Ritual Magic (17 page)

Von looked sincerely at Cora as she smiled
broadly at him. "May I please see my mother's bracelet?"

He held his hand out for the catalyst to his
change of heart and everything instantly made sense. It
was
his mother's bracelet, and he immediately knew that he would have
shared it with her if she had truly been his daughter. Also, the
story that went along with it had to have been passed down from
mother to son and eventually father to daughter. It was something
you simply couldn't fake.

Cora handed the delicate bracelet to Von and
he turned it over in the palm of his hand. While it looked small
and delicate in Cora's hands, it looked tiny and fragile in Von's.
His eyes swept up to Cora and I could read every deep emotion in
those deep hazel eyes of his. He scoured her face for details as he
committed every feature to memory. He reached out for her hand and
she took his as she smiled her warmest smile at him, offering him
the greatest gift he could have ever imagined—love.

My heart ached for Von because, for a very
long time, he had just been existing for the kingdom. It wasn't
even me that he was living for anymore because we had drifted apart
and we resented each other more than anyone could ever imagine. We
loved each other, but just not in the same way anymore. We were
both disillusioned with the whole relationship, and our hopes for
the future seemed to have fallen flat at our feet. We had drifted
so far apart that the chasm separating us was almost
insurmountable. But with Cora, he now had a reason to actually
stand and fight against all the odds. He had a daughter that loved
him dearly, and he had just realized how incredibly lucky he
was.

"What do I need to do?" Von looked at me as
I set my eyes on Cora as well.

"We plan. And then we make a baby." I winced
at the realization that I was going to be a
mother
. Uhg! I
was
so
not ready for this.

Standing on the shore of the beach house
that I lovingly referred to as Gull Cottage, I listened to the
crashing waves of the ocean roar in my ears. The pulsing rush of
the ocean fused me with strength, and a subtle sense of calm washed
over me as I felt the breeze lift my hair over my shoulder,
caressing my cheek.

Is that you, Dad?

A chill ran down my spine in response.

Guess that's all the answer I'm going to
get
.

For a moment, I simply recalled just how
close I had always felt to the ocean. No matter where I was, I
always wanted to get back to its strength and comfort. Eventually,
after having visited the subject of my father over and over, the
light went off in my head as I thought about Dylan, the
personification of the ocean and my father. He had actually been
with me
all
of the time, never leaving me, but giving me
solace when I felt that there was no one else to turn to.

Wrapping my arms around myself, I looked
across the sky to the streaks of clouds that were whisking their
way across the beautiful blue. It was as if they were dancing as
they brushed their long fingers across the delicate azure tint, but
it also appeared as if they were mocking me.

"A storm's coming." Solomon's voice sounded
directly behind me and drew my inward thoughts back to reality.

I nodded as I felt his arms wrapping around
my waist, pulling me into his length which reminded me of every
moment that we had stolen before. He was cool to the touch, but he
quickly warmed to my temperature as he held me close, shifting his
stance behind me just enough for me to take notice. It was easy to
be distracted by just the feel of his arms surrounding me. I felt
so completely
right
in his arms and that couldn't possibly
be...
wrong
?
Or could it?

I leaned back slightly as I closed my eyes
and smelled his fresh, manly scent circle around me. I forced
myself to attempt to concentrate on something trivial, something
mundane.
Hmmm, nope. I can only focus on Solomon
.

The ocean seemed to roar louder in my ears
as Solomon reached down and pressed his lips against my cheek.

Shut up, Dad. This is SO not your
business.

The waves rushed away from us in one swift
motion before surging forward again in defiance of my thoughts.

Solomon chuckled as he noticed my eyes
cautiously scanning the waves. He was probably assuming that my
uneasiness was invested in my leather boots that would be ruined by
the water if it kept rushing towards us like it was.

"It would seem that the ocean is jealous of
us for some strange reason." He reached down for another kiss as I
stiffened in his grasp.

