Accacia’s Trilogy: Sisters of Hex

by Paige, Bea

  From the corner of my eye I see Ezra moving towards the altar, where Nostra is waiting for us both. My steps falter at the sight of him. Rhain leans his head down.

  “He will love you fiercely, Cia.” It is enough to keep me moving forward.

  Ezra stops in front of Nostra, but his eyes are fixed firmly on mine. He too is wearing the same outfit as Rhain and Devin, but his shirt is completely undone. My eyes flick to his broad shoulders, down his firm chest that is free from hair, and to the hardened muscles of his stomach. A small smile lifts the corner of his lips, and I find myself smiling in return. We reach the altar and Nostra looks down upon us all. His purple eyes are alight with happiness.

  “Rhain, Devin, my friends. Thank you for accompanying Accacia. Would you take your place next to your brother?” Nostra asks.

  Devin and Rhain gently pull away from me and stand either side of Ezra.

  “Ezra, Accacia, you are both here today to join formally as is custom for the people of Clan Lux. Today you will exchange vows and you will exchange blood to seal those vows formally.” Nostra looks at Ezra, who nods. He moves towards me and holds his hand out. I take it.

  “In the presence of your brothers,” Nostra says to Ezra, “and in the presence of these men you have chosen to let into your heart,” he says turning to me, a knowing look in his eyes. “Do you both willingly, and without coercion, wish to come together in such a manner?”

  Ezra’s reaction is immediate. “Without any doubt.” I can feel the heat of his gaze, hear the surety of his words. My skin prickles under his certainty.

  Nostra grins at that. He turns to face me. “Accacia?”

  I turn to look at Ezra, at his soulful grey eyes, at the strength of his jaw, the sensual shape of his lips, the graze of stubble across his skin. I remember the fierceness of his love for Thalia, his determination to save his brothers, and his desire to make me his wife. Behind him Rhain and Devin are grinning widely, there is nothing but warmth, joy and love coming from them. These vampires, my men.

  “I do,” I say simply.

  Ezra beams and it’s as though the sun has broken through a cloudy sky. I can’t help but smile too. Out of the corner of my eye I see Nostra’s hand wave in the air and out of nowhere two empty glasses appear. Rhain steps forward and produces a gilt-edged knife.

  “Thank you, brother,” Ezra says, taking it from him. He slices the tip of the knife across his palm, then holds his clenched fist over one of the hovering wine glasses. I watch as the blood slides from his hand, filling it half-way. Then he hands the knife to me and I take it from him, following suit. I ignore the sting of pain and pour my own blood into the empty glass. Devin steps forward and takes the knife from me, bowing slightly as he moves away.

  Even your blood smells of roses, Red, he says silently. I catch Devin’s eye, and a flash of darkness flits across his gaze once again. I frown, he just smiles. A warm smile that eases my worry immediately.

  The two glasses swap places, so the one filled with Ezra’s blood floats towards me, and the glass filled with mine hovers in front of Ezra. We both reach out and take a glass each.

  Nostra steps off the altar. “Raise the glass to your mouth and take a sip of blood,” he says, squeezing my shoulder beneath his fingers. I feel a tingling across my skin at his touch. I feel the magic coming from him. I feel it in the air about us, between Ezra and I. My gaze moves from Nostra to Ezra. He raises the glass to his mouth, just as I do. The taste of Ezra’s blood is as I remember it. Like smooth, dark, chocolate. Over the rim, I see Ezra’s eyes widen as my blood passes his lips. Both times previously when he had taken my blood, Ezra was completely out of it in pain. This time he is fully aware, and I am blown away by the look of want, of need in his eyes. I’m pretty certain I am looking at him in the same way. He lowers the glass, the points of his teeth dropping, pressing into his bottom lip. As Ezra’s blood flows over my lips I can think of only one thing, his teeth buried deep into my neck. Behind Ezra, Devin chuckles.

  Nostra lowers his head and begins to recount the words of the Joining. As he speaks, the lanterns around us move with purpose, no longer floating but forming a vortex of light, so bright it is as though day shines once again.

