Drinking Demons

by Kat Bostick

  Learning about herbs was one of the loopholes she and Gran used when Dad forbade practicing magic. Herbs had a variety of culinary and medicinal uses. What was the harm in knowing how to staunch a bleeding wound or heal a broken heart using plants? Unlike Gran, Mari didn’t often make her own herbal concoctions, but she still harvested certain wildflowers and herbs out of habit. Having them on hand felt like having a security blanket, a warm reminder of her grandmother that was always there if she needed it.

  The lavender and roses were for passion and luck. A wreath of summer yarrow and red clover—that she learned how to make on the internet—were woven together for a prosperous, happy, and faithful marriage—or mating as this happened to be. Finally, Mari tossed a handful of dried damiana into the circle of candles for, well, desire. That was another gem from the internet.

  They probably didn’t need it. Father Above, they definitely didn’t need it. Whatever hang ups they had in their relationship, desire wasn’t one of them. Still, no harm in bolstering their strengths. Mari would take all the help she could get.

  The final stage in Mari’s plan was to change. Stripping out of her winter clothes was uncomfortable despite the heater. Goosebumps tingled along her arms as she slipped into the wine colored dress she’d used half a paycheck to order online. It wasn’t because of the cold that her hands shook as she pulled the side zipper closed. The dress was a sister to the one she’d been wearing when Jasper took her on their first date. A dress that was ruined as her blood and Lyses’ soaked into the fabric.

  There was a time when Mari swore she would never wear a dress again. Fear held her back. But fear was a chain Mari wrapped herself in for too long. Tonight was about liberation.

  She sensed more than heard Jasper come in. Her back was to the door as she sat in the middle of the candles, trying not to shiver. This time she wasn’t sure if it was anticipation or the cool air. The feel of his gaze on her was like a sun beam through winter ravaged trees, the only respite from a bone deep chill. The closer he got, the warmer her skin became.

  He stopped just outside the circle of candles, waiting. The stillness he held himself in was distinctly predatory, making her shivering worsen. Mari turned to see him looming over her, dark green sweater making his eyes shine brilliantly. Even in casual clothes, with a touch of sweat on his forehead and a flush in his cheeks, Jasper was stunningly handsome. Beautiful. Regal.

  And confident. So annoyingly confident.

  “Hello, my honeysuckle.”

  “Hey, Jas.” She smiled shyly.

  “What have I done to deserve an audience with such elegant beauty?”

  Mari wasn’t sure if there was a part of herself that wasn’t blushing. “Nothing special. Come sit with me.”

  Jasper obeyed, settling behind her and slipping an arm around her waist. A deep exhalation of satisfaction rumbled from his throat when his nose was buried in her hair. They took a minute to absorb the heat of each other, breathe the scent of one another, and simply feel.

  “I’ve thought about what I want to say to you so much that it’s all a jumbled mess in my head. I can’t be romantic and eloquent like you, so don’t laugh at me.” Mari was pleased that he was behind her so that he couldn’t stare her down and make her any more nervous than she already was.

  “There might be times when I mourn for the life that I’ve left behind, but there will never be a time when I regret this decision. You once told me that I belong to you. Well, you belong to me too and I want you absolutely. I want this to be whole.”

  Mari chanced a glance at him over her shoulder. His eyes were slightly wide but they held a scorching desire that made her insides warm and fluttery. Before she could protest and cling to his arms, Jasper pushed her out of his lap and positioned her to face him. It was hard for her to meet his gaze but she told herself that if she couldn’t look at him in this moment, she wasn’t ready for it. And Mari knew that she was ready.

  She pinned those eyes with every ounce of passion and heat her body carried. Jasper didn’t make a move. Maybe it was unfair for Mari to expect him to when it was she who arranged this full moon rendezvous. Instead of kissing her with wild abandon, he reached into his pocket and pulled out something small and shiny. He took her left hand in both of his and slid it over her ring finger, covering it so she couldn’t get a look.