Did I really believe that Dylan could keep
us apart? I was afraid to even consider the depressing thought
because I wasn't in a rush to have everything that I held so dear
ripped away from me.

Never,
I thought.

"What?" Solomon spun me around to face him,
his eyes full of questions. "What's wrong, Celeste?"

Peering deeply into his gorgeous green-blue
eyes, I scanned his perfect face and up towards his disheveled,
shortly-cropped dirty blond hair. He was everything that any woman
could ever dream of having in a lover—he was beyond tall,
constructed of sculpted muscle and sinew, and he was absolutely
determined as well as brilliant. He was faster than any creature in
the natural world and he was fiercely concerned about my
safety.

A deep sigh escaped my lips as I slowly
closed my eyes.
I can't tell him that my father, the Ocean,
doesn't think we should be together.
It sounded so very
lame.

"It's nothing." I whispered as I looked away
at the outstretched beach, keeping track of the wet lines the water
had marked in its progress across the sand. My eyes scanned up to
the beach house looming over the cliff before turning them back to
Solomon's tense-lipped expression. "Maybe we should go inside."

He took a step back to look at me with
concern clearly tainting his expression. "No," he shook his head,
"there is
definitely
something wrong and I want to know what
it is." He looked out on the beach as if there was something that
was going to threaten us in our stolen moment. His body became
tense as he looked down at me again, his eyes widening for a brief
flash. "Okay, let's go if you think it's best."

I nodded at him as he took my hand and led
me to the staircase, walking slowly step by step as his eyes
continued to scan the areas around us. I felt guilty that I had
inadvertently placed the idea of impending doom in his mind, but I
didn't know what else to do but go along with it. We needed to get
away from the prying eyes of my father...and quick. The thought
made my shoulders slump because I was absolutely aware of the fact
that Solomon and I wouldn't be able to share any loving moments out
on the beach—my very favorite place to be in the entire world.
Sighing deeply again, I continued to ascend the stairs, feeling
exhausted and defeated.

We stopped when we reached the garden along
the back of the house. Releasing his hand, I walked over to one of
the hydrangea bushes to run my fingers over the huge blue and
purple blooms. They were so lovely that a sudden pang of guilt ran
through me.

Solomon had bought this beach house because
he knew that I had loved the coast, and he knew it was perfect for
me when he saw this particular yard lined with huge hydrangea
bushes, heavy with my favorite flowers.

A surge of longing ran through me as I
looked out at the ocean from my vantage point behind the mammoth
bush.

"I'm glad that you decided to take this
night to be alone, Celeste. I've been contemplating about how much
I would savor the opportunity to get you to myself." There was a
wicked smile in his voice as he took me into his arms again,
pulling me into his length. His hard body began to mold around mine
as his arms flexed to pull me in closer, dictating exactly where my
body would be positioned, and basically relaying just
why
I
would be a very lucky woman shortly.

"Mmm-hmm" I smiled to myself as I leaned
back into him again, no longer afraid that we had any prying
eyes.

"Celeste." Solomon whispered as he turned me
around to face him again, his eyes brimming with emotions.

"Yes?"

"Uhh." His stood there, looking off into the
distance and working his lips as his voice trailed off.
Solomon
was tongue-tied? Really?

He looked down at me again. This time his
eyes swelled brightly and determinedly, seemingly glowing with
strength and emotions that I knew immediately had everything to do
with me. He was just so breathtaking.
I like it when he looks at
me like that
.

I smiled up at him and cocked my head to the
side, giving him a tiny wink before straightening back up and
bringing the conversation back on point.

"What would you like to talk about?" True
curiosity was beginning to swim in my head.
Why is he acting so
strangely?
"Are you
okay,
Solomon?" I looked at him with
concern in my eyes as I noticed his new sense of unease, and I
immediately fought the desire to smile broadly and wink at him
again.

