Willow: June (11 page)

Pulling back, she whimpered and tried to follow. He gripped her hips and held her still. A grin curved his mouth. He wasn’t going anywhere. With just the head of his cock inside, he took a calming breath and thrust all the way in. Willow cried out with pleasure and then he was moving. Thrusting in and out, over and over again.

They worked together, their speed picking up. Her cries echoing throughout the room. He hunched over her, sliding his hands from her waist to her shoulders. He curled his fingers, gripping her hard and probably leaving bruises, but he was too far-gone to adjust.

“Fuck, yeah, Willow.” He grunted, slamming his hips against her. “Take all I’ve got, love.”

He was holding her up at this point, her hands no longer on the bed frame. He felt her hand between her legs. Stroking his dick for a second as it slid in and out. She rubbed her clit, and it didn’t take long for her to come. She threw her head back screaming his name and he tumbled right after.

Fingers locked onto her shoulder, he thrust into her one last time. The force of his orgasm shaking his legs and pulling his balls tight against his body. His energy drained from him in a heartbeat and his dick softened, slipping from her body.

Cedric tapped her lightly on the ass. “Go lay down.”

He stepped out of his jeans, leaving them in a pile at the end of the bed, then crawled up next to her, flopping onto his back out of breath. Willow curled into his side, resting her head on his shoulder. Her arm draped over his chest. Her fingers made patterns on his skin, sending a torrent of ridiculously happy feelings through him. He loved the fact she was a snuggler, even though he’d never been a fan of it before. Being with Willow wasn’t like anything he’d experienced ever before, but he knew it wouldn’t be.

She was his heart and soul. He could be himself around her and not that douche-bag guy everyone saw him as. He was able to show her who he really was. That he’d grown up and was finally ready to love her like she deserved.

She hummed and burrowed a little deeper after he managed to get the covers out from under them. Cool sheets covered them and almost every ounce of stress drained from his body. There was one thing keeping him from complete and total bliss.

“Is that a happy hum?” He asked into the quiet of the room.

“Uh huh.” She replied sleepily.

In the darkness, the soft glow of her moonstone started to grow brighter. Reaching over, he plucked it off her chest and felt the warmth begin to radiate down his fingers.

“Love?”

“Hmmm…”

“Why don’t you take this off?” He tugged lightly on the necklace she had been wearing around her neck for the past two weeks. He knew she hadn’t taken it off at any point, and he was more than ready for her to set it aside. She didn’t need it to see that he was in love with her. He’d told her and shown her in so many ways.

“Not until the solstice is over,” she mumbled.

“But you don’t need it. I think we’ve proven that.”

“Fantastic sex doesn’t automatically mean love of a lifetime,” she said, sounding not quite as sleepy anymore.

A part of him, his ego specifically, did a high-five at the fantastic sex comment. The other part of him wondered what else she needed to believe he was the one she was meant to be with.

She shifted away slightly and tilted her head up. A loud snap sounded in the room. Fireflies appeared out of thin air casting dim light throughout the room, enough to where they could see each other.

“In this case it does though,” he said, shoving to sit up against the headboard.

Willow followed suit, putting even more distance between them. She pulled the sheet to cover her breasts. “You don’t know that for sure.”

“Yes, I do. I told you the first day I came over that I loved you. We are meant for each other, Willow. Have been since we were five. And if you don’t believe that, then you need to listen to the moonstone. It heats to my touch. It reacts only to me. If you believe in Aphrodite and the gift she has bestowed upon you, you have to believe that I’m your fated mate.”

“Why? Because you showed up the day after my rite to the Goddess?”

Cedric had to think about that one for a moment. Saying yes would prove her point that they were together because of the moonstone, and she might never take it off. Saying no would mean explaining himself and trying to convince her he was sincere.

“You don’t even know what to say, do you?” Her lips thinned and a flicker of hurt drifted into her eyes.

“I do, but either way I have a fight on my hands. If I say yes, then you’ll believe I’m only here because of the moonstone and the rite. If I say no, then I have to explain how I planned on coming to your house to begin with and hope you believe me.”

She snorted and crossed her arms over her chest.

