Page 16 of Cursed by the Love Witch (A Monstrous Holiday #2)

16

DARCEE

A s soon as I open my eyes, I remember I’m not alone.

Golden sunlight pours into my room, and the soft singing of birds filters through the open window. In the morning light, I can see the piles of dirty clothes littering the floor, the haphazard stacks of books, and dried herbs that desperately need to be put away. Everything is exactly the same.

All except the very warm male body lying against my side.

His warm hand digs softly into my hip. The soft tendrils of his hair tickle my naked shoulder. The muscles of his chest rise and fall behind me. I had expected him to slip out sometime during the night, but finding him still here this morning is a delight.

My slumber had been deep and dreamless. It was restorative in a way I haven’t experienced in a long time, especially with the lack of sleeping aid. With Bael spooned around me, the sting of my father’s dismissal has lessened considerably. I can put it far from my mind and enjoy being wrapped in another’s arms.

I inhale deeply, shifting slightly backward. Bael’s hard cock presses against my backside. My mouth goes dry at his impressive length. I do it again, failing to stop the moan slipping from my lips. Bael inhales sharply from behind me, coming fully awake. With a deep groan, I feel his lips move at my ear.

“Good morning,” he murmurs.

I swallow. “Morning.”

It feels natural waking up with him like this—as if we have done it a million times before. Bael’s large hand tightens on my waist, gently skimming up and down. The thin fabric of my nightgown is barely a barrier. His hands may as well be on my naked flesh.

“I planned only to stay until you fell asleep,” he admits quietly. “You just felt so good, I couldn’t bring myself to leave.”

I hear the smile in his voice.

“Besides,” he continues, “waking up next to you has its advantages.”

“Oh?” I ask, turning my head to look at him. “Like what?”

His deep chuckle sets my blood on fire. Desire—hot and heavy—runs through me. The arm resting under my head moves slowly as it creeps under my body and towards my front. It splays along my ribs before tracing maddening circles on the underside of my breast. The hand on my waist moves, too, shifting lower before gliding under the hem of my nightgown.

“Is this okay?” he asks.

The first brush of his fingers against my hard nipple causes my whole body to go taught.

“Yes,” I sigh, eyes fluttering closed. “More.”

His hand wraps around the thin strap of my nightgown and tugs it down. I gasp as my breast is exposed to the cool morning air. Bael snarls against me. His hand cups my breast, squeezing it gently. I peel my eyes open to take in the sight.

Gray skin compliments my own—pink and with a dusting of freckles. My breast sits perfectly in the palm of his hands. Like our kiss yesterday, his movements aren’t practiced. When his thumb drags over my nipple, I moan, and that seems to guide him. His fingers work me, teasing and playing with me until my breath is uneven.

Wetness pools between my thighs, and I rub them together for any sort of relief. The hand resting on my hip inches higher, but slowly as if unsure.

“Darcee,” he whispers in my ear. “Tell me what you want—I’ve never?—”

My eyes bore into him as a heady rush flows through me. Right now, there is only us in this room. How we got here is not important. At least, that’s what I tell myself. How can something this right come from something so wrong?

I push it all from my mind—the love potion, the former mutual disdain—and absorb what Bael offers me. We will not take it too far. I will allow him to touch me because he wishes to, and as awful as I am to admit it, if I stop this now, I feel as though I may die from longing.

My hand comes up and cups his atop my breast.

“Like this,” I say softly. “Touch me like this.”

Together, we work in tandem as he begins squeezing and molding my breasts in his hand. Reaching down, I find his other hand on my waist. I crane my head back and meet his lips with mine. His eyes flare before closing. Bael tastes of spice and midnight air. Our lips meet—slow at first—and then quicken with intensity. I could spend hours at a time kissing him. For what he lacks in experience, he makes up for in enthusiasm.

My hand digs into his as I slowly drag it to my front. Once again, sensation moves me as I settle his palm against the wet heat of my most intimate flesh. Bael hisses into my mouth as he cups me. My whimper echoes between us.

“Touch me here.”

His hand squeezes me again, and my breathing turns ragged.

“Darcee.”

The growl of my name is the only warning I get before my body leaves the mattress. Bael rises into a sitting position and gathers me to his front—my spine molds to his chest. In the morning light, everything is visible. There is no sheet to hide what we are doing. Over my shoulder, his mouth finds mine. I gasp against him when I feel him tug the other strap of my nightgown down.

The fabric pools as my waist, leaving me naked from the chest up. I’m glad for this position—it conceals the markings on my back—I don’t want those awful memories to ruin this beautiful morning. Bael’s hand alternates between my nipples, working them as his tongue tangles with mine.

My legs spread of their own accord, propping themselves up so that he has better access to me. The sunlight reveals the messy state of my sheets below us. A breeze blows in from the open window, washing us in the scent of fresh grass. All I smell is Bael. All I taste is him. He is everywhere—embedded in the very fibers of my soul.

