The Beltane Witch (Cloudburst Colorado) (9 page)

Darius increased the pressure of his mouth on her
nubbin as he inserted his hand harder and faster. Sabrina whimpered in time with his thrusts, rocking her hips to receive more and more of his attention. Her heady scent intensified as she built her orgasm, the sounds she made increasingly desperate.

“Come for me,
acushla
. Give me your cream.”

His voice sent her over and she wailed, tightening on his finger like a vice as
she ground her pussy against his face. He lapped up all her sweet nectar, reveling in the delicious flavor filling his mouth as she keened her ecstasy to the stars. He sailed with her, his joy at her pleasure nearly disguising the rising need in his groin. Pride and delight echoed through him as she slowly came down from her high and his rigid cock demanded his attention.

Licking her juices off his lips, he crawled up her body, dragging her nightgown with him until she allowed him to pull it over her head. Darius paused to admire her seductive curves even while his cock pulsed with insistence. Her
glorious breasts rested above a generous swell of hip and belly, and he drank in her lush beauty.

“You are lovely, my lady.”

Sabrina sighed and gazed at him with languorous eyes, satiation filling her smile. “I’m glad you think so.”

“Oh, I’m certain of it.”

Her gaze dropped to the front of his trousers and a sultry smile curled her lips. “You seem in need of some relief. Can I help?”

He didn’t think he could get more turned on, but her husky voice and mischievous smile pushed him
close to the edge. He jerked away and shucked his clothes in record time, not wanting to miss a moment of her silky skin against his.

“Holy Goddess, you’re beautiful.” Sabrina’s soft exclamation warmed the dark corners of his heart as
she perused his body with her gaze.

“Perhaps you’d permit me to offer this beauty in exchange for your pleasure.” He returned to her on the bed, crawling over her body to settle atop her.

“Wait, what? So I get both the beauty
and
pleasure?” She quirked a brow.

“Oh, very well, if you insist.”

Her laughter ended in a low moan as he lavished her throat with licking kisses and worked his raging cockstand against her mound. She shifted beneath him, sending pleasure surging through his body from nuts to nose, and he added his own moan to hers.

“Sweet Goddess, you are magnificent,
acushla
.” Darius dropped his head to suckle her nipples, reveling in the pebbled tips teasing his tongue. Sabrina gasped and writhed harder, making his cock demand relief.

“Darius, I need you.”

“Where do you need me,
acushla
?” He gritted his teeth to hold back from thrusting his aching dick into her hot sheath, but he awaited her answer with iron willpower.

“
In my pussy. Now!” She emphasized her demand with a thrust of her hips.

Oh, thank the Goddess.
“As you wish.”

He rocked back, positioned his tight head against her weeping slit, and slid slowly into her. They both moaned long and hard as he came to rest, fully seating himself
in her liquid warmth. Flames of pleasure licked from his balls up his spine and he shivered with their searing heat.

“Sweet mercy, you’re so damned tight.”

Darius dragged his cock out of her warm grip and pushed back in so slowly he thought his head would explode. Her sheath gripped him with erotic contractions, squeezing and releasing his shaft with sensual need. Each pulse left him with less willpower than the last and he felt his control slip, the pleasure swamping him.

“I’m going to fuck you, Sabrina, until you cannot remember anyone else ever giving you such pleasure.”

“Oh, Goddess, yes, Darius. Give it to me. Fuck me hard.”

Her husky voice blew his control to hell and he surged forward, slamming his cock into her tight pussy. Each thrust dragged his release closer and closer, but he held on, hoping to last long enough for her to reach another orgasm with him.

H
is demure mother of two became a wanton wench, writhing and demanding more cock from him, and he reveled in it. Darius pounded her hard, building their orgasms with each thrust. Her groans and wails only spurred him on, swamping his mind with delirious bliss until he only had enough sanity to make one last demand.

“Come with me,
acushla
!”

He punctuated his order with a fierce arch of his hips and the pleasure broke over him as Sabrina screamed.
A bubble of emotion deeper than lust welled up with his release, cracking the ice around his heart.

