Page 20 of Bewitched & Bewildered (Witches of Starbrook #1)

Chapter 20

Juniper

I haven’t seen Ozan in a week. Halloween comes and goes, and the buzz of our shop dies shortly after. Everyone is at his apothecary—and why shouldn’t they be? I would rather be over there with them.

Where he is, it’s lively and warm. He may have fixed the heating, but our shop feels colder by the day.

Even when I’m busy with customers and brewing potions, it doesn’t feel worth it. I sit inside all day. The shop leaks money, and we keep putting more into it. The home repairs are stacking up. The funds our mother left may not cover the fees.

I could sit around and curse her name. I can shout at her ghost if I want to. Why shouldn’t I? It’s not like she’ll hear it. She’s been gone for a year now without a sign.

Everyone keeps telling me I’ll feel her spirit, and I never do.

It’s pouring outside. The shop is even slower when it rains. I close up in the dark, alone. I do everything alone. I have my sisters, but as the days pass, I realize they don’t want to be here anymore than I do. Laurel enjoys her tarot readings, but the rest of us…

We’re lost. I’m supposed to be the one who finds our way, but I can’t.

Rainwater splashes against my feet and collects in my hair as I journey home. But I’m not going home at all. I don’t realize it at first, but my body is moving in another direction entirely. I can’t seem to stop myself.

I’m going to see him.

Entering through the front door isn’t an option—his shop is closed, quiet, and dark. I sneak around the back instead, climbing the rickety stairs until I arrive at the little studio apartment at the top.

Why am I here?

Before I overthink it, I bang a heavy fist against Ozan’s door.

He may not answer, and that is probably a good thing. I should run away. It’s not too late to take it back.

My feet are planted.

He opens the door before I can uproot myself. He leans against the doorway, crossing his arms, looking me up and down.

I’m soaked and shivering. The rain hasn’t been kind to me, and I haven’t cared enough to do anything about it. My clothes cling to my frame, my hair is a mess of wet frizz, and I can’t find it in myself to care.

How can I worry about anything when he’s standing here looking like a god?

No shirt, sweatpants, and I realize I didn’t pay him enough attention to him the last time we were together. Thank goddess, I’m back. My gaze wanders over the abundance of hair on his chest and down his belly. It disappears into his pants…

There’s a layer of softness around him, but he is made of firm muscle underneath it. He’s tall enough that he needs to duck on the way inside.

He gestures for me to follow, and I do.

Electricity pulses through me. Does he feel it? Neither of us speaks. We don’t need to.

He turns to face me.

I inhale, preparing to say something. The words never come. Tension breaks. He’s closer, his arms around my waist, and I fling myself at him with full force.

His powerful hands grip my ass, pulling my body flush against his. Our mouths touch, a tangle of lips and tongues. Moans pass between us instead of words. I push against his chest, and we stumble through the little apartment.

“Missed you.” His lips brush against mine.

With the heat rising through my frozen body, I can’t find it in myself to overthink his words… or what I say next.

“Need you.” I press a palm firmly against his crotch.

He pushes down my long skirt with ease. The sooner I can be out of my wet clothes, the better.

I pull away long enough to rip my top over my head, leaving me in my lingerie. If it wasn’t clear why I was here before, it is now. My black underthings are made of lace around the cups and down the sides, with garters to match.

“Gods…” His fingers flex. “Why are you torturing me?”

“I’m not.” My eyes flicker from his lips to his eyes. “I want you. There’s no torture. You can have me as you please.”

“You didn’t have to go through all this to have me.”

“I know.” I smile slyly and rake my nails down his muscular chest. “It was too easy to drive you wild last time. I want to see how well I can do it—wearing this.”

His nostrils flare. His hands find my ass again, and he pulls me in until my chest is against his. Under the flimsy lace of my undergarments, my nipples are hard.

So is he.

Ozan pushes himself against my thigh, letting me feel his straining cock. He’s large—bigger than I’ve ever taken. I don’t know how I could ever want someone else after being with him.

It’s been a week, and I still remember how he filled me. He is what I need.

For the first time in days, my mind is at ease. To say his presence is calming would be a lie. He boils my blood unlike any other. Here, in this space, all I feel is lust and need. All else fades, and I find peace in the flame of desire.

“Don’t expect me to last very fucking long,” he says.

“That’s what I’m hoping for.”

