Solstice Sizzle (Pagan Pleasures Book 2) Page 6

  Edi opened her hand showing him what she’d selected. Jet. Black tourmaline. Black Obsidian. Apache Tears. Spirit Quartz.

  She fucking knows. At least not who the spirit is.

  “I’m taking some liberties here.” She then picked up rose quartz, rhodonite, and garnet.

  He leaned in closer to her and chose to speak through the ether. It’s lust, a fling. Nova’s agreed to it. Not love.

  Yeah, but this will help things along.

  You’re interfering too much.

  At least I’m not keeping something from her.

  He narrowed his eyes at her. I’m not.

  There’s something. And you know damn well that I’d tell you to talk to her. She’s just learning to trust the Magik ability, let alone other Magiks like us.

  Exactly why I need these things.

  Edi turned around and met his gaze. You be careful.

  Always.

  Then he detected it. The little life within her. Congratulations.

  Thanks.

  You should be careful yourself. It was still safe to use the Magiks, but there was the risk of exerting yourself too much, and Edi should know better.

  Smart arse. There was humor behind her comment.

  Johan withdrew his energy from the ether. “Is that all you’ve selected for me?”

  “For crystals, yes. I’ll get you two more black candles then I’ll ring up your bill.”

  Edi stood over by the candles, arranging them. Johan hoped she couldn’t sense what they’d been talking about.

  “Here let me help you.” He rushed over to assist with the candles.

  “It’s not that heavy.”

  “Still, I think you need to rest.”

  “I’m fine.” Edi shot him a shadow glared. “Let’s get this sorted, so you two can get off and have some fun together.”

  Johan glanced at Nova who subtly turned so he couldn’t see her face. Getting out of here was a fucking good idea.

  “Right, tell me the damage.” He moved to the counter taking out his wallet.

  “Looks like I’m going to have to make some more protection candles.”

  “Not today, I’m hoping that perhaps we can go for a walk along the beach.”

  Nova laughed. “No, not today.”

  Johan realized how forward he’d been in front of Edi, and his cheeks flushed with heat. It’s not like she doesn’t know. Fuck, she’s encouraging us.

  “Swipe here.” Edi pushed the Square forward.

  He tapped away with his credit card, while she wrapped the candles and crystals in white tissue paper, and put them in a small paper carry bag, which had the Crystal Sands logo on the font.

  “Right, you two, off you go. I’ve got a client coming soon, and I need to get ready.”

  “You think that’s a good idea?” asked Johan.

  “It’s for a tarot reading.”

  “You’re poor parents. I can feel their pain.” He wasn’t really sure how Edi with so much talent ended up running a shop like this, but then he was in a bit of a predicament himself, with the pieces to pick up of his life in Sydney, and then to deal with this spirit. For now, he was going to add protection to keep it away, with crystals. He was a medium for fuck’s sake. He was up for some more summer fun with Nova—sooner rather than later.

  She reached over the counter and playfully hit him on the arm. “Go, before I curse you.”

  “I don’t need to be told twice.” He turned to Nova. “Want to walk along the beach?”

  “And the destination?”

  He leaned in closer to her, inhaling her vanilla smell. “My place, of course. Or wherever we can have some uninterrupted fun.”

  He could feel the sparks firing in the ether between them, and enjoyed seeing her cheeks redden.

  “Let’s go for a walk and see where it ends up.”

  He grinned. Nova sure was a woman who could turn him on.

  “After you.” He had an excellent idea of how the walk was going to end.

  Nova felt a new sense of freedom walking along the beach with Johan next to her. She carried her strappy sandals in her hand, they swung by her side with the rhythm her and Johan had fallen into. The feel of the warm sand on her bare feet was soothing. It felt natural to be here with Johan in this moment, something she wasn’t expecting to feel. Not when this was only going to be a temporary arrangement.

  It took a lot of self-control not to reach over and take his hand in hers. That’s what she had an incredibly intense urge to do, which made her a little uneasy, not just to resist, but it spoke of something that was more than a fling.

