Chapter Two

I could hear Liam getting directions from Wendy. They sounded so far away like a faint echo, but I could see them standing no further than two feet from me. I could argue that I didn't need a designated driver, but I was not completely convinced of that myself. Liam helped me up from the wall that I was slumped against. With my arm over his shoulder and his arm stretched across my back, he walked me out of the club and to my car.

I fumbled in my purse for the keys and pressed the button to unlock the doors. With his empty arm he opened the door and placed me in the passenger seat as if I were a piece of glass that could break with the slightest movement. Once he had my seat belt secured, I felt him kiss my forehead and then he quickly shut the door. Such an odd and intimate gesture for someone who had just met me.

I watched him cross to the driver side of the car and slide the seat back as far as it could go so, he could get behind the wheel. With the turn of the key the engine came to life and the car started forward.

Surprisingly enough, the directions Wendy gave him must have been good because I did not have to navigate at all. Actually, the usual forty-five-minute drive felt more like ten minutes but that could just be my foggy head playing tricks on me. We turned on to the red dirt road that led straight to my little cottage in the woods.

I loved being secluded because it gave me the freedom to practice magic without the risk of being caught by nosey neighbors. When you suck at it like I do, a lot of crazy things tend to happen that would be hard for passerby's not to notice. The car slowed and came to a stop just outside of the front door. I may be secluded but I always park to the right of the front door, so I can get in the house faster. It never hurts to be overly cautious and well, I know what could potentially be lurking in the shadows. Liam must have had the same mindset as me but opposite. He parked to the left of the door, so he was furthest from the entrance, but I was closer.

I unbuckled my seatbelt and before I could blink, he had my passenger door open to help me out of the car. Mildly irritated with being treated like a fragile child I said, "I think I can walk from here. I feel a little better now."

He dropped his hand and backed up just enough to provide me with room to stand on my own. I put my feet on the ground and slowly stood. My heels made my ankles a little shaky, but I managed to walk to the front door on my own. I heard the car door shut and the alarm system lock.

"You want a drink or something?"

He walked up behind me and handed my keys back to me, so I could unlock the front door.

"A drink would be nice."

I smiled at him from over my shoulder attempting and probably failing to be flirtatious, "Well, come on in."

My little cottage may not be much to look at from the outside, but I made sure that the inside was clean and cozy at all times. Being a natural witch, I am a fan of earth tones. Greens, yellows, and browns.

My main room had light sand colored walls with a deep chocolate accent wall. Matching furniture of multiple shades of brown sat in each corner of the room. I wanted to paint my kitchen in some form of green but the way the open floor plan was designed, I had no choice but to go with the same sand color as the main room. I led Liam toward the kitchen and pulled a stool out from under the breakfast bar. Satisfied when he accepted the seat, I used my best imitation of a waitress.

"Your options this evening are Moscato, Brandy, Water, or Sweet Tea. Which would you prefer?"

I heard a low, husky chuckle before he replied, "A brandy will be fine."

I pulled two glasses from the cabinet above the sink and sat them on the bar in front of him. As I headed to the freezer to get the ice and the bottle of brandy that I kept stored in there I asked him, "So I am really foggy and quite frankly a little bit freaked out about what happened earlier. Has anything like that ever happened to you before or was it just me?"

When I turned back to him, he seemed to be lost in thought again. I popped the cork out of the brandy bottle and that brought his attention back to me.

"I'm sorry. No. I am still trying to process it all myself. What happened on the dance floor was the same but different somehow from when we shook hands. Maybe it was an extension of the same thing."

I contemplated what he said for a minute. The sensation I got in my arm was indeed very similar to the energy on the dance floor. The energy on the dance floor was just stronger and more overwhelming.

"Thinking back, it does seem possible that it was an extension of our initial handshake. The energy felt similar, but it was stronger the second time." He nodded his head as I continued, "while we were dancing, I could feel that same energy coursing through my whole body like electricity but when our bodies touched it felt like we stood still, and the world kept moving around us. Then it ended, and I felt really weak and dizzy."

