Then the two witches fell to the ground, and they didn’t move.

  Kari was dead, I sensed nothing from her with my empathy, and no magical signature. Perhaps the explosion had been Nora freeing the glut of spirits from their bondage, because she was still alive.

  I raced forward and went to my knees, scooping her up in my arms. Her pulse was steady if a little elevated, and her skin was too damned hot, but I could tell it was already cooling. I soothed it with water magic, lowering her temperature, as I stroked her hair and looked down at her face.

  She gasped awake, and then startled and flinched, but I held her fast against me. I caressed her face, and she looked at me with shocked disbelief.

  “I’m sorry, Nora. They’re all dead.”

  She sighed, “I know, I had to let all but four of the spirits go, and only two of those of the highest tier. Fire and Air. The other two are middling in power, healing and future, but still far greater than what my coven used to have. Why are you looking at me like that?”

  That sounded like it would complement all my weaknesses, and vice versa. Being spirits of powers and principality, they didn’t have bodies, and wouldn’t be in the house. So there’d be no fire and water, or air and earth arguments, once I’d found that earth spirit to claim, anyway. If she stayed.

  I frowned, “I owe you a spanking, maybe two for that. Like what?”

  She sniffed, “Like… you don’t hate me for what I did.”

  I kissed her, softly, and sickly sweet and lingering. The kind of kiss that bared a soul to their partner, and said all the things it was far too early to say. Gods, could the woman kiss, at least when she’d gotten over her shock and started to kiss me back.

  “I’m tempted to just keep you, and never release you from your promise, but then I’m not an asshole. So, if you wish to leave and never see me again, you have my leave and I release you from that part of your oath only. But… I’d prefer if you didn’t, I really want to see where this is going. I know this is the worst possible time, but I haven’t been myself lately.”

  She blushed at that last somewhat pointed comment, then shook her head, “You… still want me?”

  She was obviously in shock, her dead coven truly not hitting her yet. It was probably a dick thing to do, put her on the spot like this in the midst of tragedy, but it was her fault. The circumstances weren’t of my making, and it was kind of important if I wanted her to stay and not disappear on me.

  I nodded, “If you promise me never to do that again, never take control of my mind again. I understand why you did it, and I forgive you. So, if you want to keep protecting me, and taking care of all my needs, I’ll need that promise. You’ve never lied to me, so I know if you say it, you’ll mean it. No loopholes, no tricks.”

  She said, “I swear I’ll never mind control you again, and my body is still and always will be for your pleasure, and your pleasure alone, while we are together. Feel free to keep sharing it with Rosaria though.”

  I snorted, then kissed her again.

  Glad that was settled. I kind of wanted to make love to her in that moment, but there was the small matter of being surrounded by eight corpses, so it was an easy desire to suppress.

  Chapter Eleven

  The look of regret on her face as she incinerated the only two bodies of her coven remaining had me taking her hand. Her new fire spirit was far more powerful than the old one, and she did it with barely an effort, when the weak one had barely disarmed a human with flames. It was startling, realizing just how powerful Nora was now.

  She said, “I’m going to need a week or two, to get all my affairs in order. Between the deaths, the coven house will need to be sold, and so much more. I umm, my reservation is for South Carolina anyway, I expected you to send me away, you know.”

  I prompted, “So…”

  She explained, “I’ll be going back there for a week or two to get things settled, so I can join you in Philly.”

  Oh, good. I patted her ass possessively, which made her smile at me, though given her coven just died it was a weak smile.

  “I understand. Do you want company?”

  She sighed, “I kind of do, and thank you for the thought and support, but you should go home. I can handle it. My coven… well we weren’t exactly close like family. I feel badly, like a friend or colleague died, but I won’t break down over it, not like I would if you had left me alone. I know that sounds cold, but you saw a little how they were.

  “Anyway, you have a duty to yourself, and to your territory and to your power. You need to find those Earth and Spirit nature spirits and make them yours, while they’re still available. You also owe Katerina a cleansing, and while she seems patient, I don’t think making her wait that long would be… wise.”

  “Alright, so how long do we have before our flights?”

  She sighed and looked into my eyes, “Not long enough, for what I have in mind.”

  I grinned, and demanded, “Specifics.”

  She giggled, “I’ll show you, when I see you again. Promise,” she added that last word a little breathily, with the promise of untold pleasures in her warm eyes.

  “Not even a hint?”

  She tilted her head, and said, “I’ve never fallen for a man before. I’ve also never wanted to do certain things in bed either. I’m kind of looking forward to having both of those firsts be yours.”

  Oh, was she promising me her virgin ass, or was I just a perverted asshole? Fuck, I’d have to wait to find out, I guessed.

  “If you’re sure, and if you don’t like it, we’ll stop. So, health and future?”

  It was honest enough, despite how tempting her deliciously sumptuous ass truly was to me. If she didn’t enjoy it, I wouldn’t, and some women hated it and couldn’t get pleasure from it, biologically speaking I mean, not a mental thing. On the other hand, some liked it, and some could come from it, so we’d see.

