Page 43 of The Rowan
“I combined our magic. Physically, my incubus can use shadows to caress and stroke you without being seen. Combined with the power you shared with me the other day, I created a scenario for us to see and experience in our minds. Our desire did the rest,” he rasps. “And damn, it was incredible, more than I imagined. Your desire and ours together tore the floor out from under me. I want to take you home and lock you in my room for weeks.” He stares down at me with flushed cheeks, desire riding him hard.
“I…” My phone dings with a text. It’s Meri. I look down on the dance floor and see her waving at me.
Meri:I’m heading out. You okay?
Arden: I’m fine. Are you going home with someone? Take a picture and send it to me. You know, in case I need to rescue you.
Meri: Here. Don’t rescue me too soon.
A picture of the two guys I saw her dancing with earlier shows up on my screen.Two?!
Arden: Mmm, hot. Be safe. I’ll see you at work tomorrow night.
Meri: xxx
“Meri is leaving.I’d like to get out of here, too,” I tell Astor. “Do you mind?”
With a sinful smile, he replies, “Hell no. Let’s go.”
We catch a car back to The Abbey, where Astor picks up a bottle of champagne from the bar. The elevator drops us off at his room, but I hesitate.
He sweeps my hair back and smiles softly. “Just a kiss, remember?”
Remembering our terms, I follow him into his bedroom and shut the door behind us.
26
ARDEN
After spending the night with Astor, I feel incredible. We spent the entire night kissing and using our shared power, but we never had sex. He pushed my limits, teasing me with his magic until I was begging for release, but his incubus seemed to be content with the foreplay. I sigh. If this is just the foreplay stage, I’m not sure I’ll survive having sex with him.
We talked a lot, too, about magic, mostly—our best and worst magic. Astor understands what it feels like to be powerful and alone, relying only on yourself and books to help you learn.
Solandis brought in a few tutors for me, but we were in hiding. She had to be careful with who she picked, so the more powerful I became, the fewer tutors we brought into our bubble.
Astor’s father taught him about his incubus powers, but the witch and blood magic had to be learned on his own. While we didn’t talk about his past, I don’t think his mother was around much.
With a yawn, I text Meri to make sure she made it home.
She replies with a picture of a bed, two hard bodies, and the words “Not yet.”
Grinning, I tell her I’ll see her at work tonight.
Changing into my workout clothes, I head towards the gym. Valerian is waiting to wipe the floor with me, and I can’t disappoint the man.
“Lass, distraction is a dirty tactic, almost as dirty as a punch to the balls,” he growls. He eyes my tiny shorts and long legs, then heaves a sigh. “Fair’s fair.” He grabs the back of his shirt and pulls it off. “Now, can we get down to battle?”
I choke on my water. That damn dragon should never wear clothes. Every muscle is a lesson in anatomy, hard with grooves and lines exactly where they should be, a perfect specimen. With a grin, I decide to tease him a little more. “Almost, let me put down this water bottle.” I slowly bend down and place the bottle on the floor.
I’m not even fully standing before he’s charging. My shield drops into place, and I run up the wall, until I flip, landing behind him.
He turns, a long mace in his hand, and I duck. A quick spell turns the mace into a snake, until fire runs down his arm incinerating the snake.
On and on, I throw spells, and he counters. He attacks, I parry. Fire, ice, and shadows pour out of him, and I defuse each power, one after the other.
Our breaths are harsh, grunts and whistles filling the air, and I’m a sweaty, heaving mess. Running my arm across my forehead, I try to wipe off the sweat rushing towards my eyes, and that’s when he pounces.
Swiping my legs out from under me, I go down hard, but not without catching his ankle first. He hurtles toward me, dropping like a stone directly on top of me. With awhoosh, my breath spills out of my lungs.
