This seriously rocked.

I became a church mouse with a hungry cat nearby—utterly silent and watchful. Creede’s hands began to move; it looked like he was holding an invisible volleyball in front of his chest. I could see his face peering out from the shadow of the hood. The spell got stronger and his voice louder. A ball of energy appeared between his cupped hands. It had no form or color, visible only as wavy air currents, like heat rising from hot asphalt.

He lifted his arms and the tiny candles became flares to reach his shoulders. Wow. “Removie il parse … et parse … en natur!” The ball of energy took on a life of its own. Power flowed out from Creede’s skin to spin over his head until the ball of energy was bigger than a school globe and then bigger than a car.

Every muscle in my body jumped when he threw his hands forward. “Dispersei!” The energy exploded outward at his command, filling the whole circle until it seemed like it would burst. The candles tipped sideways, flames licking up the sides of the energy bubble until it was a full fledged ball of fire. I was a little afraid it was going to explode and stood up in case I needed to get out in a hurry.

That’s when the ball blew.

Creede’s hood was blown back by the force of the energy wave and his eyes were twin stars that were too large for his face. Concentric waves of energy began to flow out of the circle, ripples of magic that swept toward me with the speed and intensity of a tsunami.

I wasn’t going to be able to get out of the way in time.

15

To hell with not interrupting the caster.

“Shit! Creeeede—” I backed toward the exit and then ran full out as the blast of power came my way.

He looked up then and saw me and raised his hands again. “Dispersei!” There was both panic and power in the word and I turned to see the white light in his eyes explode into the room. But it had gone too far, too fast.

Power caught me full in the chest and dropped me to my knees. It was icy cold yet hot enough to burn. Every muscle in my body came alive at the same moment and my eyes locked on his. There was a tether between us, a magic binding that encased me as solidly as if I were trapped in amber. I could see the room and Creede, but it was through a filter of golden light. Every hair stood on end and tried to pull out of my skin.

Then the cold and hot turned to a warm wave of … something … that made things low in my body tug deliciously. My skin started to feel swollen and my breathing became fast and shallow. It was the most erotic sensation I’d ever experienced and apparently it was for Creede, too, because he let out a moan of sheer pleasure and closed his eyes. I felt the power pull away from me and I could breathe. Then it was back and pleasure tore through me once more. We were trapped in a loop that was like a bouncing Super Ball. The harder the power hit me, the faster it came back after leaving, until there was nothing but heat and light and a thousand fingers on my skin, on my breasts, and inside me. It was pure torture and pure joy.

Finally the strain was too much and my body could take no more. I collapsed onto my hip and a cry was torn from my mouth as a powerful orgasm claimed me. It had admittedly been a long time since I’d been with a man, but this wasn’t like anything I’d ever felt before. I tingled to the tips of my ears and the balls of my feet. I knew when it got the better of Creede. He didn’t cry out, but I’d heard that kind of low moan before, followed by whispered swearing that spoke of a similar intensity to my own.

The magic dissipated slowly, leaving my body feeling both satisfied and utterly exhausted. It took more than a few moments before I could think or breathe normally, and when I opened my eyes I saw a pair of bare feet next to my leg.

Crap.

“Celia?” I looked up and Creede’s eyes were normal again, even if his face was lightly flushed. “Are you okay?”

“I think so.” I felt heat in my cheeks and turned my eyes from his. I did accept the hand up, because it’s really hard to get up gracefully from the floor in a short skirt and heels. “What just happened?”

There was a trace of humor in his voice. “You need to learn how to knock.”

Now my eyes rose to his face and the small hint of a smile that turned his mouth. “There’s no door.”

He acknowledged the truth of that with a soft, “Ah.”

My hand was still holding his and I tried to pull away, but he wouldn’t let go. He used his other hand to lift my chin. I was still struggling not to blush and kept my vision locked on the long line of bare chest that disappeared into the soft white magician’s robe. It was impossible to ignore the musky scents that filled the air. “Creede—”

I knew I’d screwed up whatever spell he was casting and had no idea what the result would be. And what had just happened was too … personal, too intimate. And frankly, it had felt too good.

His finger pressed to my lips. “Don’t overthink it, Celia. Just let it be.” His voice was almost too soft to hear over the waterfall. I finally looked in his eyes. It was a mistake. He pulled me closer and I let him. When his mouth closed over mine I melted into his embrace and my arms slid around him of their own accord.

