“You must aid me, cousin,” Katrine had said. “For I love another.”
Belinda was confused. “How can I aid you? You and my lord are already betrothed.”
Katrine had heard the undisguised bitterness in Belinda’s voice and most assuredly figured out how Belinda felt about Balek. “In the village they call you, ‘the wise woman’. Surely you must have some knowledge of how to make a man impotent?”
“Impotent. Why would you wish this, my lady? Surely you desire children to come of your union?”
“Nay. With your help I shall insist to Lord Grey that we lie together to make certain we are well matched. When he cannot, he will surely end the betrothal.”
When Belinda had looked unconvinced, Katrine continued. “I have been married before, you see, to a much older man. And though he was able to take my virginity, he was not able after that one night to satisfy me. Lord Grey knows of my past situation and he will surely grant my request.”
Belinda was happy to comply with Katrine’s wishes and she sent the relieved woman on her way with a bag of herbs to add to Balek’s wine. Only the herbs that Belinda would administer would offset the effects of the first herbs. The oil she would apply would stall for time, allowing the herbs to take effect.
The plan was to get Balek so concerned about satisfying his betrothed that he would finally, from frustration and, or, embarrassment, call the wedding off. Lady Katrine would agree so that she could return to her beloved. Then, Balek would be free again. And Belinda would be waiting for him.
The plan had seemed so easy and foolproof. But Belinda hadn’t been prepared for the guilt she was feeling.
Although, right now, all she felt was anger.
By the time she reached the castle she had calmed down a little. She tucked the bag of coins into her sack of medicines and entered through the castle doors. No one questioned her as she made her way up towards Balek’s chamber. It was early enough that he might still be dressing.
She knocked swiftly upon his door and heard his voice call out, “Enter”. Belinda opened the door and stepped inside before shutting it behind her.
Balek looked surprised to see her. “Belinda. Why are you here?”
She reached into her sack and grabbed the pouch of coins. She tossed them to the floor at his feet. “I do not require payment for bedding you, my lord.” Her voice was icy.
Balek eyed the coins and then turned his gaze back to her. “You performed a service and healed me. Do not others pay you when you aid them?” he asked.
“Aye. But not if they bed me.”
Balek stepped toward her. “What others have bedded you?” His voice was deadly calm, but fire burned in his gaze.
Belinda had a moment of satisfaction seeing the jealousy on his face. But this was not a game she wished to play with him. “None, my lord. Only you. I am angry that you paid me like a whore.”
Relief washed over Balek’s face, then he looked at her sternly. “Why do you say such things to me? You know you are my dearest friend in the world. I would provide for you but you are stubborn and will not allow it. You only take payment for your services and like it or not, you did do me a service.”
When Belinda’s gaze dropped to the floor, Balek came closer and took her into his arms. “You mean everything to me, do you not know that? I would sooner cut out my own heart then hurt you.”
Belinda pushed him away. “But you do hurt me. You sent for your betrothed and then asked for my aid to bed her.”
Balek had the sense to look abashed. “’Twas my father’s dying wish for me to wed Lady Katrine. How could I say nay?”
Belinda knew he was right.
“My heart did battle mightily against this, I will have you know. And I must say it is with great relief that I tell you that Lady Katrine is packing to return home,” he said.
Belinda grasped his hands with joy. “She is?” Could it be true?
“Aye, my love.”
My love?
Before she could grapple with the meaning of his words, Balek suddenly dropped to one knee before her. He took her hand in his and stared intently into her eyes. “Please Belinda, do me the honor of becoming my wife.”
“What say you, my lord?” she whispered.
“Can you forgive me for being a fool for putting duty before my heart’s desire?”
Belinda licked her lips and nodded her head as a single tear slipped down her cheek. “Aye, my lord. I can, and I do.”
Balek leaped to his feet and swung her up into his arms. He spun them round in a circle before putting her back on her feet. He then picked up the bag of coins and placed it in her hands. “Use this to hire a dressmaker to make you a beautiful gown for our wedding.”
“Aye, I shall,” Belinda said, feeling quite in shock over the change of events. She stumbled over to the door and opened it.
“I will send some men down with a cart to meet you in a few hours at your cottage. They will help you pack and move into the castle. You will take Lady Katrine’s rooms until we are wed.”
Belinda nodded her head in agreement.
As she shut the door and began to walk down the passageway she felt numb. Her plan had worked. She now had everything she desired.
So why did she feel so unsettled?
Because you got him by deceit. Her conscience cried out. And as hard as she tried, Belinda couldn’t block out the voice.
She wandered back slowly into the village. All the while her mind was on her betrayal. She loved Balek and she knew wedding him was best for both of them, but that didn’t make what she’d done right. It was a bad way to start a marriage and she knew if the roles were reversed, she would feel betrayed.
Forlorn, she entered her cottage and sat on the edge of her bed, pondering her dilemma. If she told Balek everything he would not only be angry with her, but also with her cousin. And then if he put her aside and went ahead with marrying Lady Katrine, they would all end up miserable.
But how could she not tell him?
