by Ann Gimpel
“Without the tiny, round doors, fortunately.” Duncan pulled the door shut behind them and sent magic skittering across the room to light a fire someone had thoughtfully laid in the grate. The cottage was cozy, with knotty pine walls, and overstuffed chintz furniture. Rag rugs were placed strategically on a polished, hardwood floor. An inviting bed, strewn with plump pillows and comforters, was visible through an open doorway. A second door probably led into a bathroom.
He moved behind Colleen and wrapped his arms around her. She leaned into him, head tilted back. Oberon’s balls, but she felt good against him. “Would you like a bath?” he asked. “I’m presuming there’s a tub, but I’m not certain.”
She turned her head and nuzzled his neck. “I want it all. You. Bath. Neck healing. Sleep.” Her eyes fluttered shut. “Now if I could just stay awake for half of that, I’ll be doing good.”
Protectiveness shot through him, so fierce and so sweet, it shocked him. He’d make sure she had everything she wanted. Always. He tightened his arms around her. “My feelings won’t be hurt if you drift off. We’ve had a hell of a couple of days here. Let’s check out the bathroom. We both still stink of Irichna.”
She narrowed her eyes and sniffed audibly. “Now that you mention it, I guess we do. I’d sort of adapted.”
He unwrapped his arms, took her hand, and guided her across the room. The fire was already putting out a pleasant, crackly warmth. She turned the knob and pushed the bathroom door open. It was his turn to gasp. An inlaid marble tub was sunk into the floor. It was deep enough to thoroughly immerse themselves in. He bent, turned on the taps, and closed the drain. Hot water, with a distinct mineral smell, ran into the tub. The remainder of the bathroom was tiled in glittery, gold-toned granite.
“So that’s what she meant about tapping into a natural hot spring.” Colleen closed the bathroom door to keep the steam inside.
“I wasn’t listening. You can tell me, but later.” Duncan returned to her side and gently laid a hand on her throat. “Hush, this will only take a moment.” He sent magic into her, assessing damage, and fixing broken places as he went. The injury was mostly at a surface level, but many cells had burst, causing a bruise to form from beneath her chin all the way down her neck. He summoned his own mage light and made it bright to he could assess the results of his efforts.
Colleen’s eyes were closed, her head tilted backward as he worked. Soon the creamy tones of her skin returned. “You’ll need to drink a lot of water to flush the debris out of your body.”
“Thanks.” She opened her eyes and met his gaze. “Feels better already.”
He brushed a knuckle over her lips, and then kissed her softly. “Tub’s getting full. We probably should get in.”
“You just want to see me naked.” She grinned, and ran her tongue over her lips.
“Yes.” He grinned back. “That too.” He tugged her top over her head and unhooked her bra. He wanted to kiss her breasts, but lovemaking could wait—at least until they got into the water and sluiced off the top layer of grime.
She bent and unlaced her boots. He did the same and toed his off. His sweater and shirt came next. Colleen walked up behind him and ran her hands down his back. “I’ll never get used to how stunning you are. I’ve never seen skin like yours. I swear it would glow, even if we didn’t have the mage lights going.”
A warm, fluttery feeling moved through his insides. Deep joy that she found him pleasing suffused him with emotions he had no name for. She reached around and unfastened his pants. They pooled around his feet and he stepped out of them. He gave his underwear a shove and they followed. By the time he turned to face Colleen, she was naked too.
Water was just lapping over the edges of the tub. He scooped their clothes off the floor and laid everything over a padded bench next to one wall. The bathroom floor had two drains, but there was no point getting their clothes soaked when the tub overflowed—and it would once they got in.
She turned off the water, sat on the tub’s rounded edge, and eased into the steaming water. “Heavenly,” she pronounced. “The minerals are a godsend.”
He joined her, sitting across from her in the oblong tub. True to his prediction, water ran over the lip of the tub and into the drains. Their legs intertwined. He pulled one of her feet into his lap and massaged the instep. “What was that about a natural hot spring?”
She nodded. Her hair drifted in the water like ruddy sea anemones. “Naomi, or maybe one other others, said this property sits atop a huge mineral pool. They pipe all their hot water from it.”
