The Last Witch Hunter (Witch Hunters) (15 page)

Not this again. She wasn’t ready for this discussion. “What? Can’t we talk later?”

“No. Answer me or I’ll pull out.”

“You’re kidding.” She dug her nails into his thighs as he began to slowly withdraw. “Wait. Damn you, I can’t believe you’d-”

“It’s a simple question.”

Nikita frowned. He was like a dog with a bone. “No it’s not. I don’t appreciate your manipulating me. And don’t think I haven’t found out how witches form a bond with their mates. It wasn’t fair of you not to tell me.”

Ronan sighed. And he then he did what she was certain that he wouldn’t do. He pulled out
of her, rinsed off in silence, and left her sexually frustrated and alone in the bathroom. Blinking, she turned off the water and wrapped up in a towel. She found him in the bedroom putting his clothes on. “What are you doing?”

“I’m going downstairs to cook dinner.” He buttoned his jeans and jerked his shirt over his head.

She frowned. “We were in the middle of a conversation. And before that we were in the middle of making love!”

He glared down at her. “Don’t you mean fucking? Because without love, that’s all it is.”

“It’s not fucking.” She might have called it that once, but it was more than that now and she wouldn’t let him reduce what they had to something so base.

“Then do you love me?”

“Damn it!” She hit him in the shoulder. “Why do you have to be so persistent? Of course, I love you! I need you to back off and let me tell you in my own time and in my own way!” Realizing what she’d inadvertently blurted, she gasped. Ronan smiled and pulled her into his arms. “I’ll get your shirt wet,” she protested, but she sighed and allowed herself to be held. Strangely, she felt relieved to have told him, like a huge burden had been removed from her chest.

“Forget the shirt.”

She pinched his behind. “I haven’t forgotten about the bonding. You bound me to you without letting me know it would happen.”

He chuckled. “I believe it was you who couldn’t keep her hands to herself.”

“And I don’t recall you fighting me.”

“Do I look like an idiot?” He tugged off her towel and tossed it onto the floor.

“I thought you were fixing dinner?”

“There’s something else that needs fixing first.” He grabbed her hips and molded her body to his so that the thick bar of his erection was impossible to ignore.
“Get on the bed.”

It was an order. One she chose to obey. She climbed up to the pillows and waited for him to join her. He stripped and slowly shook his head. “We didn’t finish in the bathroom. On your belly.”

“You’re really pushing it,” she groused, but did as he asked. The bed dipped when he sat down. She expected him to immediately position her and thrust inside her still aching pussy. Instead he shifted the long braid of her hair to the side and planted a kiss beneath her ear.

“I love you,” he whispered.
His lips trailed down her neck to her shoulder. He kissed her shoulder blade directly over her tattoo. “I don’t know if I told you before, but this is beautiful.” His hands ran over her ribs, over her waist, and finally curved over her buttocks. He licked his way down her spine before shifting behind her. “On your knees.” Even as she complied, he spread her thighs wider. A finger slid over her clit. He spread the moisture from her slit and rubbed the plump button until she was panting. She moaned as he penetrated her with two fingers and wiggled them against her sensitive tissues. He withdrew when she canted back against him.

“Ronan,” she began, prepared to threaten him for torturing her, but her complaint was cut off abruptly with a gasp as he thrust his dick inside of her.
He filled her completely and in one powerful slide. He immediately set a hard and fast pace that practically lifted her off her knees. Each rotation of his hips seemed directed at finding that special spot deep inside of her. He found it without error, making her moan and cry out in pleasure.

Her hands clenched in the sheets. She needed something to hold onto as Ronan pounded into her core. Taking her this way, he felt larger, thicker, and somehow deeper. The room was filled with the sound of him smacking into her wet flesh and their mutual groans.

Ronan gripped her hips so that she couldn’t escape even an inch of his possession. Not that she wanted to. She held herself as open as possible for him. She relished each inward thrust, lifting into it in welcome. Her nipples scraped across the cool sheets, keeping them stiff and aroused.

