‘I don’t do love spells,’ Sally Haddon said.
Mick gripped the arms of the chair with white knuckles. ‘Your website said you specialize in sex magic.’
‘Love spells aren’t necessarily sex magic.’ She crossed long legs and smoothed the flounces of a burgundy gypsy skirt over shapely thighs. She was a far cry from the old hag he’d expected.
‘But you don’t understand. Darlene isn’t like other women. I believe – no I’m certain – we’re meant to be together.’
Sally moved to stand beside him, taking his chin in her hand, turning his head from side to side as though she were inspecting him for flaws. He thought she had given him a static shock from the Turkish carpet, but the energy coursed through his jaw, down over his stomach to surge in his penis, which suddenly felt tight in his trousers.
‘Have you had sex with her?’
He tried to pull away, but she held him firmly, her gaze like iron. ‘I haven’t … We haven’t … But I want … ’
‘When was the last time you had sex with anyone?’ She tightened her grip on his chin. ‘I’ll know if you lie.’
His heart galloped in his chest, but his straining cock didn’t seem to notice the definite frisson of fear that prickled his spine on little spider feet. ‘Three years.’
She pulled her hand away and nodded to his lap. ‘Go home, watch some porn, have a wank. Trust me; it’s not worth the risk of a love spell.’
He shifted uncomfortably around his bulge. ‘You make it sound like putting a curse on someone.’
‘Not much difference, really.’ She poured them tea in china cups and sat back on the sofa. ‘There are so many variables in a love spell, so many factors that, if not properly figured into the equation, can backfire in very nasty ways. That you’ve not had sex recently will complicate the situation further.’
‘If you won’t help me, I’ll go to someone else.’
She raised an eyebrow. ‘Any reputable witch will say the same. If you find a disreputable one, well things could get really ugly.’
‘Haven’t you ever been in love? Don’t you know what it feels like?’ God, he sounded like such a whiner.
Her face softened and her grey eyes were like sea water. Slender fingers stroked the silver pentacle that hung between her breasts. Then she stood quickly. ‘Come with me. Perhaps I can help you after all.’
The old Victorian house was exactly the kind of place where he imagined a witch would live. At the top of the stairs, she opened french doors and beckoned him inside. The room was the round tower he’d seen from the front garden. Beyond tall slender windows was a profusion of foliage from oak and willow trees. It felt like his childhood tree house.
The floor was covered with exotic carpets. There was a mountain of cushions and pillows piled at the centre. The witch lit candles around the perimeter of the carpeted area. Outside sunset streaked the sky melon and mauve.
‘What you need is a clarity spell.’ She lit the last candle and pinched out the match with her fingers. ‘I’ll make you a deal. If you’ll let me cast a clarity spell, if you’ll let it run its course, see what you need to see, then I’ll cast a love spell, if you wish.’
She offered him her hand.
‘It’s a deal.’ He took her hand and moved into the circle. Dusk settled around the flicker of the candles. The world inside the circle of light effervesced and danced, awash in strange liquid silence.
‘The boundaries between worlds are permeable at dusk. It’s the time to catch a glimpse of that which we might otherwise miss. If you’re lucky, you might catch a glimpse of Darlene as she really is. You might catch a glimpse of yourself as you really are.’
He baulked, standing frozen just inside the circle. ‘You didn’t tell me we’d be navel gazing.’
‘I told you the rules. Play by them or there’s no deal.’
He moved forward, swallowing the strange combination of fear and arousal he’d felt almost from the moment he entered Sally Haddon’s house.
‘Lie down.’ She nodded to the cushions.
He did as he was told, suddenly finding it difficult to stand. As he nestled into the mound of cushions, the world around him downshifted to slow motion. The tall windows loomed over him like large gaping mouths. The candle flames roared like forest fires. ‘What was in that tea?’ His tongue felt unmanageably thick in his mouth.
‘Just tea. It’s the effect of the spell you’re feeling.’
He forced a chuckle. ‘No eye of newt or hair of bat?’
‘This is sex magic, not Halloween.’
When he managed to focus on her again, she stood over him tall and commanding. Completely naked. For some reason, that didn’t seem strange.
‘Are you going to fuck me?’ he asked as she knelt to unbutton his shirt. It bothered him how badly he hoped she would. Surly he should be thinking only of Darlene.
‘Possibly.’
With a hand he seemed to have little control over, he cupped the witch’s full breasts, his thumb lingering over the heavy press of her nipples. He wanted to taste, but he couldn’t lift his head from the pillows. He managed to raise his hips as she undid his trousers and eased them down over his butt. His balls felt full. His cock stood thick and stiff like the trees outside the window.
It was hard to tell what was real and what was just the result of the spell, and he was well past caring when Sally squatted over his face. She splayed her pussy, smoothed her creaminess onto her fingers and brought it his lips. Her fragrance penetrated the fog. As she slipped her fingers into his mouth, he suckled her taste, breathed her fragrance, and everything became clear, sharply focused.
‘Remember now,’ she spoke inside his head. ‘See clearly, more clearly than you saw the first time. Remember Darlene, be with her again. Pay attention.’