He wasn’t a fan of the derision in that sound. “Who do you think got rid of Perry in order to replace him? That didn’t happen on a whim. I fixed him up with someone I knew he couldn’t resist and was there to ensure I was the man assigned to help you. I’ve been planning on finding a way back into your life after the royal fuck-up of a date. I missed you, Wills.”

Her eyes narrowed and there was a spark of distrust glittering in them. “You expect me to believe that?”

“You’re damn right I do.” He reached out and ran his fingers over the branches of her tattoo. “This tree that represents your family and is about you, the twists and dead-ends in your relationships. The deep, sudden turn leading to a new branch in your life. I hate to break it to you, but that’s us. Our fights and making up. The years when we didn’t talk or barely looked at each other. It’s time for the next step. A more intimate, caring step.”

“So, what you’re saying is that your plan was to seduce me and get me into bed to bring it to an
intimate
level.”

He laughed out loud. Long and hearty. “Oh, love, if my plan was to seduce you, I would have done so the first day. As egotistical as it may be, I’ve known you’ve had feelings for me for years. At any time I could have taken advantage of that, but I didn’t. And, do you want to know why?”

Willow shook her head. “No, I don’t.”

“I’m going to tell you anyway. Because I knew you would fall in love with me, and I wasn’t ready for that kind of commitment. I wasn’t mature enough to handle it. I am now. I’m ready for everything you’ll give me. Time. The pleasure of your presence. Your love. I want it all, and we can’t have that while you’re still wearing that necklace. You will never believe my declarations of love otherwise.”

“You’re right I won’t, and I’m not taking it off until after the solstice is over. It’s what I promised myself in order to give my deepest wish a chance.”

Cedric clenched his jaw to keep from saying something he shouldn’t. He also clenched his hands to keep from ripping that damn necklace off. She needed to see for herself that what he said was true. They were meant to be. Their lives intertwined from the age of five. That beautiful tattoo on her body represented
them
.
Their
journey. Whether she would ever admit that, he didn’t know.

Sucking in a huge breath, he climbed from the bed and pulled on his clothes. Willow sat on the bed; her eyes round with surprise. His heart ached with what he was about to do. But she needed to see that she needed him. Missed him. Goddamn, fucking loved him.

“This isn’t how I wanted the evening to end, I never planned on leaving your side, but I can’t stay here with you while you put more faith in that necklace than you do me. I’m here because I want to be, not because of Aphrodite or your moonstone.”

W
illow strolled
through the fields like she had done three days ago with Cedric, but it felt wrong. The fair-like booths, the sights, sounds and smells, the people milling about were all the same, but they didn’t hold the same appeal as before.

Nothing did actually now that Cedric was gone. A pang shot through her heart damn near crippling her. She reached for the necklace before she remembered she had taken it off. Never realizing how much of a crutch it had become in such a short time. Allowing her to use the excuse that it was the moonstone that brought him to her and never really letting her heart believe he wanted her of his own free will.

It didn’t take long to figure out the one thing she desired most in the entire universe—Cedric. But she managed to screw that up with little to no effort on her part. He had asked for one simple thing, for her to take the necklace off. He swore on his life his affection was solely his own. Aphrodite and the moonstone weren’t the causes of his interest, even though he had shown up the day after her rite.

She believed him…now. She didn’t quite know how to fix it though.

Sure, she could show up at his place, but then she’d have to contend with his heartbroken brother. And considering she
may
have broken his brother’s heart, there would be hell to pay. Or, lots of yelling and woman-bashing.

And, if you loved Cedric, which you do, then you’d put up with it.
She would too. She needed to stop hesitating when it came to him. Stop questioning how he felt and take a chance. If, in the end, her heart ended up getting broken, then at least she had what she’d always wanted with the man.

She needed to find him…now. Willow stopped walking and finally took a look around. She had ended up in front of the one place she didn’t want to be, Magical Binding. She knew from reading the proposal that it was more than learning spells that restrained someone metaphysically, preventing them from doing something such as causing harm to themselves or others. That was for the daytime crowd.

At night, Magical Binding turned to sexual delights. The use of magic to bind a partner, limiting the use of their hands and legs, much like hooks and cuffs in the BDSM community.

Her cousin Autumn stood in front of her husband, who she had pressed up against a makeshift wall. Her hand was on his bare chest. He had on leather pants and a big ass grin—nothing else.

