Magic and Mayhem: There's No Place Like Wicked (Kindle Worlds Novella) (Wicked Hearts Book 3)

by Cherie Marks

  My breaths sawed in and out as I pushed through bushes and brambles, having to stop to pick myself free of thorns and briars. My hair kept snagging on branches, and again, my cursing grew colorful as I pulled myself free.

  Ethan had warned me that the flora would get thicker the closer I got to the hidden entrance, but I hadn’t expected it to practically slow me to a snail’s pace.

  Another loud roar rode on the night air. Had that been closer? I paused and listened. Something seemed to be crashing through the forest. It was still some distance off, but realization dawned that ropes weren’t strong enough to hold the wildman.

  Real panic began to take over, and I fought my way through the tightly packed greenery, ignoring the scratches and scrapes as I stumbled through the attack of the woods. He was coming for me, and I wasn’t going to make it in time.

  I crawled through one more especially thick line of ferns and overgrown, bushy trees, and nearly cried in relief as I broke through to the other side. There, I saw two, gigantic boulders blocking the moonlight, and I raced toward them.

  Please have a “W!” As I neared, I heard the sound of an animal nearby. It sounded large and quick, but I hoped the intense forest growth would keep him…it…away.

  I crossed the clearing, running hard toward the frog-shaped formation that I could clearly make out above the boulders. This had to be it.

  I was halfway there when I felt the ground rumble beneath me. I turned and spotted a large, shadowy figure, crouched and ready to spring. He’d leapt over the tall overgrowth like it wasn’t even there.

  He was still thirty feet behind me, but I didn’t hesitate any longer. I bolted full-on toward the break in the boulders. “W” or no, I was going into that hole and coming out the other side.

  “Torcellia, come to me!” His voice sounded like tires over gravel.

  I gasped and sprinted faster, but I felt him charging in my direction. Fear he’d be on top of me before I even reached the opening drove me harder.

  As I neared, I dropped to the ground and scrambled toward the hole. Most of my body was inside when I felt claw-tipped fingers grasp my ankle and halt my progress.

  I kicked hard but couldn’t get free of his grip. He began pulling me back toward him, and my fingers slipped over smooth stone, trying to clench onto something sturdy enough to counter his strength. Nothing sufficed, and I felt the open air as I was pulled free.

  I flipped to my back and held up my hands to fend off his attack. The sight of him awed me. He was still a man, but his eyes slanted in cat-like fashion and his brow seemed heavier as he stared at me with those intense, dark eyes. They no longer held any sign of his original color as if his pupil had dilated enough to cover the entire iris.

  Terror overtook me, and I screamed as he held my wrists together above my head in one of his hands and lowered his face toward mine. I cringed and closed my eyes, ready for an attack, but it never came.

  He rubbed his cheek against mine and sucked in a long breath. “You smell like lavender. I scented you, and it gave me strength to break free.”

  His lips began to nip and suck along my jawline and down to my neck. My already rapid breathing picked up even more as lightning strikes exploded in my mid-section. I was quickly losing my need to resist his attentions, and tilted my head to give him more access.

  “Ethan? Are you going to Hulk-out at any moment?”

  “Just can’t get enough of you.”

  He kissed his way down and raised my shirt at the same time. He pulled the cup of one side of my bra down and cool air brushed across my nipple. His hot mouth covered it quickly, and I sucked air in quickly at the touch of his tongue. He licked one time and his tongue rasped against my tightened peak, and I began to move restlessly under him. Then, he sucked the nipple into his mouth and licked all around it, driving every nerve-ending there crazy.

  I was quickly losing all rational thought and began to half-heartedly try to shake him off, but he growled deep in his throat and sucked harder. My mouth dropped open at the incredible sensation, my head fell back as I writhed on the ground, and though he released my wrists to be able to uncover my other breast, I didn’t even attempt to escape. I grabbed his head and held him there for more. In that moment, I didn’t want him to stop.

