The Responsible Witch (The Ward Witches) (12 page)

Gage reached for the hem of her shirt, but she pushed his hands away. "Get on your back," she whispered. Thankfully, he obeyed. "From what I've read, men like this kind of thing. Let me know how I do." She positioned herself in front of him and drew his erection into her mouth, sucking it in tightly. He groaned and fell back against the bed.

"Good lord, woman."

Since he certainly sounded like he was enjoying it, she continued. Dymphna attempted to devour him, starting with the part she had in her mouth, licking and sucking on it. By his moans, he approved wholeheartedly. He pushed her away eventually, saying "Get undressed, and fast." By the look in his eye as he went for the box of condoms, she'd better obey. She dropped her clothes as quickly as possible, and it almost wasn't fast enough when he came over and turned her to face th
e
bed. He gently pushed her to lean over the bed, and she held her breath in anticipation of what he was going to do.

Sure enough, he took hold of her hips and pushed into her from behind. Dymphna gasped at the different angle. It felt great, and she pushed back against him. Gage wasn't gentle, but she didn't want gentle right then. She wanted him, and she liked that he lost his control when he was with her. It made her feel powerful, not to mention the wonderful fullness of him inside her. Then, without warning, she came, and hard. She cried out, and he thrust one last time on a growl.

Gage disposed of the condom and came back to sit on the bed next to her. "How did you learn how to do that? That was amazing."

"The internet, and thank you."

"I don't think I've ever been so grateful for the internet. And I liked watching your ass as I took you from behind. That was sexy."

"I liked it too. A lot. But we'd better get dressed. I imagine Skylar's wondering what's taking us so long."

Gage shot her a look with his raised eyebrow. "I think she knows exactly what's taking so long."

Dymphna laughed. "I guess that's the downside to living with other people." She started putting her clothes back on, watching Gage do the same. "How do you feel about it? You know, living with Leo and Skylar?"

"I think it's good for all of us. We all have the opportunity to be around more people, and there's plenty of space here for everyone."

"That's about what Skylar said when I asked her about it this morning. I was worried that particularly with the babies coming she'd want to have her own space. But she said that she likes having me as a sister and likes having me around here. That certainly made me feel good."

"That's great. And Skylar and Leo are good people."

"Indeed they are. Now go downstairs and help her out."

Dymphna cleaned up her makeup and followed him down.

Downstairs, Gage smiled back at Skylar's grin. "You made Dymphna happy this morning."

"That's good. She's been different since she met you, and it's a good thing. She seems happier all around."

"I'm glad to hear it. This morning, I had a thought about the book."

Skylar perked up. 'What do you think? I know you had a hard time figuring it out."

"I think that, except in the rare cases, most people will know about the meditation and the beginnings of working magic from their childhood. Most people will have had a parents or a mentor to teach them. So, if I were writing the book, I'd start with the assumption that people have had that basic training. I'd concentrate on more advanced spells, techniques, and advice on how to use your magic better. That would save space in the book, and most people wouldn't need that part anyway.
And if it's hard for me to learn it, you'll likely have the same problem with most people who try it with just the words and pictures in the book.
"

Skylar gave the thought careful consideration. He could practically see the wheels turning in her mind. "You know, you're right. You and I didn't have any experience, but most people would. If we make the assumption that people like you and me can find a mentor for the first part of their training, I can concentrate on the kinds of hints and tricks that I've been getting in my email from witches across the country. I like it. The question then is what we're going to do about your training if we're not doing it from the book."

"You have mentioned that it's mostly done through mentors. Can you mentor me?"

"Perhaps. The way mentors are chosen is through a magical sync evaluation, similar to how we know our bond-mate. I'll reach out to you with my magic, and if we connect, we'll work together. If not, I'll send you over to the Coven House to find someone to mentor you."

"Alright. What do you need me to do?"

"Just stand still. You'll feel it if it's right."

Gage felt Skylar reaching for her magic, and he felt her push a little bit of it to him, from the center of her magic in her chest to his in his chest. He felt warm, but not uncomfortably so, and he relaxed.

"Looks like we got lucky, and you and I can work together. Since we are bonded to siblings, it makes sense that our magic would be similar enough to hold for a mentor-student relationship. We'll just have to find mentors for you in the other areas from the Coven House."

"OK. So what do we do now?"

"Now we go back outside to the fire pit, and I'm going to teach you how to make and throw fireballs."

"Watch that you don't use too much magic!" Dymphna called from the living room. Apparently she was eavesdropping as well as playing Skyrim.

Skylar laughed. "I'd hate for my midwife to get angry, so I'll be careful."

"Good. And we're going to be going out for dinner tonight with my partners at work."

"Alright. Thanks for letting me know."

Skylar set up a practice ring, and she showed him how to conjure a fireball. He kept practicing, again and again, until she was convinced he had it right and could manage to change the size and power easily. By then it was time to adjourn for lunch anyway.

"I'll show you how to cook with magic another day because today I'd better take it easy so my water witch doesn't have as much to do tonight," she said with a wink at Dymphna.

Dymphna's response was cut off by Gage's phone ringing. He didn't recognize the number, but it was a Boston area code.

"Hello?"

"It's Leo. I don't have long to talk, but I had an idea about how to understand my sister better, and I think you should know."

Gage ignored the questioning looks from the two women and walked into the living room. "Please, tell me."

"You need to get her to take you to the cemetery to visit Martha. She won't like it, but I wouldn't say that name unless she needed to hear it. If she's as open and honest as I hope she will be, you'll definitely gain some insight into why D acts the way she does."

