Chapter 15

Willow

Winston kissed me, and as he did so, he grabbed my waist and pulled me to him. I felt fire throughout my whole body, unable to resist him, and not for one second wanting to. I wrapped my arms around him, and ran my hand through his hair, hearing a moan and realizing it was me.

Thank Goddess the café was closed.

Suddenly I felt something hard hit the back of my butt, and realized we'd been backing up slowly into the table. Winston pulled back for a second, eyed me, and then picked me up and plopped me on the table.

"I think you're overdressed," he said, as he unbuttoned my pants and slid them down my legs. I kicked off my shoes, and he let out a small growl that sent shivers down my body.

He looked at me like he'd eat every bite of me. He growled again, kissing me deeply, and I suddenly wondered if he wasn't really a werewolf. My mind was addled. His hands ran up my legs, and the heat of them intensified the fire running through me. His lips and tongue were insistent, and I pulled at his shirt, popping a few of the buttons as I yanked it off him.

He began trailing kisses down my face, to my neck, unbuttoning my shirt slowly as he went and kissing every single inch of me. When he came to the black lace bra, I had a moment of thanks for Piper, and then quickly forgot her as he pushed it aside and took my nipple into his mouth, sucking and flicking it with his tongue.

I was making inhuman moaning sounds and nearly cried when he stopped, taking his mouth off of me. He kept trailing kisses down my body, his hands never once stopping their journey of feeling my skin, my breast. To my legs, down my thighs, and calves. He traced every inch of me, leaving shivers and sparks traveling all over my body.

Then he tugged me closer to the end of the table and looked up at me.

"Time to eat."

I gasped, as he pushed my underwear aside, and licked me, long and slow. That alone nearly sent me over the edge, but as he continued, using his tongue to quickly flick my clit, I wound my fingers through his hair and considered begging him never to stop.

It was like he instantly knew every part of me and used it to his advantage. I couldn't think, could barely breathe, and when he licked me long and slow again, I came completely undone.

As lightning strikes and stars exploded behind my eyes, he began using that mouth in the most unholy ways possible, and I quickly came a second time.

Before he could start again, I pulled at him forcefully and grabbed his pants, unbuttoning them and pushing them down, with his boxers following. His dick was very erect and directly in front of me, so I closed both of my hands around it and began to pump up and down.

The groan that came out of him made me want to do more, but his mouth found mine again, and I was held there. His hands went to my breasts, magically caressing me there to keep the heat building in me, and I used my hands to bring him pleasure.

One of his hands came down on mine, pausing me.

"Do you have protection? I don't have anything."

"Don't worry about it. I'm covered, and free."

"Same."

And then we were kissing again, Winston's hands coming to either side of me on the table. I wrapped my arms around him and felt the tip of him against me. He growled low and deep, and at my moan, he grabbed my ass and picked me up. My legs instantly wrapped around him, my hands in his hair.

With a control I no longer had at that point, he lowered me onto him. The sensation of him inside made me moan his name, and that finally broke his control. He pumped into me, hard and fast, and I screamed my pleasure, biting into his shoulder. We both exploded at the same time, and I felt like I would never come back down from the high.

He leaned for a minute against the table and then picked me back up and carried me up the stairs.

I finally found the energy to whisper, "Where are we going?"

"To bed. I need to do this properly."

"Again? Now?"

"Yes."

I pulled back, and he grunted, holding me level. "You want to?"

"Are you objecting?"

"Well… no, just…"

He smiled wickedly as we reached his door. We went through and he leaned me back against the wall. My legs were still wrapped around his waist. I had no fear he'd drop me.

He kissed me, making my body react and fill with that lightning sensation again. I'd been without it for far too long, and this felt better than any sex I had ever had.

Pulling back from the kiss, he smiled and continued carrying me into the bedroom. He dropped me on the bed, and as I scooted back, I realized he hadn't joined me. He was watching me, his amber eyes sparking with fire, traveling over my body and setting every single piece of me on fire.

I returned the examination, looking at his well-toned arms, down to his legs, and back up. I crooked a figure at him, and he grinned. We both quickly got rid of any clothing we had left on us. My pants and shoes were downstairs, but the rest of it had made it through.

Stripped, Winston leaned back on his knees, and his eyes roamed over my body again. From my toes to my eyes, slowly, and with every bit of satisfaction on his face. Then he almost prowled along the mattress to me, and kissed me before once again trailing those kisses down to other places.

What followed was better than before and had me screaming in pleasure. By the end of it, I was almost a puddle, and felt warm and drowsy all over. We'd switched positions, and I had collapsed on top of him, laying on him like a pillow.

"That… was amazing."

"Hmm, you were pretty awesome yourself."

