by Erin R Flynn
“Harder,” she growled, bending down so she was lying on the counter. “Grab my hips and fuck what’s yours.”
So I did. I honestly couldn’t believe she wanted it that hard, or how good it felt to just let go and be a bit wild, over the top. I pinched her clit when I got close, and she came for me again, her body clamping down on mine and making me finish as well.
She slumped on the counter, completely spent and boneless. I moved my arms to either side of her to lean over as well, but not hurt her with my weight.
There was something I was dying to say, but not like this. I gently pulled out of her and cleaned us up before fixing our clothes.
She gave me a curious look when I turned her around. I righted her bra and lifted her on the counter, moving between her legs and cupping her face.
“I love you, Meave,” I whispered as I stared into her beautiful eyes. They flashed with that light again, and I knew it was the right time to tell her somehow. “I love you. I know this is love, and even if I’m young and inexperienced, what I feel for you—it’s as deep as what I feel for Clay or my mom. It’s different, but it’s deep like that, growing. I know it’s real.”
She smiled at me as she ran her fingers through my hair. “I feel it too. I don’t even want to check that you’re sure, which is my knee-jerk reaction. You can’t say something like that and not be sure.” She brushed her lips over mine. “Would you still love me if I was different?”
I chuckled. “I love you because you are different.”
She kissed me again but then leaned away, moving her hand between us. “I mean I’m really different.”
I watched as sparks appeared in her hand, gasping when she touched me with that hand, and I felt little shocks where she touched.
She did it with her other hand and moved it to my chest, making me moan even as I jerked from the sensations. Then my body felt cool, cold, even like ice was trailing over my skin.
“Your eyes,” I whispered, seeing them light up again.
They went wide. “You can see it?”
I nodded. “It’s like a light turns on behind them, a cool glow.”
“You’re sensitive if you can see that. Most can’t.”
I stared into her eyes and hoped she believed what I said next: “Meave, I don’t care if you’re really a purple vampire alien. You’re a good person, and I love you.”
She crashed her lips to mine, kissing me like she’d die if she didn’t, and I felt the same, pulling her closer and trying to devour her. Or at least, squash her doubt I would care if she wasn’t normal.
“I’m a witch,” she panted when we broke apart, her forehead leaning against mine.
I chuckled. “Yeah, I thought you bespelled me. That totally makes sense.”
“Brat,” she grumbled. “I haven’t done a damn thing to you besides add a bit of a focus spell to those muffins I gave you to help with your studies, and bath stuff to help your body. I would never fuck with love potions.”
I swallowed my joking comeback, trying to adjust that this was really happening. It was crazy, but… I didn’t think she was. It made sense even, because all the guys immediately said that stuff was magic. Well, not just that, but lots of little things.
Plus, it was pretty convincing to see it.
I licked my lips as I leaned away and studied her. “So, are we talking like, Hogwarts here?”
She frowned, shaking her head. “No, not even close. I wish it was. Most are… It’s dark.” She waved me quiet when I opened my mouth to ask more. “I’ll show you if you can really settle with this, I promise.” She waited until I nodded. “Have you heard of a familiar?”
“Yeah, like a cat or something right?”
“Not exactly the reality,” she warned me. “It’s a person. It’s a person a witch binds to her to help her power and magic. Only female witches have power, males don’t, and that’s where a lot of the darkness comes from.
“There are stories that they used to but abused it—I don’t know. I have no idea if that’s true, or if it’s like having babies, only women can do it.”
“Okay, so you have someone bound to you that’s really close to you?” I asked, noting how jealous I sounded, hating the idea she would rely on anyone other than me more than trying to catch up with this knowledge.
She smirked at me. “I don’t have one. It’s an intimate position. Normally, it’s a male born of a witch bloodline. Others, it’s—they twist what should be pure.
“My older sister wanted my brother to be her familiar, and that’s just disgusting. I helped the asshole avoid that, but then he turned on me to distract my family so he could run, since I was hiding from them.”
