The Beltane Witch (Cloudburst Colorado) (21 page)

“You
want
to do the rituals with me?”

“I’d never do them with anyone else.” He squeezed her hand.

Heat and pleasure bloomed through her and her arousal built a little more. His words filled her heart with excitement and joy, and she wanted to throw her arms around his neck and rub her breasts against his chest. The light painted sensual shadows on his face and her mind flooded with erotic images of his lips on her pussy.

Holy Goddess, what’s in
that wine?

“Are you well, Sabrina?” Darius tipped his head and gave her a languid smile.

“Yes, I think so. I never did thank you for this morning, and your help with the ley lines.” Her face heated as she recalled just how he helped her. “I couldn’t have done it without you.”

“You’re most welcome,
acushla.
” His hot gaze roamed over her body and she felt its scorch everywhere it touched. “Now I have something for you.”

He slid the white box across to her and sat back, his expression expectant.

Sabrina resisted asking the inane question and lifted the lid. Inside, nestled on a delicate red gold chain, rested a pendant of gold filigree around a strange mineral cluster. It looked like several shafts of sorrel crystal had been tied together at the center, then wrapped in gold wire.

“Glory, Darius, it’s beautiful.” She lifted out the necklace and he rose to help her settle it around her neck. “What is it?”

“It’s gold wire, for your beloved Oro Creek, and aragonite, for renewal, protection, and connection with the divine.” His warm fingers clasped the chain around her neck and rested on her shoulders. “This particular crystal has come from the cliffs behind my ancestral home. It’s to symbolize the connection between my line and yours.”

He crouched beside her and took her hands. “I love you, Sabrina, and wish to be with you always. You’re my heart, my family, and my soul
.” He drew her face down to his lips and kissed her.

An explosion of arousal and desire hit her along with the
flavors of rosemary, chicken, and wine. Sabrina moaned and threw her arms around his neck, diving into the kiss with abandon. She wanted to push him to the floor, free his cock, and ride it hard until they both found release. Darius answered her moan with a growl and his arms wrapped tight around her, his hands squeezing her ass.

“Oh, Goddess, Darius. I need you.”

“I know,
acushla,
I need you, too. But we must wait.”

He bowed his head and pressed his forehead against hers, taking great gulping breaths.

“Holy crap, what’s in the wine?”

“I suspect it’s to get us in the mood.”

“Yeah, well, we don’t seem to have a problem with mood.” Sabrina forced herself to release him, but couldn’t help checking his groin where his cock pressed in a hard, long ridge at the front of his pants. Her pussy clenched in desperate anticipation and she squirmed on her chair. “Let’s finish dinner and clean up. It might give us a measure of control.”

He laughed, but it sounded strained as he pushed away from her and resumed his seat on the opposite side of the table.

“Did you mean what you said?”

For a moment, Darious looked confused.
“What I said?”

“Yes,
that I’m your heart, family, and soul.”

His expression smoothed out into a tender smile. “Yes.
You’re everything to me. I want you and no other.”

Humor beat back some of the rising lust. “
Pretty bold coming from a man of your experience. Are you sure you’re feeling all right?”

He grimaced ruefully, but amusement glinted in his eyes. “I’m feeling a little off kilter from the wine, but my heart knows what it wants. And we both want you, Sabrina.” Fire flared in his gaze and
tingles shot to her pussy from the heat. She wanted to leap at him, but she forced herself to sit back and pick up her fork, praying she wouldn’t bend it in her fist.

She focused on her food and tried to swallow it down with the last of the wine, but her skin tingled with awareness of the man across the table. He seemed to be faring no better. They spoke little and soon returned to the kitchen to clean up.

Even the simple task of cleaning dishes and putting away food took on an erotic flavor. Sabrina’s awareness of Darius rose to a new level and he responded to her hot looks with small torturous caresses. The sight of his cock stretching the front of his pants shot more fluid to her pussy and her inner muscles tingled and clenched with need. Each time he brushed against her, whether accidental or with purpose, Sabrina wanted to rub her stiff, aching nipples over his chest, or hands, or back, or anything.

The scents of aroused male only heightened her need and she could barely keep her
hands off him as she moved around the kitchen.

What is wrong with me?
Sabrina glanced at the clock. The little green numbers above the stove read 6:47. Two hours until the Fae arrived, another three until the rituals started at midnight.
Holy Goddess, how I am going to make it for another five hours without fucking him?

