Forbidden: an Adult Paranormal Witch Romance: Othala Witch Collection (Sector 12)

by Shannon Eckrich

  Once I rinsed my hair, I rubbed it all over my body, making sure to get every inch of me. It left my skin feeling soft and sleek. After I finished, I walked out of the spring and let the sun warm my body.

  When I wandered back into the cave, Kesi was standing behind a boulder waiting for me. “Okay, let’s see how you look in that dress,” she squealed in excitement, her face lighting up as if she were all the source of heat in Othala.

  The dress was a little snug, especially in the bosom, but overall, it was a pretty good fit. The only thing I didn’t like was the way my cleavage stood out when I glanced down.

  The material was soft, silky, and it felt very pleasant on my skin. The end of the dress stopped just past my knees.

  “You look absolutely stunning!” Her arms jerked as she tried to hold in her excitement. “He’s going to love it!”

  “I don’t know what the big deal is, Kesi. The dress doesn’t make me any different.” Yes, it felt nice to be in something so pretty, so nice, but it didn’t change who I was. Seth wasn’t going to like me anymore than he already did because of a dress.

  “Come on.” She patted the boulder in front of her. “It’s almost time. I seriously don’t want him getting pissed at me because you arrived late.”

  I stumbled over to the boulder, the bottom half of the dress floating out as the breeze got caught up under it. Sitting on the boulder, I couldn’t help but to stare at the dark part of the cave. It still called to me, but I’d been pretty good at ignoring it. But that didn’t mean I couldn’t be curious.

  “Your hair is so soft,” Kesi said as she brushed the back of my head. “I told you that shampoo is awesome. It’s much better than that crap in the Capital they hand out.”

  I had to agree with her there. That stuff wasn’t even scented.

  After she finished brushing my hair, I felt her yanking, and then put something in it to tie it up. But she didn’t catch all of it. Curly strands brushed against the side of my face.

  She walked around in front of me, evaluated me. Then she smiled. “Absolutely gorgeous.” She glanced down at my feet. “Wait, one more thing.” She blurred away back to her side and then back. “I almost forgot these.” She handed me a pair of white moccasin boots, complete with fringes at the top. “Someone at the village makes these too. Aren’t they adorable?”

  “Yes, very cute.” I had to agree, taking the boots from her and slipping them on. “Are you sure they go with the dress?”

  “Yes, perfect.” Her mood quickly changed, and she suddenly looked worried. “Come on. We need to hurry.” She grabbed my hand and pulled me up off the boulder, luckily moving at a normal pace. If she did her super speed thing, she’d probably rip my arm off.

  Once we got to the two rocks, I realized how quickly the light was fading. She held her hand out and stopped me. “Stay here. I’ll be right back.” And off she blurred.

  Within seconds, she was back. “All clear. Now let’s go.”

  We hadn’t walked for very long before she stopped. “You’re safe now. He’s just beyond those trees.” She pointed in front of us. “Just keep walking straight.”

  I took a deep breath, trying to ease the fluttering in my stomach. I had no idea why I was nervous. It was just Seth. We had been together a hundred times. Hell, I’ve made out with the man. More than once. But even so, I couldn’t stop the knot from forming in my stomach or my heart from somersaulting inside my chest as I walked toward the trees.

  Chapter 35

  “Breathe, breathe, breathe, breathe,” I kept whispering the words under my breath as I walked. Hands shaking like mad and my heartbeat going into overload.

  When I walked through the trees, the area opened up into a perfect circle. Seth stood in the exact center of that circle, his eyes transfixed on me as I moved toward him. I didn’t miss the long, drawn out breath he took, nor the way his blue eyes widened slightly. My pulse quickened, even though I thought it wasn’t possible it could go any faster than it already was. He wore a black tank top, clearly displaying the strength he had in his arms. The fire wrapped around each arm tightly, constricting and relaxing. Constricting and relaxing. The normal khaki shorts he had been wearing were gone too, replaced by a pair of tight fitting black pants. Half of the bottom of his shirt rose up slightly, revealing a black belt around his waist. His feet were no longer bare. They were covered by black boots. Thick and masculine.