“Wow,” I whispered. “What do you do? Now I have so many questions.”
“It took you this long to ask me my job?” she teased me.
I shrugged. “You shut people down, and I thought it was sensitive.”
She gave me a soft kiss. “I shut nosy strangers down. You know how I scream when I come, Ash. You can know about my job. I want you to know everything. If you want to, that is.” Her eyes were full of worry and hesitation.
“I want to know everything,” I promised her.
She slowly nodded. “Okay. Take today and make sure you want to go down this rabbit hole. It’s deep and a bit messy, crazy for someone who didn’t know any of this. If you really want to learn who I am, I’ll show you after everyone’s gone.”
I nodded. “Clay will cover with me that I’m staying at his house. I’ll even park my truck there.” I went to say more, but there was a knock at the door. I glanced at the clock and saw it was quarter to nine.
She spun on the counter and slid off, but not before giving me a worried look. “Please let him be able to handle this.”
I knew she didn’t mean for me to hear it, but my heart hurt that she had the burden of such a secret or people hurting her because of it. My mind spun out as I followed after her.
“You can’t tell anyone, not even Clay,” she warned under her breath before opening the door.
Yeah, that made sense, and I was glad she told me. Logically I knew that, but feeling overwhelmed might make my higher reasoning work not so well at the moment.
The first group were there to start mapping out the backyard for the addition. Meave said they did that yesterday for the greenhouse, digging out the area, and today was concrete pouring.
It made sense to break up such a big job into parts instead of having people standing around. I mean, some would pour the concrete, while others dug out the new area.
That would be where I’d help, and honestly, it was nice to get the manual labor while I sorted out what I was feeling. Clay knew how to work the CAT machine, but he wasn’t anywhere as good as the professionals, so we stuck to helping with the edging and filler jobs.
I barely saw Meave until lunch, where she brought out tons of sandwiches. They were completely loaded, and I was starved. Clay and I sat off to the side after we got food, my best friend knowing me well enough that I needed to talk.
“Abby showed up here this morning,” I told him.
“Why would your stepmom come here?” he grumbled, shaking his head. “Dude, that woman is as messed up as your dad, and I think it gets worse every time he cheats on her.”
I nodded, thinking that was a pretty mild assessment even. “Meave busted her on planning to be married to Dad, but screwing me. She sounded guilty when Meave accused her of being gross and watching me in the shower.”
Clay flinched. “That’s messed up, Ash. That’s more than a bit too many hugs and touching like she’s your girlfriend in front of others.”
“Yeah, really messed up.”
“How did Meave handle it?”
“She basically told Abby to fuck off, keep her hands off of me, and not to come back, since I was an adult and she’d ride me all night if she wanted.”
“Of course Meave did,” he chuckled.
“I love her.”
“Yeah,
I saw that last night when she was defending you,” he admitted. “Kinda fast though.”
“Yeah and maybe it’s not forever love yet, but it’s deep. I told her today.” I cleared my throat nervously. “She’s got some shit in her past with her family. She’s going to tell me tonight so I know the deal before we get any closer.”
“That’s decent of her. I’ll cover for you if you want to stay here.”
“Yeah, thanks. I’ll park my truck by you?”
“No, park your truck at home, and I’ll give you a ride back here. Fuck Abby. Leave her a note and tell her you’re going to keep ignoring her flirty texts that upset you.”
“You think that’s the right play?”
“Yeah, because she may be his wife and your dad might be a dog, but if his bitch was even looking to step out on him, he’d kick her to the curb.”
Sad, but true. It wouldn’t even matter to him that it was me, or that he left me in that sort of environment, just she was trying to hook up with someone. God, I hated my dad and my situation.
After lunch Clay took me home, thrilled Abby wasn’t there, and I quickly packed a bag for the weekend.
