Authors: Jillian Sterling
Something Wicked (15 page)
"Oh," I said, curling my toes in anticipation.
"This is for us." His head slid down and rested in
between my legs. He gently separated the folds of my vulva with his fingers.
Starting with a light kiss on my clit, his tongue took over, working over my
nub gently at first. As my breathing intensified, so did his tongue. He slipped
a finger into my pussy, then a second one, hooking both around and once again
finding my G-spot. With my body already primed from before, coming was fast and
intense. He plunged his tongue into my pussy, lapping up my juices.
Finn raised himself up and kissed me, and I could taste our
co-mingled sex on his lips. Exhausted and sweaty, I nuzzled against him, my
eyes still closed.
Before I even realized what I was saying, words flew out of
my mouth. "I love you."
Finn pulled away from me, puzzled. I clapped my hand over my
mouth.
"Sorry! That was the spell talking," I lied.
"I was still tuned into Tara."
"Dammit, you were?" he asked, and my heart soared
for a moment. "I mean, that one was just for your pleasure, so I hope it
didn't muck up the spell."
My heart crashed back down to earth. "Oh, yeah, that
would suck."
"We'd just have to do it again," he said.
"And I could think of worse things."
His smile warmed me a bit, although I still felt
monumentally stupid. "I think I should get out of this now. Is there some
sort of magical protocol or something I need to do."
"Let me do another banishment, and then we're
good," he said, getting to his feet.
I watched him move around the pentagram, once again casting
the circle. While I admired his firm ass and ripped muscles, I marveled at how
completely at ease he was in his body. I suppose being brought up to view sex
in magical terms had something to do with it. I wished Grams had been more at
ease with it.
When Finn blew out the candles, I scrambled to my feet,
turning my back to him while I tried to extract myself from the witchy
lingerie.
"Here, let me help you."
Finn came up behind me, and helped unhook the straps from my
back. He slipped them off my shoulders, running his hands down my arms as
leather fell.
"Thanks, but I got it," I said, quickly grabbing
the flannel shirt off the floor. I wrapped it around me before shimmying out of
the bottom of the bondage wear. It was a relief to have that strap out of my
butt. I was totally not a thong girl.
"How do we know if it works?" I asked, turning to
face Finn. The towel was back around his waist.
He shrugged. "Hard to say. Magic works at its own pace.
If nothing changes in two days, we'll try it again."
"Right," I said. Part of me hoped that the spell
didn't take, and that was just stupid. Was I willing to lose my house just for
another romp with Finn?
I pointed to the door. "So, I guess I'll go."
"'Night," he said, placing the throw rug back over
the pentagram on the floor.
"Goodnight," I replied, pulling open the door. I
glanced down the hallway before stepping out of the room, half expecting Amanda
to pounce on me. But the house was quiet. I stalled a second more, hoping that
Finn would call me back to him, ask me to spend the night in his bed. But there
was nothing but silence from his room.
I closed his door and leaned against the wall of the
hallway, my eyes stinging with tears. That was the most...magical night of my
life. But that was all it was—magic. Finn separated the sex from the love. Of
course he wanted to do it again. We were electric together, no doubt. But that
was sex. That was magic. That was not love.
Palming my eyes I took a deep breath before heading back to
my own room. It was time for me to man up. Finn and I were perfect sex magic
partners, nothing more.
Finn
Finn kept his back to Izzy when she left the room, busying
himself putting away the spell accouterments so he didn't have to engage with
her. He couldn't face her. Not after botching the spell.
As much as he tried to focus on sending the energy to
Johnny, Izzy was on his brain the entire time. To her, they did sex magic. But
to him, they made love.
But when she said "I love you," he knew he botched
it. It could have been worse, he consoled himself. His own "I love
you" almost slipped out in response to hers.
Now laying on his bed, he breathed in her scent, which was
marked on his pillows. The lingering smell of lemon grass triggered his brain,
recalling how her body trembled under his as they climaxed together, and
instantly felt himself getting hard again. Swearing, he pushed the pillow to
the side and reached for the bottle of rum on the side table, washing down her
taste with a long pull.
The upside was that if the spell went wrong, they could do
it again. And that was something Finn very much wanted to do. But time was not
on Izzy's side. They needed to get Danny and his loan shark father off her sexy
little tail, and this spell was one step in keeping her financially stable.
Finn blew it, letting his emotions get the better of him.
Now it seemed like the spell not only didn't work, but it
backfired. Izzy's "I love you" was the spell talking. He just
snatched away her free will. He snorted at the irony. Some sex magic
practitioner he was.
Reporting back to the coven about this wasn't something he
wanted to do, but he needed to get Izzy out of this jam. Besides, he had to ask
for the money anyway. Even if things were back on track with The Witchery
business, it wasn't going to be enough to call off Stevenson's goon lawyers.
