SOLSTICE SPELL
Mechele Armstrong
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* * * * *
This book contains explicit sexual content and graphic language.
Solstice Spell
Mechele Armstrong
This e-book is a work of fiction. While reference might be made to actual historical events or existing locations, the names, characters, places and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.
Published by
Loose Id LLC
1802 N Carson Street, Suite 212-2924
Carson City NV 89701-1215
www.loose-id.com
Copyright © December 2006 by Mechele Armstrong
All rights reserved. This copy is intended for the purchaser of this e-book ONLY. No part of this e-book may be reproduced or shared in any form, including, but not limited to printing, photocopying, faxing, or emailing without prior written permission from Loose Id LLC.
ISBN 978-1-59632-370-4
Available in Adobe PDF, HTML, MobiPocket, and MS Reader
Printed in the United States of America
Editor: Erin Mullarkey
Cover Artist: Scott Carpenter
Chapter One
The stag hovered at the edge of the woods, watching. The moving trucks had pulled up to the huge house in the clearing a few hours ago. He pawed the ground with a snort. Workers carted things in, big heavy furniture and boxes they labored under. He had yet to catch sight of the new owners.
A woman with wispy blond hair came onto the deck, holding a brown earthen coffee mug in her hand. She pressed a slim hip against the deck rail, calling attention to the rounded swells of her breasts. Her hair blew around her face as she shook it back. As she set her cup down on the rail, her eyes surveyed the backyard with a too-serious expression.
Was she his new neighbor? What was she doing in the boonies? A creature such as that should be in a big city, modeling and tempting people who, unlike he, had something to give her.
She took a step over to the large hot tub in the middle of the red-hued deck and slid the cover off enough to dip her hand inside. A big grin lit her face as she sprinkled water from her hand over the heated well, looking like a kid who’d gotten the new bike for Christmas. It made her already lovely features lovelier.
His breath caught in his throat. Had he been in human form, Rupert would have frowned. His mouth did snaggle downwards. The intruder had no right to look so damn good with so many nice curves.
She smiled as though she had some secret. And it made him want to know it. Know her in the carnal sense.
He didn’t need this in his life. And yet, he did. He needed desperately to find a woman. But one to love him. Not one to lust after.
She stepped back, shaking her hand. Droplets flew off. Her eyes scanned the backyard again and then stopped where he stood. He’d thought he’d been enough in the undergrowth to block himself from her vision. Maybe not.
Her mouth puckered, causing thoughts of what she could do with it besides chat about a spotted deer. She babbled something, still pointing.
Before he clearly saw the figure come through the door, he dashed away, jumping brush before getting to the less-overgrown forest floor.
* * * * *
“I’m telling you, I saw a white deer. A huge one with a rack.” Gillian frowned at her friend, Babs McGwiyer. It had been there. Now it was gone, disappearing on the brisk fall breeze that blew more leaves off the trees. It had been beautiful with white fur, which was such a contrast to the brown trees and leaf-covered ground around it.
Babs waved her hand. “I believe you. No telling what’s out here in this Godforsaken place, Gill.” Her brown eyes pooled with sympathy. “Are you sure you want to make this move? It’s only been ‑‑”
Gill interrupted, “It’s been a year, Babs. A year since the divorce was final. You can say it. It won’t break me.” Though there had been a time when that hadn’t been the case. When every mention of her failed marriage, her failed life, had dissolved her into tears. A few weeks ago, she’d sold the monstrosity that they’d bought before Gunnar had abandoned her for the newer model, much as he had the car and boat a few months earlier. This place had been where she’d invested her share of that money. A new home, not only a showplace. The rest had gone into her photography studio. She’d never given up her job and had jumped into it with renewed vigor after the divorce. “It’s a new start for me.”
Babs sighed, twirling a strand of long, curly black hair in her hand. “Can’t you get a boob job or a face-lift like everyone else?”
Chuckling, Gill squeezed her friend’s other hand. “Think of it this way ‑‑ you’ll have tales to tell the bridge club every time you come visit me.” No one could believe she’d sold the Wyndham house and moved out into the wild, rural woods. Her sanity had come into question by those she’d once hobnobbed with. But Babs had stuck by her side.
Babs laughed, heading back inside to supervise the movers. Thank goodness she’d wanted the job of seeing where things went. Otherwise everything Gill owned would have ended up in the living room.
Despite the chill in the air, Gill loitered, scanning again, looking for the stag. Weren’t white stags supposed to be good luck? She’d have to get some salt licks and plant them in the yard. She needed all the luck she could get these days.
One last pat of the hot tub, a major selling point on this house, and back in she flounced.
* * * * *
The sun’s last rays touched the green earth. In one long, loping stride, Rupe changed from stag to man. He walked up to his house, which resembled a two-story rustic log cabin, scratching at his chest hair with a yawn.
Sitting on Rupe’s back deck steps, Bos brushed his scraggly dark hair out of his blue eyes. He had a plastic plate precariously balanced in his lap. “Howdy, Rupe.”