I could hear the smile in Winston's voice, too tired to move and look at him. He took care of that problem, and shifted me over to fall next to him. Reaching down, he pulled a cover up over the both of us.

"I'd say we could do it again, but I'm not sure I'd survive it at this point," I mumbled into his hair.

He laughed and said, "I'll take up that challenge next time."

But I was already drifting off to sleep. He whispered something, but I was already too deep in sleep to figure out what it was.

I woke up, confused and unsure of what was going on. The sheets felt weird against me. I let my eyes adjust to the dim light and I sat up.

Cold air hit me, and I realized all at once that I was naked and in Winston's bed.

‘Oh no. Oh, no. Oh no,' I thought as I remembered the night before.

The talk.

A potion.

The glow.

And then the kiss.

And well, everything from there.

What happened?

I looked over and saw Winston sleeping beside me soundly. My anxiety was rising. Slowly, every so slowly, I slid outside from under the cover, and found my clothing. Then I crept out to the living room.

Inside, I was panicking and trying not to. I liked Winston a lot. It was fine that we slept together… but what if it was because of the potion? I'd seen that glow on our hands. We'd matched.

Did that mean we were soulmates? I knew he'd wanted me, and we'd talked about it. We'd kissed. But had I meant to do it last night? I can't deny I'd had thoughts about it. Piper had surely dressed me for it.

Why was I having so much anxiety over this?

I dressed and realized that my pants and shoes were still in the kitchen.

The kitchen.

Oh Goddess, we had sex on the table. It'd have to be bleached. And purified. Or burned. He made food on it for Goddess' sake.

I sat down on the couch, pants less. I couldn't leave… could I? That seemed wrong. There was probably an alarm I'd set off if I tried to go outside without waking Winston, and I couldn't leave it unset…

Oh, no, Tess! She'd been in the café. It was too cold for her to have gone home on her own. My phone was on the table, and I grabbed it. I had many missed messages from both Tess and Piper.

Cursing my idiocy, I started looking through them. Tess had been trying to get my attention before closing. Piper had been trying to find out what had happened between me and Winston.

Ah, Piper had come and gotten Tess. We hadn't answered them and… there it was. Piper knew exactly what we had been doing.

I leaned my head back and sighed. If it wasn't for the anxiety, I probably was in the most relaxed state I'd been in for months. Flashes of the night kept crossing my mind, and making me want to go wake him up for round three. Why couldn't I just enjoy it?

My phone said it was 3 am.

Even if I knew that witches rarely had any spells that actually swayed matters of the heart, I knew it was possible. There were counts of the witches' high council hiding or destroying certain spells. But was it because of the perception of what could happen or due to it actually changing something?

This was nonsense. I knew better. But what had that glow been? What was the real purpose of the spell? Were we soulmates?

Soulmates. What did that even mean?

My heart was racing, and I felt clammy. I didn't regret tonight at all.

Hmm, okay, maybe doing it on the table had been a bit much, but at the moment, it hadn't even been a question.

I took a deep breath and tried to count.

Was I really ready for this? Did I need to be in another relationship? I mean, it had been years. I deserved to find love again. Perhaps starting with at least two official dates before I climbed into… onto? A table with him.

Love? Soulmate… maybe? I had enjoyed these past several days with Winston more than I cared to admit. But we barely knew each other. I couldn't already love him, could I? What would that even be based on? A week's worth of information?

It was too early… late? To be trying to decide these things. I'd wanted a relationship. I wanted him.

I just needed a break. Did I want to go home? No one was there. I could just go back to bed here. Lay beside Winston and see what happened in the morning.

Could I even sleep, though?

Giving up, and trying to relax, I pulled out my laptop. In a few minutes, I'd pulled up my manuscript and was looking over what I had written on the spell so far.

Taking a deep breath, I wrote about the experience of brewing the potion, hearing the spell, and seeing the effect. The decision now would be whether or not I wanted to share the ending. I knew I would not give many details at all of what had occurred. I could feel myself blushing as I thought about it.

By all accounts, and wording, the spell was simply to show whether two people were meant to be together. It didn't really explain what it did when that was the case, however.

This was the problem with oral traditions. It could be that much easier to make something disappear if you could erase all traces. When you stopped talking about something, it was easier to forget when it couldn't be found written down decades later.

Would another witch know? Could I find someone with the knowledge?

Did it matter? I certainly couldn't do it in time for this book. The chapter would say what it said. And should I even publish it like that? I could always be two chapters short. I mean, I had multiple degrees… I could surely bullshit my way out of two chapters.

Lost in thought, I dozed off on the couch.

"Willow?"

I felt a shake and tried to swat Tess away. I didn't want to wake up yet. I was so tired.

"Willow?"

That wasn't Tess.