  She nodded, “Let’s just say if your dumb enough to get shot again, you’ll heal a lot faster than the weaker spirit of health managed. The spirit of future will make me a seer of sorts, unlike the weaker spirit which only saw minutes and hours into the future, the new middling one should be able to see weeks and rarely months into the future. So, I’ll be able to see what challenges are coming our way, which will help but isn’t a guarantee. My fire and air magic will also complement your own Earth, Spirit and Water. I think we’ll make an amazing team that way.”

  “In every way, Nora,” I said softly, while looking deep into those seductive violet eyes. No more hiding how I felt about her, and just how deeply she’d gotten under my skin and in my heart. She was right there with me.

  She blushed again, and we reluctantly parted our embrace to head for the van. We had to get to the airport, and we’d be on separate flights.

  I was going to miss her, but it’d be only a week or two for her to get things in order, and also put the house up for sale. Pack away the witch stuff, her clothes, and come up and join me. I could hardly wait, and it wasn’t because she’d just promised me her virgin ass.

  Though, really, that didn’t hurt, her juicy and firm bubbled ass was a dream, after all.

  I could use a camping trip, find those spirits, and I had to admit I was looking forward to seeing Katerina again, even if that was mostly wishful thinking on my part. Still, her parting look had been rather flirty, as if I’d pushed a button or two. Probably just my perverted imagination at work, but I’d never know if I didn’t try, and I’d learned long ago fortune favors the bold.

  I’d know better at our next meeting in a day or two.

  I’d always been a serial monogamist in the past, never really went in for the multiple girlfriend thing. One at a time. But now as a druid, having both Rosaria and Nora, and knowing I’d have two more nature spirits who’d be just as insatiable as the former was. Well, it seemed a little crazy to court an ancient and powerful vampire, no matter how ridiculously beautiful and sexy, but maybe I was crazy enough to give it a try.

  And if she wanted a nip in return, well I was game if I got to hit that.

  The plane ride was as usual boring, and I played with my invisible and unheard Rosaria almost the whole flight, save the three hours I took practicing the five spells I knew, and adding a sixth and seventh. Due to the fact they were extremely similar in execution, Feline Agility and Feline Balance.

  Regardless, I lost count of the number of ground shattering orgasms I gave her on my fingertips at around forty-six or so, and she’d sucked me off at least four times with a wantonly loving desperation that drove me insane. Without Nora as a foil of sorts, which I hadn’t realized even existed when she was with us, we were constantly in a feedback loop of sweet love and wicked desire in our attentions of each other.

  She was entirely insatiable, so sensitive and wanton to my every touch, and I was seriously starting to wonder if that’s why my ancestors never loved her. That it wasn’t anything as stupid as prejudice, just an unwritten rule of the druids so that this didn’t happen. That the emotional distance was so she wasn’t insatiable and always asking for sex, a way to manage things. Nature spirits had no limits, even if they did have physical bodies.

  I mean, she’d told me straight out, that she’d never felt this way about her druid and bond mate before, and it was obviously the love we shared that made her so insatiable and irresistible to me.

  I loved her to death.

  But honestly, I wasn’t sure how I could handle two more like her, plus a sexy sex obsessed witch, but it was sure as hell going to be fun trying. On the other hand, a thought occurred that when I had three insatiable spirits, maybe I could love them all, and they could just take care of each other so I could cut back to twice, maybe three times a day. It could totally work, maybe.

  “So, what do you think of me forgiving Nora?”

  Rosaria shook her head against my neck, still panting hard after the last orgasm, “I don’t blame you, she loves you. She also promised with no word tricks or veiled intentions this time. So I think it’s fine.”

  “Any ideas how to handle this, us. I love you, and I love making you scream in pleasure, but we really need to cut it back to a couple of times a day. A morning and night marathon, waking up and before sleep, and maybe one quickie throughout the day. I’ll never get anything done otherwise, and I have a list of stuff to do. Not to mention starting on cleansing my territory. I just can’t seem to stop, I love watching you cum for me, and your cries are music to my ears.”

  She giggled, and then took a deep breath, “Of course, my beloved.”

  The insane lust I felt from her cut off like someone flipped a switch.

  Holy shit, I should’ve just asked sooner, instead of making shit up in my head about things I didn’t understand. I still felt her love for me strong as anything, and there was a deep satisfaction and satiation coming from her. Attraction and chemistry too, but it was at a low simmer.

  She blushed at my shocked regard, “I kept restoring my body to accept more pleasure, when I feel your lust for me. I can still feel it, all twisted up and joined with your adoration and love. But for now I will only let it work me up when you initiate intimacies. This body can be sated, I just haven’t been allowing it to stick. I’ve been short circuiting your control?”

  I snickered, “Yes. I can handle that, even if you are quite tempting.”

  She winked, “Maybe I misled you when I said I never felt anything like it before you may have interpreted that as me being out of control. I hadn’t, but that doesn’t mean I have no control over it. I just… didn’t want to control it, still don’t, but self-control is important, especially for mortals. So… I’ll be good.”

  My lips twitched, “Sort of good, is good enough, I don’t mind if you initiate, just keep it down to once a day, outside of our pre-sleep and post-wake times.”