Clearing his throat, he looked away from me
to the edge of the garden. "No, nothing's wrong. Actually,
everything just feels so...perfect. I'm afraid to ruin the moment."
He looked down at me again, his lips slightly parted. "Do you know
what I mean?"

I thought about it for a moment before
nodding softly up at him. "Yes, I guess I do. It's nice to have
time just to ourselves. With everything that is going on, it's easy
to get distracted from
this
." I raised my hand up to his
cheek and he rested his face in my palm, closing his eyes slightly
as he sighed in release.

He grasped my hand in his and opened his
eyes to look down on me, capturing my vision with a view of his
glowing irises that shared every emotion that ran through him. At
the moment, he was consumed with utter affection and love, and his
eyes were gleaming with a white-blue that practically stole my
heart directly from my chest. I was hopeless when it came to
Solomon.

My heart skipped a beat as he leaned down
and caught my lips up with his. My eyes fluttered closed and he
pulled me into him, allowing me to be swept away with the feel of
his strength and the loving tenderness that he was swathing me in.
His tongue, the wicked little muscle that it was, brushed my lips
slowly as it teased me with a slight pressure, begging for
entrance. My mouth finally opened softly and he invaded me with a
broad sweep of his tongue. I could taste him on my lips as he
moaned slightly and continued to explore my tongue with his
own.

We swept our mouths back and forth at a
delicious pace. A tiny groan escaped my lips as his hands began to
work their way down the small of my back, finally grasping my butt
and pulling me firmly against his hardened body. Oh yes, he was
definitely solid, and my body cried out for more attention.

My head became light and I could hear myself
gasping for breath as he finally released my lips and began to
slowly kiss and lick his way down my chin to my neck, and then down
to my collarbone. The v-neck t-shirt that I was wearing was
basically advertising that I needed him to work his way down
further as his hands swept around my waist and held me firmly. He
worked his way down my chest, kissing and licking a trail further
down, and immediately making my heart and hormones speed up to a
vicious pace.

"What..."I sucked in a ragged breath, "do
you think...you're doing, Solomon?" My voice was husky and breathy,
and it sounded as if I had just smoked an entire pack of
cigarettes.
My sexy voice...YAY!

He paused for a second before he reaching up
with his hands, skimming my body until he was holding my ribcage
and gently caressing the portion that was mere centimeters away
from my breasts.

"Exploring." His voice was gravelly and
deep, sending swift bolts of electricity through my entire
body.

"Uh huh." I laughed as he dove back down to
kiss his way down my breastbone, reaching around me to run his
hands menacingly close to my bra. It felt so wrong to be here out
in the open like this, allowing him to hold me so closely, kissing
me so passionately. "I think..." I was distracted as his thumbs
stroked through the fabric of my shirt. "I think we should go
inside."

Abruptly straightening up, he looked down at
me with desire filling his already intense eyes, licking his
gorgeous lips. "Good idea," he nearly whispered as he swept me up
into his arms and began to walk towards the house.

A quick giggle escaped me as I leaned into
his strong and capable arms, feeling as if he could carry me for
days and never get tired. He was just so astonishingly strong...and
capable. I never questioned if he ever got tired. I never
questioned
anything
about him.

"Solomon?"

"Yes?" His voice drifted down to me as he
kicked the door of the house open and then closed again behind
us.

"How can you be in the light?" It was a
stupid question and it was obvious. How long had I actually known
this man? Hadn't I asked this question before? Why didn't I have
any memory of it?

"Well, the sun doesn't actually harm me." He
shrugged as he walked his way through the large living area. "You
put a charm on me long ago, as you have done for my men, to allow
me to be in the daylight. Since I don't require much sleep, the
daylight was the only thing that kept me from being your full-time
protector. You thought that it would be more reasonable for me to
be your personal guard if I was able to be everywhere you were.
Sunlight or dark." He smiled down at me. "I have quite enjoyed the
ability to be out in full daylight. It has been a true blessing to
be with you at all times of day and night."