by Hazel Hunter
When the edge of his tongue came closer an immeasurable time later, the rough of it just catching her clit, she moaned. Her hands landed in his hair, and she tugged hard, drawing a half-breathless laugh from him.
“What is it, darling?” he whispered in amusement. “What is it you want?”
“Damn you. You know!”
She’d intended for her words to come out as imperious, but instead they were simply demanding and needy. She tried to push his head down between her legs, she tried to arch her hips to bring him closer, but the man was made of steel. She could neither move him nor bend him, and finally she simply lay back and let him lap at her, driving her closer and closer to what she wanted but unable to ever reach that peak.
Finally, he had mercy on her, and his tongue was a fury. He lapped at her clit and sent her straight over the edge with a long wail. The pleasure bloomed as bright as fireworks, and she knew that she couldn't take anymore. She was vaguely aware that he had withdrawn from her, but then he was back again.
“Shh, shh, love, I'm here. I just needed to be prepared.”
She nodded mutely, and then her arms looped tightly around his shoulders.
“I need you,” she whispered, and she was no longer even certain how she meant it. “I want you inside.”
His laugh was mostly a groan, and he placed a tender kiss on her lips. She could taste herself on his mouth, and the thought made her squirm again. Her orgasm left her exhausted, but there was still a bright spark of pleasure there that was not yet doused.
He rose over her, and she felt the blunt head of his manhood probing her slick sex. She expected to flinch at how sensitive she was, but his body over her and his weight resting on her was enough to ground her, to keep the sensations at a place where they felt good.
When he slid inside her, they both tensed. She whimpered a little at the slight stretch, just shy of pain. He reached down to touch her face.
“Are you all right? We can stop.”
“I don't want to stop,” she said, and she didn't.
She wanted this fullness and this gorgeous sensation of joining with him. She wanted him deep inside her, and when she set her hands on his hips, he understood.
He started to move, slowly at first, and then picked up speed. After a few moments, she relaxed, and the discomfort faded into something deeper and wonderful. She could feel him touch her deep inside. She could feel the slide of his hard flesh inside her. There was something primal about the way he took her, about the way his sweat-sleek body moved over hers.
He's all for my pleasure, she thought hazily, and somewhere, she recognized it as the truth. She wanted him. She needed him like this. And when his body started to shake, she knew that she had never wanted anything more.
He moved slightly, sending another lightning bolt of pleasure through her, and her body started to tremble. To her disbelief, she realized that she was going to climax again. She grasped at his arms, burying her face in his shoulder. It felt like it should have been too much, too soon, but she allowed the sensations to carry her along until they overwhelmed her. This was what she wanted. This was what she needed, and as he thrust into her one more time with a muffled roar, she let go.
The pleasure this time rolled through her like thunder, something she couldn't stop if she tried. She wanted it. She wanted all of the sensation that this man could give her, and she wanted to be overwhelmed by him. The feeling completed her even as it awoke a kind of panic in her mind, and that paired with the pleasure drove her to unbelievable heights.
She was crying out wildly, and she didn't even know it until her throat was sore. Her legs ached from the tension of arching her body towards Colin's hard thrusts, and when he collapsed on her, she felt a kind of peace that she had never known in her life.
“I never want this to end,” she said softly, and he stiffened as if startled.
“It doesn't have to,” Colin replied, and it hurt a little that there was a certain caution in his voice.
“What do you mean?” Selene asked.
“I mean that you can come back with me. You'll have your hearing, and once the Corps understands everything, the next part of your life can start.”
“That sounds…amazing.”
“It might be hard to believe, but it will be.”
Colin pulled away from her with aching gentleness, and she watched silently as he disposed of the condom and came back to sit beside her. Tentatively, she snuggled up next to his side, and he put his arm around her comfortably. They were as easy with each other as if they had been lovers for a hundred years. She knew about the Wiccan immortality. They could have that if she agreed—if she bowed down to the authority of the Corps.
“There is a whole world out there that is looking to welcome you with open arms,” he said softly. “If you came with me, I could protect you. We could stay together, have intense chases across the city. Maybe you would let me remember at least a few of the times that I beat you.”
She looked up at him with surprise.
“You are perhaps the only person who knows about my abilities and isn't entirely terrified of me. I wonder why that is.”
Colin eased her down on her back, and he came to lie down by her side. He traced patterns on the flat of her belly and looked thoughtful.
“I suppose it is because I saw you at the diner with that girl. She was hurting, and you made it stop. That's not the work of a woman who erases the memory of others on a lark. I have a feeling that every time that you've done it, there's been a compelling reason for you.”
She took a deep breath and then another.
“Not always,” she confessed. “Sometimes, it's been extremely selfish.”
“Tell me.”
If he hadn't said it with that soft, soft plea in his voice, she would have said no. She didn't even know that she wanted to tell him until the words came rushing out.
“You keep talking about a hearing,” she said quietly. “You keep talking to me about meeting my old coven master, and how I injured him. I did swear my allegiance to that coven in Montana. I was prepared to live out a long and happy life out there, among those same people who you say were going to embrace me.”