  Red-blood,

  life-blood that thrums through your veins,

  that flows through your heart

  that gives life

  Now, as it passes over your lips,

  this blood, your blood,

  fills another

  and with it a promise to belong.

  From this day forth,

  you are joined for eternity

  And with those words it is done. I am Ezra’s wife.

  The lanterns float upwards as Ezra steps forward, handing his glass to Nostra. I do the same. “It is custom for husband and wife to kiss after the Joining,” he says gently, taking another step towards me. He is so tall I have to arch my head to look up at him.

  “Perhaps our customs aren’t so different after all,” I whisper.

  Ezra raises his hands, cupping the back of my head. A nervous feeling flutters inside my chest. When we kissed before the circumstances had been different, we were fleeing the fae in the Forbidden forest. It had been quick, heated, but it hadn’t been long enough for me to show him just how much he meant to me. Now, in this room filled with dancing flames and blooming roses, I kiss Ezra with everything I have. I pour all my feelings into the kiss, my frustration that it took him almost dying to realise how much he meant to me and my unyielding desire that had always been there, bubbling beneath the surface. I wrap my arms around Ezra and pull him closer, hoping I am enough to fill the hole Thalia left behind. Hoping I am enough for this man; this strong, defiant, loyal man I have come to love. Love. Just as I love Rhain and Devin. The truth of it lifts my heart.

  We kiss for a long time. Ezra only pulls away when he senses our kiss developing into something more, something that should only be explored in private. He pulls away, breathing heavily. “Lights be blind, Accacia. What are you doing to me?”

  I smile. “I could say the same to you.”

  Ezra presses a quick kiss on my lips, then spins us both around. Devin and Rhain move forward slapping Ezra on the back before pulling him in for a hug. I stand back watching them, their happiness for their brother, for each other. Nostra turns to me.

  “You have made my friends very happy, Accacia. For that I am grateful. Are you happy, content?” he asks, searching my face. I look at the men clapping each other on their backs, laughing and joking, and that same swell of love expands in my chest.

  “I am…” I start, then falter.

  “There is something you wish to say to them?”

  “Yes, there is something I wish to say.”

  Nostra whistles loudly. It certainly has the desired effect. Rhain, Ezra and Devin turn to face us both.

  “Accacia has something she wishes to say.” Nostra stands back, sensing the importance of the moment.

  “Thank you, Nostra,” I say, smiling at him. Then I turn to face my men, my vampires. The men I have come to love.

  “For the longest time I have been alone. I had my mother, yes. I even had friends.” I think of Clover, and tears well in my eyes, but this isn’t the time to think about her, so I push my worry aside and pull in a breath to calm the churning feeling inside my chest at her silence. “But I was always alone. No one understood what it was like to live in darkness and then you three walked into my life, and the light I had longed for begun to shine in a different way. Each of you have touched me.” I turn to Rhain first, and place my fingertips against his lips. “You ignited passion within me, Rhain. Lit something I didn’t even know existed. I love you.” I kiss him gently on the mouth then step back and move towards Devin, standing in front of him.

  You, who lives within me still, I say, trailing my fingertips from his temple along his face. He leans into my hand and closes his eyes. I smile gently.

  Red, he says.

  “You have been a con
stant comfort here,” I say, touching my own temple. “You have crept beneath my skin and have settled within my soul. I cannot be without you. I love you, Devin.” Leaning forward I press a feather light kiss across his mouth. Our time will come soon, I say. Devin holds my gaze, the flickering of the lanterns lighting his chocolate brown eyes. He nods, stepping back.

  Finally, I stand in front of Ezra, my husband. The man I am joined to for eternity. He is quiet, still, strong, just like the old oak tree that I used to play under as a child in the moonlit nights of my childhood. “You have been insufferable, confusing, frustrating, stubborn. But you, Ezra, you have shown me what it is to love fiercely, to love without limits. All of my doubts disappeared the moment you asked me to be your wife. Ezra, I will love you for as long as my heart beats inside my chest.” I stand on my tiptoes and press a kiss against his mouth. He wraps his arms around me and this time nothing and no one is able to stop the kiss from developing into something pure and beautiful.