  She looked out to the ocean, scanning the horizon, hoping the water would cool emotions. It didn’t. The sun was heading toward the horizon, slowly, there was still plenty of hours of daylight left. Plenty of time for them to have a whole lot of fun together, and to take their time about it. A need clenched between her legs. She breathed in slowly.

  Edi had said something recently about the energies intensifying around the solstice. Tomorrow. She couldn’t believe how quickly time had gone, though Johan was being a very good distraction. Nova remembered they were going to plan something for the solstice, but it was hard to think of that when they were now alone, walking on the beach, the sound of the waves, the smell of salt.

  Her desires flamed within. It was like she could feel the heat radiating from him.

  Not here.

  The thought of sex in the sand set her juices flowing, dampening her panties.

  She tried to refocus on the coolness of the ocean. “The water looks tempting.”

  “Not as tempting as you look.”

  Her breath caught. It was getting harder to keep her need in check. They might’ve had a good time yesterday, but it seemed his desires were unquenchable and the urge to have more sexy time with him was getting harder to ignore.

  She turned her head toward him. He kissed her hard on the lips. Wrapped his arms around her, pulling her into him. It felt good to be so close to him again.

  “I’ve waited all day to kiss you like that,” he said when he finally broke the kiss.

  “Me, too.” Her head spun pleasantly, from the heat of the sun, the sound of the ocean, and the spicy testosterone smell of Johan.

  “I don’t want to waste any more time.” His hands slipped down over her arse, grabbing her cheeks and squeezing them tight, before pushing upward causing her pussy to stretch out from the movement, sending a bolt of need coursing through her.

  She sighed. Agreeing. It wasn’t much further to The Pearl. For fuck’s sake, she would run there right now if it meant she could tear off his clothes and start kissing his body.

  He grabbed her by the hand and pulled her away from the ocean, toward the low-lying sand dunes that rose before the row of beach houses. Nova stumbled behind him not protesting but a little confused, as they went between the dunes.

  “Are we at The Pearl already?” She knew The Pearl, and she didn’t think they were there yet. Besides, there wasn’t a path that led up to the houses here.

  “Not exactly.” He stopped, turned around, dropping the bag and his shoes on the ground and wrapping his arms around her waist. “I just don’t want to wait any longer.”

  She was about to say surely it was only a few minutes’ walk to The Pearl when he pressed his lips on hers, his tongue dipping into her mouth, brushing against hers, sending her taste buds wild with his flavor of salty goodness. Any thought of rushing to The Pearl was too long an option. It might seem brash, stupid even, to have sex right here in the dunes, but there was also a tantalizing need. She let her sandals drop in the sand and put her arms around his neck.

  “Quickie then?”

  He nuzzled into her neck. “I can make it last.”

  An ache between her legs wanted to be filled. “I don’t care.” She slipped her hands under his T-shirt, feeling his hot skin. “I want you now.”

  “I thought so.”

  “As if you don’t want me now.”

/>   “True. And I don’t want you getting burned in sensitive areas under the sun.”

  She laughed. “Better make it a quick one then.” She felt her body responding in anticipation as he kissed her.

  His hands moved down to the edge of her top, pulling the material up and over her head, leaving her standing in a bra and harem pants. He traced his fingers over the lacy top of her bra, circling around toward her nipple. Her nipple hardened under his touch. He pinched them at the same time. A delightful bolt of pleasure shot through her and a fresh wave of moisture dampened her panties.

  He held her close to him, his hardening cock pressing into her with a lustful desire she was well and truly giving in to. His hands glided over her skin, down around her back, pushing under her clothing.

  She moaned with pleasure as his finger brushed against her sex.

  “Someone’s ready for me.”

  “You better fucking believe it.” She rocked her hips in time with the movement of his fingers between her fleshy folds.

