Page 28 of Witches and Wine
Laughing, I pointed at it with my glass. “I’m not denying that, but did it have to be so—” Searching for a word that wouldn’t come out naughty proved impossible. “—egotistically huge?”
“I don’t know,” Dion whispered, leaning in closer. “You’ve experienced it. Do you think the ego is warranted?”
We grinned at each other over the rims of our cups, and I licked my lips of excess sweet yet earthy alcohol. “This tastes different than before.”
“That’s because it is.” Dion curled his fingers over my hips, urging me closer and propping one of his feet on a stool rung, pressing that thigh against me. “Why are you so high-strung, anyway? You’ve got a great career; you’re hot as Olympus forges and have a great family. Why so stressed?”
Taking several more gulps of my drink, I rubbed the pentagram pendant between two fingers. “Wow, going straight for the jugular that fast, huh?”
Chuckling, Dion dragged a knuckle from one corner of my jaw to the other. “I have to act fast. Get the serious stuff out of the way. Because after two more of those, I’m going to have to fight anyone who tries to touch you when you insist on dancing with the maenads.” Dion jutted his chin at the group of females dancing between columns with petite antlers like Tambie had.
Cackling, I swatted his shoulder. “Please. That doesn’t sound like me at all.”
“I doubt that. Somewhere in there is a woman who wants nothing more than to drop everything, let her shoulders relax, and do whatever the fuck comes to mind without judgment or consequence.” Dion tilted his head, studying me. “Tell me. What made you this way?”
Despite everyone dancing around us, the loud music, and flashes of rainbow lighting, I couldn’t help but focus on him. Sighing, I downed the rest of my drink and slammed the glass on the bar top. Dion lifted a finger toward it, swirling burgundy magic, and a breath later, more wine filled my glass.
“I’m not blaming my mom or my sister, but her passing away as young as we were and howveryyoung Elani was, I pretty much became a parent way too early.”
Dion kept his gaze on me, sipped his drink, and let it dangle between two fingers. “What about your dad?”
My eyes widened at Dion implying my dad didn’t do his job. “Oh, no, no. My dad was amazing. He suddenly got stuck single-parenting two young girls and did the best he could. But he also had to work a lot to support us, which left us alone and me in charge.” Shrugging, I guzzled more of my wine. “It was just the way the cookie crumbled.”
Dion nodded thoughtfully and pulled me even closer until we breathed the same air. “And now you feel any moment you crack would be equivalent to letting people down around you. Am I close?”
Dionysus was the first person to ever say those words to me—words I knew were valid but could never come to grips with myself.
Breathlessly, I nodded at him, and he cupped my chin, kissing me. “Finish that and dance with me.” Dion gestured at my glass.
Dion had already been halfway to standing by the time I swallowed the last gulp. He gently took the goblet from my hand and rested it on the bar before leading me to the dancefloor. The patrons seemed to part for him, the owner, the boss, the fucking frenzy god in their midst. The ambrosia wine had my mind slightly hazy, but I was still aware and attentive toeverything happening, which made my relaxed state that much more exhilarating.
Dion’s arm wrapped around me, his hand delving into my dress to rest on my ribs. I moved closer to him, pressing my hips against his, and as the next song boomed over the speakers, I flashed a brilliant smile.Lay All Your Love on Me, but a techno version with thundering bass.
“Is this your doing?” I asked, snaking one hand to rest on the back of his head.
Dion kissed and sucked my neck before grazing his lips at my ear. “It’s magic,mágissa. Why don’t you try to listen to yours? There’s so much of it from others in here, you could siphon it from them—fromme.”
Static beaded my skin, my power humming in my veins, agreeing with the Greek god’s suggestion. Our bodies swayed in unison, hips flush against one another, and his cock hardening and thickening underneath his pants had my heart racing. Dion was right. The magic here, circling together from dozens of people, letting it freely roam in the atmosphere, made my own feel cataclysmic, urging me to letgo. Every time I thought it was about to breach the surface, however, I hesitated, fearing what it’d do, and swallowed it back.
“Sweetheart,” Dion growled, his lips trailing my exposed shoulder and up my neck again, his hand moving to the front dip of my dress, sneaking his fingers to one breast. “Relax.”
Moaning at the sensation of his rough fingers tweaking my nipple, I dug my nails into the back of his head. No sooner had I succumbed to the pleasure than my magic swirled from my palms, forming a glittering snowy white halo around Dion. It settled on him, focused on him, and wouldn’t relent—like it was trying to tell me something. I flashed my eyes open, spying Dion’s gaze roaming my magic hovering over him. Every compulsion in me wanted to apologize for it, to ensure that itwas okay, but I stopped myself. He rewarded me with a sultry grin.
“Your magic seems to have a fascination with me,” Dion whispered.
Standing on the balls of my feet, I sucked Dion’s earlobe into my mouth, nibbling, no,bitingit. He let out a gratified snarl. “I’mfascinated with you, Dionysus. I’m fucking obsessed with you.”
Tendrils of his burgundy powers intertwined with my ivory magic, the two mingling together as if this was the way it was meant to be. The combined magic spiraled around us from our feet to our heads, and Dion’s eyes darkened, his hand grazing my outer thigh before skirting to the inside and up. When he reached my bare folds, I gasped and grinned at him discovering my little secret.
“Fuck,” Dion said gruffly, slipping a finger inside and relishing the way I reacted—my head tilted back, breaths turning into pants, as I dug my nails into his shoulders.
“Dion,” I moaned, my magic pulsing around him now, pulling him closer until our bodies were pressing so hard our heartbeats became one.
Dion chuckled and nuzzled my chin with his nose, that devilish finger still moving and curling inside me. “I can’t get any closer, Chels.”
“Let’s sneak into a dark corner somewhere. Between this and my magic, I?—”
Dion cut off my words by engulfing my mouth with his, kissing me with such depth it made me see stars behind my eyelids. When he pulled away, his finger slipped out, and he adjusted my dress with one tug. “Come with me.”