  “I was going to catch you another rabbit but I liked the idea of something more permanent, something that tells even humans that you’re mine.” Jasper paused to let her laugh. She was grateful that he was lightening the mood.

  He removed his hands from hers and positioned them so that the ring was visible for her to examine. An opalescent moonstone was inlaid in a wreath of silver vines, making her skin tone look bronze against the metal. When they—mostly she with a push from Charlie—made the rushed decision to get married, there hadn’t been a ring or a proposal. It was rather unromantic.

  All the more reason for them to have this do-over tonight.

  “Jasper, this is beautiful.” It was perfect. “But wait, it’s real silver?”

  “Of course.”

  “What if I accidentally touch you with it?”

  “Just a touch feels like static electricity. Besides,” he stroked his chin. “I figured it would even the playing field if you’re ever mad at me.”

  “You should hope that you never make me mad enough to use silver on you.” She shook her head, amused. After a breath of silence she looked back up at him with a cautious smile. “You’ll have to wear one too, if we’re married.”

  He grinned. “You’ll have to marry me first.”

  “I was planning on it.” A laugh bubbled up from her, loud enough to make her snort. “We’re doing this all backwards.”

  “How so?”

  “For one, you’re supposed to propose and give a ring before you send out wedding invitations.” Mari waved a finger in the air. “When we were first bound, you were an animal and I didn’t know what you were. I thought you were a figment of my imagination. Or a really good dream.”

  Jasper blinked seductive green eyes at her. “You think I’m dreamy?”

  “Very.” She agreed, still on the brink of laughter.

  “I think I like the order we’ve done it in. You keep me guessing. There is nothing predictable about you.”

  “You, on the other hand, are incredibly predictable.”

  “I am?”

  “You are.” She nodded. “Like right now. I already know you’re going to kiss me.”

  “Am I?”

  “Definitely.” Mari tilted her chin up, wetting her lips.

  Jasper cupped her face with burning hands and did exactly as she predicted. It started unhurried and sweet. Hands slowly migrated and found their way under clothing and onto bare skin. Somewhere along the way Jasper’s sweater was discarded. She was too enveloped in the kiss and the sensation of his warmth under her caress to notice.

  She did notice as her gown left her body, though. Chiffon tickled over her stomach and thighs as it slipped away. It was nothing Jasper hadn’t seen before, yet she always felt the need to hide herself. Tonight, that urge never surfaced.

  “I’m yours.” Jasper whispered, lowering her to her back and hovering over her. “In every way. I will give as much of myself as you will take.”

  “All of you.” She answered breathily, tugging at his jeans and removing the last clothing obstacle between them. “I want all of you, Jasper.”

  His eyes scorched her bare skin, his feverish hands doing the same. The kiss that connected them this time was as untamed as him, a storm coming in over the ocean, building with intensity until she felt as if she might be washed away.

  Mari slowed their ravenous descent, stretching out beneath him to meet his gaze. There was one more part of this ritual that had to be done. One she’d started and never finished when they first became mates under another full moon many months ago.

  “Man who walks as wolf, guardian of the sanctity of life and the sacredn
ess of death, child of Mother Moon, I take you into me. I carry your song in my heart. I let you take root in my soul.”

  Jasper brushed a thumb over her cheek, eyes glistening. “Witch, keeper of ancestral knowledge, dreamer of divine truth, enchantress who calls the wolves, I come into you. I sing in answer to your heart song. I plant my seed in your soul. Two become one flesh under the eyes of the stars, the watchful Father, and Mother Moon.”

  There was no hesitation once the words were spoken. The air left Mari’s lungs in a drawn out breath as she and Jasper became one. For a brief moment both were still, breathless, wordless, frozen in awe. Where once there was little more than a spark of him inside of her came an explosion of sensation and emotion. There was his soul, wholly bared to her. It was almost a tangible thing that she could reach out and touch with her fingertips.

