by Michele Hauf
What was he thinking? Eryss was not the type who could ever wield a blade in violence against another. But there was something about her. Something...off.
He tugged his fingers through his hair and shook his head. He was getting off course. It shouldn’t matter to him what went on in her brain. But it did. Because...he liked her.
Dane tilted his head back and eyed the glass dome overhead. The steel joins formed a decorative design that made a sort of star with eight points. A sigil? It couldn’t be a magical symbol; it was just the way the structure had been put together. Though there was something hanging from the center, about a foot to the left of the rope that supported the emerald chandelier. Herbs? Well, those could be there simply for fragrance, not because of some witchy spell.
On the other hand, the room was fragrant with live plants and flowers. Herbs would prove unnecessary. Must be a piece of a plant that grew so high it had gotten tangled in the structure. Dane was okay with that explanation.
He sipped the cold hot chocolate.
“Dane?” The scent of tomato sauce and greasy cheese preceded Eryss into the room. He got up and took the pizza box from her, and she shrugged off her coat and tossed it to the grassy floor near the glass door.
“Pizza? This does not figure into the lifestyle of health and wellness for the Eryss Norling I know.”
“Give me a break. I was busy at the brewery and forgot to eat. You must be hungry, too. It’s the veggie style with a thin crust but lots of mushrooms.”
“I can do mushrooms.”
“I’ll grab us some plates. What do you want to drink?”
“More of your delicious mint lemonade.”
She winked and strolled out.
“Not a witch,” Dane said as he opened the pizza box and the aroma hit him right in the feels. “But certainly a sorceress of my stomach.”
Chapter 10
The pizza was a hit and Eryss was surprised they finished the entire thing. Dane had a hearty appetite. He was probably a meat eater, which was why she’d bulked up on the mushrooms for him. She wasn’t used to cooking for men. But she wouldn’t mind if he was around more often to challenge her meager cooking skills. How many days did they have left together?
She didn’t want to count. It would ruin the blissful mood. And if she thought too deeply, she’d begin to wonder if the man could ever learn to love the brutal Minnesota winters. She’d certainly done what she could to induct him into the lifestyle of the cold and frigid.
Now they cuddled on the couch with the chenille blanket across their laps. Dane scrolled through his files on the laptop to show her the project he was working on. A month earlier, he had obtained a box rumored to possess a demon that could inhabit a person’s soul if let loose. It had been found in the basement of a little old man living in Pittsburgh who had been convinced the box was whispering to him.
“It held just some bits of ash and stale air.” He clicked on a photo of the small wooden box. “Ruined a perfectly good piece of redwood, as far as I’m concerned. Have you been to the Redwood National State Park in upper California?”
Eryss shook her head and offered a shrug. She hadn’t traveled much farther than North Dakota and Wisconsin. If she must uproot herself, she was certainly in line for a change of scenery.
“Ah, hell. I’m boring you.” Dane closed the laptop and set it on the grass. “I could talk about my work all day, and if you don’t speak up I’ll eventually explain the whole process in minutest detail. Why do you let me do this?”
“Because I like to listen to you. Doesn’t matter what you say. Your voice is so rich and melty. It drips over me like dark chocolate.”
“Wow. I don’t know what to say to that.”
“Maybe you should pretend I’m covered with chocolate right now?” She waggled a brow and he waggled one back. “I like what’s happening between us, Dane. But it also bums me out.”
“I knew it. It’s the science talk.”
“No, it’s the fact that you’ll be leaving in a few days. I’m not sure if I should be happy and enjoy this as a fling, or freak out because parts of me are wanting it to be so much more.”
“I see.”
“I mean, there’s nothing wrong with a fling. But generally flings only occur with people I don’t find myself connecting with too deeply. There’s something about you.”
“You believe we’ve loved in a past life,” he stated drily.
“Maybe.” She clasped his hand. “Look at me, into my eyes.”
