by Tina Donahue
Now he was talking. She did as he’d demanded, arms above her head.
Carefully, he stroked her mound. “Do you always shave here?”
“Do you prefer a bush?”
“On you, everything is good.” He licked her cleft.
She clawed the concrete, breaking several nails. The pain didn’t register, only pleasure did, warming her faster than the sun ever had, stealing her strength, preparing her for passion.
Roman propped her legs onto his shoulders, held her clit between his teeth, and licked vigorously. Trapping, using, arousing her.
She gripped his hair, needing it to moor her. Her delight was so intense she feared she might explode into a zillion pieces he wouldn’t be able to put back together.
She panted and swore.
He persisted, driving two fingers into her channel, stretching her brazenly, then licked her clit and stroked her anus.
Breathing became impossible. Her heart couldn’t have pounded faster without bursting. Perspiration clung to her throat and between her breasts.
If she didn’t break soon…
He released her, tugged her back into the water, pulled her into his arms, and sank his cock deep within her pussy.
Ah. Her head fell back.
After bracing himself against the pool wall, he thrust into her, stroked her clit, and reclaimed her mouth, his kiss as impassioned as his lovemaking. As though he couldn’t get close enough or experience her to the fullest.
The same as she felt about him.
They squirmed and writhed, explored and enjoyed, each coming on a joyous shout.
Gasping, he collapsed against the wall, bringing her with him.
She smoothed back his hair and caught another breath. “Good?”
His laughter filled the steamy night. “I’ll say.” He squeezed his eyes tight then forced them open. They slid back to half-mast. “How about for you?”
He wanted to know if the craving had subsided. Thankfully, it was no more than a painful memory at the moment, warmth and joy filling her instead. “I’m great.” She stroked his eyebrows. “You should sleep.”
“Plenty of time to do so later.”
Not if the spell worked and he returned to his normal, or abnormal, self. Crud, she hated their options.
He caught her concern, sadness touching his eyes. “Whatever happens, please believe I want you to have your life back. If I was at peace, but you weren’t…” He lowered his face. “That would kill me. I can’t stand to see you cry. I hate when I piss you off. I know you can’t be happy all the time, but—”
She stopped him with her kiss, tears dampening her cheeks. He couldn’t have been mortal before being turned. He must have been an angel who’d lost his way and ended up on Earth. A crazy and corny notion, she knew, but he was too good for this planet.
If things had been up to her, she would never have budged from this spot.
Too quickly, he ended their kiss and gulped air.
She tried to recapture his mouth, but he wouldn’t let her. “Too tired to neck?”
“Huh? No. I had an idea about Dimitri.”
There wasn’t a quicker way to kill the magic they’d created between them. “You finally realized he’s the ultimate SOB?”
“That’s a given.” He lifted her from the pool then pulled himself out and grabbed her hand. “Call your friends back. I want to discuss my thinking with them.”
“Try me first.” She touched his tat. “What’s your idea?”
“Are you afraid when I tell Cassie, she’ll give me a hard time?”
“If she does, I’ll have you turn her into Nuncio. No telling what will happen with your magic.”
“Hey, I’m trying.” He brushed water off his hair. “But I think we’re looking at this the wrong way.”
“How?”
He settled her on their chaise and lay beside her, their skin coolish from the water. “We’re only thinking about spells we can use on Dimitri. Magic.”
“Yeah. The only stuff that will work. Machetes, assault rifles, bazookas, and nuclear bombs are useless. If they weren’t, I would have tried them by now.”
“You’re not listening.” He tapped her nose. “What’s the most powerful magic on Earth?”
She considered drugs, but they were death, not sorcery.
He played with her boob. “I know you know this. Think. Open your heart and soul to the truth.”
Her nipple puckered from his gentle stroking, sending heated currents through her. Thinking didn’t come easy. “Uh…I… Wait.” She gripped his hand. “Love. Affection and tenderness for another person. Nothing’s more powerful.”
