posted by Adam Scull
Magick & Moonlight - Scene 1 by Marie Lavender
Ethan Hamilton walked along the
shore, kicking rocks. Up above the
water, the moon looked as big as a saucer.
It was a full moon, the kind that people usually associated with werewolves,
vampires, and all those silly legends. The
kinds of things pop culture made people believe were true. But, he knew better. Monsters weren’t real. There were monsters, of course, but they were
humans who did terrible things.
There was always an explanation for
everything. Just as there was a reason
he was standing by the shore in Yachats,
Oregon, wondering if his decision
to start all over was warranted. Could
he forget what happened and just move on, move to a new town, and hope that a
new life would provide him with better options?
Could he forget what had happened in Seattle, the pain and humiliation of it
all?
Just as he was getting disgusted
with his self-analysis, he caught something out of the corner of his eye. He turned and noticed firelight in the forest
to his right. A campfire was
burning. He’d been told the forest was
usually empty this time of year. That
was why he’d chosen the cabin, for the seclusion. He figured it was probably just a couple of
kids screwing around. Concerned that
they might start a forest fire, he went to investigate. Suddenly, he stopped. “You’re not a cop anymore,” he reminded
himself gruffly. He shook it off. That didn’t matter though. The last thing he needed on his conscience
was a careless accident turned into a royal nightmare.
He grimaced, but went on to seek
out the person who’d started the campfire.
He walked for a while, before he could see a small stream of
smoke wafting up above the line of trees.
He eventually neared a clearing, but stopped as he could hear a voice. Stepping
closer without drawing attention to himself, he peered around a tree. In the clearing was a campfire. A woman was dancing naked around it. Occasionally, she would stop moving and stir
something inside a cauldron hanging over the fire. She chanted low words in another
language.
The flames cast light over her nude
body, while the darkness of the night partly obscured it in shadow. Her hair, as black as licorice, swung freely
about her shoulders in thick waves. Her eyes in the firelight looked nearly
obsidian. Her body was magnificent. He felt his mouth go dry as he stared at
her. She was slim with just the right
amount of curves. The light from the
flames danced over her full, white breasts and hips, and did nothing to hide
the dark triangle of hair between her thighs.
As she turned, he glimpsed her backside and when he felt his groin
tighten in response, he groaned out loud.
The sound caused her to
freeze. Her gaze flew around wildly,
reminding him of a wounded animal that wasn’t sure of what danger it
might be facing. When her gaze met his, the breath escaped him just as she
gasped. Dear God, she was lovely. From
what he could tell, she was about five foot four and perfect. He could not mistake the pull he felt, the
way he was drawn to her sensuous mystery.
Instead of covering herself, she crept closer to the fire and before he
knew it, she produced a knife.
Her voice called out,
startling him. “Strong gusts of sweet
Nature's Life, soft scented stillness to calm all strife, Blow for me, breathe
for me, sweeping all evil away. Blow for
me, breathe for me, in dark winter night or bright summer day.”
He didn’t understand
her words at all, but he couldn’t look away.
Then her eyes
traveled back to his. “What do
you want?” she hissed.
The contrast between her ferocity and
the carefree, joyous way she had been dancing made him want to laugh. He shook his head. “What are you doing with that? You could hurt someone.”
“It’s an athame.” She narrowed her eyes at him.
He frowned. He doubted she knew how to wield the
weapon. But, it wouldn’t be smart to
underestimate her. His job had taught
him to be prepared for anything. “Now,
wait just a minute, Sweetheart. I’m not
going to hurt you.” He took one step out
of the line of trees, then stopped.
“Oh?”
“I just came to make sure no one’s
trying to start a fire out here.”
She frowned. “Are you a ranger?”
“Hardly.” He sighed.
“I used to be a cop.”
Her eyes wavered over his face, and
then gave a swift perusal of the rest of his body. He had never been more aware of his
masculinity, dressed in simple jeans, a tee shirt and a jacket.
“I don’t recognize you. Are you a tourist?”
He shook his head. “No. I
just moved here a few days ago.”
“Oh.”
“What are you doing out here
anyway?” He struggled not to be
distracted by her nudity, however appealing it was.
“Nothing. A spell.”
“A spell?” His eyes flew to the black cauldron. He remembered the strange chanting he’d heard
before. “You’re practicing witchcraft? That’s a new one.”
“Wicca, actually, is a religion
based on the elements of nature. It’s a
way to harmonize with our environment.”
