Bewitching My Love (7 page)

“
Why have you done this, Sarah?” Jonathan yelled. “You have accused Mary Wilds of witchery, which you know to be a lie. I promised you, my wife, that my heart belonged to ye why then have ye done this evil deed?” He paced quickly back and forth in front of Sarah, his blood rapidly reaching a boiling point in his anger.

“
How does my husband know that Mary Wilds is not a witch? If she has taken you to her bed and you still protest your love for me, how can she be not a witch?” Sarah knew Jonathan was angry but she didn’t care. Mary would be punished for causing her this pain.

Jonathan stopped in front of Sarah where she sat behind the table, slamming his fist down hard in front of her. “I know not what a witch is and I know nothing of witchcraft. But I know Mary is innocent of this accusation you make. You will go forth to our worship henceforth, to tell of your lie, Sarah Nichols. Mary will not die for your anger.”

“
I do not hear what you say, husband. I will not confess to a lie when I have not told a lie. I will not go,” Sarah turned her head away and closed her eyes when he bent down to within inches of her face.

“
My wife, can you not find it in your soul to tell the truth?” His heart was torn when she turned in her chair, showing him her back. “Tell the truth in this matter, Sarah!” He slammed his fist down in front of her again. She jumped but didn’t respond to his show of anger. “Mary Wilds will be thus tormented and put to her death if your heart cannot be truthful.” He turned and left her then. He wasn’t a violent man, but right at the moment he found himself tempted.

* * * *

“
Come back inside the cave, Fern, you’ve been sitting out there ever since it got dark,” Rowen called to her from inside.

“
Rowen! Tell me again about Mary’s child that was taken away from her by Elizabeth. Does anyone know where she took the child?” The sky was full of stars and fireflies, a magical combination against the velvety black backdrop of the night. She wasn’t quite ready to go in yet.

“
Know one knows, Fern. She was taken at birth. Elizabeth told Mary she died. All we know for certain is that she did survive. Otherwise, you wouldn’t be here.” He sat back against the wall of the cave and watched her through the opening. She was sitting on a boulder with her dress pulled up, exposing her long legs to the rays of the moonlight. Her toes curled in the grass at her feet. She had her head back as she looked up to the sky and her red locks fell in layered lengths until they brushed against the rock behind her. Her skin was so fair that it looked as if it glowed against the darkness surrounding her. Her beauty captivated him; he realized he could sit contentedly watching her all night. If it weren’t so dangerous he would have.

“
I don’t want to come in yet, Rowen, it is much too stuffy in there. Just a little longer, I’ll come in soon.” She’d caught sight of something shining in the foliage across from her and forgot where she was going with her questions about Mary’s baby. “I’ll be right back.”

“
Fern, don’t go wondering off in the dark.”

“
It’ll just take a second, I promise.” She slid down from her place on the boulder. “There’s something in the trees, I just want to see what it is.” It was shiny; maybe the old woman had dropped the cross she took from her.

“
Alright fern, but I won’t be responsible for any animals that might want a bite of you.” When she didn’t come running back like he thought she would he decided to go after her, and was just standing up when he heard her swear.

“
Ouch, Ohh, damn! Rowen, I cut my finger on a rock.” She stood looking down at her finger. It stung like sin. “I bet we don’t have anything to wrap it with, do we?”

He reached her in seconds. Taking her hand he looked at it in the moonlight. “It’s not bad Fern, come on, we’ll tear a piece of cloth from your cape.”

They were just ducking down to go back in the cave when Rowen heard the rustling of the trees where they’d just been standing. He turned and squinted against the dark, but there was nothing there. “Did you find what you were looking for, Fern?”

“
No, by the time I got to where I thought it was, it wasn’t there. It must have been my imagination.” Her finger wasn’t bleeding anymore, thank goodness, the sight of blood made her woozy.