He breaks our kiss to stare down at me. My skin is flushed, and sweat pools at my temples. His heavy breaths move along my back, and I can feel the pounding of his heart. It matches the rhythm of my own.

“Beautiful,” he growls, tracing a finger through my wetness, and my head lolls against his shoulder. “Mine.”

His declaration should scare me—it should wake me from whatever sexual haze I’m in and end this. It’s already gone too far, and I can’t stop it. I can’t do anything but thrust myself against his soft touch. I am conflicted over all of this, but there is no denying how much I want him. It isn’t because I want to play along for the potion. It’s because he’s Bael.

The male who came when I called him, who held me through the night and offered me comfort, who understood everything without asking a single question, who made me feel like, for the first time in my life, I wasn’t alone.

Is it wrong to enjoy this now, knowing soon he will return to hating me? I don’t have an answer to that. All I know is that right now, it's just us. My morals have already been compromised. I might as well go all in with it now.

His long finger skims through my wetness again, brushing my clit as he goes. A gasp rasps out of me, the pleasure already intense.

“There,” I sigh, turning back to look at him. “More.”

Bael’s eyes darken as he applies brush to that little bundle of nerves. His fingers are too firm at first, but I quickly remedy that with a kiss and a command of softer . It’s not long before he finds his rhythm. Together, he works my pussy and nipples, heightening my pleasure to levels I didn’t know were possible.

I’m never this easy to please. Typically, it takes a lot more work and longer for me even to feel close to climaxing. As it stands, Bael only needs to sink a finger inside of me, and I’ll be on the precipice of my peak.

“Bael.”

His hand makes deliciously sloppy sounds as he works me. My hips move of their own accord, grinding against his circling fingers. My arm curls around his shoulders, and he lifts me further up his chest. More of me is exposed to his greedy eyes. Bending down, he presses a kiss to the side of my breasts.

“Darcee—tell me what you need. How can I?—”

“Inside,” I gasp. “Put your fingers inside me.”

Bael growls like a beast. Tightening his grip on my breast one last time, he lowers it to my hip. His other hand skims lower, coating his fingers in my wetness. His finger traces around my entrance, and my legs inch further apart. The muscles of my thighs begin to burn, but it pales in comparison to the fire raging inside me.

He tucks a finger just into my opening, and my head falls back. The only thing keeping me upright is his other hand holding firm. Slowly, he sinks the whole finger inside of me. He wiggles it around, retreating partially and then plunging it back inside. My stucco moans encourage him to do it again—faster, harder.

It’s not long before he adds a second one and stretches me. He pumps them quickly, curling in a way that brushes a secret spot inside me that blurs my vision. Bael brings his other hand to work my clit, and I’m done for.

“Bael—oh Goddess, I’m close.” The words spill from my lips.

His fingers continue to fuck me—tunneling in and out over and over. The pressure on my clit is perfect. My peak looms ahead, tantalizingly close.

“I need to feel it, Darcee. Reward me with your pleasure. Soak my hand with your sweet come.” His lips curl against my head. “Then I’ll lick your little pussy clean.”

I’ve never heard Bael use foul language before. Those crude words race through my body and send me tumbling over the edge. I scream out his name—metal dances in the air as all the candles on my desk blaze to life. My magic and pleasure have never been tied before, but with Bael, anything seems possible.

Fire licks at my skin, and my tight muscles eventually relax. Bael never stops working me. The wet sounds of his fingers pumping me only intensify as I do indeed soak his hand. Once I am spent, and my body is trembling against him, I watch through heavy-lidded eyes as he sucks my come from each finger.

The grin he gives me is wicked, and my body is already heating up for more.

“Delicious, little witch. I need more.”

He slides out from behind me, and my head falls to the mountain of pillows against my headboard. Crawling between my spread thighs, he looks almost comically large, stuffed at the end of my small bed. His smile is pure male satisfaction as he stares down at me. I don’t feel shy—quite the opposite as my legs inch even farther apart.

Bael smirks. “Naughty.”

I bat my eyelashes at him. “Who me?”

“Yes, you.”

His warm lips kiss the inside of my left knee while his hand skims up and down my other thigh. Inhaling deeply, his eyes focus on my sensitive flesh. Again, I watch his lips twist.

“I knew it.”

I arch a brow. “Knew what?”

Lowering his head to my center, he tosses my legs over his shoulder. Cupping my bottom, he brings me towards his face, lifting my lower half entirely off the bed. His tongue licks over his bottom lip.

“That you’d be perfectly pink here as well.”

