Ordinary Charm

by Anya Bast

  Serena let out a pent-up breath as his skillful tongue darted out to lick her inner thigh, then her clit. Almost involuntarily, she spread her thighs for him. After making a sound of satisfaction in his throat, he parted her folds with his thumbs, and then settled in to devour her sex.

  “Ah,” was all she could manage.

  His tongue flicked out to toy with her sensitive clit and she felt it plump under his ministrations. Her fingers curled into the flesh of his shoulders as his tongue rasped over her. He groaned deep in his throat and yanked her closer to his mouth, as though he couldn’t get enough. “Mmmm, Serena. I just knew you’d be syrupy sweet. A man could get addicted.” He licked up the length of her pussy and sucked at her clit.

  He rubbed her clit back and forth with his tongue while he planed up her inner thigh with his palm and slid a finger within her. Then two. “Oh, Cole,” she gasped as he thrust slowly in and out. He found her G-spot, or at least what had to be to her G-spot, and toyed with it.

  Serena broke apart. Sweet, pleasurable convulsions made the muscles of her pussy contract around his broad fingers. She keened out Cole’s name as her body shook from her climax. Cole helped her to ease down to the floor before her knees gave out. He scattered kisses over her face. “Are you all right, Serena?” he asked.

  “Bla,” she responded intelligently.

  He rolled over on his back and blew out a breath. Carelessly, he stroked his huge cock with one hand. Serena watched…with high interest. “You taste good, just as I thought you would. Near irresistible.” He turned and looked at her. “I want you again.”

  And he could have her…

  “Get into bed, Serena. I’m going to get us something to eat.” He slanted her a wicked grin. “Then I’m going to take you again.” He winked. “And then again.”

  She watched him get up and leave the room, her eyes on every movement of his gorgeously formed male posterior.

  Eventually, she stopped doing an impression of a bone-melted mass of goop on the floor, picked herself up and went to the bed. After collecting all the stray bits of clothing from the bed and laying them on a nearby chair, she turned back the comforter and top sheet, crawled in and settled herself back against the mountain of pillows.

  Presently, Cole returned bearing a plate of cut apples and some cheese. He stopped in the doorway and stared at her. “Mmmm, now that’s a nice sight. You in my bed.”

  She felt her cheeks heat and she glanced away.

  He walked around the king-size bed, set the plate on the bedside table and crawled in the other side. “It was hard finding something in my kitchen that would suit a vegetarian, but I did it.” He moved closer to her and balanced the plate of food on his lap.

  His body just touched hers and his heat rolled off and sank into her skin. The length of his leg kissed hers. Cole placed a thin slice of cheese on an apple slice and raised it to her lips. She allowed him to feed her the treat. The salty and sugary combination spread over her tongue. She closed her eyes in ecstasy.

  The whole situation—being in his bed, under the covers and having him feed her—was so erotic and intimate. She sighed. It felt so good, so right, for some reason. Quiet euphoria filled her. She hadn’t been this happy in a long, long time. Although, her joy was tempered with the knowledge that this was a one-time thing. She’d better enjoy it while it lasted.

  He leaned forward as she chewed the delicious tidbit and kissed her lips. “Do you like it?” he asked.

  “Mmmm.” She swallowed. “Yes. Interesting combination of tart and sweet.”

  “Describing yourself? Tell me more about yourself, Serena. I feel comforted knowing at least one of us knows themselves.” He bit into a slice of apple and cheese.

  She shrugged. “Not much to tell, really. I write books for a publishing house, nonfiction about witches, Wicca, witchcraft and pagan studies. I inherited that land and the house you were at from my mother who died about ten years ago.”

  “Where’s your father?”

  “Rowan and I are half-sisters. We actually don’t know our fathers. Our mother was a bit…wild. Rowan inherited that wildness. I didn’t.” She gave him a smile. “Maybe I take after my dad, whoever he is.”

  “I beg to differ. I think you’re both wild and sweet.”

  She shrugged again. “Believe me, normally I’m as tame as they come and not always sweet.”

