She turned it on low and let it slide and gather some of her wetness before easing it onto her clit. Even after that care, her body jerked at the sudden sensations that immediately began sparking through her. She closed her eyes and focused on how it felt, her body arching with need for a release. After a few moments of moving her hips to her own rhythm, she set the vibrator aside and texted him back.
Like your tongue gliding over my clit. remind me tomorrow to give you a blow job the second you walk in.
Madeline.
I want your cock in my mouth, gliding in and out. I want to feel your hands in my hair, guiding me. I want to see you watching me.
No response right away. She smiled and reached for the vibrator again. It wouldn’t take much. Her inner walls were clenching, and she could feel wetness trickling down the insides of her thighs. The phone buzzed next to her on the pillow. She turned her head to read it.
you can talk to me like that anytime.
like a little dirty talk?
Yes.
And then: Do you?
I love it.
I want to fuck you from behind. I want to see your gorgeous tits slap together in the mirror. come for me, Madeline.
Her breath grew shallower, and her hips arched toward the head of the spinning vibrator. Ribbons of pleasure rippled from her clit and up her abdomen. She closed her eyes again and rode the wave of orgasm.
mmmmmm. Thank you, she texted after turning off the vibrator.
Thank YOU. Goodnight, Madeline. See you tomorrow.
night, cedric
Chapter Eight
Morning came far too soon for Maddy. Sun shone through the stained-glass bonnet dormer windows and threw patterns of colored light on her cream bed spread.
“Ugh,” she groaned. She glanced at the alarm clock. Nine fifty-two. She still had time to laze in bed.
She felt around for her phone and found it under the pillow next to her. She tapped it on and smiled as her texts from last night came on the screen. She had thoroughly enjoyed herself.
She checked social media and liked a few posts. Ah, there was Aunt Brigette on a glacier.
Jealous, she wrote in the comments, though quite honestly she had zero desire to visit Alaska. Growing up in Toronto was enough snow in her lifetime, thank you very much. But Brigette seemed to be having a good time, her face bright and smiling in the photo.
After scrolling for far too long, Maddy got out of bed and set the coffee maker on before going into the bathroom to take a shower. She turned the water on and brushed her teeth while she waited for it to get nice and hot.
They had information about Dunlea now. He wasn’t just a poltergeist any longer, but a named lost soul with a known history. Names had power, and they knew many of the names that were important in this tale. She just wished they knew more about this Aileen. Knowing her story would provide further insight into the witch hunter’s motives.
Maddy rinsed her toothbrush and set it back in its holder. Maybe it was time to call in a favor or two from family overseas. She stepped into the shower and let the water cascade over her, melting any tension in her back.
Clean, she put her hair up in its standard two-strand twist and dressed in black cigarette pants and a peplumed green halter top. She got her morning coffee with milk and popped a bowl of instant oatmeal into the microwave. She picked up her phone and typed, Hey mom. Who would I call about the grimoires in Ireland?
Just as she was about to put the phone down on the counter, it rang. Cedric’s name popped up on the screen. He was calling just like he promised.
“Hello?”
“Hello, beautiful,” he greeted. “Thank you for last night.”
She smiled. Yesterday had been delightful. “You’re welcome. Thank you.”
“I said I’d call, so I thought I’d keep that promise.”
“It’s appreciated.” The microwave beeped at her and she opened the door, waiting for the steam to escape before reaching in to grab the bowl.
“What’s the plan for this evening?”
Maddy set the bowl on the counter and closed the microwave door. She opened the cutlery drawer and grabbed a spoon. “How about dinner? Let’s go out.”
“Do you like Greek food?”
“Love it!”
“Then I know the perfect place. I’ll pick you up at six?”
“I’ll be ready. And just so I should know, how should I dress?”
There was a pause. “Well, how I’d like to see you and what is appropriate are two different things.”
Maddy laughed as she stirred her oatmeal. “What would be the most appropriate?”
