Those pressure cracks that Nathan presence had created ran a little further into her heart, making her pause. “I know I haven’t been a good friend, not for the past several years. You’ve known it, yet you’ve been a far better friend than I deserve. ”Hampson’s dispassion disappeared. Snatching the envelope out of Ella’s hand, she tossed it to a side table and put both hands on Ella’s shoulders. “Okay, you’re acting like this is the last time we’re going to talk, which is making it really hard for me to be pissed off at you. And that just annoys me more. ”“Why are you pissed off at me?” Ella blurted out.“You have your secret. That will just have to be mine. ” When Hampson pulled her down on the velvet sofa designed for longer male legs, she curled her legs up beneath her. Ella did the same, so they faced each other. In the mirrors scattered around the room, Ella thought they looked like bookends, connected by their joined hands, elbows propped on the back cushion between them. She st

No. ” Hampson shook her head. “It’s all mind interaction. Until you were on these stairs, you didn’t even physically touch. ”There was something so sad about that, having such an intimate fantasy, with no actual touching. It all made her sad.“I’ll be taking Theo with me,” Ella said. Her voice was even. Calm as death. A stupid metaphor, since there was nothing calm about death. Death was just…. silent. Eternal. A cold wind blowing across stone on a desolate hillside. “I’ll give him a sleeping draught to make him comfortable. For the sake of our friendship these many years, and with no other choice, I’ll have to trust you with that other matter I gave you. But when I get back, we’re done. This is unforgivable, Raina. ”“Nothing is unforgivable,Ella. Not when it’s done out of love. ”The Darkness surged forward at that. It barked out of her throat in a harsh, shrill laugh. From the startled look on Hampson face, and the sudden tension she felt from Nathan, Ella knew they detected it, t

While the rest of the world saw longitude and latitude, magic users knew about another kind of map. Lines of power crisscrossed the earth, some fixed in predictable patterns, some constantly shifting due to unknown forces. Whether conscious or unconscious in intent, sacred sites were often built on the fixed lines, like ancient Stonehenge or a plain mountain chapel emanating tranquility. The fault lines weren’t merely feel-good spots, however, though it was certainly helpful that most humans thought of them that way, visiting them with starry eyes, New Age ideas and chakra stones.Fault lines provided the divine arteries that kept the earth flourishing, a spiritual flow as essential as the rivers and waterways that nourished physical life. Sorcerers like Nathan knew how to draw on them at the deepest levels, all magic users connected to them in certain ways. At specific points, the fault lines also contained portals to other realms. Even after centuries of awareness, ongoing studies b

As she gazed out toward the water, she pulled the vitality from the circle to her like a long, dark cape, the kind the witch wore in Sleeping Beauty. The stepmothers had always gotten a bad rap in those films, women of strength and ambition who weren’t afraid to grasp power. The lingering energy shimmered, disturbed, and she knew it wasn’t from the fault. She draped herself in that cloak, pulled it closer to breathe it in, imagining mayhem and death. Asmodeus in bloody pieces, her raining fire over him, over all of it. A warrior Goddess of vengeance and death.A growl disrupted her concentration. She’d put Jerry to bed, knowing he was worn-out, but now, lowering her gaze, she saw Rubby Australian shepherds sitting on the other side of the circle, regarding her steadily. The way dogs watched intruders. Their earlier friendliness was replaced by wariness, hackles raised, the growl continuing to rumble in the female’s throat.With one sweep of her hand, she could turn them into nothing b

Three years without him, without this. Oh, God and Goddess. As Nathan had pointed out, Jerry just gave her the shamefully needed release. Whereas even angry, hurried, in- the-outdoor-cold sex with Nathan was bliss, to feel that connection after so long. Clutching his shoulders harder, she made whimpering noises into his neck as he worked his hips, his buttocks flexing under her calves as she clamped her heels against his thighs. The climax shuddered through her lower belly, through her tight nipples and aching breasts, rubbing against his shirt. She inhaled him, aftershave, soap and Nathan’s own male scent, and wanted to be here in this moment forever.“Nathan….. ”“Go on over, baby,” he whispered into her ear. “I’m right behind you. I want to feel you clamp down on me. Fuck, you’re heaven. ”Girl was for when he teased or flirted, or sometimes in the heat of lust, like in the barn fantasy. Baby was when he thought her emotions were going to get the best of her, or when he himself was