STORY EXCERPT

Who are you, and what do you want with me?”

Dakota didn’t feel threatened by them, but still sent out a warning blast of magic, just like always when she met people for the first time. She was wary of strangers—even strangers that looked like Greek gods—and slow to trust. She was astonished when her magic bounced right back at her, stunning her like she’d been jolted with a cattle prod. She looked at the taller guy, the one with the flowing black locks, with a combination of bewilderment and suspicion. She narrowed her eyes at him, convinced he was the one who’d broken through her protective ward and gotten this close to her. That hadn’t happened before.

“Steady, we’re not here to harm you. I’m Blaise Xanadu, and this is Scott Locasta.” Blaise, the guy she’d already identified as a card-carrying alpha male, held his hands toward her, palms first, in a gesture of appeasement. “We’re from headquarters in New York.”

“Xanadu?” Dakota scowled, feeling a combination of bewilderment and anxiety. Even she knew that name. “What have I done to deserve a visit from witch royalty? Have you come about Belinda?”

“Belinda?”

Dakota’s hope dwindled when Blaise looked baffled.

“I guess not.”

Dakota folded her arms beneath her breasts, taking a moment to appreciate the view. No harm in window shopping. She was off men, not dead. Her senses remained on high alert, despite the fact that they seemed non-threatening. Blaise’s magic was stronger than hers—he could overpower her both physically and psychically if he felt so inclined—but she would still know if he was one of the bad guys.

Probably.

Dakota mulled the situation over. If he really was who he claimed to be, then he was definitely on the side of the good guys. The Xanadu family’s reputation was the stuff of legends. Dakota, a loner, had heard the odd snippet about them from other witches she’d encountered along the way. Belinda was positively hung up on them, and it seemed her tales of their physical attributes had not been exaggerated.

“So, what can I do for you?”

“Can we know your name?”

“You’re here, and don’t know my name?” Dakota sent them a wary look. “How come?”

“Long story, but you can trust us. Check with HQ if you have any doubts.”

Dakota sensed that they wouldn’t leave her be until they’d done whatever they’d come for. Besides, for a person who always craved solitude, she felt unaccountably isolated all of a sudden, and didn’t especially want them to go. “I’m Dakota Garnet,” she said. “Come inside where it’s cooler, just about, and tell me what you need from me.”

Dakota led them into the main room, where she kept the shades drawn down during the mornings when the sun hit the windows. She lifted them now, and the guys got a view of her land, planted as far as the eye could see with herbs and vegetables.

“You’re an herb witch?” Scott asked.

Dakota shrugged. “I guess. Get you some lemonade?”

“Thanks.”

She took the jug from the fridge and poured three glasses. The guys thanked her and took cautious sips, after which they both smiled their appreciation. There, see, bet they don’t make it like that in the big city. They all sat down in the worn easy chairs, the guys sharing a settee across from Dakota’s recliner.

“Now then.” She leaned forward, ignoring the strong, persistent, and highly annoying physical attraction she felt toward them. Dakota was doing just fine alone and didn’t need those types of complications in her life. She’d tried hooking up with a guy who she thought was different one time, and that had not ended well. “What’s this about?”

“You’re not registered with the consortium.” Blaise eyed her speculatively. “Most witches choose to be, for their own protection. You’re not part of any coven we’ve been able to find, either.”

“No law against that. I prefer my own company. Besides, I can’t believe that a member of the powerful Xanadu clan has come all this way down here just to enforce a voluntary registration law.”

“Tell me about yourself.”

Blaise leaned back, draping one arm down the side of the couch and one leg over his opposite thigh, totally relaxed, whereas she was a bundle of nervous uncertainty, which pissed her off. This was her house, and Blaise Xanadu had no business strolling into it and taking over. Worse yet, she now had an up-close view of his crotch, and couldn’t seem to tear her eyes away. Hell, that wasn’t like her! She felt mortified, aware of her cheeks warming when he sent her a cocky grin. Was he using his magic to draw attention to his admittedly impressive attributes? What a jerk!

The other guy, Scott, seemed less assertive but just as easy on the eye. Looking at him didn’t help to distract her wayward thoughts—just the opposite—so she studiously concentrated the rug beneath her feet instead. At least that didn’t send her mind on a persistently inappropriate detour.

“Why?” Dakota sent him a combative look. Two could play at one-upmanship.

“Humor me.”

She shrugged. “Not much to tell.” She gave a brief account of her upbringing, including her parents’ frowned-upon marriage, and the affection she felt for the couple who had taken her under their wing in the tribe, acting in parentis loco.

“I’m sorry you lost your birth parents,” Blaise said softly, sounding sincere in his regrets. “What happened?”

She shrugged. “The details are sketchy. A hunting accident, I was told.”

