Kiss & Spell (7 page)

Chapter Thirteen

Justin hauled in his third bass of the day. The limit was ten, which meant he could stay out on the lake for the rest of the morning. His mind focused on one thing: fishing. It was good to be focused. Good to think only about his line, his lure, and the best place to put them in the water.

He looked up. The sun still rode low in the sky. Midday was several hours away and with the clouds drifting in from the mountains, the conditions were near perfect to catch a big one. He switched out lures, picked a spot near a particularly large, sunken tree limb, and . . . .

"Justin!"

The woman’s shout shattered his concentration. He let loose his line, and it sailed too close to the limb, snagging on a branch which stuck out above the surface. "Shit." He glared across the blue-green water at the plastic monstrosity coming toward him.

"Justin, I need to talk to you."

"Marissa?" He curved a hand over his eyes, but all he could make out was a dark shape inside a blue-and-white plastic swan as big as a compact car. "Jesus, what in the hell . . . ?" How did she find him here? This was supposed to be his no-women weekend. As she approached, there was an instant heaviness in his groin. Goddamn his cock for not remembering that.

The paddleboat kicked up foam and water. She attempted to steer the unwieldy vessel with the bicycle handles that served as a steering device, but ending up ramming the back of his boat. The water didn’t quite muffle the sickening crunch. "John told me where you'd be,
and I had to talk to you."

"Go back, Marissa. I don't know why you wasted your time finding me. Am I really so much better than Mr. Tank Top? There're plenty of guys back at the pub. You don't need me." He jerked on his fishing rod to dislodge the lure stuck in the branch.

"Mr. Tank Top? What are you talking about?" She gripped the edge of his boat to keep hers from drifting away. "I wanted to explain."

"You don't need to explain." He tugged harder. "I get it. I knew what you were before we ever got together. I knew it wouldn't last. It was my own fault."

"You knew what I was? What was that, exactly?" She leaned out of her boat, gripping the slippery edge of his metal boat. A pretty brave stance for someone who couldn't swim.

A speedboat flew by just yards away. A huge wake rolled in their direction. Before he could put down his rod and reach out for her, Marissa was flung off her paddleboat and into the murky lake. Justin dove in after her. In a matter of moments he'd wrapped one arm around her waist and tugged her above the surface. She sputtered, water exploding out of her mouth.

"Are you all right?" Justin treaded water, making sure he had a tight grip on her.

The minute her head was above water, she flailed and twisted. She gasped to catch her breath.

He held her fast, and he kicked back toward his boat. The paddleboat had drifted away. Too far for him to reach at this point. He helped her to the side of his boat, where she clung to it silently, her hair a tangled mess around her head. Holding onto the boat's edge calmed her. He scrambled back into the boat and reached over the side to help her in.

"Grab my hands, and I'm going to pull."

She nodded, her face pale.

He pulled as hard as he could, but the boat tipped precariously in her direction and he stopped. His vessel was too small for that kind of maneuvering.
He saw the fear in her eyes, though. The abject terror. She breathed shallowly, and her face was white. Regardless of the instability, he had to try once more. He moved his cooler to the opposite side of the boat, hoping for a more even weight distribution. On his knees this time, he grabbed her under her arms and pulled with all his strength.

He managed to get her up over the side, but the extra weight made the boat dip so low that it took on water quickly. Marissa scrambled out of his grasp, but the boat tilted wildly. Before he could tell her to sit still, the tiny watercraft flipped over and dumped them both back into the lake.

She flailed wildly. He swam with a sure stroke toward her and locked his arm around her. Once she realized she wasn’t going to go under, she relaxed, but he could feel her shivering in his arms.

He
couldn’t flip over his boat and hold onto her at the same time. “I’m going to get us over to that island.” He kicked in the direction of a small piece of sand and trees about fifty yards away. As he paddled them toward shore, he looked back at the small metal boat, upside down with the cooler bobbing next to it.

Marissa went limp, her body drifting with his strokes, floating on the surface of the lake. Although it was difficult to swim with her extra weight, he managed to get them to the island in record time.

