“We’ll all rest easier when it’s done. The town appreciates everything the coven is doing,” Clancy chimes in. “I’ll be glad to get back to business as usual at town hall, if there is such a thing. I could use a boring day for a change, and I’m sure you could too, Cara. Though I know you’re working on something big. You have been positively buzzing. And it’s not about something boring like traffic patterns or zoning.” He smirks in her direction.
She shoots me a desperate look before smoothing over her expression. “I don’t know what you mean, Clancy. Maybe I’ve just been excited about the mating ceremony. It’s only a few months away,” she stammers.
Lillian’s silver eyes brighten at her mention of the mating ceremony. “Isn’t that just the best idea?” she gushes. “Benny really is a romantic.”
“The right female needed to bring out that side of him. Like father like son,” Nicolas says, grinning like a fool at Lillian. Cara’s blush deepens as she flashes me another look.
“Oh, let me bring out the gingerbread cookies! I almost forgot,” Sunny announces, dashing to the kitchen. When she returns, she sets the spelled gingerbread males unfortunately close to Cara.
“Oh no. No no.” Cara’s eyes bug out. “I can’t eat one of these like this. How do I make it stop?” The cookie she points at winks and smiles at her. She snaps her hand back and holds it to her chest.
Ben cracks up, and the rest of us follow suit. He picks up the cookie and holds it in front of her plate. “It’s not alive, same as those turnips at the festival. It’s only magick.”
Cara’s shoulders shake in silent laughter, tears forming in her eyes. “Make it stop,” she chokes. Ben takes mercy on her after dancing the cookie around her plate a bit. He snaps it in half, and the spell is broken. “Oh thank goodness.” She sighs with relief and then takes a bite out of one of the halves. “These are really good when they aren’t moving!”
The feast is a success, with everyone content and full at the end. The rest of the afternoon is spent socializing. We take our wassail and other drinks into the living room to sit more comfortably. The guests begin departing just before dinnertime. Thea, Sunny, and Clancy have other celebrations to attend. The Garde-Pierre clan leave soon after.
When it’s just the four of us again, Walt and Acton insist Norrell and I take a seat while they clean up the dining room and kitchen, doing dishes and putting away the leftovers. It’s a very kind gesture toward Norrell who probably would have ended up doing the bulk of it. I’m tired and unsteady on my feet after the long day, I wouldn’t be able to help much anyway.
As we sit on the sofa with the cats curled up on either side of us, Norrell leans in and presses his warm lips to mine in a tender, exploring kiss. “Happy Yule,” he murmurs as he rests his forehead on mine.
“I can’t wait to give you your gift,” I purr as we stay in that intimate pose for several minutes, resting our eyes and reveling in the closeness.
“Don’t you two look sweet as pie,” Walt ribs us gently when he and Acton return to the living room. “We should get out of your hair. It’s been a long day, especially for you two.”
“If you’re sure…” I begin, but Walt good-naturedly waves his hand to stop me.
“We are. You two deserve a nice quiet night together. You both made Yule very special for all of us.” We say our goodbyes, and they head out after putting their gifts in Walt’s automobile.
“Are you tired, my ember?” he asks me, rubbing along the back of my neck.
“Yes, but I’m not ready for bed yet.” I bite my lip as my hungry gaze sweeps over him.
His chuckle is low and knowing. “I will distract the boys with dinner. While I do that…” He pauses, plotting, as he eases off the sofa. “Be a good girl and think about all the naughty things you want me to do to you.”
“What if I want to do something to you?” I wonder aloud, sounding playfully innocent.
“Yule is all about the spirit of giving, so I know we will both get exactly what we want tonight,” he rasps with growing hunger in his voice.
Norrell is only gone for a couple minutes. He shuts the two sets of doors in the room so we have privacy. I pat the sofa beside me. Obediently, he sits and pulls me onto his lap for a long, languid kiss.
Slowly nuzzling down his neck to his chest, I slide from his lap, settling with my knees on the floor between his own. I look up at him through my lashes, smirking as I unbutton and unzip his pants. He lifts his hips, letting me slide his pants and briefs down to his ankles, then pull them off. He’s fully naked andglorious in front of me. I admire the heat in his eyes as my hands knead up his muscled calves to his thick thighs, all covered in a heavy pelt, soft and supple to the touch. His straining cock twitches, leaking a string of white onto his belly where it rests.
His hard swallow is loud as I draw my hands around the base of his girthy, veined cock and lean forward to take it in my mouth. My tongue darts out to lick at the wide slit, already bubbling with pre-come. My tongue swirls around the tapering head teasingly as I stroke him lightly. When my gaze lifts to his again, he watches me with hooded, hazy eyes. He groans as our eyes hold while I bob my head up and down, working my mouth and hands in tandem around him. Not wanting him to erupt too soon, I slow down again, licking up down his shaft, nuzzling into him and gently cupping his testicles. When I want to work him harder again, I suck several inches of his cock into my mouth, hollowing my cheeks in the process.
“Ah, my ember. Just the way I like it,” he moans. I can feel his muscles bunching in his legs where I rest my arms, trying not to spill yet.
His hands finally move to my head, guiding the rhythm as I return to sucking and bobbing my head, keeping pace with my hands circled around the root of his cock. When his blunted claws scrape over my scalp, I know he’s close. I gradually increase my speed, and his hips begin rocking of their own accord. His snarling vocalizations grow louder until I can feel his cock judder and thicken in my mouth. His eyes roll back as long spurts of salty come jet out of his cock into my mouth. I do my best to swallow everything down while still working him through his orgasm.
When his cock softens, I carefully slip him free from my mouth, licking at his slit to make sure it’s clean. He leans forward and pulls me onto his lap. “Such a naughty girl givingher gift first. Now it is your turn. I will be sure to give you an extra special one,” he promises, his voice rich with need.
He guides me backward on the sofa, pulling my knees over his shoulders. Sliding a hand under my low back, he lifts me up slightly and pushes my dress up to my waist. He hooks the edge of my panties on one of his tusks and pulls it down my legs. With my feet now on his shoulders, he carefully guides my panties around them and tosses the scrap of fabric behind him. Leaning forward again, my knees around his shoulders, he inhales deeply into my pussy.
The first touch of his tongue to my clit sends shivers through my entire body. But I can tell he wants to explore first. He slowly licks inside my labia, tasting me. Moving to the entrance of my pussy, he laps up the wetness that accumulated while I was sucking his cock. I’m aroused just by the sight of it. His nose rubs insistently against my clit as his tongue works its way inside me. In response, I dig my heels against his back for leverage and grind my pussy against his hungry mouth, earning me an appreciative hum that vibrates his face against me.
“Yes, Norrell, yes! Keep going,” I wail as his nimble tongue propels me closer to my peak. His tongue skates upward again, landing on my clit. He sucks on it as he lifts my lower body fully off the sofa. Instinctively, I cross my ankles behind his head to lock him in place. He pulls a desperate, needy whimper from my throat as his finger presses inside, making way for another digit in wet, steady strokes.
“Moon and stars, that’s it,” I moan. I’m about to come already. I feel my channel clamping around his fingers. When he crooks them, rubbing behind my clit, the orgasm bursts from my core, plunging my entire body into a state of bliss. Tears gather in the corner of my eyes as I gulp down shaky, shuttering breaths.