“This pussy looks so good swallowing my cock.” He reached around her waist
and buried his fingers between her legs. Pinching her clit, he ground out, “Come on my cock, baby. Suck me dry.”

As if it belonged to him, her pussy tightened in climax. The muscles rippled along his length, begging for him to release his seed. She stiffened under him as he plunged inside her frantically, his cock swelling and beginning to pump her full of its liquid heat.

Ronan collapsed onto his side, taking her with him, his cock still firmly entrenched in her pussy. He snaked an arm over her waist, settling a hand between her thighs. He cupped her mound. “Mine,” he murmured. Eyes closed, Nikita smiled. She wasn’t going to argue with him after such a masterful performance. Besides, she needed a nap.

I love you.

“Love you, too,” she sighed. And then her eyes snapped open. He hadn’t spoken but she’d heard him as though he’d said it aloud. “What-”

“Sh. It’s the bond. It’s growing stronger.”
He nuzzled the top of her head with his chin. His breathing leveled out, indicating he was close to falling asleep.

Inhaling, she willed herself to relax.
It was daunting to realize she could hear his thoughts and in turn, he hers. She felt surrounded by love and warmth. And not all of it was coming from within. It was coming from Ronan. And there was that other sensation she felt whenever she was in her arms. She’d been scared to admit it to herself. Because if she did, and she lost it, it would be worse than never having it. She felt secure. In the arms of a witch. How ironic. He’d told her and she’d ignored him. He was home to her.

“You’re thinking too hard,” he grumbled, squeezing her. “Go to sleep.”

***

Ronan studied Nikita
over the kitchen table as she polished off her second slice of pizza and reached for a third. They’d awakened from their nap hungry, but neither of them had wanted to cook. He’d called in an order for pizza and gone to pick it up. Grey’s Landing had only one pizza place that delivered, but their pizza just barely qualified as food.

Noticing his stare, Nikita wiped her mouth with her napkin. “What? Fighting makes me hungry.”

He’d never been as terrified as he’d been when he realized that Brian would go after Nikita. He was impressed by how easily she’d taken down a man so much larger than herself. Entering Mrs. Williams’ house to find Nikita pinning Brian to the floor, a blade at his throat, had been surreal. He’d been proud to introduce her to his uncle as his mate.

But at the moment, he was wondering how she was taking the new level of their bond. It was forming stronger and quicker than he would have imagined. He didn’t sense any distress coming from her. If anything, she seemed content.

“How are you feeling…about us?”

She shrugged. “It is what it is.”

He stared at her through narrowed eyes. “Okay,” he said slowly. “For a woman who threatened my broomstick on multiple occasions, you’re taking this well.”

“We should discuss what I’m going to tell the police tomorrow. Sticking closely to the truth would be best. I can say he overpowered me and forced his way into the house. Explaining how he got here in the buff without being noticed…well, we’ll leave that up to their imagination.”

She was trying to change the subject again and he wasn’t going to let it go. Not now. It was too important. “Mrs. Williams will be back soon. What do you say, you move in with me?”

“I don’t believe in living together.”

He grinned. That a woman who painted her nails black, carried a dagger in her boots, and had a tattoo on her shoulder would have this old fashioned streak surprised him. “The bond is like a marriage.”

She spread out a delicate hand, wiggling her fingers, and shot him a pointed look. “I don’t know. They look pretty empty to me.”

“You’d marry me if I asked?”

“This bond thing, will it go away if I leave and don’t come back?”

A sharp pain shot through his heart at the idea of their bond being broken. “It’s forever no matter where you go, no matter what you do,” he answered, his tone gruff.

“Then, yes, my answer would be yes.”

He rounded the table and sank down on one knee in front of her. “That’s good to know.” He kissed the tip of her nose before rising to grab the last slice of pizza from the box. Her balled-up napkin hit him squarely in the back of the head.