A first kiss is supposed to be soft, tentative—the barest taste of things that might later happen. But this was the sort of kiss that happens after lovemaking, a gentle joining while your body is still flush with pleasure. His tongue entered my mouth and his hands pulled me against him. I allowed the knowledgeable, languid caresses that didn’t so much explore as acknowledge possession. My body wanted things my mind couldn’t fully grasp and I found my hands were doing the same things as his, storing up in muscle memory the lay of his body and what touches brought an appreciative noise from his throat. He expertly navigated the twin fangs but explored them as well while his jaw worked slowly against mine.

It felt amazingly good and I relaxed against him fully, my muscles suddenly jelly and my brain fuzzy.

This was wrong. On so many levels. But I couldn’t stop.

Creede pulled back from the kiss, then softly pressed his lips against my forehead. He ran his fingers through my hair and rested his cheek next to mine. “You terrify me, Celia Graves.”

I let out a shaky laugh and moved my hands so they weren’t resting right on his muscled backside. I wanted to bury myself in the warm power that pulsed from his skin and that terrified me. “Likewise.”

He released me then, turning so quickly I nearly stumbled. “There’s a bathroom down the hall on the left. I’ll put my tools away if you want first shot at it.”

A bathroom? In a cave? But I was more than happy to escape the room for a few moments. I closed the bathroom door behind me and turned on the light. It was a perfectly normal bathroom, including a bathtub with shower. I supposed if magic made the cave, why not make a bathroom? Heck, maybe there was a kitchen, too.

The mirror over the sink revealed the truth. I looked great. Damn it. There’s no way to hide the flush of really good sex. Only time would do that, and friends like Dawna and Emma would spot it on me a week from now.

I cleaned up as best as possible, and when I turned to find a towel I almost ran into the tux Creede had been wearing at the event. That meant that he was naked under that robe. Well, hell. Yeah, I knew mages did that—the whole “get closer to nature” thing—and I’d seen the bare feet. I felt myself blushing again. Well, maybe he’d been wearing underwear. I could hope.

A light tap on the door made me let out a startled yip. “You about done in there? I need to get dressed.”

“Sorry. Yeah. All yours.” I unlocked and opened the door, keeping my eyes firmly on the floor as I tried to slide past him.

He let out a frustrated sigh and raised an arm to stop my progress. “Celia, would you please look at me?”

I’d faced vampires, assassins, and even demons with a steady eye. Now I was terrified to look a handsome mage in the face just because I liked him a little too much? I forced my shoulders to relax and raised my face to his.

There was a look in his eyes that told me that our relationship had shifted permanently, no matter how much I wanted to go back. The realization appeared on his face, too. We were suddenly aware of each other. I could sense his arm right next to my waist and didn’t want to shove it away. If anything, I wanted it to curl around me. It was both a new kind of tension that wasn’t there the last time I saw him and yet no tension at all. It felt natural, normal. When he spoke, it was with mingled confidence and worry: “It doesn’t have to go further, you know. We can go back to the way it was.”

A small laugh escaped me. “Please. You know better than that, Creede. There’ll always be the wondering, the wanting to know whether this was the best or just a sample of something bigger.”

He smiled and it wasn’t forced. It was the smile I saw the first time I met him and it made him real, approachable, and frankly … datable. That wasn’t a good thing, given the roses waiting for me at Gran’s. “I don’t know if I could handle anything bigger. You have no idea what that felt like.”

Oh, but I did. I gave him a quick peck on the cheek and simultaneously pushed his hand away from the doorjamb. “Get dressed. I’ll meet you back at the party.”

“I’d rather you wait. Spend a few minutes looking at the grotto. I turned on the lights. It’s some of my best work and you might never make it back here. I’ll be quick. I promise.”

My head nodded agreement even as I opened my mouth to gently refuse. It was at least a dozen steps before my legs were steady. As I walked back into the main chamber they went wobbly again, for a different reason. It was … amazing. The “lights” were a miniature sun, high overhead. Thankfully it was just light and didn’t burn my skin.

He’d made paradise—a tropical rain forest in the middle of wine country. Birds chirped and called to each other from the branches of trees that were once merely underground roots. It smelled of fresh growth, of eucalyptus and flowers. “You like?” Creede’s voice came from right behind me, meaning he’d snuck up on me while I’d been gawking. He was in the tux again and smelled of nothing but good cologne. If a tour really did walk in the door just then, they probably wouldn’t notice anything unusual.