  The air became harder to breathe as I closed in on him, and the shaking became more aggressive. Even my bottom lip quivered. Please don’t let him notice, I thought, as I closed the distance between us.

  I stopped only inches from in front of him, and looked up, catching the way his blue eyes shifted into various shades. But always blue. I forced myself to breathe, and his scent was still there. Freshly fallen rain. A waterfall of deliciousness that took ahold of all my senses. His dark hair had been tightly tied back, wisps of it falling in front of his ears.

  He opened his mouth to speak. There was a brief pause. Finally, the words came out. “I can’t…I don’t…”

  “Know what to say,” I finished the sentence for him using my own words, still standing there, my arms at my sides, afraid that if I blinked he wouldn’t be there when I opened my eyes.

  Ever so slowly, he lifted his arm until his fingers hovered in front of my cheek, like he was terrified to touch me for the same reason. “You are very beautiful.”

  I could feel the heat of his skin. Every muscle in my body jolted toward him, but I still couldn’t move. I swallowed hard and blinked again, making sure I’d be able to form words when I spoke. But even that couldn’t guarantee anything. “It’s okay, Seth.” The heat. My god, the heat. “You can touch me.”

  A smile tugged at his lips. And he did. He touched me tenderly, carefully, moving his fingers over my cheek in the most sensual way, as if I were made of porcelain. He cupped the back of my head, just above my neck, and brought me forward, my mouth opening in response as his tongue slid in.

  His eyes never closed as he kissed me hard and deep, and neither did mine. Somehow my hands ended up around him even though I didn’t remember moving. Our bodies knew each other too well, responded together, always with a need and not just a want. I didn’t mind, and obviously, he didn’t either.

  We both broke away gasping, our eyes still locked onto one another as the taste of him lingered in my mouth. I moved my tongue around, savoring every bit of it, wishing I could have some more.

  “I made you dinner.”

  My tongue stopped moving and I wanted to laugh, but I didn’t. His words just seemed to come from nowhere. He was just as nervous as me. But why? Why would we be shy toward one another?

  “It’s not fish,” he spoke again when I didn’t respond.

  This time I did laugh, the action making me feel a little more comfortable. “I’m sorry, Seth. It’s just…why are we acting like this is the first time we’ve seen each other. We sleep on the same rock.” Okay, that did sound kind of funny.

  “I don’t know.” He smiled. “Maybe, it’s because it was planned. Or, at least I knew it was planned.” He raised an eyebrow.

  “I’m not giving away any secrets.” I lifted my eyes to the sky, playfully.

  He laughed. “I knew she’d tell you. Once you found out I was gone, it was only a matter of time before you began interrogating her. And I can attest, she’s not very good at being put on the spot.”

  I brought my gaze back down to him. “In her defense, she wouldn’t tell me where you were. Just that you had something planned. Speaking of which,” I glanced around, “are you sure we’re safe here? It is beginning to get dark.”

  “I told you before, Layna,” he squeezed the back of my neck, “you’re safe as long as you’re with me.”

  “Yeah, I know.” My only thought was that he had to have made a circle of protection around this area as he had done by the cave. It was the only reason why he would look so confident about it. But, of course, I should have realized he had
done something similar in the first place. He’d never risk our lives.

  For the first time, I noticed all the stuff behind him. I peeked around his shoulder to get a better look. “What’s all this?”

  He shifted his body so he was now standing next to me, his hand resting on my lower back. “Just a few things to make sure I give you the perfect evening. Speaking of which, we are running behind schedule.”

  I looked at him as if he were insane. “What do you mean?”

  “You’ll see.” He took my hand and led me over to a blanket spread out over the ground. Next to it was another blanket, neatly folded. On the other side, there was a basket, a stone shaped like a plate, and silverware.

  My eyes widened in surprise. “Where did you get all this stuff?”

  “Some of it Kesi brought back from the village and some of it she made for us.” He stopped just on the edge of the blanket, holding my hand as I sat down cross-legged on the warm cotton.

