Cate Tiernan: Seeker

Morgan left me and walked to the bed, which was still, after months of my living here, just a box spring and a mattress on the floor. She kicked off her clogs, sat down, and leaned back against the pillows. Then she looked at me and smiled. I smiled back.

My nerves jolted awake as desire flared to life. For once we didn’t have to worry about Sky coming home; it was a weekend night, so Morgan wouldn’t have to leave by nine; we had the rest of the evening together and an empty house with no disruptions. Then we were lying next to each other, and I was kicking off my boots and my hands were reaching around her sides, feeling her curves. The idea that Morgan was lying on my bed went right to my head, and then all thoughts fled as we kissed deeply, our mouths joined, our bodies pressed together. Goddess, she felt good. I have always found her intensely attractive, everything about her: her body, her face, her scent, how she moved against me, the sounds she made as we kissed, tiny whimpers of pleasure. I leaned into her, deepening our kiss.

“Hunter, Hunter,” she said, pulling her mouth away from mine.

“Mmm.” I followed her mouth, but her hands pressed against my chest and pushed. I swam toward coherence and looked into her eyes to see her gazing at me seriously. “What, love, too much?” Please don’t say it was too much. “What?” I asked again.

“Hunter, I want us to make love,” she whispered, her eyes glancing at my mouth. “I love you. I’m ready.”

My brain struggled to process the words. Had I really heard that, or was this some cruel fantasy? I looked down at her face, her incredible, sculptured face. Was she serious?

I swallowed hard. “You want to—”

“I’m ready, Hunter,” she said, her voice soft but sounding confident. “I want to make love with you.”

It was as if the entire universe had just dropped literally into my lap. We had come close several times, and I had been keen to since practically the first moment I saw her, but it had never quite worked out.

“Are you sure?” I felt compelled to ask. Please, please, please.

She nodded, and my heart began to pound. “I started taking the Pill.”

My eyebrows rose. She was serious; she had thought it out; she was ready. I sent out a huge, silent thank-you to the universe and pressed against her, holding her close.

“I really want that, too,” I murmured against her hair. “I’ve been wanting to.” I tried to quell the urgent impulse to simply leap on her—don’t scare her off—and instead kissed her gently down the side of her face and neck. She wriggled to give me better access and made little sounds in her throat.

“Do you know about conception spells?” I asked, stroking her hair away from her face.

“Yes—but I couldn’t find any, and I couldn’t ask Alyce.”

“When did you start taking the Pill?”

“This afternoon. I brought condoms, too.”

I grinned at her, and after a moment she grinned back. “Right. We better do a barrier spell just to be safe,” I said, and she nodded, her cheeks flushing a beautiful rose color. Pathetically, it had been a long time since I had needed one, and I had to look it up. In the interests of continuing her education, I explained the basics to Morgan and saw her eyes widen as she grasped the basic image. “Let me go do this, and I’ll be right back,” I said, running the tip of my tongue along the curve of her ear.

“Hurry,” she said, looking extremely witchy, and I almost raced out of the room and stumbled down the hall to Sky’s.

When I came back a few minutes later, Morgan was under the covers up to her shoulders. I took in the sight of her skirt, jumper, camisole, and her socks on the floor. Oh, yeah, I thought, yanking my shirt over my head and unsnapping my jeans.

“Come here, come here,” she said, smiling and holding out her hands, and I almost tripped getting out of my pants. Then I was sliding under the covers, feeling her skin against mine, her knickers against me, and I practically lost my mind. At last, at last, at last. I held her head in my hands and kissed her deeply, again and again until we were both breathing fast and Morgan’s eyes were glittering, her pupils wide and dark.

This was something I had been dreaming about for months. Her arms were clasped around my back, holding me close, pressing her small, beautifully shaped breasts to my chest. Our legs were tangled together, hers long and smooth.

“I love you so much,” I whispered, stroking her, caressing her, watching her eyes unfocus as she moved under my hands. I knew she hadn’t done this before, and I wanted to make sure this was fabulous for her, that she was comfortable and happy.

“I love you, too,” she said, her voice sounding tight. She moved against me restlessly, twining closer to me as if she had been doing this all her life. Her hands moved over my skin, over my chest, around my back, stroking my face. . I held my breath as her hand tentatively touched me, and I leaned closer to touch her in the same way. Morgan gave a little gasp and stilled, her eyes locked on mine. I could hardly breathe—it was incredibly exciting, incredibly sexy, like falling off a cliff, falling down endlessly and being able to see only Morgan’s eyes, her soft mouth.

“Oh my God,” she breathed, moving so I could touch her more.

“Yes,” I said, lost, leaning in to kiss her neck.

“Hunter,” she whispered back. “Yes.”

“This is so right,” I muttered, kissing her. “You’re everything to me.”

She made an indistinguishable reply and hooked one leg over my side, curling around me. I never dreamed my last night here would end so perfectly, I thought dimly. Morgan’s eyes were closed; the only sounds she was making were anxious little “mm, mm, mms.” Tonight we were going to make love.

I couldn’t believe this was actually happening, that Morgan had decided she was ready. What timing—this would be the perfect memory to have when I was far away in. . uh, far away in. . Canada.

Morgan clutched my arm hard and pushed herself against me, and I thought, Yes, this is going to work, this is fantastic. . I will miss this so much when I am. . in Canada. Far away in Canada. Tomorrow. Uh. . I quickly tried to push away those bothersome thoughts. Focus, I ordered myself. Concentrate. You have Morgan close to naked in your bed. Get it together. You’re almost home.

“I’ll think about this the whole time you’re gone,” said my love’s voice, and I felt her breath against my cheek.

The whole time you’re gone. “Mmm,” I breathed as I felt her tongue tickling my ear. Goddess, this was fun, this was perfect; I was here with Morgan, Morgan, whom I loved and wanted so much. So much for having an early night—I wanted to do this all night long until the sun came up and—

Oh, bloody hell. When the sun came up, I would be taking off. I didn’t know how long I would be gone. I didn’t know what I was going to find. I could find something that would change my life forever. My parents had been on the run from Amyranth for eleven years. I could be heading into serious danger. Or I could be heading into having a family for the first time in eleven years. A family I wouldn’t want to leave.

And then where would I be? Away from Morgan. And who would I be? Someone who slept with his girlfriend right before leaving her.

Damnation.

“Hunter?” She sounded worried, and I looked down and touched her face.

“It’s nothing,” I told myself as much as her. I closed my eyes and kissed her again, feeling how right it was, how incredible. What was I doing? Should I be doing this? Was this a good idea?

It was a fantastic idea, and I pulled her against me more tightly, feeling sweat break out on my forehead. Morgan had thought about this, had decided she was ready, and Goddess knew I was. We were going to do this tonight. How could I possibly stop now?