Enthralled Magic (The Circle Series Book 1)

by Naomi L Scudder

  "What's happening?" asked a patron.

  "What's going on?" asked another at the same time.

  "Is it an earthquake?" worried a very drunk guy at the far side of the bar.

  "We don't get earthquakes in Maryland, you dunce," said his drinking partner.

  "We did that once," he insisted.

  "Everybody be calm," Amari called over the crowd's panicked tones. "If you're standing under the chandelier, move. Everyone spread out."

  Before anyone could move, eerie blue light seeped through the exposed ceiling joists, putting a sci-fi pallor on everyone. The patrons looked from one to another, a collective "What the hell?" on all their faces.

  When the screaming started everyone rushed to the exits.

  "Fucking Gods in heaven," I said when someone pushed by hard enough to topple me out of the barstool. The bar cleared out in under twenty seconds, leaving Amari's staff looking bewildered.

  "Um, should we leave too?" Jade asked, eyeing the swinging chandelier.

  "Sure. We'll call it an early night."

  "Should I count out my drawer?" she asked and winced at the second round of screaming.

  "It's only sex, Jade. You're perfectly safe," I said as I tried not to visibly shudder. Pilar's screams of pleasure zinged through the primal part of my brain, turning on my sex drive without permission.

  Jade shook her head. "If that's sex then I've been doing it wrong," she said and pulled her drawer.

  "I'm going to tell the kitchen crew to clean up and go early," Amari said and disappeared into the kitchen.

  "Jade, what about everyone’s tab? How will you keep them all straight?" I asked.

  "You saw that crowd. There are no tabs here. It's cash or credit for each drink, no exceptions. Keeps the fighting at a minimum," she said while counting.

  "Are they really that bad?" I asked as she slid crisp bills through her long, slender fingers.

  "Individually, no. But when we gather like this, energies get all mixed up and sharp. Why do you think there aren't any other practitioner-only establishments?"

  "How do you keep from getting sucked into it?" I asked, wondering if maybe she walled her energy as well.

  Jade held up her wrist, pointing to her black gauntlet. "I charmed it to keep my energy close. It's not airtight, but it gives me enough distance to keep my cool for the most part."

  "Try picturing a wall around your energy. Brody showed me, and it even works on nons."

  "Really?"

  "Yup."

  "Thanks, Zora. I'll try it out." Jade printed her sales report, clipped it to her tally sheet, and bundled it with the cash. "Amari, I'm all done here. I'll see ya tomorrow."

  "Thanks, Jade,” he called from the kitchen.

  36

  "What are we going to do with them?" Amari asked after the last of his kitchen staff left.

  I shrugged and looked to the ceiling. "They'll figure it out," I said as the lights flickered. Again.

  "True, but I don't want to listen to them figuring it out."

  "You agreed to it. Besides, once he learns to control his energy, we won't be sewn at the hip anymore, and Brody will be free to figure it out wherever he wants. Judging by the light show, I'd say he's there."

  Amari nodded.

  "And while they're busy upstairs…" I let the thought trail off, putting my intention in the energy I flowed to him. I watched Amari's eyes, afraid of the blackness overtaking the warm brown.

  But it never happened. The heat from before was there, but it wasn't as urgent or overwhelming. I could separate myself from it.

  "Is it OK?" he asked.

  "I think so. I think it's just me here, no ancestral crap to deal with." I offered my hand to him and led him around to my side of the bar. "You know," I said when we were standing toe to toe. "I don't think we've ever fooled around in here."

  "I think you're right," Amari said and picked me up by the waist to sit me on the edge of the bar.

  My fingers tangled themselves in his wavy, thick hair.

  "You know that's your move, right?"

  "What do you mean?" I asked.

  "You always go straight for my hair; it's your starter move."

  I laughed. I had no idea I had a move, or that I'd done it so often that Amari knew when it was coming. "I guess I just like your hair," I said and continued to stroke and pet him.

  Amari let his eyes close, enjoying the lightness of my touch and the varying sensations I could elicit.