  She said breathily, in a hopeful tone of voice, “Starting now?”

  I snickered, “Sure, starting now.”

  I felt a surge of lust from her, and she slid off my lap and onto her knees. I could work with that, though it apparently wasn’t going to be as easy as I first thought, when she flipped that switch earlier. It would take some effort to resist, on both our parts. The important part was we could and would manage it better.

  Then I stopped thinking for quite a while, as she used her talented mouth to extract the fifth load from me on that flight, with loving devotion and a wickedly thrilled delight in her eyes as I filled her mouth.

  Then a low tone sounded, to indicate an announcement.

  “This is the captain speaking. We are being rerouted to LaGuardia airport, due to runway problems. We’ll be landing in fifteen minutes, prepare for descent.”

  I got a bad feeling, despite the post bliss endorphins knocking around in my brain. I pulled out my cell phone, and quickly connected to the plane’s Wi-Fi. Shit, it didn’t take me long to find the craziness of several headlines posted in the last twelve hours or so.

  Turns out the arrogant wizard hadn’t been entirely wrong about the spirits being pissed off by humanity’s growth and what they’d done to the Earth. Five hundred years ago, there were no concrete jungles. Cities yes, but ones of dirt roads or at best cobblestones, with wooden or stone buildings. They’d also been a lot smaller back then.

  The world was going mad. Multiple earthquakes all over the world, as well as three volcano eruptions, flooding on three continents, and so many storms the meteorologists didn’t know what to make of it. The weather had gone mad. It wasn’t quite as dire as the wizard had suggested, but it was closer to that than I wanted to see.

  What had I done?

  Including the fact that the runways at our original destination had been destroyed in one of those earthquakes. There wasn’t mass panic or rioting yet, but I needed to get home soon, and to start working on soothing the spirits, in addition to everything else on my to-do list.

  Claim two more spirits, cleansing duties in the Philly area, and of course cleansing Katerina’s human servants and the land her mansion was on.

  The trouble was I didn’t have a clue on how to soothe a spirit, save claiming it, but I couldn’t claim them all. Fortunately, I had Rosaria, and I was confident she could both help and give me advice on it.

  Maybe I did know what was coming after all, I had a lot of work ahead of me, and it was time to get to it.

  Afterword:

  I hope you enjoyed the story. This was the first book of a trilogy. The second book will have Brendan dealing with a lot, all I’d mentioned and more things besides, because when it rains it pours. Of course, he’ll have Rosaria right by his side, and he may find a few more allies along the way.

  If you can, please take the time to leave a review on Amazon and/or Goodreads. Reviews are the lifeblood of independent authors, and they have a bigger impact than you’d believe.

  About the Author: If you have any comments or suggestions you can send me an email at magicwrtr@gmail.com. I started out posting short stories online and at readers’ requests started to publish them. If you like my work, or even if you don’t, please consider leaving a review of this book.

  Other erotic fantasies by D. R. Rosier:

  Cirenthian Chronicles – Book one is Out of Darkness.

  Marcus, an ancient vampire, finds himself moved to another world where suddenly he is alive again, and magic is a known and powerful danger. No longer a vampire and dealing with emotions he hasn’t felt in over a millennium, will he be able to start a new life? This series is now complete.

  Necromancer Chronicles – Book one is The Necromancer.

  Vincent is a necromancer and has an even darker secret. Feared by the rest of the supernatural community he lives on his own, often struggling with his powers, and how to use them. But change is coming, and he will soon find himself dragged into the middle of a suspicious and untrusting community.

  Anise is a sorceress, but she has secrets of her own. She is an ancient being, who has walked the earth for time immemorial. She lives in a never ending cycle of life, forever watching those she dares to care about age and die. But she is about to find something new that will offer her hope, if she can live long enough to find it.

  Cytherean Chronicles – Book one is Flame of Cytherea.

  This two book series follows the chosen champion of a goddess, brought to her world and healed after he was mortally wounded on Earth. At first Justin is a little lost, not knowing anything about the world he finds himself in or even why he is there.

  Ashley’s Tale – This two book series follows the tale of a woman with unique parentage in a world greatly different from our own Earth. It is twenty-five years in the future, and the supernatural have long since been exposed. Ashley must struggle with her conflicting nature to find a balance, and her hidden power, as she is taken unwillingly into an extraordinary destiny.

  Ashley’s Daughters – This three book trilogy is about Ashley’s three daughters. It’s about a new world of dragons, and a second new world of human mages and all the fallout involved. Of course, it’s also about them finding love, and their place in the worlds. It starts about twenty-eight years after the end of Ashley’s tale.

  Sentient – This is the standalone book following an artificial intelligence from an advanced race, a man who comes back from war a little broken, along with diverse others as the Earth itself is put into danger as they are dragged into an interstellar war against their will.

  Sentient: Evolution – This is a sequel to the stand alone book Sentient. It takes place a thousand years later, when Aide finds herself alone and broken, yet still following her programming. Others join her as a new menace approaches, one that makes the Sthellan look like a great neighbor in comparison.