Magus Shift Read online

  “Sorry.”

  Suddenly a fork was hovering in front of her with a segment of sausage on it. It prodded at her mouth and as she opened, it slid delicately inside. She chewed slowly. The second time the fork hovered in front of her, she kept her mouth closed.

  “Not until you eat breakfast, James. You start to eat, and I will.” Her arms crossed against her chest, and she shifted her weight on his lap. He groaned as she rubbed against his swollen erection, and reached for his plate. With deliberate focus, he plowed through the food.

  Satisfied, Isobel opened her mouth and let the hovering fork feed her. The rest of breakfast was quiet and civilized. Cheeves was chuckling to himself as he did the dishes in seconds with a dose of magic and his extra hands.

  She had a feeling that the attentive fork was more the goblin and less the magus, but what the heck. It was as close as his kind would come to a standard human. They found the lack of limbs to be a handicap in bed.

  She had probably impressed him with her obsession with protein. Goblins loved a good carnivore.

  James was finished eating, and Izzy was astonished to see that her plate was empty as well. It floated away, heading for the sink, along with the insistent fork. James’ plate and cutlery followed suit. As coffee floated toward them, she sat, bemused by the casual use of magic that Cheeves was using.

  “James, are we in Realm?” She took what she hoped was a casual sip of coffee, but the grin crossing Cheeves’ face let her know that she had failed miserably.

  He sipped from his own cup of coffee, “No, we are at my private estate in the country. Why?”

  “You and Cheeves seem very casual in your use of magic.” She sighed in repletion and leaned more firmly against him, using him as an armchair. “I was taught to never use magic, unless trying to achieve a specific purpose. My parents almost never used domestic spells.”

  “It must have been due to the slightly unstable nature of your magic. Most magi are fairly relaxed about magic in their own homes. As are the goblins and fairies.” He kept one arm wrapped around her as he finished the coffee.

  “C’mon now. It is time for a tour of the property. You’ll need to be able to find your way around here.” He stood up, and there went her seat. He kept her close by the expedience of an arm around her waist, and began to steer her out onto the patio. The glass doors opened and then closed automatically. She heard nothing, saw no mechanism, and had to conclude that the door was magically charged, as were some other portions of the house.

  She shook her head at the waste of energy. It had been one of her family’s strongest rules, no magic without specific need. She was beginning to suspect now, that the rules that her family had set down had more to do with keeping her off the radar, than conserving energy.

  James had a boyish smile playing across his mouth as he showed her the gardens, the maze, the carefully trimmed hedges, and the expanse of the forest beyond. She gave the appropriate ‘oohs and ahhs’ as they walked along.

  Every time they stopped he looked at her for approval of his home. She felt vaguely amused, and flattered by his attentive nature. She would never have expected him to be so proud of his home, or that her good opinion was important to him.

  It was in the maze that she began to sense that his attraction to her was not quite as fleeting as one would have imagined it to be, given that he was carrying out a family obligation.

  “Isobel, this is a maze built to my specifications. I would like to play a small game with you in it.”

  She was instantly suspicious. “What kind of a game?”

  “Hide and seek.” His eyes were all innocence.

  “Only, hide and seek? Nothing weird?” Her arms crossed over her breasts and she arched one brow.

  “Well, if I catch you. You have to remove a piece of clothing, and if you catch me, I have to do the same.” A small twinkle was creeping into his eyes.

  “How many times have you played this game?”

  “This is a first, but it has been on my mind since I saw you crawl under a desk once to reattach some wires. The sight of your perky ass wiggling as you crawled around on the floor, whew. It was all I could do not to haul you out of there, right then.”

  She blushed as she remembered that particular day. It was his receptionist’s computer, come to think of it; it had come uncoupled several times that week.

  “Was the disconnection that she kept having a persistent problem, or just a freak occurrence? I noted that it stopped as soon as I started to wear slacks to the office.”

  “Well, those tight little skirts that you wore were an awfully tempting thing. I almost banned trousers on women after you changed your clothing preference, but realized that it would be impossible to explain that I wanted to toss my computer tech’s skirt over her hips.”

  “Yikes.” She smoothed her hands down her denim-coated thighs. She tried to divert his attention. “So, uh, how much of a head start will you give me here? And what if I make it through the maze before you?”

  “I will give you to the count of fifty. That should be enough for you to get good and lost.” He gripped her shoulders and aimed her at the granite pillars that bracketed the maze. “And after I count to fifty, I will be coming after that sweet ass of yours. Mark my word.”

  Izzy met his gaze, and noted the heat that had been banked since she woke up starting to stir. She ran into the maze.

  Chapter Six

  James counted to fifty faster than he ever had in his life and moved deliberately into the maze after her.

  “Caught ya!” Around the first corner, Izzy stood with her arms crossed over her chest. “The shoes Sterling. Take ‘em off.”

  “What?”

  “You said that if I caught you, you would remove a piece of clothing, the same for me. So…strip.” An evil grin lit her features as a dawning horror crossed his face.

  “That isn’t what I meant.”

  “Tough. You made the rules. Play fair.”

  “Fine.” With reluctance that was not feigned, he took off his shoes. “Both of them?”