Izzy would lose the house, regardless of Tara’s love spell being cast, with
that crippling debt.
Grabbing his phone, he pulled up Demeter from his contact
list then hesitated. He hated calling the coven's High Priestess when he should
be taking care of this himself. But Izzy was in a hole too big for him—and for
magic—to fill. He pressed the call button, then swung his feet around to touch
the floor and rubbed at his temple. Izzy exhausted him. The thought of that
lifted his spirits, if only slightly.
"Finn," Demeter's voice was warm on the other end
of the line. Finn was relieved that he caught her in a good mood. "How's
my girl?"
"She's good, Priestess," Finn said, which was not
a lie. She was better than good. "But, I think she could use some
money."
"Money? For what?"
"You know how her grandmother hired that private
detective?"
"Of course," Demeter laughed. It was not unlike
Izzy's laugh, open and inviting. "What about it?"
"Priestess, it cost her 25 large," Finn explained.
"And she got the money from a loaner of last resort. Isadora didn't even
know about it, so it's gone unpaid for the last six months. I could try a spell
to leave her be, but this guy...I'd have to pull some serious black magic to
get him off her back."
"Blood magic," Demeter responded, a chill went
through the phone. "Absolutely not, Finn. Even we have limits."
All magic came with a price, but death was the required
payment when practicing blood magic. Most covens drew the line at that, but
there were some outlaw covens that went down a very dark path. While sex magic
covens weren't exactly the pride of the witch world—and they certainly took a
lot of liberties where black magic was concerned— it was not illegal like blood
magic. They did not take lives.
"I'll send the money tomorrow," Demeter continued.
"My mother was foolish to put Isadora in this position. That money belongs
to my little girl."
"Thank you, Priestess," Finn said, the relief in
his voice carrying the requisite appreciation.
"You've fallen in love with her, haven't you?"
Demeter's question surprised him. How could she know about
feelings that he was still processing himself?
"I think I have," he admitted.
"Does she feel the same?" she asked.
"A spell blew up in my face, so now she thinks she
does," he said moodily. That was tough to admit, but there was no point in
lying. Demeter would spot a lie in a heartbeat.
"Are you sure the spell blew up? Or are you too
frightened to admit something to yourself? And to my daughter?"
Finn was silent, so Demeter continued. "Finn, to the
outside world you appear to be a womanizer. But to spin our magic, that's
what's needed. Multiple partners draw out our energy. Can you see yourself only
with Izzy? Can your magic work together, and with her alone?"
"I thought it could, but since I botched the spell, I
am not so sure," he admitted. "I lost my focus, it was about her, and
me. Not the spell."
Demeter sighed. "Maybe that's your own magic growing,
Finn. Did you consider that?"
"What does that even mean?" Finn grumbled, which
made Demeter laugh.
"It means, maybe your magic has evolved to the point
where you don't need to only focus on the spell, but you can enjoy the process,
too," she explained. "Sex magic is powerful, but it's also fun. Why
don't you check and make sure the spell failed before you make that assumption.
Now, let's talk about getting that money to you..."
Demeter and Finn worked out a location to meet another coven
member in Worcester, Mass, half way between Willimantic and Salem. Not a long
distance, but enough of a trip that he'd have to leave in a few hours time,
well before Izzy woke up. Finn was settling her debt tomorrow.
Amanda was already dressed and on her second cup of coffee
when I came stumbling downstairs at 8:30 AM.
"What time did you roll in last night?" I asked
before covering a yawn.
Coffee was so necessary today. There was no way I could fall
asleep after the amazing sex magic session with Finn last night. As soon as I
nodded off, he invaded my dreams, increasing the heat level of them just enough
to force me to need a little vibrator action at around 6 AM.
I considered going into his room, but I heard him leave the
house before I worked up the nerve to go in there and see if he wanted to give
a non-magical hook up a go. It was probably a stupid idea anyway, and I was
relieved that he left before I could embarrass myself anymore. I mean, I told
him I loved him! How many times could I get away with blaming it on the spell?
"I just came home to change clothes, actually,"
she said before leveling a look at me. "So I should ask what happened with
you last night?"
"What do you mean?" I scrutinized my coffee mug,
pretending to wipe dirt of out it.
"I mean, I was at the sorority house with Mel when Tara
came home. And that girl was pissed."
"Oh yeah?" I feigned disinterest and poured coffee
into my spotless mug.
"Come on, Iz, truth," she said, putting her mug
down and giving me a pointed look. "Here's what I know. She had Finn in
her clutches at Huskies, then Johnny on the Spot showed up and mucked something
up by starting a fight with Finn, you bailed Johnny out and in the process
stole Finn away from her. And now, she's out for blood."
"Crap," I muttered. "That's about the gist of
it."
"No, I don't think so." She was relentless.
"What happened when you got home?"
