, and her eyes were looking everywhere but the couple in front of her. Guilt consumed Faye. That wasn’t very good behaviour on their parts. But being able to touch, being able to kiss, that was new. She’d have forgotten about the biggest night or day of her life when faced with that. She’d wanted to be able to touch her mate more than she wanted
any other dream in her life. Including the dolls house she’d been desperate for as a child.
“No,” Faye blurted out. She wasn’t sure why, but the very idea of the woman leaving wasn’t sitting right. In fact, it made her distinctly uneasy.
“Sorry, we’ve not been...” Reese started, looking down at his feet and shuffling about a bit. Faye placed a hand on his arm, almost pulling it back before remembering she could now. She didn’t want him to feel bad about doing something they’d both wanted for so long.
“We haven’t been able to touch until now.” Faye finished for him.
“But I thought you said you’d been together since you were five?” Penny asked, looking straight at Reese. Faye frowned. Why had he told her that? It was true, but it could also have scared her off, which wasn’t good in the slightest.
“We have,” Reese said with a sigh.
“We could touch as kids, but never thought anything of it,” Faye supplied. “The moment we turned eighteen, things changed. First for me, then for Reese a month later. It became painful to even brush hands. That’s been our burden over since.”
“But you’ve stayed together?” Penny frowned, an adorably confused look on her face.
“You’re a paranormal too, I assume? You’re not nearly freaked out enough by my light show just then not to be.” Faye smiled slightly, amused by the twist in circumstances.
“Well, yes...”
“Could you leave your mate, if you wanted to?”
“Well, no, that’s not how it works,” she said.
“Exactly.” Faye folded her arms, while retaking her seat at the table. “I couldn’t leave Reese, even if I wanted to.”
“Then what’s changed? Did you use the potion?” This time, it was curiosity that lit up the redhead’s face. Faye found she liked that emotion even more.
“How do you know about that?” She frowned. She hadn’t even told Reese about her sister’s idea, never mind someone she’d only just met.
“Someone called Mia text, I didn’t mean to read, but Reese was sending through the address, and I needed it, and...”
“It’s fine, I’d have told him anyway. I just got distracted by the sudden need for catering.” Faye laughed lightly.
“Sorry,” Reese muttered. “But wait, what potion?”
“Mia made us a potion, she hoped it’d help with the no touching thing.”
“Of course she did.” He leaned back, smiling affectionately. Faye loved how close he was to her sisters. He always had been. As their next door neighbour growing up, and the four of them being fairly close in age, it’d made sense for him to know them well.
“But what changed?” Penny prompted, again.
“I have a theory,” Faye said, thinking hard.
“Me too, but is there a way to test it?” Reese asked.
“You could kiss her too?” Faye teased, enjoying the slight shock on Penny’s face. “Or I could call Ettie?”
“Ettie might be the easier option. She might slap me if we’re wrong.”
Faye laughed lightly. “I don’t think we’re wrong. My necklace opened earlier,” she told him, then watched as delight, swiftly followed by confusion, washed over his face. It was kind of adorable how conflicted he was about it. Like he did and didn’t want her to be his only mate.
“Try Ettie.”
Faye nodded, picturing her familiar in her head. “Ettie,” she whispered. She wasn’t in the least bit surprised when a raven made up of bright white sparks appeared in front of them all, swooping about and trying to steal things from the dinner table. Silly bird. There was nothing there that could satisfy a bird made of magic there. Ettie couldn’t even work.
“Impressive, but I’m not sure what I’m looking at,” Penny said, her eyes not leaving Ettie as she flew about the room.
“How much do you know about witches and their familiars?” Faye asked.
“That they have them?”
Both Faye and Reese laughed.
“They are a little secretive. I’ve been mated to a witch for nearly twenty years, and even I still don’t know much about them.”
“Oi, you know as much as I do!” Faye protested indignantly.
“Which is...” Penny finally retook her seat, making Faye’s heart soar. Good, they weren’t going to lose her then.
“Familiars, like Ettie, appear to a witch when they turn eighteen. They’re part of our magic, but seem to have a life of their own. But they never appear to anyone other than the witch they belong to. If they can belong. I’m sure Ettie would have a thing or two to say about belonging to anyone.” Faye chuckled to herself.
“I hate to point this out, but I can see her as well as you can,” Penny said.
“You can yes. There’s only one other person a witch’s familiar will appear to.” Faye looked between Reese and Penny. “Well, in this case, two.”
“And they are...”
“Mates,” Faye said simply, watching the other woman’s reaction closely.
Chapter Seven
He watched as the redhead’s face witched from confused, to conflicted, to almost happy. But not quite. Though Reese suspected it was mostly the confusion that was making her react like that.
