She pulled him towards her bed, thankful that he didn’t protest in the slightest. She reached around, pulling down the zipper of her dress and letting it fall to the floor. Josh’s eyes widened as he took her in, a click of his fingers and a shower of green sparks removing his own clothes, but also neatly folding them. A highly useful trick really, she’d be making use of that one.

“You sure about this?” he asked, stalking forward in a way that was highly unwitch like and put her more in the mind of some kind of shifter after his prey.

“I’ve been sure for years,” she admitted, watching his smile light up his face. She didn’t think she’d realised quite how honest he’d been when he’d said he wanted her for years. At least, not until now. Seeing the look on his face left no doubt in her mind. He pulled her to him, the naked feel of her skin against his igniting something inside her. He wasn’t as warm as Leth, but he was certainly warmer than Rueben was. It was an interesting comparison in her mind, and she couldn’t wait to find out what having a combination of temperatures touching her felt like. But maybe that was best left alone until later. She didn’t want to scare Josh quite yet, though from what he’d said earlier he’d probably be fine with it. Rueben clearly would be. And Leth...well she’d figure that one out when she wasn’t as mad at him.

“Good.” He pushed her gently, causing her to fall back on the bed, but she pulled him down with her, not wanting to lose contact. “Easy, E. We have forever,” he said against the soft skin of her throat. Maybe the word forever should have freaked her out, but it didn’t. It just came with a kind rightness settling within her.

“No, no time,” she panted as his hand trailed up her leg, touching the inside of her thigh. Why, oh why hadn’t she taken her underwear off when she’d got rid of her dress? Josh chuckled, giving her a quick kiss on the lips before moving to her neck, littering kisses there that only made her hotter.

“What do you need, E?” he asked.

“You.” She gasped as he pushed her underwear to the side and slid one of his fingers inside her. She bucked against his hand, wanting more but not quite ready to ask for it. Thankfully, he seemed to take the hint, and a second finger joined his first, pushing her to new heights. She was never going to last at this rate. “The sparks,” she added, not knowing where it came from.

“Really?” He sounded amused, but the next thing she knew, the room was filled with a soft green glow, and the sparks danced up and down her skin, leaving tingles in their wake. She’d been right, it was like nothing she’d ever imagined. Something built within, more intense than it ever had before, but she couldn’t get enough of it. “Let go, E,” Josh whispered in her ear, and at that moment, her legs began to shake and she lost all control over her train of thought. Nothing existed but the intensity of the moment, and the feel of Josh and his sparks against her.

Her eyes fluttered as she came back down to earth, and she opened them to find Josh perched above her with a satisfied smirk on his face. Well, that wasn’t on. He couldn’t think that he was the only one making things good in this bed. She pushed his shoulder gently, and he turned over. She grinned at him lazily, not completely with it, but knowing that this was what she needed, and that her succubus side would finally be properly sated. She looked down at Josh’s toned body. Or maybe not. Staying in bed most of the time wouldn’t be amiss in her book.

She straddled his waist, conscious that the two of them were still wearing their underwear. She frowned. That was going to be problematic. Beneath her, Josh chuckled, before raising his hand and calling his magic again, removing the last of their clothing and leaving them finally, blissfully naked.

She leaned over him, her pale blonde hair falling to the side, as she brought her lips to his and kissed him with unrestrained passion. It was finally happening. She was finally about to sleep with Josh, and it was already far better than any of her wildest fantasies. She pulled back from the kiss, moving back so that she could reach down between them and guide him into her.

“Eira.” Her name came out strained as he entered her for the first time, but she couldn’t think straight enough to be able to respond. He flexed his hips beneath her, pulling a loud moan from Eira’s lips. If it was always going to be like this, then she was definitely going to try staying in bed for the rest of her life.

Josh pushed himself up so that he was seated with her still on top of him, and snaked one arm around her waist, and the other propping the two of them up. Her own hands flew to his chest, smoothing her hands over it. He pulled her even closer, setting a rhythm that had another release building inside her. Except that this one felt different from before, it almost felt like her magic was coming with it. She tried to tamp it down, but another thrust from Josh, combined with an eruption of sparks that seemed to coming from him, left her without a choice.

The sensation built more and more, until she couldn’t even remember her own name, too focused on the moans and the sound of skin on skin. It was more intense than anything she’d ever experienced before, and she wanted to let go, and for it to never end at the same time. Josh’s movements became more erratic, and with one final thrust, he reached his release, taking Eira over the edge with him. Behind her eyes, sparks began to fly, though she was sure they were around the room as well, there was no chance they weren’t given how they’d reacted to their kiss earlier.

She collapsed on to Josh, feeling like a boneless mess. He leaned back, pulling her into his arms and kissing her head softly. After a few moments rest, she opened her eyes to finding an adoring green gaze watching her.

“Wow,” she said, her voice surprisingly hoarse. Josh chuckled.

“Wow, indeed.”

“Will it always be like that?” She hoped so.

“Good question, maybe give me ten minutes and we can find out.” He smiled at her with his normal ease, but the expression in his eyes revealed that there was another depth to his playfulness, one that hadn’t been there before. Or had, according to him, he just hadn’t been able to act upon it.

“I’ll hold you to that.”

“I hope so.” Actually, now she thought about it, he seemed more like himself than he had in a while. Maybe the restriction had taken more of a toll on him than he realised. “Maybe nix the snow though, it was kind of chilly.”

“Snow?” She frowned at him.

“You didn’t notice?”

“I had other things on my mind.” She smirked back at him. Instead of answering, he just waved his hand to the side and she glanced over his shoulder to find a thin layer of snow littering her room. Well that was unexpected. “Huh.”

“Not happened before?” She looked back at him, unable to ignore the smug smile on his face. She swatted his shoulder gently, but knew he wouldn’t take it seriously.

“You know it hasn’t.”

“You’d have told me.”

“You joke, but I would.” Now she thought about it, it was kind of odd that she’d told Josh about every man she’d ever had sex with. But then, just like her need to feel like he was giving his permission, she figured that it was linked to the bond that neither of them were able to act upon.

“I know.” He didn’t look away quickly enough to hide the sadness in his eyes.

“I’m sorry,” she whispered. “It can’t have been easy hearing me talk about that.”

“No, it wasn’t. But it was also necessary. It’s not like you could have gone without.”

She reached out and touched his cheek, making him look back at her. She hated the resignation in his eyes, and was determined to do everything she could to make it go away.

“I’ll do everything I can to make it up to you, Josh. Please, believe me,” she begged, not at all ashamed that she was doing. She needed to make him smile again, anything less would break her heart.

“I do,” he said instantly.

“It’s just you and me now,” she added.

“And Leth and Rueben,” he teased, the sadness leaving his voice.

“Well yes, and them.” So long as they didn’t continue to piss her off that was. Though realistically, she knew that even if they did, it wasn’t likely she could walk away from them, that just wasn’t how paranormal mating worked. They would need to make it up to her though. Preferably on their knees. With chocolate and wine in their hands.

“And you’ll be happy with that?” Josh’s eyes lit up as he stroked a hand up her side.

“Yes,” she admitted quietly.

“Good.” He leaned forward and kissed her on the nose gently, the affection he felt for her making itself known.