  Before, the connection between them had been like threads of a tapestry hanging limply over a loom. With this union, the threads were snapped taut and between them stretched a complete picture. It was always meant to be this way. This was the choice Mari would make over and over, no matter the consequences This was the choice all paths would have led her to because Jasper was built for her, was woven into the very fabric of who she was.

  She had the strangest feeling that they’d done this before. This dance together, this vibrant, whirlwind romance felt as if it was a game they’d played for as many lifetimes as they’d lived before this one. Some things were older than time and Mari knew deep in her heart that this bond was one of them.

  “I love you, Jasper.” She told him softly, then a louder as he moved against her. “I love you.”

  Jasper caught her lips with his. At the same time the storm of him engulfed her. Every movement was like lightning hitting her body. The electrifying friction was almost tormenting. What Mari thought would feel like washing away was instead becoming a part of the building chaos. She cried out in cracks of thunder, her hands tickled over his skin like raindrops.

  This was so much more than pleasure. It was magic unlike any she had ever tasted. A spiritual experience, a divine dance of bodies. This was blinding euphoria and she would freeze time and live in this place with him forever if she could.

  “Sweet Mari,” Jasper purred into her ear. “My precious honeysuckle. I love you. I love you. I love you.” He kept repeating it until the words dissolved into a breathy sigh of contentment.

  Chapter 12

  Mari

  Mari stifled a giggle when Jasper swept her into his arms, insisting on carrying her over the threshold. Her boots hit the floor with a quiet thud when Jasper yanked them off her feet, sending fluffy clumps of snow flying across the entryway. He was quieter when he slipped from his and tip toed through the foyer. A glance into the parlor on the way to the stairs revealed Teal lying stomach down on a chaise lounge, Cora stretched happily across him like a lizard on a sun-kissed rock. Both were deeply asleep. A half-dressed and snoring Cash was flopped on the floor beside them, equally lost to the world.

  Two stormy eyes shifted to give them a curious look. Clem was perched on one of the leather sofas, a book in her hand and Deak’s head in her lap. She raised a questioning eyebrow, but Mari put a silencing finger over her lips with a grin. The she-wolf gave an amused shake of her head and went back to reading. Just as they were about to climb the stairs, Charlie lifted his gaze from the fireplace and mouthed something that looked like, “it’s about time.”

  Jasper barely shut the bedroom door before Mari was wrenching off her coat and pushing him against the wall. Her fingers plucked at the bottom of his sweater and she tugged it so violently over his chest that she heard threads snap. It was a wonder that steam didn’t rise from his skin when she pressed her cold hands to it. He hissed softly, both enjoying and wincing at the frigid touch.

  “More.” was the only husky word Mari managed.

  “More?” Jasper arched a brow.

  Mari slid the straps of her gown off her shoulders and let it shimmer down her body to pool at her feet. “Yes.”

  She only planted three kisses on his chest before he gripped her biceps and pushed her back, holding her at arm’s length. “Are you that insatiable, witch?”

  She challenged him with a teasing smile. “Don’t you think you can sate me?”

  That otherworldly glow lit his viridescent eyes, making them so intense that Mari’s adrenaline spiked. They wandered leisurely up her body, starting at her toes and pausing on all of his favorite places. His gaze lingered longest on her breasts, dotted with goosebumps from the cold air. Then that roguish half-smile twisted his lips and Mari shuddered with anticipation. She knew what that look meant.

  They tumbled onto the bed together, his body crashing into hers like he was again a storming ocean and she the shore. Their mouths only parted for those brief, necessary breaths and even then, Jasper inhaled her panting moans, sucking them into his lungs and savoring every noise of pleasure. This time was wilder and more urgent than the first, nails digging into skin, teeth nipping at lips until Mari thought she tasted blood. This was the culmination of months of unfulfilled desire and it was explosive.

  Within minutes Mari felt a climax power through her, radiating from where they joined to every part of her body. Jasper abandoned his hold on her mouth to hear the desperate cry that came with her arched back and squeezing thighs. He slowed his pace, letting her move her hips as she wanted them, reveling in her softened gaze and shortened breaths as she came back down from that heavenly high.