He leads me to the couch and pulls me onto his lap, making me straddle him. Our foreheads press. Heat radiates from his body to mine. I crave more, more closeness, pressing my chest to his. As he plays with the lace on my thighs, each brush of his fingers makes me throb between my legs.

Ozan is all I can feel. His hard bulge against me just the way I need, building pressure in my core with each wiggle of my hips. We can’t stop kissing. I don’t want to. I chase his lips every time he pulls away to breathe, and he does the same to me.

It feels natural to grind myself against him, rubbing my soaking core against his hard, clothed cock. Chasing pleasure with him is a bodily instinct. I can do more. If I ask for what I want, he’ll give it to me, but this is more fun.

I press soft kisses against the scruff of his beard. Every subtle motion draws a shaky moan from him. He’s under me… hard… desperate … and whimpering. It’s the perfect reminder that some part of him yearns for me.

Just as I have been craving him.

“Juni…” His words are a warning, but I won’t take it.

I keep going. His hands are on my hips, pressing his powerful fingers into my soft flesh, hard enough to bring a sweet sting of pain. I let out a delighted gasp, and a hand lifts to my neck.

His hips meet my movements, earning another gasp from me. Pressure coils. He squeezes my neck tighter.

“You’re a fucking tease,” he says. “Is that what you’re here to do? Tease me?”

I nod wordlessly, chasing my pleasure as I grind against his hard cock.

He lifts his hips again, groaning. “How do you feel this good? I’m not even inside your pretty pussy yet.”

Not yet… but he wants me. I’m dizzy.

He releases his grip on my throat and kisses me again, hard enough to make my lips bruise and swell. The whimpers that fall from his lips are more desperate by the moment. His motions become erratic. I’m seeing stars—and I don’t realize he is until it’s too late.

It comes on fast. Pleasure rushes through me. My thighs tremble. His hands on my searing skin are the only thing holding me together.

He lets out a loud, guttural groan. “Fuck… I’m…”

For a few moments, I’m motionless, collapsed against him as I twitch and tremble. My thoughts scatter—until they come back together, and I realize…

I pull back and look at him with wide eyes.

The tips of his ears are pink.

“Did you…? ”

He chuckles, pushing my hair out of my face. “Sorry. I didn’t mean to end it so early.”

I made a grown man come without touching or tasting him. He doesn’t know how much power he’s given me.

A smile curls on my lips. “That is ridiculously attractive, Ozan.”

The hand in my hair isn’t so soft anymore. His fingers curl in my dark tresses, dragging my face closer to him. I’m still shaking and pulsing between my thighs.

“If you think I’m done with you,” he whispers, “you’re mistaken.”

My lips part. Only hot air comes through them.

“Let’s go to bed,” he says.

I shouldn’t be in his bed again—but the promise of still getting to feel the weight of his cock in my mouth leads me there.

It’s a lovely, warm, soft bed, and I let out a happy sigh as I settle in. I’m still in my lingerie, and he doesn’t seem to have any complaints. His fingers roam over the lace as he spoons me.

“Why are you here?” he murmurs.

It’s not what I expect him to say—even though he keeps asking it.

I turn my head, trying to look at him. He meets my gaze with a soft expression.

“Because…” I hesitate. “For the sex. It’s good sex.”

“That’s all?”

I nod.

That’s all he wants it to be—right? You don’t end a marriage and jump into something serious. I’ve never craved casual relationships, but this may be what I need now.

“Is that okay?” I ask .

“Yeah.” He leans in and kisses me on the nose. “Works for me.”

The act of affection feels so soft that I find myself questioning things. How casual can this be when he’s giving me butterflies?

“I still don’t like you.” I know very well that I’m lying.

With the way he watches me, he knows, too.

“We don’t have to like each other.” His hand moves between my legs, teasing me through the wet fabric. “You’re here to get off. I understand.”

The words should make me feel dirty—but they don’t, especially not with his hand on my heat. I push back against him, rubbing my ass against him.

I’m surprised to find he’s hard again, letting out a gasp.

He grinds himself into me. “I think it’s time to take these off.” He tries to push down my underwear, but I stop him, sliding from the bed.

“Wait—” He reaches out desperately.

I let out a soft laugh. With my back to him, I remove my lingerie. “I don’t want to lose these—they’re expensive.”

He growls.