"I went to bed," I said. Not a total lie. Finn
metaphorically bedded me on his floor.
"Stop it, Izzy," she raised her voice. "Did
you and Finn hook up? Again?"
I stared into my coffee.
"Dammit, Iz, first you, then Tara, and now you again? I
like him even less now. I didn't even think that was possible."
"It's not like that!" I argued.
"Then what's it like?"
I bit my lip. "It's the magic."
"Okay, so you guys are bonding over your herbs and
shit. So what."
"And we are practicing sex magic..."
Amanda stared at me hard. "You really believe
that?"
I opened the verbal floodgates. "When we unleashed the
first love spell, we didn't know it was on Finn, so we had to undo that spell
and cast another one so that Tara would find a new obsession."
"Sex. Magic. I can't believe you're still letting him
sell you that crock." She was incredulous.
"Amanda, you thought it was cool," I stammered.
"
I can get behind that sort of magic
. That's exactly what you
said!"
"Sure it sounded like fun, why not! Have fling, hand
over a crystal. What's the big deal? But this," she flailed her arms
around. "All this? It's just too much. You can't believe his
bullshit."
"But it works," I insisted. "Or, it's going
to work."
"Iz, I love you. I love that you are so sweet and
trusting. But apparently so does he, and this is how he decided to get in your
pants."
"Amanda, you don't understand..."
"No, Iz, you don't understand," Amanda
interrupted. "With your grandmother dying and the money problems that got
dropped in your lap, you're more than a little vulnerable right now and he's
playing you. You know how many girls he hooks up with. We've counted
them!"
"But..."
"But nothing, Iz," she said, yanking open the
knife drawer. She pulled out a steak knife and held it in front of her.
"Shall we go scratch your notch into the counter top now or later?"
"That's not fair," I whispered. My eyes stinging
with tears.
"You shouldn't have gotten between him and Tara,
sweetie. She was all
vengeance is mine
last night. She was plotting —that's
right,
plotting—
with that asshole Danny Stevenson."
I felt the color bleed out of my face. "Danny was there
too? They were plotting? Plotting what?"
"Yeah, I thought they were going to hook up, but no
dice. You didn't let him down too easy either, did you? They were plotting how
they were going to turn this house into the ultimate off campus party house.
From the way Danny was carrying on, you need to figure out how to pay his loan
shark father back. And like yesterday."
I dropped into a chair and let that sink in.
Amanda softened her tone. "Sweetie, you have got to
learn how to pick your enemies." She rinsed out her coffee cup and left
it, along with the knife, in the sink before walking out of the kitchen.
The news of Tara and Danny plotting to take my house made me
lightheaded. I bent over and dropped my head between my legs, trying to keep
from hyperventilating.
Once I was sure I wasn't going to pass out, I dragged myself
to the bathroom to clean up for the day. Amanda left for campus, and I forgot
to ask her for a ride to my car, so I was stranded until the next bus barreled
down Main Street. The scent of Finn washed off in the shower, replacing his
masculine musk with my own lemongrass soap. I combed back my wet hair and
tossed on a worn denim mini and a white V-neck tee, layering a light flannel
over it. It was getting chillier at dusk, and I wasn't sure how long I'd be out.
After I picked up my car, I had to quit the frat house job and look for a new
one. Since I wasn't confining my search on campus, it could take all day. I
mused on a shoe change, but the flip-flops were fancier than my Converse. And
work boots seemed wrong.
Snatching an apple from the kitchen, I took one last gulp of
my coffee, dropping the mug on the coffee table in the living room before
dashing out the door. The bus was coming any minute, and missing it meant
waiting another hour for the next one. But as I leapt off the front porch, Finn's
Jeep pulled into the driveway. We nearly collided into each other, the vehicle
stopping short with my body about three inches from the bumper. My heart raced
as adrenaline pumped through my body. Shaking, I gripped the hot hood of the
car to keep from falling over.
Finn scrambled out of the Jeep without shutting off the car.
"Izzy, are you okay?"
I nodded, and swallowed hard but couldn't find my voice
quite yet. Finn reached into the Jeep and shut off the engine. Then he removed
a wrapped package from the dashboard and closed the car door.
"Come on, let's get you inside," he said, wrapping
a strong arm around my waist and walking me back towards the house.
I shook my head and dug my heels in. "I have to get to
campus. Get my car."
"I'll drive you later," Finn said. "I need to
talk to you right now."
"About what?"
"Trust me, it's important," he insisted.
"Is it about us?" I asked.
"Us?" He puzzled.
"Because last night..."
"One thing at a time, Iz, okay? This first."
I let him lead me back into the house, my mind racing. What
could he possible want to talk to me about?
We got into the living room and he settled me on the couch
before he started pacing around the room.
"I have something to tell you," he started.
"I don't want you to get angry."
