Chapter 8

Eight

SHAY

W ell, I never thought I’d be here, and I mean that in both the literal and figurative senses.

“I hope you won’t take this the wrong way,” Dela says as I knock on the door that leads to the apartment above Lexi’s shop, “but I’m proud of you. You’re the most independent person I’ve ever known, so I’m sure it’s not easy accepting help. But taking these steps to get more out of life is amazing. I’m so excited for you and Kohl to?—”

The purple door swings open with a whoosh that would’ve startled any self-respecting cat out of my arms. Not Cookie. The big ginger doesn’t so much as wiggle a whisker at Lexi’s dramatic flair. Maybe he’s used to her antics. Lexi may not have visited Minerva as much as the old witch would’ve liked, but I know she spent time there on a regular basis. Enough so that Lexi knew Minerva’s plans for Cookie before her great-aunt crossed over.

“Come in, friends!” Dressed in a long, flowing black dress made of semi-opaque fabric that makes it possible to see every green curve and dip of her body beneath, Lexi waves us inside.

I nod for Dela to lead. She’s here at my invitation, but being my closest friend and now the repository of all my secrets, she’s aware of my unjustified beef with Lexi Goodwin. She knows how much internal crow I had to eat to call and accept Lexi’s offer.

The staircase leading to Lexi’s apartment is a straight shot and steeper than what you get in any modern building. By the time I reach the top, the muscles in my legs and arms are burning. Climbing while carrying eighteen pounds of tabby is a workout.

“Did your great-aunt ever mention Cookie needing to lose some weight?” I wheeze as I clear the top step.

Lexi’s laugh is as easygoing and friendly as everything else she does. “Never. He’s exactly as he should be, like all familiars. But if you’re ever concerned about his health, call Dr. Schaefer, not the veterinarian. You knew that, right?” Her black eyebrows rise when I shake my head. “Well, no harm, either way. A veterinarian in the human world wouldn’t be able to tell the difference between a feline pet and a familiar, but our vet here in town would chuckle and send you out the door if you showed up with Cookie. Dr. Daemon’s heightened demon senses are great for all kinds of things.”

Based on the wiggle she does, I’m guessing she’s personally acquainted with his heightened demon senses . Or maybe she’s found a way to profit from them. That is her specialty.

“Okay, you three.” She motions at the assortment of living room furniture arranged in a conversational way. “Get comfortable.”

Dela and I take opposite ends of a deep-purple velvet couch. The moment I’m settled, Cookie wanders out of my lap and hops onto an overstuffed black chenille armchair.

“There’s not a lint roller around that’ll get your ginger hair off of that pristine upholstery,” I say, making a move with the intent to relocate him.

“He’s perfect where he is.” Lexi waves me off, scratching Cookie’s head on her way to an emerald-green chaise where she lays herself out as if posing for a magazine spread. Or the opening scene of a high-end porno. “A little fur is no match for a housecleaning spell,” she says, twirling a finger in the air, then stopping the stream of magic as quickly and easily as she created it. “Shay, I apologize. You probably think I’m showing off or rubbing my magic in your face, and I promise you that isn’t the case. My coven’s way of life is a lot different from yours, but I’ll try to rein myself in a little.”

“Please don’t.” And this is where I outwardly eat crow. “I’ve always been bitter that I was born with seer magic and no other. Winterlock witches stick pretty rigidly to a lot of the old rules, including not profiting from magic. I broke that rule when I was twenty-one and needed money fast. To say it bit me in the ass is a monumental understatement. I came to Fate’s Falls to escape the life I’d scorched, and here you were, living yours to the fullest by breaking the same damn rule I had—but with no repercussions. I’ve been a bitch to you for years because I was resentful and jealous. I still am, if I’m being honest, but I’m working on it, and I’m sorry.”

“Apology accepted.” She scoots to a normal sitting position when Cookie hops off the armchair, then onto my lap. “And it’s Cookie approved, too. Looks like we’re all open and ready to get started.”

Just like that. Without further comment or taking the opportunity to put me in place, even a little, which she’d be justified in doing. But no, she simply accepts the apology with a genuine, friendly smile and keeps going. If I can’t learn whatever it is Minerva hoped I would, I can at least count this as a lesson in being the bigger person.

