Tread Lightly

by Catherine Lane

  This was going to be very interesting. Just how interesting, she couldn’t have possibly guessed.

  Tamiel’s arms came around her, hugging her tight, and Claire instinctively leaned into her. Good thing too, because her feet had left the ground. At first, she thought it was just another weird sensation, like smelling bliss, but when she glanced down, they were unbelievably at least four feet off the ground. Tamiel leaned back into the air, bringing Claire with her. At first, she fought the sensation. Her brain told her she would crash to the ground, but when she didn’t, she gave in to the feeling of floating. It was exhilarating and terrifying all at once.

  “Can I take this off?” Tamiel cut to the chase. She had her thumb under the strap of Claire’s top.

  “Yes,” she answered in a husky voice she almost didn’t recognize.

  Tamiel snuck her hand under the strap and began pulling, taking the entire dress with her. In an instant Claire was naked. Magic or supreme skill? She didn’t care or even think about the difference anymore when Tamiel caught her face between her hands and fused their lips together in a kiss that sent heat sizzling straight to her groin. Everything down there tightened up.

  “Not fair,” Claire murmured against Tamiel’s mouth. “You’ve still got clothes on.”

  The silver fabric rustled and then completely disappeared. Neat trick. Claire ran a hand down the angel’s body in fluttering circles. She was all long, lean muscle and smooth planes. Her skin was almost translucent, and her small breasts rose and fell with her ragged breaths. Claire reached over and took one in her hands. Tamiel arched up into the caress, her nipple hardening instantly. Desire rolled below Claire’s belly, and she shuddered in pleasure at how Tamiel reacted to her touch. Too much, too soon. Claire had to slow down for both their sakes.

  She rolled over onto her, wondering only for an instant if Tamiel could take her weight and still keep them aloft. She bent into Tamiel’s neck and feathered kisses up along her cheek. Her smell, whatever it was, was intoxicating. She nibbled up to Tamiel’s ear before sucking the lobe into her mouth. And then she worked her way back down and ended back at the perfect breast. She circled around it, kissing, nibbling, even gently biting until she swept her tongue over the nipple, teasing until it was hard again.

  Tamiel moaned and flung her hands out into the air as if to brace herself. Claire took as much of her as she could into her mouth; she couldn’t get enough of this woman. Suddenly she was slipping off the breast. Tamiel had drifted up under Claire, and Claire’s mouth was sliding down her stomach. Claire laid both palms flat against Tamiel’s belly as she floated away. Her soft skin rolled over hard muscle, and Claire closed her eyes, trying to take in as much of the new sensation as possible.

  Tamiel’s motion halted just as Claire’s hands and mouth reached the curls below her belly. Her warm, musty scent enveloped Claire, and she groaned, sure in the knowledge that Tamiel wanted this as much as she did.

  Please? The question popped into her head almost without language. But longing ran deep in the thought.

  “My pleasure.”

  There was no preamble. Tamiel floated up over Claire. When Claire had been on top, there was the pretense that gravity held them together, but now Claire drifted in the air as if she were an astronaut in space. The only place they were physically connected was where her mouth and hands still touched Tamiel’s body. All her awareness of Tamiel was funneled into those three contact points. Nothing had ever been so erotic.

  Tamiel drifted a bit further until Claire’s mouth hovered right between her legs. Claire tipped her head back, and Tamiel rose up and over her mouth.

  Claire dipped her tongue into the soft folds. She tasted like sunshine. Spread wide above her, Tamiel sent her sighs and moans straight into Claire’s head. Claire had always liked the sounds of lovemaking. They turned her on. But hearing the noises inside her mind sent tiny pulses of heat deep to her core. She dove in with abandon. She stroked up one side of Tamiel and down the other, making wide circles around her swollen clit. When neither of them could take it anymore, she took Tamiel into her mouth and sucked.

  Tamiel bucked above her and bent over to twist her hands into Claire’s thick hair.

  Claire held her close as waves of excitement rode through her body. When the release came, it surged in both their heads.