He shifted to take her into his arms, and against her better judgment, she snuggled up to him. She suddenly didn't know if she was going to touch him for the last time. For a moment, that thought took her breath away.
“I was happy there, and then Lester came asking after me. He came to my little cabin up in the mountains when I was all alone. He asked me if there was anything I wanted. I told him I didn't need him to chop my wood or tend to my horse, but he did anyway. He told me that I needed him. He told me that after all the good things he did for me, that the coven did for me, I owed him. He didn't understand why I didn't see it.”
She laughed bitterly and Colin held her tighter.
“Did he hurt you?” There was mayhem and murder in his tone, and though Selene warmed to hear it, she knew it made no difference.
“He wanted to. One day, he cornered me in the shed. There was no one for miles, and he had made sure that we were alone. He got closer and closer, and I knew that if I didn't do something…”
She was silent, and she only spoke again when Colin whispered her name.
“I was so young then. I panicked. I reached for his mind. I don't even know how I did that. I…I think I could do that again, but it frightens me. He was looking at me with this perfectly blank face, and I ran back to the house, grabbed a few things and got the hell out of there.” She sighed. “I've been running ever since.”
Colin was silent for a long moment, and when he spoke, she could tell that he was hiding a deep and powerful fury.
“What he did to you was wrong, and Selene, I swear to you that if you had told someone, no one would have blamed you. Those are not the actions of a coven master towards one of the youngest and most vulnerable witches in his coven. He deserved everything you did and more. I read the file, and you made him lose a fu
ll week of time. He pitched a fit over it, but now it's easy to see that he deserved everything you did and more.”
“I know there are truthtellers among the Wiccans,” Selene said softly. “Men and women who can tell the truth of what they hear. There's no evidence beyond my word. No one would ever believe me.”
“I believe you,” he said firmly. “I promise you, Selene. When we return, I will stand by your side, and I will call whatever witches or warlocks I need so that the Wiccan world will hear your truth. You deserve a space in my world, and by all of the gods and the saints, you will have it.”
She smiled, and buried her face in his chest. Let him take it for agreement if he wished. She didn't believe him any more than she believed in Santa Claus, but she let his words and his anger wash over her. He was with her and he believed her. It was healing in its own way, and telling him the story she had kept inside for years made her feel lighter, as if a weight had been taken from her shoulders.
Nestled in each other's arms, they drifted off to sleep, but Selene knew that it would not last. With an ease born of long practice and necessity, Selene roused herself after a few hours. It was almost noon, but the bedroom that they slept in was so dark it could have been any time at all.
She quietly gathered her things and made sure that Bitsy was tucked safely into her bag. The ferret made a soft noise of protest, but she was in no mood to listen to her pet's protestations that day. Silent as a shadow, she paused by the bed. In sleep, Colin looked young, the care lifted off of his face. With the amulet in her hand, she knew that she would not need to worry about him finding her again.
She paused. Though she wanted to kiss him, she left.
CHAPTER TWELVE
SHE SPENT THE afternoon looking over her shoulder, wondering if she might see an angry Colin appear by her side. She stayed on the move, just another young woman making her way through a bright Chicago winter day. The cold was crisp and refreshing, and she drank an enormous cup of coffee. From time to time, she touched Bitsy for comfort, causing the little animal to chitter with pleasure.
She had almost forgotten about her assignment, but as dusk started to fall, she knew that she needed the money, especially if the Corps was going to continue chasing her. She looked down at her clothes, and realized that though they were still tidy, she needed better if she hoped to do her job.
Luckily the stores on Michigan Avenue were still open, and inside of an hour, she had an outfit she thought would pass. Her job paid well, and underneath her long dark coat, she had given up the jeans and the t-shirt for a beautiful gray dress that was cut almost indecently short. She traded her shoes for high heels, and she put her hair up into an elegantly simple French twist.
When she looked herself over in the dressing room mirror, she knew that she was dressed to kill. The dress hugged her curves in just the right way, and the neckline plunged daringly, revealing an eye-catching amount of cleavage. It would be normal for the club where she was going, but she still buttoned up to her chin before stepping back out.
The information that her patron had given her told her where the subject would be. The club was an exclusive place on the edge of downtown, and the line to get in was extremely long. With the confidence of a woman who was used to getting her way no matter what, she breezed to the head of the line and made sure that the doorman never remembered letting in someone who should never have been there. Once inside, she paid for a drink to hold, and started scanning the crowd.
Selene had the facts in front of her. She knew exactly who she was looking for, but still, when she spotted the young girl, her heart sank. Her mysterious patron had given her a description, but somehow she hadn't expected her mark to look quite so innocent.
She wondered what secrets the girl held. But she resolutely told herself that it was none of her business. She had a job to do, and drink in hand, she made her way across the floor. The girl she was targeting was lovely, but there was something fragile about her as well. When her friends were turned to speak with others, there was a lost look on her face. She was skinny rather than slender, and though she wore the latest fashions, they hung on her awkwardly, as if she was wearing a costume.