I left a note saying what he suggested, making it clear also that if she ever embarrassed me with an employer or anyone again, I would inform my dad that she put herself before the Perry name which he would never stand for.
Especially since one of his favorite pastimes was boasting about the son he ignored, as if all my accomplishments were really his. Which she knew.
I ended up adding a note that if she needed “attention,” she should look elsewhere, and I would stay out of it, just like I did when Dad cheated on her.
Fuck that bitch. Meave was really rubbing off on me in a way that I really liked.
I left my truck and we headed back to Meave’s. She gave me a curious look when we walked in, but I could see how nervous she was, and all I wanted to do was tell her I didn’t care she was a witch. I didn’t. I would absolutely accept her no matter what.
I cared that her heart was good and she was good to me. Nothing else mattered.
After we wrapped for the day, she was one ball of tension. Just as she finished, a crap ton of Chinese was delivered. She gave some to Clay for dinner, as he was the last one to leave.
I went to take it from her, but she shook her head, bringing it into the living room, where she had a blanket in front of the fireplace like we were going to have a picnic.
“There’s no easy way to explain it all, and even if I did, there’s the part where you’ll probably run,” she whispered as she knelt down. “Where someone ran before.
“The only person I told this before. I should have protected myself better then, because it takes a lot to clean up that mess. I want to have faith in you, I do, but my fear is crippling me.”
“Do what you need to,” I immediately replied. “I’m fine with this, Meave. I love you.”
She bobbed her head. “Witches and magic is a lot of blood and darkness. To practice and not live in blood and darkness way, it’s a different path, but rooted in the same.” She let out a shaky breath. “Do you trust me?”
“Yes.”
“Okay, then I’m going to let a spirit possess you.”
“I’m sorry, what now?” I asked, blinking at her.
She chuckled. “That’s how I get power. Yes, there’s lunar stuff and weather power and all kinds of power, but to without killing and blood, it’s this. That’s the job of a familiar. They help with that.
“My father let spirits possess him while he killed people for my mother’s power.” She swallowed loudly and wouldn’t meet my eyes. “I won’t do that. I can’t do that. I found another way.”
“This is a lot, Meave,” I admitted.
“I know,” she rasped. “Please? Let me just show you. I’ve thought about this, and I’ll call the spirit I normally let possess me. He can’t do anything you won’t let him. It’s the best way for you to get this and if you can’t handle it, the spell will make you forget so I’m safe. I’m sorry—that’s the way it has to be. You’ll understand when it happens, what the bond does and—”
I leaned in and kissed her. “Okay, sweets. Whatever you need so you stop being so scared. If you know this is safe, then do it.” And then I might have my head examined for allowing it.
Really, it was her fear. She was so, so afraid of what I would do that I didn’t think we’d get anywhere until she got past this part.
“Okay.” She let out a shaky breath and held out her hand, muttering under her breath. Symbols appeared on the floor, like they were being projected from lights above. It was seriously cool. She moved in the middle of the circle and waved for me to join her… While she was holding a knife.
Down the rabbit hole I go. I swallowed loudly and came in.
“A bonded familiar will be able to hear the spirits without being in here with me, but this is a one-time spell, so it will allow you to know what’s going on. You have to agree too. I won’t force anything on you.”
She waited until I nodded, telling me to take off my shirt before making a small cut on her palm. She hissed, then moved her hand over my heart before placing it on one of the symbols. I watched as she jerked like she’d gotten a shock as she quickly muttered something.
“You took a familiar? Oh my, what fun!” said a voice in my head.
“No, a lover who agreed to see who I am,” she clarified. “I summoned you to be his first. You get an hour for Chinese food. I got all your favorites.”
“No, he’s your lover. I want to fuck you too.”
“What will you give her if I agree?” I asked, realizing I had to get involved here when she just stared at me.