“Cocktail,” he said without hesitation. “It’s a swanky place with ponds, waterfalls, and statues.”
Her brows shot upward. “All right. I look forward to it. I’ll see you at six.”
“See you then.”
She ended the call and laughed. She had a date!
Felicity knew something was up the moment Maddy walked through the door. “You’re glowing. You don’t glow like this. I want to know all the details,” she said as a greeting.
“Of course, you do. Let me unload my stuff, at least.”
“It has to do with Frisbee guy, doesn’t it?”
“Cedric,” Maddy corrected. “And yeah. We may… be an item? A thing? I think?” She fished her cell out of her purse before she tossed it into the bottom drawer of her desk.
“Ok, hold on. Let’s back up. Have you kissed?”
Maddy smiled, her lips pressed tightly together.
“Oh! You didn’t!” Felicity laughed as Maddy’s face went beet red. “Oh, you did! Good for you.”
“We have a date tonight.”
“Okay, tell, tell. Where you going? What’re you doing?”
“Dinner at some Greek place. Apparently, it’s fancy. He didn’t tell me the name.”
“I bet it’s Panousis. You have to wait weeks for a reservation! I wonder how he’s getting a table. He must know someone. It’s the only way. Do you have anything to wear? If you’re going to Panousis you’ve gotta be dressed to be noticed.”
“Now you have me worried,” Maddy said, frowning. Her closet was filled with mostly sundresses and maxi skirts.
“That’s a no.” Felicity took in a deep breath. “Ok. Sometimes desperate situations require desperate measures. I’m willing to take one for the team and close the shop while you go get something to wear.”
“You’re offering to close? You’re telling me you don’t have a date tonight?”
“Nah. Nate and I just weren’t meant to be, y’know?”
“Oh, I’m sorry to hear that.”
“No worries. I’ve got a date with Daniel tomorrow.”
Maddy didn’t ask who Daniel was. She had learned long ago not to pry too deep into Felicity’s love life. The woman went through men like tissues.
“Go on. Get something cute. And sexy. Here,” she said grabbing a store business card off the counter and writing a name on the back. You should go to Penelope’s Closet on Main. Tell her Felicity sent you.”
“Dare I ask?” Maddy took the card.
“Live a little! Have fun!” Felicity called as Maddy dubiously retrieved her bag from the drawer, her phone in hand. “Do everything I’d do!”
“Ha! I’ll take my chances my way, thanks!” she called back as the door shut behind her.
Maddy typed in the name of the store Felicity suggested into her phone’s GPS. It was only about ten blocks away. She could easily walk to it and the exercise would be nice. It was a bright day and Maddy put on her wide-rimmed cat’s-eye sunglasses. The walk was pleasant, especially since she stopped to get a small caramel mocha ice cream cone on the way.
She was just finishing the last bites of her waffle cone when she arrived at the store. She started to laugh when she saw the mannequins in the windows dressed in tasselled skirts with matching pasties on the nipples. Oh, gods, a club store. She doubted she’d find anything she’d want here but
she decided to go in with an open mind. Felicity being what she was, she was always dressed appropriately for any situation. She wouldn’t send her to a place on a lark.
“Hi, may I help you?” asked a middle-aged woman in a black sheath dress. She looked like she should be working at an upscale boutique.
“Um, yeah,” Maddy said looking at a display of variously shaped dildos. “I have a date tonight and a friend told me to come here.”
“Where are you going?” the woman asked automatically.
“Panousis? I think. He just said it was a swanky Greek place with waterfalls and statues.”
“That would be Panousis, all right. Hottest new thing in the warehouse district. Which date is it?”
Maddy blinked at the woman. She smiled in return. “First, second?”
“Oh!” Maddy blushed. “I think we just kinda skipped to third.”
“Those are the best ones,” she said with a wink. She looked Maddy up and down. “I’ve got some selections for you. Come on this way. I’ll set up a change room for you. What’s your size? Four or a six?”