“I love you, Sabrina!” His roar accompanied his
release, hot jets of cum filling her tightening sheath until he couldn’t distinguish where he ended and she began. Stars cascaded behind his tightly closed eyes and he came to land with a soft thump on his back.

What the
—

Darius opened his eyes to find himself still dressed, lying tangled in the blankets on the couch.
Sticky heat covered his belly and soaked his trousers as he panted with the remnants of the orgasm still thundering through his veins.

A wet dream…

He scrubbed his hands over his face as he tried to gather his wits. Should he be grateful or disappointed he woke up alone? His cock didn’t care, now quiescent in his trousers, and he rose to find some way to clean himself. He hoped no one had heard him and he strained his ears for sounds of disturbance among Sabrina’s family.

Deep relief followed the sleepy silence of the house and he thanked his lucky stars his confession of love had only happened in his dream. Because it couldn’t be true. It
was impossible, and saying it aloud would have made it real and binding.

Besides, it’s not true.

So why did that statement seem to be the false one?

Chapter Seven

Sabrina stumbled toward the kitchen the next morning with the intent to make a strong pot of tea, but the sight of Darius asleep on her couch stopped her mid
-step. He lay with one arm behind his head and another across his waist, anchoring the blanket to his body. His bare chest rose and fell with his breath and she covered her mouth to keep from drooling.

Men should
not
be so gorgeous
.

Her gaze followed the line of hair from between his pectorals down to his belly button and beneath the blanket
. She stifled the urge to lift the cloth to see if he lay as naked below as on top and shook her head at her audacity.

Too bad he’s not the guy who will be my partner for the rituals
.

The thought drew her up short. Since when had she even considered performing the
High Beltane rituals? She wouldn’t do them ever again. She couldn’t.

Despite modern medicine’s advancements in birth control, the magic of the
High Beltane fertility rituals blew such prevention away. And it would be even more potent with the Summer Court’s attendance.
Plus no one would pause to don a condom, and I haven’t taken the pill in years.
Her gaze strayed to Darius’s glorious chest.
I don’t need more children.
Even if they’re his.

She took a step closer to the couch, not sure if she just wanted to inhale his scent or touch his handsome chest. Unfortunately, the girls
started arguing over who’d get to help make the brownies. Darius blinked awake and Sabrina found herself pinned by his teal gaze.

His lips curled into a sweet, seductive smile, stealing her ability to think or speak or, hell, even breathe. She had the unwanted wish to have him smile at her every morning, but she mentally slapped herself.

Don’t be sucked in by his good looks and charm.

But, oh how she wished it to be real.

“Good morning, Sabrina. Did you sleep well?”

Not as well as I would have with you pressed up against my back.

“Yes, thank you. Would you like some breakfast?”

“Certainly.” He shifted to sit up then realiz
ed he wore nothing and paused, a sultry smile creasing his lips. “Forgive me, my lady. I’d forgotten my state of undress.” He wrapped the blanket around his chest as he scanned the floor for his discarded clothes.

“
It’s okay, Darius. I’ve seen a naked man before.”
Just not one as fine as you.

“I’m sure, but in light of your children being in the other room…”

“Oh. Right.”
Duh! What is wrong with me?
“Let me to get you a robe or towel or something.”

“Thank you,
that would be very kind. I’ll take advantage of your bathing room as well.”

The idea of him naked with hot water sluicing down his body made her breasts tingle as her nipples tightened to hard points.
Sweet blessings, I’m so messed up.

“Yeah, I’ll just
get one for you.” Sabrina retreated to the linen closet to keep her composure intact, but she had to take a few deep breaths to calm herself down.

When she returned with a towel, she almost offered to help him
wash his body down, but she slapped her inner trollop and only smiled.

“I’ll get breakfast started while you shower.”

For a moment it looked as if Darius might say something and hot desire flashed across his face. But he smothered it with a friendly smile and nodded his thanks. Sabrina told herself she wasn’t disappointed in the least.

Yeah, right.

