Page 26 of Wooing the Wiccan (Elf Magic #1)

CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX

Jared

I watch Raeulfr’s face closely as he considers my question.

It’s something I’ve been thinking about for the past week, but I’m not as nervous as I expected to be now that I’ve asked it.

Our talk so far has been good—really good.

We seem to be on the same page, and I’m more convinced than ever that this was the right decision for me to make.

Raeulfr and I, even though we had a little hiccup, do belong together. I’m confident of that.

We just need to work out the details. A relationship with a nineteen-thousand-year-old elf king isn’t something I’ve ever done before. There are bound to be some things I hadn’t thought of.

“It’s completely up to you how involved you’d like to be,” Raeulfr says slowly.

“If you’d prefer to stay out of it entirely, that’s fine.

We don’t even need to publicly announce our relationship, if you like.

Though the news would probably get out anyway.

” He grimaces slightly. “I have a range of after-hours functions and events to attend, and visits to elven settlements in other countries, so those nights and weekends I wouldn’t be available to spend with you. ”

That makes sense—he’s a head of state. “I don’t want to keep us a secret,” I declare, making sure to sound firm.

We’ve had enough secrecy. “And I don’t mind coming with you to some functions, where you think my presence would be helpful.

But I don’t want to give up my job, so I’d rather opt out of anything that might need me to take big chunks of time off work. I guess that counts as a limitation.”

The way his face lights up makes me happy deep inside.

“I wouldn’t expect you to give up work,” he assures me.

“I know you love teaching. My engagement schedule is usually set a couple of months in advance, so what if I make sure that gets shared with you, and we can discuss which events you’d like to come to? ”

“Yes.” I nod, relieved. “That sounds good. I have more free time in the summer, so I could probably join you more often then,” I suggest tentatively, and he grins.

“Perfect. We’ll figure out what works best for us. We just need to stick to the only-honesty rule and make sure we talk about things.”

The rush of happiness that overtakes me is almost dizzying.

“Agreed. Is… Is there likely to be anyone who’ll disapprove of us being together?

” That’s another thing that’s been nagging at me—I don’t follow celebrity gossip, but that doesn’t mean I’m not aware that when celebrities date regular people, said regular people often get ripped apart by fans.

Raeulfr isn’t a celebrity, exactly, but he still has a lot of eyes on him and probably a lot of people who feel entitled to weigh in on his boyfriend.

“Possibly.” His reply is candid and accompanied by an unhappy shrug.

“Some people disapprove of everything, and politics is a tough game. But ultimately, none of those people have any influence on my personal life. The life force selected me to be king, and only the life force can remove me from that position—and it’s been pushing me in your direction since we met. ”

My jaw drops. “It has?”

“Yes.” His smile turns smug. “At first I was just grateful that it didn’t disapprove, but in retrospect, it was actively encouraging every decision I made to be with you.

Including that damn hockey game, so there’s a good chance it wanted you to discover the truth sooner than you would have otherwise.

Which is something I need to think about some more. ”

I rub my chin, still marveling that the essence that makes up existence wanted me and Raeulfr to hook up. “Do your people have fated mates?” I ask abruptly. It’s a surreal concept, but then, so were elves and shifters just a few weeks ago.

Raeulfr pauses. “Not in the sense you mean,” he says finally, and I’m a little surprised by how much that disappoints me.

“A thing like one true mate for each person is too important to leave to chance—especially since we live so many lifetimes. The closest equivalent that I know of is paired souls.”

That sounds a lot like soulmates to me. “Paired souls?”

“Yes. People whose souls will have a similar pattern of growth. They aren’t fated to be together—an individual’s soul could pair with those of several people. But unlike many other relationships, the people involved won’t ever grow apart.”

I think about that. “So they’ll want to be together forever?”

“Not necessarily, but usually yes. There have been cases when paired souls decided they wanted to separate, but it’s rarely acrimonious. Mostly they both reached a place in their lives where they wanted to be single again.”

I’m not sure I really understand. “Okay, so if they want to be together, they’ll be soulmates, and later in life their paths won’t diverge?”

He beams. “Exactly.”

“So what’s the difference between paired souls and fated mates?”

“Free will.”

Huh. That actually sounds cool. “I can tell I’m going to end up with a lot of questions about your culture.”

Raeulfr gives my hand another little squeeze. “I’ve already said I’ll answer anything you want to ask. Hit me with them.”

“I’ll make a list,” I promise, because my brain has gone predictably blank.

“Um… what you said about a translator spell… I mean, I’m not doubting you, but that just seems so different from what I expected to be able to do with magic.

Is that something I could learn, or does it come from the elf part of your ability?

” It’s mostly a rhetorical question. The way elves and even sorcerers do their thing is hard for me to get my head around.

I’m not capable of ever doing what they do—it’s like, I don’t know…

breathing underwater. Though less deadly.

It’s just not something my body and mind are able to do.

A sorcerer can explain to me for hours how they weave power, but it’s always going to be purely academic, because I can’t even watch them demonstrate—only see the outcome.

It was a disappointment when I realized that might mean that some of the things they do aren’t going to be possible for me.

I’ve been meaning to call Noah and ask about it, since he’s the only human who might actually know, but I haven’t got to it yet.

“Of course you could learn that,” Raeulfr says, surprising—and delighting—me.

