His head spun from the incredible kiss, from the feel of her soft body against his, her luscious scent. Had it been like this when they first joined? This time seemed even more passionate, more fiery.
Copper grew wilder in his arms. She bit his bottom lip and he groaned again. She pressed her palm against his shoulder and pushed him flat on his back, and ended up on top of him, straddling him.
She pulled away from the kiss and he held her slim hips as she arched her back, her face tilted to the sky, as if drinking in everything around him.
He’d never seen a more beautiful sight. Her breasts were small and firm, her body smooth and taut. The sun made soft gold highlights in her tresses as her hair tumbled over her shoulders.
She lowered her face and looked at him, her eyes devouring him. She braced her hands to either side of his head. Another hungry kiss, as though she’d never get enough. He was certain he would not. He had to have her, all of her.
Copper stole her lips from his, dragging her mouth along his stubbled jaw, shimmying down his body as she gently bit the skin at the place where his neck met his shoulder, then licked the spot with her tongue.
She moved down farther, kissing the hollow at the base of his throat, then the skin visible through the loose ties of his tunic.
“Goddess, you taste good,” she murmured, her voice husky and needy.
Tiernan wanted his clothing off, wanted bare skin against bare skin, but he sensed her need to be in control, and he would indulge her—this time.
Copper eased her way down to his breeches and began unfastening the ties, then released his erection. Her small fingers gripped him before she slid her mouth down his length.
“Gods,” he nearly shouted as he felt the heat of her warm mouth sheathe him.
He grasped her hair in his palms, feeling the silky strands slide through his fingers as she moved up and down him and moved her hand in time with her mouth.
All blood, all thought, all awareness, was centered in his groin and the woman who was driving him out of his mind.
His orgasm began to build and build within him and her eyes urged him on.
Gold bubbles rose from her and floated down to seep into Tiernan’s body to become flickering flames of desire that traveled straight through him. The intensity of the magic was too much.
He came in a long hard rush, his orgasm was beyond comprehension. Black spots danced behind his eyes along with the gold bubbles of Copper’s magic.
“Are you trying to kill me, witch?” he managed to get out between each breath.
Copper raised her head and licked her lips, that mischievous spark in her eyes. “Is it working?”
Tiernan raised himself just enough to grasp her under her arms and draw her up so that he could kiss her. Gods, how he loved the way she kissed.
Another moan rose in Copper’s throat as she slipped her tongue between Tiernan’s lips. She’d wanted him and goddess help her, she had to have him.
Her mind whirled as he rolled over and she found herself on her back in the damp grass with Tiernan, his hands braced to either side of her body. He smelled so good—of male and leather. She felt him against her. To her pleasure, he hardened again. Damn, but these warriors had incredible stamina.
Tiernan continued to kiss her, his leather-clad body rough against her naked skin, the stubble on his jaw chafing her face. It felt naughty and sexy that he was still clothed while she was entirely naked. She squirmed beneath him, needing him, wanting him.
He released her mouth to trail his lips along the line of her jaw to her ear. He flicked his tongue inside and she shivered when he bit her earlobe.
“My little fire,” he murmured in her ear. “You drive me insane.”
“Then take me.” She gripped his soft leather shirt in her fists. “Now.”
“When I am ready,” he said as he moved his mouth to the sensitive spot just behind her ear.
Copper shivered as he worked his way down and his tongue danced between her breasts. She arched her back as she sucked in her breath.
He gave a soft laugh and brought his hands to her breasts and squeezed them. Instead of taking one taut bud into his mouth, he blew warm breath over her nipple. She gasped at the sensation and he moved to her other breast and released his warm breath over it.
Copper linked her hands behind his neck and tried to force him closer. The maddening man only raised his head and looked into her eyes. His gaze was hungry, fierce, and she bit her lower lip at his feral expression.
“If you don’t behave I will make you wait, woman,” he growled in that deep Irish brogue of his that made her so hot.
He commanded as if used to wielding authority. Well, she might let him this time, because she needed him so badly, but next time...
She couldn’t think anymore because Tiernan started circling one of her nipples with his hot tongue, then nipped the taut bud.
Too damned slow! She pounded on his shoulders with her fists, wanting the pain and pleasure to continue. He tugged harder and her eyes watered at the exquisite feel of it.
Tiernan released her nipple and moved to the other. She sighed with disappointment that he had stopped, but hissed her breath out when he captured her other nipple between his teeth. She tilted her head back and wriggled her body beneath his, unable to stop herself.
He licked and sucked and nipped her. She cried out again and dug her nails into his shoulders, feeling the leather beneath her touch once more, clenching so tightly she was certain to leave her own mark on his skin.
When he finally released her nipple, she relaxed. The nubs felt incredibly sensitive and wonderful as he lightly flicked his tongue over one and then the other. The fact he had made them so tender heightened the sensations beyond belief.
“Did you enjoy that?” he murmured as he raised his head and his gaze met hers.
“You’d better stop teasing me.” She squirmed beneath him. “Or there’ll be hell to pay.”
“You are a wild one.” He licked the space between her breasts again. “You need to be tamed.”
