23. Hudson
Chapter 23
Hudson
I can’t remember the last time I wrote this much in one session. My fingers are cramping but I’m nearing the end of my third chapter for the day, so I push on.
Aster’s been supplying me with a steady stream of coffee and snacks, and as I wrap up the final sentence, a sense of pride and accomplishment spreads through me.
I lean back, stretching my arms out and flexing my fingers. Aster looks up from his spot in the armchair where he’s been studying a book I apparently can’t see. Except for feeding me and figuring out a potty spot in the dining room for Otto, he hasn’t moved much either.
The studious expression on his face—brow furrowed, biting his bottom lip—is doing things to me. My cock stirs as my stomach flips. Would it be weird if I crawled across the floor and into his lap to bury my face in the crook of his neck and rub all over him?
I don’t have the chance to play out that scenario because the sound of my name being called from outside interrupts my thoughts.
“Jocelyn.”
We’re both on our feet, and as Aster swings the front door open, my sister and Elaina try to come in, smacking into the same invisible force that keeps us locked in.
“What the fuck?” Jocelyn exclaims as Elaina catches her.
Aster frowns. “It’s your spell. It’s keeping us in and everyone else out.”
“Seriously?” She huffs with her hands on her hips. “I’ve been calling since last night. I thought something bad happened.”
“My phone hasn’t rung at all.”
Aster pulls his phone out of his pocket and sighs. “No service.”
“You’re trapped in there?” Jocelyn asks.
“That’s what the house spirits said.”
“The house spir—what?”
“They told Crash, who is like Aster’s spirit guide.”
“Ooh, I like that,” Crash says, appearing on the banister.
Jocelyn’s eyes go wide. “Holy Hecate.”
“You can see him?” Aster asks.
She nods, bumping Elaina’s arm. “Can you see the guy on the stairs?”
Elaina peers inside. “No.”
“He’s a ghost?” Jocelyn asks.
“I’m a spirit,” Crash says. “Benign. I won’t hurt you or your brother.”
“He’s talking to me.”
“He does that,” I say. “I’m fine. We’re all fine, but we can’t leave. Your spell is very powerful apparently, and we might’ve added something to it. We were warned not to mess with it.”
“What did you add to it?”
“A guy at one of the witch shops you sent us to gave it to us. Said he was told someday his instinct would lead him to give it to someone. Maybe it was too strong.”
She rubs her forehead. “This is awful. I trapped you inside with that thing?”
“It’s okay,” Aster says. “It’s depleted right now. It’s been using energy it doesn’t really have to get rid of me. I’m working on my plan for what to do when it’s active again.”
Jocelyn nods. “Okay. I’ll consult with my coven and see if there’s anything I can do.”
“You have a coven?” I ask.
Elaina smiles. “How do you think we met?”
There’s apparently a lot I don’t know about my sister.
“I guess I’ll come back here to report what I find since your phones don’t work,” Joss says.
“We’ll be here.” Aster smiles.
Joss nods, but her eyes are on my face. “Can I talk to Hud alone for a second?”
“Of course.” Aster turns away, scooping Otto into his arms.
Once he’s in the dining room, Joss gets as close as she can to me. “Are you certain everything is okay? Is he still a good guy?”
“He’s a good guy. He doesn’t leave me alone and…” I shrug. “He really cares about the outcome.”
She studies my face for a moment before saying, “Put your hands against this barrier.”
I do what she says, holding them up. She mirrors my stance on the other side, and I feel the slightest tingle between us, like a low current of electricity.
“Joss…?”
Her eyelids flutter and she stumbles back into a waiting Elaina. When she snaps her eyes open, her expression softens.
“Wow,” she whispers.
“What just happened?”
“It’s something new I’ve been working on. Reading energy. I’m still new at it, but yours is so clear and palpable.”
“Is that a good thing?”
My sister nods, glancing at Elaina. “It’s good. It’s strong. Maybe that’s why the ghost is so drawn to you as he was in life.”
“That’s not good then.”
“No, it is. Think of it like a rare gemstone. Everyone would want it, some good and some bad, but once they saw it, they couldn’t resist trying to keep it for themselves.”
“I’m a rare gemstone?”
