Kiss & Spell (8 page)

“You are beautiful, Marissa,” Justin said, taking care to slide the dildo all the way inside of her. “I especially love this pussy of yours.”

“Faster, Justin, faster.” She massaged her clitoris again, and she could feel the orgasm coming. The sure, quick strokes of the dildo plus the whispers of encouragement from Justin took her over the edge. A hot rush of release ran through her. Justin thrust the dildo to milk more out of her. A second orgasm followed quickly behind the first, stealing her breath. A deeper one. More satisfying. She grunted, pulled her fingers away from her overly sensitized flesh, and fisted the blankets in her hands as the orgasm rippled through her.

When she was finished, Justin pulled her to him, his arm tight and possessive around her waist. As they drifted off to sleep, he whispered in her ear, “I love you, Marissa Glenn the Witch. I love you.”

Chapter Fifteen

Hours later, Marissa awoke in Justin’s arms, the canopy of the tent protecting them from the cold wind that had picked up outside. She smiled. Things would be so much easier now. He knew about her powers, but wasn’t afraid. He trusted her.

“Now what?” a sleepy Justin said, his eyes still closed.

She brushed his hair back and traced a finger from his forehead, down his nose, to his lips. “I want to kiss you.”

His eyes flew open. “But the magic—”

She pressed her finger to his mouth. “Shh, it’s okay. Demetria broke the bet when she disguised herself as me. She cheated. The bet’s off.”

“Are you sure?”

“Demetria had already broken the rules before I came out here to find you.”
As her thoughts took her farther down this line of thinking, she realized something. Something awful. “Which means I win . . . and I keep this stupid kissing curse.” She sat up, the blanket covering them both slipped away from her body.

Justin raised a lazy hand to her breast and coaxed her nipple into a tight bud. He flipped onto his side to put his full focus on her nakedness.
              “I love touching you like this.”

She looked down at him as he worshipped her breast. His fingers were light on her sensitized flesh. She wanted him again. Right now. “Justin, we can’t.” She groaned and rolled out of the bed of blankets.

Justin fell back onto the pillows. “Why not?”

“I want to be done with this. I want to be able to kiss you and not worry about putting you under some spell. If we’re going to be together, don’t you want that, too?” She conjured up dry clothes for both of them. Sparks flew. They both sneezed.

“See? Sometimes it must be pretty nice to have all that magic at your fingertips.” Justin crawled up behind her and snatched up the pair of jeans she’d created from thin air.  “Although I kinda wish you’d stay just like this.” He pinched one naked ass cheek and slapped her playfully.

“Justin!” She giggled and
backed to the far side of the tent, using the clean clothes as a shield.

He dropped the pants and chased after her. Marissa admired his long, lean shanks, bunched muscles beneath tanned skin, and his semi-erect penis. She could hardly believe he was hers. He told her he loved her! Those very words had come out of his mouth. She hadn’t imagined it. She hadn’t forced him to say it with magic. He’d willingly confessed his love for her.

When he caught up to her against the heavy canvas of the tent, she stopped breathing for a moment. There was a look in his eye. Something she’d never seen in the eyes of any of her one-night lovers. Something tender, something warm. Words caught in her throat. Her mind stopped working. She could only think of one thing: Justin.

His arms snaked around her and pulled her close. Their naked bodies slid against each other, the tender, swollen tips of her nipples raking across his chest. His full erection prodded against her stomach
. She stared at his beautiful sexy mouth. How much she wanted to kiss him then. Taste him. Shape her lips to his and explore the warm moist depths inside.

“Don’t ever leave me, Marissa.” The warmth in his eyes was also tinged with worry and hurt.

“Never.” She hugged him close and laid her head on his shoulder. “I’d never hurt you like that, Justin.”

E
ven though the words had not been spoken, she could feel his body shudder underneath her hands. A last release of the pain another woman had caused months ago. A giving in to the emptiness he’d felt inside. “I know,” he whispered into her hair. “I know.”