  He set the plate aside, and cupped one of her exposed breasts against his warm palm. She sucked in a breath. “Tell me more. Tell me about the excessive amount of lip balm and the ceramic fairies in your bedroom.”

  She glanced up at him. “Were you in my bedroom last night?”

  He slanted a grin at her. “Uh…yeah.”

  “Uhmm…did you—?” Give me an incredible orgasm while I slept?

  “I hope you’re not mad.” He lowered his mouth to her breast and laved his tongue across her nipple. Her clit started to throb as blood rushed to her sex in sudden arousal. “I knew if you didn’t want me in your mind, you’d push me away of your own volition,” he said around a mouthful. He grinned up at her. “You didn’t.”

  Breathless from the way he sucked on her nipple and from the sensation of one of his hands under the blanket, working its up her outer thigh, she could barely respond. “I-I should be mad,” she shot at him, though there was precious little heat behind the words. “That was an invasion.” The words came out in a kind of helpless little moan as he nipped lightly at her nipple. God, she was a wimp.

  The slow snake of his hand finally came to a halt at her hip. He pulled her down, so she lay flat on her back and he loomed over her. His gaze ate up her breasts and lips. “I’d like to invade you again. I promise you you’ll like it. Spread those gorgeous thighs for me.”

  Mesmerized by the needful look in his eyes, she did it without question.

  He shifted so he leaned over her, bracing himself on one hand, and placed his mouth once again to her breast. He flicked his tongue over her nipple as he stroked her pussy with his other hand. After circling her clit and making her moan, he thrust two fingers in and out of her. “Ah, yes, you taste and feel so good,” he groaned. “I can’t get enough.”

  She rubbed her hands over his shoulders, where his muscles bunched and flexed with his movement, then slid them up and curled her fingers into his hair. The energy of her climax slowly built within her. She bit her lower lip and arched her spine as his thrusts grew in pace and intensity. The man was pure sin encased in flesh. No wonder all those women wanted him.

  She grimaced. Thinking about other women in Cole’s bed wasn’t good. She put that nasty notion from her mind.

  His finger found her anus and circled it, teasing the nerve endings there. That pushed all other thought from her with a jolt. She sucked in a surprised breath and jerked.

  “Hush, beautiful. Easy now. I want to feel you everywhere. Take you everywhere. But if you don’t want it, I won’t do it, all right? Simple as that. You tell me to stop if it becomes too intense.”

  She bit her lip harder, nearly drawing blood, and nodded.

  “Ah, that’s a good girl,” he purred in pleasure. He scooped up a bit of the moisture from her pussy and slicked it over her nether entrance, then slipped a finger within very slowly. Her hands tightened on his shoulders as he thrust in and out, gently and at a slow pace. The sensation was odd…indescribable. She’d never realized that part of her body was an erogenous zone. “Mmmm. So sweet. So pretty and tight,” he said thickly. “I want to take you here, but it’s not the time. You’re not ready for this. We’re moving too fast.”

  He pulled free of her body and moved down, pushing the blankets away as he went. Her back arched again as he spread her thighs as far as they could go and held them there. “Another taste,” he murmured. He lowered his mouth to her pussy once more and licked up her sex from her anus to her clit in long, mind-numbing strokes.

  Her hips bucked at the first lash of his tongue and she let out a long, low moan. “Cole,” she said
. “I don’t know how much of this I can take. I want you.”

  “Mmmm.” He nibbled and sucked at her pussy lips, moving up to her clit. She writhed at the feel of his hot, slick tongue exploring her sex. “And you’ll have me, beautiful. When I’m done tasting you.” He pushed his tongue inside her and fucked her with it, drawing a low moan from her throat.

  She tossed her head back and forth. “Please,” she pleaded with him. “Please, Cole.”

  “You want me inside you, beautiful?” he asked. “You want me fucking you?”

  “Yes!”

  She felt him shift. He grabbed a condom, tore the wrapper open and rolled it on. Then, finally, blessedly, she felt the head of his shaft press against her. She moved her hips against him and he grabbed her wrists, pinning them to the mattress on either side of her.