Fortunately, the girls provided enough of a distraction for Sabrina to actually make some sort of meal and calm down from the raging lust attacking her usual composure. Darius returned to the kitchen fully dressed and completely unruffled, smoothly greeting her daughters and hearing their plans for the day.

“Mom, can we go roller-skating today? Melanie said her mom
would take her. Can we go, too?” Tansy begged with big blue eyes.

“I wanna go, too,
Mommy,” Holly piped up.

“What about Darius? We can’t just leave him here. It would be rude.”

“He can come with us. Please?” Tansy grabbed Sabrina’s hand and bounced a little.

S
abrina involuntarily sought out Darius’s gaze and swallowed hard at the desire suffusing his expression beneath the polite smile.

“
Well…”

“Pleeeaasse?” both girls chorused together.

“All right, as long as we get our chores done before we go.”

“Aw, Mo
m—”

“Hey, there’s still more things we need to do before Beltane
, and tomorrow is a school day.” Sabrina admonished her daughters with the ‘mommy look’ and they sighed theatrically. “Unless you don’t want brownies for your class on Tuesday and you don’t need hot apple cider and poppyseed cakes for the celebration.” She shrugged nonchalantly.

“No, no, we want them,” Tansy said quickly.

“Good. Let’s get to work, then.”

“Can I help with the apple press this time, Mom?” Tansy helped her clear the table of dishes and load them into the
dishwasher.

Sorrow bloomed from somewhere deep inside and
Sabrina took a fortifying breath. Tommy had always done the press with Tansy and Sabrina had refused to touch it since he’d left. Tansy kept asking each year and Sabrina didn’t have the heart to refuse her again.

“I think…”

“I’d be happy to take on the task, Lady Foxglove, if you’d permit me.”

Sabrina looked back at Darius as he handed his dishes to Tansy. She hadn’t heard him get up from the table.

“Oh, yes. Sure, you could.”
At least it would be more fun to watch him pump the crank than Tommy Two-Faces
. Name-calling was beneath her, but it made her feel better. “Thank you.”

“It’s my pleasure to help with your holiday preparations.” He smiled so sincerely she almost believed he had no ulterior motives.

“Yay!” Tansy squealed and launched herself into Darius’s arms, startling him. “Thank you. Mom never wants to do it.”

“Oh, why not?” He raised an eyebrow at Sabrina and she grimaced.

“’Cause Tommy always did it and she doesn’t like to think about him.”

“We shall have to
make newer and better memories of the apple press so your mother doesn’t have to think of anyone but us doing it.”

A curious mixture of relief and excitement skittered down Sabrina’s back as Darius winked at her over Tansy’s head. A wicked part of her whispered,
Can he do it naked? That would wipe out all my previous memories.
She shut the thoughts down before they flooded a blush across her cheeks. She marshaled her youngest daughter into getting dressed and focused on peeling the apples to distract herself.

Now if only those memories could be renewable, year after year.

She tried not to wish for such destructive things, but the insidious hope grew as the day wore on.

****

Darius had never had so much fun with an apple press as he did with Sabrina and her daughters. The little ladies had enough enthusiasm for twenty of his family members. Apple chunks and bits of peel found their way onto every flat surface of the kitchen as well as dotted his arms up to his elbows. Holly’s face wore streaks of cinnamon like war paint and Tansy’s pigtails hung in clumps from the sweet juice. Everyone laughed and carried on while Sabrina made poppyseed cakes around them.

Darius’s belly
ached from all the laughter and his heart swelled with the love emanating from this little house in Cloudburst, Colorado. He tried to think of a time when his family had ever been this happy preparing for Beltane, but he’d rarely seen his mother smiling after his father left. Beltane had been a time for stately and reserved celebration of renewal, not this joyous, messy outpouring of laughter. Envy knocked at the door of his heart and he wished he could do this each year with this family, watching as the girls grew into ladies and helping them celebrate.

But he’d be somewhere else, contracting a new witch to serve the Summer Court in rehabilitating some sacred site for the rituals.
The idea no longer held the thrill of adventure it once did, and disappointment festered in his gut.