* * *

With her magic, she righted Justin’s boat, which was drifting a dozen yards offshore. The paddleboat was nowhere to be seen. Guess she wasn’t getting her deposit back. They’d resisted the urge to jump back into bed together and had swiftly dressed. Marissa made their love tent and all its trappings disappear as easily as she’d made it all appear.

She had a plan, of sorts. First, she’d need to confront Demetria about the bet. Justin was hers, but so was the damned kiss curse. Justin was the more important part
, though. She wanted to make sure Demetria admitted to the loss. She didn’t want any loose ends to worry about. Then she’d have to go about finding her mother. Astrid had mentioned a cure to Marissa’s problems. A family spell. If only she’d known about it before she set up the bet with Demetria. Now that she’d won, however, it was just a matter of contacting her mother and asking for her help—if she was still willing.

“So how do you get in touch with this Demetria?” Justin adjusted the rudder to guide them toward the boat ramp at the far end of the lake.

“The bet requires her to appear at my place.”

“Requires her?”

“Trust me. She can’t avoid the consequences of the bet. I don’t know why she risked cheating when she knew what would happen. Maybe she thought we’d never talk, and I’d never find out the truth?”

“She must really want your power.”

“I guess.” Marissa shrugged. “But if she knew what it was really like, she’d change her mind.” She looked out over the shining surface of Clear Lake. The clouds had drifted east, and the sun shone brightly once more, though it rode much lower in the sky than when she’d first arrived.

“Don’t worry. We’ll be back in Santa Cruz soon.” He’d read her mind.  The worry must be written all over her face.

She wouldn’t feel relief until she knew for sure the magical kiss was gone.

* * *

Marissa’s house was quiet. Too quiet.

Mink meowed and appeared out of the shadows.

“Demetria was here,” Marissa said.

“The cat told you that?”

She glanced over her shoulder at Justin, her lips quirked in a smile. “Um, no, the parchment on the coffee table told me that.” She pointed at the sealed and rolled parchment in the other room. The same paper she and Demetria had signed in blood. “She acknowledged my win.”

She picked up the parchment, broke the seal, and unrolled it. “I just need to burn it, and the terms of the bet will be ended.” She flung a shot of sparks into her fireplace, and a fire roared to life.

Justin was close behind her. “I still can’t get used to that.”

“You will.” She tossed the parchment into the fire and watched it burn. No one could take Justin away from her now. That part of the bet was over.

Justin settled an arm around her shoulders and squeezed. “Now we just need to find your mother.”

He made it sound so easy. Her mother had been able to find her because she’d kept the same address for years. She wasn’t the type of witch who liked to roam. Her home was comfortable, she liked Santa Cruz, and once she’d befriended Justin she really had no desire to move.
Her mother was a will-o-the-wisp. Here one day, gone the next. Marissa’s childhood had been a succession of moves from one end of the world to the other.

“It might not be that simple.” She sighed and sat down on the edge of the raised hearth.

Justin joined her there. “I thought you said she had a cure. A spell in some book that would work.” He caressed her hand, sending chills up her arm.

“She does, but I don’t know how to find her.”

Mink jumped up into her lap and meowed.

“Later, little kitty. I’ll feed you later.” She gently pushed Mink off her lap, but the cat leapt right back. “What?” Marissa made eye contact with the feline. Mink meowed again, jumped to the floor, and trotted into the laundry room off the kitchen. Marissa stood.

“What’s up with your cat?” Justin asked.

“I’m not sure.” She entered the kitchen. “Mink? Where are you, honey?”

The cat scampered out of the laundry room and dropped a bracelet at her feet.

“My mother’s bracelet!  I forgot she dropped it when she was here.”

Justin joined her in the kitchen. “Is that good?”

She
clutched the bracelet in her hand. “That’s very good. I can use a personal object to make her appear.” Without hesitating, she closed her eyes and chanted. Golden sparks erupted from her hand, filling the kitchen with their bright light.

Justin stepped back.

There was a poof of smoke.

“Dang it, Marissa!  What do you think you are doing?” Astrid stood in the middle of the kitchen dressed in only a bathrobe. “I was busy.” Her gaze lit upon the bit of jewelry in Marissa’s hand. “Ah, my bracelet. I’m glad you found it.” She snatched at it, but Marissa closed her fist and tucked her arm behind her back.