“We’re about to link magics and do some deep digging. Things may get a little personal,” Lexi says, taking over the chair Cookie vacated, which puts her nearly knee to knee with me. “But you have my word that anything that happens here stays here. Goodwin witches are excellent at keeping secrets. You wouldn’t believe some of the things I know, and I’ll never tell you a single one of them!”

Cookie chooses that moment to look up at me, and I swear he nods. Like a real nod of affirmation, not just a coincidentally timed body movement.

“Dela, I’m not sure how familiar you are with familiars, so I’ll do a quick run-through of how their magic works.”

“Oh, good. I didn’t want to pry, but I have been wondering since Shay got Cookie. He just looks like a regular cat to me.” She leans forward to look in the ginger tabby’s eyes. “Sorry if that’s an insult, Cookie.”

If he understands her, he doesn’t acknowledge it. Maybe he only communicates with witches. Or maybe I’ve swum a little too far into the deep end.

“So! Familiars are supernatural beings, sort of a lower form of witches. The origin stories vary, as history always does. In the old Goodwin diaries, many witches had familiars, but over the centuries, their numbers decreased a lot. The books don’t say why, but my guess would be humans are to blame—sorry, Dela, no personal offense there, but you mortals have had a mighty big stick up your butt since, well, forever. You don’t, of course. Though I’d be happy to sell you a nifty sex stick that feels amazing up there. It’s modeled from a dryad who prefers to remain nameless, and magically infused for your pleasure, of course.” A playful, no-fucks-given laugh bubbles out of her mouth. “Or Raz’s. Pleasure doesn’t discriminate!”

“Um, no thanks.” Dela giggles, a deep-red blush flooding her fair complexion.

Dela has told me some things. I know she and Raz have a very healthy sex life, and her boyfriend has literally zero inhibitions. Still, picturing the intensely stoic demon’s reaction if Dela brought home a magically infused sex stick and wanted to stick it up his red ass has me snorting with unexpected laughter.

We’re here because Lexi offered help, but sitting here with her and Dela, the air filled with laughter, it’s starting to feel like friendship. And that’s a whole other kind of magic.

“Let’s get back on track,” Lexi says with another easy smile. “A familiar’s magic is dormant unless they bond with a witch. Even then, they’re not capable of doing magic independently. Not that we’re aware of, anyway.” She trains her focus on the big cat on my lap. “Maybe you’re keeping secrets, too, hmm?”

He croaks out a string of meows, then turns his head.

“I think he just told you to mind your own business,” Dela says with another giggle.

“Wouldn’t surprise me. Cookie has always been a little extra,” Lexi says with a wink. “And he’s a wonderful familiar, as you’ll soon find out, Shay. I assume you haven’t fed him yet?”

“Not blood, no.”

Dela’s eyes nearly pop out of her pretty face. “Blood? Is he a vampire?”

“Goodness, no!” Lexi says. “A witch bonds with their familiar by feeding them their blood. A quick nip on the finger daily always did the trick for Minerva and Cookie, but they were bonded for a long time. A familiar will only take what they need. I think you’ll find Cookie very well-mannered about it. He’s a very refined old man.”

Refined. Not a word I would’ve used to describe the chunky tabby on my lap, but Lexi knows him in ways I don’t yet.

“Once the bond has been created,” Lexi continues, “Shay will be able to draw on his magic to strengthen her own at any time. Familiars are naturally intuitive, so he’ll know what she needs before she does, and give it.”

“Does it weaken them to do magic like that?” Dela asks, reaching over to scratch Cookie’s chin.

“Quite the opposite, actually. The more a familiar uses their magic, the longer they live. Shay is Cookie’s third witch.” Lexi nods when I gape. “He was gifted to Minerva by my great-great grandmother. Or was it great-great-great…” She places an elegant, manicured finger to her pursed lips. “I can never keep track of the ‘greats’ when it’s more than one, but you get the gist. He’s been around for a long time and has strong magic. Which is my great-aunt believed his magic can help you control yours, Shay. But I’m curious: why didn’t your coven train you to do that?”

My knee-jerk reaction is to bristle at the question, take it as a criticism of my coven. But that’s the old me. The new me, the less narrow-minded me I want to be, understands that it’s just curiosity, something Lexi seems to have in abundance. “Seers are rare in my coven, and by the time I was born, the previous one had crossed over. Other witches tried to help when I was young, but either they didn’t have the knowledge or I wasn’t open to learning.” I glance at Dela when she makes a little noise in her throat. “Yes, probably both, and definitely the latter. Happy?”