“Tonight I’m going to demonstrate how to bind your partner for your pleasure,” Autumn began. “It really is a simple spell, but you need to take care. Done in anger and haste, your partner will be able to break the spell. Magic in order to hurt another is wrong.” She turned to the crowd gathering about her. Brushing the straight black mane of hair off her shoulder, she gave them a cheeky grin. “But then, you all know that.”

There was laughter and snickers from the crowd. Everyone knew not to use magic on others of their own kind. But what Magic Regulators didn’t know, certainly didn’t hurt them.

“My volunteer, Ivan, who is also my husband, knows I do everything out of love. Hell, he even asks for it.” Autumn smoothed her hand up his chest then down his right arm. Circling his wrist with her fingers, she drew his arm up, pressed the back of his hand next to his head. “Like the majority of my family, my spells and incantations are done in Latin. You may do them in whatever language you prefer, but for the purpose of this demonstration, I will say it in Latin and repeat the phrase for you in English.”

“Ligaveris manu…bind hand.” A spark of blue popped around Ivan’s wrist. Autumn let go and repeated the same action and words on the other side. She stepped to the side, but didn’t go far. “If someone would like to check to see that his hands are, indeed, locked into place, please?”

Someone pushed through the crowd amid grunts and murmurs. The hairs on the back of Willow’s neck stood on end. Cedric stepped to the front and joined her cousin. “I will,” he said, the deep timber of his voice tripping down Willow’s spine.

Her breath caught in her throat at the sight of him. His beautiful brown locks were no longer down to his shoulders. It was cut into a stylish, professional haircut befitting the businessman he was. Tapered sides with a little length on top. It was parted on one side and combed back. It made him look like less of a rogue, but not too much. The new hairstyle went well with his look. Expensive looking, well-fitting jeans with artfully placed holes, the black shiny shoes, and long sleeve collared polo with silk accents around the wrists.

She was rooted to her spot, unable to turn and dash away. This was not the place she wanted to talk to him, beg him to forgive her and take her back. Before her brain could reconnect with her legs, Cedric turned to the crowd, his gaze landing on her.

That wicked smile, that curve of the left side of his mouth appeared, and a predatory glint shone in his eyes. Keeping his eyes on Willow, he tugged Ivan’s hands, one after the other. “It’s perfect,” he said, but she didn’t think he was talking about the binding.

“As I said it would be,” Autumn smiled. “As simple as it was to do, it is just as simple to undo.” She placed her fingers around Ivan’s wrist. “Véndi manu.” Blue sparks appeared and disappeared as she undid her husband’s hands. Ivan stepped away from the wall and dropped a kiss on his wife’s lips.

There was light applause from the crowd, and Willow desperately hoped the show was over.

“Now, if someone from the audience would like to try it before we move on to other more…entertaining forms of binding.”

“I will,” Cedric spoke before Autumn had finished.

A mischievous smile curled her cousin’s lips. “Of course, Cedric. And who would you like to practice on?”

Gemma stepped forward from the front row, a couple people to Willow’s left. She hadn’t noticed the woman before. “Oh, I’ll be Cedric’s volunteer,” she purred. “For
anything
he wants to do.”

“Like hell,” Willow murmured and made a beeline for him without thinking of the repercussions. “Sorry, Gemma, but he’s already taken.” She turned and put her back to the wall, realizing what she had just done. Her heart took flight in her chest and nausea churned her stomach.

Cedric moved in front of her, looking down into her panicked face. “It’s about damn time,” he said. Blocking the crowd’s view of them with his body, he grabbed her hand and pinned it next to her head. “Main bind.” Silver and white flashes of magic sparked in the air. A phantom pressure held her hand in place. Sliding his big hand down her left arm, he did the same thing, except after her hand was bound in place; he lowered his head and kissed her.

His hands came up to cup her face gently, thumbs smoothing over her cheeks. He teased her, coaxed her into kissing him back. It wasn’t such a hardship to do. Before the kiss could get deeper, more intimate, he pulled away and stepped to the side.

“Let’s test to see how well you did, because we all know the kiss was spot on,” Autumn said with a smirk, then tugged on Willow’s arms. “Very good. Now, is there something you want to do before you unbind her?”