As soon as his feet hit bottom he let go of her. “You can stand now.”

Marissa stood in the waist-high water. Her clothes clung to her like plastic wrap, tight and revealing.
Although he’d sworn off women, especially
this
woman, his damned body couldn’t help but react to the puckered nipples so obvious beneath the wet fabric, and the full curves of her breasts and hips. He turned away before he did something stupid.

“Thank you.” Her voice was a bare peep over the sound of waves lapping the shoreline.

“I hope you’ve got cash on you because you owe me for the boat . . . .” The cooler floated past, its lid open. One soggy sandwich trailed behind. “And my lunch.”

Chapter Fourteen

Marissa waded out of the cold lake water. If she’d been alone, she could’ve saved herself with magic, but that was the one thing she had to avoid. His anger was palpable. He’d rescued her, sure, but he seemed to be anything but happy about it.

Anger.

That was an odd reaction.

She thought he would be fearful of her, not angry. Her mistaken display of magic was what sent him running, right?

Water dripped from her jeans. The fabric clung to her, making it difficult to walk. Sand coated her bare feet. Somewhere in the lake she’d lost her shoes. To add insult to injury, the sun disappeared behind a thick band of clouds, and she shivered at the loss of heat.

Justin had grabbed the cooler and was using it as a bench, watching her. Even though she knew he was upset with her, when his gaze settled on her all she could think about was his naked body handcuffed to his bed, his penis erect under her ministrations. Her already hard nipples tightened further, two knobby points of desire.

“What did you mean back there?” Since he clearly didn’t want to share his bench with her, she found a rock and perched on it. “You said that you ‘knew what I was’ when we met.” She combed her wet hair with her fingers.

His gaze met hers. Dark and pained. “I knew you had other . . . men . . . in your life before me. Quite a few, in fact.”

Her face heated. Never had she been more embarrassed about her behavior. It had never mattered before. She’d never cared what any human thought of her. She did care what this one thought, though. “I’m done with that part of my life. I told you that. I thought you understood.”

“You didn’t look so ‘done’ with that Thursday night.” He scratched a brow and waited for her reply.

Thursday? She’d been miserable at home Thursday, thinking she’d ruined everything with him. “Okay, why don’t you spit it out? I don’t know what you’re talking about. If you’re accusing me of something, just tell me.”

His gaze shifted to focus on the lake. “I saw you with another man at the pub on Thursday. He kissed you. You left with him.”

Confusion flooded her brain. “What?”

His brow furrowed. “Are you telling me you don’t remember that?”

“I was home on Thursday night.” Her mind explored the possibilities. “Are you sure it was me?”

He gave a dark laugh. “Oh, yes, it was you. The tight red dress, the l
ong dark hair, the smile . . .” His gaze flickered over her.

“Did you talk to me? Look me in the eye?” Her theory
grew more solid by the second. He seemed so sure, and she’d heard rumors of a certain witch with a certain magical cream.

He picked up a rock and chucked it into the water. “You were a little too busy to talk with me.” The disgust in his voice chilled her.

“She cheated.”

“What?”

When the idea came to her, a weight lifted off her. She didn’t have to live up to the terms of her bet if Demetria cheated. It wasn’t too late to come clean. “That wasn’t me, Justin, I swear to you.”

He tossed another rock. “Uh-huh. Right.”

She crossed the sandy divide between them and knelt down. “You need to listen to me. That night in your apartment when I uncuffed you . . .”

He stared down at her, the fear returning to his eyes.

“Please.” She clasped his hand in hers. “Hear me out. I’ve never shared this with anyone.” She took a breath. “I’m a witch.”

He blew air out of his nose and quirked a smile. “Yeah, right.”

“You saw it that night—the sparks, the handcuffs coming unlocked, and then when I disappeared. In your heart, you know it’s true.”

H
e shook his head and pulled out of her hold. “No.”

“The reason you’d seen me with those men was because of a spell my mother cursed me with many years ago. When I was too small to make up my own min
d. I have a magical kiss.”

