Page 3 of Reluctant Witch (A Course in Magic #2)

3

Maggie

“I’m too fucking old to be a student again,” Maggie grumbled as she shoved open the door to the suite of rooms she shared with Sondre and Craig. The rooms were nice, especially now that the eggy scent—from whatever toxic leak there had been—was not as extreme. The water was still vaguely sulfurous, but it didn’t permeate everything. If they stayed inside, they could even keep Craig safe-ish.

“Nice mouth, Mom.” Craig glanced up from The History of Houses in Crenshaw, the textbook that Maggie had been unable to find that morning. He was nestled on a cowhide-patterned sofa that was comfortable if a bit odd.

Maggie snatched her book out of his hands. “Do you know that Sir Alarick, witch of petty nonsense, made me write actual lines today for forgetting this? Lines. I’m a gods-blessed lawyer, and I wrote lines.”

Her son looked as unsympathetic as only a teenager could be. “Poor thing. I’m a hostage in a castle with no social media, no sports, no… available girls.”

His pause was just long enough that Maggie narrowed her eyes. “What did you do?”

He shrugged and popped a cube of yellow cheese in his mouth. The hobs delivered him snack plates like he was a young god.

“Craig.” Maggie’s hands went to her hips. She closed her eyes, counting, and then started, “It’s dangerous out there and—”

The door slammed, and as Maggie opened her eyes, she realized that her son was gone. She grabbed the door to jerk it open and follow, but arms wrapped around her from behind.

“Let the boy go. I have hobs minding him. He won’t get out of the castle again today.” Sondre’s voice was a soothing rumble.

“Do I want to ask?” Maggie leaned back into Sondre’s embrace.

“Probably not.”

She turned around, still in the circle of his arms. “And yet… I am.”

“Don’t overreact,” Sondre said, hands dropping to her butt.

“Not a great start.”

“I like your curves, Maggie. It’s an excellent start. No kid at home. No interruptions and—”

“Sondre.” She didn’t disagree with him, but she wasn’t going to be distracted just then. Her son was her top priority and had been since she decided to carry and birth him.

Her new husband sighed. “Craig climbed out a window and found his way to the village.” His voice had that skipping-a-few-details tone.

Despite logic, she prompted, “ And?”

“And the madam refused him service,” Sondre finished with an air of finality. “He’s a boy, Maggie. He’s lonely. It’s normal.”

“Horny is different than lonely,” she corrected, although she could see an argument that sometimes they felt like the same thing.

“Is it, though?” Sondre said gently. “He was a young athlete, surrounded by adoring young women…”

Maggie paused at the things implied but not said. Sondre’s tone hinted that he might know things about her son’s life that she didn’t. On one hand, she was grateful that they were talking instead of yelling. On the other, she cringed at the thought of her baby boy being quite that grown-up.

When had that happened?

Being here where there was literally not a soul near his age was a complication she hadn’t thought about. All she’d wanted was to get him away from her ex, Craig’s father, and Sondre told her that she’d had quite the plan to do so—a plan she didn’t recall at all and he wasn’t explaining.

After a few moments of struggling with mom-guilt and mom-denials, she asked, “Was I wrong to bring him to Crenshaw?”

“It’s safer than with the man who tried to murder you both.” Sondre lifted her up, and her legs automatically wrapped around him. He carried her like that over to the sofa and sat. She was on his lap, knees on either side of him. It was far more distracting than mere words and an embrace.

And he knows it.

Maggie rested her head against his, her cheek against his temple. “I was between two bad options. I’m afraid he thinks I chose you over him.”

“He thinks you chose your safety and a new life over the danger of being with Leon. We talked.” Sondre ran a hand soothingly up her back. “He is lonely, though.”

“So what do I do? If I send him back… if I let him choose that… what if he chooses that? Then he’s in danger and—”

“What about your relatives?”

Maggie thought about her extended family. Her cousin Hector was probably the person she trusted the most, but he trafficked in white- and blue-collar crime. He took great care of his assorted offspring and baby mamas, but if Leon found out Craig was with Hector, he’d have Hector arrested and still end up with custody of Craig. Maggie shook her head. “No.”

“What if Craig could go somewhere with other teens?” Sondre’s voice had an odd edge to it.

Maggie leaned back and stared at him. “Somewhere he’d be safe?”

“Boarding school.”

“Under a false identity? Like he could visit on holidays?” Maggie wriggled in Sondre’s lap.

“Woman,” he groaned. “You can’t squirm like that and expect me to stay focused on talking.”

Maggie’s cheeks flamed. “Sorry, I got excited and—”

“Me too.” He kissed her briefly. “Maybe we could continue this conversation later? I’d need to consult the chief witch to be sure there were no issues moving between worlds. He’s not magical, so there is no logical objection.”