I sat bolt upright to find myself on a couch, pants less, and nearly throwing my laptop onto the floor.

Winston was standing near me, holding the laptop to keep it from crashing, with a surprised look on his face.

He was also shirtless, and very, very hot.

Oh, and I was pantless.

And we had slept together.

Twice.

"Good morning. Um, may I ask what you are doing out here?"

He didn't say pants less, but I heard it. My brain was short circuiting.

"I… um… Well, I woke up last night. And came out here and dressed, but um, my pants were downstairs… and I was working on my chapter. I fell asleep, I guess."

"Ah. Afraid if you went downstairs you'd bolt?"

"What? No…"

He raised an eyebrow, and his face was just so cute like that.

"Okay, maybe. I might have thought about it."

He smiled. "Well, it's only 5 am. I wake up early for the café, which I'm kind of regretting at the moment. I do, however, want to… um… clean up downstairs before Lyzzie comes in."

"Okay." I said, pausing. "Oh. Oh my Goddess, yes."

I grabbed my laptop from him and closed it, setting it beside me on the couch. Then I stood, and suddenly we were very, very close together.

"Good morning, again." Winston said.

And he kissed me, slow and long. I could feel myself melting into him. I realized that if I didn't say something, we might wind up back in bed.

"Come on," I said, pulling back. "My legs are cold, and I'd really rather not leave the mess."

Winston smiled and grabbed my hand. I followed him downstairs. Was he not having any doubts? He seemed perfectly happy.

The kitchen was a disaster. The potion ingredients were on the counter, the cauldron still sitting on the burner, and the table…

Well, the table looked clean, but I knew otherwise.

I found my pants and shoes and dressed the rest of the way. Winston also grabbed his pants and put them on. With a bottle of disinfectant and some rags, I started cleaning the table while he cleaned up the rest.

Before 5:30, we had the whole place looking brand new. I felt better and relaxed.

And then Lyzzie walked in through the door.

"Oh. Morning." She said.

The smile on her face told me exactly what she was thinking.

Damn.

"Morning, Lyzzie. You're early." Winston sounded fine.

"Oh, yeah. I wanted to make sure everything was stocked. I left a bit early last night since I knew I was coming in this morning and could do it."

"That's fine. I'm heading back upstairs, but I'll be down before we open."

Lyzzie nodded and went through the door into the café. My skin felt hot, and I was sure that my chest and cheeks were the color of a fire engine.

"You okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine. I just…not a feeling I'm used to it all." I could drown in embarrassment alone.

"Ready to go up?"

"Yeah. Oh, can I grab a muffin?"

"I'll get you one. Want some coffee?"

"Do you need an answer?" I smiled, trying to feel normal.

He chuckled, "Okay, I'll meet you upstairs in a minute, then."

I took the exit and headed upstairs to gather my stuff. My phone was still silent, but I didn't expect to have heard from anyone this early. I shot a quick text to Piper.

"Free today? We should discuss."

And a following one to Tess: "I'm heading home soon. See you there."

Neither replied immediately, but I didn't expect it. It wasn't even 6 am on a Saturday.

Winston walked through the door with a muffin and a coffee.

"Oh, I can smell the glorious coffee. Thank you." I grabbed it and took a deep breath in. "Heaven." And then drank several sips.

Winston walked over to the dining table and took a bite of another muffin.

"I need to head home. One, I really want a shower, and a change of clothes, but two, I'm not sure Tess got home okay last night." I started eating my delicious muffin.

Winston took another bite of his muffin and nodded. "I can work on the other spell some today. I think we can finish it in time."

"Thank you. Please don't stress out about it. I've decided if needed, I can figure out something to fill it in with. I would like to know, though."

"Text you later?"

"Sounds good. I'll see you later."

I grabbed my backpack and nearly ran out of the back of the café. I couldn't believe that I'd handled that calmly enough. The walk home was brisk, and I was glad for my jacket. My home was quiet, and it looked like Tess wasn't there. Opening the door, I walked in and dropped my bag by the door. Then I started the fire, went and changed, and came back to collapse on the couch.

At eight, my phone dinged with messages from Tess and Piper, waking me up from the light doze I was in.

Piper's pulled up first: On my way with snacks and ready to hear every single last detail. Tess is with me, no worries.

I laughed, ready to talk about it all. If anyone could help me figure out my feelings, it would be those two. And maybe Piper could help me understand exactly why I panicked when I woke up this morning.

Piper's place was 10 minutes away, and I knew she'd probably go faster than she should. Stretching, I felt my body ease, and I got some water to drink. Then I made some jam on toast, and gathered a few of my own snacks to contribute to the breakfast. And a nice pot of coffee.

