Chapter 25

Twenty-Five

It would be so easy to stay here like this… a tangle of limbs and sweat-slicked bodies.

But full moons are meant for more than just the carnal.

They protest when I wiggle free of them, slipping first to the bathroom, and then to grab the small bag from the couch in the conservatory.

I return to all four of them, still piled together in an exhausted, lust-drained daze.

"Come on," I say nodding toward the back door. "Time to recharge."

"I left my cord at home," Johnny says, chuckling, and he reaches for me. "Come back to us."

It's Chase who dislodges himself first. "The lady wants to take us somewhere… I'm not going to object."

The others laugh, and help Johnny off the floor as he grumbles, but he follows me. They all do.

"You need a coat." Joshua says when I open the back door and step out into the chill night air.

"Not for long enough to bother."

That doesn't mean I dally as I follow the smooth stone path into a thick stand of trees.

As soon as I step through the arch of pine boughs trained over the entrance, the warmth of the water raises the ambient temperature and the prickles from the cold disappear back into my skin.

As soon as they step through behind me, I hear low whistles.

The bower is completely lined by trees that reach thirty feet into the air like a crown, and at its center… the pool.

"This has been here the whole time?"

I nod as I turn the bag upside down and let the contents fall into the water. "It's one of the properties best-kept secrets."

"Well, now I want to know the others."

"They're not as nice as this."

The pool was carved by a great grandfather, for his witchy wife. It might originally have been meant only for two, but it was more than big enough for the five of us.

Magic kept the water warm and it steamed in the dark, the enormous hollowed out stone glowing in the moonlight.

"That is a very fragrant soup." Chase says, swirling his hand in the water.

"It is, and you're going to feel wonderful after you've spent some time in it." I hop up onto the edge, brushing the soles of my feet off before I turn and slide into the deliciously warm water.

I don't have to tell them to get in with me. Eyes closed, I hear them.

When someone slips their arm around my waist and pulls me from the center of the massive pool, I finally open them and try to keep my smile reasonable as Joshua pulls me into his lap.

Seeing them here, being with them like this…

I didn't realize just how much I wanted it until now.

The sex is phenomenal, but sharing this with them is… Inexplicable.

"How did we get to be such lucky bastards?" He kisses me before I can even consider coming up with an answer.

I pull back and waggle a finger at him. "We're here to recharge, not exhaust ourselves all over again."

He doesn't look sheepish in the least.

"What is all this?" Thomas asks, picking up a handful of water with a jasmine flower floating on top amid a dozen lavender buds.

I close my eyes, leaning back against the warm stone. "Lavender and sprigs of rosemary and jasmine flowers."

"Is this a ritual bath?" Chase sounds closer to me now.

I nod, the water lapping at my chin. "Salt and cedar and sage. And all the essentials to recharge under this full moon."

"And this is what you do every full moon?"

"Now that I'm on my own, yes." I let Chase pull me into his lap this time. "When you're actually with a coven, sometimes you're required to join other rituals."

"I like you naked." Chase whispers before pressing a kiss to the skin beneath my ear.

"Oh, those other rituals were often performed naked."

Someone growls.

"But now that I'm a solitary witch—even if the coven still claims me—it's highly unlikely I'll participate in those ever again."

"I happen to like this ritual…" Joshua's laugh is languid.

"You're welcome to join me in it anytime you want."

"Do we have to wait for the full moon?"

"No."

"Good."

Johnny slides next to us, and then his hand slides up my thigh. I twine my fingers in his when he gets too close and pull it up to my lips. "No more tonight."

"Against the rules?" He asks, and I know he's thinking it's the location.

"No." When they pout, I have to chuckle. "Aside from the fact I don't want a rosemary twig to sneak its way up on in there…?"

"I mean, that's definitely enough of a reason…"

"There's only so much a woman can take. Give me a little time to recover, now, or I'm going to need a lot more later."

"I guess we can control ourselves for the time being."

They kiss me, passing me around the circle, never letting me linger too long, and the water isn't the only thing that keeps me warm.