He met her challenge with a fixed gaze, those beautiful browns so dark and filled with mysteries she might never learn, but wanted to discover, slowly. Oh, so slowly. She did feel their connection. Their souls knew one another. It wasn’t a sensation or even a sound or taste. Eryss simply knew it in her very bones.
“Why do I dream about you?” she whispered.
“Eryss, I don’t think—”
She pressed a finger to his lips. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have said that. This is too much for you. Magic is real, Dane, and the power of belief and your faith in science is strong. But I don’t expect you to hitch a ride on my bandwagon.”
“I’ve never been one for bandwagons. They’re so loud.” He chuckled. “You’re right. The reincarnation and soul stuff is too much for me. I’m only here for a few more days. Can we...just have some fun?”
Eryss nodded. “Yes. I will stop trying to race ahead of what’s happening here. Promise.”
“Good. Living in the now is always best.”
She took that as a reference to her claim that they’d shared past lives, and decided she would not push him. That would only scare him away. She slid a hand into his. “I’m in the mood for some extracurricular snuggling—”
But before she could continue, an abrupt crack shook the glass conservatory roof. Dane jumped to his feet and Eryss slid to the edge of the couch. They both stared up at the huge branch that had landed on the roof and now slowly slid off. A remarkable thud sounded when it hit the three-foot-deep snowbank outside the glass walls.
“The wind is insane today. I knew I should have trimmed that tree this summer,” Eryss said. “Do you think it cracked the glass?”
“It may have.” Dane walked beneath the pane, head tilted back. It was two stories high, so he found it virtually impossible to notice a fine crack in the clear glass from the ground. “Do you have a ladder? And maybe some glass caulk?”
“Not inside. I think it’ll be okay until the wind dies down. I can go out and inspect the damage in the morning.”
“You don’t trust that I can do that for you? I did plow the drive.”
His man pride vibes were getting agitated; Eryss sensed his sudden tension. Oops. “Sure, you can do it. Tomorrow morning? It’s only supposed to get wilder and windier tonight. I had plans to snuggle up before the fire in my bedroom, and I’ll make popcorn.”
He returned to her on the couch, a smile growing on his face. “You have a way of seducing a man with food, you know that?”
“I like to keep my company happy. The pizza was a fail.”
“No, it wasn’t.” He kissed her. “Nothing you do is a fail. I’d almost wonder if you’ve bewitched me, but then I don’t believe in witches.”
“No, you don’t. Which makes me a little sad, but I’m not going to press the issue.”
“Let it never be said that Dane Winthur does not give a witch a fair chance.” He sat and held out an entreating palm. “Do something witchy for me.”
“Oh, no. I won’t fall for that prove-yourself bullshit. I am not a circus sideshow.”
“I know that.” He snuggled up to her and kissed her cheek. “Just throw this disbelieving scientist a bone. I want to believe in you.”
“Really? Or would you rather debunk me?”
“I, well...hmm.”
“Right. No performances today, folks. So sorry.”
“No, I’m sorry.” He kissed her lips. “Forgive me?”
The pouty look was pushing i
t a touch too far. Almost. Eryss’s sense of pride had not been damaged, and he was cute when he pouted. “Forgiven. If!”
“If?”
She undid a few buttons on his shirt. “You start the fire in my bedroom?”
“I think I know what you’re asking, but do you realize that request can be taken two ways?”
“Oh, I do. And I expect you to fulfill them both.”
* * *
The fire crackled, and the sugar maple logs sweetened the air. A playlist featuring Evanescence quietly haunted the atmosphere. The popcorn sat untouched.
Dane, sitting on the edge of the bed, pulled off his shirt, while Eryss lit a few candles and then a stick of incense on a bronze burner plate. Her hair spilled about her bare shoulders and the short dress barely covered her ass as she bent to place the incense on the floor before the bed. The room became infused with—what scent was that?
