by Robin Wirth
heart and she didn’t even care about that
anymore. She wanted Lance desperately, no
matter what it could mean for her hopes of a
career if she let things between them progress.
Surely having a husband, or even just a
lover, would not hold her back in life, would it?
There were plenty of witches who held down a
job and a relationship at the same time, weren’t
there?
From her perspective, of course, it made
perfect sense that a young witch like herself
would find the older, sophisticated wizard
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attractive. But why would Master Lancelot
Jones, a wizard known throughout the land for
his no-nonsense approach to things, want to
have a slip of a school girl who was about as
experienced in matters of love as she was in the
fine art of weaving a basket, or any other such
thing?
She
was
obviously
capable
of
undertaking the task of making love. She even
had some idea of the mechanics required. But
the kiss Lance had just stolen in the midst of
their heated exchange had been her first.
Her only other experience in such
matters had been when Jane’s brother, William,
had attempted to steal her bra, and even then
he’d only been doing it on a dare, and not out of
any sort of interest in her anatomy.
What if Lance had found her wanting
when she hadn’t known how to react to his lips
suddenly connecting with hers? What if she had
just ruined her one and only chance at being with
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him? Tears flowed down her cheeks at the very
notion that she could come so close to her heart’s
desire and then manage to botch it.
She turned and watched the landscape go
by outside the tiny window she was sitting next
to in the furthest back car she could find. She
didn’t know how long she sat that way, lost in a
numbing haze of longing and uncertainty.
“There’s my girl,” Lancelot said softly
as he slipped onto the bench beside her. “I’ve
been waiting for you to decide to come and seek
me out, but I was beginning to despair that you
never would.”
In spite of herself, Felicity emitted a
snort of derision at this pronouncement. Of
course she would have eventually went looking
for the man. How could she not, when they were
on this trip together?
“Not talking to me, eh?” he chuckled. “I
suppose I deserve that, after my ill-advised little
speech. I know that you don’t really need me,
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Felicity, but I enjoy the idea that you are going
to be around for the next six years very much. I
just want you to know that.”
He slid his fingers into her hair and
turned her face up to look at his. The other hand
cautiously began to rub some of the tension out
of her shoulders. She dropped her eyes, and then
looked out the window again.
“You took off so fast earlier I never got
to ask what you would like to have to eat,” he
said in a soothing tone. “It’s been hours since we
boarded this train, you must be hungry by now.”
“I’m not,” Felicity told him, but then her
wayward stomach growled loudly, giving the lie
to her words. The two of them looked at each
other, and she blushed as she looked quickly out
the window again.
“Felicity, why are you hiding back
here?” he asked gently. “Won’t you come and
have something to eat, and then we can go to our
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cabin and get some sleep? We’ve got a long hike
ahead of us. Don’t you want to rest up for it?”
Felicity merely sighed, but when Lance
tugged at her arm she let him coax her to fall into
step at his side. He led her to the dining car.
Felicity plopped down on the bench of a
booth there, still blushing as he looked at her
again. Lance shook his head after a few
moments.
“I’ve no idea what to tempt you with,” he
said with a chuckle. “I don’t suppose you’d be
willing to help a poor wizard out?”
“Hmph,” she responded, still looking out
the window.
“I know what, I’ve got just the thing,”
said Lance as he snapped his fingers. He strode
over to the little stand to the other side of the car
and ordered a couple dishes of ice cream, and
brought them back with a smile of triumph.
“Come on, now, Felicity, I know you like this.”
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Felicity looked over at him, but when she
looked into his eyes it only made her blush and
look away again.
Laughing, Lancelot sat beside her on her
little bench, sliding closer to her as he scooted
her bowl of vanilla ice cream beside her hand.
Felicity did not reach for it.
“Am I going to have to feed it to you
myself to get it into you?” he wanted to know.
