Chapter 17
Sammy
For the first time in my long life, I needed a girls’ night. I was in deep shit. It was time to call in reinforcements.
Livvie agreed to host for me, so that night, after I managed to make myself leave Blaze, even though I wanted to throw myself in his arms, I found myself surrounded by supportive women who, at one time or another in their lives, had been in my shoes.
That was a first. Me, a regular gal.
“My magic has been singing, and I hate it, but the more it happens, the more I love it.” I lay back in the recliner and moaned. “What am I going to do?”
“You’re going to get you some,” Kaylee said. She was the most sex-comfortable in the group. “You’ve put your life on hold to be a witch. It’s time for you to be a woman.”
Everyone nodded as Livvie pressed a glass of champagne into my hand. “I think it would’ve been awesome to have been a virgin for my mate,” she said. “I know he would’ve loved it.”
Everyone nodded. “I don’t think anyone really expects virginity anymore, but guys still love it.”
I thought about his initial reaction. He’d been shocked, but he’d sworn he thought it was great. Maybe he was telling the truth.
The girls didn’t judge me or give me a hard time. They gave me an idea of what to expect and a lot of encouragement.
It was nice to talk to women who understood. I didn’t feel like it was me against the world for once.
The next day, after meditating in my garden, then spending time trying to see if I could make any magical headway on the Joan situation, I decided to invite Blaze for dinner. I was in a stale spot as far as the evil high priestess was concerned. I might as well work on my private life.
Blaze replied to my text invitation in no time, and my nerves instantly went into overdrive. He said he’d be delighted to come.
Delighted. Who said stuff like that?
Whatever. I pushed through the nerves to make dinner and get myself ready for the night. I knew what I wanted to happen, but I just didn’t have the first clue how I was going to make it happen.
I marinated steaks. Dragons loved big, fat cuts of meat. I was more of a veggies girl, but I set myself a small sirloin out. It was good to get a bit of protein, anyway.
As the potatoes baked slowly, I left the kitchen and hit the shower.
An hour later, I was done. I’d shaved my legs and trimmed… other hair, but I wasn’t piling on any makeup or perfume or anything. That wasn’t me. I would open myself up to the possibility of having a satisfying sexual relationship with Blaze, but I wasn’t going to change myself. Not one bit.
Proud of my resolve, I turned the potatoes and put the asparagus in to sauté before checking the clock on my wall.
He’d be here any time.
I got out my cast iron skillet and used a bit of magic to heat it up and sear the steaks. Once they were beautiful on both sides, I slid the pan into the oven to cook the insides of the steaks and then jumped out of my skin when Blaze crossed my wards.
Geez. He was here. Close.
Biting back a squeak of nerves and excitement, I walked into the living room and sat on the edge of the sofa. No. Too formal. I moved to the armchair, settled into it and pressed against the back.
That wasn’t right either.
My magic let me know he was about to set foot on the porch, so I scurried into the bedroom before he got close enough to hear me going back and forth.
When he knocked on the front door, I yelled out from behind my bedroom door, “Come in!”
And as he came into the house, I walked out of my bedroom, adjusting my skirt, as if I’d just finished getting ready and was all casual about him being here.
“Hello,” Blaze said quietly. “Why is your heart beating so fast?”
That rat bastard. He couldn’t just let me be nervous in my own mind, could he? “No reason.” I ignored my blush and turned toward the kitchen. “I have to stir the asparagus.”
Sucking in a deep, calming breath, I found the vegetable to be done and plated it. The girls had advised me to go for it, seducing Blaze so he knew exactly what I wanted from him tonight.
So, I tried. “Please, come sit down,” I said as I pulled the potatoes out of the oven. The steaks were almost done. “I hope you like your steak medium,” I said.
“I’m a rare guy, but medium works.” Blaze was already in the room. I nearly threw the potatoes across the room when he spoke.
Damn it. Why was I so nervous? This was Blaze. I was more comfortable around him than anyone, ever.
Forcing myself to stop being so damn ridiculous, I put the potatoes on the table, then the steaks, before sitting across from him.
Casually, I slipped off my fancy flip-flops and inched my foot forward as we ate. He told me something cute that Skye’s kids did, and I was pretty sure I laughed at the right places. I tried to find his leg under the table, but it was like it wasn’t there.
