Chapter Twenty-One
Wanda
Christa was right, the fear had abated in a very noticeable way with the stone the demon gave her, but Wanda wasn’t sure if she trusted its sudden disappearance. She knew what magic felt like and she suspected, but couldn’t say for sure, that King Asmodeus had taken away her fear. If he had, she was grateful for it, but that didn’t mean she wasn’t wary, for now, of its return.
Tucking the stone into the bodice of her dress to prevent her rubbing at the surface accidentally, the presence of it lightened her heart. Except there was little time to focus on that when Christa took her hand to tug on it, encouraging her to walk with her or get dragged towards the house. Her enthusiasm was evident in every hurried step she took, even in high heels.
Wanda didn’t understand why Christa chose to wear them, though she definitely appreciated how they made her legs look. The sexy line of her very long legs became accentuated. Curvy thighs led to shapely calves and slim ankles. The dress sat just below the knee. The silk clung to her voluptuous bottom and Wanda had an urge to walk behind so she could watch it sway.
“Don’t you want to go?” Christa questioned, making Wanda take notice of the fact she’d slowed down and was working on catching a glimpse of Christa’s backside.
Heat, which she totally blamed on the sun in the sky, filled her cheeks. “No… I mean yes.” She groaned at her own silliness when her mind had wandered.
Christa searched her expression, and the light that appeared in her eyes made another part of Wanda heat. Pure wickedness. “Whatever has distracted you, my love?”
“I-I…” Wanda shook her head in frustration. “You, and how you look in heels and that silk skirt.”
A slender brow arched, her lips quivering. “Is that so?”
“Yes, now shall we go?” She didn’t give a laughing Christa a chance to reply and stomped past her. The grass beneath the soles of her feet had been warmed by the sun. Wanda concentrated on not standing on anything that might stab at the sole of her foot, choosing to ignore the demon continuing to laugh as she followed behind.
The lushness of her orchard made the house look even more neglected as she drew closer, and for the first time Wanda was sorry that she’d done nothing to nurture the home. It had love inside. She had felt it from the previous occupants the first time she had gone inside. The same love she’d felt from within the trees, and though neglected after those who owned the house died, it remained. A mainstay, keeping the trees alive, though not flourishing as they were now. She had nurtured that love by sharing her gift with them once they had accepted her.
As she walked up the rickety porch steps, it saddened her now that she had not done the same here.
“I can feel your sadness.” Christa stopped inside the house's entrance. “We don’t have to do this.”
“I’m sad because I neglected the house.” She let go of Christa’s hand, walking over the dusty floors to touch the woodwork that someone had lovingly carved to create a staircase. The wood was rotting in places, coated in dirt and grime, and lacked the luster it must have once held. “Those who lived here built this home for their family. They loved this place.” She turned to face Christa, who remained where she was. “I feel it.”
“How about we add our own love to this place?” Christa’s eyes held excitement as she walked carefully through the large room towards big, dirty windows. Before she had come to a stop, the windows sparkled and there was a view of Wanda’s girls.
Christa looked back over her shoulders, grinning. “What do you think?”
“Would you want to live here?” Wanda asked again, keeping her emotions to herself. She could see the appeal for someone who had only ever lived inside a place like this.
Christa whirled around to face her, black silky strands catching in the beams of sunlight as they whipped out around her. Her head was already shaking before she’d come to a standstill. “I meant what I said Wanda. I would never lie to you.”
She held Christa’s intent look, walking towards her. “I know this.” She took hold of Christa’s hands, fingers threading together, trying to find the right words. “That doesn’t mean you wouldn’t or couldn’t change your mind. I would understand. You have lived your whole life inside a house, a home. It’s a lot to expect that you would not miss those comforts.”
Christa brought her closer, their size difference meaning Wanda had to tilt her head back to hold her gaze. “What are those comforts compared to what I have with you? With our girls? You all give me everything I never knew I wanted or needed.” She brought their joined hands up and kissed the knuckles of both hands. “My love, within your trees I have a sanctuary I would not exchange for a palace.”
The same honesty as when she’d first asked was there. “If you ever change your mind, will you tell me?”
“Of course. I believe that won’t happen.”
To Wanda, Christa was the one sacrificing a life she had once known, and despite the ease with which Christa was willing to give that up, Wanda wanted Christa to know that she would try to live in the house if that time came. “But if it did, I would try.”
Christa’s hands slipped under Wanda’s bottom and lifted her off the floor to claim Wanda’s mouth in a fervent kiss. A kiss that left her breathless and distracted when Christa stopped moments later to speak. “Thank you for the offer, and I will keep that in mind if I should ever change my mind.”
Wanda struggled to concentrate with the heat pooling between her thighs and the scent of Christa surrounding her. “Change your mind?” she asked, trying to get any remaining brain cells to function.
“My love, you flatter a girl in the best possible way.” She kissed her again and Wanda gave up trying to figure out what Christa was referring to.
Christa encouraged her to wrap her legs around her waist as her dress disappeared, along with Christa’s clothes. The evidence of her desire pressed against Christa’s bare mound, and they both groaned. “This place is dirty,” she murmured between kisses, making a mockery of what she was saying when she wasn’t stopping.
“Not anymore,” Christa replied after she stopped kissing her long enough for Wanda to focus.
Wanda blinked the room into focus and gasped at the change. Wood glowed with vitality, repaired and returned to its original glory. Furniture filled the space. A large, comfortable looking couch sat in front of the window. Matching, plump-cushioned chairs in forest green sat on either side of a fireplace that for a moment Wanda could envision holding a fire in the winter.
