STORY EXCERPT

They had run out of water hours ago, so when they heard the sounds of water flowing, they followed the noise, hoping a river lay nearby.

Pondora was the first to spot it. She ran into the woods to her left. The moment Merlin saw her darting, he sprinted after her, fearing she would try to escape them. Jacob followed not far behind his brother. Merlin heard his heavy footsteps on the cracking branches and leaves.

“Water. I need water.” Pondora fell to her knees, scooped up water by the riverside, and drank it. It dripped down her hands and chin. From the merry look in her eyes, she was enjoying its quenching and refreshing effects.

Jacob fell to his knees as well, drinking handfuls of water while Merlin scoped the area.

This is good.

The trees would give them coverage if the sorceress was spying with an enchanted eagle from the sky. An eagle was the most popular bird sorcerers used to seek out and spy on their victims. Being by the riverside was perfect as well. If the enchantress did come, they could hide underwater in the river.

“This looks like a good place to rest for the night.” He threw his heavy load onto the ground.

Pondora looked around. “There is no place that is completely safe, but this will offer us coverage if we need it.”

“I’ll go get us some dry wood for a fire.” Jacob stood up and rubbed his back. His tunic was wet.

“Good idea.” Merlin took his place at the riverbank. The cold water he gulped as he dipped his face into the river instantly cooled and soothed his parched throat.

They had been walking for many hours. Their voyage would still last them another half day. Merlin calculated they’d arrive at Stonehenge a few hours before the eclipse. He wondered if they’d make it there before the sorceress paid them a visit. He prayed they would because they had no line of defense if she attacked before they were ready for her.

He feared what he would have to do if she did attack them before then. Giving Pondora back her powers would be like going into the lion’s lair after making the animal starve for days. It would be suicide. But she would be their best defense against the evil sorceress.

Pondora looked at him and said as if she had read his thoughts, “Your only choice is to give me back my powers.”

He lifted his brow. “Why? So you could kill us afterward?”

“Do you really think I would do that to you?” Her expression conveyed hurt.

Merlin wanted to believe in her. He prayed that what he wished would be true. After what they shared in the tower, she had found a place in his heart he could not erase no matter how he tried. Just looking into her blue, bewitching eyes now took all the willpower he had. He desperately wanted to lean forward and pull her into a kiss. But he couldn’t let his guard down. She was a very cunning woman who knew how to pull on his strings of emotions to get what she wanted.

Steeling his feelings and his heart, he replied, “After all the horrible things you’ve committed throughout the years, how can I not?”

Her gaze dropped to her folded hands at her waist for a second before she returned her eyes to him. “Do you believe a person can change, Merlin?”

“Yes, to a certain extent. But one cannot go from pure evil to good overnight. You are asking me to believe you did this, but you were still terrorizing people not more than a month ago.”

She opened her mouth to say something but instead took a deep breath. She looked to the river. “It’s no use. Your mind is set, and no matter what I say, I will never make you see differently.”

She stood and began to walk along the side of the riverbank.

Merlin jumped to his feet. “Where are you going?”

She pointed to the area a few yards away where a huge boulder was resting in the water. “I’m filthy and would like to clean myself. I’m going there so I may bathe in privacy.”

He waggled his finger at her. “I did not give you permission to do so.”

Rolling her eyes, she asked, “May I go there to bathe?”

He crossed his arms and had an incredible urge to smile when he next spoke, but tried to contain his amusement as best he could. “You may bathe, but here, in front of me.”

Jacob came back then with an armful of kindle. Dropping it to the ground, he added, “Actually, it is best we bathe all together so that if the sorceress strikes, we will be checking each other’s backs, so to speak.”

Merlin noted Jacob’s wide smile and reciprocated it. “Now that is a marvelous idea, Jacob.” He began to remove his tight brown tunic and loose tights while he gave Pondora a daring stare. “Well?”

