5.A Moon Ritual to Remember

5. A Moon Ritual to Remember

The waxing moon will be at its peak in the sky soon. How soon? Ask Liam. He knows exactly.

Liam: Moon’s apex is 11:37. Prime time for the ritual is 11:43.

Apparently nightbrands were tuned into the cycles of the moon like clockwork. Liam texts me the evening of our ritual, letting me know when to arrive.

Liam: Be here at least 30 minutes early.

A nervous, excited flutter fills my belly. Are we starting already?

Oliver: Is that an order?

Liam: No? Not an order order. If we miss our window, we’ll have to wait until next time.

Next time? That means 30 days before we begin. No thank you. Good thing I’ve always been punctual.

Oliver: On my way.

The two weeks did pass quickly, sometimes not quickly enough, but there was enough time to fit in everything we needed to accomplish first. Liam and I have been talking and texting. Asking and answering questions, sharing our interests and expectations, and finalizing the details for our partnership.

Now we just have to meet and commit to our agreement. The moon and Liam’s magic will do the rest.

Am I nervous? Yes. There’s nerves and an entire ocean of panicky thoughts. What am I doing? What if I do this wrong? What am I thinking? For the love of God, what am I doing?

But I’m excited too.

Every day of getting prepared has just cemented more and more that this is what I need. For both me and my magic.

Plus, a sexier professor probably doesn't exist in the world. I’d really like to begin and get closer to him.

After what seemed like the world’s longest bus ride, I rush up the steps to Liam’s apartment and then stare at his door for several seconds. Finally, I swallow hard and knock .

"Hello, Oliver. Come on in." Liam is friendly and his smile looks so innocent when he opens the door.

He wears a silky gray shirt open at the collar and he’s barefoot, his living room dark with the growing shadows of the evening.

A few candles are lit along with a lamp by the table near his couch where he was grading papers earlier. He's both sexy and inviting. It's not really what I pictured but it suits him. He couldn't look more alluring if he tried.

I didn’t exactly understand why Liam’s apartment was suitable for the ritual when we were texting. Now I get it. Liam lives on the top floor of this apartment building and there’s a large skylight in the center of the room that exposes us to the night outside.

Right now, there’s nothing but a dark nothingness up above.

Liam leads me towards the skylight where there are two tables set up, laden with tools of the caster trade like an athame, natural herbs, and crystals. Two white candles, one on each table, will be the main physical component in the ritual we conduct.

He lays out how the ritual will proceed. "We'll set our intentions out loud as we work on the candles. Choose an item to represent each component of our partnership. Anything you give goes out, so wrap it around the candle counterclockwise, and what you take in goes clockwise. The moon and my magic will do the rest.”

We stand at opposite ends of the skylight and take our candles.

“We should begin now. Just keep out of the center until its’ time,” he instructs.

Maybe I feel it in the air or in the soft moonlight beginning to trickle in from the skylight. There’s a power here and we only need to shape and draw it out.

Liam nods to me. "Whenever you're ready, go ahead and start."

And we've already hit a snag.

"Me? I start?" I thought he would take charge.

Liam smiles, seeing my thoughts. “During the month, you will be following my lead. But for the ritual, it's reversed. I can't take what isn't there, you need to give it first.”

“Oh, that makes sense. Okay.” I go for the obvious, taking the coil of brass from my table and starting to wrap a thin strip around my candle. “I pledge to give you control of my metal magic." The words feel like a vow. "I promise to use my magic how you direct me and to refrain when not given permission.”

"I accept the authority for use of your metal magic.” Liam wraps a length of dark twine around his own candle. "From the start of this waxing moon cycle until the next cycle of the waxing moon, I must give you permission in order to use the magic. ”

This time it's not magic I feel, only the weight of the words and his eyes on me. I shiver in expectation of the promises there.

"If there's no time you wish to set aside in advance, that means that anytime you do need your magic, whether I’m around you or not, you need to get permission or your powers won’t be available to you.”

“I know.”

Liam looks at me expectantly for another moment, then nods. A speak now or forever hold your peace moment.

Well, not forever. I'll still have access to my magic whenever Liam allows it, but he'll have the right to agree with or deny any requests I make during our partnership. I'm not sure how it will feel to ask for something that's already mine, but it can't be worse than having a gift I don't deserve in the first place.

His steady hands begin wrapping a new piece around his candle, but he's staring right at me as he works. “I promise to use my best judgment for anything I ask and expect of you. I will abide by the same standards I hold myself to as a conscientious, reasonable practitioner."

