Page 43 of Rise of the Witch
Asa’s blond head was disappearing into the basement again as he brought the last of the food down for storage. While his roiling anger against the wolf clan leader and her guard had been delicious, I’d relished seeing him smile more openly the past few days, as if he were finally shaking himself free from the heavy burden of his own painful memories.
Looking down at Tan’s head in my lap, I brushed a piece of dust out of his long lashes, causing him to open his hazel eyes and smile adoringly up at me.
“A penny for your thoughts, mytutly juddah,”he murmured, brushing his fingertips along my thigh, sending a shiver of need down my spine.
I smiled in return, basking in the warm glow of his that had only magnified since his aura appeared. “Well, at the moment, I’m thinking about how much I enjoy your funny little accent,” I teased, laughing when he shot up with an expression of mock-outrage.
Snatching me into his arms, he began peppering me with playful kisses. “Itisa funny little accent, isn’t it?” he chuckled. “Not quite Turkish, not quite British...probably a bit Russian since I’ve lived here for so long. What can I say—I’m a cultural mutt of circumstance!” Drawing back, he eyed me thoughtfully. “But what about you, Vasi? YousoundRussian, but I’ve heard you curse Nox out for being a ‘filthyRusski,’so, clearly, you don’t willingly identify as being a citizen of this country.”
“My people were always free,” I brusquely replied. “We may have been poor, but we were never serfs, despite the best efforts of those in charge.” Taking a calming breath, I clarified, “To answer your question, my father’s people inhabited the Wild Fields near the Dnieper River in what is now called Ukraine. My mother came from a pagan Mari background, which could explain why I’ve always felt a connection with nature...” An early memory of walking the forest’s edge with my mother whispered against my consciousness, causing my heart to ache. While others shied away from the woods—saw their depths as dangerous—she had always encouraged me to embrace the wildness that surrounded me.
As well as that which dwelled within.
“So, how did you feel ending up with a Tsar who supported indentured servitude?” Nox suddenly called out from across the room, his rumbling voice startling me from my memory, not least of all because I didn’t realize he’d considered himself part of the conversation.
I scoffed and called back to him, “Thatboyhad only newly ascended to the throne when I married him, so if you believe for one minute thathewas the one making court decisions…” I faltered momentarily, realizing my husband may have been advised to cast me out by his self-serving political advisors. That, perhaps, his hand was forced in the matter.
What if he hadn’t wanted to let me go?
Tan gently cupped my cheek in his large hand, fiercely whispering, “Hey, royalty or not, he didn’t deserve you. Remember that.” Shocked, I met his compassionate gaze, wondering how this man was able to so distinctly read my buried pain as if it had merely risen to the surface for him to peruse.
Clearing my throat, I scrambled to change the subject, lowering my voice to keep the conversation private, “Tan, I’ve been wondering. Why is your penis different from Nox’s?”
He choked out a laugh. “What?”
Naturally, Asa chose that moment to join us. “What are we talking about?”
“Nox’s dick,” Tan answered, louder than I would have preferred.
“What?!” Nox yelped.
“Vasi wants to know why we’re not packing a python the way he is,” Tan addressed Asa, shoulders shaking from the laughter he was failing to contain.
“Holy fuck!” Nox shouted. “Why the...why thefuckare we talking about my dick?”
I am suddenly regretting my choice of topic.
“Sweetness, if I were hung like Nox, I’d be tripping over it all day long,” Asa dryly answered, although there was a twinkle in his blue eyes. “And I doubt you’d want anything endangering this pretty face…”
Tan howled as he fell off the bench and rolled onto his back, tears streaming down his face. Nox angrily rose and made to leave the hut, only to realize there was no escape as we were still traveling through the forest. Instead of returning to his seat, he simply banged his head against the wooden door and left it planted there, shoulders sagging in defeat.
I growled, questioning why I continued to forge ahead but doing it anyway. “What Imeantwas, yours and Asa’sfeeldifferent than his. The end of it...” I gestured vaguely. “There’s less..skin on the end of both of yours.”
Realization dawned on Asa’s face as he carefully stepped over Tan to sit next to me, grabbing my hand to give it a squeeze. “Oh, honey, that’s because we’recircumcised.”Glancing down at Tan, he chuckled, “You had me thinking she was talking about what a fucking monster Nox is, good lord!”
The monster in question groaned and banged his head against the door again as Tan sat up and smiled at me. “Yeah, Ace and I had our foreskins surgically removed soon after birth. It’s a common practice nowadays, doll.”
“Why?” I asked, grateful that these men were humoring my curiosity.
Tan canted his head. “It depends. The Jews do it for religious reasons. It’s still up for debate among Muslims whether it’s an official requirement or an aesthetic choice. In my case, I’m sure my father had all of us circumcised simply because it made us morerefined,”he added a dramatic hand gesture to punctuate his sentence, grinning wickedly.
Asa nodded, adding, “And us Americans do it because everybody’s neighbor does.”
Absorbing this information, my gaze drifted over Asa and Tan’s laps. “Does it...hurt?” I hesitantly asked, chewing my lip in concern.
Becausethatis not the sort of pain I wish to inflict on my men.
Kneeling in front of me, Tan rested his hands on my thighs as he gazed up at me earnestly. “Sometimes itaches, and the only thing that’ll make it better is to wrap it up in wet, hot, magic pussy.” Three more loud thumps echoed from across the room as Tan lowered his head to my lap and ran his tongue up the seam of my yoga pants while Asa watched, a feral smile curling his lip.