Epilogue

At Thanksgiving the family gathered at Mama Skye’s house for the meal. Sean and Mystique had offered to have the meal catered, but Mama Skye wouldn’t hear of it. She was determined that the meal would be prepared by the women of the family. That included Nikita. She was present during the kitchen chaos but she wouldn’t say she’d made any significant contributions. She washed dishes, chopped vegetables, and assisted anyone who needed a hand.

Their dinner table was full this year. Sean and Mystique had invited Keith and his fiancée Imani.
Seamus, Mystique’s father, had, of course, come with Meadow. Nikita had invited Ronan and his Uncle Hugh. Brian had retracted his confession and was awaiting trial. No one expected him to be found innocent as they also had a recording of him confessing to his father on the prison phone. Mrs. Williams had declined to come since her son and daughter would be sharing the holiday with her. Besides, she’d told them, she missed her home and her cat.

After dinner, everyone helped put up the Christmas decorations. Keith, as the strongest witch, was assigned the duty of installing the outside lights since he could direct the lights with a point of a finger.
It was cold out so Imani stood at his side with a warm cup of tea for herself and a hot chocolate for him. Mystique and Sean used their magic to decorate the upper boughs of the Christmas tree. Nikita placed her higher ornaments while balanced on Ronan’s shoulders. Hugh and Skye watched them do all the work from their seats on the sofa, sharing coffee and conversation. Seamus kept Meadow occupied in the kitchen, cleaning up the mess after the feast.

Once the tree was done and the outside lights were on, Imani, Nikita and Mystique joined in the cleanup effort. “It’s getting late,” Nikita told her cousin. “When are you going to share your news?”

“Soon.”

“What news?” Meadow asked, turning from the fridge where she’d been storing leftovers.

“Soon,” Mystique repeated. She wiped down the counter. “I like Ronan,” she said to Nikita. “He’s nice and obviously head over heels for you.”

“I could say the same about Sean.” She’d watched the two of them together. They were like two halves of the same whole.
Their movements were harmonious, as though they were in constant communication. And in a way, they were. “Well, with the exception of the nice part.”

Mystique laughed.
“Sean is an acquired taste.”

“If he and Keith didn’
t look so much alike, you wouldn’t know they were related,” Imani spoke up.

It was true. Both men were very handsome with black hair and neon blue eyes and close enough in age to be mistaken for twins. Sean was an actor and prone to showmanship. His love for living out loud had been somewhat tempered whe
n he married Mystique. Keith, a writer, was the quiet, studious brother.

When the women reentered the den,
the men were discussing televisions. Finding her man, even in a room more crowded than this, was always easy. He towered over those assembled, his red hair a beacon to draw her eyes. Ronan was bragging about his seventy-two inch flat screen. Nikita had come to learn that the man had an unnatural love for that television, his truck and his tools. But that was okay. She knew she was first in his heart.

Mystique joined Sean in front of the Christmas tree. He cleared his throat to gain everyone’s attention.
“It’s good to see so much family gathered here. My parents couldn’t make it, but they’ve promised to come home for Christmas and Keith’s wedding. Mystique and I have a bit of news we wanted to share with everyone.” He drew her in front of him and placed his palm over her still flat belly. “We’re having a baby.” Their announcement was followed by exclamations of joy, congratulations and hugs.

“I knew it,” Meadow said, holding Mystique by the shoulders. “Your glow is unmistakable.”

Ma
ma Skye wiped tears from her cheeks. “I’m so happy. My baby is having a baby.” Despite the fact that they were her granddaughters, she thought of them as her own children. She had been of great assistance in their rearing. She sniffed. “Now all I have to do is get this one married.” She gestured toward Nikita.

Nikita rolled her eyes. Why couldn’t Mama Skye concentrate on the good news instead immediately placing pressure on her? Hugh, who sat at her grandmother’s side, laughed and patted her on the shoulder. “My nephew is working on it.”