She gave him a nervous smile and tried to relax, to concentrate on the melodic flow of Falcon’s voice.
“A wedding ceremony is a sacred joining of two hearts, two lives. As you stand here today, the two of you shall become one. In spirit. In life. Eternally bound. Your love will be your strongest ally, your most powerful force. Together, you are indomitable. Separate you will be no more.” Falcon held out both hands and while Tess watched in awe, he created circles in the air, whirling vortexes of sound and wind.
Cold swept over her but before fear could set in she found herself in Jaxon’s arms and she allowed herself the luxury of placing her head on his shoulder.
“Hold on,” he whispered in her ear.
As Tess’ nails dug into his arms, the winds increased, sweeping back and forth over them, threatening to tear them apart. She couldn’t breathe or move her legs. Steel bands crawled up her body, encasing her in a metal tomb with Jaxon. Before panic could set in, he kissed her, bringing her thoughts back to what really mattered.
Together, they rocked as the winds intensified outside their steely circle and just when Tess was sure they’d be swept away, Jaxon raised his head and held his palm against the side of the metal wall. Instantly it splintered into thousands of tiny missiles, soaring into the air overhead before disintegrating like a snowball in the hot noonday sun.
She kept her head back, watching until the last piece of metal had disappeared. “What was that all about?” she whispered.
“Before the Assembly, your hearts have been bound, your lives joined. From henceforth, you shall be husband and wife.” Falcon lifted his hands, shifted the ground beneath their feet and guided them gently through the air.
Tess stilled the scream in her throat.
Jaxon reached for her hands. “Just hold onto me as you did before.”
She didn’t need the instruction for her fingers wrapped tightly around his. She focused solely on his face as the air began to swirl around them. Clouds of indigo circled, spiraled and arced around them, under and over, giving way to a stream of light that bent across the open sky. “Jaxon, we’re flying.” Her voice was bathed in awe.
His arms went around her and as their bodies showered into the light, his lips found hers, sealing their union.
The bedroom door slammed against the wall and they practically fell inside, wrapped in one another’s arms. Jaxon’s hand fisted in Tess’ hair, deepening the kiss. She pulled away to gasp for breath, pulling the oxygen into her lungs as her world spun crazily.
“Why am I so nervous? It’s not like we’ve never done this before.” Shaky laughter accompanied the words.
Jaxon placed a finger over her lips. “Because you’re focusing on the ceremony, what it means to be the wife of a wizard.”
Her hand curled around his wrist. “Maybe.”
“Don’t focus on what I am, Tess. Focus on who I am. For tonight, I am just a man who is going to make love to his wife. Nothing more. Nothing less.”
She touched his face, smoothed her hand along his clean-shaven jaw. “When you’re with me, holding me, I can almost forget you’re a wizard.” His eyes flashed with a dark fire he quickly banked. But she saw the reaction and knew her words had stung.
“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean I wish you weren’t a wizard. It’s just that your power scares me sometimes. I’ve seen the dark side of it and I wonder if I’ll see it again.”
He began to unfasten the buttons on the back of her dress. “Probably. The magic is within me. It’s part of who I am and there are times, although they are few and far between, when the magic is in control. Those are the times I struggle to remember who I am. But you must know I will never harm you or our children. I couldn’t hurt you physically any more than I could a member of the Assembly.”
She rested her head against his chest. “You cursed Andion.”
His fingers paused in their task. “It was a small curse and it couldn’t have gone any farther. Falcon would not have allowed it. And I was reacting out of anger for what he had done to you.”
The cool air kissed her skin as the dress slid from her shoulders, skimmed over her waist to drop to the floor. She saw the flare of desire in Jaxon’s eyes and knew the time for conversation was ending. Linking her fingers behind his neck, she urged his head lower. “Maybe we can talk about this another time.”
“I was thinking the exact same thing.” He obliged her with a kiss, his hands splayed across her back, nimble fingers deftly opening the clasp of her bra. As her breasts spilled free from the lace, Jaxon kissed each one. Then, infinitely gentle and tender, he lifted her, carried her to the bed.
She fell back against the stack of pillows, reached her arms out for him but Jaxon held back, took his time removing his jacket, the tie, his cummerbund. It was a slow, enticing striptease. He kept his eyes locked with hers while he removed the remainder of his clothing, his shirt, the snowy white T-shirt.
Tess’ breaths slowed as she watched him. The lamplight bathed his skin in the glow of seduction. Hard, bronzed muscles rippled with each movement. Her eyes dropped with his fingers to the waistband of his pants but she crawled to her knees, catching hold of his wrists to stop him.
“Allow me.” Her voice was a husky whisper, her face flushed with anticipation.
He cupped her face. “I don’t think that would be such a good idea.”
She dropped her hands, leaned against his leg to brush her hair over his thigh. She heard the groan. Empowered, she ran her hands along the backs of his legs, palms sliding over expensive linen. The heat of his erection scorched her abdomen as she climbed to her knees once more.