  She was highly aroused so all her muscles were relaxed. He sank himself inside her easily.

  She tipped her head back and hissed, “Yes. That’s what I wanted.”

  Releasing her wrists, he came down on her throat, nibbling and sucking at the sensitive skin as his thick cock glided in and out her.

  Serena wrapped her legs around his waist and massaged the muscles of his back, working lower and lower until she cupped the cheeks of his gorgeous ass, urging him to thrust harder and faster.

  He picked up the pace of his thrusts—the broad, ridged length of him pistoning in and out of her. He levered himself above her, hands flat on the mattress on either side of her head. Every once in a while, he’d drop his head and take her mouth in one of his devastating kisses.

  Her climax rose hard and fast, overwhelming her body and mind. “Cole,” she breathed as it shattered over her. He kissed her hard, stroking his tongue into her mouth as if consuming the very essence of her pleasure.

  Instead of sating her the way a climax usually did, it only made her hungrier for him. She made small noises of encouragement as he continued the punishing pace.

  She felt the tickle of magic skitter over her skin. Her mind’s eyes flooded with the images of how they looked from behind. She saw the muscles of his finely shaped ass flex as he sank into her pussy over and over between her spread thighs. She saw her hands cupping him as he slammed himself into her again and again.

  He let out a groan and shifted the angle of hips. “Ah, fuck, Serena, you feel so good around me. I’m coming,” he growled.

  Another climax engulfed her body. The muscles of her vagina pulsed and clenched around his shaft. He threw his head back and came with a low, sexy groan that only served to intensify her own orgasm.

  When they both calmed, he withdrew from her body. She regretted it. It was then she knew she was growing dangerously attached to a man who would never be more than a fling.

  He went into the bathroom to dispose of the condom and she watched every movement of his rear as he walked. She rolled onto her side toward the window and saw that evening had descended outside without her even knowing it.

  She felt strong warmth at her back as Cole climbed into bed at her back and enveloped her in his arms. “You’re lovely, Serena,” he breathed against the nape of her neck. He laid a kiss. “Beyond my wildest dreams.”

  Serena closed her eyes against the ridiculous tears that filled them.

  * * * * *

  Cole opened his eyes to pale morning light streaming in past the gauzy curtains of his bedroom window. In a flash, he realized…

  Nosce te ipsum.

  He knew himself.

  Chapter Five

  Memories of his life as Cole filled his mind. He’d been born in Glasgow, Scotland and had lived there until he’d been about five years old. He and his parents had moved to the U.S. and he’d grown up here. He was now thirty-five and had been a citizen of the United States for a long time now.

  He loved all things historical, mythical, mystical, and paranormal. As a result, Cole had taken a strange path at college, studying philosophy and ancient history, as well as computer programming, and had obtained his master’s degree. Post-grad school, he’d started developing computer games on his own for a small company, but things hadn’t gone very well there. After that, he moved to a larger company and had worked for many years with a team of developers. But Cole was independent-minded and had not been completely happy in that environment. Eventually, he’d moved out on his own. It had been a risk, but he’d succeeded. Now he was a solo developer for Tago Game Systems and made a very nice life for himself doing it.

  When Alana had put the whammy on him, he’d changed. She’d been right about that. He wasn’t “Cole” anymore. He was different. The added energy Cernunnos brought to him had changed him…and it had greatly intensified the power of his magick and his physical strength.

  He’d been born OtherKin to one hundred percent, completely human parents. They’d never understood or accepted his “otherness”. He’d always had magick, but he’d hidden it since he’d been small after seeing the terror it wrought in his mother’s eyes. Even though his parents hadn’t known what the OtherKin were, and neither had he for many years, his differentness had caused a rift between them early on. His mother and father had moved back to Scotland a few years ago to enjoy their retirement, and Cole had little contact with them these days.

