Page 31 of Jade Lion and the Witch Boy (Haunted Hearts: Season of the Witch #5)

LISBETH WAVES HER hands, and in seconds, dishes appear on the coffee table in front of us.

She opens one lid to reveal pasta, and then she breathes in the culinary steam.

“Ah…fettuccine with shrimp.” She grins, then puts down the dish.

“Wow!” she says with a squeal. “Did you see that? I conjured this whole meal by myself!”

She pulls back the curtains and points at the setting sun. “And it’s not even nighttime!” She titters, and I share an amused look with Seb.

“That’s great, Lisbeth,” Seb remarks. “Now, can we eat?”

“Let me help you,” I say, reaching for a dish. I plate some pasta with a fork, twirling it the way Seb showed me when he cooked a dish called spaghetti one time.

He smiles at me in gratitude, and, like the first day we met, it calms the lion inside me. I give him the plate while Taina and Anika help themselves to food.

The past two weeks have been joyous, all because Seb has healed properly.

He is back to his regular activity level, and I am grateful for Anika’s plant magic, in addition to the mortal blood transfusions.

He claims he is as good as new, but I am still delicate with him.

After all, I never want my mate to get hurt.

“Shouldn’t you save your geo arcanum for like, serious matters?” Taina asks. “The source is huge, but it won’t last forever.”

“Agreed,” Anika adds. “We don’t want to get on the radar of mortals by changing reality too much.”

“You’re right,” Lisbeth says. Then, holding it to her chest, she takes out her shard of geo and giggles with glee. “But I just love having solo magic!”

I chuckle and set up my own plate of food.

All-in-all, the Union has been accepting of witches.

It helps that I consider myself a full-fledged part of our coven, and all of the wizards seem to venerate me.

Still, with such big changes, there were bound to be difficulties.

Some covens chose to leave the Union, and I pray to the stars they unlearn their bigotry against witches.

“I’m happy for you, Lisbeth,” Seb says.

“And I would be okay with providing you with meals again,” I add.

Lisbeth eats a bite of pasta and nods. “I’m grateful, Kai. But you won’t be here forever.”

I exchange a confused look with Seb. “What?” he asks.

She points her fork between the two of us. “I assume you two will move out eventually?”

My eyebrows rise and I freeze up.

“Come on, boys,” Lisbeth says. She sits back and crosses her legs. “You’re not going to want to live in Boysen House for the rest of your lives.”

“Wha…what?” Seb asks.

She shrugs. “Covens had to stick together because witches need each other to do spells. And many witches were, for lack of a better term, spinsters.”

“Let us hope for better fates,” Taina murmurs.

“We’re part of the Union now,” Lisbeth says.

“Plus, I won’t need to cast spells all the time,” Anika adds. “I appreciate you all, but there may come a day when I find a fine gentleman of my own.” She turns and points at Seb. “I’m so thrilled for the two of you. True fated mates.”

My cheeks warm and Seb bumps his shoulder with mine. “I’m more than thrilled,” he says with a grin.

I nod. “As long as no one tries to take my powers.” I take his hand and squeeze it.

“We’re really sorry about that,” Taina says.

I wave my hand. “You have apologized many times.”

“But we should have been a better coven,” Anika says. “Because you are one of us, Kai. You’ve given so much to us, and you’ll always be welcome here.”

“Until you outgrow us,” Lisbeth says. We all turn to her, and she shrugs. “We’ll always be a family, and you’ll always be Boysen Witches. But I don’t need to be a clairvoyant to know you’ll someday want to find a place of your own, get married, and start your own family.”

Seb looks at me with fear. “Um…uh…” His cheeks turn the cutest shade of pink.

I take his hand and squeeze it again. “One day at a time,” I say. He relaxes, and all feels well in the coven, my home. Whatever the future holds, I intend to spend most, if not all, of my evenings just like this, smiling and having dinner with my mate.

Hours later, my warm breath clouds in front of my face in the woods. I breathe in the cool November air, scenting the muddy ground, then high above. In my lion form, I am able to reach up higher with my snout. After a few moments, I detect his aroma.

With a grin, I leap up to a branch and cling to it with my claws.

I launch myself with a growl through the night sky.

I jump to another tree and cling, then repeat the process with two other large trees.

At last, I land on the ground with a thud.

I charge forward with my paws as the scent gets stronger.

My prey.

I run through a thicket that leads to a clearing, then launch myself forward. The figure running in front of me stops when I land before him. I grab hold and growl, satisfied that the hunt is over.

