Chapter 19
JOSIE
Ifind Finn sitting in the narrow pathway between Elara’s garden beds, halfway to the back of the property. He’s hunched over with a finger pressed against the dirt, a line of ants trailing around the alien obstacle.
“Are you bothering the ants?”
A few of the most curious ones break off from the parade, climbing up to check out the vampire.
“I don’t bother them, luv, I study them—and the bees.” Finn points with his non-ant hand to a fat leaf of a lemon balm plant where a honeybee is taking a break from collecting pollen.
“Is this you being bored?”
He shakes off his hand and stands. “Not at all. It’s been centuries since I last navigated the world in daylight and basked in the heat of the sun. I consider it a gift—yer gift to me.”
Standing only inches apart, I see the emotion swirling in his red-tinged eyes just before his gaze drops to my lips.
He’s hungry. He wants to kiss me…but more importantly, he wants to feed.
I don’t need the unity bond to feel the desire he holds in check. But Finn promised not to push. He promised to give me time to adjust. And true to his word, he has.
“I’m glad feeding off me has perks for you.”
He swallows and takes a step back. “I spent the past hour watching the play of sunlight against the leaves of fresh vegetables and herbs.”
I chuckle. “I thought you had research you needed to do for the seethe to gather intel.”
He makes a face. “Och, I do. It’s just…it’s a rare occasion when I get a moment of rest to really slow down and see the world around me.”
I step to his side and press my palm to his, lacing our fingers together. “Well, your secret is safe with me. I won’t tell anyone you’ve been playing hooky.”
He dips his chin. “How is yer potion invention progressin’? Do ye know what to present tomorrow to the elders?”
I deflate a little. “Not even close. It has to be potent, useful, and unique. I’ve always enjoyed conjuring but knowing that four other witches—who have been planning for this forever and been an active part of the coven—are out there perfecting their potions, is paralyzing my process. Elara and I have been at it all day and I’m no closer to an answer.”
“Then maybe ye need to take your mind off it for a bit and loosen up yer creative flow.” Finn’s fingers tighten around mine as he holds my hand, and then he tugs me over toward the sunflowers, pointing. “Come. Have a look at the little moth I found earlier.”
I’m more than content to follow along and watch him while he watches bugs. My vampire seems very intrigued by the insects, and I wonder if he’s always been intrigued by nature’s inhabitants.
Speaking of which…
I tilt my face towards the sky, shielding my eyes and scanning for any dark wings soaring overhead. No luck. Phi has been M.I.A. since she flew away after the trial.
I’m starting to get worried.
She’s my familiar now. Isn’t she supposed to be close by? She’s somewhere in the city—but I can’t tell much more than that. I figured having a familiar would be like Tavor and Elara, the little ferret following her everywhere.
Like any relationship—it needs work.
Like mine and Fintan’s right now.
The magnetism is there. The heat is there, but he’s distant. That’s my fault.
Squeezing our joined fingers, I gesture to the back of the property and the manicured grounds, obviously cared for by a green witch. “Walk with me for a bit?”
“Anytime, anyplace, lass.”
Being alone with Finn is like sinking into a warm bath. My skin prickles to awareness as I’m surrounded by a comfort that spreads right to the tip of my toes.
I release his hand and hug his arm, pressing my cheek against his shoulder. “I owe you an apology.”
“What for?”
I pull him under the cascading blooms of the wisteria tree, enclosing us in our own purple paradise. Facing him, I take both his hands in mine, the same way Elara did inside. “I didn’t plan for this—the bond, the battle between factions, or getting sucked into the witch trials.”
“No. I don’t suppose anyone could’ve known what your arrival would mean.”
Maybe my grandmother, but instead of being honest with me, she hid the truth and kept me in the dark my entire life.
But that’s a conversation for another night.
“I flew to New Orleans with this dutiful idea of burying Grand-Mère with her ancestors and then returning to honor our life together. I had no intention of staying, so I kept you at a distance. Falling for you would’ve been too easy, so I warded myself to keep that from happening.”
“Aye, I may have picked up on that.”
There’s no judgment or recrimination in his comment, just a tinge of sadness. “I didn’t let Rune into my heart either, if that’s been part of your mood lately. He’s no more to me than you, but he’s also no less.”
He nods. “So, where does that leave us?”
“At the apology part of the evening. I’m sorry if I hurt you or if I’ve been stubborn or distant. It was pointed out to me a moment ago that my simple existence in Leeds was a fabrication of my grandmother’s making and that my path is unfolding here in New Orleans.”
Finn grows eerily still, his gaze searching my face. “What are ye sayin’, luv?”
“I’m saying that I’m done being scared of everything. My perspective of my life, my family, and my place in the witching community have all been warped by others. It’s time I figure out where Gaia and my destiny are taking me.”
He licks his lips and swallows. “And our unity bond is part of that?”
“A big part of it, yes.” I step closer, pressing my breasts against his chest as I wrap my hands around the back of his neck. “No more hiding, Celt. If we’re mates, we’re in this. I’m taking down the wards and we’re going to make a go of it.”
“All of us?”
“Yes. All of us.”
His gaze narrows. “Even Sebastian?”
I understand his skepticism, but I’m working on a new, focus-forward approach to things in my life. “He and I aren’t ready to elope, but we’ve come to an understanding. He isn’t the man I was taught to despise and I’m hoping I can help bridge the chasm between us.”
The smile that earns me is nothing short of radiant. “Well, I’m all for it, of course. Ye know I’ve always been on Team Josephine.”