"I'll do it. Thank you for the advice."

"Sure. I can tell my twin needs someone like you, and I'm going to help her in any way I can." The line went dead, and Gage considered the phone carefully. Why would they need to go to a cemetery to visit a lady named Martha? If it was going to get that reaction from Leo, it must be important, but it probably would be painful for Dymphna. But if Leo thought it needed to be done, he was likely right. To be safe, he programmed Leo's number into the phone as he returned to the kitchen.

"What was that about?" Skylar asked.

"That was Leo. He had a message for Dymphna. He wants you to bring me to the cemetery to visit Martha."

Dymphna's beautiful face froze, almost in fear or something, and then turned dark. "I can't believe he brought that up. With you, nonetheless."
Her anger was so abruptly aroused that it was almost a physical entity in the room. Skylar stayed quiet, looking down so she wouldn't be part of this conversation.

"He said he wouldn't say it if it wasn't important. I think we should take his advice." He came over closer to her and picked up her hand, smoothing his thumb across the palm. "Honey, I want to be a great husband for you, and if this will help me understand how to do that better, I think we should go." He met her eyes. "If it's painful, we'll get through it together. But I also trust Leo to know what you need."

Her anger was gone as quickly as it had come, and she looked drawn and weary.
She sighed and dropped her eyes. "I hate it, but you're right. I trust Leo as well, and if he thinks you need to know about Martha, you probably do."

Gage kissed her forehead. "When do you want to go?"

"We'll go now. There's no use in delaying what needs to happen. Thank you for lunch, Skylar."

"You're welcome. I'll see you two later. I've got some work to do
in consideration of
Gage's modifications to the book anyway."

As they went to get their coats and shoes on, Dymphna was silent. He wasn't sure if it was ominous or if she just didn't have anything to say. She didn't seem as mad, but he wasn't sure if resigned was any better.

She kept silent as they got in the car and drove about twenty minutes to the cemetery, making a short stop to buy flowers. After she parked, she had no problem finding the grave she was looking for, which indicated to him that she'd been here plenty often. the marble headstone read "Martha Givens" and "Beloved Wife and Mother."

Dymphna lay the flowers down and stepped back. "Hello, Martha. This is my husband Gage. It's been a while since I've come, but I haven't forgotten you." She turned to him, her heart in her eyes. "Martha was my mentor. She was a great mentor and role model for me, and she taught me most of what I know about water magic. She was always very compassionate, and she wasn't afraid to go the distance for a person who was sick or injured.

"But when I was seventeen, her son was in a fire. It was an accident
because
someone in his apartment building had left the stove on. His fire alarm didn't work for some reason, and he died before the firefighters could get there. He was just barely twenty one at the time, and his death devastated her. She had lost her husband a few years earlier, and she had only barely recovered from that. But either way, a year later on the anniversary of the fire, she hit a depth of depression that sent her walking into the lake. It was the same lake my mother killed herself in, and, also like my mother, Martha used her water magic to force water into her lungs so she would drown faster.

"I was taking a walk at just the right time, and I saw her go in. Between the similarities to my mother's suicide and my love and admiration for my mentor, I went right in after her without even thinking. I dragged her back out and tried to resuscitate her, both with CPR and my magic. It was lucky that Leo felt my distress through his air magic and came out to see what was wrong. I was putting so much of myself and my magic into her that I very nearly died. It was late winter, and the water was cold, too, so I
picked up some
hypothermia as well.

"Leo pulled me bodily out of my healing trance, and between the three of them, my brothers nursed me back to health before winter vacation was over and we had to go back to school. I changed a lot after that. Through my childhood, I had brought injured animals home, and I made sure to get all of them good homes, but I got rid of all of my pets. I haven't had one since. I was planning to go to college for pre-med like Leo, but after that, I couldn't even think about it. I lost my friend, and I knew that if I lost people as a doctor, I wouldn't be able to deal well with it. The world in general just wasn't as good of a place anymore.

"Since then, I've also avoided using my magic as much as possible, really. I'll serve as a midwife, but only for people I'm close to. I haven't wanted to get into a position again where I could hurt myself from trying too hard to help someone. I knew that it was just being human to be so affected by her death, but I didn't want to be weak like that again. According to Leo, that's about the time I started walling myself off from everyone."

"I'm sorry, D," Gage said fervently and pulled her into his arms for a tight hug. He didn't expect to hear anything that harsh on a teen. But it did explain how she would try to seal off her emotions from other people after that. "That's horrible." He felt her crying against his shoulder, and he just held her, rubbing up and down on her back.

She pulled away after a minute and tried to dry her eyes with the back of her hand. "Good thing I'm not wearing mascara, right?" She tried for a weak smile.

"Sure. Do you feel better?"

"Actually, yes, some. Since I've met you, I've been working on tearing down those walls that keep me isolated from everyone. I've come to realize that caring about people and letting them care for you isn't weakness. I think Leo wanted me to come out here, especially with you, to see that I'm a strong person and that it's OK to be open to other people. And he probably did it to show me that I should let you into my life completely without worrying about what happens if things go wrong. I've felt guilty about letting her die all this time, and it wasn't my fault at all. She wanted to die, and I know now that she wouldn't have wanted me to die with her."

"That makes sense. I'm sure she cared about you and would want you to be happy. Leo cares an awful lot about you too. I imagine that his close relationship with Skylar has been good for him, and he probably wants the same for you. I care a lot about you as well, and I want to be part of your life." He discarded the idea of telling her that he loved her for the moment. "So let's give Martha her due as a good role model and mentor, and then move forward."