I took a deep, shuddering breath and continued, reminding myself that it was my responsibility as our coven’s scribe to give Maeve this information. “Unlike Judean religions, where the male desire for progeny dictates all carnal activity, in pagan rituals like ours, a woman’s pleasure is vital to the success of all magic. The High Priestess is the center of a coven’s power, and therefore, her orgasm is the height of the ritual. Does this look like your dream?”
Maeve nodded, biting her lip in this way that drove me totally crazy.
“In the old days of the coven, everyone participated…like this image. It’s the best way to raise the power needed for complex rituals. But as Christian ideas became more ingrained, covens stopped practicing polyamory. In order to be truly strong, the High Priestess chooses aMagister.“ I glanced at Maeve, but she was still staring at the erotic drawing. Something flickered across her face. “The magister is like the second-in-command – a trusted council and powerful witch in his own right who pairs with her in the rituals. Most high priestesses in the last two centuries opted to make their magisters their chief consort and draw their power that way.”
Maeve’s fingers trailed across the high priestess, tracing the line of her ecstasy. “So is this why I’m dreaming so… so…”
“Sofilthy?” I laughed, but the sound came out more high-pitched than I expected. “Ever since you got here, this whole house has been in a constant state of arousal. Your power has already begun to grow now that you’re back inside Briarwood’s walls. All the members of the coven can feel it, and we’re drawn to you. That’s why there’s this tension in the air.”
She gave a throaty laugh. “I thought that was just me.”
“It’sdefinitelynot just you.”
I placed a hand in my pocket and withdrew the condom, setting it down on the table in front of her. “I made sure all the guys had some,” I said. “So that if you decided to choose one of us as a consort, we’d be ready.”
“What if I don’t want any of you as a consort?” Maeve’s words were angry, but the look in her eyes was pure hunger. “What if I’m still angry with all of you for lying to me, and I want to shag some random dude I meet at the pub?”
“You can do that, of course.” I tried not to let my face show how much the idea of her being with someone who wasn’t one of us appalled me. “Whoever you sleep with – whether they be mortal or witch – will increase your powers. The important thing is that you orgasm, and the more times the better.”
I let that little nugget of information sit in her mind. Maeve blinked, her face bone still, but her eyes exploring all the possibilities of what I’d just said.
“How do I choose?” she asked, her voice tight.
“By creating a blood bond. I can show you the ritual if you like—” I grabbed for the grimoire.
Maeve wrapped her hand around my thigh, snaking her fingers closer to my throbbing cock. I groaned as her fingers scraped along my bulge, sending arcs of fire into my skin. I dropped the book.
When she spoke, her voice was choked with desire. “I’m no Christian, Corbin, and I don’t want to chooseanyof you. Right now, what I want is for you to fuck me senseless.”
CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT
MAEVE
Those words – so crass, so forward, sototallyunlike me – had barely left my throat when Corbin mashed his mouth against mine.
His fingers wove through my hair, wrapping around the back of my neck and pulling me against him.
My whole body hummed with need as I climbed on his chair, straddling his body and wrapping my legs around him. Corbin moaned against my lips as he ground his hardness into me, and the heat in my veins surged to feel the size of him through his jeans.
Corbin’s tongue pummeled mine, assaulting my mouth and leaving me gasping for breath. His teeth tugged at my lip, biting a little. I yelped at the pain, but my protest turned into a murmur as his fingers snaked down my sides, grazing my already hard nipples through my thin dress.
His body against mine… it felt so good, so right, so powerful. Heat surged down my arms, drawing my hands to explore his skin, to cup his chin, tangle my fingers in his hair, drag my nails over the skin at the back of his neck until he shivered with delight. Corbin ground against me harder, and I pushed back against him, the ache inside me begging to be filled with him.
Never in my life had I wanted something as much as I wanted Corbin inside me, right now. And that included the telescope that I’d begged the Crawfords to buy me for Christmas forsixyears.
Corbin tugged his lips from mine, trailing kisses along my neck, leaving a blaze of shimmering flutters in his wake. His hands tore at my dress, finding the zipper, his fingers stopping just short of grabbing the clasp.
“You definitely want this?” he asked, his eyes blazing. Just his breath touching my skin made my body pulse with need. “You don’t want to wait until?—”
“Correct. I don’t want to wait.”
“Good. Because you have haunted my dreams for far too long for me to give you up now.”
Corbin’s fingers closed over the zipper and he yanked it down. I lifted my hands and he pulled the dress over my head. I was dimly aware that I should feel nervous about what Corbin thought of my body, all the lumps and curves and bulgy bits, but his eyes sparkled as he drank me in, like I was the most beautiful creature he’d ever seen, and let me tell you, a look likethatfrom a guylikehim made me feel like a queen.
Then his lips were around my nipple and all thought ceased.
I moaned as Corbin’s tongue darted across the sensitive bud. Just like in my dream, he licked and sucked and teased me until I was a mess of need. But this was a hundred times better than any dream, because I was awake, and my body was on fire, and Corbin Harris smothered me in pleasure.
