Chapter 22

It was close to midnight by the time I got to the hotel. Erica greeted me at the door in a negligée that I had never seen on her. She led me to the bedroom, undressed me, and made love to me in a way that was different from any other time we’d had sex. It was soft, sensual, and wonderful. We also talked, discussing the idea she wanted to try. I was dead set against it and she continued to try to convince me both with words and her body. Between the debate and our carnal antics, the alarm clock next to the bed glowed three fifty-three A.M. by the time we even thought about sleep.

The last few days had been cloudy and chilly, so being woken up by the morning sun was nice, but I wasn’t ready to get up. Therefore, I pulled the blanket over my head and tried to go back to sleep. My phone decided to get in on the fun. I didn’t bother looking to see who called, I just declined the call. It rang again, and I shut it off.

Another phone rang a minute later. It was Erica’s. I nudged her and she picked it up.

“It’s for you,” she said, holding it over my face.

I opened my eyes and saw a picture of Leanne. I took the phone and said, “Hello?”

“Why did you hang up on me?” she asked.

“I haven’t had much sleep and it’s going to be a long day,” I said.

“Yeah, I’ve heard,” she said. “But that doesn’t give you the right to be rude.”

“If it’s rude to decline a call, then why is the feature available on my phone to begin with?” Nope. I wasn’t thinking.

Erica sat up and punched my shoulder.

“Hey!” I said, looking at her. “What was that for?”

“Be nice,” she hissed. “She’s planning a surprise.”

“For whom?” I asked and rubbed my shoulder.

Erica didn’t answer. Instead, she looked at me as if I was being an idiot, got out of bed, and went to the bathroom.

“Seth, you there?”

“Yeah,” I said to Leanne. “Now Erica’s mad at me too.”

“Oh, well, I’ll talk to her later,” Leanne said. I heard the smile in her voice, which made it sound like she would THANK Erica later instead. Maybe the change in our bonds allowed the girls to be more like themselves around me than just horny women. If that was the case, I was probably in for a world of trouble. “We’ve been planning a party for tomorrow night,” Leanne said. “Everyone else has a costume except Erica, you, and me.”

“The Halloween party?” I said. “I didn’t realize we were wearing costumes.”

“That’s not the surprise,” she said. “But it’ll come out at the party.”

“Okay,” I said, not sure what to think about any planned surprises, especially something to come out at a costume party. Why couldn’t we just have a party, enjoy some music, and eat? Why did there have to be a surprise thrown in?

“So you need to get up and get ready,” Leanne said without slowing down much. “We’re going to get our costumes this morning. I’ll be there in about fifteen minutes, which means you don’t have enough time for any hanky-panky.”

I heard the shower and realized that no hanky-panky would be difficult at best.

Leanne hung up without saying anything else. I wanted to roll back over and get more sleep but then both of them would be mad at me, if they weren’t already.

I went to the bathroom and brushed my teeth while Erica was in the shower. However, by the time I was done, she was still in there. I stuck my head in to ask if she was finished.

Erica grabbed my face with wet hands and pulled me into a kiss.

When she let go, I sputtered and felt her hands on me. I wiped my eyes and watched as she sucked me, mostly soft, completely into her mouth.

“Erica!” I said. “Leanne’s going to be here soon. We don’t have time for this.”

Erica ignored me and continued sucking. I couldn’t stop my reaction and within seconds, she only had my crown in her mouth. I had to admit, it felt good being completely in her mouth, which reminded me of the idea she mentioned last night. However, I couldn’t agree to what she wanted. To me, the consequences, should something go wrong, were too great to risk it.

She finally withdrew and said, “C’mon, Seth. I’m not going to give up on this.”

“And until I’m more comfortable with doing things like this...” I said.

She interrupted. “How are you supposed to get comfortable with doing things like this if you don’t try?”

“By doing other things until I’m comfortable with taking the chance,” I said and stepped past her into the shower.

She stood up and said, “But you’re not the one taking the chance, I am.”

“And I’ll be the one to lose everything if it goes wrong,” I said.

“Not your life,” she said.