Jaxon dipped his head in an attempt to taste her lips again but she evaded him, drew back. Shaking her head, she waggled her finger in mock admonition and lowered her hands to the catch of his trousers. “Just wait.”
He closed his eyes and held his breath. The zipper resounded in the silence, heralding the beginning of a long night. Her hands were satiny soft against his skin. Pleasure and pain rocketed through his body. His cock throbbed, sweat beading on his skin.
She pushed past the barrier of his pants and one small hand curled around his stiff shaft beneath the soft cotton of his underwear. She tipped her head up and smiled slightly but he wasn’t watching her. His eyes remained closed, his body drawn as tight as strings on a cello.
She’d touched him many times before but tonight was different. The feel of his skin beneath her hands enticed her to explore further, to want to know even more about this man she’d married.
Hand moved, just a fraction of an inch but it was enough to send Jaxon’s breath whooshing out of his lungs, a sound which quickly ended in a Gaelic curse. Tess slid her hands around behind him, cupped his buttocks in a tight squeeze before lowering the slacks and his underwear. She pushed back from the edge of the bed, crawling on all fours.
He stopped breathing again, anticipation a dagger in the center of his chest. The torment of waiting dragged on until the first touch of her cool lips against his solid core almost toppled him over the edge. His senses snapped, blurred. His focus narrowed to the scent of her hair, the touch of her moist mouth. Hands clasped her shoulders. But he didn’t pull her away. Couldn’t pull her away. He simply held on while her mouth gripped him in a slick, wet hug.
Nails lightly scraping his sac, she twirled her tongue over the crown of his cock, laving the rim. She took her time, enjoying every moan he made, the way his fingers bit into her skin and the trembling in his thighs. Already he was close to orgasm and the knowledge thrilled her. Here was a man who could hold back walls of water, stop a hurricane in its tracks, keep a wizard at bay and scare the hell out of a witch. And he was helpless beneath her hands. Life couldn’t be any sweeter than at this moment.
“I want you on the bed.” The commanding tone of her voice surprised her but she didn’t back down. Instead she took hold of both of his hands and tugged him forward. “Now.”
One eyebrow lifting, Jaxon stepped out of the
tangle of his slacks and crawled onto the bed. The light in her eyes made him smile. She was incandescently beautiful and his heart swelled as he watched her.
His arms lifted, reaching for her, but she wagged a finger, slipping off the bed like soft silk. “Stay put.” In a manner of seconds, she’d returned with his tie and cummerbund. Fashioning a makeshift blindfold with the thick material, she wrapped it around his head, covering his eyes.
Jaxon swallowed hard. “Jesus, Tess, what are you doing to me?”
“Shhhh.” She touched a finger to his lips. “Put your hands over your head.”
Desire curled low in the pit of his stomach as she took hold of his wrists and effectively shackled them to one corner of the four-poster bed. Though he didn’t need to, he closed his eyes, waiting, desperately craving the next touch.
Tess sat back on her heels and simply looked at him for a long moment, taking in every inch of his hard, nude body. His cock stood tall and thick and if she were to touch it now, it would jump beneath her palm. “Do you want me to suck you again?”
A small noise escaped from Jaxon’s lips. “God, yes.” She was going to kill him. Any second now and his body would fragment into millions of pieces. He resisted the urge to pull the tie loose from his wrists though every thought urged him to take hold of her, to get lost in the silky feel of her skin.
Nails scraping his balls again, Tess leaned forward and pressed a kiss against his stomach. “Does that feel good?”
He couldn’t respond. His breath was trapped somewhere between his rib cage and his clavicle.
Feeling wickedly sensual, she wrapped her hand around the base of his cock. “I can’t hear you.”
Mumbling something that sounded like a curse, Jaxon jerked his hips, pushing them upward to shove his cock deeper into her hand. Body burning from inside out, he couldn’t form a coherent sentence, could only lie still and pray for the sweetness of release.
“What’s that?” She tiptoed her fingers up the length of his cock. “You can’t talk?” His sharp inhalation gave her the response she wanted. “Good, because I want you to listen to the sounds my mouth makes when it sucks you, to hear my enjoyment as I taste your cum.”
Jaxon grabbed the knotted tie with one hand and gave it a yank, but Tess’ next words stopped every move.
“If you break the tie, Jaxon, you don’t get the pleasure.”
He grew still, his muscles going lax. “Dammit, Tess. Suck me. Take me in your mouth.”
She smacked his thigh so hard it stung her palm. “No talking.”
He didn’t know where in the hell she’d been hiding this persona but he liked it. The domineering tone of her voice and the seductive whispers, hell, yeah. He liked those a lot. His cock couldn’t get any harder but the sweet anticipation of her lips kept him compliant.
Tess slid down his body, rubbing her breasts over his thighs before gently guiding his shaft in between the full globes. The only sound she heard was Jaxon’s moan. Arching her back, she shoved forward until the tip of his cock touched her chin. Then, holding her breasts together, she began to move up and down, giving him just enough soft friction to make his muscles tense.