  With my hands in his hair, I steered him toward my other breast, but he didn’t fight me at all. Instead, he eagerly kissed the underside of my breast and worked his way to cover my other nipple with his mouth. I moaned in response as pleasure shot straight between my legs.

  One of his hands slid up the inner part of my thigh as shivers worked down my spine. He began yanking my pants down my legs, and I couldn’t find a single word of protest as my underwear followed. He caressed the outer folds of my pussy as I grew wet with need and cried out, “Don’t stop.”

  He sunk a finger into me, all the while, nipping and licking my stomach on his way down. Another finger pushed inside of me, and I squeezed tightly around his touch. It felt so good as he rubbed the inner walls. If this was him, mindless on a full moon night, I’d never miss another one.

  I protested as he pulled his fingers free and sucked them into his mouth with a groan of approval. “You taste as delicious as you smell.”

  His eyes glazed over as I stared into his gaze and watched him begin to tongue my wet pussy. He licked in two, long strokes before concentrating on my clit. With tiny flicks of the tip of his tongue, he drove me crazy. I dropped my head back and tossed it from side-to-side as he began to suck my clit into his mouth. His fingers returned, and he flicked the bud of my clitoris over and over. My brain went fuzzy. I edged closer to an orgasm.

  With a quickened pace, he plunged his fingers in and out while lapping on the most pleasurable spot until I felt I could go no higher and exploded in orgasm, clenching his fingers as I came over and over in seemingly never ending waves of pleasure.

  When my spasms finally eased, I glanced down to catch that self-sure smile firmly on his face. He was proud of his handiwork, and I had to say I was a fan. Totally a fan.

  He blinked a couple times though as he met my gaze, and the smile fell from his face.

  “Go!” He eased back cautiously, putting distance between our bodies as if he didn’t quite trust himself in that moment.

  “I know you won’t hurt me. I want to stay with you.”

  “You have to go through. Do it now. I’ll be right behind you.” He began gently putting my clothes back into place, a look of pain on his face. “I feel Wicked calling to me. We need to get inside.”

  I didn’t quite understand the hurry, but I nodded and scrambled back to all fours. I made my way inside and started for the light on the other side. With each brush of his hand, as if he couldn’t resist touching me, I felt Ethan behind me.

  “Flawless view from back here.”

  I didn’t mind his teasing. As a matter of fact, it eased my anxiety about the effect of the moon on him. It was a different outcome than I expected and I asked, “Weren’t you supposed to go crazy tonight?”

  We continued to crawl toward the other side, and I didn’t think he was going to answer me until he said, “I did.” He pawed the back of my leg once more before continuing, “I went out of my mind until I sliced right through the ropes. I felt more animal than man in that moment—operating on instinct only, and I wanted to find you and sink into your body. In my mind, it was the only way I’d feel sane again. The smell of you drew me closer, but the closer I got, the more I came back to myself. When I saw you, my fever of insanity eased, and all I wanted to do was thank you for being the tie to my humanity.

  Oh, and how he thanked me.

  I shivered as he touched me again. His voice held confidence as he asked, “Liked it, did you?”

  “How do you read my mind so easily?”

  “This time, I read your body.”

  I was thankful he couldn’t see my blush.

  “Do all male bobcat shifters go feral on full moon nights?”

  He c
huckled. “Don’t get any ideas. You’re mine, Celia.”

  “That’s not what I meant.”

  “I know. Teasing you brings me pleasure.” He cleared his throat, and it occurred to me he had to still be unsatisfied. “Actually, male bobcat shifters aren’t usually affected by the moon at all.”

  “Then, why are you?”

  “I’m not sure, but I don’t fear it when you’re by my side.”

  “So, like the prophecy predicted, I’m the only one who can keep you from going wild.”

  “Perhaps that’s it. To be honest, I’m not even sure the prophecy is real. I think there’s just something special about the connection between mates.”

  I liked the idea that my role wasn’t forced on me because of some prophecy, but I’d seen the wildness in him over and over again. And, I’d also seen how he’d reined it in with one touch from me. I couldn’t help but think there was something to that.