“Enough power for three totems. I’m tired of possessing her for Chinese and masturbating. You’re young and desperate for her. I want that. Let me use your body to fuck the woman you love, and I will give her what she needs in a way you cannot.”
One look at Meave, and I knew it was a good deal. I had no idea what totems were, but she was surprised.
“Nothing he hasn’t done to me, even if he’s okay with it. You get his first time possessed, not his first time fucking my ass or something.”
“Deal, but hurry and fuck her ass, because I’ve always wanted to do that to her.”
“Don’t scare him, you perv,” she grumbled. She gave me a worried look. “Are you really willing to try this?”
I let out a slow breath before I nodded. “Yeah, I’ll do it. I’ll try to do it. I want to be with you.”
She gave me such a hopeful look my heart ached. “A deal has been struck. You know the price you pay if you break it. By promise and by blood, you are bonded to the contract.” She muttered something I didn’t understand and kissed me, moving her hand to my chest again.
I felt a punch to the gut—not painful, though, but like the aftermath of the punch like I couldn’t breathe and my body jerked. Then my body felt cold and heavy.
“Is he okay in there?” she whispered, staring at me.
“He’s fine. Confused, but fine,” I answered.
Or my body did. Oh, holy fuck, I wasn’t in control anymore.
“Now he just caught up,” I chuckled. “Wow, Meave, he really loves you. He’s squashing all his freaking out, and more worried how scared and sad you’ve been since telling him. I have to say, that’s not the best reaction to a man telling you he’s in love.”
“I know, but wounds don’t always heal as well as we wish,” she muttered before moving out of the circle. “No booze until he’s old enough.”
“Damn, I forgot that part. Stupid ‘evolved’ laws. I miss a good ale. Everyone drank as soon as you could see over the bar.”
“Yes, yes, the good old days, before I was born,” she drawled. “Eat while it’s warm. I thought I’d have to reheat it after I explained enough to convince him.”
“Apparently you chose better this time,” I replied.
She shrugged, opening containers. “I didn’t real
ly choose that he was a spy for my parents, did I?”
Oh, poor Meave. That’s extra betrayal.
Being possessed was the freakiest—but still coolest—thing being possessed. He moved my body, but I still felt it when there was something in my hand.
I tasted the food as he ate. I felt the burp coming as he chugged Coke like it was the greatest thing ever.
I’m tripping. Someone slipped something in my drink. I actually don’t hate this, and I’ve lost my mind.
I laughed hard and deep. “Oh, he’s worried he’s insane that he doesn’t hate being possessed. It depends on who’s possessing you.”
“I only deal with spirits not tainted by darkness,” Meave promised me. “There aren’t as many who would answer the call of a witch as the dark ones who don’t find peace, but it’s completely different if a dark spirit possesses you.” She shivered. “It’s a nightmare you won’t ever forget, and I would never let one touch you.”
“Well, I get to be a bit dark with you tonight, right?” I murmured as I set aside the food and crawled over to her. “Does he know the trust you give him by doing this? The power over you to be brought in on the spell?”
“No,” she admitted, her eyes flashing with light again. “I’m not sure there are words for the connection that would make sense.”
“No, probably not,” I agreed, but then frowned. “You’ve not even blown him? I don’t get anal sex or you sucking my cock? Damnit, Meave.”
She shrugged. “I’ve been making this one work for it. He likes it.”
“Damn, he does,” I chuckled. “Fine, but I’m not spoiling you at all then.” Shock rocked me as he grabbed her and tore off her sports bra before pushing her onto the blanket and yanking down her bottoms. My cock was out and slamming into her before I could even blink. “Beg.”
“Fuck me, please fuck me,” she moaned, pushing her ass up. “Let him fuck me, Ash. I want it so bad.”
Shit, this is hot, and I’m not sure if it counts as cheating. The spirit laughed at that, but didn’t reply. Instead, he fucked Meave so hard that if she wasn’t making happy sounds, I’d be worried he was hurting her.