  “Well, you wouldn’t wear just one, would you?”

  “Fine.”

  “Ok, you can count again now.” She smiled and darted away, deep into the maze.

  He shook his head and counted by tens, then ran after her. He stumbled and fell as her foot protruded from under one of the hedges, tripping him.

  “Shirt. Off. Now.” She leaped to his back and straddled him. Slowly, she leaned forward and dragged her fabric-covered breasts up his back. Tugging at the fabric without touching him with her hands.

  He tried to roll, and knocked her onto her side in the lush grass covering the maze. Her hair fell around her and she looked at him through dark lashes. He snarled and stripped off his shirt, leaving the planes of his chest bare.

  “Your rules. You made them up,” And then she was running through the maze again. Listening to the pounding of his feet behind her. She put extra effort into her speed and leaped, landing on top of one of the hedges. She lay flat and waited.

  It was seconds after the leaves of the hedge had stopped swaying that he came pounding around the corner. He moved through the clearing and she still waited. Sure enough, he back-tracked and looked through the clearing thoroughly as he sought his mate.

  She stayed motionless. Each second ticking by was agony. She waited, and he eventually walked through the clearing with a determined look on his face. It would only be a matter of seconds before he used magic to find her. She would have to take his jeans and claim her reward first.

  Lightly and with a great respect for the greenery that was supporting her weight on its slender stems, she moved off the top of the hedge. On silent feet, she stalked him through the maze, each turn a possibility, and then finally she caught sight of him. He stood in the center of the maze, looking into the pool, a pose of reflection and control.

  Silently she crept up behind him, then announced, “Gotcha. Take ‘em off James.”

  He ju
mped and whirled, “How the hell did you do that?”

  “No excuses. Take them off.” She gestured to his jeans and his hands slowly began to unsnap the button.

  “How the hell did you sneak up on me?”

  “I am a talented woman. No stalling.”

  “I didn’t see you in the vision pool. There was no trace of you in the maze at all.” The zipper was slowly lowering and she was watching with undisguised interest. This was the perfect chance to see him in full daylight, buck-naked.

  “Oh, I don’t show up in vision devices. It was a spell my parents put on me when I was a baby. Just because the High Council wouldn’t acknowledge me didn’t mean that no one else would be interested in my talents. I register as a rather large shrub.” She shrugged and gestured for him to continue his disrobing. She was betting that he went commando.

  Oh, she owed herself five bucks. He was gorgeous. “You look much better like this than in a suit. You should run around naked all the time.”

  She could swear that a blush ran across his face. “Uh, thanks.” She almost laughed out loud. It was a little odd to have him at a disadvantage, but she was going to enjoy it.

  “Turn around. The view from the front is very impressive, but I want to check out the full package.”

  Now she knew he was blushing. But he slowly turned at her command, completely caught off-guard by her aggression. He was completely bemused, not at all used to having the tables turned on him. She wanted to keep the upper hand.

  “What the hell is that?” She walked forward as he stood with his back and tight ass facing her. There was a mark over one of his shoulder blades and it looked suspiciously like the one that adorned her shoulder, except it was the Marlin family crest with the glyph over it.

  “It is your family’s mark. It ties us together for the year of the hand-fasting.” She ran her fingers over it and felt the pulse of magic under her hand.

  “When did you get the mark? It wasn’t at the ceremony. I would have noticed.”

  “Your mother planted the marks on both of us, allowing for a true sharing of power once the pixie dust wears off.” He was keeping up the conversation rather well, considering his advanced state of arousal. Her fingers trailing across his shoulder was sending tiny pulses through his nerve endings and her scent was flowing around him.

  “Ah, and that isn’t supposed to be for another day. Right?” Her voice was low as her hands trailed over him and she felt the warmth of the flesh beneath her palms.

  “Yes, the dust has a lifespan of forty-eight hours.” There was a fine trembling in his muscles beneath her hands.

  “Well, what would you say if I told you that my mom burned out one day when she healed me?”

  She had to step back as he whirled to face her. She blinked in surprise as his hands flashed out to grip her arms. “So, right now, you are in full control of your powers?”

  “Yep.” With a tiny surge and a flick of her fingers she was on her butt on the ground. Not the desired landing, but it proved her point.

  “So we are meeting now as equals?”

  “Yes. With everything out in the open.”

  “Fine. Strip.”

  “What?”

  “We are on equal footing right? So strip.”

  A devilish grin lit her face and she took off her shoes, bending over to give him a fantastic view of her ass. She stood and wriggled out of the jeans, putting a bit more wiggle into it than necessary. The panties were next. The t-shirt had fallen to cover it anyway.

  Then the shirt was all that she had on.

  A pearly drop had formed at the end of his cock, and she crossed her arms and inched the shirt up over her hips, then paused. His jaw flexed in frustration as she froze for a moment. Then her short strip-tease continued, drawing the cotton up to below her breasts and then stopping.

  “Aw, shit,” was all she heard when she paused. So she continued, baring her breasts to the breezes and dropping the shirt to the ground. Of course the delicate bra was still in place, but a flick of her fingers and a shrug of her shoulders had it sliding off in no time.