“No,” Felicity answered quietly, still
blushing. She knew she was going to have to
face him again sometime, it was just difficult to
do with so many emotions vying for dominance
within her.
She took the spoon in hand and slid one
bite quickly into her mouth to appease him.
Obviously Lance thought that she was taking too
long to eat another, because with a wicked grin
and his own spoon, he scooped up another bite
and chased her mouth with it.
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Felicity giggled as she tried to evade
him, but eventually he got it into her mouth. He
had gotten some of the stuff on her chin before
he managed to do so, however.
Felicity giggled some more when he
took his time removing the spoon from her
mouth, sliding it suggestively back and forth
over her tongue. Once it was finally out of the
way, Lance leaned forward and rather
ostentatiously nibbled the smear of ice cream off
of her face.
Her heart hammered in her chest as their
eyes met and held, and his lips found their way
back to hers, if only briefly, before he backed
away with a playful grin. A slight smirk rose up
on Felicity’s lips as well.
“I think you might have missed a spot,”
she told him.
“Do you?” he inquired. “Where is it, my
dear? You know how much I like to do a good
job.”
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Felicity slowly brought her fingers up to
search.
With
deliberately
tantalizing
movements, she slid them along her chin and
over her mout
h.
“Right there,” she whispered as she
touched her lips.
“Well, I suppose I had better do
something about that, then,” said Lance. He was
slightly breathless when he said this, as if he had
just been running, and with a start Felicity
realized she was having trouble breathing, too.
Lance slid one of his arms around her
waist as he scooted closer, and used his other
hand to tilt up her chin. His lips slanted across
hers once, twice. And the third time, his tongue
tip slid across her lips as well, making Felicity
groan in response.
Of course, the groan had opened her
mouth a little, and now Lance took full
advantage of the fact. Deftly his tongue slid
inside.
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Felicity saw rainbows. She saw stars
exploding. She saw a life of tasting this man
flash before her eyes. She saw with certain
clarity that her dreams would become a reality.
And she realized something else as well
as the kiss continued. By the gods, he was
making her hot!
To make sure he didn’t let go of her
anytime soon, Felicity slid her arms around his
neck, drawing him even closer than before. This
time, it was Lance who groaned, and Felicity
giggled softly as she returned the deeper kiss
they shared.
The two sat like that for a time, tangled
into each other’s needs. Lancelot tasted like a
little slice of heaven in Felicity’s mouth. She
wasn’t sure she could ever let go of him.
“Our ice cream is melting,” he finally
whispered as he moved away from her.
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Felicity couldn’t seem to find her voice,
so she just nodded, and they finished their food
in silence.
“Are you getting tired?” Lance asked
when he saw Felicity yawn. She nodded shyly,
and he pulled her up against his side as they
walked together toward the sleeping cars.
When Lance opened the little door to
their cabin and the two of them stepped inside,
Felicity stopped short. Connected to the wall
was a small platform that was supposed to serve
as a bed. It was probably designed for one
person, and it was the only one she saw.
Felicity eyed the smallish platform
uncertainly, but she didn’t want to make a fuss.
After all, she was the one who had challenged
Lance to be adventurous, wasn’t she?
Also, it would seem kind of silly to be
snogging him one minute, and then get all weepy
the next, wouldn’t it?
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Lance smirked at her reaction, and said,
“I’ll let you use the bathroom first, my dear. We
might as well clean up a bit before we sleep. We
won’t have another chance once we’re out in the
wilds.”
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TWENTY-THREE
Felicity was disappointed to discover
that the bathroom contained one very small toilet
and a microscopic little cubicle that was meant
to be a shower. She undressed and got inside,
pulling the hose-like shower head down from its
mount to run the water over her body and use the
soap as quickly as possible, lest the hot water
finish before she did.
She brushed her teeth as she dried off
with one of the four towels she found hanging
on the wall, and then dropped it so she could dry
the floor. Afterwards, she straightened it out
neatly and left it there so Lance would be able to
step out onto it when he took his shower.
