Authors: Rachel Carrington
She leaned down and nipped lightly at his neck.
“I know you’re not hard of understanding, Mr.
Hansen, but I’ll spell it out for you anyway.
I want you.
Right here.
Right now.”
She ripped off her bra and her nipples peaked in the cool air.
Rane reached for her, but she scooted farther back on her knees,
lifting one finger to waggle it in admonition.
He relaxed back against the grass, the perfect picture of compliance.
The urge to tug her jeans down over her hips and take Rane’s hard
shaft deep inside her almost overwhelmed her, but Skye forced herself to slow
down, to enjoy each and every second of the connection.
The taste of his skin.
She
took the tip of his index finger in her mouth and suckled lightly.
The feel of his erection pressed against her.
She wiggled her hips blatantly and Rane
groaned aloud.
She shifted again and
pressed down slightly.
He closed his
eyes.
Power flowed through her, not the
power afforded by her magic, but brought on by the supreme knowledge that she
had the ability to turn a man, a wizard, no doubt, into a breathless pool of
energy and nerves merely by the touch of her hand.
She dipped close enough to allow her breasts to ghost over his
face.
Rane’s eyes popped open and Skye
moved her nipple closer to his mouth.
“Taste me,” she commanded.
Rane complied immediately, closing his lips around her soft flesh,
pulling and tugging until Skye squirmed atop him.
Blood roared in her ears and with each flick
of his tongue, her pants grew damper.
Quickly, she jumped to her feet and before Rane could express his
disappointment, she unzipped her jeans and yanked them down her hips.
She didn’t take her eyes off his face or
maybe it was that she couldn’t.
Either
way, their eyes connected, held until she stepped out of her panties and
squatted down beside him.
Rane lifted his hips to allow her to remove his jeans.
His shaft sprang up and Skye felt the heat
next to her cheek as she caressed it.
Rane muttered something in another language and Skye smiled.
“Do you want to be inside me?” she whispered, all wanton woman and
delicious siren.
Rane caught a handful of her hair and gave a slight tug.
“You already know the answer to that
question, vixen.
Now, get up here and
finish what you started.”
“Yes, Sir,” Skye replied, rolling atop him in one easy
movement.
Her hips flexed.
Her knees pressed into the grass and she
guided his length easily inside her flowing sheath.
For a long moment, they simply stayed as they were.
United.
Locked together in perfect harmony.
Then Skye began to move.
To
rock with a furious rhythm that scattered the peaceful solitude.
In a frenzy, she drove her hips back and
forth, desperately clawing her way toward a release which, when it broke, left
her ragged and breathless.
She sagged
against his chest moments before Rane’s body jerked, telling her he’d joined
her.
They didn’t speak.
They
simply held one another, stroking and cuddling until the crisp morning forced
them to their feet.
Shivering slightly,
they gathered their clothes and hurried into the house, allowing the warmth to
bathe their naked bodies.
Rane took Skye’s clothes out of her hands and led her to the
fireplace in the den.
A blazing fire
greeted them and Rane tossed their garments onto a recliner behind him.
Then, taking Skye’s hands, he guided her
toward the pile rug in front of the hearth.
“Let’s sit,” he suggested, dropping to one knee.
Skye followed his lead though she felt slightly self-conscious now
that the passion had subsided.
She drew
her knees up to her chest and wrapped her arms around them.
“That was just the moment out there,” she
whispered.
He raised one eyebrow.
“Do
you think I’m looking for a reason?”
“Aren’t you?”
Rane grinned rakishly.
“Skye,
a man never looks for a reason to make love with a beautiful woman.
If she’s willing, he’s thankful.”
He winked and stirred the fire with the iron
poker.
Skye smiled and ducked her head.
“I’ve never initiated it like that.”
“You say that like it’s a bad thing.”
She tightened her arms.
“Rane, when all of this is over, well, I mean, this is your home and . .
.”
He reached out and touched her arm.
“And yours.
For as long as you
want it to be.”
She looked down at his hand.
“I tried to kill you.”
He nudged her.
“You’re not
the first.”
She glared at him.