I smile both at the promise and how he worded it. He did not say he wouldn't use magic to hurt others or anything illegal, calling attention to my family. But a conscientious, reasonable practitioner doesn't use their powers to cause harm with their gifts .

This is why I came to him... well, part of it.

"Now, uh, is it time for the..." My voice drops to a whisper. "The other part of our agreement?" The sexual parts.

"Almost. Now that we’ve started, we can cover the precautions before getting too… distracted." Liam picks up a red velvet bag on his table and nods to the matching one on mine. "The bags each contain a metal pin. As we step under the moonlight, push the pin into the candle and say the word that will represent your right to call a halt to anything we do."

Oh, he’s telling me about the safeword portion of the ritual.

Liam stares into my eyes, making his own vows. "My judgment presides over all we do, except for the pin. I promise to listen to its call and the designated word when given at any time, for any reason. So, if you need to stop..."

"I call the pin to me or say the word we agreed on, uh, 'onomatopoeia.'" The rest of my magic won't respond to me under our agreement unless Liam has allowed it, but the pin and the safeword are exempt.

Onomatopoeia is the word that knocked me out of the regional finals in the third-grade spelling bee. Becky Winston won and advanced for a chance to go to the Scripps National Spelling Bee instead of me. That was the closest I ever got to the finals in Washington, and it all ended when I left out the final 'o.' As the memory reminds me of bitter defeat, it's the least sexy word I can think of and seems fitting in case I need to stop what we're doing.

And now that we’ve covered the necessary precautions, we have reached the part I've been secretly, eagerly awaiting. The sexual parts.

"Do I need to start this part again?" I ask with some dread.

"Afraid so."

"A-alright." I take a deep breath and ignore the slight tremor in my hands as I wrap red ribbon around the candle. "I pledge to give you control of my body. I will let you dictate our, our, um, sexual activity."

"I accept." Liam responds swiftly. He seems excited. “I will make decisions for both of us sexually. I’ll give you orders.”

“And I will obey,” I whisper.

"Honestly, my imagination has been running wild. Any reasonable magic usage may be asked of you, like we agreed, but right now? It’s looking like there will be a lot of sexual commands. There are so many perverted uses for your magic, and I'd like to explore as many of them as we can."

I focus on wrapping the red thread around my candle as I respond, “N-not, that’s not a problem.”

“Good," says Liam. He doesn't continue.

I remind him, "That's not all we talked about."

"I know, but why don't you tell me anyway?" Liam enjoys this too much. "You need to say it, Oliver. "

"You will also control when I come," I whisper, face bright red. "Control whether I come at all."

My heart is pounding in my chest and my cock stirs in anticipation as I offer up this gift to Liam. His eyes grow even darker, and he accepts without hesitation.

"That's right," Liam says. "Your every orgasm is mine to give or withhold. For the most part, expect that you aren't getting off or using your metal magic unless I'm there. When I say, you can use your power and come."

"Well, one or the other."

Liam starts to nod and agree, then he stops. "You know what? Let’s make the two exclusive."

"What?"

"You aren't going to come at all unless I give you permission. And anytime you do, you’re going to be using metal magic before, during, or after."

"What? But they...this?" I mumble nervously.

"They don't have to be exclusive, but I want them to be," he replies with a smirk.

"You do?"

"I do."

"Oh."

Even in the dark I see his eyes light up. “Oh, I like this idea. I like this a lot.” But he shakes his head and clears his throat a second later. “Question is, what about you? If you don't think you can handle that, tell me. Whatever you're thinking, it's best to tell me now."

"Um, what if I can't? "

"Then you can't." He gives me a soft smile, no judgment or pressure. “This is what I want. I think it's within your power to give me, but I could be wrong. And if I am wrong, that's not your fault. I just need to know. I only want what you're willing to give."

He seemed dark and dirty a second ago and now he's softly looking into my eyes and making me feel safe, how does he do that?

I already hate the idea of disappointing him, but I realize I won’t let him down if I can’t do this. I already know he's the kind of man who honors what he says. That means he won't begrudge any limits I need to set.

I'm not totally sure about this, but I have to be honest. If I say no right now, the person most disappointed... will be me.

"No, I...I want to try," I tell him. "I know I need to use my powers and get them to cooperate but that's still the part I'm least looking forward to. This way gives me something to look forward to when using the magic. I'd like to try. Is that enough?"