  We reached the end of the false arch, and I stopped before crawling out. This was the part that I thought was silly, but I couldn’t wait to see my parents again.

  “Do you remember the words, Celia?”

  “Hard to forget.”

  “Then, say them and cross over.”

  I took a deep breath and said, “There’s no place like Wicked. There’s no place like Wicked. There’s no place like Wicked.”

  Chapter 11

  Like a vacuum sucked me out of the hole, I felt helpless to stop my departure from one world and arrival into another. Gravity seemed to be working as I lost control and rolled down a hill and landed beside a stream of deep purple water.

  In the distance, loomed a tall, fairytale-looking castle in front of an inky-black sky. The full moon seemed to look down on the land from above, giving the idea that it was a god watching over this kingdom. I glanced around the landscape of strange plants and colorful buildings dotting the area here and there. It was creepy in its unfamiliarity, but beautiful in a strange way too.

  I heard Ethan approaching, and he held out his hand the minute he stopped over me. I grasped it, and he pulled me to my feet.

  “Where’s DeLuise and the others? They should be here, waiting.” He studied the area, and I could tell the lack of people unnerved him. “I sensed something was wrong.”

  A sound of horses hooves came barreling toward us and around a bend in a long, winding road, came at least twenty, armed men riding tall and closing in on us. They surrounded us before we had a chance to run, and Ethan pulled me behind him, as if to protect me from the guards.

  The mounted guards parted and a single rider, wearing a black hood that obscured all but his ice-green eyes, approached us.

  “Ethan, you’ve returned. And, as expected, you’ve brought your long lost mate.”

  I didn’t like the implication behind his words, and I stared hard at the back of Ethan’s head. The idea that he’d brought me here to be punished for running away occurred to me once more. What if this had all been an elaborate bounty hunt?

  “Uncle, I’ve come to claim my rightful place on the castle throne with Celia by my side as my queen.” My momentary doubt faded quickly. Of course, I could trust him.

  “Yes, well, that changes everything.” He yawned and covered the spot where he surely would have a mouth, but it was currently covered by cloth. “Arrest this imposter and bring the woman to me.”

  He turned his horse and took off toward the castle.

  Ethan’s hands tightened on me, but he was no match for twenty, armed guards, and we slowly raised our arms in the air.

  “What’s going to happen now?”

  “My uncle will try to bargain with you, and I will be thrown into the dungeon.”

  “This is the uncle who is half-warlock?”

  Ethan nodded and met my gaze, determination in his amber eyes. “And, one more thing. He was the seer who made the prophecy about us.”

  As I was pulled from the ground and placed behind one of the riders, Ethan’s words began to sink in. If the guy who was out to get Ethan had made the prophecy, could the content of it even be trusted?

  I lost sight of Ethan as we were taken to the castle. It stretched into the sky like a medieval-type skyscraper. I’d only ever seen something like it on television, and I had no idea something like that could really exist.

  We passed an outer wall and continued through an inner wall before the group halted and began to dismount. The rider in front of me slid off his horse with ease and reached for me. I slapped his hands away and dismounted on my own. I’d ridden a horse or two in my time, and I knew how to get off of one.

  The minute my feet hit the ground, the guard wrapped a meaty hand around my upper arm and began steering me toward the front door. Once inside, he continued to pull me toward a large archway at the back of a warehouse-sized front hall.

  We rushed through the arch, and I was placed in an open area below a large dais where a throne made for a giant had been placed. A door off to the side opened, and everyone dropped to one knee as a short, thin man made his way to the throne. The minute he sat perched on the edge of the kingly seat, I knew this was Ethan’s uncle. I hadn’t realized just how small in stature he was until now.

  “Toricellia, we are ecstatic to finally have you here in Wicked. We’ve waited so long for your arrival.” He snapped his fingers, and a cup of Starbucks was suddenly in his hand, but he immediately dropped it, and it spilled on the floor in front of the throne. “Every damn time. Got to get that whole iced-coffee thing right.” He snapped his fingers again and a mop appeared, moving jerkily in front of him. He didn’t seem to have competent control over it. Perhaps, he wasn’t that great of a warlock after all. Pay no attention to the man behind the curtain.