  Claire still floated in the magic bubble. She flung out her arms, trying to swim up to Tamiel, but Tamiel was already on her way down. Their bodies slid against each other. The touch, not bound by gravity, was electric, and Claire’s nerves tingled every place that skin met skin. Tamiel pulled Claire into her lap. She rested lightly in Tamiel’s arms, almost hovering, and with no pressure points, she couldn’t anticipate where Tamiel’s hands or lips would caress her. The surprise sent shivers straight down her spine—Tamiel’s lips on Claire’s mouth, her hands on her breasts, her feather touches sliding down Claire’s back. Tamiel was everywhere and nowhere. Claire closed her eyes to drink in the sensation. Desire ripped through her. One hand moved from her behind into the space between her legs.

  Never had her body been so swollen and ready.

  Tamiel played with her curls and then teased her open, running delicate strokes up and down her inner thighs. Claire’s legs fell apart almost of their own accord, and Tamiel slid one finger into her soft folds. She brushed against her clit, sending spasms of delight radiating out in all directions.

  You like that. Tamiel’s voice was in her head. Do you like this?

  Tamiel circled her clit with several fingers, never quite touching it, teasing Claire until she couldn’t take it anymore.

  “Please,” Claire said.

  Tamiel flicked her thumb across the nub. Claire sucked in a breath and tensed. All sensation flooded to right between her legs. Tamiel had a magic touch, no surprise there. A flame of pleasure ignited deep in Claire. As Tamiel stroked and pulled and caressed, it blossomed, rising higher and faster.

  Tamiel must have sensed she was close, because her other hand hovered lower and slowly slid inside with one finger, then two. Claire moaned and arched into the touch as Tamiel eased forward until she was deep within Claire.

  She froze, letting her fingers spread as far as Claire could take.

  Claire gasped at the unbelievable sense of fullness.

  More?

  “Yes.” Her answer was no more than a breath.

  Tamiel began to move in earnest. She caressed Claire with her hands while nibbling and licking Claire’s neck.

  You’re so beautiful. Tamiel’s voice was inside her head, urging her on.

  Tension and heat rose below her belly, threatening to take Claire over completely. She arched in Tamiel’s lap. Magic rushed in and kept her comfortably aloft. All she had to do was relax into the tension, reach for the release. Tamiel circled her fingers inside and found that sweet spot. Brightness exploded inside Claire, so intense that her body spasmed and shook. The magic held her rigid and taut so the waves of her orgasm crashed inside her like a tidal wave. There was no ebb. The sensation rose and rose.

  “Tamiel,” she cried out as she came apart.

  The next morning, they lay cuddled together in Claire’s bed. Lying down on a mattress felt so pedestrian now that Claire knew what was possible. But Tamiel had wrapped her arms around her all night long, and Claire reveled in her touch. Never had she been closer to anyone.

  “You awake?” Tamiel asked. Her voice was magical.

  “Yes.” Claire snuggled into Tamiel’s embrace. “Did you stay like this all night? Awake? Holding me?”

  “I did. You were in pain and you’re my charge. Where else would I go?”

  She closed her eyes and concentrated on Tamiel’s strong arms around her. Suddenly, a terrible thought hit Claire. “You didn’t…? Last night wasn’t…?” What if the best sex she’d ever had was just part of the GA service?

  “God,
no. I’ve never wanted anything so much,” Tamiel said, almost as if she had read her mind. She probably had.

  “Me neither.” Heat rose to Claire’s cheeks. But she liked the way Tamiel called it exactly the way it was.

  “We’re not supposed to consort with clients. Ever. But you’re different. Not a client really. More like a colleague.”

  Was she really? Was Tamiel lying to Claire and herself? That conundrum was something they would have to sort out later. Right now Claire was starving. She untangled from Tamiel, got out of bed, and froze.

  The angel lying naked on her bed was one of the most breathtaking things she had ever seen. Had the great artists of the world had angels of their own as models? No other explanation was possible.

  “Oh, sorry.” Tamiel shrugged her silver clothes back into existence. They flowed over her like a babbling brook until she was fully clothed. “I don’t know what the conventions are after…something so wonderful.”