Silence greeted me while his gray eyes stared deep into mine. He wore a look of concern.

"I have heard legends of similar incidents but what bothers me is that in none of those stories did it make either party weak," a frown showed out of place on his beautiful face as he ended with, "I would never want to hurt you."

Is he really blaming himself for this? Was he conceited enough to believe that his kiss alone had made me weak in the knees? Well, it was one hell of a kiss.

I quietly thanked the heavens that he couldn't hear my thoughts. I slid his drink to him and carried mine around the bar to claim the stool beside him.

"So, tell me about these stories you've heard."

A faint smile took the place of his previous frown as he replied, "You won't believe them."

"Probably not but try me anyway."

Liam had said that the guardians told stories of divine coupling. You know soul mates and all of that. According to their legends when two supernatural beings are destined to be together their magic is incomplete. They will not come into a full manifestation of their abilities until the couple finds their way to each other.

It was also said that when the couple finds each other their individual powers are stripped away and then combined into a stronger form before re-entering the bodies in which they originally came. They both share the same abilities and they are both bound to the other for life.

As I quietly listened to his recollection of the legends, I found myself at a loss for words. That would explain why I felt so weak and if his story was true than he was telling me that he is my soul mate. My other half. My human side is full of sarcastic remarks about his ego while the witch side of me believed that what he is saying sounds perfectly plausible.

"Do you think that that is what happened?"

He took a second to gauge my reaction and nodded, "I have never felt anything like it before. Everything happening around us was crazy but when I kissed you it just felt like I was right where I was supposed to be. Like I was complete."

He had described word for word how I felt in the moment that everything was happening. Even now I felt drawn to him. I had just met this man and I felt safer with him than I had ever felt. My mind drifted back to his declaration.

"Is that what you meant by I am yours and you are mine?"

He offered another nod as he took a swallow of his brandy. Realizing I had neglected my own drink I lifted the glass to my lips and took a big swallow. The burn of the brandy stung my throat, but it went down smoothly.

"Well, this has been an awkward night."

When all else fails try sarcasm. He was a little late catching on but when he did, he let out a laugh that was deep and smooth like silk.

"That it has princess. That it has."

"If anyone else called me that they would catch a fist in the mouth." I quietly bitched to myself.

He caught me off guard when he leaned in to kiss me. At first, I was nervous. I didn't know if it was wise to chance another incident like earlier. This kiss was needier. It was almost as if he needed validation of his claims over my soul. I leaned into his kiss and wrapped my arms around his neck and this time I let my tongue do the exploring. He tasted like cinnamon gum and brandy and man was his kiss intoxicating.

I felt his fangs lengthen and I instinctively worked my mouth around them as I ran my hands down his broad shoulders to his chest, relishing in the feel of every defined muscle underneath of his shirt. How had no other woman claimed this man as her own yet? Oh, that's right because he was made just for me.

I felt his hands begin an exploration of their own. Everywhere he touched me it felt like a trail of heat followed. His hands made their way up my sides and came to rest under my arms.

In one blur of movement he picked me up out of the chair and sat me down on the bar with one leg on either side of his waist. His hand grasped a fistful of hair at the back of my head and squeezed as he kissed his way down my neck. I could feel his fangs gently scraping my neck with each soft kiss on my skin leaving my body shivering with anticipation. When he reached that sensitive area where my neck and my shoulder meet, he squeezed my hair a little tighter as his fangs broke the skin.

I felt my body buck as his fangs opened my flesh and I cried out from the shock that it gave me. It felt like I had received a shot of adrenaline. My heart was racing, and the room began to spin. His tongue teased every nerve in my body as he licked the wounds until they vanished. Who knew I'd like to be bit?

He let go of my hair, so he could use both hands to untie the halter top of my dress. As the fabric fell free and bunched in my lap, he stared at my breasts with a look derived of pure hunger and need. He took my nipple into his mouth and suckled it while he gently pressed it between his front teeth. His free hand was gently kneading my other breast until he turned to award it with his attention.