She smiles, nodding. “Yeah, and…” She blows out a breath as Elaina gently squeezes her arm. “This whole situation is going to change your life for the better. It doesn’t feel like it now, but give it time. The right person will see your value.”
Her eyes flicker past me and I follow her gaze to Aster, sitting on the floor playing with his dog. She can’t mean…?
“How long have you been able to do stuff like this?”
“As long as I can remember. I’ve always had visions and abilities that didn’t make sense. It wasn’t until about six years ago I started researching it. I thought I was losing my mind, but it turns out I’m just gifted.”
“Then she found the coven,” Elaina says. “They’ve nurtured her abilities.”
“You can do stuff too?”
“Different from Joss. I have some divination abilities, but they aren’t as strong as hers.”
“This is so wild. I had no idea this whole world even existed.”
“You did,” Joss says. “You noticed things about me when I was younger. I think we both blocked it out because we had bigger issues with our parents. Being gay took precedence over being witchy. Can you imagine what they would’ve done to me?”
I shudder. “Don’t want to.”
“Same.” She smiles warmly. “You’re in good hands with Aster.”
“I know.”
“Trusting someone after what you’ve been through is hard. It can feel insurmountable, but it’s the only way through to the other side. When you’re ready, just remember that.”
“How will I know when I’m ready?”
“When the desire to try is stronger than the desire not to.”
Emotions bubble up in me and I press against the invisible barrier. “I missed out on so much of your life trying to be independent and forget the past. I’m sorry.”
Her eyes turn glossy with tears. “We’ve both been stupid. Our folks did a real number on us. I was afraid you wouldn’t understand what I am. I didn’t even give you a chance.”
“Dammit, you two,” Elaina says, wiping tears from her cheeks.
Joss laughs, shaking her head and blowing out a breath. “We can start now. I’m only a few hours away.”
I nod. “We’ll start now.”
“I love you, Hud. I always have.”
“I love you too, Joss.”
“Whew.” She shakes her hands out. “Okay. I’ve got to get to work on this spell. I’ll get back to you.”
“Okay. As Aster says, I’ll be here.”
She nods, joining Elaina. They both look back at me before getting in the car and driving off. I close the door, turning around to find Aster behind me with Otto in his arms.
“Are you okay?” he asks.
“I am, yeah.” Leaning against the door, I smile. “We let our upbringing get in the way of having an adult relationship, but weirdly enough, this situation is bringing us together. She’s got abilities.”
“Obviously.” He hands a squirming Otto off to me. “My dog is crazy about you.”
I laugh as my face is covered in dog kisses. “I’m pretty crazy about him too.”
As my eyes meet Aster’s, a flood of warmth spreads through me. I know I can trust him with my safety, but could I trust him with my heart? Would he even want that with me? Am I a rare gem in his eyes too?
Aster tilts his head. “Penny for your thoughts?”
“Too many to make sense of right now.”
“That’s fair. Just know that you can talk to me.”
“I know.”
By the time day turns to night, I’m ready to collapse from the mental energy I expended today, but damn, it feels good. I got so much writing done and the story is flowing. Not bad for a guy who hasn’t been able to craft a cohesive paragraph in months.
Aster’s been working at my dining room table for the last few hours, furiously scribbling in a notebook I gave him earlier. Crash is across from him, and the two have been deep in conversation that isn’t audible to me.
Part of me is aware that I should find the things Aster does strange, but I’m more fascinated than put off. He intrigues me. He’s so attuned to my needs and feelings—more than any guy I’ve been in a relationship with—and that’s weird too.
My eyelids grow heavy, and for just a few minutes, I let the fantasy play in my head of Aster falling in love with me and keeping me forever like a treasure. Like a rare gem.
My body feels like it’s floating on air, and as I drag my eyes open, I see Aster smiling down at me.
“Hey, sleepyhead. I’m taking you to bed.”
“Bed? Did I fall asleep?”
“You did.”
“You’re… carrying me?”
He chuckles. “I am.”
With his foot, he pushes my bedroom door open and carries me over to the bed, laying me down gently when he reaches it. I stretch across the bedding, too tired to undress, but I don’t have to. Aster carefully removes my jeans and socks, then my shirt. I don’t even mind. I’d invite him to join me, to kiss me some more, but I’m exhausted.