As much as Maggie wanted to take advantage of their privacy, she said, “Magical chemistry in less than fifteen minutes…”

Sondre looked at the clock that hung on the wall somewhere behind her, and she knew he was calculating. She couldn’t fault his logic. Whatever else they were, Maggie knew they were incredibly compatible naked.

“You could teleport me to class…” she suggested.

In the next moment, they were both naked, and Sondre’s mouth was on hers. Magic is amazing. Being a parent always meant that quickies were on the menu more often than leisurely days, but with magic… with Sondre… even a quickie would be satisfying.

Maggie ground down on him as his tongue darted into her mouth and his arms tightened around her. With one hand cupping her ass, Sondre lifted her so she was on her knees in a wide straddle. The position meant he could cover first one and then the other nipple with his mouth.

“No time for that,” she breathed out.

He frowned and kissed both breasts almost mournfully. “I’ll be back for you later.”

And Maggie laughed at the oddness of the fact that she was certain he was speaking to her breasts, not to her directly. She shifted her knees as he positioned himself, and she lowered onto him with a satisfied moan. Even though this wasn’t anywhere near the first time, Maggie still marveled at the way her body felt with him inside her.

Almost too much.

For a moment, she paused, adjusting, and he made eye contact to ask, “Too sudden? Need—”

“A little,” Maggie admitted sheepishly as Sondre murmured a spell for magical lubrication. The sensation made her breathe out, “Better.”

Sondre preened a little, and Maggie laughed again. She was sure that sex could be serious, but there was something incredibly freeing in having a lover who approached intimacy with a sense that it was sheer fun.

“I love when you laugh,” he said, looking at her with undeniable fondness. It did something to her when he looked at her that way, nudged a forgotten memory of their first meeting, as if she could summon her erased memory by will alone.

Maggie shoved the thought away and said, “Hips.”

“Yes, dear.” His hands gripped her hips tight enough to bruise as he steadied her, and she took control.

Together they found a rhythm that would satisfy both of them.

But after several moments, she noticed that he was glancing at the clock again. “It’s okay if I… don’t,” she started.

“No, it’s not.” Sondre shifted one hand from her hip to the juncture of her thighs and helped speed things along with his talented fingers. “ Never okay if you aren’t satisfied.”

“Oh… kay… oh… there. ”

Sondre’s mouth curved in a smile that made her grateful that he was stubborn on this topic. Maggie wasn’t sure how long they’d been together. She knew there was some degree of magic involved in that lack of clarity—because he’d told her so. However, she knew with certainty that she’d never been left unsatisfied.

“Oh, I… like… you,” she whispered. It wasn’t love yet, but whatever this was between them, it was good.

“You do?” Sondre teased.

“Yes. Fuck, yes. ” The throbbing pleasure built toward something more than mere magic as the combination of his fingers and the thickness of him had her wanting to say more than that she liked him.

He followed her orgasm with his own, and they stayed there, breathing heavily and entwined. Then he rested his forehead against her shoulder and said, “Luckily, I like you, too, wife.”

A part of Maggie ached for something more than “like,” but they had a good companionship and consistently orgasmic sex. It was a lot more than she ever expected to have again. She was safe, cherished, and satisfied. Her son was safe because of Sondre, too.

I still want more. Greedy woman that I am.

“I want to love you,” Maggie whispered. “I want to know everything. Know it. Not just have you tell me about it…”

“Maybe you will.” Sondre’s voice was just as quiet. “We haven’t known each other very long. Remember? I told you that.…”

She nodded. “No one can know I know that, though.”

“That’s right.” He smiled at her. “Because the only way I can keep you and Craig safe is?”

“No one knows what you told me, and I never ever talk to Elleanor Brandeau,” Maggie repeated dutifully.

“Other than that?”

This time, Maggie grinned. “Nothing. I’m not obligated to like you, love you, obey you, or fuck you.” She tightened her internal muscles until Sondre’s expression darkened into lust again. “But I want some of that… maybe everything but the obeying.”

“Me too, Maggie. Me too.” He brushed his lips across hers and then pinched her ass cheek. “But right now? You’re going to be late if you don’t get dressed.”

He lifted her to her feet.

“You’d think being married to the headmaster would have perks,” she grumbled as she bent down to grab her jeans.

Sondre swatted her ass. “It does.”

When she glanced at him, she saw that he’d already magicked his own clothes back on. She, however, was left naked and dressing herself as he watched. Maggie gestured between them. “Not fair.”

“Perk for me,” he said mildly.

By the time he teleported her to outside the classroom, Maggie was still smiling. I think I could love him, but even if I don’t, this is pretty damn good, too.