by Mary Winter
Laura leaned into the touch, her eyelids fluttering closed. It’d be so easy to simply savor the moment. She couldn’t. “I don’t know.” Bolting to her feet, she snagged her panties and slipped into them. “I guess I came down here with guns blazing looking to defy my father. Now, I find out that I’m pregnant and he’s relented and allowed me to return to Illinois. This has all happened so fast.” She drew a shaky breath. “And where were you for five hours?”
Reid grinned. “Wondered if you’d ask me that. I spent an hour or so in the gym, and then went outside and walked the grounds. This is a hell of a place you have here, and I wondered if StarMyst would ever be enough. But I also I know I love you and you love me. That, and our child, is a lot more than a fancy house. Besides, I think we have more acres.”
“I see,” Laura replied. “Even if you didn’t have a Conclave, you’d still be enough for me. Let’s head back to StarMyst and take it from there, okay?”
Reid nodded.
Laura knew her reluctance to commit to a Bonding Ceremony hurt him, yet she cared for him enough to tell him the truth. They’d progress, hopefully toward a Bonding Ceremony, but right now, she just wanted to savor the fact that she could be with him without her father’s interference. Everything else could come later.
Looking at Reid, she hoped he felt the same way.
Chapter Eleven
After leaving Brazos, they’d driven as far as Little Rock before finding a hotel and calling it a night. The steak house across the street had still been open and they’d been able to eat a hearty meal before turning in. Laura had handed him the key. He’d opened it to find a spacious room dominated by a large king-sized bed. A recliner sat in one corner next to a small table, the vanity taking up one wall leading into a small room for the toilet and bathtub. While not as elaborate as the suite they’d stayed at in Memphis, it promised a clean, cozy place to sleep. Right now, that was all Reid wanted.
Sitting across from Laura in the steak house, hearing her words about taking things one-day at a time, he had to admit she had a point. Sure, her reluctance to go through with the Bonding Ceremony chafed at him. Now that he had her free of Brazos, Reid wanted to shout his possession to the world. Laura was his! She carried his child! In the world of Sorcerers that might as well been a marriage complete with the chapel, the tuxes, and the white dress.
An image of Laura standing beside him in a white dress with a long train, holding a bouquet of flowers filled his mind. Behind her veil, her deep brown eyes held love. Dressed in a tux, he couldn’t have been prouder to declare this woman his. Beside him stood Te and Cord. In his dreams, Kade would be there too, but even here, Reid admitted he probably wouldn’t be seeing his brother anytime soon. If it weren’t for Laura agreeing to be with him, fighting for him, he figured he wouldn’t be able to forgive Kade for anything that he’d done. Now, well, he may not want to see his brother, but if he did, he probably wouldn’t punch him either.
“You’re awfully quiet.” Laura plopped onto the bed, kicking off her shoes and stretching out.
He watched her yawn, watched her stretch, imagining the play of muscles and skin beneath her shirt and jeans. Shortly after making love, they’d headed out and driven like bats out of hell, almost as if now that they’d been given a reprieve, they wanted to take full advantage of it. Reid stretched out beside her. “Just thinking.”
“About what?” Laura rolled to her side and smoothed her fingers down his shirt.
He watched her slender digits caressing the fabric. “You. Me. Us.”
“You’re upset that I’m not jumping for joy at the prospect of a Bonding Ritual, aren’t you?” Laura flopped onto her back and covered her eyes with her forearm. She lay silent for long moments.
“Upset is a bit strong. I’m disappointed. I thought that once we got past your father’s issues everything would be fine. I guess I was wrong.” Reid swallowed hard. On one hand, he didn’t want to put undue pressure on her. On the other, he wanted this done and over with so he and Laura could live their lives. “I won’t push you though. Whatever you want. You’re calling the shots.”
He sensed her relaxing as he spoke the words and the tension in his gut eased. To come this far to lose her—that would kill him. He sat up with the need to do something, even if it was to pace the room back and forth. “I’m going to go take a shower.”
He paused, half-expecting Laura to follow him. When she didn’t, he turned around to watch her spread out on the bed.
