My hand glides slowly down my stomach. I pull my chemise up to expose my upper thighs and the place between them. My other hand squeezes my breast as I picture Thorne’s light wrapping around my body, restraining me while he touches me, licks me, kisses me. I imagine the firm and tentative pressure I apply to my clit are his fingers, his tongue.

I’m instantly slick, and I increase the pressure, rubbing circles around that sensitive spot, switching direction every few rotations. I pinch my nipple, and a soft moan escapes me as I see him biting down on that rosy peak. His eyes haunt my vision, and they ignite with desire in my imagination.

I slip one finger inside, pumping in and out several times before running my fingers up and over the bud of nerves. My body clenches in anticipation. Thorne slowly slips my chemise strap down, kissing the nape of my neck and down my arm. I run my hands through his hair, and he moans. I moan in return.

His words and the deep way he says my name replay in my mind. Let me be a real ally to you. Tell me you feel whatever this is between us. Witchling. Laurel.

The pressure builds. I’m tracing circles hard and fast now, picturing Thorne pumping his own cock next to me. In my head, he enters me, and I reach the edge. My body is warm everywhere, pleasure creeping slowly through my limbs. I don’t stop, circling harder. I pinch my nipple again, bringing a biting sting to the sensitive peak. My hips lift, and I cry out as the wave of pleasure crests and washes over me.

I’m panting, thoughts still on Thorne. I roll over in my bed, curling up, and fall asleep instantly.

Hawthorne

The Witch Queen soars across the world at night like a phantom, seeking the hearts of children to keep her blood magic powered. She can sense when a child is out of bed, for their blood pulses faster in their veins. She will smell them out, then swoop down from the sky and steal the child away in the night. She takes them back to her gothic castle, oozing with all the rotten blood that she has spilled, and they never see their families again.

Velmaran Book of Children’s Stories

When Laurel appears the next morning, I’m surprised. She usually makes up an excuse to avoid seeing me multiple days in a row. I instantly jump out of my seat to greet her, but my eagerness has her shying away. So I pull back, remembering her insistence that nothing can happen between us.