“Six up top, four on the bottom,” Maddy replied, peering at the woman’s name tag. Nadia.
“Who recommended you come here?” Nadia asked as she guided Maddy to the back of the store where the change rooms were.
“Oh, Felicity.”
“Felicity? Why didn’t you say so? We’ll get you set up, then. You must be her boss, Maddy.”
Maddy arched her brows. “She’s mentioned me?”
“Oh, she’s mentioned you all right. Glad to see you’re going on a date.”
Her brows shot higher. What on Earth had Felicity been saying? Actually, on second thought, she really didn’t want to know.
Nadia held out a deep red dress. “Start with this one. While you’re changing, I’ll gather some other choices.”
Maddy looked at the strappy thing with reservations.
What the hey. You only live once.
She was wriggling it over her hips when Nadia came back with a few other dresses and hung them on a hook just outside her changeroom door.
“I’ve got some other selections for you just outside, ok, hon? Please come out and let me see when you’re ready.”
Once she was zipped up, Maddy opened the door and stepped outside to take a look in the large mirror. The dress fit like a glove, hugging every curve. The neckline plunged in a loose cowl neck.
“You’d have to use beauty tape to keep that in place, of course,” Nadia said from behind her. “Hm, I’m not sure about this color with your skin tone. Let’s see you in something else.”
“Is there something where I’d be less… exposed?”
Nadia laughed. “Here,” she shuffled through the dresses she had hanging and picked a black number. It hung limply on the hanger. “I know, it doesn’t have a lot of hanger appeal, but put it on. You’ll see.”
Maddy shrugged and took the dress. This time her eyes went wide when she looked into the mirror. A sexy woman looked back at her, flyaway hairs causing a halo effect in the sunlight through the front window. The dress was strapless with a sweetheart neckline. It was ruched on both side seams and like the first dress, showed off her body to full effect. While it was intended to hit just above the knee, with her height of five foot seven, the hem fell just to her fingertips.
“This one,” Nadia said gathering up the rest of the dresses without waiting for Maddy’s response. “This is it. Do you have a strappy heeled sandal for this?”
Maddy stared at her reflection and shook her head in reply. Cedric was going to love this dress.
“Shoe size?”
“Eight and a half.”
“Wait right there. I’ve got something for you.”
Maddy took a few selfies in the mirror while she waited for the saleswoman to come from the back room with her shoes.
Feelin’ good, she texted Felicity.
The high heel, lipstick, and fire emojis came flashing on her screen. Maddy chuckled.
“Try these,” Nadia said as she came from the back. She opened a shoebox and pulled the right shoe out. “They don’t come in half sizes but a nine should work.”
Maddy took a seat on a bench and bent over to put on the shoe. While she fastened the buckle, Nadia got the left shoe ready for her. Once the pair of strappy sandals were on, Maddy got up and gazed in the mirror. The stiletto heel caused her calves and ass to pop. She had to hand it to Felicity. She knew what she was talking about when it came to this kind of thing.
Maddy bought the dress and shoes and went back home with an excited spring in her step.
Her phone buzzed as she was walking. She glanced down at it.
Talk to Adelaide. Brigid’s daughter. Remember her from Siobahn’s wedding? Her mother texted her back finally. She followed up the message with Adelaide’s number.
Maddy remembered Adelaide. They were Maddy and Addy all night at the wedding, having bonded over the fact that they both went stag and happy. Her Irish cousin had a good sense of humor. She’d call her tomorrow. For once, she had plans for tonight.
* * *
Maddy accessorized her outfit with a silver and onyx necklace. She went without earrings because she let her hair down and no one would be able to see them in the fiery mane. It fell in gorgeous, even waves from being up in a twist all day. She kept it in place with an extra-hold hairspray. Orangey-red lipstick so as not to clash with her hair completed the look.
Cedric was punctual and buzzed her door at six-oh-two.
“I’ll be right down,” she said into the intercom.
She picked up her black beaded clutch and carefully made her way down the stairs.