He was an arrogant ass, but soooo good that she didn’t argue. She wanted him to hurry.
Tiernan moved slowly down her stomach, swirling his tongue in her belly button. The sensation made her suck in her breath again.
More of those strange golden bubbles floated above her and then seeped into her skin.
Sex magic.
So, so much power filled her with every bubble that settled against her flesh. She felt like she could do anything—any spell, any type of magic she wanted to.
Not only did she feel magical power, but the golden bubbles intensified the feelings within her, making her nearly burst with her unbelievable lust for Tiernan. The bubbles had never happened to her before the first time she and Tiernan had sex. It had to mean something.
Sex magic.
As he slid lower down her body, she could no longer grasp his shoulders. She slipped her fingers into his thick hair and clung to him. Her thighs trembled as she waited for his tongue.
Instead, he pressed her legs farther apart and licked and nipped at the soft skin at the juncture of her thigh. Copper almost cried with the need to have his mouth on her until she exploded with an orgasm to rival all orgasms—even those he had given that first afternoon and night. She knew that it would be even greater, knew it with everything she had. If only he would stop teasing her.
He moved his mouth again, this time stopping to draw in a deep breath. “By the gods, you smell of the sweetest nectar.”
Tiernan sat back on his haunches, then hooked his arms under her knees and raised her up so that her thighs were against her chest. “Do you want me to take you, Copper?”
She nodded in a quick, jerky movement. “Yes. Now.”
He moved up so that he was over her, his hands braced on either side of her head, keeping most of his weight off her. He was so big, so powerful.
She reached for him and he lowered his head and brought his mouth to hers in a slo
w, sweet kiss. He was so gentle with her that it took her breath away.
When he finally rose, his gaze locked with hers, his blue eyes studying her almost like he had never seen her before. “I need you, Copper. Gods help me, but I need you.”
“Then take me,” she whispered.
Tiernan slid into her and she caught her breath on a gasp. He kept his eyes on her as he moved in and out. He started slow, but his pace increased, sending thrills through her belly.
Copper was wild in his arms. She felt such incredible power, more than last time, power that she could barely hold back. It was unbelievable.
Golden magical bubbles shot up above her, as if exploding with the depth of her need.
She came hard. Fireworks rippled through her, out of control.
Gold bubbles, gold sparks. In her, outside her, throughout the meadow. When she climaxed yet again, the flash of gold blinded her.
Through the buzz in her mind and in her ears, she barely heard Tiernan’s shout of release, barely felt the pulse of him inside her.
He was still breathing hard, bracing his hands on either side of her body. She still trembled with her orgasm when she knew.
I know. Now. Now!
“Come on!” She shoved at him and his expression was puzzled. “Hurry and get your pants back up!”
Tiernan frowned, but he rolled off her and tucked himself back inside his pants.
The meadow was still filled with what looked like a meteor shower. She grabbed her dress and pulled it over her head. When she noticed all the Fae watching them, she didn’t even care that apparently they’d had an audience.
Fine, they could help.
Copper felt incredible. Such amazing energy and power filled her. She had this wonderful feeling deep inside, like she was invincible. It had been magical, what she’d just shared with Tiernan—and it had been so much more. So very much more.
Sex magic.
A swell of warmth expanded in her chest. At this moment she knew she could accomplish just about anything.
Even get them out of this mess.
Scents of grass, apples, water from the stream, and flowers seemed so much richer and more vibrant, and the gold bubbles and sparks made everything glow. A sudden hard breeze rustled the branches of the tree and rushed over her bare skin.
When she was dressed and her eyes met Tiernan’s, she saw that his frizzed hair was mussed, but still held back with the leather strap. He looked funny when his hair was sticking up, but he was quite sexy with his hair drawn back with the tie.
And right now he looked like male perfection, from his incredible blue eyes, to the sculpted muscles of his biceps, to the latent power he exuded. Like a panther, tensed and ready to pounce on her.
But not now. They didn’t have much time.
“Zephyr!” she called as she scooped up her wand from where she had dropped it.
Right away the honeybee buzzed to her from where he had been perched on one of the daisies. When he landed on the curve of her ear, she immediately sensed his disapproval over what she and Tiernan had done, but she only laughed. “If it’s not one male it’s another.”
Copper motioned for Tiernan to join her when she reached the center of the meadow. “I’m going to try a spell that I’ve been thinking about for a while.” She wiggled her toes in the soft grass, tugged her dress down, and took a deep breath of fresh air as the gold still rained down. “This magic we’ve created. I know we can do it.”
Tiernan looked puzzled and as if he were starting to say something, when Riona flitted up to Copper, her lavender wings fluttering as her Faerie dust glittered around her. “Allow our magic to join with yours,” the Faerie queen said.
“Definitely.” Copper nodded to the other beings frolicking in the grass. “And theirs, too. I have a feeling that this time we can do it—set us all free. But we’ve got to hurry.”
Riona had a solemn expression on her usually animated features. “We will.”
Tiernan reached Copper and scrubbed his hand over his face. When he looked down at her, he smiled and her heart pounded a little harder. “This time?” he asked.