  “Are we even now?” There was a distinct slickness between her thighs, she was just as aroused as he was, and one of them would have to make a move.

  “Yes. We’re equal.” He lifted her in the air and pulled her to his chest. Her legs locked around his waist opening her to him. His first thrust went across her clit and slid through the slick wetness that she was generating. His second found purchase within her and there was no stopping him.

  Deep punching thrusts rocked her to her core as he drove within her. Positioned as she was, his cock slid across her g-spot with every stroke, winding her body tight with sensation.

  Over and over he pounded into her, her nails digging into his shoulders for balance. Finally she shrieked and climaxed, rippling and pulsing around him. Her eyes blinded by the sparks shooting behind her field of vision.

  A shuddering groan from the body still pounding into her let her know that James’ own release had claimed him. The other major clue was his legs buckling beneath them to drop him to the grass, her body on his.

  They stayed like that for hours, until the shifting wind came upon them, waking them from their pleasured stupor.

  James recovered faster than she did. “You know that we’ll need to have my parents over for dinner this weekend.”

  “Yes. You have to introduce me to the Sterling Clan.” She grimaced. “I am not looking forward to it, you know.”

  “I know, but we have to have a sufficient guest list to represent a suitable membership of the clan.”

  “Fine, I’ll arrange for Mom to send me something to wear.” At his look, she added, “Something appropriate, I swear.”

  Chapter Seven

  "Does this look alright?” She turned on her toes and showed off the plunging back of her gown to James. The skin-tight dress left nothing to the imagination.

  His mouth began to water just looking at her. “Where did that dress come from?”

  “Morcalla made it for me. She is one of the premier designers for the magic set. If she wasn’t a goblin, she would have taken New York by storm.”

  “You associate with a spider goblin?”

  “Yep. I have a lot of weird friends that you have yet to meet.”

  He wrapped his arms around her and kissed the side of her neck. “I can’t wait.”

  Her hands wrapped over his arms, prolonging his embrace.

  “Do we really need to have your family over tonight?” Her eyes met his in the mirror.

  “Yes, you need to be introduced to the Warlock Clan leader as well.” He gave her a squeeze and then snaked one hand around to pat her ass. “After tonight, it will be months before we have to do this again.”

  “Is it time?” She sighed, letting the construction of the dress contain her cleavage.

  “It is. Cheeves is showing them in.” His eyes went vague for a moment then he nodded. “They’re all here.”

  “Do they transport directly into the house?”

  “No, I have a segregated area for that. No one can come in unannounced except myself, and now you.”

  “Ah, you had the Warders in?”

  “Yep, as soon as I had the house built. Anryn Warder came in and had the whole thing done in two days.”

  “Is it your life that is bonded, or hers?”

  “Mine. I had to meditate for days, but it is my life force that drives the wards.”

  While they had this polite conversation, he began to escort her down the stairs. A group of Warlocks was clustered around the base of the stairs, waiting to greet them. At the fourth stair from the bottom they stopped.

  “Ladies and gentlemen, I would like to present my mate for the next year, Isobel Marlin. Daughter of Isobel and Sirus Marlin, and one of the strongest mages in the modern world.” He held her hand and she curtsied to the crowd.

  “Mother, Father, please greet my mate.”

  The split emotions of the couple befor
e them astonished Izzy. He seemed happy for his son’s choice but she looked ready to spit nails.

  The distinguished man who stepped forward smiled warmly at her, “Pleased to meet you Isobel. My name is Arthur, this is my wife Electra.”

  The elegant woman at his side had a distinctly unwelcome look to her face. “So, this is the hedge brat who has taken my son.”

  The room gasped at this, a few titters of amusement rippled through those gathered. Izzy squared her shoulders. “Yes, but don’t worry. I am only trying him on for size.”

  She smiled archly and brushed her breasts against his arm, “So far, he fits. Shall we go in to dinner?”

  “Of course, my dear. And thanks for that in front of my grandmother. She was worried I was gay.” James brushed his lips across her forehead and led her into the dining room where he held out her chair for her.

  “I think my father harbored similar fears,” was whispered into her ear and she had to keep herself from laughing.

  Before he left her, she gripped his sleeve, “Cheeves made all this, I hope? I don’t fancy being poisoned by your mother.”

  “Yes, he did. And she would never poison you, she’d use a dagger.” With a saucy wink, he took his place at the head of the table and waited for their guests to seat themselves.

  The dinner itself was conducted in stony silence. There were no other sounds aside from china being struck by metal. Course by course, the dinner continued. Izzy was amazed that she could eat with all of the hostile looks aimed at her over napkins and utensils.

  With little effort, she plowed through the food set before her by an oddly formal Cheeves. It was his repulsive face that kept her smile on and James’ calm presence that kept her from bolting. It was nearing eleven o’clock by the time the meal concluded.

  Finally the last dessert dish was cleared and napkins were tossed onto the table.

  “Shall we adjourn to the parlor?” James stood and came around to move Izzy’s chair for her once again.

  “Certainly, just let me get my back to the wall.” Her murmur did not go undetected, but the clan leader who heard her only smiled slightly.