by Betty Legend
“It’s impossible not to love them,” I tell her.
Griffin tilts his chin, beckoning me over. As I near, he puts his hand out, places it at the nape of my neck, and rests his forehead against mine.
“It’s impossible not to love you.”
My mom takes the tray of pastries and cookies out to the living room, leaving us alone.
“I’ve missed how you make me feel.”
Raising his hand, he places his fingers through mine. Our magic merges, swirling between our skin.
“I’m eager for you to be home with me.”
“Killian asked me to stay with him for a while. I’d like to.”
Griffin frowns, and it guts me. I remove the space between us and kiss him. Our tongues swirl as the heat rises between us. Firming his grip on my back, he molds me to his chest.
“I can’t be without you for several days, let alone weeks.” A turquoise glimmer fills his eyes as he thumbs my lips. My body aches to be pleasured by him, and he seems to sense it. “It’s been too long already.” His fingers dip into the waistband of my jeans. The tantalizing touch of his fingers teasing their way south has my body arching into his.
“How about we all go to Killian’s?”
“How about you and I find time alone first?” Lowering my hand, he places it over his erection. “I think we both need it.”
As I massage over his shorts, I lean forward to nibble, then suck the lobe of his ear. A pleasured groan leaves his lips.
“Think we’ll be missed if we slip upstairs?”
“Yes.”
His fingers slip into my wet opening, and I breathe harder as I clasp my hands on his shoulders.
“My mom could come back at any moment.”
“I can hear well, my love. She’s busy talking.”
“Then, don’t stop.”
“Only for a moment.”
Removing his hand, he takes mine and searches for the bathroom. I point in the direction he needs to go. Behind the closed door, I slam my lips to his and tug at the buttons of his shorts.
Pulling my jeans down, he peels them off my legs, then lifts me onto the sink counter. His mouth is back on mine as I free his erection from his boxers. Putting his arms under my knees, he leans me back and enters me, thrusting slow and concentrated as he watches my reaction.
Each roll of his hips is a rising crescendo, taking me higher toward my climax. Muscled arms flex as he holds my legs and thrusts deeper. Sweat dampens my chest and forehead as my breathing comes on quicker breaths.
“I love you.”
“I love you.” Bringing my lips to his, he holds me in his sensual embrace as we dive into ecstasy.
As the overwhelming pleasure tingles throughout my body, I remain in his arms, his languid kisses drawing out the enjoyable sensations.
“Take the time with Killian. But after,”—stroking my arm, he lifts it to kiss my hand—“it needs to be just us.”
“I want time alone together too.”
“Then I’ll take you on a trip to my resort. We’ll enjoy a suite to ourselves for a weekend.”
“I’d love that.”
“Me too.” Caressing the side of my face, he tucks my hair behind my ear.
“I don’t want to leave this moment, but we should get back out there.”
His jaw flexes before he kisses me. “I’m not ready to share you.”
It’s harder than I thought to have a relationship with each of them. They all want time alone with me and worry about the others’ connections with me.
Putting my hands on his cheeks, I kiss him with the love I feel in my heart.
“I can feel tensions rising between all of you. I need you to know I love you. You never have to worry about where we stand. I genuinely love all of you equally and don’t favor time with anyone. I want the time with Killian because the four of us have had weeks together, but Killian and I have had much less time together.”
“I understand, my love.” Griffin gathers a hand, kissing my fingertips. “You don’t have to worry about me getting jealous and losing my senses.”
“Thank you, I needed to hear that. I don’t want fights between any of you.”
“I can’t promise that.” He throws a thumb over his shoulder. “Some of them are pumping with raging testosterone.”
I laugh, and he nudges my nose with his, then kisses the tip.
“You’re so beautiful.”
“So are you.”
With a final kiss, we separate, clean up, and smooth our clothes before leaving the bathroom. Passing the kitchen, the drinks my mom and Griffin made are gone. As we enter the living room, everyone is holding a glass, including Cyrus. Behind his black glasses, his alluring hazel eyes shimmer with silver upon seeing me.