“Raiding my fridge again?” Rupe opened the plastic chest by his back steps and pulled out a pair of jeans.
“Nah, my mom sent over some meatballs. Her special recipe. For venison.” His grin turned into a wince as Rupe fumbled with the zipper and snaps without bothering with underwear. “Man, if I did that I’d worry about zipper burn, geesh.”
Rupe ignored him on both counts, passing Bos on the steps. “Why are you here, anyway? Usually, you wait until I’m changed before you come over to annoy me.”
Bos snorted. “I didn’t wait out here in the cold, eating venison to annoy you. We need to talk.”
“It’s not that cold out yet.” So far it had been mild, only slightly cool. Rupe stalked into his house, the warmth of it striking him. He spent all day in the fall weather and then in the cold of winter, but with a built-in coat. Sometimes his body didn’t know how to react to being all skin and warm. His chest prickled. He pulled on a flannel shirt that hung by the back door.
Opening the white fridge, he grabbed two beers and then straddled a green wooden chair at the small wooden breakfast table. Bos, who’d followed him, sat down in the chair beside him. “What’s up? And if it’s about the new neighbor in the Marleys’ old place, I already know.”
“What new neighbor?” Bos paused, his plastic fork in midair.
“Some woman moved next door.” Rupe popped open his beer. He liked his solitude, e
specially with the way things were. Granted, he needed to find “love,” but he had no idea how to do that. Maybe over the next four years before the deadline of the curse, he’d figure it out. He’d have to. “Or, at least, I think so. What did you have to tell me?”
“Is she hot? Did you see her?”
Hotter than a furnace. “She’s a blond. I was at the edge of the clearing on the lot.” Most of the damn day, in fact. He’d wanted to get an idea about who would be living so close to him.
“Is she married? Was there a Mr. Blond?” Bos looked a little too interested in the neighbor.
Rupe’s hands clenched. Not that he had any rights to jealousy, but the emotion popped up. “I don’t know. I only got a glimpse of her. I’m not even sure it’s the new owner, except she was stroking that damn hot tub as if it was golden.” If only he’d ever get that look on her face for his cock, he’d be one happy man.
“Well, if she is, she might be the answer to the problem we’ve got. Is she someone you could fall in love with, you think?” Bos laid his plastic fork down on his plate. The meatballs were gone. He could inhale food, yet he always stayed rail thin. It must be the nervous energy that Bos radiated, even when hunkered down creating the latest greatest computer game.
Rupe had liked to raise hell before circumstances had changed. Bos liked to computer simulate it. Maybe there was something to that. Bos hadn’t been the one cursed.
“What problem do we have?” Rupe took a long sip of his brew. “And how do I know? You know as well as I do, I’ve never been in love. She’s ...” Fuckable started to come out, but he stopped himself, searching for another adjective. “... beautiful.” Now that sounded better, but where had it come from? He’d never said that about a woman before.
“You better figure that out quick.” Bos’s usual jovial tone had been replaced by sternness. It took Rupe back to high school and being in the principal’s office. Somewhere he’d been a lot. “Because after this Winter Solstice, unless you find true love, you’re going to be stuck this way forever.”
Chapter Two
“What? We have four more years!” Rupe ran a hand through his hair. Winter Solstice was only a couple of months away. Not enough time. Surely Anyon would have given him enough time ... Rupe flopped one hand on the table. No, Anyon would have made the time short. He’d cursed him and wouldn’t make it easy for him to break it. “Damn.”
“I know. I was running some calculations and realized we’d assumed something. We thought the time frame to find love was from when Anyon cursed you. But if you look at the wording, he started the clock when you ... you met his sister.”
Rupe set his beer on the table. His body sagged. There was no fucking way this could be happening. Yet, when morning came, he’d turn into a white stag. It had happened. He looked heavenward, trying to peer through the skylight, but there was too much light inside. No stars or sky were visible. Leveling his head, he focused on Bos again.
“I can show you, if you want.” Bos rubbed his nose, a habit when he was stressed. “I brought it with me.”
“No, I believe you. We weren’t even together all of that time.”
Bos shrugged, unscrewing the top on his beer. “No one said curses were fair. But we have got to find you true love. Soon.”
“How the hell am I supposed to do that? In less than two months?” He swigged a big sip. It needed to be something stronger. Much stronger. “I’m a fucking deer during the day.”
“Make the nights count. You always did.”
Rupe snorted. “That’s how I got in this mess. I’m supposed to make someone fall in love with me. Not just screw me.”
“You obviously found Miss Blond attractive. Go over there. Make nice. Woo her like crazy.” Bos held up his bottle. “You can do this, Rupe. You’ve never backed down from a challenge before.”
Somehow boys double-dog-daring him to go down Suicide Hill on a skateboard seemed a lot different than this. But he clinked his bottle against Bos’s anyway. After gulping down his drink, he got up. “I’m going for a walk.” Maybe it would clear his head.
“Go find Blondie. Make nice.” Bos got up and crossed to his fridge. “Whatcha got to eat tonight?”