“Is that right?”
“Yes.”
Unnerved again by her naked body as
well as her suggestion, he shrugged out of his barn coat and approached
her. He draped it around her shoulders
and buttoned it over her, aware that he might as well be caressing her, he was
so close to her. He realized that his
coat was touching her luscious, naked body, her most secret spots. The thought made him clench his fists. “Can I give you a ride back home? My truck is nearby.”
A long silence fell. Her gaze on his, it seemed to take her awhile
to decide if she could trust him. “All right.” She dropped the knife she held.
Inwardly relieved, he sighed. “We need to put the
fire out,” he pointed out.
He took a stick and nudged the
cauldron enough so that it spilled its contents onto the fire. A puff of smoke filled the air, causing them
both to cough at the whiff of herbs and something else that smelled burnt. He began to doubt if she was really a witch
after all. It was likely she was
dabbling in the arts because she was bored.
When she gasped, he turned, alarmed.
“What is it?”
She pointed to the mess he’d
created with the broth and the campfire.
“I wouldn’t have done that if I were you.”
“Oh? Why not?”
She opened her mouth as if to
explain, then suddenly closed it. “Never
mind.”
“Fine, then. Let’s get out of here.” With a hand against the small of her back, he
nudged her gently toward the path he’d taken to find her campfire. “So, how long have you been dabbling in--”
“In what? Magick?”
He wondered if her contrariness was
borne out of the urge to make him more uncomfortable about the subject than he
already was. “Yes.”
“All of my life.”
He raised his eyebrows. This woman was getting more interesting by
the moment. And for all he knew, she
might be crazy. “I see.”
“I doubt it.”
Not only was she sexy as hell, she
was feisty. He fought down the response
of his libido to that deadly combination.
Perhaps she was a witch. She
would be nearly impossible to forget now that he’d met her. “Maybe you could tell me your name?”
“You can call me Jessie.”
He grinned. At least now he could put a name with a
face. Or a body. “Well, nice to meet you, Jessie. I’m Ethan Hamilton.”
“Good to meet you too. What are you doing out here though?”
“I have a cabin not too far from
here. I was by the shore when I saw the
light from the campfire.”
“Oh. Sorry for disturbing your peace.”
“Believe me. It was no bother.” At least not if he didn’t want to sleep
tonight. His body was as hard as a rock,
clenched in anticipation of what he could share with this woman if she let him. And that wasn’t likely, considering her
reception of him. “We’ll reach the truck
soon, I promise. You’ll be home in no
time.”
“Thanks.”
“No problem.” He cleared his throat. “Is there a reason I found you naked out
there? I mean, you lost your clothes
somehow, right?”
The secret smile she gave him made
his throat feel dry. “Do you want me to
lie?”
“Of course not.”
“The ritual was best practiced in
the nude. Skyclad rituals are very
common, you know. The Goddess tells us,
‘You shall be free from all slavery, and as a sign that you be truly free, you
shall be naked in your rights.’"
He lifted a brow. “Even if that were the case, you didn’t walk
there naked, did you?”
“Didn’t I?”
Maybe she was crazy after all.
“I didn’t walk at all.”
He thought she might be saying that
she was transported by magic. Yep, she
was batty as hell. He was so not
touching that one. He cleared his throat
again.
A sharp cry startled him and
instinctively, he reached forward and grabbed her when she started to
fall. Unfortunately, she ended up right
in his arms.
Or maybe it was fortunate after
all. With her luscious lips so close, he
could almost taste her. And her
scent…dear God, she was intoxicating, like a mixture of night air and
jasmine. “You all right?” he managed.
She nodded. “My foot caught on a rock, I think.”
“Is it bleeding?”
“My foot or the rock?” Her cheek dimpled.
He laughed. “Your foot, of course.”
“No, I don’t think so. It’s all right.”
“Good.” He realized his mistake immediately. Some strange instinct caused him to keep her
close. Stepping back would be a crime
and she was seductive. Knowing she was
naked underneath his coat didn’t help anything.
She was way too accessible.
Heedless of the costs, he plunged a hand into the soft waves of her dark
hair and lowered his mouth to hers.
She tasted like wine, potent and
sweet. He explored her mouth slowly,
allowing her the chance to pull away or slap him. He knew he’d deserve it. He’d never stolen a kiss before, and he
couldn’t think why he’d done it now.
