Page 58 of A Spell of Heart & Havoc

But she grinned wolfishly and stayed my hands, pulling them down herself. “You have much more to spare, lady. And can you really blame me?” Pulling me closer again, she whispered low in my ear, “When you look like this? Smell and taste like this? How could I spare any more time getting to your sweet cunt?”

I shivered, felt her strong hand reaching down to me again as the other came up to rub my ass. One, two fingers pushed inside me gently. I whimpered into her shoulder. Mae held me tighter, moving inside firmer, adding a third finger. The fullness stretched me, made my head spin. I reached for her too, feeling the wetness of her wispy hairs, circling her clit. The smell of her filled my senses.

“Dove… fuck, you… you’re so perfect.” Her rasp against my neck. The dampness of her chest, beads of sweat pearling. She moved her fingers faster now, shifting to my clit, right where I wanted them. The pressure, the heat… I leaned into her more, pouring the ecstasy from my rising orgasm into where I touched her, my fingertips circling more and more firmly. Nails of my other hand scratching the base of her scalp like she loved, tugging her hair at the root lightly until her groans grew gasping, harsh. We raced toward the edge together, moving against each other. Everything bright, fast, light descending on me rapidly. Everything Mae.

I shattered at her touch, screaming into her shoulder, the heat and perfect bliss overpowering. She followed me, holding my body as if afraid of letting go, shaking against me as the last ripples of our orgasms moved through us. I felt her heart beat against mine through our chests, her lips on my temple, and thought that there had never been a more perfect moment in the world than this.

26

MAERRYL

I woke abruptly, with a start. Where… ? Oh. Right. I wasn’t in my own bed. Dove and I must have fallen asleep together here in her room after—

After that.

The whole night came rushing back to me. What she’d said. What I’d said back. Everything she’d shared about herself. The secrets, her magic. The words bubbling up my throat, needing to tell her the truth. Confess all.

Then her soft, insistent touch and lips capturing mine. Thinking just tonight. I’ll tell her in the morning.

The feeling of utter bliss, wrapped up in her love—our love—so completely, like nothing I’d ever experienced. Then holding her tight, cradling her warmth in my arms as we fell asleep. The best moment of my life. Dove lay curled on her side next to me now, and I sat up, taking care not to jostle her.

I shook my head slowly, trying to shake the fuzziness away and clear my head. What had woken me? From the darkness out the bedroom window, it must be the middle of the night.

Tap, tap.

There—a noise from my room next door. I slipped out of bed, covering Dove carefully with the duvet before grabbing my scattered clothes from the floor.

Tap. Tap, tap.

More insistently this time. It couldn’t be… no.

Clothes tucked under one arm, I pressed my palm against the adjoining door to unseal it. With a quick look back at Dove—I hoped she wouldn’t wake to find me gone—I moved through the doorway, closing it silently behind me. The slitling at my window, spotting me, began to tap again. A steady, percussive demand against the glass with its razor-sharp beak.

“Shhh, shut up, you stupid bird.” I rushed over to open the window, backing away as it hopped inside once more and flew to perch on my dresser, a beady eye staring me down. Assessing.

I held my breath as we watched each other. Then it abruptly stuck one scaly leg out toward me. I slowly took the parchment tucked into its carrier. As soon as I did, it swooped back out the window, startling me so much that the clothes fell out of my grip.

Unfolding the parchment with shaky hands, I found a few words scrawled in dark ink.

Fifteen minutes. Front door. Be ready.

Fuck.

I threw on my shirt and shimmied into my pants, lacing haphazardly, then secured my belt of tools and weapons. Not bothering with my top leathers, I rammed both feet into my boots and left the room. Heart pounding, I moved through the dark hall with silent steps toward the front stairwell.

It made sense that this was the plan—almost no one ever used the front door, and it’d be closest to all the art in the manor’s entrance hall. Though it was strange that they hadn’t waited to get more info from me to confirm the safest route, the best timing. It all felt too soon, too weird.

The manor’s sounds, grown so comforting to me over the last couple of weeks, suddenly seemed ominous. Creaks of the wooden floors. A ticking grandmother clock in the hall. The heavy silence of the stairwell, with only the brushing whisper of my fingers on the railing.

Blood pounded in my ears. Fear tightened my chest. The heavy weight of guilt. My clan would be so disappointed if they could see me now.

I pushed down those thoughts as far as I could. My clan wasn’t here anymore. All that mattered now was Balfie.

Balfie would be disappointed too…

Clenching my fists, I crossed through the grand entrance hall like a shadow, stopping in front of the front door. After taking a quick peek through a side window and seeing nothing, I let out a slow, shaky breath and leaned back against the door’s solid mahogany. They weren’t here yet.

A few minutes passed—the longest minutes of my life.