“Your mom went out hunting with the guys?” Scott looked skeptical. “I don’t mean to sound sexist, but is that normal?”

“I guess. I remember some of the woman joining the hunting parties during the season. Not that Native Americans have to depend upon killing their own food nowadays. No one in this country does, but a hell of a lot of them still do it.” She shrugged. “I don’t know the details of my parents’ accident. By the time I was old enough to ask questions, no one was willing to talk about it.”

“Do you still mix with the tribe?” Scott asked.

“Yeah, sure. From time to time, but they’re keen on me settling down to domestic bliss. There’s a guy who’s persistent, but I’ve made it clear that I’m not interested.”

“So you work with kids.”

Dakota didn’t bother to ask how they knew. “Not anymore. I just quit.”

ADULT EXCERPT

“Do you have something to ask me, Dakota?”

“Yes, Sir. Please punish me. I deserve it. I broke the rules.”

“Don’t move a muscle, or there will be consequences.”

Blaise felt like he could conquer the world when he looked down at two asses that were his for the taking. Hers small and firm. Scott’s, just so goddamned gorgeous that Blaise sometimes thought the guy was a figment of his overactive imagination. No one was that perfect. Blaise brought the flogger down over Dakota harder than had been his intention, but apart from a low hiss, she didn’t make a sound or move an inch. She exceeded his expectations, so he repeated the punishment a little harder. And then harder still. Her body was bathed in perspiration, which probably made the thongs sting more. Her ass was crisscrossed with red marks, so he gave her a break and turned his attention to Scott, who got the flogger with as much force as Blaise could muster. Six times in quick succession.

“Turn over, both of you.” They did so, and lay back over the table. “Spread your legs wide, Dakota.” When she did so, he brought the flogger down over her pussy several times. “Want it over your tits?”

“Please, Sir.” She panted the words. “Like it a lot. Who knew? Well, I guess you did.”

Blaise obliged, worried that he’d gotten carried away and taken her too far, until he saw the fiery arousal in her eyes. He used magic to rope her to the table on her side, and fixed a ball gag in her mouth.

“Slap the table if it gets too much, and we’ll stop.” Dakota nodded. “Scott, you have her cunt. Give the greedy little witch what she needs.”

“Thank you, Master.”

Scott slid alongside her, sucking a ripe nipple into his mouth, teasing it between his teeth. Blaise used magic to remove the sting of his flogger, leaving her lovely flesh unmarked, and making her more receptive to Scott’s ministrations. He could sense her frustration because he’d tied her in such a way that she couldn’t move her hands enough to touch him. Nor could she reach him with her smart mouth. Being passive didn’t sit comfortably with their gorgeous little sub in training, but it was an important concept for her to grasp.

Scott’s hands worked their way down her body, slow to reach her pussy. Blaise climbed up behind her, pressed his body hard against her back, inhaling her fresh, witchy scent as he circled her anus with a lubed finger.

“Let me in, darlin’,” he said in a gravelly voice, when she resisted him. “Once Scott’s fucked you senseless, it’s my turn, and you will let me fuck your ass because we’ll have your full attention. Never doubt it.”

He plastered kisses all across her shoulders and licked his way down her spinal column, distracting her to such a degree that his finger easily found ingress past her tight muscle. Scott’s cock was now deep inside her cunt, and Dakota greedily pushed her groin forward to encourage him deeper, mumbling around the side of the gag. Blaise chuckled, pleased that she was willing to go after what she wanted—no inhibitions necessary.

Blaise slid a second finger into her backside, slow and easy.

“Condom, Scott!” Blaise ordered, realizing at the last minute that he hadn’t suited up.

Dakota moaned around the gag when Scott withdrew from her. Blaise flipped his wrist, and a condom wrapped itself around Scott’s engorged cock.

“There you go, big guy. Best give the lady your full attention again. Looks like she’s missin’ you already.”

“Yes, Sir!”

Scott sank into her again, and set up a pulsating rhythm.

“Shit, she’s tight!” he said, through gritted teeth. “Think I might be hurting her.”

Dakota shook her head vigorously from side to side, reassuring both men.

“Reckon not,” Blaise said, chuckling as he added a third finger to her backside. He sensed Scott up the pace of his thrusts, grunting with the effort he put into it. Dakota moved in perfect synchrony with him, loving the attention she was getting from the pair of them. Blaise gauged the moment when she was on the point of orgasm, and summoned up an experience-enhancing misty bubble that enveloped the three of them.

She mumbled around the gag, thrashing from side to side, as her orgasm blossomed. Scott grunted, gave a couple of harder thrusts, and joined her.

“Shit!” he cried.

Blaise whisked her bonds off by magic and elevated the pair of them off the table, holding them there and prolonging their pleasure by the sheer force of his superior magic.

“Fuck!” Scott muttered.