“You’ve got to be joking.” Justin got up from the cooler and backed away from her. “This is how you explain everything? You’re a witch? And you have a magic kiss. God, you’re just as bad as Jana. No, you’re worse.”

Marissa cringed at the comparison.

“At least Jana never hesitated to admit she’d cheated on me when I caught her in the act.”

“Justin. I swear to you this is the truth. I’m a witch; I made a bet with another witch that I could make a man fall in love with me, without using my kiss. And I chose you, Justin. I chose you.”

He kept shaking his head.

“I couldn’t tell you any of this, or I’d lose the bet. I’d lose you forever. Don’t you see? Demetria cheated. She was the one you saw at the bar, not me. Think about it.”

“I did think about it. I saw you. It was you.”

“Did you look her in the eyes? Just tell me if you did that much.”

“I didn’t want to. Jesus, Marissa, why did you do it? Am I not good enough for you? Did I not satisfy you?”

Tears pricked her eyes. Demetria had shattered what little trust they’d built between them. Ruined everything. “All I ever wanted was you.” She shivered. The wind had picked up, and the sun still hid behind the clouds. Her wet clothes and hair clung to her. “I’ll prove it to you.”

He stopped throwing rocks and faced her. “How are you going to—?”

Marissa flicked her fingers at a pile of dry driftwood along the shoreline. Sparks exploded around the wood, and the whole pile rose into the air. Another flick, and the wood organized itself in a neat stack. She swirled her finger around in the air, aimed, and flung a red, sparkling flame into the dry material. A fire blazed up instantly.

They both sneezed.

“Dammit, I hate that.” She rubbed at her ticklish nose and stepped up to the fire. “See? I’m a witch.” The little bit of heat coming from the fire didn’t help to warm her much, but it was better than nothing. “I swear to you that was Demetria. She doesn’t have my magical kiss, so there was no way she had control of the man you saw her with. Did he follow her right out the door?”

Justin seemed too stunned to speak. He stared at the fire and stepped up next to her. “You did that, right? I just saw you make the wood fly though the air . . . and your finger with the fire . . . . Hot damn, you
are
a witch.” He grabbed her by the arms and turned her toward him. “Is that why you haven’t kissed me? Is that why they don’t remember you afterward?” His hands on her body warmed her. His touch was like lightning on her skin. He must’ve felt it, too, because he quickly let her go.

She nodded. A strand of drying hair blew across her face. He reached out and brushed it away.

“You know that wasn’t me in the bar. Deep down, you know it.”

His hand trailed from her hair to her cheek. “I want to believe it, Marissa.” Her lips trembled, and he brushed his thumb across them.

“Then believe,” she said. “I want to be with you, and no one else. I love you, Justin. Don’t you see I’d give everything up for you?”

His face softened, and his eyes grew warm. He scanned her face, as if searching for something. He cupped her chin and drew her toward him. “I really want to kiss you right now.” His mouth hovered above hers, his breath hot on her cheek.

“I know.” The warmth of his body radiated toward her. Her hips moved forward. He snaked an arm around her waist and pulled her up against him. “But there are better things than kissing.” She rubbed a hand across the bulge in his pants.

He groaned. “God, Marissa, I wish we were back at my place.” Burying his face in her hair, he moved his hand to cup her ass and press her against his erection. “I’d fuck you so hard.”

“Why do we have to wait?” She unzipped his pants, the wet material making it difficult.

“It’s broad daylight, for one.” He grunted when she touched the ridge of his penis through his boxers. “And I don’t have any protection.” A speedboat zoomed past, reminding them both of how exposed they were.

“You forgot; I’m a witch.” She snapped her fingers, and dozens of condoms rained down on them in a shower of sparks.

He raised an eyebrow. “Well, that comes in handy.”

She smiled at him. “Yes, it does.” She ran her knuckles over his erection. He shuddered and dug his fingers into her hips. “We can take care of the other problem, too.” She snapped her fingers again, and a tall canopy tent surrounded them. A pile of soft blankets and pillows covered the beach under their feet.

His mouth curved in a sideways smile, which deepened his dimples. “So, if you can make things appear, can you make them disappear as well?”