“Frankincense,” she offered. Then, with a smile teasing her mouth, she stepped over the smoke curling up in tendrils from the burner and spread her skirt to capture the sweet scent.
“Yes.” His eyes followed the hypnotic smoke imbuing her nether regions with sweetness. “Do you know that maidens once did exactly as you are doing in preparation to welcome home their mighty warriors after a long battle?”
“I do know that.” She squatted just a little and closed her eyes. Glossy hair shifted and fell over one cheek. She was a goddess upon her throne.
Dane shifted on the bed, adjusting his erection, which aimed to burst from his pants. Eryss slowly opened her eyes, fixing her seductive gaze to his. He swallowed. Such power she possessed.
“And did you also know,” he said on a wanting tone, “that queens prepared for their kings, following their valiant service in war, by doing the same?”
Eryss nodded, smiling, basking in his growing hunger for her. She stood and began to inch up her skirt, then took steps toward him. Dane slid his fingers along her thigh.
“I am neither a warrior nor a king,” he said, feeling the confession as deeply as if he had lived in one of those ancient time periods. And wishing, so terribly, that he could offer her such valor.
She gripped his hair and said boldly, “I will make you both a warrior and a king.”
He bowed, following the gentle guidance of her hand.
And he kissed her there at the apex of her thighs, warmly, hotly, as if it were her mouth. He tasted her with lashes of his tongue, and worshipped her for the queen she might have once been in another life. He would gladly kneel before her whenever she requested, past, present and future.
Her fingers tickled their way through his hair, then gripped his head, and he took that as a sign of her pleasure—along with the long moan that harmonized with the music as he added his fingers to accompany his tongue in a sexual orchestration. She swore softly, sweetly, and her legs quivered. Catching one of her hands on the bed behind him, she steadied herself.
“Yes, there,” she growled in a throaty tone. “Faster.”
And with just a few concentrated flicks and teases of his tongue, Dane brought his ice queen to a rousing orgasm that shook not only her body, but his soul, as well.
Chapter 11
Dane sat up on the edge of the bed and stretched. Eryss had padded off to the bathroom. Taking a chance, he pulled open the drawer on the bedside table. He picked up the crystal dagger and studied it in the clear morning night. The skylights above the bed cast bright illumination. Combined with the stark white walls and bedding, they made the room feel like a winter wonderland escape, but cozy and with the scent of an exotic Indian market.
He placed the blade against the meat of his palm and then turned it to the opposite side. Both edges were sharp. Should he push just a little, he would draw blood. Impressive for a crystal. It was most likely quartz, but could be something else. He was surprised it didn’t chip. And if it were actually used as a weapon? It would almost surely break off if embedded in skin or, even deeper, into muscle.
Unless it was enchanted or possessed a magical charm.
The thought unsteadied him. He’d just spent the night making love to Eryss, completely losing himself in her skin, sighs and kisses. Adoration was nothing compared to his obsession with her soft, wanting moans. He had worshipped as if a king on his knees before his queen.
He tapped the blade against the side of his hand. If the woman was a witch she shouldn’t need a physical weapon. He smirked and carefully set the blade in the open drawer.
“I’m thinking oatmeal for breakfast.”
He turned abruptly, not having heard Eryss come back from the bathroom. She wandered to the window in a long T-shirt that looked dreadfully thin, but he liked how the light shone through the fabric and outlined her shape.
“With blueberries and honey?” he suggested.
“I have honey. Valor is an apiarist. Her bees make the best honey.”
“Does she also sprinkle in a little witchcraft to sweeten her wares?”
Eryss came over to kiss him, then tapped him on the nose. “How do you know my friends are witches?”
“I don’t. Uh, are they? I mean, you do all work at a brewery called The Decadent Dames. If you were to go with the town spirit I imagine you might have called it something like The Cauldron.”