  He’d felt alone his whole life because he’d had no OtherKin with whom to share his experiences. Hell, before Alana had put the whammy on him, he hadn’t even known what the OtherKin were or that he was one. That aloneness and sense of not belonging was what fueled his interest in historical legend and myth. He’d been forever searching for answers to explain himself. It was what had driven him into the arms of all those women. They’d all been empty relationships. He’d just been searching for a connection.

  He’d been so unbelievably lonely.

  He rolled over, searching out Serena. All he wanted was to pull her into his arms and inhale the sweet scent of her skin and hair. He wanted to tell her he had his memory back.

  But the bed was empty.

  Disappointed, Cole rose and found a pair of boxers in the top drawer of his dresser. Odd how pleased it made him that he knew where his underwear was. On bare feet, he walked down the hallway, looking for Serena. As he went, he scratched his head and reminded himself to change all his decorations…and furniture. He hated all of it. Actually, he needed to just sell it all off and move out to the country—somewhere quiet and heavily forested.

  At the thought of a forest, he dropped to his knees, the memory of the incantation filling his mind. Alana had drugged him after they’d had sex with a potent elixir she’d slipped into a beer. The coven had stood around the bed as he lay nude and incapacitated and performed the ritual.

  The rage.

  Cernunnos had not wanted to be called forth. He’d scratched and hissed and fought within him as the words of the witches had called the ancient god and sealed him within Cole’s body. It had hurt on a soul level to be fully merged with that primordial, powerful and latent energy within him.

  His back arched and he dug his fingers into the carpet as he felt the first tickle of the change coming over him. It was triggered by the rage, just as his first transformation had been. Before he’d changed to a wolf and had stood in the center of the bed snarling and snapping. The witches had run from him. All of them save Alana who’d stared at him with wide eyes. Then he’d shifted to stag form and leapt off the bed and through a window. He hadn’t stopped running until he’d been far from the city and had felt the reassuring forest ground beneath his hooves.

  The magical tickle skittering over Cole’s skin intensified and he felt his body start to morph. Ah, God! It hurt every single time. He cried out as his muscles began to stretch and twist. His cry turned into a roar as he shifted.

  Through the eyes of a mountain lion, he watched Serena emerge from the office and spot him. “Cole?” she breathed.

  He let a trickling growl escape his feline lips. He was pleased to see she had her hand loosely fisted at her side, ready with a spell in case h
e lunged at her.

  Last time he’d been in animal form, he had retained only a sliver of awareness of his human otherness. He did remember his encounter with Serena in the forest and how he’d marked her, but it was like he hadn’t really done it. Most likely, he’d been nearly all Cernunnos then, and only a tiny bit Cole. This time he retained almost all of Cole. He wouldn’t lunge at Serena, at least not in anger and bloodlust, but maybe in another type of lust. He swished his tail and eyed her speculatively.

  She’d donned one of his dark blue T-shirts and a pair of his light blue boxers. She looked delectable. He padded over and sat down by her, so she would know he meant her no harm. He had no idea how long it would take for him to change back. With his large tongue, he licked her hand.

  She slithered down the wall and wrapped her arms around his neck. “Did you just change like this without any warning?” she asked in wonder. “Without even trying? Right in the middle of the hallway?”

  Yes, and it bothered him. This transformational thing was something he’d have to learn to control. He laid a deliberate lick to the mark on her neck in an effort to reassure her.

  A moment later, he felt his body contort again. Pain lanced through him as his form shifted. He ended up nude, in human form, clutching Serena as the incredible discomfort receded. She hadn’t let go of him, even when he’d been changing.

  “Ah, fuck, I need a drink—good strong shot of whiskey,” he said.

  She laughed, sought his mouth and kissed him. He curled his arms even tighter around her and pulled her down to lay with him. “Are you all right?” she murmured against his mouth.

  He twined a hand through her hand, rolled her beneath him and slanted his mouth across hers for a deep kiss. God, she tasted good. “I am now,” he said when he finally pulled away. “I remember everything, Serena. I woke up with my memory intact.” He traced the mark on her shoulder. “I remember doing this.”