Her eyes widened as she ogled his bare chest. She did the same to Jacob. Her gaze followed them as they slid off the rest of their clothing. Stark naked, they stood there waiting for her to do the same.

“Well?” Merlin repeated with a lifted brow, daring her.

ADULT EXCERPT

“You know this pull you have to me is part of the spell you created.”

He nodded, even though she never turned to see his gestures. “I know, but does it matter?”

She finally turned, lifting her feet and floating in the water as she stared and smiled at him. “I guess it doesn’t. We can do whatever we please to satisfy the urges we have, and once the spell is ended, they’ll all disappear.”

Suddenly, Merlin’s heart felt as though an arrow had pieced its core. These feelings, these emotions stirring within, moved him and made him breathe, live, and hope. They seemed as real as life itself. How she so easily threw them away with her assessment hurt quite deeply. Merlin gazed at Jacob, who was on the other side of Pondora. His expression reflected what Merlin felt, as well.

Yet she had spoken the truth. They were the ones who were blind and wanted it that way.

“What if they were real, Pondora?” Jacob asked.

Fear instantly etched itself in her eyes. “But they aren’t.”

Jacob walked closer to her and wrapped his arms around her body from behind. She closed her eyes on his embrace and tilted her head to the side. He kissed her nape gently and whispered in her ear, though Merlin could still hear him, “But what if they were?”

Without opening her eyes, she sighed. “Then I would do as I am doing now, relishing them to their fullest and letting my mind, soul, and body free. Let them take me where they will.”

Jacob slid back down to her neck, kissing and licking it up to her earlobe.

Merlin was still fully erect even though the water was cold. His cock throbbed and demanded it be used this instant as he stared at Jacob pulling her arms away from her breasts and cupping them from behind. She moaned in pleasure and leaned back into him so her breasts lifted out of the water. Her taut nipples puckered in the air, and each time Jacob rubbed them, Merlin wished he could be licking and sucking them instead.

“Then we will do as you do. We will let them lead us where they will and savor every second of them.” Merlin moved in closer and gave Jacob a nod telling him to hold her up so he may adorn her luscious breasts with the proper attention.

Jacob did as he wished, lifting her while he continued to kiss her neck and earlobe. When her breasts completely surfaced, Merlin leaned in, cupping one and rubbing his thumb over the nipple. She looked at him and closed her eyes, moaning in pleasure once more.

He dipped lower until he brought his lips to her hot tip. He licked it up and down. She shivered in Jacob’s arms. Merlin could see Jacob slide one hand down to her pussy. Although he couldn’t see what his brother was doing, he knew he was finger fucking her, rubbing her swollen clit and slipping his finger into her pussy an inch at a time.

She moaned, “Yes, more.”

Her words excited Merlin as he delicately slipped her right nipple between his front teeth and gently nibbled it and then sucked and pulled it. She whimpered in pleasure and began to shake and cried out in ecstasy.

Jacob removed his finger from her pussy and licked it. “Your cum is delicious, my dear.”

Then he brought it to her mouth and had her lick herself off his finger. Merlin thought her scent and her juices would have washed away in the water, but obviously he thought wrong. He bent in to kiss her lips and slipped his tongue into her delectable mouth. Sure enough he tasted her, too. Ah, but his cock reacted wildly to her cum scent.

He cupped her breasts and squeezed them softly. “I want to fuck you, Pondora.”

There, he said it. She probably wasn’t in the mood after having come right now, but to his erect and superhard cock, it didn’t matter.

To his delight, she replied, “Yes, I want you to fuck me, as well.” She turned her head to look at Jacob. “Both of you at the same time.”

Merlin liked the sound of that. After all, she’d have double the pleasure, and they could both please her at the same time. He witnessed her climax just a few seconds ago from a finger fuck, and it was quite intense. He wondered what her reaction would be when she and they came together. Oh, now that would be the best thing anyone could ever experience.

Jacob said, “That can be arranged.”