“Not so fast, mother. Before I give this back, I need something from you.”

“Is this the man?” Astrid peered over Marissa’s shoulder at Justin standing behind her. “Yes, he’s a fine one. I can see why you had to have him.”

“Mother!”

“It’s okay,” Justin said, stepping between Marissa and her mother. “She can say whatever she wants, as long as she helps you.”

Marissa could feel the tension in Justin. He wanted to protect her, and the knowledge warmed her heart.

Astrid smiled. “Yes, I can definitely see what you liked about him, my dear. If I
were twenty years younger . . .” She reached out to touch his chest.

“Mother . . . .”

Justin narrowed his eyes at Astrid.

“Fine, fine. I’ll help you. Better to rid you of the kiss than have you try to bet it away again.” She flicked her fingers
, and the family spell book appeared. “Honestly, Marissa, all you had to do was ask.” The pages flipped so quickly, they created their own wind.

“Just do it,” Justin said.

Marissa snaked an arm around his chest and pulled him back toward her. His heart beat rapidly under her palm. Although he acted brave, the beating of his heart told her adrenaline was pumping through him. “Step back. She’ll need some room.”

“Ah, yes, here it is. The removal spell. Never thought I’d have to use this.” She let the book float at chest level and gestured at Marissa. “Come here. It’ll only take a minute. I don’t want your loverboy to get in the way. That could pose some problems.”

Justin grabbed her hand, unwilling to move.

Marissa leaned forward and whispered in his ear. “It’s okay. I’ll be all right. She’s my mother.”

Only then did he let go and step aside to let her join Astrid in the center of the kitchen.

Astrid placed a hand on Marissa’s mouth, chanted some words out of the spell book, and a surge of bright green light transferred fr
om her hand to Marissa’s mouth.

“There,” Astrid said. “I hope you’re happy. I don’t think I’ll be sharing this book with you anytime soon.” Astrid made the book snap shut and disappear in a shower of sparks.

Justin and Marissa sneezed.

“I don’t want it, mother.” She joined Justin at the far end of the kitchen. He immediately circled an arm around her waist and drew her close. “I might be a witch, but I want to live life my way. You keep your spells.” She tossed her mother her bracelet. “I don’t need them.”

Her mother caught the bit of jewelry and snorted. “We’ll see about that.” She snapped her fingers and instantly disappeared.

Marissa and Justin were quiet for a moment, the reality of what just happened settling in.

“So,” Justin said. “Should we try it out?”

Marissa could feel the hard heat of his erection against
her back. “By all means.” A thrill ran through her. She was no longer cursed. The kiss was gone. Forever. She turned in his arms. His gaze burned into hers. She moved a little closer, stood on her tiptoes to line her mouth up with his.

His lips were soft—softer than she expected. Instead of the zap of her powers flooding into her victim, she sensed only warmth in her center that radiated outward. She opened her mouth to the tender penetration of his tongue.

Justin caressed her buttocks and thrust his hips down and forward. His erection seated between the V of her legs. Hard, hot cock against soft, moist pussy.

She moaned into his mouth, drawing his tongue in deeper. She grabbed at the back of his neck, holding him there, so she could kiss him deeper, longer, wetter.

Now
this
was a kiss. The kind of kiss she’d dreamed about. Her dominant side took over. She pushed him against the refrigerator, her unusual witch strength aiding in her goal to control.

Justin smiled against her mouth. She kissed him lightly and bit his bottom lip.

He liked it when she played rough with him.

She pushed his hands away from her ass, grabbed him by the hips, and ground her body into his. Kissing was just the beginning. She didn’t want to stop there. She wanted all of him. Now.

A flick of her hand, and Justin was naked. He gasped. She ran her hands over his well-sculpted chest and down to his hips.

“You. Now you.” He groaned. She was still fully dressed.

She flicked her fingers again, and his hand were tied behind his back. She smiled. “Now it’s my turn.” In a shower of sparks, her clothes fell away.

His eyes smoldered. “You’re not playing fair.”