Page 11 of Spellbound and Gagged

"You can't be serious."

"Deadly serious," Thaddeus said, his expression grim. "The academy needs a strong department head like me."

"That's dragonshit and you know it."

In a flash, both had drawn their wands, pointing them at each other. The greenhouse fell silent, save for the rustle of leaves stirred by their magical standoff.

"Is this really what we've come to?" Juno asked.

For a tense moment, neither moved. Then, simultaneously, they both lowered their wands.

"This is ridiculous," Thaddeus sighed, running a hand through his hair. "We're supposed to be setting an example for our students, not acting like them."

"So what do we do?" Juno asked, gesturing to the orchid. "We both need it, and there's not enough to share."

"Flip a coin?" Thaddeus suggested, a hint of the playfulness they had shared creeping back into his voice.

Despite herself, Juno nodded. "A magical coin toss to decide the fate of our careers. Why not?"

As Thaddeus conjured a coin, Juno stared at it solemnly. The physical connection they had just rekindled had been incredible, but their professional rivalry remained unresolved. Their bodies knew how to harmonize perfectly, but their ambitions were still pulling them in opposite directions. Were they destined to always choose career over love?

The coin spun in the air, glinting in the moonlight that filtered through the greenhouse glass. Juno called out, "Heads." The coin clattered to the ground, spinning for what felt like an eternity before finally coming to rest.

Tails.

She wanted to slap Thaddeus's triumphant smirk off his face. Juno's shoulders slumped, a wave of disappointment washing over her. She watched, sulking, as Thaddeus carefully extracted the precious nectar from the moonlight orchid. Her mind raced, trying to come up with alternative solutions for her Brewfest project. Without this key ingredient, she'd have to rethink her entire approach.

"Don't look so glum," Thaddeus said. "Grimm Mawr Academy is all but assured to win Brewfest now."

Thaddeus capped the vial of nectar, tucking it safely into his robes. He turned to Juno, challenge in his stance. For a moment, they stood in silence, the weight of their rivalry and their recent intimate encounter hanging heavy between them.

Then, without warning, Thaddeus closed the distance between them. His hand gripped her waist, and before Juno could react, he pressed his lips to hers in a hard, fast kiss.

Just as quickly as it began, the kiss ended. Thaddeus pulled back, a smirk playing at his lips. "Something to remember me by while you're reworking your entire project," he said, his voice low and taunting.

And then he was gone, striding out of the greenhouse with the vial of moonlight orchid nectar safely in his possession,leaving Juno standing alone among the plants, her lips still burning from his kiss.

"Fuck you," she spluttered out. Too late for anyone but the giggling geranium to respond.

Chapter Four

Juno glared at the empty vial on her workbench, its absence a stark reminder of her defeat. The moonlight orchid's nectar should have been hers. Instead, here she was, surrounded by a chaos of magical ingredients, determined to prove she didn't need it to win the Brewfest competition.

She had to beat Thaddeus. Only then could she look him in the eye again. She racked her brain, trying to figure out if there had been an aphrodisiac growing in the garden that night. That had to be the only explanation of why she and Thaddeus had gone at it like a succubus and an incubus.

Her personal laboratory at Grimm Mawr Academy, usually a haven of organized chaos, now looked like a whirlwind of magical debris had torn through it. Jars of shimmering powders teetered precariously on shelves, vials of multicolored liquids bubbled ominously, and the air was thick with the mingled scents of a dozen different magical plants.

Juno glared at her formula. "I don't need that blasted orchid," she muttered, reaching for a jar of iridescent pollen. "I'll show Thaddeus that nurturing herbology is just as powerful as his rigid, by-the-book methods."

The thought of Thaddeus sent a jolt through her that was equal parts irritation and something else she didn't want to examine too closely. So they slept together. So what? So he blew her mind. So what? It didn't change anything. He was still ajerk. She pushed the feeling aside, focusing instead on the task at hand.

With practiced movements, Juno began mixing ingredients in her cauldron. A pinch of starlight shimmer, three drops of dawn dew, a handful of crushed rainbow rose petals. She stirred the concoction carefully, watching as it began to glow with a soft, pulsing light.

"Just a dash of songbird syrup," she said, reaching for a small vial. As she uncorked it, the sweet scent filled the air, reminding her of warm summer evenings and...

No. Not going there. Focus, Juno.

She added three drops of the syrup to her potion and gave it a final stir. The mixture swirled, its glow intensifying. Juno held her breath, waiting for the moment of truth.

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