Suddenly a knock sounded on her door. Thinking it was Balek’s men from the castle to help her pack, Belinda walked toward the door slowly. But when she opened it she was surprised to see Lady Katrine standing before her. She ushered the young woman inside and shut the door, seeing the curious looks of her escort waiting in the yard.
“I leave now, cousin, but I wanted to stop by and give you my thanks first.”
She looked so happy; Belinda didn’t have the heart to tell her she was about to fess up everything to Balek. Perhaps she could wait a week or so and give her cousin enough time to hurry home and wed her beloved. Then Balek would be unable to drag her back to marry him.
There was no sense in all of them being broken hearted.
Lady Katrine embraced her and kissed her cheek. Then she put a little bag in Belinda’s hands. Belinda looked at it for a moment in wonder and then peered at Katrine.
“’Tis your herbs,” Katrine said, seeing the confused look on Belinda’s face.
“But the bag...’tis full.” How was that possible? It should be nearly empty now.
“You said to only put it in my lord’s wine if he wanted to bed me.”
“But, did he not...try to bed you?”
Katrine laughed. “He said that he wished to but I could tell that he did not. I had no need of the herbs.”
It took a moment for Katrine’s words to sink in. “Then he was unable to...”
“It seems my lord never desired me.”
Relief washed over Belinda. Then I did not win him with deceit.
Lady Katrine embraced her again. “Be happy cousin with the man you love.”
“And you, cousin.”
“I shall,” Katrine smiled as she walked to the door and stepped outside.
“As shall I,” Belinda said as the door closed.
NATURE OF THE BEAST
Chapter 1
Ruby slammed the door hard and shuffled over to the large picture window. She pulled back the lacy curtain and,
standing well off to the side, peeked outside. Her daughter’s car was just pulling out of the driveway. Ruby watched it until it took off down the street. She’d seen the bobbing heads of her two grandchildren, Ellen and Todd, who were too caught up with their electronic gadgets to bother coming in. It was probably just as well considering all the yelling that had gone on in here again.
The visit had started off pleasantly enough, as opposed to the other times when her daughter got right down to business with her nagging. This time Alison played it really smooth. She’d casually waltzed in with her husband, Dan, and presented Ruby with a large brown paper bag consisting of a container with an entire small chicken, a box of wedge fries, and a couple of little salads, which nobody ever ate. As Ruby laid the meal out on the rickety kitchen table, Alison complained good-naturedly about the lineup at the grocery store. It didn’t take her long however, to start in about how much trouble Ruby had to go through just to stock her own fridge. “I enjoy the walk,” Ruby had told her once again. “It’s not far, and I have my basket.” The perfect little contraption Alison bought her a few years ago for her birthday—a long, square, wire basket with wheels, large enough to hold an entire week of groceries for one old lady and her cat. Alison most likely regretted the purchase now though, considering the independence it gave Ruby. Not that she minded her mother doing things for herself, but then six months ago, right after Christmas holidays, Ruby had fallen.
Things had gone steadily downhill from there. Alison decided Ruby should no longer live alone in her big old house. She informed her that she’d talked it over with Dan, and they’d come to the conclusion Ruby should move into a retirement home. Imagine that! Me going into one of those places old folk entered but never left. That is, not until... Well, no way was it going to happen to her. Alison didn’t even bother to suggest Ruby come live with her and her family—like that would ever happen.
The chicken still sat on the table, and since Alison and Dan were gone, Tarock decided it should be safe enough to come out of hiding and seat himself in one of the kitchen chairs. He acted casual about it, as cats have a tendency to do. He wanted some chicken, Ruby could tell, but he was not about to beg for it. Begging was for dogs. He licked himself instead, although, he did tilt his head to sniff the air.
“You’re not planning to eat like that, are you?” Ruby asked as she sat down across from him.
Tarock wiggled his whiskers and glanced around the room before shaking his head. Then quickly, with a flick of his tail, he transformed himself into a man. “Of course not,” he said.
Ruby watched him admiringly as he slowly and sensuously stretched out and began to partake of the fare laid out before him.
“Are you going to join me?” he asked, his voice sounding like a seductive purr.
Ruby blinked a couple of times and smoothed a wrinkled hand over her graying hair. “Thank you,” she said, holding up her plate allowing Tarock to serve her. She loved how all of his movements were slow and deliberate, as though performing a choreographed dance.
“Mmm, I love chicken. How positively sweet of Alison to bring it over,” Tarock said, licking his lips in anticipation of his meal.
“Well, it came with ulterior motives,” Ruby huffed.
“Other than to satisfy our hunger?” Tarock licked each strip of chicken he pulled apart before placing it into his mouth. Then his tongue flicked out to glide across his lips to catch any juice.
Ruby glanced at her plate, but found she was no longer hungry—at least for food. She watched Tarock eagerly while he continued to eat, oblivious to her fascination. The dark hairs on his arms matched the hair on his chest, which just peeked out teasingly beneath his dark cape. He wore no shirt beneath his cape, and it aggravated her the way he always wrapped it so snugly around his upper body as though chilled. His skin always felt hot like a furnace, so she knew he must do it deliberately.