Liam smiles. "Darling, it is more than enough."

My head spins as we cover the rest smoothly and finish the candle. By the time we're finished, I'm hard and aching in my pants. I feel the moon grow stronger, its power pulsing around us but not touching us yet. I'm so eager to feel it, to offer myself up to its power and Liam's.

"All set?" Liam wonders .

I nod and wait for his cue, but Liam just stands there.

“Wait for it,” he says.

“For what?”

“Just another few seconds.”

The empty space between us fills with moonlight, shining brightly. Must be 11:43, I realize. That's why Liam picked this time, because the moon’s light shines right down through the spotlight as we make our final pledges.

"Let my intentions become manifest under the light of the moon and its magic."

We both speak the incantation and step into the skylight with our candles, and I plunge the safeword pin into the bottom of my candle. The candle is solid, but the pin sinks in easily under the influence of magic. Both candles light, fire glowing from the wicks like the moonlight is a flame that ignited them.

When we touch the candles together, both candles go out and smoke swirls around us. Liam’s eyes glow and I feel his power, feel the intention behind our words gaining the conviction and weight of magic.

It’s done. Until the next waxing moon cycle, I’m his.

~

With Liam and I both under the skylight, we're suddenly a lot closer than we were for most of the ritual.

"Alright," he says. "Try using your powers."

I didn't expect him to ask me to use magic immediately after the ritual, but alright. The things we promised remain strong in my head - he makes orders and I obey them. Aiming for the stray metallic ingredients left on my worktable, I try to pull a coil of copper to me... nothing happens.

"It worked," Liam concludes, though it seems he already expected as much.

But for me, that's a gut punch. Whoa. It really worked. That's why he had me try using my powers, so I could see the proof of our ritual.

Relief fills me, like I can finally take a breath. The weight of the magical responsibility on my shoulders—the same responsibility no one else in my family lived up to—doesn't feel so heavy now that Liam is helping me shoulder some of the weight.

I smile at him, and he smiles back. It's a nice moment, then Liam's eyes travel down and he sees the hardness in my pants. His eyes are dark and intense as they rake over my body.

His commanding nature, the way he effortlessly took control during the ritual, it all turns me on in a way I never dreamed possible. I want more.

"Oliver," he whispers huskily.

“Yes? Any other orders you wanna give me?” I ask .

“Nope.”

Liam steps back and out of the skylight, never breaking eye contact as he watches my reaction.

My mouth drops open in surprise. “Wait, are you serious? That’s it?”

“For tonight.”

“Why?

His grin is sharp. "Because I say so."

"Really, you aren't going to give me anything?"

"Nope," he agrees cheerfully. “Not 'til you've earned it."

"Okay, how do I earn—"

"Nope, not tonight," he interrupts. "I'm giving you a night to get used to being under my control. We aren’t going to do anything sexual or magical tonight. You'll have to wait until tomorrow."

"Seriously?" I wonder, trying not to pout… but pouting a little.

"Better get used to it. Denial is one of my favorites."

I groan. "Any advice about how to adjust?"

He shrugs. "Not really."

Checking down, my mouth goes dry. He's hard too. "You're hard too and if we really aren't going to get off tonight..."

Liam happily explains. “ You'll go home and go to bed. I'm going to be here, jerking off and thinking of you—how pretty you looked under the moonlight. I’ll know that you're going to be in your bed willing your boner to go down so you can sleep. ”

I whimper. “Okay.”

"Oh, don't pout," he tuts.

"Sorry," I whisper.

"I'm only teasing. You're free to pout, it's actually very attractive."

"Need to go before you kill me," I plead.

"Wait a second. There is one thing I'm willing to give you tonight."

"Oh?"

Liam reaches out and drags me across the skylight and suddenly I'm crashing into him. His lips are demanding against mine, and his tongue sweeps into my mouth and claims the territory there as his own. He kisses me like he means it, and his firm body presses against mine, but he doesn't allow for more as he holds me in place.

His searing kiss sends heat rushing through me as I ache for more. Just as I try to reach out and grab him, he starts pulling away. Our lips brush one last time, and I moan as the tip of his tongue traces over my bottom lip in a cruel tease, and then the moment is over.

Liam's eyes glint with excitement as he begins leading me to the door and I catch my breath.

His kiss only leaves me wanting more. But that won't happen, not tonight. I have to wait.

Tomorrow can't come soon enough.