A large mahogany table sat in the room's corner, with seating for eight. Lamps sat on small tables at each end of the couch and one by each chair. A deep red rug covered most of the floor. Thick and plush looking, Wanda had an urge to sink her toes into it.
Wanda looked at Christa. “It’s beautiful.”
“The house I have in this realm looks like this, just without the view of our girls.”
“What does your bathroom look like? The one you mentioned you enjoy using instead of my lake?”
Christa kissed the side of her mouth, nibbling on her full lower lip, sucking it between her teeth before releasing it. Her eyes sparkling with desire. “Let me show you.”
In a blink, they were in a bathroom upstairs. Wanda struggled to catch her breath at translocating. Her memory of the previous occasions didn’t surface, for which she was glad when Christa wore a look of expectation. “What do you think?”
Wanda took her time to pay attention to the room that had looked nothing like what it did now. First, it was in the wrong place. It was at the back of the house. The window it had was small, with frosted glass so no one could see out or in. The bath had brown stains up the sides, nearly reaching the lip, and the shower had dangled from a broken hook over it. Wanda did not wish to recall the state of the toilet or the ripped flooring with odd marks on it.
“It’s stunning.” It was. Large glass doors opened up onto the upper level porch facing directly over the trees. A large bathtub sat on polished wooden flooring before the doors, so a person could lie in the water and look out with an unfettered view.
Blue, red, orange and white tiles covered the walls in patterns that made no sense but looked pretty. A huge shower stall sat in the far corner, sun glinting off the chrome. A pristine white toilet sat next to it. On the other wall was a double basin within a marble countertop. The cabinet beneath had no door and Wanda counted no less than ten thick navy towels stacked in neat piles. On the counter by the sinks sat what appeared to be fifty or so bottles, in all shapes and sizes, with mysterious liquids inside in differing colors.
“Do you like to collect the bottles?”
The laugh sounded a little nervous. “I suppose. I like delightful smells when I bathe and can’t resist when I find a new one to try.”
Wanda giggled, endeared by this side of Christa. “Which is your favorite?” she asked, intrigued.
“Peaches.”
Her giggles turned to laughter at Christa’s quick response. “I’m sure it is.” Pleased, despite herself, she nodded in the direction of the over laden counter. “Which of those is your favorite?”
Cheeks a rosy pink, Christa didn’t put her down as she walked towards the counter. She paused and then the room became scented with the sweetness of cherry blossom.
“How?” Wanda twisted to look back at the source of the smell, her eyes widening at the full bath, topped with scented bubbles. “That looks very inviting,” she admitted honestly.
“Want to try it out with me?”
Not looking away from the bath, she asked, “How do we do that? Will it be big enough for both of us?”
Moving towards it, Christa stepped into the water. Carefully, she lowered them both into the hot scented water, barely creating a ripple.
“Ohhhhhh,” Wanda groaned at such decadence when the silkiness of the water caressed parts of her that made her shiver in delight. “Why does the water feel this way?” she asked, wide eyed and breathless.
“It’s the bath oil. Feels good?”
A moan of complaint slipped free when Christa lifted her effortlessly out of the joyous delight of her first bath. She was dripping water everywhere before Christa stretched out her legs, then turned Wanda so she faced the window before lowering her between them. This time, water lapped over the edge, splashing the floor.
“We’re making a mess,” she protested, peering over the edge at the beautiful flooring, hating to spoil it.
Before her eyes, the water disappeared, and she glanced back at a mischievous, grinning demon who shrugged. “What’s the point in being able to do these things, if I can’t do them for us?”
How could Wanda disagree when she benefited from not having to get out of the bath to clean the mess?
Christa lay back, her hair gathered up and twirled in a band that appeared, held away from the water. This side of Christa, who looked a little less put together with tendrils of hair curling around her beautiful face, giving her an air of vulnerability, captivated Wanda. She rested her head on a small pillow and smiled invitingly at Wanda, patting her ample breasts. “Come lie back and immerse yourself in the wonders of a hot bath.”
It wasn’t funny how fast Wanda complied, already in love with how the hot, oily water felt gliding over her skin as she relaxed back. Christa ran her fingers through Wanda’s curls and did what she had done to her own hair. Wanda’s eyelashes fluttered, her whole body singing in pleasure as water lapped over her breasts, the bubbles tickling her nipples. “This is…”
“Amazing? Life changing?” Christa finished, sounding utterly smug and with every right.
Wanda was positive she would never look at her lake bath with quite the same enthusiasm. “Yes, it is. How will I ever want to go back to the lake to bathe again?”
Christa’s giggles jiggled her breasts against Wanda’s back. “My love, why would you need to when this is right on our tree step.”
Wanda looked back and up at Christa, grinning widely. “Aren’t we the lucky ones?”
“I’m bonded to you, of course that makes me the lucky one.”
Blushing, Wanda settled back, looking out at her trees, sighing in complete contentment. “That makes six of us.”
The tree branches swayed in agreement, and Christa’s laughter increased. The girlish sound caused a rush of desire in Wanda’s lower belly.
“It’s a pity they’ll never know the joys of having a bubble bath.”
Wanda shut her eyes and ran her hands over her heavy breasts, the water seducing her with its silky texture.
“My love… what are you doing?” Christa murmured sexily, her breath touching Wanda’s ear.
“Sharing with our girls,” she moaned.
“Then let me help.”