Thinking of her court-appointed elf made her incredibly hot, even though she knew she shouldn’t be fantasizing about him. She pinched her nipples lightly with one hand, making them stand to attention behind the thin black lace of her nighty as she stroked her pussy with the other. Her whole body was tingling, her hips moving, her breathing coming faster and faster.
It didn’t take long before she could feel her pleasure cresting and it wasn’t just because of her hand between her legs. As she caressed herself, Cass couldn’t help imagining Jake touching her and tasting her as he had before, the way he had licked and sucked her nipples…the feeling of his big fingers stroking her pussy…his deep voice talking softly in her ear, saying naughty, dirty things, calling her name…
“Jake,” she moaned, arching her back as her orgasm rushed through her. “Oh God, Jake—yes. Yes!”
“Cassandra? Are you all right?”
Cass’s eyes flew open to see the big elf standing right beside the bed, looming over her with a worried look on his face.
“Oh!” she gasped and for a moment she was frozen in horror with her hand between her legs. “What…what are you doing back here so soon? I thought you had court!” she somehow managed to choke out.
“We’re at a recess right now and I heard you calling my name.” His leaf-green eyes were suddenly hooded as he sat on the side of the bed beside her. “I thought you were in trouble—now I see I was wrong.”
“I, um…I just…” Cass realized the incriminating position she was still in and started to pull her hand away from her pussy.
But Jake was too fast for her.
“I see what you were ‘just’ doing, Cassandra,” he rumbled. Catching her wrist in one big hand, he brought her fingers to his lips and, as Cass watched, wide-eyed, he sucked them deep into his hot mouth and cleaned her fingers with his tongue.
“I…what are you doing?” she whispered, feeling hot and cold all over at the same time.
His eyes held hers as he reluctantly released her hand and let her fingers slip from between his lips.
“Tasting you.” His voice was a low purr that Cass swore she could feel vibrating through her entire body. “Though not nearly as intimately as I would like to.”
She scrambled up so she was sitting in the bed, her knees drawn protectively up to her chin.
“Jake, I really didn’t mean to…I mean, I’m so sorry. I just—” She stopped, feeling tongue-tied and utterly mortified. On one hand, Jake had caught her doing a very embarrassing and private thing—on the other, watching him lick her juices off her fingers and feeling his hot mouth on her skin was sending her body into overload. Cass didn’t know what to think or how to feel.
The big elf seemed to sense her confusion because he rose from the bed and his voice took a more formal tone.
“Please don’t worry about it, Cassandra. I am…sorry I interrupted you in an intimate moment. I only wanted to be certain you were all right.”
“I…I’m fine.” Except for being freaking embarrassed to death, whispered a little voice in her head. “But this is kind of weird. Maybe…maybe I should go.”
“I will take you home if you wish but please don’t go because of this…little misunderstanding,” Jake protested. “I promise we won’t mention it again if you would rather forget it.”
“Well…” Cass tried to laugh but it came out sounding weak. “I guess we’re even now. You were embarrassed after I watched your U-News but now that you caught me, uh…” She cleared her throat.
“Pleasuring yourself?” Jake finished for her, raising an eyebrow. “But you shouldn’t be ashamed, Cassandra. You’re beautiful and what you were doing is natural and beautiful too. I’m just sorry I interrupted you.” He cleared his throat. “I’ll go now so you can, ah…finish.”
“Um, no need. I was…” Cass coughed to try and hide her embarrassment. “I was, uh, finishing when you caught me.”
“And that’s why you called out my name?” His eyes were suddenly hooded with desire again.
“Well…” Cass bit her lip. “Yes,” she admitted at last. “I’m sorry, I just…I know I shouldn’t…”
“Stop apologizing,” Jake murmured. Reaching down he stroked her hot cheek gently with one big hand. “Get some rest, Cassandra. I promise not to bother you again unless you’re asking for help when you call for me.”