“Convenient.”
“Mmph. Yes, we witches are a crafty bunch.” She shoved her other foot into his lap and he rubbed both of them. Their proximity to his cock gave it ideas. It stiffened, floating in the hot water. Tired as he was, lust pierced him.
He cleared his throat. “Before I’m lost to your charms, and I forget everything, one of the reasons I was waiting for you in Fairbanks was to escort you and Jenna and Roz back to the U.K. for a Sidhe council meeting.”
Her eyes, which had been sitting at half-mast, flew open. “Why do they need us?”
“I told them they needed to take back responsibility for the Irichna—”
“And they told you they needed our blood to get the genetic code back,” she cut in. The soft line of her mouth dissolved into a resolute expression. “What if we’re willing to share, but don’t want to give up our demon stalking job?”
Duncan snorted back a laugh. “In the first place, I’m not at all certain any of the Sidhe want the Irichna back in their laps. If they accede, it will be because of guilt. Somehow, I don’t think they’ll fight you if you still want to ferry demons down through Hell.”
She inhaled thoughtfully, and then shook her head. “I’m so tired, it’s hard to think straight. Roz and Jenna need to speak for themselves. I have no right to make that decision for them. I don’t know why I’d be so attached to facing down danger again and again, but I am.”
Duncan thought he understood. It was all about having purpose and meaning in a life, about being an integral part of something important. The Sidhe had lost far more than they realized when they drafted the witches. He held his peace, though, snagged a fragrant bar of soap, and began washing her legs. She found another bar and did the same to him. Wherever she touched him, his skin caught fire. “Turn around,” he said, his voice rougher than he’d meant because he was so aroused.
She came to him and nestled in his arms. He wet, soaped, and rinsed her hair, while his cock pressed against the mounded curves of her ass. It took forever before the water ran clear down her head and neck. He turned her in his arms and brought his mouth down on hers. She returned his kiss hungrily, opening her mouth to him, and teasing with her tongue.
She urged him away from the side of the tub, and wrapped her legs around his waist and her arms around his shoulders. His cockhead hovered just at her entrance for several long, delicious moments while they kissed. Her peaked nipples pressed into his chest. She writhed against him, moaned, and let her body slide down his shaft. The heat inside her made the water’s warmth pale by comparison.
It was all he could to do to keep from exploding the minute he hit bottom and she clenched her muscles around him. Colleen hooked her arms beneath his and grasped his shoulders. She rubbed her breasts against his chest in a little circular motion that made her nipples even harder. He dropped his hands to her hips and set a rhythm that might, maybe, let him last past a dozen strokes.
Colleen had other ideas about the tempo she wanted. She bucked against him and pressed her clit against his pubic bone. Rocking against him, crying, shrieking, she came over and over again, one set of spasms starting up almost before the last had subsided. He hung on as long as he could, but somewhere after her third peak, his balls snugged against his body, and he knew he’d passed the point of control.
Semen juddered from him. A feral cry split the air. It took long moments before he understood it had come from him. Her puss
y tightened around him once again and he knew she was coming. He kept on thrusting until their last shudders died away.
They sat clasped in one another’s arms for long moments while their breathing normalized. He stroked her damp hair and kicked his inner barriers wide open to a love so deep, and so pervasive, it filled every molecule of his being with longing.
“I love you too,” she murmured and moved back enough to smile crookedly. Her face was blotchy with the heat of their lust. “Two can play that mind reading game, plus I thought I should tell you in case we face the Irichna again, and don’t come up quite so lucky.”
He placed a hand on either side of her face. “Nothing bad will ever happen to you. Not on my watch.”
She crinkled her nose. “Just what I like in my men, a Neanderthal attitude.”
“What did you just call me?” But then he dissolved in laughter.
“Let’s get your hair washed and get out of here. Water’s getting cold. We could warm it with magic, but it would be better to get into bed.” She scooted off his cock, moved behind him, and poured water through his hair. He started to protest that he could wash his own hair, but in the end he let her do it because he loved the feel of her hands on his body.
