Yes. More.
She was close. So close. She shut her eyes and it was her on the counter with Z behind her, fucking her as if he’d die if he had to stop, as if his life depended on it. She thrust one finger deep, then two, but it wasn’t enough. She wanted to be stretched wide, packed full of wild, wicked wizard.
Her hair was whipping around her body and the wind she’d created blew against her pulsing clit and sending her careening further into the fantasy.
In her mind, Z was flipping her onto her back, her legs over his shoulders. His whiskey eyes were glowing, ensnaring her as he pressed in, deep as he could go.
“Yes, sweet Dorothy. That’s it. Come for me. Let me see you.”
Her eyes flew open, her gaze clashing with Z’s across the darkened yard that separated them. He was watching her, fist pumping his thick shaft in time with the thrust of her fingers. It was overwhelmingly intimate, and it threw her over the edge.
“Shit!” Her climax swirled around her with the force of a hurricane. Lightening struck outside as a lamp crashed behind her. Her feet left the floor completely, but she didn’t care. She was lost in the power of the release, in the intensity of need in his expression that matched her own.
A blast of energy hit her like a sonic boom, knocking her to the floor. His climax. He’d let his magic brush against hers, let his storm merge with hers. She got to her knees shakily, meeting his gaze as the roar of the wind outside drowned out her beating heart.
He controlled the elements, too? Wizards couldn’t do that. They controlled people, yes. But not nature. Aunt Glin had always said that a wizard’s power was decidedly unnatural. Males didn’t possess the compassion and emotional capacity to connect with Mother Nature. It was why they were drawn to witches in the first place.
But that wasn’t stolen power he was wielding, and it was too similar to hers to be a coincidence. Not even her mother could do that. No one but Dorothy.
Until now.
He was still watching her. His expression tense, knowing.
Let me in, Dorothy. Stop fighting what we both know you want.
Dorothy took an unconscious step back. He couldn’t read her thoughts or control her actions, not as long as she was safe behind these walls. On the other hand, if she stayed here another day, she might not have the willpower to resist him.
Maybe she could find another haven, just until her aunt got back from her vacation.
Dorothy wrapped her arms around her body, her head shaking in response to the command in his gaze. She couldn’t give in. Not now. Not until she understood what she was dealing with.
Not when she wanted him this badly.
Wizards can never be trusted.
Chapter Two
“Since you’re headed this way anyway, I didn’t think it would be too much of a bother.”
Dorothy sighed and rolled her eyes. Looking for the nearest freeway exit, she dodged several speeding cars and changed lanes. “It’s not a bother, Emily. I just wished you’d called before I left. I’ve already passed the exit for the dessert shop.”
And I’m trying to avoid crossing paths with an evil, sexy sorcerer. No big.
“I just want everything to be perfect. This is your fault, you know. Your sweet tooth has obviously rubbed off on me.”
Dorothy stuck out her tongue at the phone resting on her passenger seat beside the unimpressed Suki. Emily had always eaten enough to feed a small village and never gained a pound, but Dorothy wasn’t going to mention it. It sounded too much like sour grapes.
“So, just get the chocolate rum cake…oh, and my dry cleaning on your way home, okay? I want to wear that white silk halter Georgio bought for me. The man was an ass, but he had amazing taste in fashion.”
Dorothy’s nose wrinkled. “Do you really need it tonight? I thought you said you were staying in?” Not that she’d mind if Emily went club hopping. Then she’d be alone at her stepsister’s apartment so she could wallow in her misery, safely away from the new bane of her existence.
There was a long pause on the other end of the line. “I forgot to tell you, didn’t I? Damn, I’d forget my head if it wasn’t screwed on. I invited someone over for dinner. Don’t worry, I ordered more than enough food for all three of us. And afterwards, well let’s just say that I’m happy I put the surround sound in the guest room. You and Suki can enjoy the late-night talk shows, and I can enjoy…my date.”