  "We haven't been on the same page about a lot of things recently," he murmured as I found the extra sensitive spot where hairline meets nape.

  "Shhhh," I said, not wanting to break the momentum.

  "Let me finish," he said, eyes still closed, palms bracing flat on the bar. "In this, we have always been on the right page." With each word he inched closer to me until the last was spoken against my lips.

  Amari didn't force the contact into a kiss and neither did I. We stayed suspended, relishing in the heightened space of the moment just before a kiss.

  "I've missed you," he said slowly, his lips softly touching mine as they formed each word.

  Instead of answering, I dropped my wall.

  Amari noticed, and suddenly I was caught in a wave of him—his hands on my hips, scooting me closer, his musky energy caressing the outskirts of my own; and his hungry mouth on mine.

  I sighed into his kiss, unbuttoned his shirt, and slid my hands under, reacquainting myself with the lean planes of his chest. He shivered and kissed me deeper. His hands slipped from my hips to waistband; he had my pants unbuttoned and sliding down my ass in a matter of moments.

  Sitting on the bar made getting out of my pants awkward, but somehow Amari managed it without any effort from me. "That's a new trick," I said when he got them off without taking off my boots. A smile was his only reply.

  I hooked a booted ankle around his leg and drew him closer, but not before I unbuttoned his pants. He let them slide down his narrow hips and pool around his ankles. I wiggled out of my underwear as Amari stepped out of his pants and let his boxer briefs hit the floor.

  "Gods," I barely breathed the word. He was magnificent—unbuttoned shirt grazing just below his hipbones, putting a frame around his hardness.

  I wrapped my legs around him and guided him to me.

  Amari didn't need much coaxing. Our bodies didn't meet; we crashed into each other. My shoulder in his mouth, his hands on my hips, we writhed against each other. I pulled him closer, deeper, sinking fingertips into the flesh of his back.

  A low, rumbly growl left Amari's lips in response.

  Amari was tall, but me up on the bar had him on his toes. Grabbing handfuls of my ass, he scooted me off the bar, walked us to the closest wall, and pinned me against it.

  It wasn't my favorite position. Keeping me against the wall didn't allow either of us much movement. Amari was present enough to notice almost immediately, but if he hadn't, I wouldn't have had a problem saying something.

  He slowly sank to his knees, sliding me down the wall in the process. We ended up seated on the floor, facing each other, me in his lap.

  "That's better," I whispered in his ear, and leaned back, bracing my hands on the floor behind me. I rode him, torso undulating like the belly dancers of my lineage. Amari slid his hands under my shirt and unclasped my bra. I stopped wiggling just long enough to get my shirt over my head, and to pull his off as well.

  Amari traced the silvery energy scar on my ribs with a light finger. “Have you always had this?” he asked.

  Instead of answering, I collapsed myself around him, curving my back and sinking onto his shoulders while he pushed up and into me.

  His rough, bar-worn hands slid up my back, into my hair, and down again. The touch made me shiver from shoulders to hips.

  "Mmm, that little shiver-shimmy feels nice," Amari said, looking up to meet my eyes. "Do it again."

  "Make me shiver again."

  He did, but this time with gentle strokes on
my arms. As I shimmied in his lap, a deep, warm pressure built.

  "I'm getting close," I admitted, breath ragged with exertion.

  "I know," he said and pushed deeper into me.

  I looked him dead in the eye and gave him all the sexual energy I had. This wasn't the crazed, uncontrollable, hot energy from before; this was my own lightly glowing energy.

  It took him over the edge, which brought me to mine. I rode my orgasm out on his lap while he spasmed into me.

  I couldn’t hear Pilar's screams over my own.

  37

  We sat on the floor of the bar, legs wrapped around each other, me still in Amari's lap—recovering, basking, and reveling in afterglow. We soft-gazed into the other's eyes and naturally fell into couple's breathing.

  "I haven't heard any screaming for a while," I said softly.

  "It's well after closing; they should be all wrapped up," Amari said and helped me off his lap. Then it was my turn to pull him off the ground.

  "Are we getting old?" I asked as he stretched his back and legs.

