Touch of Decadence (The Magic Mirror #1)

by Sylvia McDaniel

  "He told me to scrutinize his office, because he had nothing to hide and that I would find him innocent. I am, beginning to believe it could be anyone near him at the time of your communication."

  Orion dipped his head, uncertain as to how his mother would react to his next statement, but it had to be said, "I know that we all put on a united front and that Aquila says she's happy you're on the throne, but have you considered that your death and Lyra's death, would put Aquila on the throne and Queen Narween Nuefl's line would be back in control?"

  She smiled at him. "I did, but Aquila is more interested in chasing sunrays and her mother has always been a bit of a neurotic. I told my brother not to marry that woman, but he didn't listen. She doesn't want to rule according to Corgi."

  Orion felt a gentle pressure in his chest. Of course, his mother was right, his Aunt Rawnia was more into entertaining than ruling. While his mother had always kept her focus on what was best for the kingdom.

  He could see she was tiring and stood to leave. "I will get with your advisors and we'll look into what the healers are doing. See if there is any reason to be concerned."

  With a gentle pat of the hand, she nodded her head. "Sounds good. Let me know what you find."

  "I'm grateful your home safe with your witch. Be careful of your heart, son. She's still a witch, even if she's a good."

  With a sigh, Orion turned and left the room. While his mother's kingdom was all about acceptance, it was one of the first times he'd experienced her reluctance to actually welcome someone. Disappointment filled him. He promised Daisy, he would protect her and he would with his dying breath.

  Would everyone on Tesceanus still fear a witch?

  Daisy woke slowly to the feel of a man's hard body pressed against her, and the soft graze of his lips nuzzling her neck. It was Orion, she would know his touch anywhere and the feel of his hot skin against hers sent shivers through her.

  "What time is it?"

  His mouth moved from her ear down her neck. "What does it matter?"

  How could she answer that it meant everything. If today was her birthday...his lips kissed a sensitive nerve in the curve of her neck and she moaned. Did it really matter? She knew that Orion was her mate, but if she died trying to cast away the spell from the young Lyra, then only this moment in time had any value. Tired of worrying about the importance of this day, she pushed the thought aside. At this moment only Orion mattered.

  She wanted him more than she wanted her next breath.

  Turning slowly to face the big alien who had won her heart, she looped her arm around his rock hard body and gazed into his eyes that glowed a warm yellow. She was beginning to recognize the importance of the changing colors. This golden shade signaled he wanted her as much as she ached for him.

  All this time together, they had danced around one another, but not any longer. Today, when she tried to wrangle the spell from his sister, she would face death. Orion could die protecting her from the people who didn't want a witch on their planet. No matter what he told her, she knew that there were haters still living here. Haters who didn't want her kind anywhere near Tesceanus.

  Brushing away the curls that lay on her neck, Orion blazed a path from her shoulder with hot lips. He traced the outline of her ear with his tongue. She shivered, her blood surging to her center, infusing her with heat.

  Threading his fingers through her curls, he whispered, "Your hair is soft, and so beautiful."

  Rubbing his cheek against her silky hair, Orion sought her earlobe with his lips. Daisy squirmed from the tingly sensations his tongue provoked. The experience wasn't unpleasant, more like a tease, sending delicious shivers down her spine, centering in her womanly folds, leaving her moist and hot.

  He trailed soft butterfly kisses across her cheek, to her lips. Once there, he kissed her softly, his fingers threading themselves through her curls. As he hugged her closer, his lips went from soft and gentle to strong and demanding, taking her by surprise. Covering her mouth, his lips consumed her and she moaned deep in the back of her throat.

  She reached up, tangling her fingers in his hair, pressing his head closer to her, wanting more of him. Meeting his response with her own urgent need. He was her mate, the man who, according to legend, would stay by her side as she walked through life, never leaving her, but as her helpmate. The man whose children, she would one day gladly bear.

  If he loved her.