As if he was knew what my body needed his kisses moved lower sending a combination of heat and chills throughout my body. He ripped the rest of my dress and my panties off and one by one, removed my heels. He pushed my upper body down, so I lay flat on the bar. His hands slid up my thighs slowly before his mouth followed, parting my legs as he moved further north.

I felt a slight sting as his fangs pierced the skin of my inner thigh followed by a long lick of his tongue. That familiar rush of adrenaline hit me again. Those fangs of his can perform their own sensual magic. He moved to my left thigh to show it the same attention before he parted the folds of my center with one long slow stroke of his tongue, followed by another. Like a shockwave my back bowed, pushing myself further into his mouth. As my need grew stronger and my moans louder his strokes became faster and shorter.

I was drowning in wave after wave of sensations as a heat was building, starting in my gut and spreading all over my body. My muscles tightened signaling that I was almost at my peak. His fangs pierced the skin of my fleshy center while his tongue continued to stroke that sensitive little mound and the rush of it all sent me over the edge.

That adrenaline rush was back again only now it was centered around that small mound of flesh causing it to pulse as my need for him grew. My orgasm spilled out around me as he released his fangs and slowly licked each mark until they had disappeared like the others. Those slow gentle strokes almost brought me again as he dragged out my orgasm like a slow and pleasurable torture.

My body was shaking as I struggled to sit upright. I had no patience in me to wait. I wanted Liam. Right here and right now. I slid my hands down the wall of muscles on his chest until I reached the waist of his jeans. As I leaned up to claim his mouth, I released the button and zipper that were keeping me from my prize. In this position I could not use my hands to pull his jeans off, so I used my feet to push them down as far as I could with my desperation getting the best of me.

Liam wrapped his arms around me and lifted me off of the bar to let me stand on my own. I don't know how he did it but he finished removing his boots and jeans and stood in front of me in all of his glory in a matter of seconds. My gaze lingered on that pulsating member protruding from between his hips. I reached out to take it in my hand and he gently pushed it away.

"It is not about that tonight."

Without warning he spun my whole body, so I was facing away from him and I placed my hands on the bar to brace myself. His hands slowly caressed their way down my back creating goose flesh along the way. A loud hiss escaped my mouth as I felt every inch of him while he completely sheathed himself inside of me. He was so long and so thick that he filled me from fleshy wall to fleshy wall.

He quickened his pace never wavering or losing rhythm as I rocked my body backwards to meet his thrusts. I could feel that familiar heat building from my core and it made my knees buckle. Liam caught me in his arms before I could hit the floor and spun me around, so I was staring at his sculpted chest.

He sat down on the floor and pulled me down on top of him, so I was straddling his waist. I slowly shimmied my way down the length of him, so I could take all of him inside of me once again. I felt stronger now that I was in control. I moved my hips up and down faster and faster as the heat grew higher and higher. Suddenly, I can't feel the floor beneath us anymore.

A white light blinded me and surrounded us as we screamed our release. The light wound around us like an ethereal mystical ribbon holding us together. I looked around the room and sure enough we were floating in the air and tied to each other by a magical binding.

One look into Liam's eyes and I knew I was not imagining this. None of this was normal but it felt right. I was lost in his eyes and I felt like I could feel exactly what he was feeling, whole. Like I had just found a part of myself that I had never knew was missing. I leaned into him and touched my mouth to his. His hands at the small of my back pulled me against him tighter as he returned the gesture.

The magic that bound us seem to explode into the room around us and much like a gust of wind it left as quickly as it came, and we slowly drifted back down to the floor. Liam broke the kiss first and just stood glued to the spot where we landed, his gaze never leaving mine. I smiled up at him because I didn't know how I knew, and I didn't know why, but he was mine. It didn't matter that we had just met. It just mattered that it was meant to be and honestly it just felt perfect.

Liam rested his forehead on mine and I could hear his voice in my head. It whispered a familiar promise, "I am yours and you are mine, Forever."