Pretty Potions and Sexy Spells, Volume 1

by Juliet Cardin

  Now she grasped her bucking stallion’s handle with both hands. When Tarock began to pant and sheen with perspiration, he stilled his motions. Ruby slid off to sit beside him, his cock still in her hands. While he watched anxiously, she lowered her head to flick her tongue against his tip. Teasingly, she licked down the length of his shaft. Tarock growled and buried his hands in her hair. Ruby cuddled his ball sack while she took him into her mouth. Deep into her throat he plunged, forcing her to go up onto her knees to accommodate his length. His hips took on a pumping rhythm again as he slid in and out.

  “Yes, my love,” he gasped, purrs of excitement rumbling in his chest.

  Ruby squeezed his balls and deep throated him once more before pulling free. Tarock reared up in frustration. He rolled, taking her with him in his arms, pinning her beneath him.

  “Little tease.”

  “You love it, darling,” she insisted innocently.

  Not to be outdone, he grinned mischievously and Ruby knew she was in for it. Feeling his hand push against her thighs and settle between her legs, she awaited his retribution. She gasped as a large finger inserted into her passage. She met and held his gaze as he slipped in a second finger. No longer able to contain her ecstasy, she squeezed her eyes shut and rocked her head from side to side. Deeply, he pushed his fingers up inside of her causing a deep moan to escape from her lips. When Ruby thought she could take no more, he bent low and buried his face in her pussy. With his free hand he guided one of her legs up over his shoulder while his tongue licked at her clit. Ruby threw her other leg over him and arched up her hips against the pressure of his mouth.

  “Please!” she gasped, her desperate need making her beg.

  Tarock finally took mercy on her and rolled onto his back, his breath releasing in quick pants. Ruby waited a moment until her own frantic breaths evened out. Once she regained control she sat up and reached out to stroke his rock hard cock. Silky soft, and yet, so mighty. She straddled him and used her hand to guide him deep inside of her. Buried to the hilt, Tarock resumed his up and down movements. Soon his chest was covered with a sheen of sweat. Feeling warm herself, Ruby peeled off her shirt and unhooked her bra. Tarock wasted no time in reaching for her generous breasts. He squeezed her rosebud nipples with his thumb and fingertips while his hips moved faster and faster.

  “Tarock!”

  He grit his teeth and stared into her eyes.

  Both of them reached their peak simultaneously. Ruby screamed her release as Tarock arched back his head and roared like a lion.

  When the moonlight shined down upon the yard late that night, Tarock took Ruby outside onto the grass. Both of them completely naked danced around hand in hand before their lust overtook them. Tarock went down onto his knees and Ruby lowered beside him. He knelt behind her and held her hips firmly in his hands while he guided his cock inside of her. He plunged deep with long, slow strokes before his thrusts turned to a frantic pace. Ruby secretly hoped the raven could see them outside one of the windows he skulked behind. Then he would know he wasn’t causing them to suffer as he no doubt wished they were. A movement in the upper window caught her eye, and she swore she saw the swish of a cape hastily turning away. Good! Enjoy the view bastard. They lingered in the yard, making love several times on the soft cushion of the grass before sauntering back to the tree.

  They slept contently, wrapped in each other’s arms on the rug of the tree house. Early the next morning the bright sun streamed through the window resting on their faces waking them. Tarock stretched and gave a big yawn. He rose to his feet and reached out to Ruby. Slowly, he pulled her up against his body.

  Ruby rested her head on his chest. “Do you think we’ll get back inside today?” She tried to keep the anxiousness from her voice so Tarock wouldn’t know how worried she truly was over their circumstances.

  “Whatever happens we will be together. I love you, you know.”

  “I know.” He obviously sensed her need to hear those words from him now, knowing her so intimately. She loved him too. Not that she had meant to, but she did. Somehow, along the way, their relationship became much more than she’d intended. She was not saddened by it. She still loved Alfred, and always would. But Tarock banished the loneliness, which lived far too long in her heart, and fitted himself neatly inside, filling it once again.

