His cock starts to harden and it’s all I can do not to spread my legs and grind against him. Though I’m a little worried about how fast I’ll come and don’t want to be embarrassed. It’s been a while since I’ve been with anyone, and Lucas turns me on without even trying.
“When are your friends arriving?”
“What time is it?” I ask, a little breathy.
“Half past eleven.”
“Soon,” I tell him. “They’ll be here soon. We’re doing the spell at the Witching Hour, of course.”
He brushes a loose strand of my hair back. “Have I told you how beautiful you are?”
I shake my head.
“Shame on me, then. You are gorgeous.”
“You’re not so bad yourself.”
“I know.”
I raise an eyebrow. “You know? How about a gee, thank you after a compliment.”
“But I am attractive. Why act surprised? I was attractive sixteen hundred years ago, and I’m still attractive today.”
“What a curse you bear,” I say sarcastically.
Lucas laughs this time, and flips us over again, moving so fast I don’t know what’s happening until I’m buried between the couch cushions and his body.
“The worst, I know. You should feel sorry for me.”
“Oh, you poor baby,” I go on, in a monotone voice. “Should I put you out of your misery now? Spare you the pain of living another day thinking you might be a sex icon?”
Laughing, he puts his lips to my neck, sucking on my skin. His fangs aren’t out. I’d feel them if they were, and the sensation causes heat to flood my veins.
“I should grind that bone for you now.”
“Yeah. Grind the…the…bone.”
He kisses my neck again and then gets up and goes into the kitchen. I sit up, letting out a breath, and push my hair back. He knows he’s getting under my skin, making me want him. He’s doing it on purpose. Yet I can’t be mad at him for it because I do want him.
And not just physically.
When I get into the kitchen, he’s snapped one of the bones in half and is grinding it into a fine powder in the mortar and pestle. I get out a copper bowl for him to dump it in, and silently watch him grind up the rest.
“Thanks.” I cover the bowl and gather my herbs to invoke and add to the mixture. “That would have taken me like an hour.”
“You don’t have an hour.”
“Trust me, I know.” I push everything aside. “So, should we go get the body now?”
“I’ll get it. Where do you want me to put it once I retrieve it?”
“There’s a small clearing in the woods right behind my house.”
“I’ll be right back,” he says and speeds out of the house. While he’s digging up the body, I pack everything we’ll need into a wicker basket and use the bathroom. And then I pace around the house for a while until Binx tells me to chill. We go out onto the back porch together, waiting until Lucas comes back into view. He has dirt on his face, and his hands are blackened with earth.
I shouldn’t be so attracted to him right now. Or at all. He’s a vampire and I’m a witch. Together, we’re a disaster waiting to happen.
“Come, wash up,” I tell him and turn, going back into the house. I get a rag while he washes his hands. “Sit.”
He listens, taking a seat at the kitchen table. I stand over him, slowly wiping the dirt off his face.
“How long is this going to take?” he asks, bringing one hand up and cupping my ass. “Because I’m already thinking about what I want to do to you once this is over.”
“I’m bringing the dead back to life. It might take all night.”
He gets a smirk on his face, and I know he’s about to make a joke about something else taking all night. But he looks past me, out of the kitchen and in the direction of the front door. “Someone is here. Make that two people.”
“The Delvaux twins,” I tell him. “Stay here.” I swipe the rag over his face once more, removing the last bit of dirt before tossing it into the sink. Freya, knowing who is at the door, unlocks it, and lets the twins in.
“Hey, ladies.” I flick my hand and magically shut the door. “Thanks again for coming.”
Nicole smiles and picks up Freya. She loves cats, just like I do, but her family has had ravens as their familiars for years, and she was duty-bound to carry on the tradition. There’s some resentment there, directed at her family and not her familiar. She never fully bonded with her familiar because of it.
“You’re so lucky to have three familiars.”
“Lucky?” Naomi raises her eyebrows. “It’s unnatural. We’re meant to have one familiar.”
“These guys had nowhere else to go,” I say, looking lovingly at Freya.
“She should have died.” Naomi shakes her head, and as much as I’d like to argue with her, to tell her not to ever speak such things about my familiars—my babies—I know she’s right. Without their w
itch, familiars don’t last much more than a week. Yet for some reason, Pandora and Freya took to me. We bonded, and they changed their physical form to fit in with Binx and me.
Before, Freya was an owl. Pandora was a fox. Yeah…I know it’s weird they took to me. But I’m not one to question it. I love them. They’re part of the family.
“I have everything ready. Did you bring the wine?” I ask.
Naomi pulls a bottle of red wine from her satchel. “This was one of the oldest and most expensive bottles we had. You better do this spell right and not make this go to waste.”
“No pressure or anything, right?” I try to joke. Nicole laughs and Naomi just arches her eyebrows up even higher. “Kristy will be here soon. The body is out back and ready for resurrecting.”
“Do you have any chocolate?” Nicole asks. “I’m a little nervous and eating calms my nerves.”
“Uh, yeah, I think so.” I turn and lead them into the kitchen. Lucas is standing by the back door, looking out into the night. He turns when we come into the room. Naomi bites her lip and smiles.
“And who is this handsome…” She holds her hand out, reading his energy. Her eyebrows go up and a half-smile takes over her face. “…Vampire?”
“This is my friend, Lucas.”
“Look at you, breaking all the rules. Is he staying for the ritual? I don’t usually mind an audience, no matter what I’m doing, but this isn’t a spectator sport.”
“Yes, he’s staying.” I look at Lucas as the thought hits me. “He’ll watch over us and make sure no one attacks us while we’re busy raising the dead.”
“No one?” Naomi questions. “Including him?”
“He won’t.”
“Are you sure?” both twins ask at the same time.
I wrinkle my nose. “He’d have to be pretty stupid to attack four witches who are trying to raise and control the dead.”
“Valid point. Just know,” Naomi says and looks at Lucas, “you cannot stop us. No matter what happens or how dark things become.”
“Why would I do that?” Lucas asks. “I’ve always wanted to see a resurrection.”
Nicole looks from Lucas to me, coming to the same conclusion her twin did. That Lucas and I are an item. “Callie is leading it, and it might not be easy.”