“Exactly. Not even dark power or hate can defeat it. When Trish called Lael to find out if she’d found a spell we could use, which she hasn’t, Lael said we were doing the right thing by surrounding and protecting you with our love.”
“Makes sense.”
“That’s not all.” He wiggled his eyebrows. “Do you recall what I said about the power of three?”
“Uh-huh. You liked Charmed, or rather the hot babes on it.”
“Be thankful they caught my attention. It may have been a dumb TV series, but most shows and stories have some truth from the real world; otherwise, no one would read or watch them. From childhood on, we’re taught united we stand, divided we fall. That’s the power of three or four or two, or whatever number you want to come up with against someone. Throughout history, people have risked everything for love and have won. No matter how awful a situation is, love does, or will, conquer everything. Including that fucker Dimitri.”
Chapter Five
Roman gathered Wren’s friends at the pool.
Trish looked expectant, her irises glistening in the faint light, identical to her beaded swimwear. Sabrina gobbled cole slaw. She ate more than he ever had before he’d been turned, yet she couldn’t have weighed a hundred pounds soaking wet.
Cassie focused on Wren. “Still doing good? Need a sip?” She held out her wrist, presumably where Wren had fed earlier, yet there were no puncture marks from fangs.
Wren shrank back. “No. I’m fine.” She elbowed Roman. “Tell them.”
All eyes zipped to him.
Before he shared his plan, he wanted confirmation on a few essentials. “If I use a spell for a devil against Dimitri, it will work, right, since he is half demon? At least, that’s what the witches on Charmed said about warlocks and a character claimed in a book I read. Or is the heritage something the writers made up?”
“Nope.” Cassie sipped her beer. “It’s real. Since Dimitri’s the lowest of the low, I say we triple the spell, maybe quadruple it, for extra oomph.”
Sabrina finished her corn on the cob, butter coating her lips. “I agree. His human side is already a weakness we need to exploit.”
“Exactly.” Roman’s excitement grew. “We’ll choose the baddest spell, supercharge it with the others we found, then finish him off with power from you three.” He took each in.
They looked baffled. Trish spoke first. “You want us to be there when you do this?”
Sabrina swallowed the food in her mouth. “Sort of like a cheering section?”
“Not exactly.” Wren wrung her hands. “And I’ll understand if you guys don’t want to do this.”
Roman frowned. “I won’t. They’re your friends. This is what friends do for each other.”
“Concerning what?” Cassie slapped his arm. “Quit keeping us in suspense.”
“Fine.” He inhaled deeply and gestured to an opened book on his and Wren’s chaise. “I found a spell where a witch can give her powers to someone else. The instructions didn’t specify who or what exactly—mortal, para, whatever—so I’m guessing the magic would work if you three transferred your talents to me.” He held up his hands before anyone could interrupt or bitch. “Not forever. Only for a couple of hours, according to the incantation. Then everything flows back to you.”
Wren cut in. “Except you guys will be vulnerabl
e during that time without your powers. No.” She stepped back. “We can’t ask you to do so much. Roman and I will have to find another way.”
He gave her a look. “There isn’t one, babe. Remember, the power of three? I need all the help I can get.” He spoke to the ladies. “I’m not asking here, I’m begging. Please do this for Wren.”
She whimpered.
Instantly, her buddies flocked to her, rubbing her back, giving her a hug, consoling.
Cassie looked at him. “Of course, we’ll do it. We can stay here and play with Nuncio while you guys are taking Dimitri down. Where’s the spell?”
He gave her the book, his enthusiasm returned and growing. “There’s another on page seventy-eight. It involves corralling a demon. I’ll need it, too. And one to make walls melt.” He pointed at a third volume. “It’s in there, page fifty-four.”
Sabrina checked it out. “Do you need this one for you and Wren to escape in case the other stuff doesn’t work on Dimitri?”
“It will.” Roman wouldn’t accept failure. “I had something else in mind for it. I’ll also need a spell to conjure daggers.”