“I’m going to sleep. It’s been a long day.”
He nodded, knowing the changes, both emotionally and magically, would be taking a toll on her. “Okay,” he said, and wondered if he were giving in more than he ought to.
Twenty minutes and a hot shower later, Reid was no closer to feeling comfortable with the situation then he had been when he’d stepped into the bathroom. He could go out there and have some big discussion with Laura. Right now, sleep sounded best. They could deal with the relationship stuff in the morning, probably on the long drive back to Illinois.
He stepped out of the bathroom with a towel wrapped around his waist to find Laura sleeping on the bed. He watched her as he crossed the carpet, his toes sinking into the plush pile. She laid there, one arm outstretched almost as if she reached for him. Dark circles formed almost-bruises under her eyes, her lashes fluttered against her pale skin. She couldn’t be comfortable still dressed in her traveling clothes, but he hated to wake her enough to slip her beneath the covers.
He pulled back the covers and tugged the towel free. It fell to the floor.
In her sleep, Laura murmured. Her fingers clenched around the comforter, her lips parting.
Reid couldn’t look away. The sight of her held him mesmerized. His cock stirred to life, though he ignored its summons for now. Reaching out, he caressed her cheek. “Laura, honey,” he said in a low voice.
“Huh?” Her sleepy lids lifted and she blinked at him.
“You might be more comfortable if you got undressed,” he offered. “Want me to get your night shirt out of the suitcase?”
Laura shook her head. She sat up and peeled off her shirt then reached behind her and unhooked her bra. As the garments fell away, Reid’s attention dropped to her breasts. Her nipples were already hard, the tight beads drawing his gaze. He reached for her, his hand dropping to his side as she stood and peeled off her jeans and panties. Naked, she crawled back to bed.
“You know we should probably talk,” she said with a grin. Her gaze never lifted above his erection, though she did pull a sheet up to her shoulders.
He followed suit, sliding beneath the blankets and making sure the sheet was tucked tightly around his waist. “About what?” He tried to sound casual, though anytime a woman said that they “needed to talk” it usually was anything but. Deep inside he feared he’d pushed her too far with his insistence that they go through the Bonding Ceremony. Perhaps here was where she gave him the boot, told him that she’d return to Illinois with him, and then their relationship was over. No, that was irrational, but the longer she remained silent, the more he feared.
“It’s probably silly that I don’t want to do the Bonding Ritual. We’ve done the more intimate one, the binding one, and I do love you. It’s just, I guess, for so long I’ve had to deal with what my father wants me to do that to take this one day at a time feels refreshing. It’s like I suddenly have freedom that I never had before?” Laura curled her fingers into the edge of the comforter. “You know?”
She sounded so hesitant, her voice so pleading that Reid knew he couldn’t be worried, or mad. In a way, he knew exactly what she meant. For so long they’d lived waiting for Te to return to StarMyst. When Te returned… If Te returned… Edwin hadn’t spoken like that, but behind all of his actions, all of his words, the truth had remained. When Te did return, even though Edwin was in the last months of his life, it was like a weight had lifted and the Conclave had returned to some sort of normalcy. So he knew exactly what Laura was ta
lking about. “I know.”
Laura sagged into the pillow with a relieved sigh. “Thank goodness.” She rolled toward him and cupped his stubbled cheek.
Reid closed his eyes and leaned into her touch, hungry for some sort of connection. His cock hardened with the thought of rolling her onto her back and taking her in a long, slow bout of lovemaking. Turning his head, he pressed his lips to the center of her palm. He flicked her skin with his tongue, and heard her swiftly indrawn breath.
“Reid.” She pulled her hand away as if burned.
Her gentle chastisement didn’t sting. Instead, it fanned his desire more. He summoned the will to remain there, not touching her, not palming her breast or sliding his fingers through the curls he knew were damp with need.
“I love you.” Her gaze found his and bored into him with the intensity of twin laser beams. “I want you to know that. And my backing away from the Bonding Ritual has nothing to do with that. Even if we never completed the ritual, I’d still love you and still be by your side. You have to understand that.”