Rupe shook his head while pushing open the screen door to gather his shoes.
* * * * *
The new neighbor drew him as if she were a lighthouse in a storm. What if he didn’t like this woman? How could he make her love him then? Could he find anyone else on such short notice? He’d thought he’d had years to do this.
Rupe crept through the woods. It was lot easier to walk quietly as a deer. Then, he had much smaller feet. His size fourteens crunched a lot of leaves.
The lights on the deck illuminated it enough so he could see. He took two steps closer. She was probably inside watching some TV or screwing a Mr. Blond. No way this goddess would be single.
A noise caught his attention. A splash.
He maneuvered to get a better look at the hot tub.
A head poked out, leaning back on the side. Blond hair shimmered in the lights. Had the hot tub not been raised, he never would have been able to see her.
The phone rang.
He heard the muffled curse and a long sigh. She lifted her head, then her whole body, to get out of the tub. And what a body it was. It had been spectacular hidden under clothes today, but nothing compared to the uncovered vision he saw now.
His blood froze, stopped rushing around his body, then kick-started and pumped faster than before. It heated to about the temperature of lava. Most of it swelled into his cock, which reminded him it had been over a year since it had seen action beyond his hand. His balls tightened into his body. Blue balls, oh, God.
Her hair hung in long golden ringlets. She’d had it up earlier, but it swept down almost to her waist. The body before him, tanned and firm, had “lickable” written on every rounded curve. No skinny supermodel, but a lush woman, hurried out of the tub. Her breasts hung heavy, bobbing as she stepped down from hot tub to deck. Her nipples were a rose color, dark and inviting him to suck them. His eyes focused on the place between the swells of her hips. A true blond. Sinking into her depths would be one screaming orgasm without the liquor.
He swallowed, took a step closer, then stopped. What the hell was he doing? She didn’t know him and probably wouldn’t appreciate a horny stranger.
She disappeared into the house, filling him with disappointment.
It fled when she strutted back out, not having covered up at all. She sat on the edge of the tub and poked her feet in the water.
Unable to hear the conversation, he watched. Not a bad way to spend the evening. His cock twitched, reminding him that while his eyes were feasting, other parts of him weren’t getting much.
She was beautiful. He’d been right when he’d said it.
Punching a button on the phone, she tossed it into a deck chair. A sigh rose and fell in her chest. One hand came up to run down her body. It stroked along her breasts, making several passes.
Oh, to be that hand.
A silent groan escaped his lips. Her skin would feel as if it were satin. She’d taste like a fine fruit, juicy and tangy. Her nipples would harden under his fingertips. Her hair would be silken as he held it in his fingers.
Her hand skirted down over her tummy. Craning his neck, he saw where it went. Where he wanted to go.
His hips shifted, rolling as breath swooshed out of his lungs. Her arm moved as she masturbated in front of him. If only he could see into the spot where her hand worked the flesh. She’d be pink. Wet. Hot. Her clit would lift in his fingertips. She’d be tight around his digits, then his cock.
Her head rolled along her shoulders. He heard the loud sound she made. Her orgasm must be approaching. Her walls would tighten, milking him. More cream would pump around his engorged cock.
Every single nerve in his body pistoned.
His breath racing his pulse, he grabbed the top button of his jeans and shoved them down. His hand grabbed hi
s hardened cock, stroking roughly along it. Two thrusts, and he came. As his seed spurted onto the ground, he heard her high-pitched cry. The shrill sounds sent forth aftershocks rocking his whole body. He took a quick look at her before his head dropped down again. Her head had tossed back with her bliss. Heaven had reflected on her face. God, what a beauty.
If only his climax had been in her. If only they’d been together instead of separate.
Lust gripped low in his belly even with his jerking off.
His head came up to look at her. Her face looked serene in the aftermath of her orgasm. Desire to make her look as she had sitting there overtook him. She withdrew her hand, slumping back on the side of the hot tub. Only the side must have been slick, and with nothing behind her, she slid down, falling out of view onto the deck with a thump.
He started. She didn’t get back up. Was she hurt? She’d fallen off the side of the tub, what if she’d hit her head? She could be knocked out. It would give away his peeping Tom activities, but he had to help her. Stuffing his cock back in, trying to zip up his pants, he had taken two steps when a noise reached him.
Laughter.
Deep and rich, it bubbled on the breeze.
Two hands came up on the hot tub followed by a head as she pulled herself up. Her head moved back and forth as the giggles came up from her belly. He’d thought her beautiful before, especially when she smiled. But her laughter increased her exquisiteness as she reveled, finding humor in herself. She rubbed her head before she pushed to her feet.
Emotion swelled in his chest. His hands fisted by his side.
He’d found the woman he needed. Somehow, he’d earn her love.
Chapter Three
Rupe sighed as he stalked up the steps to his house.
It wasn’t working.
So far, he’d spent more time in the lovely lady’s company as a deer than he had as a man, while she mostly took pictures of him.
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