  "Yup," he said and collected our clothes from the ground. And barstools. And how did his shirt get on the register?

  "Hey, did we leave clothes on the rooftop the other night?" I asked when I had to take my boots off to put on my pants.

  "No, I got them later that day," he said and smirked while I struggled with the boots-pants situation.

  When we were mostly clothed, we crept up the hidden staircase. I eased the door open and went in first. If the place was trashed or if Brody and Pilar were still mid-act, I wanted to be able to keep Amari from seeing the brunt of it.

  Luckily, Brody and Pilar were out cold on the sofa, all evidence of their hours of "figuring it out" cleared away.

  I led Amari to the bed, both of us leaving clothes in our wake, and we slid into the recently changed sheets.

  I put my head in the hollow of Amari's shoulder and an arm lightly on his chest. It was my favorite falling-asleep position. Amari played with my curls and gently thumbed his way up and down my arm until there was nothing left to do but surrender to deep, peaceful sleep.

  Brody and Pilar had learned their lesson from the first sleepover. They didn't bother tempting us with the wafting coffee aromas and breakfast pastries until nearly ten the next morning.

  "Gods, do you two have to sleep naked?" Brody asked, covering his eyes when Amari strode to the bathroom.

  "Payback," Amari said without stopping. "And don't ever ask to have sex in my loft again."

  "What was I supposed to do?" Brody asked when Amari was out of earshot.

  "I'm not in this," I said, and wrapped a sheet around myself so I could grab a Danish from the bag on the counter. "Thanks for breakfast, though," I said and sipped the deepest, richest coffee I'd had outside of Brazil. Pilar was oddly making herself busy by wiping off the stovetop and counters.

  "I was thinking you could head into work without me today," I said to Brody, an eye still on Pilar's excellent demonstration of stress-cleaning.

  "Nope, I don't think it's safe. I'll be miles away if something happens."

  "I think it'll be OK. Besides, it'll give Pilar and I a chance for some girl-talk."

  Brody's shoulders collapsed. "I'll give you space to talk," he conceded, "but I'm not leaving until I'm certain you'll be safe."

  "There's no need anymore, Brody. Controlling your energy was the final step." I watched as realization dawned across his features.

  "Really?"

  "Feel it for yourself. Do you still feel my emotions like before?"

  "No, but I thought that was just morning fogginess."

  "It's not. You've graduated. We're no longer bonded."

  "I wasn't prepared for it to happen so quickly. I don't really feel ready."

  "You're not. Make no mistake, you're still a child practitioner, you've just been weaned off the teat, so to speak. We're still connected, but it's OK for us to live our own lives now."

  "When did you know?" he asked.

  "As soon as you started pouring blue light into the bar." Brody nodded but sadness creased his forehead. "It's normal to feel like something is missing. It's like finishing a great book. You've spent all your free time with it, and now what are you supposed to do without it?"

  "Yeah, that's exactly how I feel."

  "You'll be fine. Remember, you had your own life before me."

  "You're right, but—" I cut off his rebuttal and pointed to the door.

  "Go. I'll be fine. The quicker you do it, the better. Like Band-Aids."

  Brody sighed, gave Pilar a kiss on the cheek, took a cup of coffee and a croissant, and headed for the door. He gave me an “Are you sure?” look, and I returned it with a nod.

  When the tumbler clicked into place, Pilar spun around, tears falling so quickly they met under her jaw and dripped off her chin.

  "He is NOT ready."

  Holy shit. I figured Pilar might need to process last night, but I didn’t think she’d be so upset. "Pilar, calm down. Tell me what's wrong."

  Amari pretended not to notice us when he exited the shower. He got dressed quickly and took a pastry and a coffee. "I'll give you two some privacy. I have a meeting with a local farmer anyway." He placed a kiss on the top of my head and left Pilar and me alone.

  When she was sure Amari was downstairs, Pilar grabbed my arm. "Zora, it was still so much. It was better, but I feel fried today. Literally, like my nerves or synapses or something are burnt out. I'm shaky and wobbly, and this isn't what sex is supposed to feel like!"