I reach up on my toes and hug him. “I know you have. I’m sorry it’s taken me so long to sort through the reality of our lives.”
He rubs a firm hand over my back, his embrace more relaxed than it’s ever been. “Och, luv. When ye live immortal lives, a few weeks or months is no time at all. I’m just tickled that this is where we ended up.”
When I ease back, his eyes are practically glowing scarlet and my core weeps. “So, from now on, no holding back. I don’t want you to censor your thoughts or tell me what you think I want or need to hear. I’m tired of that. I’m finally free from the gilded cage I’ve been kept in and I want more from life.”
Finn nods. “Then more is what you shall have.”
“Good. Now with your filters off, tell me what you think about everything I just said.”
He drops his chin and locks gazes with me. The scarlet glow has only gotten brighter, and I sense how close the vampire is to overtaking the man.
“I think that whether yer goddess meant for it to happen or not, whether it’s wise or not, this bond is a once in a lifetime strike of lightning.” He lifts his hand and runs his fingers through my hair from my shoulder down to where it falls against my breast.
I pull in a breath as the backs of his fingers brush over the hard peak of my nipple. “I want more from life, too. I want more than yer body and yer blood. I want yer laughter and your smiles.”
Turning away from the shop, he pulls me deeper into the shadows beneath the great tree’s umbrella of blooms. “I want things I’ve never wanted from any other woman.”
With a boldness that surprises me, he reaches down the outside of my thighs and gathers the fabric of my peasant skirt. Firm fingers inch the hem up my legs until his hands glide along my bare skin. “I want yer blood in my veins, yer cream on my tongue, and yer breathless pants callin’ out my name when ye come.”
Gaia have mercy. I told him to stop censoring himself and now his hunger thrums across our bond. He presses his hips against my core and shifts to yank my panties down my thighs.
“I want to take ye right here and show ye just how good it can be.” He draws his fingers through my folds and growls as my damp heat slicks his touch.
Pulling his hand free, he sucks those glistening digits into his mouth. A sizzling, predatory glimmer sparks in his eyes. “Ye trigger a primal side of me, Josie. Ye don’t understand how dangerously I need to be inside ye right now. It’s agonizing.”
Grabbing the front of his pants, I scramble to get them undone. When I spring his cock free, I swallow. “I want things too.”
“Aye? What do ye want most in this moment, mate? Tell me and ye’ll have it.”
Oh, so many things. “Fuck me like you’ve fantasized about. I want your fangs in me when you do it, too.”
In the blur of a moment, Finn lays me on the spongy ground beneath the tree and lifts my skirt to my waist. My underwear has no chance of survival and snaps beneath the force of a vampire possessed.
A shiver zings down my spine as he drops to his knees between my feet and stares up the length of my body. “Open yer legs for me, little witch.”
I do as I’m told, and he bites his bottom lip, his fangs dropping. “So beautiful. Ye should see how wet ye are for me. It’s incredible.”
I don’t need to see it. I can feel it.
He crawls forward, prowling like a predator, drawing his tongue up the inside of my thighs. Goosebumps break out across my skin and my nipples tighten even harder.
This can’t be natural.
Finn stops when his mouth is at my core and looks up at me through hooded eyes. “I’ll take the edge off here. Then I’m taking ye home to give you hours of pleasure.”
Hours? Oh, what have I done?
And here I thought my Celt was the quiet scholar. Nope. His beast was just locked down so tight I didn’t see this side of him before.
Lowering his head, he draws his tongue through the moisture at my core and another feral growl echoes in the surrounding air. The sound vibrates within me and makes my insides pulse.
I never imagined he was holding so much back.
He sucks my clit into his mouth. It’s rough but the brief sting of pain is quickly assuaged by the loving caress of a swirling tongue.
“Oh, that’s incredible.”
He repeats it twice more and my release builds inside me faster than I thought possible. With my heels dug into the ground and my fingers laced in his auburn hair I grind against his mouth, lost to the raw need of the moment.
There is only Finn and his consuming desire.
Anticipation coils inside of me.
And then his mouth is gone. I’m about to protest when two fingers spear inside me and his thumb covers my clit. I buck against the touch and when he looks up my body, I see the intention in his scarlet gaze.
“Yes, please. Do it!”
His lips pull back and I get a flash of his fangs right before he drops his head and strikes. I cry out when his incisors pierce my flesh, but the burn is soon followed by the heady endorphin rush of him drinking from my femoral artery.
The animalistic growl that tears from his chest comes straight from the darkest side of him. I feel the beast within him through our bond.
My Celt is more than a scholar, a strategist, and a sweet guide to usher me into this world. He’s very much a lethal, possessive vampire.
And I’m his.
His to protect. His to claim. His to love.
I shatter in a wave of pleasure and as my pussy pulses around his fingers, I moan his name.
I’m still riding the waves of my orgasm when he withdraws his bite from the crux of my body and shifts position.
His hips push between my thighs, and he presses his palms against the spongy ground beside my head.
“Say it again, luv.” He groans as the tip of his cock slides through the warm cream he just called from my body. “I want ye chanting my name as yer next release squeezes my cock.”
I gasp as the fullness of him impaling me in one thrust overwhelms. “You’ll have to earn it, Celt.”
His fangs are in full view as his smile transforms his beautiful face. “Oh, I’ll earn it. Wrap yer legs around me and hang on.”
And like a good girl, I do just that.