Rocking back, she took hold of his cock with her hand again, pausing long enough to appreciate the thick steel before lowering her head to touch her lips to the crown. The salty tang of his cum enticed her and she swirled her tongue over the head, licking away every drop of fluid.
“Oh Jesus, Tess, I can’t—” As she took him fully into her mouth, words ground to a halt. The fire was about to be quenched, only now he would take the upper hand. Yanking the tie free, he swept the blindfold away from his eyes and snagged his hands in her hair. “Not like this. I want to come inside you.”
She looked up, her mouth still wrapped around his cock. Her eyes crinkling with a smile, she guided him deeper into the hot, wet cavern and Jaxon threw back his head with a groan.
“Please.” It was the only word he could get past his parched throat.
Drawing back, Tess moved away slowly, the picture of supreme satisfaction.
“Don’t look so smug,” he growled. “It’s my turn.”
Falling back against the pillows, her chestnut hair contrasting starkly with the white cases, she beckoned him like a sea nymph. “Then show me what you’re bringing to the party.”
His knee dipped the mattress, his hands pressed on either side of her body. He didn’t speak as he moved over her, lowered his head to caress her neck with his lips. His curiosity aroused, he continued the exploration lower, found one peaked nipple and drew it into his mouth. His hands closed around her hips, dragged her up off the bed as he feasted on her skin.
She reached for him but her muscles weren’t cooperating. Weak and boneless, her arms fell useless to her sides. He parted her legs with his knees, rose up over her. Silver-gold eyes locked with hers, waited for her invitation. She moved restlessly against the blankets, whispered a breathless, “Yes.”
And Jaxon lowered his body, his cock sinking into the hot depths of her channel. Tess closed her eyes, overwhelmed, as the sweet caress of his body, the gentle thrusts enraptured her. Perfect. The one word to describe the sensations. An elemental connection as before but this time fraught with new emotions. Shaken, she managed to lift her hands, to slide her palms along his arms, his shoulders. Her muscles contracted, undulated. Her hips moved in perfect rhythm with his, accustomed to the presence of his body. Synchronized magic.
He pressed his palms against the mattress, retreated from her body until the tip of his cock barely touched the lips of her pussy. “Open your eyes, Tess. Look at me.”
Without thought, Tess obeyed. Her breath caught and he plunged into her, pinned her against the bed. Taking hold of her legs, he tipped her hips higher, pushing his shaft so deep inside her she gasped.
His intention to take her gently faded away, leaving behind an instinctive urge to brand her, make her his forever. He set a furious pace, retreating and thrusting with rapid jabs of his hips.
She wrapped her legs around his back and held on for the ride, lost in the perfection of his cock stretching the walls of her channel. The orgasm hit her hard, stunning her with its punch. She cried out and dug her fingers into his back as her muscles contracted, then relaxed and warm waves of pure, sensual ecstasy washed over her.
Jaxon pumped once, twice, before releasing his seed with a long, animalistic groan. The vibrations of his climax made his muscles spasm and he collapsed on top of her, panting.
For a long moment they lay still. Skin to skin. Heart to heart.
Breath labored, Jaxon rolled, taking Tess with him. Tucked her next to his side. He held her against his chest, his heart, his eyes closed. Emotions stormed his soul, scared him. He loved her. Needed her. And the need scared him most of all.
She gripped his hand, drew it to her lips and kissed the palm. “I love you.” Her words were soft, almost timid.
He raised his hand only slightly and the light faded, replaced with the shadows of night. He needed the darkness. More than just his body had shattered with the release. “I love you too. More than I thought possible.”
“And that scares you.”
He marveled she could read him so well. So soon. He could only imagine what twenty years or even ten would do for her abilities. “Yes.” He didn’t think of lying to her.
Tess caressed his chest. “Good.” The maddening touch of her fingers against his skin caused Jaxon’s body to stir to life once more.
He pulled back, tried to see her face, but the moon had receded and the room had slipped into complete darkness. Perhaps he’d extinguished the gas lamp too soon. “I think you’re going to have to help me with that one. Is it good that I’m a little intimidated by how I feel about you?”
“I believe the correct word is scared, Jaxon.”
He scowled. “Don’t get too comfortable with it.”
“It’s natural.” She propped her head in her hand, her elbow on the mattress. “We came into th
is so quickly neither one of us had time to prepare. I don’t think we could have prepared. You’ve never felt this way before.” She touched his face with her fingertips. “And to me, that’s very good.”
He turned his head slightly, found her fingers and kissed them one by one. “Now that I’ve found you, I’m scared of losing you.”
She snuggled against him, secure in his embrace. “You’re not going to lose me. We’re going to be together for a long time. In fact I’m pretty sure by the time eternity rolls around you’re going to be sick of me.”
He squeezed her hip. “The odds of that happening are infinitesimally low.”
Indigo Spell Page 17