He opened the drain, got out of the tub, and helped her out. Colleen was so weary, she swayed on her feet when he wrapped her in a fluffy, white terrycloth towel. He blotted the water from her and wrapped her hair in another towel. She started unsteadily for the door, but he scooped her up and carried her to the bed. “I’ll be right there.” He strung kisses down her neck. “Just as soon as I’m a bit drier myself.”
Her mage light winked out. He went back to the bathroom, made sure they hadn’t forgotten to do something critical, and grabbed a towel for himself. By the time he returned to their bed, she was sound asleep. His cock twitched, wanting more, but he told it to stand down. Morning would be plenty of time.
Careful not to waken her, he got into bed, dialed his mage light back to the barest glow, and just watched her sleep until darkness took him as well.
•●•
A sharp tapping on the door brought him flying out of bed. Duncan sent magic surging outward and started breathing again once he recognized Jenna, Roz, and Bubba’s energy.
“It’s okay,” Colleen said sleepily and patted his arm. “The bad guys don’t usually knock.”
“If I hadn’t been so deep asleep, I’d have realized that.” He snapped up a towel, wrapped it around himself, and strode to the door.
“It’s about time.” Bubba pushed past Duncan once the door was open. “Colleen,” he called. “Where are you?”
“In here, sweetie.” The changeling made a beeline for the bedroom. Springs creaked, and Duncan assumed Bubba had jumped onto the bed.
Roz gaped at him, open-mouthed. “Good God,” she said. “What a hunk you are.”
Jenna snorted and licked her lips. “Christ on a crutch, you aren’t kidding. Maybe Colleen would consider sharing.”
“In a pig’s eye,” Colleen yelled from the bedroom. She came into view, also draped in a towel. “Thank Danu.” She strode to Duncan’s side, bare feet slapping the polished wooden floor. “From the sound of things, I figured you’d lost that towel somewhere between our bed and the door.”
“Where’s Bubba?” Duncan looked over a shoulder and laughed. “I should have guessed. Bouncing on the bed.”
“Colleen,” Roz said in a wheedling tone and gazed meaningfully at Duncan. “Remember all the favors I’ve done you.”
Colleen eyed the other witch. “Sharing my husband-to-be feels like a lot bigger favor than you loaning me your favorite black skirt.”
Roz shrugged and balanced her hands in front of her like a scale. “Favorite skirt. Favorite man. Not all that much difference…” Colleen growled. Roz broke into a broad grin. “I’m just teasing, sweetie. Don’t know what I’d do with a Sidhe.”
“I do,” Jenna cut in. “From the rumors I’ve heard—” She caught herself mid-sentence and stopped talking. Her face reddened.
Bubba trotted to Colleen and inserted his body between her and Duncan. “I’m hungry. Is there any food in here?”
Roz held out her arms and the changeling came to her. She lifted him and kissed the tip of his nose. “How about this? We’ll go out on the porch and let them get dressed. Then we’ll all go to the main house for breakfast.”
Duncan glanced out a window. “Closer to lunch time, isn’t it?”
“Whatever. When you keep the hours we do, food is food. Doesn’t matter how you label the meal.” Roz turned. “See you guys in a couple of minutes.”
“That won’t leave us any time for a midday roll in the hay,” Colleen said archly.
Jenna slugged her in the arm. “Nope, it won’t. Nothing like rubbing your good fortune in the faces of your two sex-starved sisters.” She wrapped her arms around Colleen and kissed her on both cheeks. “Kidding aside. I’m so happy for you. Can Roz and I be bridesmaids?”
Colleen laid her cheek next to Jenna’s. “I’d be honored. So would Duncan, but before the wedding, it looks as if we’ll all be taking a trip to the U.K.”
Jenna drew back. “What? Why?”
“Tell you once I’ve got some clothes on.”
Duncan dressed quickly, wishing he had fresh clothes that didn’t hold a hint of demon stench. He experimented with varying degrees of magic, but couldn’t quite rid his trousers of the smell.
Colleen gathered the few things from her backpack and picked up her wallet. “Ready?”