“Um…thank you.” Was he giving her permission to fantasize about him? And to continue touching herself, right in his bed? That was certainly what it sounded like. Cass felt some of her embarrassment turn to a warm glow of pleasure. A part of her wanted to reach out and drag the big elf into the bed by his tie and then do all the things she’d been imagining at once.
But she wasn’t really free to do any of that, she reminded herself.
Stick to the program, Cass! You’re here to paint, learn the housekeeping spell, and go to the ball—nothing else.
“I’ll see you later, Cassandra,” Jake murmured.
As he disappeared in another puff of navy blue smoke, Cass wondered how she could ever get to sleep now.
Thirty-One
“Cassandra? Are you hungry?”
“Hmm?” Cass rolled over when a warm hand shook her shoulder, turning towards the sound of the deep, somehow familiar voice.
“Cassandra?”
Who called her Cassandra? Nobody but Nana—everyone else called her “Cass.” But this wasn’t Nana’s voice—it was much too deep.
“Would you like something to eat or would you rather go back to sleep?” the voice asked. “I’m sorry, I wouldn’t interrupt your sleep but I know you said you wanted to paint…”
Paint—I can paint again. And the person I’m going to be painting is—
“Jake?” She opened her eyes at last, looking up to see the big elf sitting on the side of the bed. There was a dim golden glow coming from the bedroom window and she could see that he had changed into jeans and a comfortable looking dark green t-shirt which brought out the color of his eyes.
“Do you want some supper?” he asked. “I’m cooking an elvish specialty tonight if you’re interested.”
Cass’s stomach twisted in hunger and she realized she couldn’t remember the last time she’d eaten. She hadn’t had much time the day before with all the crazy things that had happened.
“Yes, please,” she said pushing off the covers and sitting up. Unfortunately, her black lace nighty—which tied in the middle, right between her breasts—had come untied as she slept, probably because she was always restless when sleeping in a strange bed.
As she sat up, the two sides of the nighty came apart, baring her breasts to Jake.
“Mmm,” his eyes moved down to her full breasts tipped with tight, pink nipples. “I seem to be developing an appetite myself.”
“Oh!” Cass looked down at herself and started to snatch the two sides of the nighty closed. But the big elf stopped her, his hands on hers.
“Let me, Cassandra,” he murmured. Reaching for the sides of her open nighty, he pulled the black lace back over her breasts and tied a neat bow between them with the laces. “There, now you’re decent. But please remember, you don’t have to feel afraid or ashamed to let me see your lovely body. I have seen you before.”
“I know you have.” Cass lifted her chin, feeling a little like he was taunting her—maybe even daring her. “I’m not, uh, ashamed for you to see me. You just startled me, that’s all.” To prove her point, she untied the nighty and spread it open again, thrusting out her chest deliberately to show the big elf she wasn’t afraid of letting him see her.
“Mmmm,” he rumbled again, letting his eyes rove over her full, naked breasts. “If you keep this up, Cassandra, I might forget all about feeding you and decided I’d rather be tasting you instead.”
Cass felt a shiver of pleasure and apprehension run through her. She really shouldn’t be doing this! She was pushing things too far! But she couldn’t help it—she liked the way Jake’s hot gaze on her made her feel.
Still, enough was enough.
“But I really am hungry,” she pointed out lightly. Sliding out of bed, she headed for her duffel bag. “I should probably get some clothes on, though.”
“And I should probably go back to the kitchen before things get out of hand.” Jake’s deep voice sounded rough with lust but he didn’t touch her, only watched as Cass bent over to rummage in her duffel bag.
As she looked, she reflected that the big elf was being very careful not to push her—she had the feeling he was waiting for her to make the first move. Well, he would be waiting a long time for that. She still had that guilty little voice in her head telling her she shouldn’t be teasing him or egging him on. But at the same time, she didn’t want to back down from a challenge—didn’t want him to think she was afraid or ashamed for him to see her. It looked like they were stuck at a kind of crossroads.