  “What did she make?” Thinking she cooked the dinner.

  “The plates and silverware.” He bent down and retrieved the basket off the ground.

  “How in the world did she do that? It would have taken forever to carve that. Besides,” I picked one of the plates up and examined it, “where would she have gotten the tools to do it?”

  Seth sat down beside me. “You don’t need tools all the time, Layna. Not when you have magic.” He winked, and then reached into the basket.

  “She did this with magic?” I held the plate up. “This? But how? I only thought she had her speed and a couple of other abilities. I’d never actually seen her make things without touching them.”

  “Layna, we’ve been holding out in front of you for a reason.” He took the plate from my hands and held it next to the basket, pulling out what appeared to be chicken. The steam rose from it as he placed it on the stone plate. “We were waiting for you to ask. You wanted to learn to fight,” he glanced at me, his eyebrows arched high, “but that shouldn’t have been the first thing you asked for. You should have wanted to know about our magic. Every Natural can do something different, some things we can do the same.”

  “I didn’t ask because every time I use it, it doesn’t work the way I want it to. So what’s the point?” I shrugged.

  “The point is, you should want to make it work. You should want to experiment with it.” He put the plate of chicken behind us. “You don’t have to hide any more, Layna, or keep it a secret. Let it out and let it be a part of you. It is who you are.”

  “Is this why you brought me out here, Seth? Really. To give me a pep talk on how I’m doing everything wrong.”

  “No.” He placed his hand over mine, his warmness seeping into my skin. “I brought you out here to give you the best night ever. One filled with magic, promise, and love. Turn around, Layna,” he said, softly.

  I shifted around, seeing nothing but trees. “Okay, I don’t get it. All I see is trees. What am I supposed to be looking at?”

  “Look beyond the trees.” He lifted his hand and the trees parted. Not snapping, not breaking. But fucking parting.

  Chapter 36

  They were bending as if they were made from rubber, revealing the sun lowering itself in the horizon. Huge trees which extended up high in the sky.

  It took me a moment to realize I wasn’t breathing. I took a big gulp of air. “What— how did you do that?” I just couldn’t put it together. Sure, Kesi’s speed was unrealistic and Seth’s teleporting had been a jaw dropper, but this. Actually moving solid objects. Something so big and massive. Without even breaking it.

  “We were almost too late,” He spoke casually like this was something he did all the time. “Lucky for us, it hadn’t set yet.”

  I still couldn’t speak. I was absolutely floored.

  “Layna, please say something.”

  It wasn’t until his hand landed on top of mine that I turned and looked at him. All feeling drained from my body. “You’re doing this?”

  “Yes.” He gave a single nod, a look of concern chiseled on his face. “Are you alright? You look a little pale.”

  “No.” I brought my shoulders up, shaking my head. “I’m fine.” My voice matched the hysteria twisting through me. “I’m completely fine. I mean, it’s not every day you see someone pick up their hands and part the fucking trees. What’s next, the sea?”

  “It may have already been done.” He smirked, not making it any better. “Look,” he faced me and took both hands now, “you have the ability to do this too. I can feel how powerful you are, even now. You’re not letting it run free. You’re keeping it tucked away somewhere. You have to let it out.”

  “Maybe so.” I thought about his words. “But, maybe we’re not all the same. Maybe, there’s a trigger and I just haven’t found it yet, or it may not be ready to reveal itself, so I only get it little by little.”

  “I brought you here to enjoy yourself, to enjoy us, Layna.” He rubbed his thumb over my hand. “How about if we drop it for now and watch the sunset before we miss it. What do you say?”

  “I’d like that very much.” The less we talked about my magic the better.

  He picked up a chicken leg and took a bite, watching as the horizon transformed into an array of marvelous colors. Deep red, purple and pink clouds. The orb of life was slowly slipping away.

  I suddenly remembered something, and I had to ask. “The night I found you, I had been surrounded by ravagers before that. All of them disappeared. Was that you?”