  Adorable.

  “Apparently, neither do I.” Claire chuckled and reached for Carothann at her hip to flick her own dress on.

  The room began to spin.

  It wasn’t in her magic pocket and would never be again.

  Tamiel jumped from the bed and rushed to her side. “Let me help.”

  Claire’s favorite green dress settled on her. Her hair tied itself up into a neat bun. But it was no good. Sadness crashed in on her from the inside. She rushed from the room.

  She averted her eyes from the desk as she walked to the kitchen. The box’s lid was still up, and she couldn’t take even a glimpse of the dead wand lying inside.

  A minute later, she stood in front of the fridge, door open, looking at Greek yogurt, OJ, and some seeded sourdough bread. She had woken up so hungry, and now nothing on the shelves tempted her.

  Tamiel appeared at the kitchen door, her brows wrinkled. “You okay?”

  “I forgot it was gone. How could I forget?” Grief and guilt washed over her.

  Tamiel stepped over, her hand raised. “Let me help.”

  “No.” Claire twisted away from her touch. The healing energy was tempting, to say the least, maybe even addictive. But that was why she had forgotten about Carothann in the first place. She needed to feel its loss. To let Tamiel soothe it away again with a shoulder rub or gentle caress almost defeated Carothann’s sacrifice.

  She shut the fridge—she wasn’t hungry anymore—and met the angel’s gaze head-on. The fire inside Tamiel’s eyes flickered.

  Claire took a step back. What the hell was she thinking? That after last night, she and Tamiel would become girlfriends? That she would ride off into the sunset with a guardian angel on her shoulder?

  Could they even make it as a couple? She didn’t even know how to live with herself without magic, without her job—let alone anyone else. A chill ran down her spine. How on earth was she supposed to start that conversation? She met Tamiel’s gaze once again. Angel and godmother. They stood only a few feet and yet worlds apart.

  Something unseen poked her in her side.

  “Please, Tamiel. Don’t.” Claire closed her eyes and sighed.

  “Don’t what?”

  “Whatever that is you’re doing to my side. Stop poking me.”

  “That’s not me.” She shook her head with a quick motion.

  Claire froze. Was she imaging things? No, there it was again. A sharp poke just below her rib cage.

  Oh my! She recognized that touch!

  She raced out to the living room and over to her desk. She grabbed Carothann’s box and pulled it to her. Her wand must be alive. She would look down and see…

  Pain stabbed the back of her throat.

  …the same dead wood, the same crack all the way down its length.

  What the hell was going on?

  “What is it?” Tamiel echoed the question. She had moved to the living room door but hadn’t crossed its threshold.

  “I don’t know?” Claire spun around the room. “I thought Carothann was calling, but it must be something else.”

  “Another wand?”

  “Maybe.”

  “Does that happen?”

  “Not normally, unless you’re at the FGC. There’s the place in Paris I told you about. Usually, you only feel the call if you’re there.”

  “What about the wands in the wild?”

  There was that. Could those rumors be true? But what had she done that was so deserving? Choosing her own path? It couldn’t be that simple, could it?

  The poking shifted to a tugging. Magic pulled at the hem of her dress as if it was inviting her on a quest.

  “Whatever it is, it wants me to follow it.”

  “Are you going to?”

  Claire threw up her hands as a response. This was uncharted territory, and it was way too soon to embrace another wand. But in her heart, she knew she would answer the call. A life without magic wasn’t one she really wanted to figure out, and while this magic wasn’t the steady, comforting flow of Carothann, it was magic and it was powerful.

  “Yes,” she said, admitting out loud what she already knew. She headed to the door.

  Tamiel stood still in the doorframe to the kitchen. “May I come?”

  Claire had her hand on the knob, her back to the door. Did she want Tamiel to join her? The first meeting with a wand was an intensely personal event.

  Her gut reaction surprised her. Yes. She wanted Tamiel to come. That little hiccup in the kitchen had been more about her and her guilt over forgetting Carothann than about Tamiel. She would grieve and honor the wand whether they were together or not.