“I do,” he said, aware that were they in a Bonding Ritual those words would have a very different meaning. And he did. After being told what to do for so long, his coming and telling her that she had to bond with him, not just because he loved her, but because she was pregnant was no different from her father telling her who she could, and couldn’t mate with. He nodded his head, sensing she might not believe him. “I believe that, Laura. And I love you. I love your beauty, your strength, your caring nature. I love everything about you. I don’t need a ritual to make that happen.”
“Really?” Her fingers slid from his cheek, down his neck to rest the palm of her hand between his pectorals. Moving closer to him, her legs tangled with his. Her smooth, soft skin slid across his hair-roughed thighs. Her floral scent mingled with the musk of her arousal and deep inside the lussor awakened.
“Really.” Reid grinned. “Come on.” He held out his hands in a defenseless gesture. “There’s no way in hell you can get me to go away now. Okay, so I’ll admit I’m a bit disappointed that you don’t want to complete the Bonding Ritual right now. I want to stand in front of my Conclave and anyone who cares to attend and proclaim that you’re mine. I want them to know that we belong together and nothing and no one will separate us.”
Laura giggled. “I think our Binding Ritual kind of told my Conclave that.”
“Yeah, I do too.” He rolled toward her, sweeping her beneath him. Bracing his weight on his elbows, his legs tangling with hers, he unabashedly swept his gaze over the parts of her naked body he could see. He dipped his head and swiped his tongue across both her nipples, one right after the other, then buried his face in the crook of her neck and inhaled. “God, you smell good.”
Beneath him, Laura welcomed him with parted thighs.
His cock nudged her slick folds. Reid ignored the temptation for now. He sensed Laura’s need to be reassured, that her decision not to go forward with the Bonding Ceremony wouldn’t affect their relationship. Just as in Memphis, he wanted this overnight stay to be a respite from the world. Drawing a deep breath of her scent into his lungs, he nuzzled her shoulder.
Reid peppered her chin and jaw with kisses. Working his way to her earlobe, he nibbled on it before drawing into his mouth.
Laura’s back bowed off the bed. Her thighs rose on either side of his hips, squeezing him.
He held back a groan. His dick throbbed with the need to be deep inside her, fucking her until they both lay sweaty and sated. No, this was for her. It had to be. Releasing her ear lobe, he found her lips and kissed her, hard and deep. His tongue plunged into her mouth, and she welcomed him, wrapping her arms around him. Her fingertips curled into the skin by his spine, her thighs falling open even wider. He felt her heels walking up the backs of his legs, knew she wanted him inside her. He shifted his hips so his cock nestled against her inner thigh.
Laura whimpered. Her tongue tangled with his, her hands roaming over his back, his buttocks, caressing everywhere that she could reach. He loved that about her, the unabashed way she made love, reveling in his body and hers. She arched her back, crushing her breasts against his chest. The points of her nipples branded him. Deep inside, the lussor unfurled, waking, quietly, gently, to drink in the energy created by their passion. And Reid vowed to give it all the fuel it could stand.
~* * *~
Laura wanted to press her cheek against his chest and weep with relief. Though they’d completed the binding ceremony and frankly, that was as close as two sorcerers could get, she still expected him to balk at her reluctance to do the formal Bonding Ceremony, a sorcerer wedding. Then again, he was a guy, and most men weren’t willing to jump into marriage. She molded her body to his, the ridge of his cock pressing into her thigh telling her that no matter what, Reid still wanted her. His lussor rose, coaxing hers to life deep inside her.
Laura pulled her attention from the tongue plunging in and out of her mouth like a miniature cock and away from the heat generated by Reid’s body above her. She focused on her lussor, feeling it unfurl like a serpent living at the base of her spine. Her power, her source, her energy, it sinuously rose along the length of her spine. Tiny tendrils unfurled in her breasts, her pussy, all the hidden and secret places inside her.
Reid rolled to his side. “I want you to see something.” He grabbed her hand and pulled her into a seated position.