  Chapter Twenty-Four

  Ezra scoops me up in his arms and walks with purpose from the marquee. Behind him Rhain, Devin and Nostra leave and head back home to the hidden hamlet.

  See you in a few days, Red, Devin says, and with it they are gone.

  I look up at Ezra, at the sharp point of the incisors that have lowered from his gum. I do believe my vampire desires me. I press my lips against his collarbone, my tongue snaking a hot trail across the surface. A low rumble erupts from Ezra’s throat. I can’t help but giggle. He looks down at me and smiles.

  “I will spend the rest of my Lights forsaken life making sure I hear that sound daily.” He places me gently to the floor, resting his hands on my hips. We are standing outside his cottage, under the newly formed archway covered in roses.

  “I debated for a long time whether I should bring you here to my home I once shared with Thalia and Roseanna. It is filled with memories of them both. The walls are filled with the love we shared, and that love has shaped me into the man I am today. Thalia was a good woman. She would have wanted me to be happy. With you I am more than that. You have made me whole again, Accacia. A life was lived within these walls, a life that was lived a thousand years ago. I want to share my life now, with you, in a place that needs to be filled with laughter and love once more. It has been too long.”

  I bite my lip, remembering Rhain and I making love here not so long ago. Did he know? I drop my head, not able to look him in the eye. It’s not something we’ve had the chance to discuss.

  Ezra lifts my chin with his fingertips. “Rhain told me everything, Accacia. Your Claiming started all of this. I am not angry. Far from it. We have a bond, my brothers and I, it has been made stronger now we have you…” He takes my hand in his. “If you still need time, I can wait,” he starts, sudden doubt clouding his eyes.

  “Take me inside, Ezra,” I whisper.

  He doesn’t need to be told twice. He lifts me up into his arms once more, and pushes open the door, striding through the living room that is filled with sweet smelling candles and into the bedroom beyond. He places me on my feet at the foot of the bed. It has been stripped since the last time I was here. Crisp, white bedding adorns it and covering the bottom of the bed is a red silk throw. Behind me I hear the sound of Ezra removing his shirt. It falls to the ground at our feet. Then he steps closer and lightly runs his fingers across the open expanse of flesh across my shoulders, moving my long hair so that it falls over the front of my chest. The pads of his fingertips move across my bare back, followed by his knuckles and, lastly, his lips. My breathing becomes heavy as he drags the tips of his incisors across my skin. I want him to bite me. God, I want him to bite me. Liquid desire heats my sex at the thought.

  “Ezra…” I start, but he pulls his hot mouth away, replacing it again with his fingers. I feel him pull at the lace of my bodice, slowly unwrapping me from its constraints. He is painfully slow, teasingly so. He wants to savour the moment, I understand that now. Ezra loves fiercely, but when he makes love it is slow, sensual, all-consuming. Already I know this, can sense this about him. Eventually all of the lace ties are undone, and my red dress falls to the floor, the chiffon sliding over the bare skin of my legs as it does so. I am entirely naked apart from a small slip of silk across my arse and my satin ballet pumps.

  “Lights be damned, Accacia. You are more beautiful than I ever imagined.” His hands move over my shoulders, down my arms, across my back. I hear him kneel behind me as he drags his fingers over my hips, moving around to cup my arse in his hands. I let out a low moan as he massages me with strong, firm hands. They move lower, brushing my thighs, lowering to my calves, before one hand moves around to my shin. Ezra gently encourages me to bend my knee so that he can remove one of my shoes. I hear him chuck it into the corner of the room. He does the same with my other shoe. Then I feel the sleek wetness of his tongue as it slides up the back of my thigh, licking the underside of my arse. He presses his cheek against my roundness, then his fingers hook under my knickers and he pulls them free until I am completely naked. He stands, and the cold air between us tells me he has moved away. I turn around, wanting to know where he’s gone. He is standing a few paces away, his grey eyes wide, his chest heaving, his hands trembling. My heart aches for him, for the control he punishes himself with. I step from the pool of material beneath my feet and walk towards him. This time it’s my turn to undress Ezra. I reach for his belt, undo it and pull it free from the hoops. A smile twitches around his lips as I drop it to the floor with a flick of my wrist. Ezra’s smile fades and is replaced with a groan when my hand grazes over the firmness of his length. He sucks in a breath, his pupils dilating, the grey of his irises almost lost to the black as I rub him through the material. Leaning forward, I place a kiss against his broad chest whilst unfastening the hook of his trousers. They fall to the ground. He isn’t wearing any underwear and so the soft velvetiness of his cock settles into my hand. I curl my fingers around him, moving my hand slowly up and down the long shaft as I press hot kisses across the firm muscle of his chest.

