Page 47 of The Magic of Discovery
“Oh my gods, stop it. I can’t deal with their shit and yours all at once,” I laughed, which was quickly smothered by the thought that in a little bit, I was going to be surrounded by them with no escape. “You all are going to kill me later.” I sighed, not hating it in the least.
Gran cackled, her face lighting up with excitement. “You already know this will be a memorable evening. Best to embrace it, child. I’m going to go do some stuff at my house for now, but I’ll make my way back over here at some point. Probably when all the fresh mage meat arrives.” She stood and practically skipped her way to the back porch. “No need to call me when they get here. Sensing hot men is my second affinity!”
May the moon have mercy.
Cam: It is the best butt. You do have a point, Kai.
Kai: Thank you. I love being right all the time.
Fish: You wish, furry fucker.
Me: You guys are killing me. Kai, if you grill for me I’ll let you feel both butt cheeks.
Cam: Hey, that’s not fair. What can I do to get the same reward?
Fish: * eyes emoji *
Cam: FYI, Kai just jumped up, muttering something about needing to go to the store for spices and other essentials. In his excitement for potential ass pats, he forgot his phone.
Fish: I think it’s safe to assume we’re grilling, sweetheart.
Me: Yay! I’ll think about what you can do to earn... rewards. ;) Oh, and someone tell Sloane about when to be here.
Fish: I’ll tell him... for a kiss.
Me: Guess we’ll see…
Standing up, I slipped my phone into the pocket of my yoga pants and prepped some food for later. It didn’t take long to wrap the potatoes in foil and put them in the cauldron pot to slow cook for a few hours. Deciding it would be best to just get as much done as possible now, I pulled out a large bowl and cut up ingredients for a fresh salad. Steak, potatoes, and salad, my absolute favorite meal.
A small sneeze from the direction of the mudroom alerted me to Maven’s arrival. He made a beeline for me, plopping his ass down on the floor with a huff of indignation.
“What’s that attitude about, mister?” I narrowed my eyes at him, our sassiness equally matched.
He snort-sneezed at me again before turning his back and heading toward his empty food bowl. No, it was more like hestormedacross the kitchen to his bowl and used his paw to flip it over before turning his head back to me, eyes narrowed to slits.
“Do not act like you didn’t eat last night before bed, you chunky animal,” I scolded him... but I was actually a softie, so I flipped his bowl upright and gave him a hefty scoop of food.
He didn’t spare me a second thought, munching to his grouchy heart’s desire. Whatever, I knew he loved me deep down in his tiny black heart. He’d softened a lot toward me in the four years we’d been together. After seeing him sneaking around the property for a couple of weeks, I finally let him in the house one night during a storm, and he just never left.
My body was a live wire, so amped up that sitting still was basically impossible. After pacing around the kitchen, making sure everything was clean and tidy, I headed for the linen closet in the hallway to snag some fresh sheets for my bed, and towels for the bathrooms.
As I stacked my arm with towels, something fluttered to the floor. Bending down to grab it, I realized it was a picture of Gran, Laurie, and myself from the grand opening of The Pig. Laurie had blown into town in her usual shit storm fashion, trying to make my successes somehow a product of the blood we shared.
The photo had been hanging on the fridge for a couple of years, for Gran’s sake, not mine, until one visit in particular when she’d gotten really mouthy with Gran. It had pissed me off so badly that I’d taken down every picture of her in my home, forgetting I’d even stuck this one in here. I was in the middle, Laurie off to the side. Smiling, I ripped the photo so that she was removed and stuffed her fake ass smirk into my back pocket, leaving Gran and me smiling at the camera with The Pig in the background. It was like she was never there at all.How fitting.
I snatched the dirty hand towel from the bathroom and hung up the new one before going back out to the kitchen to stick the picture on the fridge. Laurie didn’t get to steal away all of my proud moments just because she was a jerk. No, I’d worked my ass off, gotten through college, and put so much work into my store. Wiping my forehead after my eye stung from an unexpected droplet, I realized I’d started to sweat, my heart rate steadily picking up. Anger was rising like a high tide inside my body, and I was beginning to feel like I would burn up from the inside out.
Who the hell does that to their own child? Rains on their parade, and belittles them?With a huff, I turned and ran up the steps, ignoring the little part of me that whispered I might be reacting a bit irrationally. I needed a cold shower.Stat. Once I got in the bathroom, I peeled my damp shirt off, followed by the soaked sports bra I’d been wearing.Why am I sweating like a sinner in church?I was practically panting by the time I got naked and stumbled into the shower’s icy cold spray. The water pounded against my fiery pale skin, and it might have been my imagination, but I could have sworn I heard a sizzle as steam rose off of my flesh.
Practicing deep breathing, I tried to rein in my temper.Focus, Saige. Today is a good day. Don’t let that witch bitch ruin this for you.Shaking my head as if that could banish her from my mind and my veins, I put all thoughts of Laurie in a metaphorical box and slammed it shut. All of these changes my body was going through were starting to become worrisome, the increased heat, moodiness, restless sleep, the magic shit show, and the list went on. The only thing staving off my anxiety at this point was knowing that I had Gran and my guys behind me, and I trusted them all. Even Sloane.
I’d finally begun to cool down as I soaped my body up, thoughts of Kai, Cam, and Fish filling my head as my hands trailed down my breasts. My nipples popped their rosy little heads up at the attention, so I tweaked them a little bit because I figured it’d be a jerk move to not reward them for being so responsive.
Ever since that night with Cam, my libido had been awakened like a bear that had been hibernating for months and was now starving. One hand trailed further south while the other reached out to turn the handle, making the water warmer.Maybe I could convince one of them to sleep over tonight... or more than one.With that thought, I slipped my hand between my legs and felt how wet I was just from the thought of them.
Would Kai and Cam be willing to share me at the same time? I could only imagine how that would play out. Visions danced through my brain as I brought myself to climax. It didn’t take long, and I could bet it wouldn’t in real life either. My mind was already sifting through ways to get them to agree to sleeping over. With a grin on my face, I hopped out of the shower and spent about an hour getting ready. Curling my long red hair so that it fell around my shoulders in big waves, I went for a natural look with my make-up.
There was a dress I’d been dying to wear but hadn’t had the opportunity. Pulling it from my closet, I ran my hand down the soft white cotton material, loving its cheery pattern of yellow lemons with green leaves. In pure mid-century fashion, the dress fit snugly like a corset until it met my waist where it flared out slightly, hitting about mid-calf. Slipping it over my head, I shimmied it down and whispered a spell, the dress squeezing closed around my chest as the zipper was pulled upward. I couldn’t imagine how human women must struggle without magic.