Ozan is adorable when he’s impatient. I want more of it. With slow movements, I remove my top, looking over my shoulder as I slip the strap down my shoulder.

There’s an obvious tent in his pants—all for me.

“Juniper…”

“What?” I laugh softly. “You wanted me to get undressed. I’m doing as you asked.”

Why is he standing?

“You know how to take orders? Good,” he says. “Get on your knees.”

My face is hot. Ozan Demir…is talking to me…like that? I’ve never liked him—and I would stil l love to pretend I don’t—but even with years of disliking each other…

He never talked to me like that . Not even close. The command in his voice is entirely new. I tend to be the more snappish one, and he meets most of my comments with a laugh.

I close my eyes, trying to stay calm and collected as I finish undressing. Slowly, I move to stand in front of him. I don’t need to touch myself to know I’m wet again. I’ll do anything he asks if it means I get another touch, another feel, of him.

There’s a pillow on the floor. How sweet.

I lower myself onto it and look up at his towering form. His fingers move into my hair, curling in tightly.

“Open that mean little mouth of yours,” he says.

I do as he asks, sticking out my tongue. My knees press into the plush pillow, and I hold the back of his thighs, waiting for him to give me what I want. Ragged, shaking breaths fall from my lips.

Each moment he takes, each beat that he stares at me, anticipation grows.

Dark eyes meet mine. He pulls my hair, guiding me closer to his cock, and I fluidly move along. With a rough motion, he forces me to take it all . Every thick inch. I’m happy to do it, moaning as I swallow him up. My eyes flicker shut.

Ozan is big enough to make me gag when he hits the back of my throat. He groans and pulls my head off, but I push right back on, determined to make him feel good.

Something else blossoms alongside the determination. I want him to forget anyone who isn’t me, to be enough for him to move on.

It works. He seems to lose himself as he snaps his hips into me, filling my throat, his fingers in my hair never going slack. I breathe through my nose as he fucks my mouth despite the gagging sounds.

“That’s right,” he says. “Take my cock, baby. Just like that. Take it all. You’re doing so good .”

I can’t respond, and I don’t want to. All I want is to get him off. I move faster, my slick saliva coating his cock with abundance. He should have enough restraint for me to play with him now. He already finished once and?—

He pulls me off before I’m ready. I whine, squirming, and look up at him in disbelief. My mouth glistens, and a trail of spit connects me to his thick cock.

“I love it when you sound like that,” he whispers. His fingers fall from my hair. “You’re so fun to frustrate.”

“And you are very frustrating.” I glare. “I’m not done here.”

“You’re done when I say you are. Get back in bed.”

I would complain—but it sounds like I’m going to get what I need. I scramble to my feet, but he never gives me time to get in bed. He scoops me into his arms, carrying me in the bridal position.

“Ozan!” I yelp as he tosses me onto the bed. I land on my stomach.

He hovers above me, kissing my hair in a way that feels too sweet. How his hand slaps against my ass is not. I let out a moan.

“Perfect ass,” he whispers. “Pretty mouth. Do you have a single fucking flaw?”

“Yes.” I laugh breathlessly. “I’m a bitch.”

“And I love it.”

At least he doesn’t deny it. I would have to stop and argue with him if he did. It’s a title I wear proudly.

He pushes me onto my side and spoons me again—but this time, it isn’t so sweet. There are no soft touches as he thrusts into me, giving me his length all at once.

I cry loud enough for the neighbors to hear.

His hand rests on my plush stomach as he drives himself into me over and over.

When I fall asleep, he’s still inside of me.

OZAN

She’s gone in the morning. I’m not surprised anymore. This is what we are now. We’re not even friends, but gods, the benefits…

I’m convinced Juniper is a goddess of love. She is curves, beauty, and everything in one package. Her eyes capture me. Every time she looks my way, I know our deities are blessing me. For her to let me shove my cock down her throat is something else entirely.

Even though I wake up alone, I think of how her eyes look up at me. She was pleading for my cock, even without words. She wanted me.

And she still wants me. She must. Her being gone doesn’t mean it’s the end. She’ll be back. I comfort myself with the thought as I roll out of bed and amble to the shower.

There’s something more between Juniper and me, even if she isn’t willing to admit it yet. I feel it. She has to feel it, too.

Or I’m in denial. I don’t care. I’ll let her in whenever she knocks on my door.