Page 5 of Witch's Rite
I hadn't even recovered from the intoxication of Sal's kiss but turned to face Raum all the same. His mouth was waiting and captured mine in a kiss that was so deeply satisfying in such a different way. Sal's lips were soft and soothed an ache like a refreshing drink of water. Raum's stubble scratched roughly across my lips in the hottest, most spine-tingling way. His kisses also mirrored his teasing, flirtatious personality--biting my lips playfully before pulling away, leaving me begging for more.
My eyes remained softly closed as his mouth drew away, not wanting to shatter the illusion that I just kissed two men within seconds of each other, and neither one of them seemed bothered by it.
"You're conflicted," came Sal's observant voice as a gentle touch brushed against my cheek. "I can feel it in your aura."
I opened my eyes to stare into the stunning green orbs of his, searching through me deeply. His intense gaze had to be intimidating to some, but it only filled me with warmth.
"I just don't understand how you all can be okay with this." I mused, looking over my shoulder at Raum before a realization dawned on me. "And where's Ash?"
"Hell," Raum answered as casually as if he said the word,work. "Business with Beelzebub and Lucifer. He'll be back in a day or so."
Ash, or Ashtaroth, the leader of these devilishly handsome musketeers, was a fallen angel and one of the original founders of Hell. And as far as I could tell, the most mysterious and stoic of the three. He exuded immense power but with a cool and aloof nature, unlike Sal's hot-headedness. In contrast to Raum's joking and teasing nature, Ash was quiet and serious.
Also, he was the first one to kiss me.
Even with Sal and Raum here to keep me company, I realized I missed him.
With Sal's hand still gently stroking my cheek and neck, Raum wrapped a muscular, corded arm around my waist. The sensation of both touches was nearly overwhelming, but in the most affectionate way that sent butterflies through my insides.
"And we're okay with this because we're not bound by dogmatic social constructs deeply rooted in patriarchal Christianity," Raum added, a naughty glimmer in his eye.
"But the real question is," Sal chimed in. "Areyouokay with this?"
"I… like all three of you," I answered, pausing in my nervousness to take a sip of my sex on the beach. "But I don't even know whatthisis." My eyes darted between the two of them. "Are you all doing this with other people?"
"No," they answered in unison. The conviction in their voices both put me at ease and lit a fire inside me. So all three of them wanted just me and no one else? It seemed too good to be true.
"I wish we could just tell you everything. All the history between us," Sal sighed, looking longingly at my lips. "But Ash is insistent that you figure it out for yourself."
"It probably is better that way," Raum added. "It's a lot of very heavy information to digest, especially since you're still getting used to the idea that you're not an ordinary human."
"Well, all this vaguebooking and obscure references is certainly helping," I remarked sarcastically, taking a long pull from my drink.
"Oh but isn't solving your own mystery part of the fun?" Raum teased, rubbing circles on my lower back. "What have you deduced so far, Nancy Drew?"
I sipped more of my fruity, flirty cocktail as I pondered his question, hyper-aware of their eyes on me as I sucked the straw and my cheeks hollowed in.
"You're all ancient compared to me," I began. "And yet you all act as if you know me from before my own lifetime. Since meeting you all and discovering my powers, I have felt… comfortable. At ease. Even familiar, like I've met you all before, too. So I can only deduce that I must be some sort of reincarnation of… someone."
"Very good," Raum purred, sounding pleased.
"Wait, what?" I said, taken aback. "You mean I'm right? Like reincarnation is real?"
"Perhaps not in the exact same sense you're thinking but yes, a person's true self can be reborn in another body after the first one dies. It's just as real as magic is," he answered with a wily smile.
"And I've done that before," I thought out loud.
"Yes," they both agreed.
"But is it like this every time?" I wondered. "Where I live my life like an ordinary person and then meet you for the first time and you all have to drop these hints until I figure it out? Like some kind of long drawn-out, fucked up Groundhog Day?"
In my frustration, my hands gestured wildly in the air as I spoke, until dropping onto both Sal and Raum's thighs pressed against me in the booth. A hot jolt shot up through me and I resisted the urge to pull my hands away like I touched a burning stove.
Lord help me. Or should I say,Satanhelp me.
"No, it's not supposed to be like this," Sal murmured mournfully, lacing his fingers through mine on his leg. "You don't remember any of your past lives? Or your original name?"
I shook my head slowly, my heart aching at the sadness and loss in his eyes. Whoever I had been, he really missed me and it hurt him that I didn't remember. His words from our two truths and a lie game rang through my head--I've been in love with the same woman for over seven thousand years.
