Page 23

Chapter 23

How to Get a Witch Naked

N atalie closes the distance between us in two strides, her hands sliding around my waist with an urgency that steals my breath. Her mouth finds mine as she kicks the door shut, the sound reverberating in the silence.

I kiss her back hungrily, my fingers exploring the angles and curves of her body—her arms, her shoulders, her back, her breasts. My every sense is tingling, her body crackling beneath my palms.

“I was—worried you’d get sent on an assignment tonight,” I whisper into her mouth.

“You underestimate how high priority you are,” she murmurs.

I don’t know if it’s a bad thing to take her away from her work—and maybe this is part of the reason our relationship is forbidden—but I’m not about to argue.

Natalie’s fingers deftly trace the curve of my waist, making me shiver as she draws a path under my shirt. This time, she doesn’t stop. She runs her hands up and over my bra, palming my breasts before tugging my blouse upward. In one swift motion, she pulls it over my head and tosses it aside.

A purr rumbles deep inside her as her gaze flicks up and down my body. “Gorgeous…”

She dips her head, her lips finding the sensitive hollow of my collar bone.

A shockwave travels through me, making me moan as she leaves a trail of kisses over my clavicle and down my arm. I thread my fingers through her hair, the soft strands and rough little braids adding to the pleasure coursing through me.

She doesn’t stop until she reaches my hand, pressing my palm against her lips. She lingers, holding my gaze, the gesture so intimate that it awakens butterflies inside me.

“Can I take you to bed?” she murmurs into my palm.

I dip my chin. “You can do anything you want.”

I’ve been wanting this for too long to give any other response, evident by the molten heat pooling inside me.

Our mouths crash into each other again, all restraint vanishing as she walks me backward. Stumbling toward the bed, I part her lips with my tongue and deepen the kiss, needing to show her how much I want her—how much she’s been missing out on because she was too stubborn to let this happen sooner.

She pushes me, and I land on the mattress, leaning back on my hands.

My breaths quicken as I take in the wild look in her eyes, her full, parted lips, and her tousled hair. She grabs the hem of her shirt and tugs it upward—and the smallest whimper escapes me.

I finally get to see the contours that were teasing my fingers a moment ago. I drink in her strong shoulders, sculpted abs, and the cleavage peeking out of her black sports bra, sitting up so I can run my hands over her bare skin.

Before I can touch her, she’s on me, pushing me back down. With one hand in the small of my back, she lifts me and positions me beneath her. Her hair forms a curtain around our faces, her arms on either side of my head as she hangs suspended over me.

I palm her breasts, the reality of the moment hanging somewhere at the edge of disbelief. I can’t believe Natalie Zacharias is shirtless on top of me.

Maybe she’s having a similar thought because the tiniest of smiles tugs her lips.

“This doesn’t change that you’d be better off away from all this,” she says.

“Something must have changed, or else we wouldn’t be in this position.”

An adorable scowl creases her brow.

I touch her bottom lip, relishing the cushiony softness against my fingertips.

“I’ve accepted that you’re going to be stuck here,” she says. “Helping us. Staying safe from the Madsens. And I know that while you’re here, alone in your room every night, it’s going to be impossible for me to resist you. No matter how forbidden.”

I bite my lip, liking the sound of every night .

As she bends down and kisses me deeply, I bring my knees up to her hips, pulling her closer. She hisses out a breath, grinding against me. I let out a moan that gets lost in her mouth.

“Natalie…” I whisper, my voice strained with impatient desire. I reach down between her legs, rubbing her through her jeans.

She grabs my wrists and pins them above my head. “First,” she purrs, “I need to taste you.”

Her words send me to another planet. Speechless, I whimper.

She kisses my chest, her warm lips leaving a trail of fire that makes me squirm. She lets go of my wrists to hold my waist, tracing her tongue over my abdomen. Her fingers find the button of my jeans, and the slow tease of the zipper being undone is too much to handle.

She reaches behind me and unclasps my bra, and I free my arms and toss it aside.

A rush of vulnerability sweeps over me as I lay bare beneath her—but when she moans and takes my nipple in her mouth, swirling her tongue, any insecurity dissolves.

I gasp, arching into her. I’m so focused on her mouth on my breasts that it takes me a moment to realize she’s also tugging my jeans down. I lift my hips to help her slide them off.

She wraps her hands around my midsection, kissing my abdomen, working her way down.

“I’ve wanted to do this for so long,” she murmurs.

“R-really?” I stammer, dazed.

“Katie…” she says like this is obvious. “In other circumstances, I would’ve asked you out the day we met. Well, maybe after the doll, when you gave me that damn sexy pout and asked for my number in case you found another curse .”

I laugh as her words light a flame inside me. I guess I knew she liked me, but she was so good at resisting it and following the rules that I couldn’t be sure when it started. I definitely wouldn’t have guessed that her interest sparked the day we met, given the balaclava and skin boils.

She removes my underwear, and I’m completely naked, the cool air raising goosebumps all over.

The brush of her hair against my inner thighs makes me quiver with anticipation.