She frowned. “Such as?”

He tugged at her wet jeans.

“Ah.” She laughed. “As a matter of fact . . . .” She snapped her fingers again, and both of them were naked. His cock pressed against her stomach.

“Perfect.” He palmed her tits, shaping and reshaping them, rubbing his thumbs over her hardening nipples. He leaned down and sucked one into his mouth, nibbling at the tender flesh.

A flood of heat swept through her. Without much thought, she threaded her fingers through his hair and pushed him harder against her breast. He massaged it gently as he worked on the nipple. This time, she wanted him to explore her without any orders. She gladly gave over control to Justin without any worries or fears. While he sucked her tit, he touched her between the legs. Two fingers parting her labia, stroking the wet flesh he found there.

She spread her legs apart to give him more access, and the waves of sensation across her pussy kept her quiet. He found her moist center, and dipped a finger inside. The touch made her jump. Intense pleasure rocketed through her. The rough penetration took her higher and higher. He switched his attention to her other breast, this time sucking harder, taking the whole areola in his mouth.

She moved her hands to his shoulders. She was losing stability as her legs spread even wider.

Without warning, he stopped everything, spun her around, and urged her to her knees. “Get on your hands and knees for me, Marissa.”

She’d never taken orders from a man before. All along, she’d thought she liked to be the one in charge. She’d never really had the chance, though, to experiment since her sex partners had all been under a spell.

T
here on the pile of soft blankets, the idea of Justin fucking her from behind made her blood run hot. She did as he ordered, leaning forward on her forearms to give him better access.

“That’s it, baby.” He knelt behind her and rubbed a hand across her ass. “God, you are so beautiful like that. Your pussy is so juicy and sweet, Marissa.” His hard cock rubbed across her exposed labia.

A jolt of desire made her moan. “God, I need you inside me, Justin.”

The sound of a tearing condom wrapper let her know release was coming soon. Moisture seeped out of her in anticipation of sex.

“I love looking at you this way.” He spread her labia with his fingers. Cool air hit sensitized flesh. “Should I fuck you here?” His finger penetrated her.

She curved her back at the invasion and moaned. “Yes. Please.”

He added a second finger to her wet hole and stroked slowly. “Is this what you want, Marissa?” He leaned over her and whispered in her ear as he continued the assault on her cunt.

Each stroke of his fingers took her higher. “I want your cock in me, Justin. Please.”

He grabbed her hair and pulled her head back. “Get ready, Marissa. I’m going to fuck you so hard.” In a flash he’d wrapped his other arm around her waist and plunged his dick into her.

The quick penetration caught her off guard, and she cried out as he filled her. Hard. Deep. Her buttocks pushed back against him as he fucked her. The slap of flesh against her ass and the wet sucking sounds of sex filled the tiny tent. She spread her knees as far as she could, drawing him deeper inside.

He tugged on her hair, and the pain in her scalp took her higher. She liked it. Loved it. The savage thrusts drew more wetness out of her. Her breasts ached, her clit swelled. Her vaginal muscles clenched around him, building toward orgasm. The tightness only caused him to fuck her harder.

“Jesus, Marissa.” His arm tightened around her waist. “God, I’m going to come.”

She thrust back against him as hard as she could, wanting him to be deep inside her when he ejaculated.

He cried out, let go of her hair, and grabbed onto her breast instead. He stuffed his dick inside her one last time and climaxed. “Thank you.”

He rolled off her and lay face up on the blankets. Marissa hadn’t reached her own peak. Still on hands and knees, she reached between her legs and rubbed at her clit. She was so close and only a few strokes should push her over the edge. She circled her finger around and around the wet nub of flesh.

Justin, watching her, reached out to massage her breast and thumb her nipple. “Come on, baby. That’s it.”

Marissa needed something more. She stopped touching herself, snapped her fingers, and a dildo fell onto the blankets in an explosion of sparks.

Panting, she looked over at Justin. Their gazes met. He quirked a brow, and without saying a word, he picked up the dildo and slipped it into her wet opening.

“Oh, God!” The hard, thick dildo violated her cunt.