C
edric looked
at the raven-haired witch. “As a matter of fact, there is. Willow and I have a few things to work out.”

Autumn grinned and stepped back into her husband’s arms. Cedric knew a moment’s jealousy as he observed the couple. He wanted that ease and familiarity with Willow, and he was going to get it. There was one day left in the solstice celebration, and he would have her commitment to him come hell or high water.

“I am to assume to bind your lover’s legs, it’s the same principle?”

Autumn nodded. “Of course. I would use ankle as the term though. Binding the leg can make them immoveable.”

Cedric crouched quickly and placed his hands on Willow’s ankles. “Chevilles bind.” The now familiar sparks of magic glinted in the air before puffing out.

He stood and studied the woman he was madly in love with. He had missed her for three damn days. Moped around his apartment. Listened to his brother curse women and the ground they walked on. He had also done a little soul searching and made some personal changes. He wanted Willow to see him differently. And she had, but not fully.

He felt her eyes on him. “You once asked me when would I grow up.”

“And I recall saying I didn’t want to know.” She pinched her lips together as soon as the words left her mouth.

He didn’t think she meant to be snarky, but she also couldn’t help it. “Now love, you shouldn’t tell lies to the man who can set you free.”

Willow shrugged and tipped her head in Autumn’s direction. “She can undo the spell.”

Autumn sighed dramatically. “Sorry, cuz. He did it in French. You know how terrible I am with that. There’s a chance I’ll mispronounce something and you’ll end up a frog.”

Willow frowned. “Some help you are. And to think I introduced you to Ivan after my terrible blind date with him.”

“And I am forever grateful, and that’s why I’m giving Cedric his moment with you. You’re stubborn, and I know you love him.” Autumn turned her attention to him. “Want me to do a magical barrier so you can have alone time with her?”

“Thank you, but no. I want everyone to know how I feel about her and how she feels about me.” He turned to the crowd. “You see, I’m in love with Willow and have been for years.”

“Yeah, right,” a woman snorted in disbelief. It was Gemma.

“Yes, that is right. My life has been intertwined with Willow since I was a child. We were always meant to be. But because I can be an ass, she had no cause to believe me when I showed up out of the blue declaring my love. It also didn’t help that she paid tribute to Aphrodite, and the Goddess gifted Willow with her deepest wish. When I showed up the following day, Willow got it in her fool head that I was only there because of the moonstone she wears around her neck.”

“What moonstone?” Someone in the crowd asked.

Cedric frowned. Was the man blind? He turned to point to the necklace. “Where the fuck is it?”

“I took it off,” Willow replied.

Cedric’s gaze jumped to hers. “You what? When?” His pulse picked up as excitement coursed through his chest. Could she finally believe in him?

“I took it off the day after you left. You were right. I didn’t need it. I was using it to keep from letting my heart fully believe you loved me. I figured if I wore it you wouldn’t leave. I thought the moment I took it off, you’d come to your senses and my heart would shatter into a million pieces.”

“I told you that wouldn’t happen.”

“I know and it took you leaving and my heart aching before it sunk in. I should have had faith in you and I didn’t. I’m sorry.”

Cedric didn’t know what to say, but he did know what he wanted to hear. “And…”

“And I love you. I’ve always loved you, ever since that time I punched you in the nose.”

He stood there staring at her, his mind filled with too many things he wanted to do. Kiss her. Drag her home. Make love to her. It really didn’t matter where and if he could get away with it, he’d keep her bound to the wall and fuck her into submission with her screaming her love for him.

He knelt quickly. “Délier chevilles.” Standing he grabbed her wrists. “Délier les mains.” Before the magic dissipated, he wrapped his arms around her. “Maison.” They vanished before everyone’s eyes and landed back at Willow’s home.

“You’re mine now, love.” He said, his lips crashing down on hers. He navigated them to her bedroom and, by sheer force of will, managed not to rip her clothes as he divested them from her body.

“I’ve always been yours,” she panted. Her slim hand wedged between their bodies popping the button of his jeans and shoving them down. He pulled his shirt over his head, and within seconds they were on the bed.

She giggled and ran her hands through his hair. “I like the new look.”

“And I like you.” He spent the rest of the night proving to her how much.