I turned to face her. She had her arms crossed under her breasts and a stubborn expression on her face. “I’ll lose you. When the council finds out, I’ll lose my Magic, which will break my bonds with the others and I’ll lose them. Then I’ll go to prison and lose more. Beyond all of that trouble though, I’ll lose my mind because I’ll know it was my fault entirely. I killed you because I didn’t have the strength to resist what you want.”

She stared at me for a second and then wrapped her arms around my neck. “Oh, Seth. I didn’t realize you felt that way.” She kissed me and pressed her body to mine. I was still erect and before I thought about it, she was pushing me back and straddling me. It didn’t take her long to reach orgasm, but Leanne was pounding on the apartment door before I was close.

Erica, breathless and lacking the strength to hold my slippery body, waved me to the door. I grabbed a towel on the way.

Leanne came in shaking her head. “I told you that you wouldn’t have enough time.”

I knew she would be upset but that didn’t stop me from noticing what she wore. She had on a long autumn green button-up sweater that fell to the middle of her thighs. She might have been wearing a skirt under it, but the only way I would find out was to lift the sweater to check and she wasn’t in the mindset to go for that. The middle of the sweater was cinched with a wide belt and her breasts made the sweater bulge above the belt almost obscenely. She wore black leggings, probably for warmth, and a pair of knee-high fuzzy boots. She didn’t have a coat, so I was sure she was plenty warm.

Erica came out with towels wrapped around her head and torso. “It’s not his fault.”

“You knew I was coming this morning,” Leanne said, looking at Erica. “What made you think it was a good idea?”

Erica smiled and pulled my arm around her. “He did, but not the way you think.”

Leanne rolled her eyes and said, “Tell me about it later. Go get dressed so we can leave before that Sheriff shows up and drags Seth away again.”

Without another word, we went to the bedroom like properly scolded children.

After drying off, the first thing Erica pulled on was a dark blue sweater that brought out her eyes. She didn’t bother with a bra or t-shirt. After her first orgasm the night before, she begged me for the support spell Jordan and Vanessa told her about over the phone. She didn’t have all the back problems everyone else did but she liked the idea of not needing a bra. I obliged her and she tried it out not by jumping around like Jordan and Vanessa had done, but by bouncing on top of me both with and without a top.

I pulled on my underwear and then my pants. Erica stood within arm’s reach and wiggled her hips as she slid on a black pleated skirt. The skirt was short and showed off her legs fabulously.

I looked her over in the sweater and skirt. “I like how the skirt shows off your legs, but aren’t you going to be cold?” I asked.

She smiled, sat on the bed with her hip pressed to mine, and whipped out a pair of stockings. “If I do, I’ll get you to warm me up,” she said, pulling one up her leg. “Besides, aren’t you worried about Leanne? She’s not wearing pants either.”

I shrugged. “Am I wrong for thinking her leggings will offer more warmth than your stockings?”

“They do,” she said, “but not as much as pants or sweats.” She pulled the other stocking on, making a show of smoothing out any wrinkles all the way up her thigh. She held her leg up, close to her body, showing just how flexible she was.

I looked up and down her shapely leg and smiled. “So, she’ll want me to warm her up too?”

Erica shook her head and reached for her shoes. “You should just assume all of us want you to warm us up.”

I frowned. “You two aren’t planning something are you?”

She smiled a knowing smile, slipped on her shoes, and stood up. “You should assume all of us are planning THINGS, all the time.”

Okay.

She gave me a quick kiss, grabbed her makeup case, and went into the bathroom.

I watched her walk away and enjoyed the smile she flashed back at me while shaking her hips in my direction. It reminded me of what we did virtually all night. She’d wiggle her hips, and I’d either take her from behind or enjoy watching her bounce on top of me.

After she disappeared, I finished getting dressed, and went out to the living area.

Leanne was sitting on the couch with an elbow on the armrest and her hand holding the side of her head. Her posture screamed impatient and upset.

I walked around and sat next to her the same way Erica had been sitting next to me – with my hip against Leanne’s. I wanted to apologize for not being ready, but it wasn’t my fault, so I said nothing about it. Instead, I said, “Erica just told me something and I’d like to confirm it with you.”

She dropped her hand and looked at me. She didn’t say a word, and she didn’t have to.

“She said I might as well assume each of you plan things to get into my pants,” I said. It was difficult talking with her staring at me with the expression she wore, but I got the words out.