  Nothing was better than this. Nothing in the world—no delectable dessert, no luxurious fabrics, no sunshine on a tropical beach—could compare to the absolute bliss that Jasper gave her. His euphoric touch was unrivaled and Mari wanted to bask in it, wanted to live with him inside of her for an eternity.

  “More, Jasper.” She rasped, gripping his hips and urging him to keep moving. “Don’t stop.”

  Wickedness glinted in his eyes. “You really are insatiable.”

  Despite her insistent writhing, Jasper took his time. His lips explored the column of her throat, his thrusts punctuating the kisses he left. Each movement was slow and sweet as syrup, indulgent and delicious. Mari’s fingers tickled along his nape, snaking through his hair and drawing him back to her mouth. Even her passion seemed to soften with his languid approach. Eventually she gave in to him, letting her desperation slip away, not simply seeking pleasure but truly making love.

  Those gradual movements mounted, coiling their muscles as a slow building swell of gratifying heat overtook them. They reached another peak together, Mari whispering his name over and over, Jasper growling softly as he curled around her.

  “Beautiful honeysuckle.” Jasper murmured into the curve of her neck.

  She coaxed his head up so that they were eye to eye. “I love you, Jasper.”

  There, she said it again and the world didn’t crumble. If anything, it felt sturdier. Mari had an irrational fear that admitting it, speaking her feelings aloud, would suddenly make her too fragile to exist. Like those three words gave him so much power over her that it would destroy her on the spot. Yet, the opposite was true. Saying them was like opening the door to a cage she’d locked herself in, twisting the key that she had all along.

  “I’ve loved you for a long time.” She added.

  “I know.”

  “Maybe forever.”

  “I know.”

  “Thank you.”

  “It was my pleasure.” Jasper smirked.

  “For being patient with me, you smug bastard.” She squirmed beneath him.

  He rolled, taking her with him and chuckling when she splayed limply across his chest. “That isn’t something you need to thank me for.”

  “Well I am.”

  A yawn stretched between Jasper’s words. “For you I can be a patient hunter.”

  “Sometimes.” She disagreed.

  “When you truly need patience. Sometimes you’re being stubborn and need a push.”

  Mari wasn’t
going to admit that he was right, so she didn’t say anything, proving his point without words. They fell silent as an easy sleep crept up on them. The first tingles of a dream were cut short when she asked, “Can we do that again tomorrow?”

  Her head bounced with his laughter. “You want to do that again?”

  She propped up on one elbow and gave him an indignant scowl. “We have to. Every day for the rest of our lives. You’re my mate and it’s your responsibility to make love to me at least once a day.”

  Jasper sat up sharply. “What?”

  “What?” Mari echoed.

  “What did you say?”

  “That you’re my mate, which means you’re supposed to—”

  He cupped her face with both hands. “I’m your what?”

  “Mate.” She replied shyly.

  “Say it again, Mari.”

  This time it came out with more confidence. “You’re my mate.”

  “Well,” he pecked her lips then lowered back down to his pillow. “It took you an awfully long time to figure that out.”

  “Yeah, yeah.” She flopped her head onto his shoulder. Then, just before tendrils of sleep twined their dark limbs around her, she whispered, “I love you,” one more time.

  Chapter 13

  Cash

  People got it wrong when they called werewolves cursed. It wasn’t changing forms that tormented him and his kind. Not that having every bone in your body break and reform was enjoyable, but it was manageable. Like all consistent irritants, a man could get used to it. The pain was a fact of life.

  No, the real affliction of werewolf kind was their rigid nature. It wasn’t the changing, it was having no choice but to change. It was being nearly incapable of resisting the scent of fear and the sight of weakness. It was being trapped by the instinct that sought out touch but made it impossible to fulfill any baser desires without sacrificing your entire future.