Cedric stared when she came through the door. “You’re beautiful,” he said, leaning in for a kiss.
She smiled into his lips. “Thank you. You clean up pretty well yourself.” He wore a navy suit with a pale blue dress shirt and a yellow tie. His hair was pulled back in his regular bun.
“The car is just down the street,” he said, offering his arm.
Gratefully Maddy took it. She wasn’t used to walking in stilettos like this. Especially in a cobbled street.
“This is me,” he said as they approached a black Audi coupe. He opened the passenger door for her.
She sat down and then swung her legs inside the car. Once she was settled, he shut the door behind her and came around to the driver’s side. When he started the car, soft acoustic guitar filled the air.
“Learn anything new about Dunlea?” Cedric asked as they started down the road.
Maddy shook her head. “No. But I did get Adelaide’s number. She’s a cousin in Ireland who has a lot of the older family grimoires. I’m hoping she’ll be able to find information on Aileen for us.”
“Good thinking. I called around about Shannon Bligh, but no one knows much about her except what’s in the Bible, I’m afraid.”
“It does mean that Dunlea came to the Americas before any of the McKinleys did. I wonder why they left?”
“I don’t have the answer to that.”
Maddy smiled at him and reached out and placed a hand on his thigh. “How about we have no more talk about Dunlea or poltergeists tonight?”
Cedric glanced at her before concentrating on the road again. “That sounds perfect to me.”
“What did you study in college?” Maddy asked, realizing that they hadn’t gone through the basics. Even though they had spent a fair amount of time with each other the past two weeks, this truly was going to be a first date.
“Oh, I was pretty boring. Finance at University College Cork in Ireland. You studied here, right?”
“Yeah. Surprise! Occult Studies.”
“See? That’s interesting.”
“I took a minor in business, so it wasn’t always that engrossing. If I was going to take over the family business, I needed to know the practical side of things.”
They pulled up in front of a nondescript brick building with two white pillars on either side
of the intricately carved double wooden doors. One of the valets opened the passenger door for Maddy, and she stepped out onto the broken sidewalk. Cedric tossed the keys to another valet and was then beside her, offering his arm again.
The door was opened for them as they approached it. The reception area was expansive with marble floors. A fountain stood in the center with a replica of Athena Nike standing proudly in the center.
Upon entering, the maître d’ greeted Cedric by name. “Mr. Bligh, welcome.” He looked at Maddy and bowed his head. “Madame. We have your room prepared for you.”
Room? Maddy bit the inside of her cheek in order to maintain her composure. Yes, you certainly had to have a certain amount of capital to open a bar like Fox and the Stag, but the car mixed with a private dining room at, purportedly, the most exclusive place in town? Who was Cedric Bligh?
They were led up the grand circling staircase, down a hall, and brought to a small ballroom. In the center of the parquet floor was a round table set for two. In the corner stood a grand piano, where a pianist played soft contemporary classical.
The maître d’ pulled out a chair and waited. Hoping Hollywood was accurate in this instance, she took a seat. That seemed to satisfy him because he came around the table and handed Cedric a wine menu. Cedric waved it away.
“We’ll have a bottle of the limniona.”
“Very good, sir.” And he vacated the room.
Maddy stared at Cedric. “What is this?”
“It is pretty dramatic, isn’t it?” He leaned forward and whispered, “I didn’t expect the pianist.”
“Who are you?” she blurted out.
He laughed. “Cedric Bligh. No more, no less. Alec and I go way back is all.”
“And Alec is…?”
“The owner.”
“Ah. Well, then.”
A waiter came in with both water and their bottle. Maddy waited for Cedric to taste the Greek wine and the server to pour. It was strange letting someone else do the winetasting. In any previous relationship she was usually the one taking control of the wine selection.
When they were alone again Cedric lifted his glass. “To us,” he said, eyes sparkling.
She lifted hers in return. “To us.”
The Witch and the Stag Page 7