Trish lowered her beer. “Wow. You’re getting hardcore. I like. Be sure to bring a smartphone and take pictures. I want to see the carnage.”
“There won’t be any.” Wren hugged his arm. “He’s too decent to be mean.”
Not when it came to her safety and happiness. He’d annihilate anything in the way, not that he could tell her as much. “We better get started. I have a lot to learn.”
The ladies worked him hard. Luckily, he caught on faster this time, and his skill had improved exponentially since conjuring Nuncio. Even so, he insisted on practicing until he had the incantations down pat.
Their second dawn here had already arrived. Sun spilled past the mansion.
Cassie drooped to a chaise. “I take it you’re going to ambush Dimitri at the club?”
Roman nodded and finished the Pop-Tarts Sabrina had given him, wiping his fingers on his jeans. “I’m sure with Wren back at work, he’ll want to know why and if she’s desperate enough to use him as her blood slave.”
“Never.” She bristled. “I’m going to turn him inside out and not in a good way.”
“You bet.” He pulled her close and spoke to the others. “Before then though, we’ll be at her house. Where’s the spell for me to take us there?”
“Give me a sec.” Sabrina opened a volume to the correct page and offered it to him. “Halfway down.”
Trish brushed croissant crumbs off her bikini bottom. “You don’t want to hang out with us here until it’s literally showtime?”
He needed to be alone with his woman. “Sorry, no.”
“Better get started, then.” Cassie pushed off the chaise and gestured to the others to follow. They surrounded Roman. Cassie looked up at him. “Before we begin, get Nuncio back here.”
He did as she asked.
Nuncio flashed his signature smile, lust oozing from every pore he owned.
“Stay over there until we call you.” Cassie swung her arm to the tables at the shallow end then faced Roman. “Ready for this?”
As much as he’d ever be. He put down the book and nodded.
Wren stepped back.
Sabrina grabbed his right hand, Cassie his left. Trish gripped his tattooed bicep. Eyes closed, they chanted in time, ancient, mystical words he’d never heard and couldn’t hope to understand.
The breeze stilled and the sun disappeared, casting the world into darkness.
Their power sizzled through him, as if they’d set him on fire. He stifled a shriek. Invisible forces filled his veins, muscles, and everything else until he wasn’t certain he could take much more, terrified he’d explode from the intense pressure. His joints ached, and each hair on him stood on end, even the ones on his balls. He ground his teeth, making them ache, too.
Fuck.
The torment grew to impossible proportions. Sweat bathed him. He shook worse than someone freezing to death.
“Done.” Cassie released him first.
The others did the same.
Sun warmed his face, the world bright again.
The agony gripping him loosened and receded. Lightheaded, he swayed.
Wren slipped her arm around his waist. “You all right?”
He felt fucking awesome, more powerful than he could have imagined. “Oh yeah.”
“Careful with our stuff.” Cassie shot him a warning look. “Don’t strain yourself trying to be a badass or by testing your prowess.”
“I won’t.” He didn’t want to lose an ounce of their power and regretted having to whisk himself and Wren back to her place. “How much magic will I need to reach her house?”
“A smidgen.” Trish pinched her thumb and forefinger together, demonstrating. “It won’t affect your capability in the least.”
“And what I’ll need to transport us to the club when the time comes?”
“The same.”
“I guess we’re good to go, then.”
“Wait.” Wren hugged her posse. Everyone’s eyes grew wet, even his.
“Before you leave…” Trish tossed him her phone. “Remember, I want pictures.”
“You’ll get them.” He pushed the device into his pocket and gathered Wren close. “Ready?”
She rested her head against his shoulder and held tight. “Uh-huh.”
Didn’t sound like it. His confidence waned. I can’t fuck this up. I have to do it right.
Unnerved, he recited the spell.
Air rushed by. Something popped. He prayed he hadn’t broken their bones. The sun dimmed. Shit, he couldn’t have doused it.