  His kiss made her hungry for more, and she ached with the need to be closer to him. Curious at the sensations building within her, Daisy longed to touch him in intimate places, to feel his naked skin, beneath her hands.

  Gently, his hand stroked her breast, caressing her through her nightgown. She arched her back to deepen his caress. She was overwhelmed with her reaction to his touch, and the need to feel his hand on her naked breast surprised her.

  "Daisy," he groaned against her lips.

  "Alien, are you certain you want to have sex with a witch," she whispered, her voice husky in the darkness, knowing she needed him to want her.

  "I fear the witch has put a spell on me that I can no longer deny" he rasped, yanking his pants off and tossing the unwanted garment from the bed.

  "Touch me," he pleaded.

  The need to stroke him intensified as she ran her fingers lightly across his face and lips. She skimmed her hands across his chest, feeling his nakedness beneath her fingertips. Muscles, hard and firm, warm and silky, flexed at her touch. She loved the feel of his skin beneath her fingers and his reaction to her caress. She reached the spear of his manhood and he moaned deep in his throat.

  "The witch's touch is intoxicating," he moaned as he gazed at her.

  "She wants to please her alien," she whispered, staring into the warmth of his gaze, knowing she loved this man with her heart and soul. The need to caress him intensified as she trailed her fingers lightly across his face and lips.

  With a yank, she pulled the nightshirt over her head, desperate to feel his naked skin against her flesh.

  "Oh, Daisy. You're more beautiful than I dreamed," he said, his voice husky.

  The heat from his gaze made her ache with need. She wanted him to touch her, wanted to feel his skin against her, wanted him to kiss her until she couldn't breathe.

  Orion bent over her breast, closing his mouth around her nipple.

  "I like your breasts," he whispered against her skin.

  His hot breath against her nipples sent shivers of delight cascading through her.

  She smiled and clenched her fists in his hair to keep from moaning out loud as he lovingly kissed each breast.

  The sensations flowing through her were more intense than anything she had ever felt before. She never wanted him to stop. His fingers caressed the moist, tender spot between her thighs.

  She arched her back, crying out loud with need. "Orion."

  Who would have thought that making love to her alien would be so wonderful? She wanted more, she wanted to feel all of him. She couldn't resist skimming his flesh with her fingertips as he slid over her skin. Gently, she raked her fingernails over his back, pulling him ever closer.

  Moist with the honey of her arousal, his fingers continued to evoke delicious feelings while his mouth finally found its way to hers. She attacked his lips, needing the feel of him deep inside her.

  Orion, Prince of Tesceanus, was an alien she loved and wanted. A man who she knew to be her soul mate, and the man she would spend all of her days with, until they parted to cross the Bifrost bridge if he loved her in return.

  He positioned himself over her, his knee gently spreading her legs. There was a brief moment of anxiety as he placed his manhood between her thighs.

  She tensed for just a second, but then he kissed her until she was so overwhelmed that the pain of his entry caught her off guard.

  As he eased his way into her body, she cried out.

  "Orion," she moaned, knowing they were mated for life, hoping that he loved her like she loved him.

 
; "Daisy, we are joined as one. You are mine," he whispered in her ear.

  What seemed like minutes passed as he murmured softly to her. Finally, she felt him move within her. The pleasure soon began to surge up again, surprising her.

  His lips surrounded hers, kissing her until she felt she would suffocate with joy.

  Plunging into her, each thrust creating new sensations, all centered in the increasing heat between her thighs. Her heart swelled with love as she opened her eyes and gazed into his, now, a deep, glowing amber. She reached up and caressed the side of his face, knowing that with each thrust she was permanently mated with him. That he was now her mate for life and even if he left her, she would love him for eternity.

  Daisy felt her body climbing, reaching, for some unknown destination, building and gathering every feeling in the center of her being. When she thought she couldn't take any more, her world exploded in a shattering release, while she held on tightly to the alien who'd won her heart. If he would have her, she would claim him as her's, forever.