She leaned back in the chair and dropped her gaze to his long legs, which stretched out under the table, and crossed at the ankles in tight leather pants. The cape fairly obscured her view as it draped casually down one of his thighs, but she could still see the other leg perfectly. His long leather boots came up his calves, almost to his knees.
“Are you listening to me, darling?” Tarock asked.
Ruby snapped out of her trance. “Ah, yes. I was saying Alison brought the chicken over so she could break into another one of her lectures.”
“About chicken?” He slowly ran his tongue down a piece.
“No! Not about the damn chicken,” Ruby snapped, suddenly frustrated. “She wants me to go into an old age home.”
Tarock raised a perfect brow in a questioning expression. “Whatever for?”
Ruby leaned forward so Tarock could get a good look at the wrinkles on her face. “Cause I’m old. Haven’t you noticed I’m an old woman?”
He smiled slowly when he gazed at her, bringing a sudden blush to Ruby’s cheeks. “You didn’t seem so old last night,” he told her. “Or the night before that, or the night before....”
“She worries about me falling again,” she interrupted.
Tarock looked at her sympathetically. “It happened before I came along. You don’t need to go into a...what did you call it?”
“Old age home.” Ruby sighed loudly. “I’m afraid we’re not going to have much time left here.” She didn’t want to give in to Alison’s demands, but she didn’t see how she had much choice.
“So you’re just going to give up?”
She’d been about to nod her head in agreement, about to say she was ready to give up, and yet she paused. Tarock leaned back farther in his chair and slowly licked each one of his fingers. He watched her, waiting for what she would announce. It was strange, Ruby reflected, here she was, one of the most powerful witches in her entire coven, reduced to playing the part of an old woman. She came from a long line of witches and her coven consisted mainly of cousins or aunts. Many mothers and daughters were among the group, and when Ruby gave birth to her own daughter, Alison, she’d been hopeful of her power. But Alison did not exhibit one single sign of her mother’s magical gift. Ruby faced a bitter disappointed that her only child was so very normal.
She never brought Alison to a meeting of the coven. It would have only scared the child and created more of a rift between them. So Ruby kept her true nature a secret. Not even Alfred, her dear husband of fifty years, had known her true identity. She led a difficult life, one of duality, but she’d been happy. They’d all been happy, here in this big old house for several years. Sadly, Alfred died seven years ago, when Ruby was supposedly seventy earth years old. She’d remained in the house alone since then. The isolation wore on her, becoming unbearable after she returned home from the hospital with a fractured hip. A nurse came every other day for two weeks, and of course, Alison and Dan and the children visited, but later on, they’d reverted back to their dutiful weekly visit, and she’d been on her own again.
Then, a month ago, Ruby decided enough was enough. The sleek black stray cat she fed on her back porch meowed loudly at her screen door giving her a wicked idea. She knew the spell, having seen it in her book many times, an ancient enchantment, requiring several strange ingredients. It took her several days to gather all she needed. She’d then mixed everything in a big black pot before going outside to fetch the cat.
After placing the animal in a circle she drew in chalk on the attic floor, she threw the potion she’d crafted to create a sexy lover into the circle and a huge puff of smoke formed. A few moments later a man, dressed in leather pants, long boots, and a cape, stepped out of the smoke and stood before her with his arms stretched out wide. She’d given him the name Tarock—which they both agreed suited him well.
Tarock made love to her that night right on the floor of the attic, but not before Ruby used another potion—this one on herself. After drinking it, it took less than a minute for her to return to her true form, appearing more than forty years younger than the old woman she portray
ed. Tarock licked his lips in anticipation when he saw her. Down on his hands and knees, he stalked after her as though he was a wildcat and she his prey.
Ruby let Tarock chase her around the room enjoying the feel of her body, so alive and youthful. She’d almost forgotten how it felt to be sexy and lusted after by a man, and she relished the feeling.
That first night Tarock made love to her as though she was the most precious thing on earth. Slowly, he’d laid her down and ran his soft tongue over every part of her body. Ruby waited in eager anticipation while he spread her legs wide, and then tossed them right over his shoulders. He’d lowered his head to the very core of her and worshiped her with his mouth.
No one had ever kissed her there before. It was almost more than Ruby could stand when he finally raised himself up to settle between her thighs. He entered her gently that night. Pushing into her with agonizing patience while he watched her face. She wanted to grab him by his backside at that point and force him inside of her, so great was her need. Instead, he teased her with slow easy strokes in and out for what felt like hours.
Talk about pure heaven. Ruby shook her head, coming back to the present, and gazed at Tarock. He patiently waited for her answer. And in that moment, Ruby knew what she wanted to do. She grabbed him by the hand and began leading him up to the attic. Tomorrow, she would make another special potion. But tonight...tonight she wanted him to make love to her on the floor again.
Chapter 2
“It’s my own fault, I suppose.”
“You didn’t know your body would actually become the real age of the image you portray to the world.”
“I know I felt the age, but I never imagined I could actually break something.”
Pretty Potions and Sexy Spells, Volume 1 Page 5