Her
body ached for his touches and she squeezed her legs together to relieve some of the building pressure in her clit. But the friction of her clothing only added to her torment and she had to lean against the counter to relax.

Darius moved up behind her and rubbed his hard bulge against her ass, sending her arousal into a tailspin. She gritted her teeth and her knuckles whitened where she gripped the counter as she resisted the urge to tackle him.

“You appear tense, Sabrina. Shall I help you relax?” Darius trailed his hands down her back and slid them around to cup her breasts. She moaned and pressed her chest forward into his palms.

He dropped soft kisses on her neck
. Sabrina wanted to fall into the passion rising between them, but a voice of warning shouted at the back of her mind. There was something they weren’t supposed to do. Darius gently pinched her nipples through her shirt and nuzzled her ear.

Goddess,
she’d happily jump into bed and fuck him until blind.

Wait! Wait. Beltane. No fucking until midnight at the rituals.
They had to save their energy to ensure the potency in strengthening the magical wards surrounding the sacred site.

Logic finally broke through some of the arousal and she twisted out of his grip. He gave her a puzzled look as she backed away from with him a loony grin.

“I think I’m going to my room for a while.” She met his smoldering gaze and her pussy clenched with longing as she grabbed the decorative wooden box. “Yes, going to my room until it’s time to go.” He licked his lips and she moaned, almost giving in. “Thank you for the necklace and the help. But I have to go…” Darius’s expression turned predatory. “Right now!”

She bolted out of the room and he charged after her with a growl. Joyful excitement surged through her just as she reached her door and slammed it in his face.
Just five more hours. Dear Goddess, give me the strength to wait.

Chapter Thirteen

Darius breathed deeply, but his cockstand refused to abate. Damn the Fae and their enhanced wine. He’d never been a recipient of the wine, but he suspected
it had been used for centuries to relax the participants of the High Beltane rituals. Unfortunately, it also fired his blood and destroyed any control he had over his libido.

When Sabrina had run from him, he’d lost all of his sanity and chased after her like a rutting bull. But she’d found the wisdom he’d lost and gave them both the opportunity to calm down enough before they fell to fucking hard and fast. While he’d like to blame the wine
—and it was mostly to blame—he suspected they would’ve given into their mutual attraction anyway.

Darius sighed and closed his eyes as he smoothed the hunter green tunic over his chest
. He wished the hands belonged to Sabrina. Every moment apart from her grated on his calm. He’d paced the living room, trying to think of anything other than his sexy, wanton witch with her lavender eyes and rich mahogany hair.

Bollocks!
He rearranged his cock and balls for the thousandth time and glanced at the clock above the mantle. The hands showed five minutes to eleven and the time hadn’t come soon enough. He’d tried meditating, but he’d only seen Sabrina’s succulent rosy nipples behind his eyes. He’d tried shadow fighting to burn off some of the lust tearing through him, but the exertion only made the arousal flare. He then tried pushups, but the excercise only reminded him of his chest brushing Sabrina’s breasts and he gave up with a whimper.

The click of Sabrina’s bedroom door had him spinning around and wishing the soft pants he wore could stretch a bit more in the groin. His glorious witch glided down the hallway in the lavender dress from the Queen and he stopped breathing.

The split skirt parted around her hips covered by her own loose pants, baring her gently rounded belly, and Darius’s half-mast cock rose to salute. The aragonite necklace hung between the perfect mounds of her breasts and matched the copper colored embroidery on the long trailing sleeves. She’d gathered her hair into a plaited chignon and copper drops hung from her ears.

“
By the Goddess, you’re beautiful.”

He’d never seen a woman so magnificent. Even the Summer Queen paled beside the beauty of Sabrina Foxglove in her Beltane finery.
His heart swelled and he wanted to gather her against his body, make sweet love to her, and never leave her side. His inner barbarian roared
my woman
and he pushed out his chest.

“Thank you. You’re pretty handsome yourself.” Sabrina let her gaze slide down his body and he felt it like a smooth caress. His cock jerked in appreciation. “Are you ready for this ride?”

You have no idea.
He suspected she’d used another one of her curious idioms, but he pictured her sitting astride him and rocking hard, and almost groaned.

“I am. How
was your time alone?”