Scooting forward in my chair, I got a little braver and lifted my leg higher, trying to find him across the expanse of floor.
Where the heck was his leg? Then, I really looked at the length of my table. It wasn’t huge, but I was pretty sure it was longer than my legs.
Damn it. Being small was a pain in the ass sometimes.
“What are you doing?” Blaze asked.
“Nothing,” I said, unable to keep the annoyance out of my tone. He was completely oblivious to what I was trying to do. Was I doing it wrong?
“If you couldn't already tell, I'm trying to seduce you.” I avoided his gaze for a moment. When I finally brought myself to look into his eyes, they were smoldering and the look of them hit me deep in my core.
“You seduced me by breathing.” His voice got husky as he spoke again. “Why do you feel like you need to seduce me?” My body began to react harder to his stare. “What are you thinking about?”
“I just wanted to try some things with you,” I said in a small voice. “I was hoping you'd be willing to show me.”
Blaze was up and out of his seat in half a second and had me in his arms. The next thing I knew, his lips were on mine and we were walking through my bedroom door, straight for my bed.
“Tell me what you need, and I will give it to you. I would give you the world.”
I backed up to my bed and sat on the edge, shy for the first time in my entire life. “Well, um, eventually, I want to do it all. But maybe we can just try some foreplay for tonight?”
Blaze’s eyes, well, they blazed. His internal fire had been stoked by me. Damn if that didn't feel like a big old power trip. “It will be my pleasure,” Blaze growled.
As my mate loomed over me, coming closer, I fell back on the bed, for the first time, another first, letting someone else take control. Not one of my strong suits.
“Can't you make our clothes disappear with the wave of your hand?” Blaze asked.
Now, this was something I could handle. I winked at him and in the next second our clothes were off and sitting on the chair at the end of my bed.
And then I lost all sense of reason. It wasn't fair that the sight of his bare chest made me pretty much just want to drool and maybe lick it.
But Blaze took over, lying beside me before I had a chance to look down and see what he looked like down there.
His mouth fell on my neck and I really wasn't sure what he did there, but whatever it was made my nipples pucker.
And he noticed. As his hands roamed my sides, he moved his face lower until my right nipple disappeared in his mouth.
And then he sucked, and my back arched off the bed, this new sensation far more than I'd ever expected it to be.
“Blaze!” I exclaimed.
He lifted his head and grinned at me. “That's only the beginning.” And he meant what he said. He kept his mouth near my breasts, licking, sucking, and as much as I hated to admit it, loving me. But his hands roamed down until he reached my core.
I'd only been able to give myself orgasms using a strong vibrator on my clitoris. Blaze teased all around the area, massaging, tickling, and working me up until the moment he touched my clit, I wanted to explode right then. But I was afraid if I came already, he would stop, and this would be over.
Blaze adjusted himself so that he lay on one side. Bringing his mouth up to my lips, he kissed me as he continued teasing my clit with one hand and dipped a finger inside me with the other.
Moaning, I tried to control the sounds coming out of my mouth, but all I could do was react to how he made me feel with his fingers and his kisses.
And even though I tried to hold it back, my orgasm exploded, with my core clenching around his fingers as ripples of pleasure spread up my body.
I lay back, panting, willing the orgasm to last as long as possible.
Blaze pulled his finger out of me and trailed my nipple with the moisture from my body. Then he slowly licked it off.
Was that it? What about him? “Will you show me?” I looked up into his eyes. “Will you show me how to give you an orgasm?”
A huge grin spread across his faith. “Absolutely.” He rolled over on his back, pulling me with him. Then, Blaze took my hand and placed it on his hard dick, which I finally got a good look at. How in the hell was that thing going to fit inside of me? It was a little bit scary.
“For today, how about I show you how to make me come with just your hand?” Blaze gave me a kind, patient look. He was telling me that we would go slow, and he was trying not to overwhelm me, which I appreciated.
I wrapped my hand around him and stroked, marveling at the feel of him. I’d read romance novels. I knew it would be firm yet soft, but feeling it for the first time was… exhilarating.