And my prey giggles in my hold. “Oh no! I’m caught by a big, ferocious lion!” he says through laughter.

Another growl escapes my furry mouth, and I grin. I turn him around and shift down to my human form. Seb, dressed in his gray track suit, laughs while I hold his shoulders. In the glow of the moonlight, he looks just as gorgeous as the day we met.

“How many minutes was that?” I ask with a smirk.

He reaches down into his pocket and takes out his phone. “Let’s see…factoring in the sixty-second head start…you caught me in…two minutes and thirty seconds this time.”

We both guffaw, and I rub his shoulders. “You’re getting better!” I remark.

“There’s no hiding from you. Not that I’d ever want to.”

“I love tracking you down. It makes my lion feel so…virile.”

He leans forward and trails his hands down the front of my thin t-shirt. “I’d like to make you feel even more virile,” he purrs.

My pulse picks up. “Oh?” I smile and move my mouth closer to his.

“Wait.” He pulls back before I can properly kiss him. “There’s something I wanted to, um…”

I grin and snap my fingers. Green arcana blasts out of my hands in a circle around us.

In seconds, the clearing is ensconced in fog.

Not only that, but the ground has a soft blanket.

I also conjured six lit, standing torches to keep us warm in the November air.

The stage is set for us to make love, and I hope my mate is on board.

“There. Now we are ready.” I lean forward, but Seb pulls back again. “What?”

“Um, I like all this…and, and…I’m so down.”

“We have only, as you say, ‘gotten off’ once since you were injured. I thought you were ready to make love?”

Seb shrugs. “Oh, I am…I just…” He rubs his hands together and holds them out. After five long seconds, his hands glow green, and a wooden chair manifests before us.

“Wow. Solo magic,” I say. I put my arm around his shoulder. “Without even using a geo. I am impressed!”

“I think it’s because I’m spending so much time with you. You’ve given me access to your arcana.” The wooden chair immediately falls apart, and Seb frowns. “And it’s clearly a work in progress.”

I laugh and snap my fingers, repairing the chair. “There. Now we can use the chair to…spend more time together.” I hope he interprets how aroused I am. I move his shoulders so he’s facing me, but he once again freezes in my hold. “What is the matter, Sebastian?”

“I um…want to try…s-s-something.” He scratches his eyebrow and avoids my gaze.

“My love, you can always tell me what you want. And we can discuss boundaries. You never need to feel judged by me,” I say. “So if you do not want to be intimate, then we―”

“I wanna get FUCKED BY THE LION!” he blurts with his eyes shut.

The forest is so quiet as the words float in the air between us. “Um…pardon?”

Seb’s face is red. “It’s so embarrassing, but I kind of…have a thing for…” He gulps. “Your furry form,” he whispers.

This is what he was ashamed of? I grin and rub his shoulders. I never want my mate to be tense, and I certainly want to please him, sexually.

“I will admit…” I murmur, and Seb opens his eyes. “I have never done that, but…” I slowly approach the chair and allow myself to shift. It’s flattering and sexy, knowing that Sebastian wants me in this form. The lion inside me is raging, ready to mate with my love, but we need to be pragmatic.

I sit down on the wooden chair and spread my legs. Seb eyes me with shock, awe, and arousal. I smirk and rub my furry chest. “What was that saying? There is a first time for everything?” I tease in my growly tone.

This seems to ignite my boyfriend. He scrambles forward, ditching his clothes in an almost frantic manner. His eyes are blown wide, and I believe he is drooling. No one has ever wanted me as much as he does.

Seb pounces on my lap, a tiny weight in comparison to my large lion form.

I laugh and kiss him, tasting the sweetness of his small mouth.

He’s so small in my paws, but so tender, so perfect.

We kiss with passion as he runs his hands through my mane.

I let out a small growl against his skin.

He moans in delight, so I growl again, letting my paws run up and down his back.

He shivers and gets harder as he rubs up against my furry stomach.

I bring my claws up to gently card through his dark hair.

Seb nibbles on my whiskered lips. No one has ever made me this content.

And right now, with his lithe body grinding on my lap, he is making my inner lion happier than ever. His bare ass wiggles on my furry crotch, and that happiness is starting to manifest. When he shifts backward, jolts of pleasure shoot up my spine.

My erection has made an appearance, and this beautiful witch boy is the reason. When he wiggles again, I break free from a kiss and gasp.

“Cat got your tongue?” he asks with a smirk.

I do not know what he means, but it sounds teasing. And sexy. I want to ask him, but I’m too focused on the feeling of his ass on my lap. “Sebastian,” I rasp.