Witch Heart

CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT

He licked her again and her clit swelled under the flat of his tongue, becoming aroused and needy for more of his touch. Claire squirmed a little and he parted her thighs and held her down, pinning her to the mattress so he could drink his fill of her.

Her warm, musky-sweet scent intoxicated him as he explored all her silky, soft folds and crevices. He slipped his tongue inside her and groaned at the lusciousness of her flavor spreading over his tongue.

Claire moved on the mattress, sighing and moaning his name. Her sex grew more excited, driving Adam crazier for a deeper taste of her. He slipped one finger inside her to the base, watching it disappear and reappear coated in her cream. Then he added another, stretching her muscles farther, and made her moan. He watched it all, his cock hard. The anticipation of driving his shaft into her hummed through his veins.

While he worked them in and out of her, he settled on her clit, sucking and licking it until she arched on the bed, coming closer to orgasm. When it exploded over her, the muscles of her sex pulsed around his thrusting fingers and his name spilled from her lips.

Gods, he loved to make her come.

As soon as the waves of her climax had ebbed, she pushed him to his back and straddled him. Adam went easily, powerless under her touch and amenable to whatever it was she desired from him. Then she was kissing him — his chest and stomach and then downward with such ferocity that his words and breath were arrested in his throat by pure lust.

When her lips closed around his cock and she sucked him into the recesses of her mouth, Adam bellowed at the pleasant surprise.

Then he groaned.

Gods, it was clear Claire hadn't done this to many men. Any men? Adam was sure she'd only ever been with one besides him. Her inexperience showed in the unpracticed glide of her lips up and down his shaft, but that only made it all the more exciting.

He fisted his fingers in her hair and watched her luscious lips work him up and down, pleasure spiraling through him. Her gaze flickered upward and he saw lust in her dark eyes. Apparently, she wasn't done with him yet.

Thank the gods.

She released his cock and mounted him, her hot, slick sex closing around the head of his shaft and enveloping it. He closed his eyes and groaned as she slid down the length. He gritted his teeth and fought not to flip her and take control, even though his urge was to do just that.

She looked too pretty riding him, her head falling back as she closed her eyes and took him deep into her. Her lovely breasts thrust forward, just the perfect size to fill his hands, and her hips moved rhythmically.

Adam's hands found the nip of her waist as she rose up and down on his cock, the soft, hot clasp of her muscles massaging every inch of his shaft. She moved slow — crazy-makingly so — and held his gaze.

Gods, she was beautiful.

He slipped a hand down and rubbed her clit with his thumb while she rode him. Her breath caught and her eyes widened a bit.

"Does that feel good, baby?"

She caught her lower lip between her teeth and nodded.

"I live to make you feel good. Are you going to come for me?"

She closed her eyes and nodded again, moving up and down on his cock a little faster. He stroked her clit as she rocked, knowing he heightened her pleasure and drove her closer and closer to the precipice of another climax.

Her breathing quickened and she tipped her head back. "Yes, please, don't stop."

He had no such plans. Adam would touch her forever if she wanted him to. Never stop, never let her go.

Her body shuddered and she moaned. The muscles of her sex clamped down around his cock, massaging it, milking it. The look of ecstasy on her face, the lovely sounds issuing from her throat, all of it pushed Adam over the edge.

Pleasure exploded from his balls and deep into her body. He gasped her name, as she enjoyed the tail end of her climax.

"Oh, baby, baby, baby…" he murmured as he tipped her to the side and pulled her close to him, kissing her all over. "You're a goddess, my goddess."

"Mmm…" she answered with a tired, lazy smile, "I like being called that."

He chuckled and stroked his fingers through her hair. "Sleep, my goddess. I'll be here to keep you safe." She was exhausted and he wasn't going to make her dress. Fuck the demons. Claire could take this night and pretend they didn't exist.

They stayed tangled together until her breathing deepened to sleep.

But Adam couldn't find rest. He stayed up until early in the morning, gazing down at his slumbering beauty… and watching for Atrikas.

Claire awoke befuddled and half-aware of hands and lips on her body.

She became completely conscious on a low moan of needfulness. As she'd slept, Adam had been touching her, priming her. Her sex was plumped, aroused, her clit begging for his touch. Her breasts felt heavy and her nipples were tight and hard.

Moonlight still filtered through the window, painting the floor silver. Morning still hadn't come.

Adam's blond head bobbed between her thighs. He sucked her clit between his lips and she murmured his name.

Without a word, only need laid bare in the deep blue of his eyes, he rose and pushed her gently over onto her stomach, sliding his hand under her hips and pulling her upward so her rear fit into the curve of his pelvis. His hard cock jutted her swollen sex.