“Cyrus!”
Setting the cocktail glass down, he passes the couch and hugs me.
“Hello, gorgeous.”
Soft sensual lips close over mine, the taste of rum and Cyrus swirling on my tongue. Pulling back, he keeps an arm around me and stands at my side.
“I’ve become acquainted with your mom and Rachel while you and Griffin were busy.” He winks at me, and I’m so relieved there isn’t jealousy beneath his tone.
“I’m so glad you’re all here.”
Leaning toward Cyrus, I kiss his cheek. Griffin joins Killian and Rachel on the couch. My mom is in one of the sitting chairs, Emeric is in the other. Someone brought two dining chairs into the living room. I take one, and Cyrus moves the other closer and sits next to me. The next hour, the glasses empty as Rachel and Mom have fun asking questions. It feels incredible to have my whole family together in the living room, yet there’s a nagging feeling in the pit of my gut that Phoenix should be here. I wonder what he’s doing and if he’s thought of me at all. Cyrus catches me drifting off in thought and rubs my back.
“What’s wrong?” he asks, his voice low.
“Nothing, just got lost in my thoughts.” I give him a forced smile, but his eyes tell me he’s not buying it.
“Are we all staying here tonight?”
“I hope you all will.”
With another caress down my back, he eases the tension tightening my muscles.
“Of course, I will. I’ve missed you the last week.”
“I’ve missed you too.” Putting my hand on his thigh, I massage his leg. “How was work? What did you do?
“I was busy grading papers most of the week, but what’s more interesting is I acquired another artifact for my collection.”
“Really? What did you find?”
“An angel’s blade.”
Emeric sits up in his chair, his attention leaving his current conversation and snapping to ours.
“Does it have engravings on it?”
“It does.” Cyrus pulls his phone out of his back pocket and retrieves an image. Emeric leaves his chair to look at it. Cyrus angles his phone, and Emeric takes it, then zooms in on the image. Jaw tight, Emeric’s eyes glisten with emotion.
“What do you want for it?”
“What’s your interest in it?”
Emeric hands the phone back to Cyrus. “It belonged to my mother.”
The room goes silent.
“In that case, I don’t want anything for it. It should be in your possession.”
The corner of Emeric’s mouth lifts. “Do you mind if we return to your house to retrieve it?”
“No, I don’t mind.” Cyrus stands, and with a raised hand, he creates a portal, and the two disappear through it.
“That will never get old,” Rachel says aloud, staring at the space they once stood.
With the room a cozy temperature, my mom reaches for the remote next to her and turns off the fireplace.
“It’s been a pleasure spending time with all of you, but I’m ready for bed. I’ll see, well, I assume, I’ll see all of you tomorrow morning.”
“Yes, it’s very likely,” Griffin smiles at her. “Thank you for your hospitality.”
“Of course
. You are all welcome anytime.” Passing me, she gives me a kiss on the cheek, then goes upstairs.
Sliding onto Griffin’s lap, I rest my legs on Killian’s. The two of them are rubbing me when Emeric and Cyrus return. All eyes are attracted to the glinting sword Emeric has in his hand. It’s long and appears deadly sharp, with beautifully carved runes in the metal of the blade and on the handle. As he raises it, the runes light up, glowing red among the silver of the blade. He swings it, gets a feel of the weight of it, then Rachel and I jump as the blade blazes with fire. Emeric appears equally shocked as he stares at it.
“I didn’t know it did that.” Staring at it, he smooths his hands over the blade, and the flames subside.
“Think it recognizes your mother’s magic inside you?”
“It must.”
He rubs a thumb over the rune closest to his finger, and the sword shifts, metal clanging as it minimizes itself into the handle. We all stare in awe as he rubs his thumb over the same rune. The sword shifts, clangs, and extends to its full magnificence.
“This is badass.” Emeric grins. “I need something to carry it in.”