  Both of them jumped when they heard the slam of a car door. Ruby rushed to the tree house window. “Oh no! It’s Alison.”

  When she went toward the exit to scale down the steps, Tarock stopped her. “If you go running at your daughter appearing this way, she will call the police.”

  “Oh, God, you’re right! What can we do? I can’t let her go inside, the raven will get her.” Ruby hurried back to the window and peeked toward the driveway. “She’s got Ellen with her!”

  Tarock took Ruby into his arms and gave her a comforting squeeze. “I’ll distract them as long as I can. You’ll have to sneak in the back door and find the potion to cloak yourself.”

  “What about the raven?”

  “He’s cautious and probably hiding. Hearing the noise of the car should keep him away. Just try to get through the house to the front door and insist they visit outside. Above all, be careful.”

  “All right.” Ruby waited for Tarock to turn back into a cat and climb down the tree. When he scampered across the grass toward the driveway, she began climbing down the steps. She reached the back of the house and eased the door open, then slipped inside. All was quiet; there was no sign of the raven. Ruby wasted no time in hurrying to the living room.

  Even the tiniest of sounds made her wary, and she had to laugh a little over her fear. She’d braved the crossing of the ocean and the frontier of the New World. And she’d faced the trials in Salem and survived prosecution. Before that, she’d gone toe to toe with Henry the Eighth when he pursued her behind Anne Boleyn’s back.

  One nasty black crow should be child’s play.

  Ruby found one of her cloaking potions stashed behind a family portrait on the mantle of the fireplace. She drank it back while she viewed through the window the scene of Tarock interacting with Ellen and Alison outside. Gratefully, Tarock’s charm was working.

  Ruby checked her appearance in the mirror near the door. Her hair was short and gray, no longer long and blonde, brushing upon her hips. Her sharp green eyes had lost some of their shine, and she appeared shorter than her actual height of five foot five. Instead of her youthful, timeless face, she now appeared wrinkled and slightly worn. She looked a bit disheveled, but it was to be expected, considering what she’d endured.

  By the time Alison tired of Tarock’s play, the mother she was expecting to see was ready and waiting for her at the front door.

  Chapter 5

  “I don’t see why we can’t do this outside on the patio table. It’s such a beautiful day.” Ruby tried to keep the panic out of her voice as she followed her daughter into the kitchen.

  “Nonsense, Mother. Really, do you want some bird to fly over the new towels I’ve brought you and mess all over them? You know how annoying those things can be.”

  “You’ve no idea,” Ruby grumbled.

  “I bet you don’t see many birds with that big black cat around, do you Grams?” Ellen asked.

  “No, sweetheart, just the persistent ones.” Ruby stared at her granddaughter and marveled how much Ellen resembled her. Alison took more after her father with his curly brown hair and brown eyes, but Ellen took after her. When Ruby was Ellen’s age, she looked exactly like her. She’d aged normally until she hit her twentieth year, then her aging process had slowed down considerably.

  “Is he yours?”

  “No, he’s just a stray I’ve seen wandering around.”

  “Well, that’s a good thing,” Alison said, looking up from the towels she was laying out on the table. “Most of the homes Dan and I looked into don’t allow pets.”

  Ellen rolled her eyes at her grandmother, and Ruby stifled a laugh. If it weren’t for the fa
ct that a wicked man-raven was lurking around somewhere, and that her daughter was determined to rip her from her home, she would actually be enjoying this visit. Spending time with her teen-age granddaughter was a rare treat.

  “Those are lovely towels, dear,” she told her daughter.

  Alison smiled. “I’m glad you like them. They’re nice sets to replace those big old bath towels you have. They’ll go great in your new place.”

  This wasn’t the time for Ruby to break into another argument with her daughter. She was sure it was the reason why Alison brought Ellen along with her, thinking Ruby would be more agreeable with her granddaughter around.

  “I have some lemonade made up in the fridge, and I baked some cookies the other day. Why don’t we take them outside and we can have a little picnic.”

  “Mother, there’s no sense putting this off any longer. You know you can’t continue to stay here alone. It’s just not safe for you.”