  Spiraling back to Tesceanus, she cried out his name, just as he exploded within her.

  She lay still, pulse pounding in her ears, her heart swelling with love. The wonder of the moment left her feeling whole, complete and more than a little languorous.

  Orion's head lay against her shoulder, his body pressed into hers as his heartbeat slowed and his breathing returned to normal. Daisy ran her hand down the sleek power of his back, the muscles rippling beneath her touch, loving the feel of him within her. For several minutes, they lay quietly, savoring the moment.

  Finally, she said, "That was quite a birthday present you delivered."

  Orion rose up on one elbow, his eyes glowing like blue embers in the faint light. He brushed back a lock of hair that lay against her cheek. "You're not bad for an Earth woman."

  Laughing, Daisy snuggled closer. "I could say the same for you."

  Orion smiled and kissed her softly. "I've been waiting a long time for you, witch. I'm not done with you yet."

  He rolled over and began to kiss her once again.

  Daisy sighed. Her grandmother told her that if she mated with the wrong man, she would die. Here she lay, beside the man she loved, still alive. Orion was indeed her mate for life.

  But, did he love her?

  Much later, Orion lay in bed beside Daisy. "I have a surprise for your birthday."

  She turned and glanced at him. "What?"

  Getting out of bed, he pulled some clothes over his nakedness. Then he picked up the device she now knew was his communicator. He punched in some numbers and waited.

  Zinnia suddenly appeared in the room with them. "Hello?"

  "Oh my," Daisy said, pulling the covers up high as she sat up in bed. Petunia came into the hologram beside Zinnia.

  "Daisy," Zinnia asked, staring at her. "Is that you? Are you all right?"

  Daisy laughed. She'd never been happier and her big alien had called her sisters for her birthday. "I'm fine. Excellent in fact."

  "Happy birthday," Zinnia said and began to sing to her with Petunia singing along.

  Tears welled up in her eyes as she watched her sisters.

  When they finished, she wiped the moisture from her eyes.

  "So did you mate?" Zinnia asked laughing. "Looks like you're still in bed."

  Orion was in the room and though she could tell he was trying not to listen, she knew it had to be hard not to hear them talking.

  "Yes," she said quietly.

  Her sisters screamed and jumped up and down.

  "You're still alive. You had sex and lived," Zinnia said. "That's good news."

  Suddenly there was a roar from Orion and he rushed to her side. "What is she saying, you had sex and you lived. Is there something you're not telling me, witch?"

  Daisy gulped. She glanced at Orion and then at her sisters whose eyes had widened with disbelief. "I've got to talk to Orion. Thank you so much for the birthday wishes. I love you both and hope to see you soon."

  Petunia hissed in the hologram. "Don't bring the coven down on you, alien."

  That was funny coming from her peace and love sister.

  "Alien, don't you yell at my sister," Zinnia said. "Love you. Happy mating birthday, Daisy."

  Orion turned the communicator off.

  "What is this 'you're still alive'?"

  Swallowing her fear and even feeling a little angry at how he disrupted the call to her sisters, she glanced at the big guy. She didn't want to tell him the complete truth. If she told him he was her mate, then she'd never know if he truly loved her. She didn't want to confess that if they weren't meant to be together, she would have died, but he knew she'd taken a risk.

  "In my coven, if I have sex with someone that is not approved for me, I could die."

  It was the partial truth.

  "What?" he roared. "Having sex with me could have killed you?"

  "Yes," she said quietly, knowing it was only partly true. What the mirror had shown was true. He was her mate. Now he needed to realize they were meant to be together.

  "And you took that risk? I brought you all this way only to accidentally kill you in my chambers? Did you ever consider what that would have done to me?"

  "Orion, I didn't die."

  "No, but you didn't give me the choice of deciding on whether or not I wanted to risk your life. Before you healed my sister and mother."

  Well, great he was only concerned about her dying before she'd broken the spell. Not what his emotional reaction was, but then again, he had concubines to take care of him.