“What?” she blurted out. Reese exchanged a look with Faye, whose eyes had taken on a slightly nervous edge. He didn’t really blame her, he was pretty much feeling exactly the same. Part of him was longing to go over to Penny and kiss her too, but then, he wasn’t sure if that would be weird considering he’d just kissed Faye for the first time. He suspected that was the same kind of thing Faye was thinking. One of them needed to break the building tension, or something would explode and not in a good way.
“Mate, one, partner,” he supplied.
“Or two.” Faye smirked, already looking lighter now they’d touched. He felt that way too. It was surprisingly freeing compared to how they’d been feeling for most of their adult lines.
“How can anyone have two mates?” Penny asked, her eyes flitting between the two of them. Reese smiled. The way she was speaking wasn’t as if she was someone that didn’t believe. Quite the opposite. Her voice was filled with hope. Someone who thought what they were saying was right, but didn’t want to commit in case they weren’t.
“Easily,” Faye answered. “We have a friend with three.”
“Sounds like a lot of work,” Penny muttered, making Reese laugh. He’d thought that too when Josh had told him about the set up he had with Eira. But then, if it was love, there wasn’t much that could be done about it. That wasn’t how paranormal mating worked. When someone like them met their mate, or their mates as the case may be, then that was it for them. The fact there’d been pain for him and Faye until Penny showed up, was almost enough of an indication as far as Reese was concerned.
“But this is different,” Faye pointed out. This time, Reese frowned.
“How so?” he asked.
“With Eira, she has three mates, but each of them only has her. I think we’re something different.”
“What makes you say that?” He thought he knew where she was going, pretty much along the same lines he’d been thinking, but he wanted to be sure.
“Josh said there’d never been any pain for them. And my pain disappeared once I met Penny, but yours didn’t...”
“...then went when I met her tonight.” He nodded, pleased they were on the same line of thinking.
“But what does that mean?” Penny asked, confusion marring her pretty features.
“That if I kiss you, there’ll be sparks,” Faye answered, surprisingly serious.
“Oh.” Penny swallowed visibly, and something tightened within Reese. He liked that idea. Almost as much as he liked the idea of kissing Penny himself. But then, it was probably a little bit creepier for him to make a move than Faye. Not that he’d ever been in this situation before. He glanced back at Faye. He’d never thought he’d ever be in a situation like this, either. But if it was the way he could be with Faye, then it was worth
it for him.
“Is it okay if I try?” Faye asked softly, walking around so she was stood in front of the redhead. The women looked into each other’s eyes, and it felt like they were in the room without him. It was that, more than anything, that convinced Reese this was the right thing for them all.
The air was already charged with magic. Whether it was from the sparks while he’d kissed Faye, the fact that the three of them were together for the first time, or the build up between the two of them.
“Yes,” Penny whispered. Her voice was so quiet, that only his shifter hearing had been able to pick it up.
Slowly, Faye brushed a strand of hair behind Penny’s ear, a small spark flying from her fingers as their skin touched. He could see her checking that Penny was alright with each and every moment. He only found it a little odd that Faye, who’d had her first ever kiss had been just moments before, taking charge of such an important moment. But there she was, beautiful and powerful, making the move that could seal things for them for life.
Her lips brushed against Penny’s. Lightly, as if she was particularly worried. When the other woman didn’t pull away, Faye seemed to gain courage, and deepened the kiss between them. Penny’s hand tangled in Faye’s hair. Sparks began to wash over the two of them. The white lights crackled around them, the brightest where they touched their bare skin.
Faye pulled Penny even closer with a hand around her waist. This time, the sparks jumped from the two women and onto Reese’s own skin, dancing there like they had during his own kiss with Faye. He might have grown up around witches, but he wasn’t entirely sure what it meant. Maybe this was the mating bond sealing for them? But then, it wasn’t exactly like the scratching that was done by the bird shifters like him. Or the biting like the others. It wasn’t even during sex.
Sex...that was actually a possibility now. No more hearing Faye’s moans in the middle of the night when she thought he wasn’t awake. He knew that was why she did it. He tried exactly the same when it all got too much. Now he’d be able to touch her. He’d be able to elicit those sounds himself. Or Penny would, while he watched. Maybe Penny could then join him. He guessed it was every man’s fantasy. Two beautiful women. But he already knew that it was far more than that. If they said he could never watch, he’d be disappointed, but he’d go with it. If Penny said he could never touch her, he’d be equally as down about it, but he’d respect her wishes and leave her be.
Witch's Spark (Thornheart Coven Book 2) Page 3