“Don’t leave me.”
“I won’t.” He brushes the hair from my brow. “I’ll be right here.”
“Next to me.”
“Okay.”
The bed shifts from his weight as he crawls in. I roll to my side, desperate to feel his warmth, but moan with dissatisfaction when I claw at his clothed chest.
“Naked.”
Aster chuckles. “Are you sure, Hud? You’re barely awake.”
I rub my face in the crevice between his pec muscles before forcing my eyes open. “I know what I’m doing. I want to be close to you. I know it’s weird and needy, but?—”
“It’s not. I want that too.”
I nod, swallowing the lump in my throat as Aster sits up enough to pull his shirt over his head and toss it to the floor. I immediately grip his muscles and latch on to the brown disk of his nipple, sucking as if I expect to be fed.
“Fuck,” he mumbles, fidgeting with the zipper of his jeans.
I reach down to help, exhaling with relief when I get my hands on the hot, hard flesh between his legs. Guess I found my second wind. “Your dick is amazing.”
He huffs as he buries his face in the crook of my neck and bumps his hips into my grasp.
“You’re amazing, Hud.”
He bites at my neck until he makes his way to my mouth, claiming me and flicking his tongue out to find mine. I return his kiss, rubbing against him, before he breaks away and nibbles his way down my torso, settling between my legs.
Aster makes quick work of my briefs before he rubs his nose into my pubes and gently massages my heavy balls between his fingers.
“Oh, fuck.”
“Tell me you want this,” Aster murmurs as he grazes his teeth along my inner thigh. “Tell me with words.”
“I want this, Aster. I want you . Promise.”
“Thank fuck.”
He practically swallows my cock whole, coaxing a surprised yelp out of me as his hot mouth engulfs me. As he sucks me, his throat constricts around my girth, and the sensation is enough to make me jackknife off the bed, but he holds me down with his strong, steady hands.
“Asterrrrr.”
He moans, swallowing again and pushing my legs apart. I end up brazenly draping them over his shoulders and fucking his throat with everything I’ve got while he reaches up and tweaks my nipples. My body comes alive with a thousand sparks and the urgent, opposing need to push harder and back away at the same time to make it last longer.
When Aster reaches under me and lifts my hips, dragging his tongue from my shaft to my taint to my hole, the noise that bubbles out of me shocks me. It’s guttural, like it lives in a part of me never accessed until now, and all I can do is shiver and tangle my fingers in Aster’s thick hair.
He eats me like I’m his last meal, and I melt into the bed like a boneless rag doll, only able to whimper and moan as Aster expertly takes me apart stitch by stitch. My balls tighten as a coil of heat wraps itself around my insides.
“Fuck,” I moan. “Aster. Oh god.”
Instead of showing me any mercy, he closes his mouth around my cock again, slurping and sucking until I stop fighting it. The orgasm that tears through me is so powerful it leaves me unable to make a noise, breathless and taut as pleasure rattles my body.
White stars flash behind my eyelids as I writhe under Aster, pumping my release down his throat. He doesn’t let up at all, taking every drop I give him until I’m oversensitive and pushing on his head.
He releases my cock, laying his head on my thigh and rubbing my lower belly. After a few seconds, he murmurs, “I’m so screwed.”
“Screwed?” My mind is still so hazy I can barely make sense of his comment. “What?”
“You’re addictive, Hud. Your cum tastes like fucking candy, and I’ve got a wicked sweet tooth.”
A strangled laugh escapes me as relief floods my insides. “For a second, I thought you regretted me.”
“Dude. Not even close. I want to snap my fingers right now and lock us away somewhere I can spend my days feeding on you, like a vampire who needs cum to survive.”
“You sound drunk.”
“I am, baby. I am.”
We lie like this for a while until I can’t possibly stay quiet any longer. “I want… Aster…”
“What, babe? I’m right here. What do you need? I’ll give it to you.”
“Your cock. Need your cock.”
Aster chuckles. “Mmm, babe, you’re so sweet, but I’m good for now. You need to sleep, and frankly so do I.” He kisses my thigh, then moves up to kiss my belly, and finally my mouth.
I force my eyes open and gaze up at him, reaching out to touch his handsome face. “Stay.”
“Wild Horrors couldn’t drag me away.”