temple. Her mouth traveled down my jaw line, over my collarbone and back to my nipple, where she suckled and flicked and teased with her tongue. All the while, her right hand stroked my belly, sliding lower and lower each time, until she was caressing the insides of my thighs and lightly touching my labia.
I shuddered, growing wet, a voice inside telling me to go with it-just do it. My legs peeled themselves apart and my pelvis tipped up against her palm.
“There’s a good girl. That’s right.” She was on her knees next to the couch, and she took my hand in her left and guided it to her crotch. She rubbed my fingers against her outer lips. My virgin touch fumbled blindly, then pressed against her until they sunk into her opening.
She hissed and rocked her hips, pistoned her fingers into me and urged me to match her pace. Her thumb circled my clitoris, wrenching loose a sob from my chest, and I curled around her hand.
“Sshh. Hush now,” she murmured, and lowered her mouth to my vulva.
Her hot wet mouth fulfilled the ache I’d felt for weeks and I almost gave myself over to it. But the second- hand scent and the warnings wouldn’t fade. I pulled away from her, pushed her back, and bolted upright. I couldn’t let her do that to me.
I caught her eyes in the semi-darkness and held them. I pushed her back on the couch, spread her legs and crawled between them. She smiled wide and clutched at her breasts, kneaded and pulled her nipples. She laid her head back and closed her eyes, allowing me to take charge.
Tentatively, I kissed her, not sure how to proceed, but thinking I’d simply do what I would want done to me. I took a mental deep breath and pulled her lips open with my thumbs, and the familiar pungent scent of feminine arousal filled my senses. Before I could talk myself out of it, I slathered her from bottom to top with my tongue. She tasted salty and had a slightly bitter aftertaste. Her musk coated my flared nostrils. The need to know overpowered me.
I ravaged her, power hungry, thrilling at her reactions. When I reached what felt like a satin covered button, I closed my mouth around it and sucked, flicking and swirling with my tongue. I crammed three fingers inside her and pumped them back and forth, curling them upwards where I knew it felt good.
Her panting became grunts, and the grunts became moans, and I could feel her body tensing, her muscles clutching at my fingers. She came hard and loud, and I held my mouth to her through the thrashing and shaking. When it subsided, I drew myself alongside Tash and pulled the blanket around us.
“I’ve never done that before.” I whispered into her hair.
“You were perfect.” She whispered back and snuggled against me.
***
I rose with the sun for the first time in years, with a clear, steady path in front of me.
I made coffee, showered and dressed, listening to Tash snoring off her drunk in the living room. I was not in a good place. My little play for control the night before had been a step, but it led in the right direction.
I scribbled a note and left it by the coffee.
I dialed Jerry’s number, hastily made my bed and packed my belongings. I eased the front door shut behind me, waited on the steps, and let the sun warm my face and cleanse my soul.
The Novice
Auronnah quickly checked the hallway, ducked into her Mistress’s library and slid the forbidden tome back among the dusty volumes on a high shelf. Satisfied it was properly aligned, she pursed her lips and blew. A sheet of dust settled across its spine, to blend it in with its brethren. Auronnah checked that she hadn’t smeared the incantation scribbled on her hand, and proceeded smugly to the supply closet.
In the living room, she set the smudge pot down, knelt before the low table, and lit an arrangement of pillar candles. She touched a spark to the heady greens inside the stone bowl, leaned over and wafted the pungent smoke into her face, off her brow, and around her head.
She rolled her shoulders and her neck, easing her spine into its most comfortable position; vertebra stacked neatly, one on top of another. Face raised and eyes closed, she allowed the rest of her body to fall into alignment. The flow of her mind released. She plucked at random fragments of thought and coaxed them to completion, liberated each thought as she brought it to fruition, until her mind was clear and focused solely on the image of her intended.
The essence of her psyche rippled, then settled back into place as the wish traveled through, out and away. She exhaled, gathered herself and continued, repeating the word in her mind several times over while she rocked and hummed softly. Her hands rose and hovered a moment at chest height before extending towards the candles. She followed the currents of heat with her fingertips, all the way up to the full extension of her arms, then splayed and pushed at the air.
She felt the thread reach its target. The sheer power of the creature vibrated back and sang through her. Tingling and elated, she leaned back and stroked herself through the folds of her gown. Mouth slack, eyes closed, she rocked her hips in time to the powerful heartbeat that strummed the filament of magic between them.
“Are you soothing again, Auronnah?”
Her eyes fluttered open, and she glowered at Celeste, who seemed to appear every time she commenced a spell. Celeste’s face softened, and she glided over and stroked Auronnah’s hair.
“Oh, my little star. You and your wish spells. Well, it’s good practice.” She smiled down at her charge. “And now, Aurrie, lessons, lessons. Gather your things and meet me in the study.” With a whoosh of amber silk robes, she was off.
Auronnah grinned, knowing full well that her Mistress had no inkling of what her young charge was about. She snuffed out the candles, waved a hand over the smudge pot for one last whiff of sage, clutched her books to her chest and scurried down the hall.
She cast a glance out the window on her way past, and tacked a fleeting thought to the tail end of the spell that soared toward the distant mountains.
***