“I’m
trying to be serious here.”
“So am I, but,” he chucked her under the chin lightly.
“You shouldn’t dwell on the past so
much.
It’s called the past for a
reason.
It’s over.”
“Your family doesn’t think much of me.”
“I don’t sleep with my family.”
“Rane!”
Skye leaped to her
feet.
“This isn’t just about sex.”
He leaned back on his elbows and continued to smile up at her.
“Then why don’t you tell me what it is about
because it’s obvious you have something on your mind.
But I warn you, if you don’t hurry, I’ll soon
have something on mine.”
Skye caught the inflection in his words and made a sound of
disgust.
She hurriedly clothed herself
and tossed his boxers to him.
“That
should help.”
“You mistakenly took my words for a complaint.”
Rane sat up straighter.
“I love looking at you, Skye.
In any form.
You’re an incredibly beautiful woman.”
“I’m a witch,” she corrected.
“And I’m a wizard,” he returned simply.
“The two aren’t compatible.”
Rane laughed out loud.
“Well,
forgive me for saying so, but we were pretty damned compatible in the garden a
few minutes ago.
Just ask Jake.”
Skye slapped his leg.
“Stop
kidding around.”
She blew her bangs out
of her eyes and scrubbed her face with her hand.
“I don’t know what to think about all of
this.
It’s, well, abnormal.”
“Who defines normalcy?” Rane challenged.
“Don’t go all Freud on me,” Skye retorted.
“Since all of this with Unger has happened,
I’ve seen a different side of you.”
Rane gave another laugh, which he quickly suppressed.
“I hope it was a side you liked.”
“You know,” Skye shook her finger again, “you are more restrained
around your family than you are around me.”
“I believe I’ve already give you that reason.
I don’t sleep with my family.
In certain situations, decorum is required.”
Skye rolled her eyes and plopped down in front of him again.
“They know we’re sleeping together.”
“Alert the media.”
“You don’t think that bothers them?”
“Do you think I give a rat’s ass if it does?”
Rane scooted forward.
“Skye, what you’re missing here is that you
and I are two adults.
Okay, so we’re two
adults from different worlds, but we’re adults nonetheless.
I will not allow my family to dictate who I
have in my life and they certainly have no say over who I have in my bed.
And you shouldn’t allow it to worry you so
much.”
He cupped her cheek.
“They do not control my feelings.
I will not allow it.”
“It’s always easier for the guy to make such declarations.”
“Such declarations?”
He
tapped his knee for a long moment.
“You’re going to have to help me out here.
I don’t always speak woman-talk.”
Skye gave him a frigid look.
“That wasn’t woman-talk.
It was
simple English.
It’s easy for you to say
you don’t worry about what your family thinks.
It’s always the woman who has to deal with what goes on behind your
back.”
“Ah.
I see.”
Her eyes narrowed.
“What is
that supposed to mean?”
“You’re worried that my family will confront you, maybe make a
suggestion that you leave me alone.”
Spoken aloud, her fears did sound slightly neurotic.
She didn’t immediately answer him.
She just stared into the fire for a long
moment, long enough for Rane to reach for her hand.
She allowed him to entwine their fingers and
she held his hand pressed against her knee.
“Rane, I don’t really belong in your world.”
He squeezed her fingers.
“And
from the look of things, you don’t really belong in yours.”
She winced as his words struck home.
He hadn’t meant to hurt her, that much she knew, but the knowledge that
even Rane knew her life wasn’t really her own did make her heart ache.
Thanks to her mother, Skye would never have a
normal life.
She didn’t blame Ingrid for
her birthday or what was to come.
Ingrid
had no decision over her birth, but, just once, Skye wished her mother had
considered the future of her daughter instead of the future of the Coven.
“What are you thinking?”
Rane
asked quietly.
Skye shook her head and lowered her gaze so Rane couldn’t read her
expression.
He’d gotten really good at
deciphering her thoughts before she spoke.
She wouldn’t give him the opportunity now.
“That maybe we should continue this
conversation later, when we’ve both had time to think more and…”
“Skye,” he interrupted.