I moan at the first press of his tongue. Bael is a quick learner because he devours me without any aid. Normally, I have to be vocal during this part—I’ve rarely found a man who knows exactly what I want, but Bael understands. His tongue is firm in its exploration. Those plush lips I’ll dream about kissing until I die, suck at my clit, and cause my thighs to tremble.

Whether it’s because I’m already on edge from my previous orgasm or because it’s Bael, I don’t know, but my climax is already looming. His fingers dig into the globes of my ass, holding me fast to his face. I grind myself against his tongue, urging him to spear it into me.

Once he does and tastes me whole, I am awash in flame. I choke out his name as my thighs clamp around his head. He holds me through it, sucking and licking as I finally come down. With one final lick to my pussy, he lowers my hips back to the bed. Bael’s violet eyes glow anew as he kisses my stomach and then higher.

He licks his way back up my body before our mouths meet again. I can taste myself on his tongue, and I shiver in response. Propping himself up on his elbows, I can still feel his hardness digging into my stomach. My hands skim down his chest before reaching for the bulge in his pants.

Just as he did before, his hand wraps around my wrist, stopping me.

“Before we do that, little witch, there’s something I have to explain first.” He takes a deep breath. “Look, I’m?—”

A loud bang at my door interrupts him.

“Darcee! Are you up? We have class in ten minutes.” There is another series of bangs before the doorknob begins to jiggle. “Why is your door locked?”

“Fuck!” I push at Bael’s chest to let me up. He reluctantly slides to the side as I tug my nightgown back into place. “Be right there, Prue!”

I pull on a pair of panties and rush to my closet. Tossing a soft pink sweater over my head, I pull my nightgown off underneath it and throw it somewhere on the floor. Finding a black pleated skirt, I quickly zip it on before hunting down socks and my favorite white boots. Once I am dressed, I turn towards the bed.

Bael is lounging on his side, a smile playing on his face. In the morning light, I can see just how muscular he is. He is not bulky but lean with a clear definition. My mouth waters at the sight, and I wonder if skipping my charms class is worth it.

Another bang quickly eradicates that idea.

“Darcee! Unlock the door, let’s go!”

Bael chuckles and slides off my bed. Prowling towards me, I stare up at him transfixed. His hand tucks a loose curl behind my ear.

“I’ll slip out the window before you open the door, but I wanted to give you this. My courtship is still in effect even after our delicious detour.”

I grin up at him, a fresh blush warming my cheeks. With a wave of his hand, he pulls a small box seemingly out of nowhere from behind my ear.

“Parlor magic? Aren’t you a little old for such tricks?”

“Never.”

He grins and opens the top of the small velvet box. A dainty silver chain with a large rose quartz shaped like a heart rests on a tiny pillow. My breath catches, and I meet his gaze.

“Bael, I?—”

“Since you’ve stolen my heart, I thought you should wear it too.”

He looks so damn sincere I feel tears pooling in my eyes.

“That was so ridiculously cheesy. And this is far too much.”

“For you, it’s not nearly enough.” His lips press against mine. “Will you wear it?”

I nod, blinking the wetness from my eyes. “Of course.”

He quickly secures the dainty chain around my neck. The stone falls against my chest, and I feel it hum with power. Another barrage of banging comes from the door as Prue laments that we are about to be late.

Bael kisses me again. It’s over far too quickly. Without another word, he seamlessly transforms into a raven and flies out the open window. I watch him go momentarily before rushing to collect my cloak and belongings.

Unlocking the door, I push out into the hall. Prue’s blue eyes narrow on me as I greet her with a genuinely frazzled grin.

“Sorry, I overslept. My alarm didn’t go off.”

“Right.” Prue doesn’t sound overly convinced. Her eyes linger on my chest for a moment. “Is that necklace new?”

We turn and make our way down the hall. My hand goes to the stone; it pulses against my palm like a real heart. Glancing up at her, I nod.

“Yes, I got it, um?—”

Prue chuckles and shakes her head.

“No need to lie, Dar. I'm all ears when you want to tell me about the mystery man I heard you talking to in your room.”

I choke on a breath, and that only deepens Prue’s grin.

“You’ve always been a dreadful liar. Is it someone I know?.” She tosses her arm around my shoulder as the bell rings overhead, signaling that we are, in fact, very late.

Goddess, how badly I want to come clean and admit it all to her. She would give me advice on what to do, advice that I probably wouldn’t want to hear since it would mean recognizing that the most fantastic pleasure was wrong and that it could never happen again.

Therefore, because I am an awful, unethical witch, my confession never comes. I merely smile at my friend and give a slight nod.

“It’s someone you know very well.”

Prue giggles as the two of us continue down the desolate hall. My hand tugs tighter on the stone, letting the rhythmic pounding soothe me.

I may have stolen his heart because of a love potion, but it’s abundantly clear I’ve carelessly given mine away to him. I don’t think I’ll get it back in one piece when all this is over.