I felt myself go pale. "You're married, aren't you?
"No, I am not married, Iz. I need to tell you about my
coven."
"Okay," I said cautiously, feeling the color creep
back into my cheeks.
"Remember I told you my High Priestess sent me here to
watch out for you?" I nodded, so he continued. "Well, she's not just
my High Priestess."
"What is she then?" I asked, steeling myself the
inevitable girlfriend or fiancé line.
"She's your mother," he blurted out.
"My mother?" I asked with a snort. "Finn, my
mother is a member of some weirdo cult in California..." Realization dawned
on me. "Oh my goddess, Finn. Are you in a cult?"
"No," Finn said, pacing around the living room.
"Your mother is the High Priestess of a coven in Massachusetts, just north
of Boston."
"Impossible," I insisted. "Why would she
leave us —- leave me—for a coven? We're all witches in this house."
Finn shook his head. "Your grandmother didn't allow sex
magic. It had been in your family for centuries, but your grandmother didn't
approve."
"So you are in a sex magic coven with my mother?"
I considered it for a moment, and then my heart dropped straight into my belly.
"Oh Finn! Did you do sex magic
with my mother
?"
"No, no, it's not like that," Finn said quickly.
He ran his hand through his hair, frustrated. "This is why she left, Iz.
These sorts of questions. Misunderstandings."
"I don't get it, Finn," I said, sinking into the
couch cushions, wishing they would swallow me up. "My mom has been just
hours away from me, and she never even bothered to come when Grams died. What
am I supposed to say to that?"
"She didn't know how you would react. She was
scared."
"She was a coward," I spat back, tears welling in
my eyes. "Leaving me to deal with all this on my own." I waved my
arms around, motioning the house.
"Yes," he agreed quietly. "She was a coward.
But she wants to make it right now. Or to try to."
"Really, how's that?"
"She sent me here."
"And?"
"She sent me here to keep an eye on you, to make sure
you were okay after your grandmother died."
"She sent you here to lure me into her sex magic
coven."
"That's not true, Izzy."
"Then what about all those girls you brought
home?"
"You mean, before us?" He asked, and I nodded.
"Izzy, I had to practice."
"So they were witches?"
"No," he admitted. "But I was able to release
my magic with them."
"So that's what I was to you, a way to release your
magic?"
"Izzy, that doesn't matter."
"It does matter," I argued, my frustration
building. "I need to know what I am to you."
"I don't know how to answer this, Izzy," he said,
dropping his head and refusing to look at me.
I bolted up from the couch and raced across the room. I
grabbed his head, forcing him to look me in the eyes. "Tell me what I am
to you."
"I can't," he said, defeated. "Coven rules
state we can't pair off."
"Why not?" I challenged. Coven be damned.
"Because they believe it's not good for the
magic."
"Fuck the magic," I yelled, throwing up my hands.
The movement sent a photograph on the fireplace mantle across the room, stopping
me in my tracks. "Did I just do that?"
"Yes," Finn sighed. "I've been trying to tell
you. Your magic is building."
"How? From us having sex?"
Finn nodded. "It's part of your family, Iz, even if
your grandmother didn't want to believe it."
"What do you mean, Grams knew?"
Finn sat wearily on the couch, rubbing his eyes. "Your
grandmother saw your mom about six months before she died."
"How? The detective never found her."
"That's what your grandmother told you," Finn
explained. "The detective found your mom. But when your mother refused to
leave the sex magic practice behind, your grandmother told her to stay away
from you."
"I don't understand. Why would Grams do that?"
"Because she didn't agree with the practice. It broke
your family apart. Really for centuries. It's been the curse your family has to
carry."
Thinking of the old grimoire I found in the attic, I knew
there was some truth to what Finn was saying. That old relative with the randy
spell book must have been part of the sex magic side of the family. "So
some members of my family practiced sex magic. I am sure there are loads of witch
families that have practicing and non practicing witches."
"Sex magic practitioners have their own covens, and
their own rules."
"Like not pairing off?" I asked, my voice shaking.
"Among other things," Finn said, once again
refusing to meet my eyes.
"Black magic?" I whispered, remembering how Finn
worked the black magic spell with ease.
"It dips into black magic, yes, I am not going to lie
to you."
My throat felt tight. "Did I cross a line here,
Finn?"
"No, I promise you, this is not a bad practice. We did
nothing wrong."
I could barely breath. "But we took her free
will."
"She tried to take mine first."
"That does not give us the right..." I started.
"That gives me every right," he interrupted, his
voice rising. This time it was Finn's turn to fling something across the room,
and a dusty vase with some long dead flowers still in it shattered against the
far wall. "Sorry, I didn't mean to do that."
"Didn't mean? You are a good enough witch to control
your magic."
"It's you, Izzy," he said, taking a tentative step
towards me. "You make my magic stronger, too."