Page 59 of The Powerless Witch

“She only lost because your sister used her magic. She was holding up well before that,” Myra said quietly, and I tensed, looking at her in disbelief. “Is she going to be alright?”

Now it made sense, the words she had said to Amantha just as I appeared. I thought it a mere challenge, but it had been more. It had been the reason why my sister lost all restraint and unleashed herself upon the defenseless witch. But why?

Celeste groaned again, her eyelids fluttering weakly until she finally opened her eyes. She stared at the ceiling for several seconds before turning her head toward me. The smile that blossomed on her pale lips made my heart leap and my anger flare.

“What were you thinking?” I shook my head with disapproval, but she just sighed, pushing herself to her elbows. “You were supposed to stay away from Amantha. We agreed. Especially when I’m not with you. To protect you—”

“I can’t help it that your sister came after me,” she grunted as she rubbed her chest. Several of her ribs had cracked during her collision with the wall, but judging by her expression, I had successfully healed them. I tried not to look at the dead plants all over the room, their life sucked out of them to aid her. It had pained me to cause them harm, but I had given her my word, and I… “Where were you, anyway?”

“My mother summoned me.” I gritted my teeth. “I now understand why.”

“Great.” Celeste shrugged, giving me a forced smile. “Can I have some water?”

Myra moved before I could even blink, soon returning with a tall glass filled with a transparent liquid. Celeste accepted it with a nod, and I couldn’t help but notice her sniffing the contents before taking a big gulp. She still didn’t fully trust us, not even Myra and me. The thought saddened me more than the resigned look on her face.

“Myra, get her some food,” I ordered, and she nodded readily, taking the empty glass back. “Bath first, and clean clothes.”

Without a word, she left the room, closing the door behind her. I looked back at Celeste just as she was wincing, rubbing her stomach with trembling fingers.

“You might feel tender for a while, but all of your injuries are healed,” I assured her.

She just snorted. “Not all of them.”

I suppressed a sigh, my anger draining away at those words.

“I am sorry,” I said, pushing a strand of tangled hair behind her ear. “You know I can’t heal that. I wish I could, but it’s all up to you to make the first step.”

Celeste groaned, and for a moment, I thought it was in annoyance, but then I noticed her rubbing her thighs together. My heart jolted in anticipation of what I knew she’d do next, and a part of me eagerly waited for her to reach out. While I was by no means a stranger to sex and all things pleasure, being with her was so different from what I had experienced with all my other partners. I wasn’t sure if it was because of all the magic that was constantly flowing through me as I tried to get her to open one of those pathways. I wasn’t sure if it was the way she moved her body or the lovely sounds she made at my touch. I wasn’t sure if it was her beauty, her wit, or her endless hunger, but I found myself enthralled by her, needing more, needing everything. I hadn’t even sought any other company since she first shared my bed.

“You can still help.” She leaned closer. Her lips brushed over mine tentatively, questioningly, and before I knew it, I was kissing her back. She moaned against my mouth, then climbed into my lap. The skirts of her dress spread over the bedsheet, baring her thighs while she pressed herself against me. My body reacted as it often did in her presence—heart racing, hands reaching to caress, and my cock hardening almost instantly when she ground herself against it.

She tugged on the front of my robe, almost tearing the cloth apart, but before she could undress me, I flipped us over. A surprised gasp escaped her lips while I unlocked her hands from around my neck, guiding them to rest above her head. I ran my fingers over the soft skin of her throat, down between her collarbones and breasts until it reached the fabric of her dress. A spark of my magic helped me tear it apart—it was ruined, anyway.

Celeste moaned as I slipped her undergarments off, her hips rolling in need of my touch. I would have given everything—my magic, my position, even my life—to bury myself inside of her and stay there until she was all healed, but I knew this wasn’t what she needed. As long as I kept giving her the easy way out, she was going to take it.

Still, I couldn’t bear to see her in pain.

I dropped to my knees beside the bed, pulling her toward me.

“Wait, I want to…” she started, but the moment I slid my tongue over her swollen center, the words morphed into a long, reverent moan. Her back arched while I delveddeeper, delighting in the tang of lust, earth, and dormant magic. She tasted better than fine wine, better than any ripe fruit that could be found even in this enchanted grove, better than any food my people could make. Powerful and weak. Dead and alive.

Her orgasm tore through her in just a couple of minutes—I already knew what she liked and what drove her crazy, and even though I could have stayed between her thighs for days, I made it quick. She came on my tongue with a scream, her hips buckling toward my face before she jerked away.

Licking her taste off my lips, I rose to my feet while she panted, the look in her eyes dizzy and sated.Almostsated.

“Come here,” she whispered hoarsely, extending her hand in my direction. I obeyed, but only to scoop her in my arms. She wrapped hers around my neck, staring at me in confusion as I strode toward the door. “Where are you taking me?”

She frowned when I stepped out of my bedroom, heading toward the bathing chamber. We found the bathtub full of steaming water and rose petals floating on the surface. Once we neared it, Celeste tensed, her fingers digging into my shoulders.

“I’m not a big fan of bath sex,” she murmured with a note of displeasure.

“We are not having sex in it,” I replied, fighting a smile.

“I need—”

“I know what you need,” I cut in, finally turning to meet her annoyed eyes. “And it isnotsex. Would you like to get in yourself or would you like me to drop you?”

Her eyes widened in shock, and before I could lower her into the tub, she wiggled out of my arms. She looked like she might storm out of the room just to spite me, but then she let out a sigh of defeat and climbed in. A low hiss escaped her lips as she sunk into the steamy water while I walked to the shelf by the wall to grab a washcloth. I could feel her eyes on me, but I took my time, trying to calm my unrelenting erection.

---