“I’m happy that we’re all here to investigate a solution that’ll open up new roads for you,” Dela says.

“New roads that lead to finding out what a certain reaper has beneath his cloak, I hope!” Lexi winks, then presses her hands together and closes her eyes, her voice dropping an octave as she offers thanks to the goddess and all the witches on the other side, then requests a blessing—for me.

Whether this evening results in me having the ability to control my magic or not, having Kohl, Dela, and now Lexi in my corner, I know I’ve already been blessed.

SHAY

It’s midnight by the time I get home. Dela offered to drive me, but I opted to walk. It’s only ten minutes, and after an intense evening of joining and focusing our magic, Cookie and I both needed the fresh air and to stretch our legs. Wild as it is, I actually know the big ginger wanted the same things I did. I can’t literally read his mind, but thanks to Lexi’s guidance, I’m now able to vibe with my familiar.

So many new things in my life. Great things. And it’s only going to get better. For the first time in my life, I’m not just going through the motions of life. I’m alive.

The moment I set foot on my front walk, Kohl appears near my front door.

I can’t hide my smile and don’t bother trying. But I can still give him a little shit. I wouldn’t be me if I didn’t. “Either you’ve been ethereally following me, or you have the best timing in all the realms.” All the figurative butterflies take flight inside me when he pushes the hood of his cloak back, revealing his full head.

Goddess, the man is handsome. A visual snack. More than that, though, he’s good. It’s his soul I love the most. Something I plan to tell him if my successful experiments at controlling my magic carry over to touching him. Even if they don’t, I want him to know.

“I have not followed you in that manner since confessing it. As for timing, I would spend every moment in this plane with you if I could. Since that is not an option, I come when your soul calls.”

No point denying my soul called to him. I haven’t stopped thinking about Kohl since he re-entered my life. “I’m happy you’re here; I have news. Good news.”

His gaze lowers to my hand as I press it against his chest. “You’re not wearing gloves.”

“That’s the news. Part of it, anyway.” I nod toward the door while unlocking it. “Come inside?”

Nodding, he follows me into the house, closing the door behind him. “I have news as well. Good news, but even so, I fear hearing it may wipe away your beautiful smile.”

“Be that as it may, now you have to tell me. No poofing out of here until you do.”

A hint of a smile pulls at his full mouth. “There will be no poofing.”

“See, now I’m conflicted. Part of me is disappointed that you didn’t use fifty words to say you won’t leave, but you’re pretty darn adorable when you use lingo.”

“I prefer you find me adorable.”

“Truth time?” I say, plopping onto the couch. “I always do.” The sanctuary of home and Kohl’s presence lowers the last of my guard, fatigue flooding me as I pat the spot beside me. “Come and tell me your news so I can show you mine before I’m too tired to have enough focus.”

The couch dips under his solid form, and his leg presses against mine, our skin separated by my jeans and his cloak. The thought of removing those layers, of every part of our bodies touching, really touching, awakens every nerve ending in my body. Bye-bye, fatigue. If I can control my magic with him the way I learned to while practicing with my safety net, Dela, anything and everything is possible. It even worked when I touched Lexi’s hand.

His dark-chocolate gaze tracks my bare hand as I stuff it between my thighs to prevent reaching for him. Though, maybe that would be the best way to give him my news—by straddling his lap, threading my fingers through his caramel-brown hair, and kissing those tempting damn lips.

I’m this-close to doing exactly that when my phone rings on the side table. “That’s my mom’s tone,” I say, reaching for it and sliding my finger across the screen. “What’s wrong?” Because something has to be for her to be calling at this hour.

“Shay, baby, it worked. Getting those pictures your artist friend drew in front of the right eyes, along with a solid boost of motivational magic from the coven… They got him. Pittsburg PD and the FBI. I just saw it on the news. That monster can’t hurt you or anyone else ever again. They got him.”

Every muscle in my body clenches. My spine feels like a steel rod; my chest and throat constricted as if by a massive hand squeezing me tight. “They arrested him?” I whisper when I can manage to draw a breath. “In the newscast, you saw him being arrested by the police? You’re sure they got the right man?”

“Not arrested, Shay. Dead. Shot while fleeing.”

Even sitting, the room is spinning. I fold forward, putting my head between my knees. “Are they sure it’s him? Are you sure?”