But, she tasted delicious. And
her body felt so good against his. He
groaned and drew her closer. When she
moaned in return, he kissed her deeply and moved a hand down her back. His hands wanted to roam further, but he held
himself in check. If he was a real
gentleman, he’d pull away now.
Reluctantly, he did.
He drew back and tried to get his
libido back under control.
“Ah…sorry. I wasn’t
thinking.” He swept a hand through his
hair.
He thought she looked just as
shaken. But she smiled a little. “It’s okay.
No harm done, right?”
“Right.” He eased an arm around her again and took her
to the truck.
Jessie was turned toward the cabin
when he opened the passenger door.
“Everything all right?” he asked.
“Yes. That’s a lovely cabin.”
“Thanks. It’s a rental.” He led her to the truck, where she hopped in
quickly. After he shut the door, he
walked around the truck to the driver’s side, got in and started the
engine. He glanced over, saw her bare
legs that seemed to go a mile and looked away.
Jessie sighed.
When he looked back at her, she was
shivering. “Oh. Sorry.”
He flipped the heater on full blast and smiled when she cast him a
grateful glance. “Is your place on the
outskirts of town or further in?”
“Right in the middle.”
He nodded. “Great.”
He pulled away and started down the long road that wound around the
forest.
Jessie was quiet as he drove back
towards town. Ethan couldn’t blame
her. They were basically strangers,
though he supposed he had some familiarity with her body now. It was odd.
When he’d had her in his arms, she hadn’t felt like a stranger. It had felt right somehow. As his lips moved on hers, as he’d held her
tight against him, there was a sense of homecoming. She had seemed familiar somehow, though he
knew he would remember having met her.
Ethan was not prone to fantasy, but
he couldn’t shake the sense that there was some importance to knowing her.
When they were back to
civilization, he noticed that even though the streetlamps were on, the town was
dark and deserted. He hadn’t been there
late at night before. He had gone into
town to get supplies, but he had mainly kept to himself. Yachats was pretty small, unlike Seattle. He imagined things were a lot different here.
“Here,” Jessie spoke up. “Turn left.”
He followed her orders and stopped
before a quaint white house with burgundy shutters. It was little more than a cottage. Judging by the age of the house and the
style, he guessed she liked Victorian homes.
For some reason, that fit her.
Even in the dark, he glimpsed a decent garden and flower beds around the
outside of the house. He was reminded of
his grandmother. Nana, his father’s
mother, had loved gardening. He had
often escaped to her house when his parents left town. His own mother wouldn’t know what to do with
a plant, although she certainly paid for the gardeners to make it to look
otherwise.
“Nice house,” he commented as he
killed the engine.
“Thank you. It was my grandma’s. Well, ours.
Never mind.”
He imagined there was more to that
story, but he didn’t press. She probably
wanted to get away from him as fast as possible. For God’s sake, the woman was half-naked.
“Well. It was nice meeting you, Ethan.”
“It was certainly a pleasure,” he
agreed. He shifted as color moved up his
neck. He tried to get control over his
desire. He cleared his throat. “Let me walk you up.”
She looked surprised again. “All right.”
He got out of the truck, then
opened her door. She murmured a thank
you. He caught a glimpse of bare thigh
when she exited the vehicle. He wisely
suppressed a groan.
He shut the door and followed her
up the walk. When they were standing on
the porch, he glanced at the white swing nearby. “It seems so peaceful. She must have been special, your grandmother.”
“She was.” There was a comfortable silence between
them. “Well, I should go inside.”
“Sure.”
“You must forgive me if I don’t
return your coat right away. It would
cause me more embarrassment if I did otherwise.”
He frowned. He hadn’t noticed her discomfort before. He supposed he had been distracted by her
natural sensuality. But in the moonlight
her cheeks were flushed. Ah, hell. That peep show had been private, not meant
for anyone but herself. “I understand.”
She smiled. “Goodnight then.”
“Goodnight, Jessie.” His eyebrows rose to see her open the door
without a key. Not much need for
security measures, he imagined.
When she was safely inside, he
returned to his truck. The engine roared
to life as soon as he turned the key.
With a last lingering glance at the house, now lit up from the inside,
he drove back the way he’d come. As he
drove through town, he thought of Jessie.
She was certainly an interesting woman and not one he was likely to
forget. Perhaps the fact that she had
his coat would offer a convenient excuse for him to talk to her again. He looked forward to it.
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