They
cleaned up the mess they’d made and Sabrina pronounced it good enough to go to the skating rink. She called Moira to have her car returned and promised to drop her off at the coffee shop on the way to the rink. Darius wasn’t sure he wanted to face whatever activity they had in mind, but the girls bounced with excitement as they dressed to go.

“Don’t look so worried, Darius. It’ll be fine.
” Sabrina patted his shoulder and smiled.

He scoffed. “I’m not worried.”

“Of course.” She winked and helped the girls prepare.

When Moira
Callahan arrived, she gave Darius an inquiring look as if questioning his continued presence, but she did no more than nod courteously and handed the car keys to Sabrina.

“Feeling better?”

“Yes, much. Thank you for bringing my van, Moira. I really appreciate it.”

“It’s no problem.
Talia says we could close for a week and we’d still be able to offer everyone a Christmas bonus this year.” Moira winked. “I told her I’d only be gone an hour or so.”

Sabrina laughed and the sound warmed Darius from the inside out. “How were the roads?”

“Good. The sun came out and melted them.”

“I hope it stays out long enough to dry them or we’ll have black ice.”

The ladies murmured in commiseration as they herded the children out to the van he’d seen the first night he met Sabrina. He’d never heard so many female voices talking all at once. He swung his cloak over his shoulders and hoped he could give a credible answer should any question be directed at him in the hubbub.

Fortunately, such an event never came to pass as they dropped Moira off at the Cloudburst
. The woman paused long enough to look at him then at Sabrina with speculation, but she merely smiled and said goodbye. Darius hoped she wouldn’t meddle in Sabrina’s business. He’d seen the look countless times and it usually meant trouble.

Goddess knows I deal with enough meddling busybodies in the Court.

He’d staved off several attempts at trapping him into a marriage of position. More for the lady than for himself. He had no intention being caught by matchmaking humans any more than he did the Elven versions.

His position at Court didn’t allow for much of a family life and he’d never found one woman more attractive than any other. Th
ey came in such a variety, he thought he’d never get tired of sampling them.

Until now.

Darius watched Sabrina negotiate the van through the streets of the town with confidence and skill despite the pedestrians out braving the sunny but cold weather. The girls chattered about the skating rink with an enthusiasm Darius found endearing. Holly declared herself a warrior princess who would skate to rescue her loved ones while Tansy reminded her she needed a sword to be a warrior.

“Right, Darius?” Tansy eyed him for confirmation.

“The weapon does not make the warrior, Miss Tansy. Some choose to fight with tools other than steel.” He smiled at her frown.

“You mean like
the guy in Mom’s favorite TV show?”

“What
?” Darius had never kept up on the myriad forms of human entertainment.

“
You know, the show about that guy who saves the world with a paper clip, duct tape, and a pocketknife.” Sabrina winked at him in the rear-view mirror. “He generally doesn’t kill people and he finds creative solutions to problems using science and knowledge of the natural world. He thinks outside the box.”

“Yeah,
he’s so cool. I wanna be him when I grow up.”

“Well, I wanna
to be a warrior,” Holly said.

“
He
is
a warrior,” Tansy insisted.

“No, he’s not.”

“Yes, he is.”

“Okay, ladies, let’s move on. We’re here.” Sabrina pulled the van into a large parking lot and found a place to stop. She twisted around and
eyed them all with a patented “mommy look.” “Now, here’s the deal. We’re going in there, but you need to be on your best behavior or we’ll get back in the van and go home. Got it? No fighting. Are we clear?”

“Yes, Mom.” Both girls nodded.

“Good. Let’s go, then.”

They piled out of the vehicle and Darius inhaled the crisp spring air. The temperature had warmed since he
’d arrived, but spring hadn’t gotten a foothold yet. Tansy requested to hold his hand as they crossed the gravel lot to the front doors of the skating rink and warmth filled his heart. He’d never had a child interested in spending time with him and he liked the simple joy of it, especially with Sabrina’s children.