He nodded. “I can’t wait until we have a long, uninterrupted stretch of time together. Like a year, maybe. Or a century.”
She stretched on tiptoe and kissed his cheek. “That will never happen. We have Bubba.” She laid a hand over her midsection. “And maybe another small, dependent soul, since we weren’t careful. Not that I couldn’t do something about things like that if you didn’t want to be a daddy quite yet, but…”
Love filled him and spilled over. He wrapped his arms around her and drew her close. “I do want children. Never felt that way before, but I want them with you. No worries, darling. You’re not pregnant. Not yet, anyway, but you just say the word.” He drew back so he could meet her gaze. “I control when my seed creates life.”
“Let’s at least get on the far side of the next couple of weeks.” Her blue eyes twinkled.
He took her hand. “Come on. Bubba sounded desperate for food.”
“He’s always desperate for food.” Colleen grinned.
“Yes.” The changeling’s voice sounded from their front porch. “Come on.”
They walked across the grounds to the main house and settled at a corner table in the large dining room. Witches brought them enough food to satisfy twice as many people, along with coffee and a fragrant, herbal tea.
“What were you telling Jenna about us going to England?” Roz asked.
Colleen looked at Duncan. “This is your dog and pony show. How about if you explain it. I was pretty tired when you told me last night.”
“It was actually early this morning.” He set his fork down. “I’d be glad to.” He outlined having called the Sidhe council meeting and what had transpired. “In any event, they’re considering taking back some—or maybe all—of the responsibility for the Irichna. They asked that I bring all of you to the next meeting. Let’s see.” Duncan thought about it. “It’s in about four days, taking the eight hour time difference into consideration.”
Roz drew her dark brows together. “What if we don’t want to give up stalking demons?”
“Funny,” Colleen said, “but I asked the same question.”
Jenna kept her gaze on her plate. Duncan stayed out of her mind. It was clear she was torn. At length she looked up. “Some days I’m sick of being scared to death. Of wondering whether today will be the day when some demon does me in, or sucks the soul out of me and makes me one of them.” She took a breath. “On the other hand, I don’t know what I’d do with mys
elf if I wasn’t with you two.” She tipped her chin at Colleen and Roz.
“And me,” Bubba piped up. “Don’t forget me.”
“Yes, hon. You too.” Jenna reached over and patted his shoulder. “Even though I got really excited at the possibility of getting out from under stalking Irichna, the more I thought about it, the more I came around to deciding that I’m okay sharing our job with the Sidhe, but not okay with them just swooping in and taking over for us.”
Colleen blew out a breath. Duncan knew she’d been worried. He’d seen it in her mind. She placed her hand in his lap and grasped one of his. “When do we leave?”
“Soon,” Duncan said. “I’m assuming you’ll want to take a few clothes along, which means we need to swing through Fairbanks.”
Colleen looked sheepish. “I hadn’t even considered that, but of course we’ll need something beyond what we have on.”
Roz snorted. “I’d settle for something clean at this point.”
Jenna glanced at her clothing. It had huge rents and bloodstains from her battle with the demon. “Clean and without holes.” She amended Roz’s statement.
“How are we going to get there?” Bubba asked. “Isn’t it a really, really long way?”
“Teleporting all of us might be a little much, even for me,” Duncan admitted. “I can gin up a glamour to make Bubba look more human, and I can get us airline tickets. Do all of you have passports?”
Jenna nodded. “I do.”
“So do Roz and I,” Colleen said. She bit her lip and looked at Bubba.
“What’s a passport?” he asked, sitting up straighter.
Naomi drifted by, pulled up a chair, and sat. “Do you have everything you need?”
“I need a passport, whatever that is,” Bubba said and ate another forkful of scrambled eggs.
Naomi grinned and shoved her long hair behind her shoulders. “Well, you’ve come to the right place, little one. I’m sure we can come up with something that will work for you.”
“How’d Mathilde’s funeral go?” Colleen asked.
Naomi worried her bottom lip between her teeth. “Good thing about twenty of us showed up to bid her farewell. I’m certain I sensed Irichna hovering. They apparently didn’t want someone they’d used as a vessel purified during our cremation rites.”