  "Did you tell him? In the moment, did you say something?" She shook her head. "Gods in heaven, Pilar, this is something you can't be shy about. You HAVE to speak up for yourself. You can't expect someone so new to their magic to know!” Though I’d be having a long talk with Brody, too.

  Pilar burst into even more tears, which I honestly didn't think was possible. "Why are you yelling at me?!"

  "Because I'm angry, Pilar. I told you all this. I told you exactly what you needed to do. You needed to be open and honest with him. You know why you feel like your synapses are fried? It's because they are; you've literally allowed Brody to inflict damage to your nervous system. All because you were too afraid to speak up for yourself? How does this make sense? ESPECIALLY since you KNOW how to control your own energy!"

  "I'm sorry," she said, and sank to the kitchen floor, sobbing into her knees.

  Fuck. I pushed too far. I'd been too harsh and probably just broke her. Fuck.

  38

  I just yelled at a person who’d been energy-abused. I was a terrible person. If someone tried to tell me it was my fault I’d been energy-abused all those months ago, I wouldn’t have taken it so well.

  Was this the same thing, though?

  I didn’t know.

  It didn’t matter.

  I sighed and sat on the floor beside her. "I’m so sorry I yelled at you, Pilar."

  "It's OK. How could I have been so stupid?"

  I sighed again, pulled her head into my shoulder, and petted her shiny brunette hair. "The synapse damage will heal."

  "I wanted to say something, I did. I wanted to be strong and confident about it like you, but I was afraid. I didn't want to hurt his feelings or make him uncomfortable."

  "Come on. Let’s get you off the floor," I said and guided her to the sofa. "Do you think I was always like this?" I asked, and handed her the box of tissues from the table. She blew loudly and shrugged. "Well, I wasn't. I was self-conscious and confused and unsure of myself, probably more than you."

  She didn't believe me.

  "It's one hundred percent true," I said and tapped my temple.

  Pilar got out of her own head for a moment and gasped, catching the beginning thoughts of the story I was about to share with her.

  “In school, I never felt desirable or attractive. My mother was always so put-together and tiny, and I was neither of those things. So when she left, all those feeling grew, and I felt even more awkward and uncomfo
rtable in my skin. It wasn’t until my third year in college that I had my first boyfriend. He was sweet and nerdy, and helped get me out of my shell.”

  Pilar tucked her legs under her. “Go on,” she coaxed.

  I considered telling her about my recent encounter with energy abuse by a non but decided on a better-fitting story. “By the time I met Amari, I’d gotten over most of it, but practitioner sex was totally new to me. The first three weeks we were together I felt like I was in over my head. But I was so determined not to be the person I used to be, I didn’t tell him.” I sighed. “The fourth time Amari and I had sex, I let him fry me up too. It’s how I know you’ll be fine.”

  I was so mad at myself. I couldn’t believe I’d let her make the same mistake I had.

  Pilar nodded. "You've got the whole sex goddess ancestry thing helping things."

  "And I wish I didn't. That shit is complicated and overwhelming, and my mother is a plot twist I don't want to deal with, but I am. And that's all you can do. Play with the hand you have."

  Pilar nodded.

  "So what are you going to do the next time?"

  Pilar took a minute, considering her options. I watched her demeanor change as she accessed her logic and reasoning aspects. "First, we'll have a conversation about ground rules and safe words. Then we'll talk the whole way through it until we're both comfortable."

  "That's an excellent plan."

  Pilar beamed at me. "It wasn't all bad, you know. It was the best I've ever had, honestly. We just—no, I just need to work on the communication part."

  Afterward, Pilar took a hot shower, erased all signs of crying with expertly applied makeup, and headed to work.

  "Thanks for listening," she said on her way out.

  I nodded at her. "Keep your own energy close, and others’ out. And drink lots of water," I instructed as she closed the loft door behind her.

  Still wrapped in a bed sheet, I sat on Amari’s sofa, and realized I was alone for the first time in—what, a week?

  "Gods, even extroverts need some time alone," I said to no one, and stretched out. A black piece of something wedged between the cushions caught my eye.