“Miserable.” She smiled brightly. “But necessary or we wouldn’t have made it to the
ceremony.” She licked her lips as she scanned him again and he tightened his hands into fists to keep from grabbing her.

He cleared his throat and gestured toward the garage. “Do you have a shawl to wear? It’s not summer yet and we should get going.”
Before I bend you over the divan and take you hard
.

Sabrina’s eyes flared as if she heard his thought, but she retrieved a deep purple shawl from the closet beside the door and wrapped it about her. It blocked his view of her luscious breasts held in lavender silk, but it did nothing to calm his cockstand.

Two hundred years old and I can’t control myself better than a boy of sixteen. Bloody Fae wine.

He felt a bit odd allowing Sabrina to drive them to the sacred circle
. A gentleman always conveyed his lady to their destination, but she knew the roads best in the darkness and how to handle her vehicle. She deftly guided it to the old homestead and parked it before the mill.

A soft flickering glow suffused the
trees behind the structure. The brush of Fae magic flowed over them as they exited the van. Musical voices intoned the sacred chants and the air filled with power. Darius’s heart swelled with the energy from the chants and he fought against the urge to take his lady against the trunk of the nearest tree.

His thoughts shattered as another set of headlights cut through the darkness. Sabrina spun toward them
, her shoulders tense. Darius grasped her arm and pulled her close to his side as a large SUV skidded to a dusty halt beside her van.

Three men exited the vehicle, leaving the doors open and the headlights on. Though back-lit, Sabrina gasped as she they came into view.

“Oh holy Goddess, what is he doing here?”

“Thought you got rid of me for good,
tramp?” Marty Robinson sneered and tapped a large iron bar against the palm of one hand. “Not even your asshole boy toy can stop me this time. We’ll even the odds a little, won’t we?”

Anger swelled in Darius’s chest, but he lifted his chi
n with a mild smirk. “Think your friends and your meager weapon will save you this time, churl?” He chuckled. “You’d be wise to get back into your vehicle and retreat while still whole. You’ve intruded where you’re not welcome.”

“Shut up, wise guy.” Marty pointed the bar at Darius’s chest. “
This time you don’t got that sword of yours and this woman needs a real man to set her straight.”

“I thought you said he wouldn’t come back.” Sabrina’s voice held anger and frustration surged inside Darius.

“I thought he’d be wise enough to heed my warning. I believe I misjudged his intelligence.”

“Are you calling me stupid, asshole?” Marty took two steps forward as his friends muttered darkly.

Darius bared his teeth in a mean grin. “If the boot fits…”

Marty growled and Darius braced himself, his attention centered on the bar. If he caught it on the swing, he could use Marty’s momentum to wrest it from his grasp and
put him down. Marty launched himself at Darius, but before Darius could move, a tall, slender warrior darted between them and caught the bar with a sword. Metal screeched and sparks flew as Sabrina yelped in surprise. Darius swung toward her, his heart in his throat as another Fae warrior took on Marty’s ill prepared friends.

“I have you, my lady.” Darius wrapped
Sabrina in his arms and backed them toward the millhouse, watching the battle.

It ended within moments, Marty once again whimpering and whining beneath the weight of his attacker. His friends lay at the feet of the second warrior, unconscious.

“Oh my glory, are they dead?” Sabrina turned her head to look at the combatants.

“No, my lady. We merely
subdued them. You may attend to the ceremony without any interruptions.” The slight warrior over Marty turned and Darius realized the little prick had been bested by a woman.

“Come, Sabrina. We must go. The time draws near.” Darius tugged at her, but she resisted
.

“What will you do with them?”

The female Elf tipped her head to eye Marty’s fetal form. “We will take their memories of this night from them and send them home.”

“One request, if I may.” Darius caught the woman’s eye and she nodded. “Take their memories of Sabrina Foxglove as well. Let them never recognize her again.”

Amusement flashed across the warrior’s lips for a moment then disappeared. “As you wish, Lord Chamberlain.” She bowed her helmed head and turned to Marty once more.

“Come, Sabrina. It’s time to go.”

“They won’t hurt them, will they?”

“Not any more than they already have. And you’ll be safe now. They won’t remember you or this night ever again.” He kissed her forehead. “Come. The Fae are awaiting us.”

He guided her back toward the millhouse where two more Fae stood. Sabrina gave one last look toward the downed men then resolutely faced the man and woman waiting for them. She bit her bottom lip, squaring her shoulders, and took a deep breath.