“
I ask in the name of my child Mary Wilds that I, Elizabeth, be granted the power of love. I ask this for the good of Fern and Rowen. So mote it be. In no way will this spell reverse, or place upon me any curse. In this night and in this hour, I call upon the Ancient power. O Goddess Bride and Consort Bright, I ask thee now to bring your light. I have a need that must be met. I ask thee that I obtain the perfect spell for love. I ask the Universe to lend the power of all the correct astrological correspondences so they may enter this circle now to obtain my desire.

Therefore, I specifically draw toward myself the power to bestow love. I give to Fern and Rowen a powerful love, not for me, but for one another. When each they look into one another’s eyes, there love shall be
.” Her arms shook as she held the ingredients up against the night sky. “
I now proclaim this spell is done. The spell of love is mine! In no way will this spell reverse, or place upon me any curse! As I will, so mote it be! In this sacred space and time, We call now the Old Ones; the Goddess of the moon, seas and rivers; the God of the rayed Sun, of valleys and forests; Draw near us during this, our circle. For this love of Fern and Rowen, cannot be undone.”

Elizabeth fell to the ground in a heap. The spell had taken all of her strength. It took her longer than she thought to get the girl’s blood, then she had to dry it before adding it to her mixture. It was late, she needed to go home and prepare herself for Mary’s trial. The love spell would ensure the fate of Jonathan and Sarah’s ancestors. Rowen would love Fern too much to let her hang. Her throat cracked with her weak laughter. “Stupid man, doth he not understand she will not be denied her vengeance?”

CHAPTER SIX

“
Rowen, wake up!” Grasping him by his shoulders, Fern shook him. He was thrashing around so hard that he practically rolled over on top of her before she could move.

“
No, no! Get away from us, you cannot have her.” The old woman stood across the river, her eyes red and slated as she beckoned Fern toward her. And the child, oh my God not the child. Sitting up, he yelled blindly into the darkness of the cave. “Run, Fern, run back across the field, she cannot touch you when I’m here. And Rose, grab her, Fern, before the witch kills her.”

“
Rowen, wake up!” Fern shook him harder until his eyes suddenly opened and fixed on her.

“
Thank God, thank God. Oh Fern, thank Go...” His voice trailed off, his nightmare all but forgotten as his eyes focused on hers.

Fern released his shoulders and sat back on her knees, their eyes locked together in the twilight of the cave. Nothing existed now but him and her. With only the light of the moon to aid her, she placed her hands on his face. As light as a feather, with one palm on each side of his rough face, she drew him close. Her lips trembled as she spoke. “How could I have been blind? How can this be, Rowen? Tell me, how is it that I...” She let her lips rest gently on his as she whispered the words. “That, I love you.”

“
And I love you, Fern.” Rowen felt as if he’d been punched in the gut, as her breath fanned hot against his lips and he knew he wanted her. Wrapping his hands around her waist, he pulled her down to straddle his hips when their lips finally came together. The kiss was intense, so wonderfully exquisite he had to pull back to take a breath before rolling her underneath him. He kissed her over and over, trailing his tongue over her lips and tasting the sweetness of her mouth while she reacted with her own heated response. Leaning back, he looked up into her eyes as he trailed his finger down her jaw and neck, then beyond. Cupping her chin in his palm, he held her there before continuing. “How is it I didn’t see this before now? I love you Fern. How? I don’t know. All I know is I must hold you, and kiss you, and taste you…” His words trailed off as he bent his head forward to nibble her chin.

“
I’ve always known my first time would be with the man I love.” Her fingers dug deep into his long black hair as she pulled him down to lie next to her on her blanket. When his lips found her neck, and his teeth bit into her soft flesh she groaned deep within her chest; she wanted more. His groping hands fondled her everywhere he could find skin, the sensation was maddening. Sitting up, she raised her arms. “Help me undress, Rowen,” she cooed the words in a sultry sort of way that made his eyes widen.