She ceased talking and looked at him, waiting for him to finish his
sentence.
“Don’t you know by now that I love you?”
Slowly, Skye tugged her hand out of his and shifted on the
carpet.
She brushed her palms over her
denim-covered thighs and kept her gaze focused on the orange and red flames
licking hungrily at the dry wood.
“You
shouldn’t say that.”
Rane made a sound of disgust before launching himself to his
feet.
“No one tells me what I should or
shouldn’t do, Skye.
I’ve lived a long
time.
I make my own decisions and I
seldom regret them.”
He stepped into his
boxers and clamped his hands on his hips.
She covered her face with her hands.
“It wasn’t my intention to piss you off.”
He knelt down in front of her but didn’t touch her.
“Skye, look at me.”
She peeked through her fingers.
“Is this a prelude to a lecture?”
His lips twitched.
“Maybe,
but,” he peeled her fingers away.
“Nothing is going to change my love for you.”
Tentatively, she reached up with her fingertips and caressed his
rough cheek.
“You shouldn’t say things
you might regret.”
“Were you not just listening to me?”
Skye’s breath escaped hers on a heated sigh.
“A love between us can’t last.”
“Says who?”
“I hate it when you do that,” she returned.
“Then give me solid facts, back it up with data, Skye.
Don’t use nebulous terms.
You’re saying a love between us can’t last
simply because I’m a wizard and you’re a witch.”
“There’s nothing simple about it!”
He held up one hand to silence her.
“Have we not already proven our differences matter little?”
Skye considered his words, lowered her hand to her lap and pushed
herself to her feet.
“Maybe, but I’m not
willing to risk Emily’s happiness for my own.”
“You don’t think Emily would be happy with your own happiness?”
“She’s fourteen.”
“You give her far too little credit.”
In every way, he matched her.
The inner voice teased her with the knowledge and Skye walked away from
him, eager to escape the nagging doubt in her head that he might be right.
She couldn’t allow Rane to be right.
Their lives were vastly different and as
they’d seen in the past few days, tumultuous.
No matter what danger they overcame today, there would be another beast
around the corner tomorrow.
And once she
claimed the throne, she would relinquish the right to a life of her own.
She would become Queen of the Covens and her
allegiance would be to her sister witches.
Her heart sank even as her brain reaffirmed what she already
knew.
Rane wouldn’t be satisfied with
being second best to a calling.
And she
couldn’t ask him to try.
***
Sabrina came awake suddenly, her heart hammering within her
chest.
Everywhere she looked, she saw
only blackness, so thick and overwhelming, it threatened to suffocate her.
She lifted a hand and waved her fingers, but
the darkness enveloped her.
The concrete beneath her was cold to the touch and as she slowly
crawled to her feet, something furry scurried over the top of her hand.
She stifled a squeal and drew her arm close
to her chest.
Muttering vile curses, she pressed her back against what appeared to
be a stone wall.
She closed her eyes and
reached for her focus.
She would need
all of her concentration if she wanted to escape this hellhole.
And afterwards, the first order of business would be to find
Unger.
The next, to kill him.
No matter what it took.
***
Emily giggled at Rane’s sour expression and as she dashed across the
vivid, green grass, Rane let loose with a laugh.
The teen’s youthful exuberance was catching
and while he’d kept her busy with a grand tour of the grounds, soon her energy
begged for release.
And he’d set her
free outside the gates, but only after a stern warning to stay within eyesight
of the castle.
“She shouldn’t go too far,” Skye said as she walked to his side.
Rane didn’t immediately reach out to draw her close to him though
his arm ached to hold her.
He gave her
time to acclimate herself to his nearness.
“I can see her.”
Skye squinted her eyes.
“I
can’t.”
“Skye, relax.
Emily is never
out of my sight.
Even now, I can draw
her to me.”
She peered up at him.
“I just
worry about her, Rane.”
He did wrap his arm around her then and she didn’t seem to
mind.
He tucked her head in the curve of
his shoulder.
“You don’t need to worry
about her as long as I’m with you.
As
I’ve told you before, I protect my own.”