  “Please, Alison.” When had her daughter become such a nag?

  “No, no more arguments or excuses. I have a trunk full of boxes, and I’ve come to help you pack up your stuff.”

  “Pack up?”

  “Yes. Of course, we’ll have to hold a yard sale. There won’t possibly be enough room in your new place for all this stuff.”

  “You said you and Dan were looking at places. You didn’t say you’d found one.” Ruby glared intently at Alison. Her daughter wore a determined look on her face; she wasn’t going to back down this time.

  “We’ve narrowed it down to two places.”

  “But I don’t want to leave,” Ruby said.

  Alison gazed back down at the towels as if to avoid the devastated look on her mother’s face. “You can have the final say on which place you’ll take. They’re both really very nice. One looks out onto a river, and the other one is close to a park. They’re both walk-outs, and you’d have a place for a little garden and a grassy area for a chair.”

  “Far cry from my own backyard.”

  Alison ignored her words. “Both of them are right in town, so you won’t have that long walk anymore.”

  “I like to walk.”

  “You’ll be closer to Dan and me and the kids.”

  Alison’s words tailed on, but Ruby was no longer listening. She scanned the kitchen frantically with her eyes. Ellen was suddenly nowhere to be found. When had she slipped away?

  “I’ll look at the places,” Ruby said quickly.

  “What?”

  “I said I’d go.” Ruby stalked over to the cupboard and reached beneath for a tray. She snatched a bunch of cookies from a jar and tossed them onto a plate, unconcerned that she broke half of them. Then she grabbed the lemonade out of the fridge and put it on the tray before pushing it into Alison’s hands. “Put this outside, and we’ll discuss whatever you want. I’ll get Ellen and be right out to join you.” She didn’t give Alison any time to argue, but ushered her down the hall and out the back door. As she saw her daughter head towards the patio with a triumphant smile on her face, Ruby turned and began rushing through the house.

  “Ellen!” she hissed, sticking her head into rooms as she passed, desperate to find her but not wanting to attract another’s attention. Where is that damn bird?

  She searched the entire first floor of the house, and then the second, but there was no sign of Ellen or the raven. There was only one place left they could be...the attic.

  Cautiously, trying to not make a sound, Ruby crept up the stairs to the attic. She was careful to avoid the steps she knew would squeak if tread upon. Opening the door at the top of the stairs was agony. When she wanted to burst it open and jump into the room guns blazing, she was forced to go slowly in her old, wearisome body.

  She inched the door open just enough to peek inside, and scanned the part of the room she could see. He was in there; she could just make him out, cape flapping around him from the breeze through the open window. She pushed the door slightly farther, cursing the faulty vision of her old eyes, and could see him rubbing his hands together in what appeared to be glee. A little farther and she could see the smirk his lips were twisted into. She could just barely make out Ellen now. Standing about five feet away from the raven. She peered at her face, expecting to see a look of pure terror. Instead, Ellen looked unimpressed, as though facing down a crazed, cloak-wearing man was a daily occurrence in her life.

  “You cannot escape me,” the raven said to Ellen. “Tell me what is in this book and perhaps you’ll live out the day.” He held Ruby’s spell book with his bony crooked fingers.

  Ruby held her breath to keep from gasping. Ellen didn’t know what the spell book was for. She was no witch. In fact, she’d never even been in the attic before. Ruby made sure to keep the door locked whenever company came by.

  “Do not threaten me, you foul creature.”

  Was that little Ellen’s voice, strong and brave?

  The raven took a menacing step toward Ellen, and Ruby could contain her caution no longer.

  “Back off, buzzard!” She rushed forward into the room to stand before Ellen.

  “Ah, look what the cat dragged in,” said the raven. “Where is your feline friend?”

  “Piss off!”

  “Grams!”

  Ruby moved aside just enough to see Ellen, and still kept a cautious eye on the raven. “Run, Ellen. Right outside to your mother, and whatever you do, don’t let the cat in.” She knew Tarock would be desperate to get inside, especially if he figured out Ruby was up in the attic. She couldn’t take the chance the raven would get him though.