When Selene got closer, she made sure that her eyes were pointed elsewhere, and she made bumping into the girl look like an accident. She cursed and then apologized profusely when she 'accidentally' spilled her drink all over the girl's dress, and then she insisted on taking the girl to the bathroom to clean her up.
The club's bathroom was amazingly spacious, with a sitting area complete with an elegant couch and coffee table. Selene sat the girl down and came back with a wet cloth, cooing in concern about her lovely dress.
“It doesn't really suit me, does it?” the girl asked with a half-hearted little laugh.
“No, sweetie, it looks fantastic on you. You have such a lovely figure, so graceful! I would love to have a body like yours.”
“Bet you wouldn't,” the girl said darkly. “Bet you would hate it.”
There was something so vehement about the girl's tone that Selene paused. The girl still hadn't looked up, and if she was going to avoid eye-contact, there was nothing that she could do but keep the girl talking and wait. At least, that's what she told herself.
“I think that most women have days where they know with absolute faith that the grass is greener on the other side,” she said cautiously. “This sounds like a little more than that.”
“You bet it is!” the girl exclaimed.
She swept her hand over her body as if she wanted to accuse it, to hold it responsible for what it had done to her.
“I've always been so small and frail. No one ever takes me seriously. No one ever thinks that I can handle anything. They insist on treating me like a little kid. When I have the nerve to speak up for myself, they think it’s cute.”
The vehemence in the girl's tone saddened Selene, but it didn't surprise her. She was perhaps five years older than her, and she could all too clearly remember what that was like.
“'Come on, miss, why don't you let someone else handle that?'” she suggested. “Things like that?”
The girl nodded, and she grasped the arm of the couch to steady her. Selene hadn't seen her drinking, but with a build that narrow, she didn't need much to start feeling a little light on her feet. Selene found herself irritated with the girl's friends. They should have been looking after her, not letting her go to the bathroom with any lady who wanted to clean her up.
“I thought I was doing so well,” she said softly. “I thought that I was making a name for myself, making sure that people respected me. I thought that when Mr. Lattimore wanted me to work for him in his office that meant that people were taking me seriously.”
Selene's ears pricked up at that. Mr. Lattimore was one of the things that she was meant to make Miss Elsa Mayberry forget, and now it seemed like she was going to find out all about why that was.
“What did Mr. Lattimore do?” she asked, dread pooling in her belly.
She remembered the feeling that she was finally making headway in the coven, and how Lester had encouraged her. He had made her feel like the most clever witch of her generation. He had spoken so admiringly of her at first.
“He started giving me these files to get rid of, you know? At first it was just the normal stuff, but then…then I started to look at them. They…well, I'm not sure I'm supposed to get into it.”
“These were files that he should not have gotten rid of,” Selene guessed. “They were in fact files that should have been forwarded straight to someone in charge.”
Elsa nodded, as if relieved that she didn't have to say it. “Yes.”
She sat so still that at first, Selene thought that she wouldn't speak again.
“There was a town where they were pouring chemicals into the water from the factory. People were getting sick. Mr. Lattimore was in charge of seeing if the waste water was related. Those files said that they were.”
There was something deflated abou
t her now, but Selene could see that there was more to this girl than what she showed. She was brave enough to call out wrong-doing when she saw it. She was ready to take those files to someone who had the power to punish this oh-so-powerful Mr. Lattimore, and she was willing to go through whatever it took to see justice done.
Suddenly, Selene was full of an old fury, both anger at herself and rage at the forces that had made Elsa Mayberry feel so afraid. She realized two things. The first was that she could never take Elsa's story away from her, not when the health of an entire small town was riding on the girl's word. The second was that she knew that she needed to do something to help.
She cast around for a moment, and then she nodded firmly.
“Will you look up for me, please?”
She held up the wet towel as if she wanted to dab the dress directly under the girl's chin, but when their eyes met, gold to blue, Selene held her.
“There we go, sweetheart, let's see…”
She sat quietly with Elsa's hand in hers. The few women who came in and out must have thought she was consoling the girl after a bad breakup. Bitsy found her way from Selene's purse and nosed at Elsa's limp hand as well. Selene could feel her connection strengthen with the presence of her pet. She found the memories that they had wanted to erase, and they were tinged with fear and anger. Elsa would need the anger, but she certainly didn't need the fear.
Just like she had done with Yasmine, she smoothed the fear away, blunting those emotions and making them stand smaller. The details were still there, they were still important, but now they would be sharper and stronger.
As Selene did her delicate work, she realized something odd. She had never had such an easy time with this task. However, now she could see the memories she targeted much more clearly, and she could pull the fear away with much more finesse. More than that, she could feel herself start to weave bravery into the mix as well. She could feel Elsa's spirit rally. She was doing right, and she would be bold and strong under lawyers' questions. She had been as afraid of the witness stand as she had been when she took the files out of the office, but now she was resolute as well.