A date? “Emily, you didn’t tell me you had a date. If you don’t want me around tonight I can—”
“What? No! You have to be there.” Her frantic voice softened to that fake, sweet, “I want something from you and you aren’t gonna like it” voice.
“Look, I know I was a witch with a capital B when you told me yesterday that your condo was being fumigated and you needed to stay at my place. But you’re family, and mi casa es su casa, right? Plus, I really think this guy is the one. As my future bridesmaid, I’d love for you to get to know him.”
The one? She’d never said that before. Not since high school anyway.
She supposed if it got awkward she could just go back home, maybe brick up her windows so she wouldn’t be tempted to watch Z in yet another sordid sexual encounter. “Okay, Emily. If you’re sure I won’t be in the way.”
“Of course not, sis. In fact, you could say you’re the real guest of honor. He’s just table decoration for us to admire.”
She was sucking up too hard. It pretty much guaranteed tonight wasn’t going to be fun.
She doesn’t have anyone else, Dee.
“I’ll be there after I get your dry cleaning.”
She arrived at Emily’s apartment with just enough time to shower and throw on a clean pair of jeans and a decent shirt before helping Emily set the table. The catering service had come and gone. The delectable smell of the three-cheese lasagna and garlic bread made Dorothy’s stomach growl.
So much for the new diet she’d sworn she was starting this week.
Emily was pacing beside her, acting like she was ready to jump out of her skin. Could she actually be nervous? How serious were things with this mystery man?
“The table’s done. Need anything else?”
Emily looked over blankly, following Dorothy’s movements as she lit two white candles, setting them on either side of a bowl of floating roses. “You’ve already done so much. Don’t forget to fold those napkins that special way you do. I want everything to be perfect this first time.”
Dorothy froze, a napkin dangling from her fingers. “This first time he’s coming over?”
Emily hated staying overnight at someone else’s house. She complained about it all the time. If she didn’t have all her toiletries or her special pillow, she got snippy.
“Exactly how long have the two of you been dating?”
Emily’s gaze shifted guiltily. “Does this dinner count?”
Dorothy dropped the napkin and crossed her arms to hide the sparks erupting from her fingertips. Temper, temper.
“How can he be the one if this is your first date?”
“He will be.” Emily didn’t sound that sure. “He’s the one who called me and asked to come over for dinner after avoiding me for weeks, so that has to be a good sign, right?”
“You should have told me.” Dorothy shook her head, walking toward the guest bedroom where she planned to hide for the duration. Damn it. That food smelled amazing. “I’m not going to be a third wheel on a first date again. We both know that never turns out well.”
She still had nightmares about the last time. It was humiliating. When Emily was on the prowl she kept her claws out. When her date paid any attention to Dorothy—because he’d been polite and it seemed strange to ignore the only other person at the table—he stepsister had told him Dorothy “believed” she was a witch, and wasn’t that weird and adorable?
“You should see what she does on the full moon. It’s precious.”
There was no way she was dealing with that again. She was too stressed and her
powers had been too unpredictable as it was.
Emily grabbed her arm just as a knock sounded at the door. “Don’t you dare leave me alone with him. The table is already set, and it’s your fault that I saw him in the first place. Please, Dee. Please?”
Dorothy hesitated and blue eyes lit with triumph as she straightened her mini skirt and moved toward the door. “You’ll love him, I promise. In fact”—she looked over her shoulder as she turned the doorknob, a genuine smile of glee lighting her face and sending dread coursing through Dorothy’s body—“you already know him. Sort of.”
The door opened and shock held Dorothy statue-still behind her clueless stepsister.
The wizard had come to dinner.
Dinner with Emily. Not you.
If it didn’t feel like a knife stabbing her straight in the heart she might have laughed. She’d swallowed her pride to escape the temptation the mere sight of him presented, only to find him here, with no walls or windows separating them.
And no shield to protect her.
Shit.