“Ha! Too obvious. And the only cauldrons we use are the brew tanks. Though I do have a small iron pot I use for elixirs and spells. I guess you could call that a cauldron. Yes, my friends and I are witches. And you still don’t believe. But that doesn’t bother me because you’re just—”
“Passing through?” He stood, letting the sheet fall away from his hips. He stretched up his arms.
Eryss drew her fingers down his abs and to the curls nestled about his semierect cock. “Yes. I don’t have much more time to enjoy you.”
He sensed the sadness in her voice, and had to admit he felt equally sad knowing that soon he’d have to leave her. But this had never been a trip to discover a great romantic interest. On the other hand, he had discovered just that. And now, what would he do about keeping this gorgeous queen of his heart?
“What do we have going here, Eryss?” He pulled her against his chest and she nestled her mons against his cock. Now it was at full mast. “Beyond the sudden need to throw you on the bed and sink myself deep inside you?”
She teased her tongue out the corner of her mouth and gave him a delicious smile. “I thought we’d decided last night to call this a fling?”
“Yes, but I also sensed your need to go beyond that. Is it anything more?”
“Do you want it to be?”
She held such hope in her voice, he hated to disappoint her. Eryss was a phenomenal woman—but a woman who thought she was a witch. That was a problem for him. He didn’t have the heart to debunk her.
And she did live halfway across the United States from him. “I’m not much for the cold.”
“I’ve been keeping you nestled safely in my bed for days. And you did enjoy plowing snow.”
“True. But also...”
“It’s the witch thing, right? Listen, Dane, I like you. And this.” She ground her hips against his cock, and he hissed out a breath that conveyed desire. “And everything we’ve been doing together. And when you leave I will not be happy about it. But we both know you’re not much for, uh...snow. So there you go.”
“There we go. Only...”
Only what? Why was he having such a difficult time simply allowing this liaison to be what it wanted to be?
“Only it’s really good,” she said, and glided her fingers down his abs toward his penis. When she gripped his cock firmly, he could do nothing but groan in agreement.
* * *
Eryss pulled out the glass jar of rolled oats from a lower cupboard. Dane had wandered into the conservatory, where he’d left his laptop. When he shouted her name, she stood up abruptly.
“Eryss? This is...ah, hell.”
That didn’t sound at all good. Leaving the oatmeal on the counter,
she dashed down the hallway and through the open conservatory doors. An icy chill shivered across her shoulders. The first thing she noticed was that the plants were coated with snow, and the leaves were wilted and drooping. Some were even broken under the weight of snow.
“Over here! But be careful. There’s broken glass. The window the branch landed on last night broke and fell in. It must have cracked more than we could initially see.”
Eryss stopped on the grass where the snow had fallen. She wasn’t wearing shoes, but could feel the earth tremble. It sent a shiver up her legs and into her being. “I can’t believe we didn’t hear that fall.”
Dane’s brow lifted. “We were quite industrious last night. And you did have the music on.”
“Right. Oh, my plants. They’ve all frozen.”
“Do you have a tarp? I can put up a ladder and fasten it over the opening in the roof until you can get a repairman to come out.”
“No, I’ll take care of that.”
The broken glass was no problem for an earth witch. Glass, after all, was just sand. As for the plants, Eryss had to act quickly if she wanted to save them. Some would surely be lost. Earth magic was desperately needed.
Bending, she placed her fingers in the grass and pushed down until she felt the earth. It was cool, but not terribly so.
“Eryss? What are you doing?” Dane wandered over.
She shouldn’t do this with him as a witness. But right now she cared about the plants much more than freaking out a disbelieving scientist. And maybe it would be the kick he needed to get on board with believing in their possible shared past lives.
“Stand by the door,” she said firmly. “I’m going to fix this.”
“How? Wait. You don’t think—magic isn’t real, Eryss. You can’t...” He sighed and wandered past her.
She couldn’t care that he was going to witness something she probably shouldn’t let him see. On the other hand, he wouldn’t be able to deny what she was any longer. Seeing did make a believer. Or it should, anyway.