  “Yes,” he answered without looking in my direction. “I was watching you that night. You were pretty impressive, especially when you fell from the tree.”

  “Seriously, you saw me fall?” Heat centered in my cheeks and I picked at the chicken thigh in front of me.

  “Yes, and you would have broken more than your wrists if I didn’t soften your fall.” The edges of his lips twitched as I stared at him in disbelief.

  “You knew I broke my wrists?” This was even worse than I thought. God, how humiliating.

  “And you healed yourself pretty quick.” He took another bite out of his chicken leg. “But your shield was starting to fail.”

  “How did you do it? There were nearly a hundred of them.” My finger lay on the chicken as I looked at him. Waiting.

  “I teleported them.”

  I nearly choked. “All of them. To where?”

  He finally looked over at me. “To tell you the truth, I have no idea. It was my first attempt to do something like that. All I know is I wanted them gone. They could have went to the moon for all I know. I almost died from doing that, but something happened when you placed your hands on my face. Your energy brought me back.”

  “You slammed me down on the ground and almost broke my wrists again.” I cut my eyes at him, clearly remembering it wasn’t fear I had for him, but he didn’t need to know that. “I guess that was the thanks I got for doing so?” I continued to play with him.

  “I needed to know who you were before it went any further.”

  “Before what went any further?” He had me curious now. What had he been planning to do with me?

  “Before I tried to kiss you.” His blue eyes sparkled in the light. “You knew it was coming, in fact, your body was shaking underneath mine that night, anticipating it. And just for a moment, right before those guards pulled me off you, I saw it. A faint glimpse. You knew who I was, or at least your soul did.”

  “I thought I had somehow tapped into your emotions.” I laughed at the memory. Never in a million years did I think they were my own. “But you’re right. I did want you to kiss me. The thought of it excited me.”

  His body shook with silent laughter. “Enough talking for now.” He moved his free arm, hooking it around my waist. “We’re missing the sunset.”

  We finished eating, watching the sun disappear and allowing the full moon to take center stage. Seth made the trees go back to normal since the moon sat high in the sky, illuminating everything around us. We quickly p
icked up our plates and set them in the basket.

  “Come on,” Seth took my hand and pulled me to my feet, “it’s almost time.” He was clearly excited by something, but I couldn’t figure out what. Was it another magic trick?

  “Wait for it,” he said, tilting his head up with a smile on his face.

  I looked up, and was amazed by the stars. They covered the entire sky. Every inch of it. Bright ones. Dim ones. All beautiful, mysterious, and glittering. Then something odd happened. They seemed to be coming down.

  Seth was already watching me when I turned my head to look at him. “Are the stars falling?”

  “No, Layna.” He laughed with amusement. “They’re not stars.”

  He was right. Hundreds of them raining down at once. Hundreds of little yellow lights flickering on and off. So many of them. More fireflies than I‘d ever seen. I drew in a deep breath and held my hands up, letting them fly around my arms, feeling them tickle my skin. I spun around in the twinkling lights, laughing hysterically, in so much awe it was insane. “Oh, my god, this is so amazing!” They were brilliant and beautiful and magical.

  I spun around and around, the lights blending into one another creating one solid glow. I couldn’t get enough of them. Their beauty was spellbinding, nearly taking my breath away.

  Seth caught me by the waist with his arm, spinning me into his chest. His warm breath tickled my face, his smile brighter than the lights from the fireflies. “You are the most beautiful and most amazing woman I have ever met.” His heat wrapped around me, his energy overloading my senses. He brought his free hand up, and sitting in the palm of his hand lay a silver ring.

  I gasped, my eyes moving up to his face. “Seth…I—”

  “My promise to you, Layna.” He slid his thumb into the hole and lifted it until it stood upright. “Is to love you and protect you. Always. No matter what. This is a symbol of that promise.” His eyes…they were so intense. A blue deeper than I’d ever seen before. His face was relaxed, his lips pressed tightly in all seriousness. He released my waist and picked up the ring. Then he grasped my right hand, bringing it up and placing a kiss on it, his eyes never leaving mine.