“Z, I’m so glad I finally got you to come.” Emily giggled as if she’d just said something incredibly clever, gripping Z’s thick wrist to tug him inside.
He quirked his lips, but his amber gaze immediately gravitated toward Dorothy. “I didn’t realize your sister would be joining us.”
Liar.
You’re the one lying to yourself, sweet Dorothy. You knew I’d come for you as soon as you took away that last obstacle.
No. She might not have had time to put her protections in place, but that didn’t mean she expected him to show up for a date with her stepsister.
What can I say? She likes me.
Arrogant wizard.
He licked his lower lip and she glared at him. If that horndog thought he could get a witch and her sister out of this situation, he was sorely mistaken. Thoughts of Emily gave her the strength to look away. She’d never seen him hurt anyone he’d seduced since he’d arrived, but then again, he did know exactly how to control them.
“Emily, maybe this is a bad idea.”
“Don’t be silly,” Emily whacked her shoulder a little harder than she needed to. “It is kind of funny when you think about it. That we’re having our little get together here at my place when you’ve got such an amazing view from yours.”
She could feel Z’s amusement as Emily continued. “But we won’t question our good fortune, will we, Dorothy?”
She couldn’t respond around the tightness in her throat.
Z’s grin widened. “Well, I for one couldn’t be happier. Our friend Kansas told me all about her before I arrived, but I was beginning to think my neighbor was merely a figment of his imagination.”
He stepped in close, towering over her. Did all wizards smell this good?
“Hello, Dorothy. Nice to finally meet you.”
***
Finally.
The triumphant adrenaline was difficult to control, racing through his bloodstream like a drug. After weeks of evasions and denials she was finally close enough to touch. And oh, how he wanted to touch her.
To say he wasn’t used to rejection would be an understatement of global proportions. As the king’s right hand and the most powerful wizard of his generation, Z had spent all of his life turning away sexual partners and turning down proposals of the more official variety on a regular basis. He was, in many ways, the most sought-after man in his world.
He was no slouch in this one either. But this one sexy little redheaded witch had managed to resist him for weeks. Even in her dreams.
Perhaps he was as spoiled as Kansas Frayne had accused the king of being. But coming here had soon put him in his place. Nothing humbled him faster than realizing his perfect match wanted nothing to do with him.
In his long life, and though it had been long he was still in his prime, he could never recall feeling the kind of frustration and need that had consumed him the moment he saw her image in his human friend’s phone.
She’d been smiling in that picture. A genuine smile of delight. With the sun glinting off her auburn curls and skin like alabaster, she’d looked every inch a goddess to him. His goddess.
He had to know her.
That need had only grown since he’d arrived and confirmed what he’d already sensed from his own reaction. She had powerful magic that perfectly matched his own. In his world, that could only mean one thing.
She was his mate.
And she still hadn’t responded to his greeting.
Afraid, witch?
“Hello,” she said mutinously. “Z, right? What’s that short for?”
Prick?
Saucy witch.
He could tell she wasn’t happy he’d accepted her sister’s invitation, but he wouldn’t have had to resort to this trickery to get her away from the magical barrier that kept them apart if she’d only given him a chance.
The barrier wasn’t hers. She’d added to it, refined it, but he could sense that someone else had constructed it. But it had done its job in forcing him to keep his distance and thwarting him at every turn. Even his newfound friendship with her feline guardian didn’t win him entry into her home.
This had been the only way to get to her, and Z couldn’t wait any longer.
Dorothy belonged at his side, and he belonged with his king. She had to agree to come back with him. He couldn’t leave until she did.
“I’ve got to leave some mystery for our dinner conversation,” Z offered smoothly, unable to keep his attention off her glorious body. “Perhaps before then I’ll discover why he failed to mention how beautiful you are.”
He wanted to feast on every luscious bit of her. Those heavy breasts and round hips made his fingers clench with the need to touch. To take. He could feel her insecurity and it baffled him. Did she think he found her lacking? That he wanted the pretty blonde instead? She was fine, but unfortunately, she faded in the background next to Dorothy’s appeal.