“We can shop in the Fae market,” Griffin suggests. “If they don’t have anything, they’ll be willing to make something.”
“Let’s do that.”
Rachel’s jaw is gaping. When I look at her, the others do as well, and they chuckle.
Killian taps her leg. “You all right?”
“I feel like we’ve missed out, Selene. There’s so much cool shit with magic.”
“I know. Every day I discover something new.”
Emeric and Cyrus fill the blue fabric sitting chairs across from us.
“How about you show Rachel some of the things you can do,” Cyrus suggests.
“Hell yeah.” Rachel wiggles her toes under the blanket as a cheeky grin splits her lips. “Show me.”
“All right.” Scooting off Griffin’s lap, I sit on the edge of the couch between Killian and Griffin. “What would you like to see first? Air, fire, or water magic?”
“What does water magic do?”
“I can move and control objects.”
“Can you move this whole couch with all of us on it?”
Surprised by her request, I stand up and face the couch.
“I honestly don’t know, but I’ll try.”
Putting my hands out, I focus on willing the magic out of me. It escapes my palms, the ethereal essence moving toward the couch. The three of them watch with interest as my magic surrounds the couch. Slowly, just an inch at first, the couch lifts off the floor. I push my magic harder, and the couch lifts higher, a foot or so off the floor. The energy it takes wears on me, my arms become weighted, and my chest tightens as I carefully try to lower it. The couch sits back down just as I drop my arms and exhale a tired breath.
“That took a lot of energy.”
Griffin nods in understanding. “The larger the task, the greater energy it takes to use your magic. Just like with anything else, if you practice, the larger tasks will become easier.”
Grimacing, I drop onto his lap. “I have a long way to go.”
“You’ll be surprised.” He brushes a hair behind my ear. “Try using another element. Your magic will restore quickly.”
Glancing at Emeric, I grin. “Can you catch my fireball?”
Emeric snickers. “Give it to me, baby.”
Setting the blade next to him on the floor, he leans back in his chair, prepared. Igniting a ball of fiery essence in my palm, I shove my hand out toward him. He catches it in his palms and expands his hands out, extinguishing it.
“Let’s try something.” Griffin nudges me to stand. Putting me in front of him, he takes one hand and puts his other around my back as if we’re going to dance. An electric blue glow forms around us and easily lifts us off our feet. Adding my magic, we rise another foot. Together, we dance, twirling above the floor, our magic swirling around us.
Rachel adjusts, sitting more upright on the couch as she watches.
“Wow! It’s so beautiful.”
Griffin dips me, and Emeric is behind me, stealing the kiss. Taking me in his arms, he outstretches his wings, a swirl of crimson glowing around us. With one flap of his wings, he has us off the ground, hovering a foot or so from the floor. Claiming my lips, he encircles me in his wings and eases us to the floor. Cyrus takes my hips as Emeric’s wings open, pulls me to his chest, and with a flick of his wrist, we’re through a portal, emerging on the other side of the living room. Waving his hand again, he kisses me as we step through the second portal back to the side of the living room where we started.
Killian’s wolf form pushes Cyrus back and leans his shoulder into me. I climb atop his back, and he heads for the back door, everyone following behind us. With a running start, he clears the privacy fence and walks us out into the darkness. With a pound of his paw on the ground, mist emerges, swallowing us in its veil. The others have opened the gate, and Emeric lifts his fiery hand in the air to add light as they search for us.
“Where are they?” Rachel asks.
Emerging from the fog, Killian slams a paw to the ground, and a light vibration travels across the dirt and rock, disrupting their balance.
Climbing off his back, I scratch behind his ears, and his wolf form leans into me. A moment later, he shifts, and Griffin tosses his jeans back to him.
“That was fun.” My cheeks are nearing my ears, my joy ready to burst out of me. Taking Rachel’s hand, I attempt Griffin’s trick and let my magic out, lifting us as we swirl around together.