“I am certain,” Kohl says from a kneeling position in front of me. The hard set of his jaw contrasts the love for me in his eyes when I look into them. “That night when I was first drawn to you, I saw him clearly, inside and out. I had no control over his death, no method to foresee it, but I have continued to listen for his soul in the in-between, so I could ensure his next place is a hell in which he will suffer for eternity. It is done. He is gone, Shay, and you are free.”

In my hand, my phone’s screen blinks with the ended call. Mom heard everything.

So did I.

For fifteen years, I have been safe, but safe isn’t free.

Now, I’m free. To go wherever I want. Be whatever I want.

But I only want one thing, and I already had it. He’s right in front of me. And even if can block my magic, I don’t want to limit our connection.

Love is the ultimate reward for risking your heart and soul.

This love is worth any risk.

Kohl’s eyes open wide as I place my palms against his cheeks. His magic rushes through me, brighter than the whitest white, warm like the summer sunshine on my face. Pure and good and endless. “Do you see anything?”

Tears slide down my cheeks as the visions play in my mind, like frames from a silent movie. “I see me. That’s all I see. You’re always looking at me.”

“Because you are the only future I want.” The pads of his thumbs sweep across my skin, gently brushing away the tears. “I will forever be a reaper, but you are the reason I exist, Shay.”

“I love you. I should’ve said it before, but I was afraid of the things I can’t control, of all the limitations, of getting hurt. I don’t want fear to rob me of another minute of loving you as completely as I can.”

“I have longed for this moment,” he says, cradling my face in his hands. His skin is warm and smooth, his touch gentle yet strong. “To give you all that I can. To know every inch of your body as I know the depth of your soul.”

“Then know me,” I whisper. “Take me to bed and love me every way you’ve longed to do.”

He moves so quickly and smoothly, I might think he used magic, if not for the very real sensation of being up in his arms. This time, it’s me he places on the bed. Gently, but I don’t think he’s afraid of hurting me. It’s reverence. I see it in his eyes as his gaze slowly sweeps over my body while he removes each piece of clothing, as if unwrapping a precious gift.

“You are more exquisite than the heavens,” he says, trailing his fingers along the inside of my leg, from ankle to high on my thigh. His brow furrows at the shiver that ripples through me. “Are you cold? I know you dislike being cold.”

Goddess, he’s adorable. He’s also seriously overdressed for this moment.

“Different kind of shiver. The good kind. The kind that means ‘touch me again,’” I motion up and down at his cloak, “but this time, do it while you’re naked. Remember when I said I like your surprises? And that time you claimed to have mastery of all activities you do in this form? It’s time to put those things together.”

His deep laughter is like gasoline on a spark, and damn, my spark is ready to ignite.

“I have never removed my cloak.”

“Seriously?”

His nod brings me to my hands and knees. His eyes grow dark and hooded as I push up to my knees alone, then run my hands over the material covering his chest, abdomen, and cock.

“I don’t feel any zippers or buttons. I guess there’s only one way to remove it,” I say, sliding off the bed to kneel in front of him. Taking the edge of the cloak in my hands, I lick my lips while looking up at him. “Start at the bottom and work it all the way up.”

The last time I was naked with a man, I was young, unhappy, and bombarded by visions of the guy’s future—which did not include me—while I faked my way through the various deeds.

There’s nothing fake about this moment. I’m happier than I have ever been, and when I slide my palms up Kohl’s warm, nicely muscled legs, the only visions I see are of me. I never expected to be loved the way he loves me—for all that I am and also for the things I am not. Complete love. True love.

I gather the dark cloth and draw it upward as I maneuver to my feet. He raises his arms, his handsome face disappearing from view as I shimmy the cloak past his shoulders and over his head. It feels kind of weird tossing a magically imbued garment on the floor, but I chuck that sucker as far as my shitty throwing skills allow. Now that I have Kohl in his entirety, I don’t want to share him with his duty. Just for a while.

“Yup, exactly how I thought it’d all look,” I say, quirking an eyebrow at him while doing a walk-around inspection that includes a smack on his perfect, taut butt.

He’s smiling when my circle ends with me in front of him. “You once said you hadn’t thought about how I look under the cloak.”

“I said maybe I hadn’t thought about it.” Gliding my hands up and down his broad, firm chest, I push onto my tiptoes and brush my lips across his. “I thought about it. Those times you heard me moaning in here?” I slide one hand down between us and circle his cock where it juts tall and hard. “I was thinking about you, Kohl.”