The sister knew it, even if she didn’t.
Emily frowned, glancing suspiciously between them. “Why would he mention that? I doubt he could tell you what either one of us looked like. You do know Kansas is gay, right?”
Dorothy rolled her eyes and Z sucked on his lower lip to curtail his laughter. “Yes, Em, he knows. In fact, I imagine he knows Kansas better than we do.”
Did that bother her? He didn’t think it would. He could feel her arousal whenever he touched one of the men he’d brought home to tempt her.
The humans he’d played with had often called him kinky and insatiable. If they only knew. He was not the same randy wizard he’d been before the storm brought Kansas Frayne into his world, and Kansas had, unwittingly, introduced him to his mate.
Now the only haven he craved could be found between Dorothy’s thighs. No one else would ever do again.
He was getting ahead of himself. First he had to win her trust and discover why she’d been resisting him so aggressively. Then he could work on winning her heart and convincing her to leave her world behind.
His “date” snapped her fingers beside his temple, drawing his attention away from Dorothy. She looked a bit miffed, so Z smiled soothingly, automatically sending a blast of heat her way to distract her ire. “Emily, dinner smells marvelous, you didn’t need to go to so much trouble.”
“Trouble? No trouble at all. I ordered out.” Emily’s eyes glazed over and an awkward silence ensued. He was still getting used to reining in his powers. If he hadn’t realized that his natural magic made them react so intensely, he’d believe humans were all a little tetched in the head.
Dorothy narrowed her eyes, and Z winced. Obviously she was immune. But then, she wasn’t an ordinary human.
He guided the dazed Emily to the table, all his attention focused on the voluptuous temptation lagging slowly behind. He squeezed Emily’s hand, winking at her to get her attention. “I think your sister is a little wary of me. She looks like she’s trying to decide whether she wants to throw dinne
r at my head or run home before I eat her instead.”
Emily snorted, turning toward Dorothy with one eyebrow raised. “Don’t be ridiculous, Dorothy. You aren’t in any danger of becoming the main course.” She rubbed her body against Z’s suggestively. “That’s my job.”
Well, that certainly wasn’t part of the plan. But as he watched Dorothy’s eyes flare and saw the sparks of power right beneath her skin, he decided that it might work in his favor.
Chapter Three
Oh joy. Her own private high school reenactment. The one where all her crushes would end up following Emily around like a puppy inside a week once she knew Dorothy liked them. It always hurt, but this felt more personal.
It didn’t make any sense. The last thing she wanted was a wizard in her life. And after the nightly orgies she’d personally witnessed through her window, what difference did it make if he added Emily to his list of conquests?
But it did. The bastard.
She began to turn on her heel, determined to get as far away from this nightmare dinner party as she could, when Suki streaked past her legs. A joyful meow and one wild leap later, and she knew she wasn’t going anywhere. Not with her cat steadily purring in Z’s arms as if she’d found her soul mate.
Suki really was a sucker for sardines.
“Fine. Let’s get this over with.”
Emily sent her an odd look. She was used to Dorothy being the gracious one, putting on a polite face for company no matter how torn up she was on the inside. But she didn’t feel like being gracious. Not today. Not for this wizard.
Emily smiled a little awkwardly, starting that constant stream of chatter that was her superpower. Her stepsister was highly skilled at the art of small talk. She covered shoes, world affairs and the wildfire season in the first five minutes, all without pausing to take a breath.
Dorothy, meanwhile, dug into her lasagna with gusto and none of her usual fear at the inevitable comparisons with her sibling. What was the point? She could read the writing on the wall. It was obvious that the wizard wanted her powers and Emily’s body. He could have one—lord knew Emily would want him even if he weren’t using his gifts to scramble her brain—but he’d never lay his hands on the other.
Surrender Dorothy - KINDLE Page 2