The thought suddenly occurred to her
that Lancelot Jones must be fully aware that she
was just one door away from him, and that she
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was completely naked. Would he be envisioning
that just about now, wishing he could have a
look?
A heady blush crept over her entire body,
and she made quick work of putting on some of
the clothes they’d bought for her to camp in. Her
long, full head of tawny curls would take forever
to dry if she left it to its own devices, and
doubtless would become full of snarls as well,
so she surreptitiously swept her wand over it,
using a few drying spells to make some order out
of the chaos.
Worried about her appearance for some
unaccountable reason, she perused herself in the
small mirror for a moment. Not perfect, but at
least passable, she decided. Besides, she
couldn’t possibly wake up looking good no
matter what she did now, anyway. When she
realized she was stalling, Felicity forced herself
to open the door.
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Smirking just a little as she came out, she
glanced over to find Lance standing next to the
bed. He looked very much as though he might
have been pacing. She didn’t say anything, and
neither did he, but the tension between the two
of them was palpable.
“Right, then, I won’t be long,” said
Lance as he walked stiffly past her and headed
for the tiny bathroom. “You can go ahead and
get into bed, if you’d like.”
“Sure,” said Felicity with a deep,
crimson blush.
While Lancelot Jones was completely
naked just one door away from her, Felicity
contemplated the so-called bed. If she were to
curl up as close to the wall as possible, there
might be just enough room for Lance to squeeze
in when he came out to join her there.
Sighing, she did her best to put the plan
into action. She pulled the single blanket over
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herself for warmth, and tried to go to sleep, but
of course she couldn’t do it.
Not while she was so aware that she’d be
in a bed with a man for the first time in just a few
minutes. A man she’d been kissing not two
hours ago. A man she’d dreamed about every
night since the day they’d met.
No, she doubted very much she’d be able
to sleep at all.
)0(
Lancelot was dripping wet, standing in
the bathroom, and his body was completely out
of his control. He knew that he needed to behave
himself when he came out to join the beautiful
woman waiting in bed for him, but the more
stubborn part of his anatomy just wouldn’t listen
to reason.
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He contemplated making an attempt to
tame the beast before he went out, just so he
wouldn’t frighten the poor girl, but the thought
of Felicity hearing him kept that option from
being one he wished to choose. And he knew she
would hear him, too, since the degree of his
> desire was so great as to prohibit any control
once he took it in hand.
So, that meant his only hope was that she
would be asleep, or that she would not be
looking at him when he came out the door.
Given enough time, he might make it under the
covers before she saw the true state of things and
made a bee-line for the exit door.
Or perhaps she would see it, and decide
to take the matter into her own hands, said the
more carnal side of his brain. Visions of just how
she might accomplish such a thing began to
assail his already overwhelmed senses, and he
had to adjust the belt on the pants he’d just put
on to a looser rung.
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“There’s nothing for it, old boy,” he told
himself. “You can’t stay in the bathroom all
bloody night.”
Lancelot stepped gingerly out into the
main room and looked at the way Felicity had
positioned herself on the bed. His lower region
throbbed even harder as the outline of her sweet
arse met his eager eyes.
“Felicity, my dear girl, you do know that
lying that way is considered highly erotic by
some men, do you not?” he whispered into her
ear as he sat beside her on the tiny bed and began
to rub her all down the side of her body from
shoulder to hip, then cupped one cheek of her
arse as he kissed the side of her head.
With a little gasp, Felicity rolled flat on
her back and looked sheepishly up at him. “I
hadn’t heard,” she said softly.
“I happen to be one of them,” he
mentioned as he got under the covers and laid
circumspectly on his back, willing himself not to
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touch her anymore lest he couldn’t behave in a
gentlemanly manner.
“Sorry,” she said softly, taking up a pose
similar to his own, and for very similar reasons.