  Shifting my feet, I drew his attention when I asked, “Okay. Now what?”

  “Now, you get to fulfill your destiny.”

  I was hesitant to ask, but I had to know, “My destiny you predicted I had with Ethan?”

  “Yes, that very one. You see, I prophesied long ago that you, a simple peasant girl, was his one, true mate. And, seeing as he’d been cursed as a baby to become feral on every rise of the full moon, you would be the only one who could tame him.”

  “It came true. By my side, the moon doesn’t have a hold on him.”

  A sad, crooked smile lifted one side of the half-warlock’s mouth. “Well, there was a second part to the prophecy that I couldn’t bring myself to utter until now. You see, if you marry Ethan, the curse will be broken forever. True love and all that crap, you know? But, if you marry another, Ethan will lose his mind forever, with no way to recover it.”

  “That’s easy. I’ll marry him.”

  His chin dropped, and he stared at me as if my head had just blown up to the size of a hot-air balloon. “Just like that? He’s practically a stranger to you.”

  “That’s just it. He’s not. Being with him these past couple of days has shown me that we’ve been connected all of our lives. When I marry him, it won’t be like marrying a stranger. It will be like marrying someone I’ve known my whole life. Yes! I’ll marry him.”

  He stood up quickly and began to pace. “Unfortunately, that won’t do for the plans I have. You see, I want to rule this kingdom forever, just like I have for the past ten years. I’ve gotten used to having things my way, and I don’t plan on giving that up. Things were perfect before he escaped somehow and found you. Now, things are entirely messed up.”

  “As I see it, things are going to be set right again.”

  “Blah! Blah! Blah! I hope you don’t talk this much when I make you my wife. It’s tedious and annoying, and I might have to look up the spell to curse someone’s voice box. Considering I have a fine book of curses, shouldn’t be that difficult.” What a raging cockalorum this guy was!

  Then, I had a sudden realization. I lunged at him, but the guards on either side held me back. “You cursed Ethan! You put us all in this situation! You asshole!”

  He shrugged. “Turns out, warlocks are a sel
f-centered bunch. Sometimes, you just can’t fight your nature.” He turned to his guards and said, “Take her to the dungeon. We’ll begin wedding preparations in the morning. I’ll teach you how to be a submissive and loving wife yet.”

  “Over my dead body!”

  “Well, if that’s what it takes…”

  Chapter 12

  We trooped into the depths of the castle, and though I struggled, there was no breaking the guards’ hold on me. They dragged me through a couple locked doors until we entered a hallway with plush, red carpeting and cream-colored walls with beige trim. I looked around in confusion, not quite sure where I was exactly. He had told them to take me to the dungeon, right?

  I’d been expecting concrete walls and damp floors. Instead, this looked like what one might expect for the royal quarters.

  One of the guards held me while the other opened what seemed to be an ordinary door to an ordinary bedroom. Inside, I was pleasantly surprised to see a large, canopy bed in the middle of an ordinary wall. Dressers and a wardrobe were interspersed throughout the room. I stepped toward an open door and peeked inside just as the one the guard had thrust me through closed and a key twisted in the lock. But one look at the attached bathroom, and I thought I’d died and gone to heaven. It had a stand-up shower the size of most walk-in closets and a large, soaker tub beside it. The dual sinks were a nice touch, and the toilet was hidden away in a small closet.

  This was the dungeon? This was nicer than most hotel rooms in which I’d stayed.

  I wandered out and noticed a remote control on the nightstand next to the bed. When I pushed the power button, a television dropped from a hidden panel in the ceiling, and as I flipped through the channels, I realized the cable was better here than at Nana Johanna’s house.

  “Celia!”

  My gaze searched the room, but when he called my name again, I realized Ethan was in the room next to mine and speaking through an air vent.