“Really?”

He must hear my excitement, because he chuckles. “Yes, really. The type of spellcraft you and I do is very similar—the main difference is how we power it. There might be some elements you’d need to handle differently from how I do it, but overall, it shouldn’t be an issue once you learn how.”

Huh. I guess I made some assumptions… “But it’s not elemental. I mean,” I add when his expression shifts to confused, “the stuff I’ve been learning in the program is all based around the elements. Air, fire… you know. I just thought…” I trail off as the confusion clears up.

“Ah. No, that doesn’t have anything to do with capacity, but rather, security.

Stringent guidelines were put in place for who could be invited to the program, but also what they could be taught.

The knowledge you already have could potentially be extrapolated into a weapon of some kind, but that’s a risk we had to take.

Teaching it on such a small scale—candles and water droplets—was the compromise to hopefully prevent anyone from realizing what they could be capable of if they decided to turn supervillain.

” He makes an exaggerated face, even as I wonder about his choice of words—a risk they had to take?

That makes it sound like the community didn’t have a choice about teaching humans magic again.

Maybe he just means that it was unfair to expect community members with human spouses to let them die after a human lifespan.

“So the program was designed for humans to learn limited magic? But I can learn to do more advanced things?” I don’t understand the logic behind that, but I’m not the one running a government.

There are probably political reasons for the decision that I’m not privy to.

I’m fully aware that our agreement not to keep secrets from each other doesn’t include classified government information—there’s always going to be things Raeulfr can’t talk about.

“That’s right. I can help you work out how to adjust some elven spells, or Noah can teach you some things—or both. Both is probably the best option.”

I nod slowly, already thinking about how much fun this is going to be—and how great it is that I’ll have a much longer life to explore it all.

“I love watching you think about things that make you happy,” Raeulfr announces, his eyes on my face and an indulgent smile quirking his lips. Just the sight of it makes up my mind that we’ve talked enough for one night.

“How do you feel about doing things to me that make me happy?” I give him my best bedroom eyes, and he straightens up immediately.

“Are you sure? I’m happy to take things slow?—”

“Nope.” Screw that idea. “You’ve proved that you’re willing to answer my questions, and we’ve been apart way too long. I want to know what this couch feels like against my bare ass.”

He makes a sound that goes straight to my dick. “Yes. That sounds… I want to know what your bare ass feels like everywhere.”

“Great.” I start to take off my sweater, but he catches my hand with a pained look.

“There’s one thing you need to know first.”

Uh-oh. I search his expression. “Is it bad?” He doesn’t look like it’s good.

“No. Yes. No. Maybe.” He grimaces. “The anatomical differences between humans and elves aren’t limited to…” He gestures to his face.

It takes a second for me to realize what he means, and then my gaze drops to his lap. “You mean you were using a glamor on your dick too?” I blurt the question out before I can think about diplomatic phrasing.

“Yes.”

I swallow. “What are we talking here? Like… tentacles?”

To my relief, he laughs. “No, not tentacles. I can show you?”

My nod is automatic, and as he stands and his hands drop to his belt, a frisson of excitement races through me. It’s a little surprising, considering I don’t know what he’s about to reveal.

His zipper goes down slower than I’d like, and then his pants and briefs drop to the floor. I barely notice as he kicks them aside, my attention fixed on his cock. It twitches under my gaze, then begins to harden, making the differences between our anatomy even more obvious.

Ridges. There are ridges running up the length of his dick, like rippling waves or perfectly even sand dunes or the corrugated cardboard sometimes used for art projects.

They’re visible even from two feet away, and I lift my hand toward him, stopping only briefly to glance up at Raeulfr’s face for permission.

There’s a faint smile on his face that encourages me to continue, and I wrap my fingers around him.

Yep. Definitely ridges. They’re firm under my grip, just the way he would be without them. I slide my hand up and down, wanting to see if they move at all, and Raeulfr’s breath catches. The ridges stay solidly in place.

They would feel incredible inside me.

I swallow hard. I’ve used anal beads before and always loved the sensation. This would be even better—thick, warm flesh attached to the man I… well, it’s pretty evident that I love him. I’d hardly be going through all this if I didn’t.

“I love you.”

An incredulous laugh escapes him. “Are you talking to me or my?—”

“You! Goddess, I’m sorry. This must seem so weird, me saying that while I’m—” I let go of his cock hurriedly and stand up.

He makes a disappointed noise, but this needs to be said without me groping him.

“I swear it wasn’t your dick that made me say it.

Not exactly, anyway. I was thinking how it would feel better than anal beads”—my face is getting hotter with every word—“because it’s attached to you, and I love you.

Then I realized I’ve never said that to you, and it just…

came out of my mouth.” I wince. “I’m usually better at picking appropriate times and situations to make announcements. It’s just been a confusing month.”

“Every time and situation is appropriate if you’re telling me you love me.

” He takes both my hands in his and lifts them to his mouth, kissing them one at a time.

“I love you, too. I wanted to tell you before, but it already felt so dishonest to be sleeping with you without telling you everything.” A shadow crosses his face. “I wish?—”

“Stop. We’ve put that behind us, remember? I love you. You love me. I know all the big things now, and we’re going to be happy together.” Giddiness has taken over my whole body. We’re in love!