Well, there are worse places to be, she reasoned to herself as she heard the big elf leave the bedroom. Now what should I wear?
She settled on a gauzy black top and some tight black jeans. The top was completely sheer—something she ought to have worn with a cami or a tank top under it, but some naughty little impulse made Cass wear it without anything beneath. After all, she reasoned, Jake had already seen and touched her breasts several times—what was the big deal?
The big deal is you’re pushing things and you know you shouldn’t, whispered the guilty little voice in the back of her head. The big deal is you’re technically still with Brandon. Also, do you really think it’s wise to get involved with a guy who is essentially your lawyer? Isn’t’ that a big conflict of interest or something?
But Cass pushed the guilt away. Instead of all this soul-searching and agonizing, she could be making art—and wasn’t that what she was here for?
Exactly—I’m here for my art. Feeling justified, she grabbed her sketchpad and pencil and left the bedroom, following her nose to the kitchen.
She hadn’t seen this room before but it was surprisingly like a human kitchen. There was a tall, narrow refrigerator in one corner and some other appliances as well. Glossy black marble countertops, and dark wood cabinets gave the room a distinctly masculine air.
Jake was working at a stove, adding ingredients to a pot. Fragrant steam was rising from it, making Cass’s stomach twist with hunger again.
“That smells delicious,” she said, coming up behind him.
Jake turned, his eyes flicking rapidly over her outfit and lingering again on her breasts. Cass was beginning to get the idea that her court-appointed-elf was most definitely a breast-man. Maybe that was why skinny-minny Glorianna had felt the need to get herself a boob-job. But she didn’t want to think about Jake’s ex right now. Instead, she pretended to ignore his eyes on her and gave him a smile.
“Can I help?”
“Actually, it’s almost ready, it just needs to simmer a little longer. And the table is already laid.”
“Good,” Cass said. “Because I’ll be honest—I suck at cooking and I’m not very domestic.”
A smile twitched the corner of the big elf’s mouth.
“That’s all right. You’re very talented in other ways.”
“Thank you. So if everything is taken care of, do you mind if I do a few preliminary sketches?” She held up the sketch pad. “To help with the painting later?”
“Oh, no—be my guest. Er…” Jake looked a little uncertain. “Do you want me to…pose in some way?”
“Not at all.” Cass settled herself at the small wooden table in the breakfast nook across from the stove where he was working. “I’m just happy to have a live subject again. Please, do whatever you need to do.”
“As you wish.” He smiled at her and turned back to the stew, if that was what it was. It was smelling better and better by the minute but once she started sketching, not even her growling stomach could distract Cass from the joy of her art.
God, how she loved creating! And Jake was a real pleasure to draw. His big body seemed just made to be sketched, the muscles moving under his smooth tan skin in a way that was pure masculine beauty.
Cass wished she could draw him naked so she could really capture the lines of his body but she didn’t know how he would feel about that. Plus it probably wasn’t a good idea to ask him to strip down when he was working in front of a hot stove. So she contented herself with just sketching him from every angle, her charcoal pencil flying over the paper as it always did when she felt excited and inspired.
“Well, dinner is served—if you can pull yourself away from your sketch book, that is.” Jake sounded wryly amused. “You have a very intense look on your face when you draw,” he added.
“Oh…uh…” Cass blinked, trying to bring herself back to the real world. As always when she was completely immersed in her art, everything else seemed to melt away. She had to force herself back to reality. “Thank you, I guess,” she said at last.
Jake laughed—a deep rumbling sound she liked at once. Had she ever heard him laugh before? Cass didn’t think so.
“Come on,” he murmured, holding out a hand to her.
Cass rose, leaving her sketch pad face down on the breakfast table but Jake stopped her.
“Before we go to dinner, may I see what you’ve drawn or do you prefer to keep it secret?”
“Oh no—you can see it.” Cass handed him the sketch pad and waited, nibbling her lower lip, to see what he would think.
Jake’s eyes widened as he flipped through the pages—she had filled several.
