Water Witch (18 page)

It was a stab to my ego when he didn’t gasp or pull away and I slid in easily. But the relief of resuming my climb to orgasm helped distract me. “Happy now?” I asked against the back of his shoulder.

“No. Talk to me.”

Fuck.
He knew that would slow me down. But now I understood what he needed, and why he wanted this. “Salil, you’re mine.” I buried myself in him, pressing my hips to his ass. “I admit it, we’re mates, meant to be.”

He moaned as if I’d just given him intense pleasure. His head thrashed to the side, long blond hair covering part of his face. The tight muscles of his back flexed under me, and he reached a hand up behind him to touch my hip. Goddess, I loved him. And here he was, begging for reassurance. I felt a rush of guilt, realizing that our lovemaking was almost always about me, my pleasure, my desire. He asked for so little.

I pulled up onto my elbows, kissing his shoulders, thrusting into him with slow, long strokes. “Fae. My Fae.” I forced myself to speak, though it was difficult. “You’re mine. I love you.” He gasped at that, and his ass tensed around me. I wasn’t sure if that meant he came or was about to, but I kept going. “I love you, Salil. Love you so much, my Fae.”

He definitely came then, with a thready moan and a tight squeeze. I followed him as soon as I could, increasing my speed and thankfully not talking.

I flopped over and laid beside him, panting, smiling. I felt awesome. Then I saw his face. Tears ran down his cheeks, his lips shook, his eyes were closed but still leaking.
Shit.
What happened? I tried to think of all the things I’d said, how I’d fucked up, but couldn’t come up with any reason for this. In horror I realized I’d never seen him cry before, not when I was pushing him away, not when I was yelling at him, never.
What the fuck is this about?

“Salil?” I ran my hand over his back in what I hoped was a comforting way. “Hey if you ever want me to do that again, you’re going to have to work on your reaction. This doesn’t speak well for my technique.” He smiled a little at that, thank the gods, and I kissed his bicep. “Talk to me, Fae.”

“It’s over.”

I froze, panicked, my mind racing.
Over? I just told him I love him.
“What? What— No!”

His eyes snapped open and he shook his head. “Not us. Not us.” He was smiling now, but still leaking tears.

“What’s over?”

“I’ve been waiting my whole life for you to claim me. As long as I can remember I’ve loved you, and dreamed of the day you’d love me back.” He sniffled, an oddly endearing sound. “I’ve been working toward this for so long, I can’t believe it finally happened.”

Relief that he wasn’t saying we were over quickly morphed into anger that he had doubted my affection for him. “What in the hell are you talking about? Okay, I didn’t tell you I loved you before today. But you had to know, right? And maybe I’ve been a little…reluctant to tell you I believe in the whole mates thing. But I’ve been with you this whole time. Why are the words so important? I’ve shown you my feelings, over and over.” I knew my words were harsh, especially since he technically was still crying. I didn’t care. I was pissed. I might not be the best boyfriend in the world, but I showed him my love. “Salil, tell me you didn’t need me to say those words for some weird Fae reason. You promised there wasn’t any mating ritual or anything, and I know I asked specifically.”

He chuckled and shook his head. “I spoke the truth. There is no ritual. It was only that I felt the thought, when you had it. You weren’t guarding yourself like you usually do around me. So I felt you love me, and it was the truest thing I have ever known.” He tilted his head to nuzzle his forehead against mine. “You let me feel all of you. You sang to me.”

I pulled away so I could look into his eyes.
My blood had sung to him? Like it did to me?
“Have you ever heard that before? Does your blood sing to you?”

“No and no. I didn’t know that was in you. It was beautiful.”

“Thanks.” I wrapped him in my arms, regretting my earlier snappish tone. “You make my blood sing, Fae. You always do.”

He let out a huff against my collarbone that might have been either a sob or a laugh, and he squeezed his arms around me. I snuggled into his body, and realized this was how I’d slept every night since I’d moved in with him: wrapped in his arms, in a way that should be totally uncomfortable but was somehow perfect. And I never had any unruly dream visions while sleeping with him.
Fuck. We’re mates.
He huffed again, definitely a laugh that time.

CHAPTER TWENTY

I spent the spring working and overseeing the construction of the new house. Maxwell was a huge help. If not for him, and his business, I’d have gone crazy at some point in the building process. There were regulations because of the coastal location, and lots of hoops to jump through. But the week before midsummer we were ready to move in.

Salil had helped decorate, but he was pre-occupied with building my massage studio, basically a modified shed on the east side of the property. He’d begged to be given free rein, and I had enough to deal with already so I’d agreed. When he came to me, eyes sparkling with excitement, and said, “It’s ready,” I was immediately nervous. What if I hated it? How would I tell him? I followed him across the lawn to the small cedar building.

I opened the door, and felt instant relief. The place looked good. He’d said this wasn’t from any premonition, that he’d just seen a studio like this one and thought of me, but I had my suspicions. Letting him do so much without my involvement was a risk that had paid off, though. It was only two rooms, a small bathroom and changing area, and the larger room he had referred to as the “consultation space,” which housed my massage table and a small sitting area. One wall was all windows overlooking the water, the other was all shelves, holding jars of lotions, bottles of oils, candles, and neatly folded towels. He’d hung natural linen drapes, painted the walls a soft turquoise, and kept the floor a light, smooth wood. It was perfect.

“You approve?” Salil stood in the doorway, arms wrapped around himself.

“Yes. I love it.” I crossed the floor and kissed him, dissolving the nervous look from his face. “It’s perfect.”

