Ellie chuckled. “I like the way you say that.” She held tightly to Prospero’s trembling hips and applied her lips and tongue to the gloriously wet juncture of her wife’s thighs.
“God, Ellie.Yes.” Prospero’s voice was raw with need. “Please please please… oh god, love. Love you, Ellie. I love you so very much.”
Between one “please” and the next, Ellie’s tongue sped up, and everything was suddenly right in her world. Her wife was begging and writhing, crying out Ellie’s name, and the rest was all minutiae they could figure out later.
30Prospero
“So… it sounded like you said you love me,” Ellie asked a while later when they were curled up in bed together.
“I did.” Prospero’s hand, which had been drawing circles on Ellie’s back, paused.
“Have you said that to me before?” Ellie asked, lifting her head from Prospero’s chest to look at her. “Did I forget it?”
“No.” Prospero felt panic swirl in her stomach. “I have thought it, but I didn’t think you’d believe me.”
“Because you lied to me about something, and then pushed me away?”
“Yes.” Prospero swallowed her panic. Running wasn’t the right answer. She knew that, but this was the part of relationships that she dreaded, the vulnerability of it all. She could handle courting, little gifts and flirting touches, and she definitely could handle the sex. Her body both ached and felt energized for having been thoroughly explored.
“What changed that you’re saying it now?” Ellie sounded more curious than anything.
“When I was over there, I thought you had died.” Prospero forced herself not to look away. “In my mind, you had merged with a memory of… my first lover because of Aggie’s magic. In my mind, I saw you dead and sightless, staring at me, and the grief—” Prospero stopped herself, took a steadying breath, and added, “I wanted you to know how I feel in case I don’t survive the next encounter.”
“You’re planning to die?” Ellie asked.
“No. I’m being realistic. Magic is unpredictable over there.” Prospero held Ellie close. “I want to defeat her, come home, lock the door so I can hide away with the witch I love and ignore the rest of the world.”
“So let’s do that. I’m not as experienced at magic as you, but in case you didn’t notice, I’m not useless.” Ellie pulled away and propped up on one arm, so she was staring down at Prospero. “I have a lot of thoughts about things I want to do with you. Those require you staying alive.”
“Oh?”
“We never had a honeymoon,” Ellie pointed out. “I want to dance with you, walk with you, have picnics, read beside you, cook a meal—”
“Court me, then.”
Ellie’s smile turned wicked. “And have you naked for most of it so that we can pause to make love.”
Prospero felt like her heart might beat too fast for her body to contain. “That sounds perfect, although I’m not sure about naked picnics or how well the hobs would tolerate naked cooking.”
“The hobs can go somewhere else for a few weeks, have a holiday or something.” Ellie shrugged. “I have plans for you.”
“Most women aren’t in my bed to pleasure me. I’m usually the one who—”
“Most women aren’t your wife,” Ellie said firmly. “So this? This is not a one-way situation.”
Prospero couldn’t restrain a laugh at the tone in her voice. “Where were you all my life, Elleanor Brandeau?”
“Well, I wasn’t born yet formostof your life,” Ellie said smugly.
Prospero opened her mouth to reply, but Ellie leaned down and kissed her before she could say a word.
This. This is what I’ve wanted for most of my life,Prospero thought.
Several hours later Ellie was finally asleep in their bed, but Prospero was awake still, holding her and pondering how to retrieve a witch who could pull fears to the forefront of one’s mind, a witch who lived for violence.Strike first. Strike mercilessly.Agnes had shot Scylla, injured Sondre, and made Prospero think Ellie was dead.
This was not the time for hesitating.
But there’s no way to hunt her until she uses magic.…