  Besides, did they have to define this? Whatever this was. They weren’t girlfriends—that was for humans. At that moment, she knew two things. She had to chase the magic, and she wanted Tamiel by her side while she did it. The rest of the future could sort itself out.

  “Please,” Claire said, turning around and reaching out a hand.

  Tamiel smiled and bounded over like a puppy.

  Sweet. Claire’s heart melted. Again, with anyone else the exuberance would have been too much, but the emotions were so clearly new for Tamiel that Claire couldn’t help getting swept up in them.

  Tamiel slid her hand into Claire’s and leaned in until their faces were almost touching. She whispered in Claire’s ear, “Can I tell you something?”

  “Yes.”

  “I’ve never been so invested in a case.”

  Claire chuckled and rested her temple against Tamiel’s. They stood, not moving, for a beat. Strange, after their wonderful adventure last night, this touch was almost more intimate.

  “Neither have I,” Claire whispered back.

  Chapter 5

  Present

  “It’s so strong. I don’t think I can control it.” Claire trembled and stooped to rub her shin.

  An older woman walking by with her terrier threw Claire a suspicious glance. Tamiel had glamoured at her approach, and for all intents and purposes, Claire was standing outside the sex toy store all alone, muttering about control. The woman pulled at the leash and hurried down the street.

  Do you have to? Isn’t it a partnership? Tamiel asked, just a voice in Claire’s head. There was a comfort to it now.

  “Yes, but Carothann felt like an old friend from the first time it called to me at the FGC. This feels more like a sparring partner.”

  A step up, then, Tamiel sent the thought.

  Was it? A step up? The wand yanked at her. Exasperation, annoyance, and power. It was all there in the magic. Where the hell had it come from? Somewhere beyond the FGC clearly. Its appearance seemed way too easy and too quick. But Claire had transformed swiftly as well, not in person, but in attitude. In three days, her mind had opened up, and her reality had spread wide. Fast, yes. Too fast? Perhaps not.

  Claire tamped down the flut
tering in her chest and gave Tamiel a curt nod. Several deep breaths later she was at the frosted door, pulling it open to reveal the inside of the O.M.G-Spot.

  Claire didn’t know what to expect—she had never been in a shop like this—but it wasn’t the clean lines and open feel that greeted her. Warm, white lights flooded down onto an oak floor that ran the length of the store. A nearby wall highlighted books and CDs while a table right in front of Claire advertised free lube with every hundred-dollar purchase. A perky woman with shoulder-length hair and glasses stood up behind the counter and eyed Claire as soon as she stepped inside.

  “Fairy Godmother, are you looking for a wand?”

  Claire flinched. How on earth could she possibly know?

  “No, don’t be embarrassed. Lots of our customers enjoy role play. I absolutely love that you wore your outfit in here. Such a classic choice.”

  Claire glanced down at the old-school green dress she always wore when she was her true self. Oh yeah. She hadn’t bothered to change after Tamiel had dressed her. She never wore this outfit around humans who were not her clients.

  “Looking for that wand to complete it?” the perky woman asked. “Here, let me show you our costume section.”

  Claire smiled thinly at the woman and pointed to a section in the back. She didn’t know where she was headed, but the magic was dragging her forward as if she were caught in a tractor beam.

  “Oh, right. Dildos and vibrators. Holler if you need any help.”

  Claire scooted by her and the display of edible underwear to a series of shelves that ran along the back wall.

  Dildos of every imaginable shape and size sat clustered in themes. Silicone, strap-ons, and the famous G-spot model the store was named after.

  She reached out to touch the sample of the Feel-So-Real and pulled back her fingers at the last moment.

  “It’s here?” Tamiel asked, shimmering into existence.

  Claire nodded. The magic swirled around her like a gale-force wind. It was unlike anything she was familiar with, but already in the short time she had been exposed, this new magic was attacking all the wounds of the last few days and the ennui of decades. Tamiel’s healing energy was fantastic, but more like a Band-Aid. This magic was like a life force. She did feel disloyal to Carothann, but already she was caught up in new possibilities and a new future.