Hearing my approval, he jumped into action. “There are speakers in the ceiling,” he pointed up, and I followed his finger with my gaze. “And the sound system is here.” He opened a small cabinet to reveal a stereo system. “They said it has Wi-Fi, but I am not sure how that works.”

“It’s okay, I’ll figure it out.” Goddess, he was so beautiful, scrunching his brows down at the stereo, trying to understand it. I slid my arm around his waist. “What else did you build into this place?”

He showed me the blue glass tiles he’d chosen for the bathroom, and the drawers where I could store my essential oils, and the gel mats on the floor where I’d spend most of my time standing. He’d put a lot of thought into this. I’d never had a place to work, had always carried my table to client’s houses or businesses. I shook my head in amazement, realizing how much he’d helped me. “You’ve done so much for me, Salil. Thank you.”

“You owe me no thanks. We are family, I will always help you.”

“I know. Just, I feel like without you in my life I wouldn’t be anywhere, I’d have nothing.”

He looked at me sharply. “You would be fine without me.”

“No. I’d be a mess. I might even still be in the desert! You’ve changed me for the better, helped me be a better witch, learn my powers, saved my stuff from the storm. I owe you a lot.” His face had grown dark, worried, and I wrapped my arm around his waist. “What is it? Why are you looking like that?”

“I wasn’t supposed to change you, or make things better. I only wanted to be with you, and work by your side. Perhaps I’ve made an error.” His nervous expression broke my heart. How difficult it must be for him, to never know what actions would result in a disaster, or a shift in fate.

“Fae, stop worrying. You changed me, and my life, because we are linked. And if you believe in the mates thing like you say you do, then you should understand that. You did everything right. Our paths are intertwined, now and forever. If you changed my path, it was fated.”

He smiled and kissed me. “Thank you, my witch.”

Salil sat cross-legged on the grass, my gold chalice and the silver bowl drying in the sun beside him. I tossed the Athame up, and he moved aside to avoid the dull blade. He picked it up from where it landed and placed it carefully near the other items. “Almost done, witch! Only three more.”

“Fuck you! You should be doing this, you thief.”

He laughed, throwing his head back, his hair glinting in the sun. I swam away, determined to find the holed stone on this dive. Technically, I knew where all the items were, but locating them in the dark murky water was another matter. I closed my eyes, picturing the location of my ritual stone, directing my physical body to the place it rested. But I had to peek, just in case. There could be anything under the water—debris, fish, discarded lengths of mono-filament line—I couldn’t swim blind.

I made do with a combination of physical sight and second sight, a slower but safer method. When I reached the holed stone, it was covered with sand and I almost passed it by, but I trusted my vision and grabbed it. On the way back, I found the brass bell. I smiled and blew out a few big air bubbles. If I could find the goddess statue I’d be done. I closed my eyes, let the calm of the water fill me, and sought the statue. Ha! Not too far. He must have thrown them all from the ledge. I swam to it and retrieved it.

Swimming back with one arm occupied was a bit of a struggle, but the look of pride on Salil’s face when I popped up from the water was worth it.

“Show off.” He smiled at me.

“I still think you should have helped me.” I put the last items down in the grass to dry and sat near him.

“No. You had to take back your tools from the sea. And now they are recharged, better than new. With the energy of salt water.” He wore a smug smile.

I shook my head.
He’s right.
The tools had been cleansed, and now they were infused with the sea’s power. And the fact I had retrieved them meant they were fully mine, freely given and gratefully accepted. I stretched out on the lawn. “You’re always right.”

“Not always, just usually.”

I laughed and shoved him, and he toppled over. He stayed down and stretched out, smiling at me, his long hair spread upon the grass, his blue eyes reflecting the sky.

“Now everything is back in order.” He reached out for my hand and pulled it to his lips, kissing my knuckles.

“Mmm.” I studied the clouds, watched as several small puffs drifted together to form a ring. “You enjoy the coven meetings?”

“Yes, very much. It’s a nice group of people, and the rituals are interesting. Why?”

“Liliana asked if we were planning a handfasting.” I closed my eyes and found him with my second sight, spying on his expression.

His lips spread in a twitchy line, like he was trying not to smile but couldn’t contain it. “That is up to you. I need no ceremony to legitimize our union.”

“Hmph. So I’ll tell her no, then?”

“I did not say that.” His words were light but his scowl told another story.

I let a few minutes pass. “Would you weave me a crown of thyme? If we did it, I mean. For the ceremony.”

His instant smile forced a laugh from my chest, but his voice was rough as he answered, “I would weave a cloak of thyme for you, if you wished it.”

“Just a crown will do. I was thinking of using rosemary for yours.”

“I would—” his voice cracked, but he continued, “I’d like that very much.”

“You know you’ll never get my mother out of your house if we do this, right? She’ll think of you as her son, and the house as hers, forever.”

“I know.” He propped himself up on his elbow, and I opened my eyes to see him with my physical sight. “It is already so in my heart. This would only make it official in your coven.”

The sunlight glinted off his white-blond hair, and the pale blue sky behind gave him the look of a creature from a fairy tale. He smiled down at me, the same smile I’d first seen in that vision last year, when I’d been in the bathtub in the desert: the smile of someone who knew all my secrets.

But I no longer feared that smile, or the love behind it. I welcomed it, and more than that, I echoed it. “Kiss me, Fae.” He leaned down, and when his lips pressed against mine I felt a tiny spark. The electric pleasure of touching had mellowed with time, but it hadn’t disappeared completely.

With the certainty of foresight, I knew it never would.

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