“I can’t believe it—these look exactly like me! And you did so many of them so quickly!”
“I always work better and faster when I have a live subject. Especially one I really want to draw,” Cass said honestly. Art had never been a slow, deliberate process for her. When she felt her creative juices flowing, she moved quickly, trying to capture her subject completely before the fleeting moment of inspiration was gone.
“Your talent is enormous.” Jake sounded really impressed. “Even more than I supposed when I saw your other work. I’m very glad we were able to get your last fairy godmother’s magic reversed.”
“Well, part of it anyway,” Cass pointed out. “We still have ten naked Brandon clones shoved into the spare room back home.”
Mentioning Brandon made her feel guilty again and she looked down at her hands, which were dirty from sketching.
“I should really wash my hands before we eat.”
“The sink is right there.” Jake motioned across the room. “Help yourself and then come out to the patio.”
Cass washed her hands thoroughly, trying to get all the charcoal smudges off before following him outside.
The house was apparently built on a hill and she found herself standing on a sturdy, well-built wooden deck with a view of the twilight lands which sloped downward into the distance. On the horizon, she could see a range of mountains, bruise-colored and silent in the eternal dusk and overhead the evening star shone pure and clear—the only thing visible in the deep blue sky.
“Oh, it’s beautiful out here!” Cass at once itched to paint a landscape, even though that wasn’t usually her favorite type of painting—she usually much preferred portraits. But though she had been in Jake’s house several times by now, she’d never been outside it before and she found the view completely bewitching.
The very air seemed to breathe with magic but not sparkly fairy magic—a deeper, more purposeful enchantment filled and overflowed the eternal evening. It seemed to speak to Cass in the voices of the mountains or the moon—it had roots that went deep.
“I am glad you like the view,” Jake murmured.
“It’s more than the view. There’s a…a feeling out here.” Cass made a motion with her hands, trying to describe what she meant. “It feels ancient…patient…deliberate somehow.”
Jake looked surprised. “You really might be able to learn elf magic. What you feel is the power of the Lady of the Evening Star.” As he had before, he bowed solemnly to the
star hanging above them in the sky and then turned back to Cass. “I know you are one eighth fairy but do you know if you have any elvish blood in your ancestry as well?”
“I don’t know.” She shook her head. “I’d have to ask Nana—she might have an idea.”
He looked thoughtful.
“Well, your ability to sense the Lady’s power is most unusual. Although it might have something to do with your love of creating things of beauty. The act of creation is very near to my Lady’s heart and to any of elvish descent.” He sighed. “That was one reason I commented on the intense look on your face when you were sketching—you look the same way my father used to when he was crafting a new Spell-Song. Very inward focused—very intent on your work.”
“You think I look like your father?” Cass arched an eyebrow at him and he shook his head.
“No, of course not. I just meant, I can see the joy you have in your art—in the act of creation. It’s…inspiring.” He sighed. “I once felt the same, when I was following my father’s footsteps and next in line to him.”
“To be the, uh, Spell-Singer of Landolin?” Cass asked hesitantly. “I heard that from the time I listened to the U-News but I swear I didn’t touch your magic mirror TV puddle while you were away,” she added hastily.
Jake nodded gravely.
“I believe you. Listen, we’d better have a seat before the meal gets cold.”
He gestured to a small table set with thin crystal wine flutes and gleaming silverware. Elegant silver candlesticks shaped like the branches of trees held two slim white candles which bathed the table in a flickering, golden glow.
The whole scene was gorgeous and Cass couldn’t help comparing it to the way things were when she ate with Brandon—usually bags of greasy take-out or at most, a sit-down meal at Cracker Barrel, which was pretty much the epitome of fine dining to her boyfriend.
Stop it, she admonished herself, making an effort to put Brandon out of her brain—the thought of him only made her feel guilty and she wanted to enjoy her time with Jake.
Be Careful What You Wish For (The Swann Sisters Chronicles Book 2) Page 28