With water and a large cup of coffee, I sat on the couch again and wrapped myself up in a blanket. Sure enough, Piper arrived with Tess in tow, both demanding news.

"Let the story begin! Tell me every single second."

"Who said I wanted to share?"

Tess laughed. "I refuse to let you leave until you tell me if Winston is as great in bed as he looks."

"I believe I was promised snacks."

"Snacks indeed." Piper came in, setting several bags on the table. I was handed a bag of my favorite gummies.

"Bit early in the morning." I joked.

"Do you really think so? I never say no to candy."

I laughed, feeling better already. For the next hour, I walked them through my day. And everything after.

There were appropriate gasps, laughs, and happy sighs. Plus way too many questions. I answered some of them the best I could.

"Did you want to sleep with him last night?"

"I mean, I guess in a way, I planned for it, right? But it was really quickly decided once we kissed. Maybe I shouldn't have… but I don't regret it."

Tess sighed. "Why would you? It sounded like heaven."

"Not arguing that point, really."

"The potion…You said you glowed? And then your hands, both the same color."

"Yes. And it was… electric."

Piper sat back in thought, eating another piece of candy. "Love spells have been banned by the witches' council for my entire life. They always cause trouble, no matter what your intentions are—good or bad. Really, they may not want you to publish anything about this spell."

"I've never cleared anything with them before."

"No, but you've never published anything dangerous, or that went against what they wanted people to know."

"And how would I even know if I did?"

"Well, witches are everywhere. They keep an eye out for this stuff. And you said your man's mother is a council member."

"How did I not make that connection?"

"I mean, Sullivan in general is a pretty common name. And his aunt wanted nothing to do with it."

I rubbed my hands along the blanket covering my lap. This was getting more and more complicated.

Then I remembered his smile and last night, and realized I didn't care.

And realized that I'd just thought "fall in love" instead of like?

"Can't anything ever be easy?"

"Not the good stuff, darling. You have to work at that."

Tess flew off and grabbed a piece of chocolate. "I wonder if they watch you. Because you aren't a witch and do all this witchy stuff."

I turned toward Piper, taking a drink of coffee. "What do you think?"

"They might. It seems logical. I mean, witches are a part of society, but that doesn't mean we haven't done damage control before. Or tried to figure out how to make certain things go away quicker. Everyone has scandals, right?"

Nodding, I took a bite of a chip. "Everyone does."

Tess didn't say anything, just flew back to the couch. The living room was really warm, and she didn't have any problems flying around.

Groaning, I leaned my head back against the cushion.

"I don't want to write more history into this book. I mean, it wasn't to cause love. Or even to create passion. What do witches think about soulmates?"

"Just the same thing as everyone else. There is someone for everyone—one person who is meant for you, the other half of your soul. I can easily see someone trying to create a potion to figure out whether someone is."

"So why would they have hid that? Perhaps it was too much for them? Think about it. If you could find out whether the person you are interested in is the person you wanted to be with, could you resist it? Then what if word spreads, and everyone wants to know? I mean… this spell could certainly cause chaos."

Piper got up and walked around the couch, into the kitchen. I could hear her pouring her some coffee as she talked.

"Really, any spell could. I mean, we have potions and spells for clear skin, fine weather, and so many other things."

"Thanks. I think. So, what did you two do last night?"

The conversation switched gears for a while as Piper and Tess filled me in on their night. It had been their own version of a girl's night without me there. I was glad that Tess had someone else who could help her.

"I'm glad it's the weekend. So glad that I don't have to go to the office for two days." Piper was eating her own bag of gummies.

"Hard cases lately?"

"No, not really. There's a coworker who has been driving me a bit up the wall. I think she'll be switching jobs soon."

"Ack. Those are the worst. In academics, we just are stuck with them forever. Not much job hopping for professors, once they are on tenure track."

"So, what's your plan today?"

"Well… Winston is going to text me at some point. And other than that, I don't have plans till this evening. Wanna have a girls' day?"

"Absolutely. Let's go shopping. Go put on some real clothes."

Tess cheered, and I gave in. I went to my closet and picked my outfit. Black jeans, and a long cozy sweater. Then my favorite, comfiest pair of black boots. It was nice to wear "Slack off" clothes, as I called them. Business, and even business casual, could take all the fun out of fashion if you weren't careful.

The rest of the day passed quickly, with shopping, pampering, and eating lunch. I felt guilty not being at the café and spending my money somewhere else.

Finally, at around 5 pm, I got a text from Winston.

"Made progress. Come over anytime."

I showed it to Piper and Tess.

"You going? Oh, pack clothes."

"I… don't you think that's forward?"

"Eh, why not? At least a robe, maybe? Oh, come on. If you already did it once, no reason to not do it again!"

She had a point there.