  It was enjoyable, that point where the pleasure is growing slowly, and the tension hadn’t built to a desperate need of having to be released.

  She pushed down his pants, his cock sprang out. She wrapped her hand around it, moving up and down the shaft, hard and slow. A small amount of liquid oozed out the tip.

  The tension began to build, the ache of her intimate muscles wanted to be satisfied. Her breath quickened as her need increased.

  “Here.” She moved to slip out of her pants, the extra material ensuring it could be converted to something to lay on. She spread it out on the sand.

  “Good idea, don’t want sand getting into certain places.”

  She turned and looked at him cheekily. “It won’t be, I’m going on top.”

  He was about to argue when she pushed him playfully, and he stumbled backward. “Okay, okay.” He winked as he settled into position on the sand.

  “Where’s your wallet?”

  “Here.” He grabbed his pants, quickly pulling out a condom from his wallet. She didn’t mention about the fact he seemed to have a good supply. Just as well, she certainly didn’t want to stop because they weren’t fully prepared.

  With the protection sorted, she straddled him, positioning his hard cock at her entrance. Playing for a moment, enjoying how it felt at her opening, then she pushed her hips down, her muscles opening to let him in before contracting around his cock.

  She enjoyed every sensation—the sun on her body, the tickle from the gentle breeze on her skin, the heat from his body, how he felt inside of her—especially as she moved back and forth. The tension increased, their bodies joined, and souls entwined until they both tipped over into a burst of fulfilling pleasure.

  She gasped, long and hard, savoring the moment, before lying on top of him, content and satisfied. His arms wrapped around her, embracing her firmly. She nuzzled into him.

  He sighed. “I don’t want to move, but all things considered, perhaps this isn’t the time to linger.”

  Nova pushed herself up on his chest. “No.” She gazed into his eyes. There was less of that confusion now, and they were more of a relaxed caramel color, one that had more milk in it. “Temping, too, though.”

  “We can carry this on later.” He gently pushed up, and she got the hint, rolled to his side, then got up. It seemed a shame to have to get dressed. She wanted to stay like this a little longer. It was unexpected to feel like this with him, especially after barely knowing him for twenty-four hours.

  “We most certainly can.” She shrugged up the gentle ripple of emotion she was beginning to notice toward him. She could feel the connection growing between them becoming stronger.

  A summer fling, that’s it. She couldn’t help think that maybe it was the heightened energies of the solstice that might be causing her to see the emotions for more than what they were.

  Nova gave her harem pants a sharp flick to try to remove the sand from them. “I’m going to be getting sand from out of these for the next week.”

  “It was worth it.”

  “Absolutely.” She grinned at him cheekily.

  Johan kissed her slowly, sucking a little on her bottom lip before he pulled away. A tingle extended along her lips.

  “Come on, it’s time to get back to where I’m staying, and shower away all this sand.” He did a little shake of his body. “I feel like it’s stuck on me everywhere.”

  Nova laughed. “It probably is.”

  The smile he gave her, warmed her deeply. Then he took her hand and guided her back toward the beach.

  She could feel it.

  What they’d just shared might’ve been quick, but something had been exchanged between them.

  “What would you like to do for solstice tomorrow night?” he asked casually as they walked closely, hand in hand.

  “Hmmm...” She let her mind wander a little, and let her heart have its way, allowing her energy to reach in to connect with her soul to see what might be a ritual that they could do together.

  Should we? It almost seemed a little too intimate to have something to mark the summer solstice that was just the two of them, but the last thing she wanted to do was to invite anyone else.

  “Hard to think now?”

  She shook her head. It was. But she found herself wanting to mark the solstice with him in a special way. Normally, she would have a healthy spread, perhaps some cold meats, cheese, crackers, dried fruit, dips, and they could nibble at the food while drinking wine. While she wanted to make this memorable, fling or not, this didn’t seem like what she wanted this time. Healthy spreads had been something done in the past. She realized she wanted to look to the future. She took a deep breath, the heavily salty air filling her lungs. There was a lot to process, and while she was finding a fling a good distraction and hadn’t been thinking of her own Magik skill and what it might be, there were these unexpected feelings surfacing from what could only be a fling, and even thoughts of the future.

