Page 55 of Magic Touch
The door swings open, and Esme takes my hand and pulls me inside. "You were going to leave."
"I shouldn't have come." I wrap her in my arms. "I can't seem to do without you."
"Nor I you." She presses her cheek to my chest. Her breasts rise and fall against me.
My cock is on full alert, but I only hold her. "Maybe we can talk?"
"It feels as though you have more than conversation on your mind." She laughs.
"That is not my mind, sweetheart, and I may not be able to subdue my desires, but I can behave like a gentleman despite them."
Breaking away from the embrace, she looks up at me. With the moon shining in the window, she's a goddess, pale and bright. "There is something we should talk about."
I kiss her hand and nod.
With a leap, she settles crossed-legged in the middle of the bed. Her white night rail fluffs out around her. She pats the mattress in front of her.
"Are we to sit like two children and gossip?" I climb on to her bed and mirror her cross-legged position.
"It's not gossip." She takes my hand. "It's about the auras you see. Trina said she was a water witch, but usually water magic is silver or blue. I've heard of green, but never red."
"She lifted half the pond on the day she first came to us. Could a witch of another element do such a thing?" I love the feel of her fingers in mine, and use my thumb to rub circles along the back of her hand.
"You nearly drowned us when you first tried." She narrows her gaze but grins at me.
The hushed tones of our voices in the moonlit room are erotic and arousing. Trina is the last thing I want to talk about. "I wonder if we might speak of something else."
Her brows rise. "What would you like to discuss?"
"Anything but another woman, or man." I add the last hurriedly.
"There are no other men. I've not had another lover in several years. I suspect I will be hard pressed to take another after this sojourn."
The idea of her having a lover when we leave the cottage gnaws on my insides like a poison. "I wouldn't like to know of you with another, but I don't really know what it is you want, Esme."
"What do you mean?"
I turn so that my back is against the headboard and pull her into my lap. It's torture to have her like this and not make love, but I need to touch her. "I've never felt as connected to anyone as I do to you. Will you want me when we return to town?"
With her head on my shoulder, she draws a long breath and lets it out. "How would that work? Will you take me to meet your mother, introduce me to your friends?"
"You say it as if my answer should be no." I don't like where this is going. I'm not a man of great temper, but that doesn't mean I can't be brought to it by passion.
"Of course, you should say no, William." Her voice is soft and full of resignation.
"Why? Why must it be no?"
"How would you introduce me to your mother? I'm sure she is a fine lady. She married a gentleman and produced the same. She raised you to find a woman in your sphere to give her grandchildren who will be admired. I can bring you nothing you need in your life back in Windsor. I have no name or connections to lend to your family. I am beneath you."
It's all I can do to keep my voice low and not wake the entire house. "You are so far above me, you cannot know. I do not deserve your affection, yet I seek it with my very being. I realize society will see it differently. I'm not naive. However, I thought you would see the truth."
Pulling away, she looks me in the eye. Her aura pulses green and gold. "What truth is that?"
I turn so that my legs hang off the side of the bed. Head in my hands, I drag my fingers through my hair. It's grown long since we've been in the country. "You once told me that magic never makes mistakes. You said that things that are meant will come to pass. Why is what we share any different?"
When there is no response, I look over my shoulder.
Esme is again crossed-legged in the middle of the bed. Her eyes are distant and full of tears. "I'm afraid. I fear for you and for myself. It's impossible for what we have to move forward in that world without one or both of us losing everything."