She kisses her way inward, and by the time she rewards me with an exhilarating slide of her tongue, I cry out. For all her forcefulness, grabbing me, pushing me onto the bed, she’s torturously gentle with her mouth.

“Careful, or the neighbors will hear,” she warns .

“O-okay.” I run my fingers through her hair, urging her on breathlessly. I bend my knees and open my legs wider. “God, you feel so good…”

I’m dizzy, unraveling as she devours me.

She wraps her arms around my thighs, groaning, the vibrations making me tremble.

“Natalie,” I say, her name a gasp.

“Is this okay?” she murmurs. “You’re comfortable?”

“Y-yes. Keep going exactly like that.” I’m more than okay. Naked with her, I feel safe, cared for, like there’s nowhere else I want to be.

She does as I say, and I struggle to lower my voice as I guide her. I completely dissolve as she responds in all the right ways, running her tongue over places that make my thighs quake.

As I tangle my fingers in her hair, the inside of my wrist catches my eye. Distantly, I register that I’ve smudged the lines of ash and pollen from the induction ceremony. But the world beyond this room feels impossibly unimportant.

After torturously long minutes at the mercy of Natalie’s tongue, I reach the top of the roller coaster, and there’s nothing left to do but freefall.

“Natalie,” I whimper, heat building low inside me.

She hums, and her warm breath pushes me past the point of no return.

“Oh, God—” My words pour out incoherently, mingled yeses and curses rising in volume.

I hold her head in my hands and stifle my cries as the pleasure comes to a peak. My body moves of its own accord as wave after wave hits me. Hips bucking. Legs writhing. Fingers clutching. From my lips to my toes, everything tingles.

I’ve pushed myself halfway up the bed by the time the waves finally release me.

Natalie sits up, grinning, and unbuckles her belt .

I’m disoriented as I watch her, gasping for breath. Every cell in my body is throbbing, concentrated between my legs.

“That was unbelievable,” I say weakly. Never in my life has anything felt so good.

She unbuttons her jeans and opens the zipper, looking down at me with an expression I’ve never seen on her—a feral craving, blazing with intensity.

Desire stirs in my belly.

I sit up and put my hand on her shoulder to push her down. But before I can flip us over, she stops me, taking my hand and lifting my fingers to her mouth. “Stay there,” she murmurs, running her tongue between my index and middle finger, then sucking on them. The sensation ripples through me, making my breath hitch.

She guides my fingers down between her legs, rubbing her over her unzipped jeans. “I want to kiss you while you touch me,” she whispers.

I nod, too dazed to speak.

“Good girl,” she says with a playful quirk of her lips.

I return her smirk, even as there’s an explosion inside me—and then I’m treated to the full view of her as she takes off her sports bra.

Help.

She strips down completely and climbs back on top of me, her mouth finding mine again.

Our bodies slide against each other, arching, writhing. I’m lost in her smooth skin, her hard nipples, her tongue, her lips. The whole world is just her—her warm, herbal scent, her hot skin, the taste on my tongue.

Her mouth finds my neck, nipping a trail from my earlobe to my breasts.

Panting, I reach between her legs, savoring the process of slowing down and teasing her. I draw a trail over her hips and inner thighs, moving slowly inward. Her skin feels so unbearably good under my fingers that I want to prolong this as much as possible .

When I finally reach her center, she gasps into my mouth, a shiver sweeping over her. I bite back a grin, satisfied by how ready she is.

As I massage her, she moans, rocking her hips against my hand.

With her knees, she pushes my legs apart, bringing a hand down to touch me too.

Oh, fuck. Oh-fuck-oh—

I gasp, spiraling out of control as she enters me.

“This okay?” she murmurs against my neck.

“Y-yes,” I manage. “Very, very okay.”

As sensitive as I am, this feels too good to make her stop.

She pulls out to massage me, and then in again, moving slowly.

I moan, sucking on her lip, and move my own fingers faster.

“Katie,” she gasps.

I fight to stay coordinated as she toys with me. I smother my cries in her mouth, unable to stop the noises I’m making. Time loses meaning, everything measured in hitched breaths, rocking hips, and sliding fingers.

When she pulls back to meet my gaze, I see something new in her eyes—something so vulnerable that my heart misses a beat. The walls she normally hides behind are down, and the stubborn adherence to the rules has vanished. It’s just the two of us, desire guiding our actions, and nothing else in the world matters.

She leans down to kiss me again, and I open my mouth, letting the kiss deepen until she fully claims me with her tongue. I’m at her mercy, her deft fingers pushing me to the brink, her tongue tracing the inside of my mouth, my legs held apart by her thighs.

She stops kissing me to bury her face in my neck. “Fuck,” she whispers.

Her body grows clammy. Her fingers move faster, her breaths sharp in my ear. Each stroke brings me closer to the top of the roller coaster again.

Our breaths mingle. I respond to her soft noises, changing what I’m doing every few seconds.

“Katie…” she groans .

The urgency in her tone tells me she’s close, which sends me over the edge.

“Yes, yes…” I whimper. “Oh God…”

I gasp as she hits just the right spot, arching into her—and she shudders, biting the pillow as our muffled cries blend together.