“Why are they waiting
?” Apprehension filled Sabrina’s voice as she tightened her hands on her shawl.

“Peace, little witch. They
will escort us into the sacred circle. I must leave you for a time.”

“Leave me? What are you talking about?” She turned wide eyes to him
and he read the fear in her expression.

He almost reached out for her, but thought better of it when the energy between them crackled with unspent passion. He stepped back a pace
and tightened this hands into fists.

“The May Lord and May Lady enter the rituals at different times. Worry not,
Lady Foxglove. You’re in good hands.” Not as good as his, but good enough for now.

A frown marred her brow when he used her title, but he’d be damned before the Fae Court knew where his heart lay.
Let them believe it’s the wine spurring my desire.

“Lady Foxglove?” the Fae woman called. Sabrina glanced in her direction, but she still hesitated.

“Blessed be,” she whispered before retreating to join the Fae lady.

“Blessed be.
” He enjoyed the sway of her hips beneath the sheer material and his cock flexed against his trousers.
Sweet mercies, she’s magnificent.
He watched until they’d disappeared behind the millhouse. The ladies couldn’t be more opposite, but only the human witch held his attention. The tall Fae looked like an emaciated child beside her. Why did he ever believe the Fae attractive?

“Let us begin, Chamberlain Winterbourne.” The Fae man gestured toward the same path the women had taken, but when they rounded the structure, the women were gone.

“Are you aware of your duties, Chamberlain?”

“I am.” Though he’d never performed the rituals himself, he’d attended enough High Beltane events to know what should occur.

“Very well. When you arrive at the circle, please don your mask and join the dance, sun-wise, around the fire.”

Despite his knowledge of Fae Beltane, he still stopped in his tracks when they arrived at the sacred circle. Between the pulse of the magic wafting through the trees and the wine
spurring his arousal, Darius stood dumbfounded at the spectacle before him.

Light suffused the
circle of trees from floating “mage fyre” balls, and the crackling bonfire in the great pit at the center. Crystals and ribbons hung from every branch, flickering and glittering in the shifting light. Dancers swirled around the fire’s bed in rich colors similar to his own jewel-toned costume, each wearing a horned mask to disguise their features. The current dancers were all male. Though he’d been chosen as the one to be the May Lord, tradition dictated his arrival to be camouflaged by the other males in the group.

His Fae escort handed Darius a mask, an elegant, leafy eye covering with spreading antlers reaching nearly two feet above his head. He feared it would be ungainly for the dance, and certa
inly for later activities. However, when he tied it to his head, it rested with no more weight than the hood of his cloak.

“Be ready, Chamberlain.”

Darius dipped his chin and watched the pattern of the dancers as his heartbeat sped up. The chorus of the pipes, fiddles, lutes, and drums fired his blood, and made him want to throw his body into the dance. Performed by the men only, this portion of the rituals built the foundation of the magic with strength and power, punctuated by heavy beats of the drums. Darius shook with the need to join the ancient rhythms.

“Now.”

Darius leapt into the pattern, his heart soaring and his feet flying in the steps. He’d seen this performed countless times, but he’d never danced it himself. Despite his lack of knowledge, his body seemed to know the moves, and he flowed into the crowd of male dancers without a ripple.

Power surged through his veins and Darius lost himself to it. The music and pounding beat throbbed within him, sending his feet flying and his body twisting in the moves with the others. Darius grinned, primal joy and exhilaration surging from his gut.
He wanted to shout with the sheer glory of the dance, but focused his energy on moving faster and with more dexterity.

Time became elastic and when the trumpets blew to announce the arrival of the Summer Queen, Darius only noticed because the pattern in the dance
shifted. Each male performed an elegant pirouette before Her Majesty and Darius followed suit, as if he had no connection to the Queen at all.

When he rose from his bow to look upon the
her, he realized the dancers were not the only ones affected by the pounding beats of the music. For all her stillness, the Fae Queen appeared wilder and more primal, as if she wore a mask of serenity to disguise her true feral nature. Her eyes glittered with untamed desire and she watched the dancers avidly, her hands gripping the arms of her gilded chair with white knuckles.

Darius recognized the lust and desire for sex in the lovely woman’s face, but despite his roaring libido, he found nothing to attract him. He swirled away with the other dancers, content to twist and writhe to the drugging beat.