"Yes," she murmured, her fingers curling into the blankets. "Please, Adam, yes." Desire knotted low in her stomach. She moved her hips, trying to force him within her.

He swore under his breath and mounted her, rough and needy, pushing the head of his cock into her and thrusting deep. Her breath caught at the sensation of being so filled up, so possessed.

His body came down over hers, teeth finding the tender, vulnerable flesh of the curve of her neck. He bit, just enough for her to feel it, while he began to thrust. He slid easily in and out of her, like he belonged there.

Claire gasped, gooseflesh erupting over her. The bite was animalistic, primal, and it pushed every button Claire had.

His big body pinned hers as he took her, their bodies slapping together in the quiet of the room, their breathing filling the air. A climax flirted hard with her, but remained tantalizingly out of reach.

Adam released her from the bite and pulled her by her hips to all fours. Then he slid a finger to her anus and brushed over it. Claire jerked in surprise at the intimate touch.

"Shh, it's all right," Adam murmured. "Don't tell me Ty never did that to you, baby?"

"No," she said shakily.

"Well, then I'm the lucky guy who gets to introduce you to it." He brushed her again and pleasure tingled through her body. "There are a lot of nerve endings there. You'd be surprised. It feels good to have them stimulated, even better for a woman when she's double-penetrated."

"D-double penetrated?"

Adam gave a low chuckle. "There are so many games we have yet to play. I can't wait to show you all the things there are for a man and woman to do in bed. In most ways you're mature beyond your years, in others so innocent." He pushed the tip of his finger past the tight ring and inside her.

Claire gasped — but this time not in surprise. Tingles of illicit, forbidden pleasure spread in a wave throughout her body.

He worked his finger out and then in a little farther, slowly and carefully thrusting. At the same time, he speared her sex with his cock. The combination of sensations was breathtaking and confusing, wonderful and… wrong, so wrong. But, Houses, it felt good.

"Do you trust me, baby?"

"With all I am."

"Then relax and enjoy this."

Claire let go and moaned, her back arching. Her body eased into it and Adam increased the pace of his play at her rear while he took her harder and faster. The stimulation of her two orifices at once blended together in an ecstasy that she'd never be able to describe in words.

Adam groaned. "Baby, you're so tight and sweet back there. This is making me crazy. We have to take it slow, but one day I want my cock there, deep inside you. I want to make you come that way, with my fingers buried inside your sex."

The words were coarse and the sentiments coarser — how it excited her.

Her climax hit all at once — stronger than any she remembered. It bowed her spine, stole the breath from her lungs, and then gave it back to her in a rush with only one name to cry out.

Her orgasm triggered Adam's and he groaned, thrusting deep inside of her.

Afterward, they collapsed on the bed, both breathing heavy, both sweating, both deliciously exhausted in that satisfying way that happens after truly great sex.

Adam held her close and kissed the top of her head. Claire snuggled close and murmured, "What a way to wake up.' aim to please."

"Mmm… yes."

"If I could build a career out of making love to you, I would."

She smiled. "Nice thought. Let's take care of these demons and get on that."

Adam remained silent after that comment. She'd mentioned the one thing they'd been able to forget for the night. What was the expression? Oh, yes, whooops. The spell was broken.

She lifted her head to see early morning lightening the horizon. "We should take a shower and get ready for the day."

"Only if we can take a shower together."

She smiled and kissed his chest. "Of course."

After a few moments of snuggling and simply enjoying the moment, they rose and went into the bathroom. They turned the water on and climbed into the oversized shower stall.

Reaching in for a thread of water magick, she diverted the warm water to flow around Adam's body like a hug, massaging his muscles. He groaned and closed his eyes at the pleasure of it.

It wasn't long until that ceased to pacify him and the only thing that made him happy was washing her with his big, soapy hands… all over her body. It made her sigh and her pulse quicken.

He pushed her against the wall, knelt, and was between her thighs again, pushing them apart so he could greedily seal his mouth to her sex.

Claire's knees went weak watching him there on the tile in front of her, his head between her thighs and his tongue lapping. She had nothing but the slick walls to hold on to as he pushed her to a fast and hard climax that made her cries ricochet off the walls of the bathroom.

"Houses, Adam, you make me come every time you touch me," she said breathlessly.

"Baby," he answered, looking up at her, "Making you come is my bread and butter. Your body is my wine."

"I thought you didn't like wine."

He grinned. "I fucking love your vintage, honey. I want another drink, too, a long one."

Adam stood and pushed her face forward against the tile, pushing his big cock eagerly into her sex and took her roughly up against the wall. Claire had to admit that she loved how he didn't ask for permission, he just took her — and he always seemed to give more pleasure than he got.