  She had never thought of the consequences if things had gone badly. She hadn't been worried. He was her mate, the man she was destined to be with forever. There was no doubt in her mind. Now she was waiting for him to realize they were meant to be together.

  "I'm still here," she said frustration in her voice. "I'm not dead."

  He turned on his heel and walked out of the room into the bathing chambers, his body rigid with anger.

  "Well, I guess we just had our first argument," she said leaning back against the bed.

  11

  Just as the moon was rising, Daisy awoke in bed alone. Orion had never returned and she'd fallen asleep. It was weird getting up when the sun was going down and rising with the moon, but on this planet it made sense. Today was her mating day and she had the most amazing sex earlier with Orion. She stretched, feeling wonderful, certain that today she would break the spell on the princess, and maybe Orion would profess his love to her. If he wasn't still angry.

  She sighed, wishing her sisters had kept that little piece of information to themselves.

  Rising from the bed, she all but skipped into the bathroom and took a quick shower. Returning to the bedroom, she noticed that Giselle, his concubine, had laid out fresh clothes that made her look like everyone else on the planet. The dress she wore was a long silken robe with a high waist and puffed sleeves.

  Giselle pulled her hair through a traditional headband, her blonde curls spilling over the top. She wanted Orion to be proud of her. She wanted to show him that she could belong here and she hoped his family would accept a good witch.

  But most of all she wanted him to love her for the person she was.

  The door swished open and a regal woman carrying a tray entered. "Good morning. You must be Daisy."

  "Yes, ma'am, and who are you?"

  "I'm Rawnia Makal, sister-in-law to the queen."

  "Nice to meet you," Daisy said, shaking out her blonde curls.

  "I know you're here to save Lyra, so I brought you breakfast. You will need your strength to break this coven's spell and save our dear princess."

  Daisy watched as she sat the tray down on a table in Orion's apartment. "That's very kind of you."

  The woman stood and gazed at Daisy, and for a moment, a shiver spiraled through her. The Fates were trying to warn her. She smiled at Rawnia. "Will you be there when I break the spell?"

  "Oh no, it's private," she responded
. "You should eat before Orion returns. He won't be long."

  "Thank you, I will." Daisy gazed at the food. Most of it was meat and she was a strict vegetarian. Her stomach roiled at the sight of the sliced mystery meat on the plate. There was no way she could eat this.

  Again, she felt that sense of impending doom as if the Fates were warning her and she had yet to heed their call. "I appreciate this very much. I'll eat it right away before it gets cold."

  She walked the woman towards the door, wanting her gone. "Thanks for stopping in to visit me. I'll be sure to tell Orion you came by. I know he will be disappointed he missed you."

  The woman smiled, but it was more of a grimace that bothered Daisy.

  "Be sure to eat the grosswald. It's delicious."

  "I will," Daisy said, knowing the only thing she would eat would be the bread. "I'm sure I'll see you again before I leave."

  Finally, the woman left, and she turned toward the tray. Maybe Orion would want to eat it when he returned, but she was not eating meat if at all possible. Even the sight of it made her ill.

  Walking away, she glanced up when the doors swished again. Orion strolled through the door a frown on his face. Obviously, he was still angry with her.

  This morning he wore the clothes of his planet, tight pants and fitted doublet jacket that reminded her of Shakespearean days. The man had thighs that could crush an animal and a waist that was trim and firm. His clothing emphasized his royal lineage.

  She smiled. "Good morning, Prince."

  He growled at her and shook his head. "I'm still angry that you didn't tell me."

  "I wasn't worried. If I'd had any doubts we would never have had sex," she said standing up to him. "You just missed your aunt."

  "My aunt? What was she doing here?" he questioned his brows drawing together.

  "She brought me breakfast and came by to introduce herself. She was very nice."

  His frown deepened and he walked over to the table. "What? She brought you this?"

  With a roar he knocked the food to the floor. Quickly he punched a message into his communicator.