  He’ll be gone in a few days. Best don’t think of him in the future, and just enjoy what’s happening now.

  An idea popped into her head for a solstice celebration that would quite possibly suit the both of them, and a no strings attached fun adult times they’d agreed on.

  “What about fish and chips.”

  “Really?”

  “Uh-ha.”

  “You know, I think that would be good. I’m going to pick the wine, though.”

  “Just as long as it’s not red.”

  “Fine, you bring the fish and chips, I’ll bring the wine. Eat on the beach?”

  “Where else?”

  “I think that this is going to be the best solstice celebration I’ve ever had.”

  “Me, too.”

  They walked up the path and the short staircase to The Pearl. A new feeling prickled inside of her. One which made her feel uncomfortable. She tried to ignore it. But it persisted, the closer she came to the beach house. Fear pricked into her aura. She let go of Johan’s hand, to wrap her arms around her body, rubbing her own hands along her bare arms. Her skin bumped from whatever it was she was sensing.

  “Are you all right?” His voice thick with a caring tone that went straight to her heart.

  Yeah, just a fling.

  She nodded her head. “Someone walked over my future grave or something.” She tried to joke, but the light feeling she’d been feeling with Johan was now gone. Something heavier had replaced it, and she couldn’t work out what. I’m being silly.

  She could see him purse his lips together tightly and a concerned expression flashed across his face.

  “Nothing a hot shower won’t fix,” she said, as they stepped up onto the deck that extended out from the house.

  “Or maybe a long hot bath?” He winked as he unlocked the sliding door, then motioned for her to go inside.

  “Only with you in it.” She tried to push this fear that was starting to overtake her.

  “Sounds like we need to go straight to the
bathroom again.”

  “I’ll beat you there.” She rushed inside. It was as if something hit her in the stomach. She stopped and bent over a little from the sensation. Nothing was there.

  What’s going on? Some of the memories came back. Out of order, flooding her mind. She’d forgotten them on purpose. The death of her dad. How her mom couldn’t afford to pay the mortgage, selling this place, but there was more. She’d told her mom she could help, that she could help people, that she knew she could. Her mom had shut her in her room, told her that such abilities were evil and not to be discussed.

  She’d assisted someone, an older lady, helped her to see a man who was secretly stealing her money. The woman wanted to pay for her service. Her mom said it was witchcraft, then she had yelled and sent Nova to her room crying. She didn’t want to disappoint her mom. Not ever. And especially since her dad was gone. She promised her mom that she wouldn’t, and she had learned to suppress her skill, from that moment on. It’d been hard, especially in her teen years. Then it became natural, and she’d forgotten what she was supposedly suppressing.

  “Hey.” Johan was by her side. The memories faded, but the sick feeling within remained.

  “I… I’m sorry.”

  “You don’t need to be.” He put his hand on her shoulder, the other tried to direct her into him.

  She pulled away. “I… I… have to go.” She turned and left out the sliding door. She could feel him following, but Nova didn’t want him to see her like this. “Don’t follow me, please. I’ll be all right. I just need to work a few things out. I’ll see you tomorrow.” She paused turning to see him, disappointment was thick in his eyes. It hurt her to see him like this after there was so much more promise of fun and intimacy between them tonight. She’d much rather that. But right now, she couldn’t. It was as if that armoire she’d been seeing in the meditations had been flung open, and she had an excess of clothes to sort through to decide what still fitted and what didn’t, and what had to be discarded.

  “I want to help.”

  “Not right now. Please.” She turned and ran down the wooden stairs, back to the beach, and along where they’d just walked together with bliss between them.

  Now, she felt like she was running, her past had now caught up with her. And no matter what, she had to deal with it.