As I stroked, I leaned over and licked the tip, on a whim. I’d been worried about the taste, but it wasn’t bad. Grinning to myself, I kept stroking and wrapped my lips around his head.
Blaze moaned. So, he liked that. Good to know.
I got a little braver and slid his head deeper into my mouth, still stroking.
“I’m not going to last long,” he choked out. “It’s been a while, and my dragon isn’t helping anything.”
I didn’t respond as I moved my mouth and hands. Blaze put his hand on my shoulder. “Suck,” he whispered.
Doing as he said, I sucked his head and kept pumping my hand, pulling my other hand over to help.
Blaze sucked in a deep breath and pulled on my shoulder. I kept moving my hands but pulled my mouth off of him just in time for creamy white cum to shoot out of the tip.
“Sorry,” he said. “I thought you might not want to swallow on your first time.”
I pulled back and grabbed a tissue so he could clean up. “Maybe that would’ve been a bit much, yeah.”
Smiling shyly and oddly satisfied, I waved my hand and put our clothes back on. “Want to finish that dinner?” I asked. I wasn’t sure about him, but I was suddenly ravenous.
The rest of the night passed in a comfortable conversation. I hadn’t opened up to someone like this in… ever?
After we ate and talked for a long time, we tried things again, and this time, he made me come with his mouth.
Needless to say, I woke up the next morning with a big smile on my face… for a few minutes, anyway.
Something in the air was off.
Sitting up, I looked down at Blaze, but he was knocked out beside me.
There was an unwelcome presence in my home that I needed to deal with immediately.
Without delay, I cast a spell to reveal anything hidden.
An orb appeared in the corner of the room.
With a small burst of magic, I shattered the orb. A voice came from it.
“I used all my power to get this message to you, Sammy. I’ll be punished if Joan finds out what I’ve done.
” The voice was young, feminine. It was the little girl from my vision.
“Joan is using my magic, and I don’t like it.
I know you don’t know me, but I know you and I need you to help me.
” Her voice dropped into a whisper. “They are coming.”
“Insolence!” That was a new voice. A voice I knew. Joan.
The little girl screamed, and the connection was cut off. Blaze woke up at the sound of her shriek.
“What's going on?” He looked around blearily.
“The little girl from my vision just contacted me and said that I have to help her. Joan is hurting her.” I jumped from the bed and conjured clothes, something I’d learned years ago that was very handy.
Blaze followed me out of bed. I waved my hand and dressed him as well so he could be on his way. “We have to find her,” he said.
“This isn’t your fight.” I shook my head. “You don’t have to go with me.”
Blaze chuckled darkly. “Yeah, right, like I'm going to let you go alone. You’re my mate. I wouldn’t be able to relax for a second knowing you were in danger.”
I glared at him. “How do you think I feel? If you go with me, you will be in danger.”
The man was stubborn. “If you care about me, you won’t put yourself in a situation that could potentially hurt you. I know you’re used to doing things on your own, but you’re not alone anymore. I need to help you. We are a team.” He glared at me until I gave in. How the hell could I say no to that?
I grabbed my phone and called Livvie and Olivia. The more help I had, the better—magical help, anyway. As I waited on them to answer, I captured the magical remnants from the spell in a small, glass jar, grabbed the green stone and Blaze’s hand, and moved both of us to Livvie’s.
She was ready for me. “Let’s go,” she said severely, then put her hand on my shoulder. Her mate, Wes, did the same.
I shot him a glare, but he shook his head. “Don’t even try it.”
Rolling my eyes at the stubborn dragons, I moved all of us to Olivia’s house.
In her backyard, we formed a circle with Wes and Blaze behind us. I used the orb’s magic and the green stone to track Joan and the little girl.
The ground began to shake. I was encountering a protection spell. Livvie pushed more of her magic into me, and combined, we were able to crash through the protection spell, like breaking a window with a baseball bat.
I could trace her now. I saw her magic, and where to go. She was a long way away, but not farther than I was able to poof. Her magic pulsed with anger.
Joan knew I was coming. Visions of Joan hurting Blaze filled my mind, but I gritted my teeth.
“Let’s go,” I growled. “I can find her. It’s time to make her pay.”