Terrified, he wanted to run but couldn’t move, except to open his eyes.
He and Wren were in her living room.
She glowed. “You did it.”
He had. Amazed, he held back a whoop and lifted her into his arms.
She snuggled against him. “Where are we going?”
“Bedroom.” He raced down the hall and settled her on the mattress.
Her hair spilled over the comforter, haloing her face. She stroked his neck. “Need to take a nap?”
He’d never been less tired. “Nope.” He backed away and stripped off his jeans. Nude, he joined her.
She rolled away from his grasp, positioned herself on all fours, and looked over her shoulder at him. “How’s this?”
“Another time.” At the moment, he wanted intimacy rather than an uncivilized fuck. He eased her to her back, facing him.
She gave him an odd look. “What’s wrong?”
So many emotions swirled within him he could scarcely contain them, love at the forefront. He needed her as he never had another woman. She completed him. No matter the shit he’d face through eternity, if she was at his side, he’d not only endure, he’d rejoice. “Nothing. I want to look at you.”
Adoration for him flooded her features.
The best a man could hope for. He eased his rigid cock into her pussy.
Her mouth fell open on a contented sigh. “Nice.”
Not even close. What they felt for each other was miraculous. He pumped slowly, savoring her inner heat, her tight, slick channel.
She drew her legs back farther, giving him greater access.
Their gazes never left each other. They smiled then became solemn in respect for such a blessed act.
Her eyes grew unfocused, her pussy tightening around his shaft.
He stroked her nub.
A pleased moan tore from her. She arched her back, her areolas pebbled, tips erect.
He drew the left one into his mouth, thrust his shaft gently inside her, and rubbed her clit, her warmth, softness, and scent undoing him and making the room spin. He tensed to steady himself.
She writhed.
Unlike the other times they’d made love, he didn’t want to rush, needing to savor these moments as long as he could. To witness the wonder he delivered to her.
No longer dizzy, he
lifted his head.
Arousal flushed her skin. Her shoulders tensed as she tried to keep from coming. She clawed the comforter and squeezed his arms.
He longed to give her everything good the world had to offer and then some. Safeguarding her future and seeing to her pleasure was his only goal. To let her down wasn’t an option any longer.
Desperate for closeness, he pumped harder, faster.
The bedframe creaked.
Her fragrant breath spilled out, and her legs tightened around him.
He made love as he never had in the past, tenderness and devotion showing him the way.
They came as one, Wren moaning her release, him gasping.
Before he lost his remaining strength, he rolled them over to put her on top with him still deep inside, and caressed her to him. Her pussy quivered around his cock from her orgasm. He’d done well. “Thanks.”
She kissed his collarbone and rested her cheek against it, her breath warming his neck. “I should be thanking you for making me so damn happy.”
He hugged her harder than he should have then let up before he injured something. “I hate to think what would have happened if I hadn’t been at the club that night. Wait a sec. No, I don’t. I wouldn’t have put you in harm’s way.”
“What?” She pushed up and cupped his face. “Do you honestly believe Dimitri would have breezed by rather than hounding me if you hadn’t been around?”
“You wouldn’t have lost your powers.”
“Says who?” She brushed her lips over his. “There was nothing stopping him from stripping away everything I had to make me vulnerable to him. I’m guessing he didn’t because it would have been too easy. He likes to play with his victims. Make their lives miserable until he goes in for the kill. If anything, you saved my ass.”
Sounded nice, but he didn’t buy her kind words completely. “If he had trapped you before I’d come along, what would he have subjected you to?”
Terror filled her eyes. “I’d rather not think about it.”
“Sorry.” He eased her into him and held her gently. “I shouldn’t have mentioned it. I won’t again.”
“It’s okay. You didn’t know.”
Now that he did, he couldn’t believe Dimitri had gotten away with his monstrous behavior. “Why hasn’t anyone stopped him? Don’t you guys have an organization you belong to with rules and stuff?”