She nodded and clenched her wand tight in her hand. “My magic and my gut tell me it’s going to work. If I have everyone’s help, we can all be free.”
He reached up and fingered a leaf of her vine dress as he studied her. “I believe you.”
A moment later and Copper and Tiernan were surrounded by Faeries, Pixies, and Brownies. The Undine had risen from her place in the stream, her liquid blue eyes focused on the circle.
Even from a distance, Copper could feel the Undine’s magic radiating from her, and knew the being would join the circle if she could leave the water. But certainly the power she offered would strengthen their effort.
The Drow—well, it was no surprise they hadn’t joined the circle. Besides, it was daylight.
It was a surprise, however, that all the Fae were solemn. Copper raised her wand and looked from the Faerie queen to the self-proclaimed leader of the Brownies, to the whole of the Pixies who had no leader, but usually followed the will of the Faerie queen—when they were in the mood.
Zephyr buzzed in her ear, giving his support, as Copper took a deep breath and exhaled. “I need you all to lend me your power as I perform the spell,” she said, letting her voice carry across the meadow. “Together we will break through the barrier so that you may all return to your homes in Otherworld, and so that Tiernan and I may return to where we belong at this moment.”
Gold sparkles rained down around them, as bright as ever.
Copper paused, knowing the Fae weren’t going to be happy about what she had to say. “I need you all to please join hands.”
How easily the Fae cooperated and focused their attention on her more than surprised her.
She gripped her wand tighter and took Tiernan’s hand in her free one. She squeezed his fingers and felt his warmth and his D’Danann magic, followed by the magics of every single being around them. Zephyr’s powers as a familiar seemed magnified and her confidence grew stronger.
Everything felt incredibly right. She summoned a huge dose of gray magic.
Copper closed her eyes and felt it all rise within her, blending with the gold. So much magic! So much power! This time she didn’t need to cast a circle because she was surrounded by a very magical one with all the Fae.
Warmth, strength, and the magic filled her from her head to her toes and she nearly lost her breath from it. She needed the gray. That’s what had gotten her here, that’s what would get them out. The feel of it was so strong, so dark, but she knew she wasn’t crossing the line.
Copper opened her eyes and began to chant:
“What was made will be broken, what was imprisoned will be free.
Like the rage of fire and the surge of the sea.
Into the power of Wind, Water, Earth, and Fire, we delve.
Open the door for Fae, Undine, Brownies, and Dark Elves,
Otherworld is where our friends must return,
While San Francisco is what Tiernan and Copper yearn.
Ancestors, goddesses and gods so gracious, hear our plea.
Our will and desire fulfilled, we honor thee.
As it was, as it is, as it will become, so mote it be.”
For a moment all was calm—too calm—like being in the eye of a hurricane.
Brilliant gold fire burst from around the circumference of their circle with a loud whoosh, and gray glittered in the air like dark fireworks.
The gray magic was working!
Gold flames slammed into the shimmering barrier. Sparks exploded and rained down like stars over all the Fae, Tiernan, and Copper.
The barrier flashed, wavered.
A loud crack echoed through the meadow.
The shimmer was gone.
Copper’s heart leaped. Nothing stood between the Fae and the rest of Otherworld any longer. The barrier had vanished!
They had done it! They had set everyone free!
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In the next moment, Copper felt an incredible pulling sensation, as if she were being stretched like taffy. She squeezed Tiernan’s hand tighter in her own, but then found herself gripping nothing but her wand.
Gold light vanished and she flew. Brilliant colors of a sunset flashed by her, around her, through her. She could see only pinks, oranges, purples.
It shifted into gray, then darker gray, and fear caused her heart to beat in her throat. Her head felt as if it were going to be ripped from her body. Her stomach clenched and unclenched and she was certain she would throw up.
Everything happened so fast, yet slow, too. Every sensation was vivid, intense. Surely she was going to be stretched in two.
Then she was flailing, floundering in the air.
She dropped. Slammed to a hardwood floor. Pain shot through her hands and knees.
Her arms buckled and her lips met the wood. Every part of her trembled as she tried to grasp a sense of reality. That she was no longer being flung through the sunset, then the darkened tunnel.
She was no longer in the bubble of Otherworld.
A buzz from the tip of her ear let her know that Zephyr had made it with her, wherever she was, and she gripped her wand tight in one fist. Her dress was skewed around her waist.
A thud hit the floor beside her and she heard a loud groan. Without looking she knew it was Tiernan, especially when he began cursing in Gaelic. His warm masculine scent washed over her, mingling with smells that were familiar, yet things she hadn’t smelled for a long, long time.
Lemon oil? Wood? Old books?
Was she back on Earth? Back in San Francisco?
Still shaking, and more than a little dizzy, Copper pushed herself to rest on her haunches, her heart thundering in her ears. Using her gray witchcraft had helped, but for some reason this time it had drained some of her life force. She raised her eyes.
And found herself looking into Darkwolf’s black gaze.
13
San Francisco
* * *
Darkwolf looked as shocked as Copper felt.
The Seduced Page 15