After they'd both found their bliss, they washed each other thoroughly — hands sliding over curves and calves, breasts and biceps. Adam grabbed a fluffy towel and dried her off.

After they were both dressed and they were back in the bedroom, Adam pulled out the basket from the previous night and rifled through it to find something edible for breakfast. He came up with an apple and held it to her lips.

Claire took a bite and Adam leaned in, slowly licking the juice from the corner of her mouth. The action made her stomach curl with that now-familiar sexual anticipation. She seemed insatiable when it came to Adam. Or maybe it was simply the prospect of impending death that made her seek life-affirming sex with such abandon.

Still, she pulled away with a laugh. "Adam, stop. You're going to make me want you again."

He lifted an eyebrow. "What's so bad about that?"

"The fact that you'll send me off… wanting. I have to meet Micah soon."

"Oh, that's right. You plan to spend the day with another man."

"But I'll only be thinking of you."

He mock harrumphed and went back to the basket. "Then I guess we better eat some breakfast."

"Just think, if the spell works, we'll be able to do this every morning, and we'll never have to worry about demons interrupting us."

"That would be great. I just wish the cost wasn't so high."

"Yes." A world of grief sat in that one word. "It will be hard to lose my magick, but I would rather lose my magick than my life. I would rather lose my magick than lose you."

Claire spent the morning with Micah, experimenting with her magick while Adam hulked in the corner like a protective dark shadow. With the demons loose and no way to ward against them, he wouldn't let her out of his sight for anything beyond bathroom breaks.

She tapped her magick hard and fast, the way she had in the corridor that morning — all four threads together — and magick exploded in her face. Claire fell backward, right onto her ass. That had happened because she hadn't aimed at anything. Shaking her head to clear it from the ringing, she found Adam by her side, one hand on her upper arm.

Micah sprawled near her, also on his ass, looking dazed. "Fuck me!" Micah yelled.

"No way, man," Adam snapped back instantly.

Micah glanced at him and grinned. Claire was content that the tension between them had eased somewhat.

Adam helped her to stand. "What the hell was that?"

"Demon magick, after a fashion," Claire answered, a lopsided grin spreading over her face. "That was demon magick."

Micah stood and shook his head. "Amazing. All four elements of our magick, when woven together, is their brand of power."

Adam wore a dubious expression. "Didn't seem too controlled to me."

Claire laughed. Houses, it felt good, too. "That's because it wasn't. I can't control it yet, I can only pop out a little burst of it unless I have a direct target."

Adam looked at Micah. "Does this mean anything in terms of the spell you're scheduled to perform tomorrow?"

Claire sobered at the reminder.

"Maybe. I don't know yet." He paused, deep in thought. "The problem is that we need to find a way to combine the elements within the seat of her magick. If we can do that, the power may be enough like demon magick that the elium will stop adhering to it and we can take it out without having to strip Claire of all her power."

Claire bit her lower lip and then turned away. "This is ridiculous, Micah. We'll never find a way to do all that by tomorrow. We don't even have the first clue how."

Adam's hand fell on her shoulder and gave it a reassuring squeeze. "Don't lose hope, Claire. We have to try everything we can, even if we can't be sure it will work."

"She's right about it being a long shot, though," Micah broke in. "I'm doing the best I can, but I'm in the dark on blood magick like this… at least in practice. In theory I know a little bit about it, but trying to bind the elemental magick within her seat?" Micah shook his head. "It would be a miracle if we could manage to do that within the next twenty-four hours."

"Way to raise her spirits, Micah," Adam growled.

"I didn't say it wasn't worth a try!" Micah objected, spreading his hands. "I'm just saying, as her acting… uh… magickal physician here, that the chances of this working aren't very high."

Claire turned toward them both, chewing the edge of her thumb. "And the amputation spell? What's the chance of that one working?"

Micah's silence was answer enough.

Adam shot Micah a look of doom. "Anything is worth a try, Claire."

"I know. And I know Micah is doing his best."

"Yes, Micah is doing his best," Micah put in. "So Adam should not kill Micah, who is losing sleep over his girlfriend's problem."

Adam rolled his eyes. "I'm not going to kill you."

Micah looked relieved.

Adam gave Micah a shark's grin. "I might beat you up a little, but I won't kill you."

Claire hit Adam's chest. "Stop it, Adam."

"Micah knows I'm kidding."

Micah shook his head. "No, I don't."

Claire took a step back. "Okay, no one is beating anyone else up and we're going to keep trying."

"Sounds good to me," Micah answered.

They tried allowing Adam's power into Claire once more, in an effort to use his magick to bind the threads of the elements within her. It didn't work.

They tried various spells.

They tried deep, guided meditation.

They worked for the rest of the day, trying everything, ever more cognizant of the deadline looming near.

Nothing worked.