  “I’m not leaving you, Grams.”

  “Ellen, please. You don’t understand. That man is not what he seems. He’s dangerous.”

  “All the more reason for me to stay.” The stubborn set of Ellen’s jaw made Ruby cringe with trepidation and overflow with admiration at the same time. “I won’t leave you here alone, Grams.”

  “Oh, Ellen. I can handle this. But I need you to go.” Please, before you see something that scars you for life.

  “How touching.” The raven, a predator not known for its patience, lunged forward and grabbed onto Ruby while she was distracted. Ruby threw herself to the floor, bringing the raven along with her.

  “Damn it, you bugger. Run, Ellen!” She grappled to keep hold of him, determined to keep him from her granddaughter.

  Instead of fleeing, Ellen waved her hand over the struggling pair. “Spino So Attatra Karta!” Ruby heard her yell. Time seemed to slow down suddenly. Ruby stared at the raven. He’d gone completely still, and yet she wasn’t affected. Ruby took Ellen’s hand when she reached down to help her to her feet. “Hurry, Grams, it won’t last long.”

  “Where did you learn how to do that?” Ruby threw the question over her shoulder while she rushed to the table her vials of potions sat upon.

  “From the Internet. There are spells you can learn on this really cool site I found.” The look of excitement on Ellen’s face was unsettling. Spells? On the Internet? How things have changed! In the old days you could be burned at the stake for even possessing a spell book.

  Ruby snatched up a vial and paused a moment before she went to throw it at the raven. “Those spells will only have power if they’re recited by a...”

  “By a witch, Grams. I know.”

  Ruby tried to rein in the grin spreading across her face. Could it be possible? “You’re a witch?” Her heart beat faster, soaring with hope.

  Ellen met her gaze and smiled. “Yes. Like you, Grams.”

  Ruby couldn’t believe it. She’d been so discreet. How had Ellen figured out her secret? “How long have you known?”

  “I began to see the signs in myself first. Little things, such as wishing it would rain, or hoping for a snowstorm to cancel school. When those wishes came true, I began to search for answers. I discovered all kinds of information in books and online—like how you have to be directly descended from a witch to be one yourself. And since mom and dad are obviously not magical, tha
t left only you.”

  “And...you’re okay with this?” After all this time of isolation, hiding who she was from her family, could she at last have an ally?

  “I admit I struggled with the idea for a while, but now I have to admit it’s pretty cool.

  “What about Todd? Does he show any signs of being like us?”

  “I don’t know. If he’s experiencing anything, he’s not been sharing it with me. Anyway, he’s not around much, and when he is, he’s sleeping. Typical teenage boy.”

  Their conversation was interrupted by a loud groan on the floor.

  “He’s waking up,” Ellen said.

  Quick as a flash, the raven shook his head and leaped to his feet. He saw Ruby with the vial. He dove at her just as she raised her arm and threw the potion. Ruby went to stand by Ellen, holding her tightly to prepare her for the sight she was about to witness. Moments later, the raven, back in his true form, flew out of the puff of smoke and circled around the room.

  “Cool,” gasped Ellen.

  “Yes,” Ruby agreed. She didn’t think so a moment later when the bird let out a loud squawk and flew at them. Both of them threw their arms about, trying to fend off the attacking bird. Ruby rushed to grab a broomstick and swung it around while Ellen took refuge under an old table. Nothing Ruby did deterred the raven who seemed bent on revenge. Every time she went near the door the raven blocked her path. Even if she could get away, she still must get Ellen out. We have to escape the attic, but how?

  Then suddenly, a black flash flew through the open window from an overhanging tree limb. Tarock leaped high in the air and caught the vicious bird in his powerful jaws. They rolled onto the floor in a fury of flapping black wings and extended claws.

  “No, Tarock,” Ruby whispered. She watched the mayhem before her anxiously. She could throw another potion to change them but then there would be two immortals fighting instead of two animals. This was the hardest thing she’d ever done in her life—to do nothing. To let the scene play out and not interfere no matter the consequences. There was no way she could intercede without endangering Tarock.