  “Damn it, Accacia, you’re killing me.”

  “Not again, I hope,” I laugh into his skin.

  Ezra grabs at my wrists. “Too much, too soon, darling,” he says. My hand falls away. “I haven’t finished exploring you just yet,” he adds, his fingertips trailing fire over my breasts. He cups them gently in his hands, running the pad of his thumbs over my nipples. He is gentle, tender, loving. I am enchanted. Bending over, he draws my nipple into his mouth, twirling his tongue around and around until I almost come apart there and then. I am so turned on. The sensation has a direct connection to the slick warmth between my legs. He knows it. His vampire senses smell my desire. He pulls his mouth away, blowing hot air over my aching nipples as his hands slide down my back and over the roundness of my arse. He lowers his mouth further, his lips, his teeth, his tongue move over my skin until he is kneeling before me once again.

  He looks up at me, his mouth parting, his fangs dropping further. Then he draws my leg up, placing my foot on his thigh, and turns his attention to the pulse of blood running just beneath the surface of my skin. He hesitates, waiting for my permission.

  “Bite me, Ezra,” I whisper.

  It is all he needs to hear. Gripping my hip steady with one hand, the other supporting the back of my leg, he buries his teeth deep in the sensitive flesh of my thigh. I throw my head back, letting out a scream of pain mixed with pleasure as he draws on my blood. He is like that for some time, drawing the red warmth into his mouth. It feels as though a thousand feathers are tracing across my skin, igniting my passion from the outside in. The feeling of Ezra feeding from me is so intense that my legs weaken at the onslaught and just when I think I am about to fall, Ezra pulls his teeth free, scoops me up and strides with me to the bed.

  He lays me down gently against the soft pillows, his tongue snaking around his lips, lapping up my blood that blooms across his mouth.

  “Your blood tastes like liquid gold, l
ike starlight, like the dawn rising on a summer’s day,” Ezra says, bending over me. He grazes his teeth over my collarbone, over my breasts, my stomach, my hip bones until he is settled between my legs. “Now I wish to taste you.” He lowers his mouth, his tongue sliding against my wetness with one firm lick. “Lights damn it, you taste like sunshine too,” he murmurs before pushing his tongue deep into me. Ezra remains in that spot, stroking and teasing and tasting me with his tongue, his lips, his mouth. He is relentless, he doesn’t stop until my body liquifies and I am screaming his name over and over, riding the crescendo that is my orgasm.

  Ezra chuckles from his spot between my legs and presses a light kiss on my swollen sex. I look at him with heavy-lidded eyes.

  “Come here,” I murmur. He crawls above me, the muscles in his arms flexing. I pull him in for a deep kiss, my nails digging into the skin of his back. “Ezra, I need you inside me,” I say, breaking free from the kiss.

  He sits back on his haunches, pulling me up with him so that I am sitting straddled across his lap. I wrap my legs around his waist as he moves with me to the edge of the bed. Sliding his hands from my hips upwards, he picks me up under my arms so that I am looking down at him, my long hair falling over his face. Then slowly, ever so slowly, he lowers me down. Ezra doesn’t move a muscle, he just allows me to settle around him. Allows my muscles to relax, to accommodate him. He feels so good, filling every inch of me.