The guys add whistling and clapping as the two of us lose ourselves to the excitement. Rachel’s hands warm, and I stare down at them, then immediately lower us, extinguishing my magic. She stares at her palms as they glow a pale blue, then she waves them as if she’s trying to get the magic off her.
“What’s going on? Why is it sticking to me?”
Grabbing her hands, I rub my thumbs over them.
“That’s not me. That’s your magic.”
“Shit!” She pulls her hands back and stares at them, wide-eyed. The magic disappears, and her gaze snaps to me.
“How do I get it back?”
“What did you feel?”
“Excitement.”
“That’s similar to how my magic came out.” I look at Griffin. “Do you think all of our magic awoke hers?”
Griffin shrugs. “It’s possible. That’s the logical explanation. When you were dancing with your magic, you might have awoken hers.”
She looks to me for guidance.
“Remember the feeling you just had or when you found out you were pregnant. Now, focus on it.”
Rachel closes her eyes, and a moment later, her hands glow a pale blue.
“Open your eyes, Rachel.”
She does, and her face lights up with excitement.
“This is amazing. What do I do now?”
“Try to move that.” I point to a rock in the dirt. “Think about what you want your magic to do, then it will do it.”
Emeric releases the fiery ball from his hand, and it floats in the air, giving more light to our surroundings. Rachel points her hand at the rock, and with her lids narrowed, she focuses intently. The rock rolls twice, and her eyes expand. Throwing her hands up, she hugs me.
“I did it!”
“You did!”
Trying again, she rolls the rock a few more inches. Cyrus, Griffin, and Killian smile at her triumphant glee. Emeric and I meet eyes, my gut heavy with apprehension. Going over to him, I slide under his outstretched arm.
Leaning into his ear, I whisper, “I wasn’t ready for this. She doesn’t know what’s out there.”
The reflective glow of the fireball dances in his black eyes as he stares at me with empathy.
“I know, baby, but that’s magic. You can only control your own.” His hand rubs my lower back and over the top of my ass. “You’ll have to tell her the truth now.”
“I’ll wait until tomor
row. I want her to enjoy her magic tonight.”
CHAPTER TEN
SELENE
Rachel tugs on the sleeve of her maroon sweater, her mouth downturned. Setting my coffee mug down, I leave my chair and join her on the patio couch. With a side hug, I try to comfort her.
“This is shitty. I just learned I have magic, but now I can’t use it because of these Accolade assholes.”
“I know it’s shitty, but I’d rather you be safe, especially with being pregnant. I couldn’t bear if something happened to you.”
Flipping her braid off her shoulder, she angles her shoulders to face me better.
“What about light magic, just at home?”
“That would be fine, but don’t let Lucas see unless you’re ready to explain it to him.”
She laughs aloud, then rubs her forehead as her eyelids rise.
“How am I going to explain it to him?”
Taking her hand, I wrap my other around our joined hands.
“When the time is right, you’ll tell him, show him, then be patient and let him process it.”
She gives my fingers a squeeze. “I wish we had more time to hang out. I’m sad you’re leaving today.”
“Me too, but unfortunately, there isn’t enough room for all of us. The guys literally took turns kicking each other off the bed to sleep with me. I got maybe four hours of sleep.”
Laughing, her shoulders shake, and her blue eyes brighten. “Those guys are madly in love with you. I can’t express enough how blessed you are. So much dick, honey, so much dick.”
“You have no idea. When we all sleep in our bed at home, there’s dick flopping everywhere.”
Her laughter continues, her eyes watering.
“I hope you’ll bring me to your home on Fae island. I’d love to see it.”
“I will. I promise.”
“I’m still absorbing everything that happened this weekend. We’re witches, you live with four supernatural boyfriends, there’s a whole supernatural world hidden from people, and a crazy cult that murders innocent supernaturals. Did I get everything?”
“That just about sums it up.”
Standing from the patio couch, she stretches her arms out to hug me.