She waited, unsure of what he wanted as he placed a couple of pillows on the bed in front of her.
“On your knees.”
She complied, driven as much by the desire wetting her pussy as the husky rasp of his voice. He knelt behind her then cupped her chin and lifted her gaze. In the mirror at the end of the bed, she stared at hers and Reid’s reflection. Her lips parted. Her heart hammered, looking at the woman, her mouth open, her breasts swaying freely, and the muscled form of Reid behind her. He caressed her flank, and she watched as his big hand made the sweep from her hip to her knee.
“Don’t look away.”
As if she could. The woman in the mirror held her transfixed with her eyes glassy with desire. Reid’s hands parted her thighs, giving him access to her clit and labia. He reached between her legs and stroked her with a single finger that sent fireworks all the way through her body.
They didn’t need a Bonding Ritual, not when they could feed the lussor like this. He bent over her back, cupping her breasts in his hands and pressed kisses along the nape of her neck.
Laura watched the sweep of his light brown hair against her pale skin. She smelled her arousal, could still taste him on her lips. The silken caresses of each strand contrasted with his crisp chest hairs against her breasts and stomach. His hands, so masterful, against her, spread her thighs even wider. He gently pinched her nipples, drawing a moan from her.
“Watch,” he ordered.
“I am,” she all but moaned in reply. “I need you to—”
“Not yet. Enjoy.” He swiped his tongue between the twin dimples at the base of her spine, and to have him so close to her aching sex and yet so far away burned torment through her.
She wanted to rear back and stick her fingers between her legs to work the edge off of her frustration. Instead, she waited for what Reid would do next.
Reid’s fingers tightened on her nipples. A bolt of pleasure-pain shot through her, and she moaned aloud.
The sound erupted through her. Keeping her attention on the mirror, she watched as he flattened one hand against her stomach then worked his fingers lower, until she saw only shadows and felt the sweep of his digits across her slick labia.
“Yes,” she moaned. “More.”
“I’m calling the shots.”
She heard the smile, and the arousal, in his voice that stroked like a rough tongue across her skin. She shivered.
Reid dipped his fingers into her pussy, finding her swollen and wet clit and circling it with the tip of his index finger. He avoided the organ, barely grazing across the hood, and that
gentle, teasing touch, held the power to send her over the edge. She bit her lip, trying to stifle her whimpers. She had no idea how thin the motel’s walls might be and she didn’t want to give her neighbors an audio show.
“You like this? You want me to fuck your sweet pussy?”
“Yes,” she answered, not knowing what had gotten into him, but damn it felt and sounded so good.
He pinched her nipple then stroked two fingers inside her channel.
Laura cried out. The lussor flared, her body tightening around it with an impending orgasm that was certain to rock her world.
Reid dipped his fingers in to the second knuckle. Two fingers then three, as he finger fucked her. Through the mirror, his gaze locked with hers. “I love watching you come apart like this.” He held up her breast, deliberately rubbing his thumb back and forth across the nipple. “Yeah, just like this. Can you come for me baby?”
Could she? If she didn’t, Laura figured she’d die right here on this bed. A quick brush of his thumb across her clit, his fingers buried deep inside her vagina, and hell yeah, she could orgasm for him. His actions coaxed her release from her.
Laura struggled to keep her eyes open as her pussy tightened around Reid’s fingers. Her nipples tingled, her breathing hitched. He kept his thumb moving in a steady rhythm across her nipple and he rotated his hand so he could stroke her clit at the same time. Her whimpers grew, turned into long moans, and her knees threatened to give out. Still, she refused to look away from the woman in the mirror who was her, and yet wasn’t. A flush covered her cheeks, Reid’s hands cupped her breasts, and his body hovered behind hers. Yet, this woman held a freedom that Laura hadn’t often felt. The damp curls testified to needs she hadn’t sated until now, and with her golden blonde hair tumbling around her shoulders, she looked like some kind of goddess, not a doctor who also happened to be a Sorcerer.
When she came back to herself, she found Reid waiting, patiently. The head of his cock nudged her opening. “You ready?”