Desire blazes in his eyes. Then his hands are in my hair, his lips pressed to mine, his tongue sliding along the seam and then into my mouth. He kisses me as if we have forever to do it and he’s committing every second of it to memory. Not truly mortal, he doesn’t need to breathe, and so the kiss goes on and on, Kohl’s tongue stroking into my mouth, tasting me, over and over, until I’m lightheaded and weak in the knees.

“I need more of you,” he says when I break away to catch my breath. “I need all of you.” Again, he scoops me off my feet and lays me out on the bed. This time when he strokes up my legs, he spreads them apart, as wide as he can. “I should not be able to smell or taste, but I do. Your breath, your mouth, your skin…” He drags his nose along the highest, most sensitive part of my inner thigh. “And this, your beautiful glistening center…”

My eyes roll back in my head as he presses the tip of his nose against my clit. Moan when his tongue delves between my pussy lips.

“I could spend eternity tasting you,” he says between long sweeping strokes, each one ending with his tongue working my clit. His hands slide under my butt, tipping my hips up and opening me wider for his hot, plundering mouth. Each pass is harder, hungrier. Then his lips latch on to my clit and his tongue?—

“Goddess, yes. Keep doing that. Never stop doing that. Kohl, Kohl… ” Pleasure explodes beneath his tongue. Tangling my fingers in his short hair, I writhe and rock against his mouth, until I’m panting and wriggling to put space between my hypersensitive clit and his marauding tongue. “No more,” I say, pushing against his forehead.

Handsome face shiny with my slickness, he smiles up at me. No, not smiles—smolders. “You told me to never stop.”

“You can’t take sex talk literally. Okay, some of it, yes. Words like harder or faster—literal. Telling you I love you—definitely literal. But telling you to never stop eating my pussy? Definitely not literal,” I say, stroking the strong line of his eyebrows as I smile.

“You didn’t say any of those things.”

“Yet.” I curl one finger like a hook to beckon him. “I want you inside me.” As much as I’d like to appreciate the bunching of his muscles as he moves up, over my body, I can’t take my eyes from his gaze. The passion it holds. The love.

Hand curled around my hip, the thick head of his cock notches between my legs. “My love,” he says, thrusting into me.

Tears threaten to spill free at the perfection of it all. Wrapping my legs and arms around him, I pull him deeper inside me. His body. His soul. “I love you,” I whisper before drawing his mouth onto mine.

His tongue and cock find their rhythm, each perfect stroke pushing me closer to the edge. So close. So, so close. The hand at my hip slides between our bodies and he presses the pads of his fingers to my clit, rolling the bud back and forth, back and forth.

“Harder,” I pant as the bowstring tightens beneath his touch. “Faster.”

And he does, sending me over the edge in a spiral of star-filled ecstasy. Buried deep, he holds himself taut as I writhe beneath him, milking every drop of orgasmic bliss.

Sated, I open my eyes to find him looking at me. Adoring me. And when I sigh, contented, he begins stroking into me again. Goddess, it feels amazing. Different from the first stroke, but so damn good.

He shifts our position, the new angle letting him thrust deeper. With each stroke, the head of his big cock drags against my G-spot.

I cry out as the orgasm hits like a crashing wave. Clutching at him, I pant and moan, breathless and wrung out by the time it finally ebbs.

And still, he’s rock hard inside me. “Again, Shay. Take all your pleasure.”

My hair sticks to my damp face as I shake my head. “Not when you can’t have any.”

“Being with you is the ultimate pleasure.”

A snorted laugh bubbles out of me. “You only think that because you haven’t experienced an orgasm.”

“Then let me experience yours.”

“How?” I draw a sharp breath at the sensation of his consciousness seeking mine. “I feel you in there.” Poking around is what I would’ve said before. Not now. This is different. A question of the most intimate kind. “What do I need to do so you can feel my soul, too?”

“If you want me to, I will. I’ll meet you there, inside.”

“I want you to.” Sliding my fingers through his hair, I guide his mouth to mine. “Feel what you do to me,” I say against his lips as he strokes into me, stoking the still-burning embers. Goddess, it’s so good. So deep and full. I close my eyes and let it happen. The coiling tightness of an orgasm. The gentle caress of his soul touching mine. “Kohl,” I moan as everything clicks into place and I come apart like a long, unraveling rope that ends with Kohl wrapped around me. And me around him.