Rowen swallowed a shaky breath at the sight of her breasts as they tilted upward when she raised her arms above her head. Standing up, he took her with him as he went. With gentle fingers he removed the hooks at the back of the dress until he was all the way to her waist. Reaching inside, he slid his hands around her small waist until they settled under the voluptuous mounds of her breasts. “Raise your arms again, Fern.” When she did, he bent forward and kissed the soft space nestled between them that he’d yearned for before. She was sweeter than he could have ever imagined. Reaching down, he pulled the hem of her dress up to her waist, his hands sliding up her thighs as he went. “I love you, oh God how I love you. Our lovemaking will be perfect, I promise.” He ground his face deeper between her breasts and inhaled her scent. Intoxicated with her, he proceeded to show her.

“
You’re torturing me, Rowen.” Her eyes were closed when she felt her dress drop to the ground around her feet. But they flew wide open when his teeth circled the erect tip of her breast. He’d unclasped her bra and slid it off without her realizing it. Her knees almost buckled from the intensity of it. “Rowen, please don’t…”

Rowen shed his shirt and pants then helped her to lie back down on their blankets. He wanted to see her when he made love to her. He wanted to see her pleasure. With one of their candles lit, and the glow of the moon and stars to light his way, he went into her outstretched arms. “Do you know how beautiful you are, Fern?” He kissed her lips again and let the tips of his fingers play over one of her taught nipples, twisting it between his fingers before dropping his head down to replace them with his tongue. Gently, he made love to the flesh of her breasts with his tongue, tasting and teasing until he was sure she was ready for more.

Fern’s body jerked upward with the sensation, her breath catching in her throat. “Oh how I love you Rowen, please take me now. I don’t want to wait any longer.”

“
Patience Fern, I want to savor you for as long as I can our first time. But more than that, I want your first time to be perfect.” Rolling her over to her stomach, he straddled her hips then leaned forward to run the tip of his finger down her spine. “I want you to remember this night.”

Fern moaned her satisfaction when he rolled her back over and parted her legs with the strong muscles of his thigh. “Make love to me with passion, not reluctance.” She didn’t want to be babied; she wanted him to treat her like a woman. Sweat glistened off his body underneath the moonlight, enchanting her with his masculine beauty. Her fingers ached to touch him. Her body begged for him to fill her, to release the desire she felt building in the pit of her abdomen. “I’m not afraid. I know you won’t hurt me.”

Sweat glistened from his brow as he positioned himself over her. Their shadows reached out to him from the cave wall, singing their sultry cry for release. He would oblige, he would give them what they desired. His eyes snapped back down to hers when her fingernails raked through the black hairs of his chest. She was arching her back toward him, tempting him with her voluptuous breasts. He slid his sex through the crimson tangle of the moist curls nestled between her thighs as he bent forward. Taking her offer, he suckled and teased her repeatedly until she moaned his name between clenched teeth. “I have to have you, love, I can’t wait any longer.”

“
Oh yes, take me now Rowen! Can’t you see I’m ready?” Her jaw shook with anticipation and her body was on fire. She bit her lip in preparation of what she knew was next. The pleasure to come would far outweigh any pain, she was sure of it. She trusted him.

* * * *

“
Wake up, Grandmother!”

Elizabeth blinked her tired eyes a few times before she realized she’d been wakened by the presence of an intruder. “Who be in my house? Leave me now, or I will cast a spell upon thee.”

“
It is I, Grandmother! I am here to remove your spell of love.” Rose brought her cape down tight over her ears when her grandmother’s voice reached her from her bed. She held her lantern out until she could see the wicked eyes glaring back at her. “Get up, Grandmother, you have no choice but to remove the spell.”

“
Who art thou, child? I am not thy grandmother. Leave me, or I will…” Her mouth was shut tight when the girl raised her other hand and screamed, piercing her eardrums with her words.

“
You have no power over me, Elizabeth Wilds, get yourself up from thy bed and follow me now. You must rectify what you have done.” Rose stared at her in disgust. Such evil, how could she have come from this blood? “I will wait for you in your sitting room downstairs, Grandmother. Do not make me wait.”

Elizabeth shook as she descended the stairs. This child had obvious power. Who sent her here? The fire was burning in the stone fireplace when she entered the room, and the girl was sitting in her chair reading from her sacred books. “I still do not know thy name, child. Speak it out so I might know who has intruded my home.”