The Witching Hour

Chapter 9 - Honesty

Ivy watched him as he turned the device into the cork and slowly twisted it out. She rounded the counter keeping her eyes locked on his until she stood beside him. Hunter's breath hitched as he turned toward her. She moved so her body was between his knees and rested a hand on his chest. Their eyes remained locked on one another, and a feral need rushed over her. The burning in the pit her of stomach flared up, growing as restrained herself from him.

In the blink of an eye, the two collided and became one. Hunter's hands found her backside and gave it hard squeeze. She pushed herself further against him and felt that he wanted this as badly as she did. She navigated them to the bedroom all the while stealing kisses. They almost didn't make it, opting for the couch, but she thought better of it. Guests do sit there after all.

Once they arrived in the bedroom, she pushed him down and pulled his sweats down. Hunter took care of his own shirt, tossing it to the side. Ivy crawled onto him and straddled his waist. His hands roamed over her shirt and found their way back to the curve of her hips. They danced gleefully, snapping the lace of her underwear.

Ivy held his face with both her hands as her lips moved in sync with his. She bit at his bottom lip to let her in and their tongues soon danced as one. A hand moved to tangle itself in his hair to deepen the embrace. Ivy lost herself in the act and forgot about the events of the day. For a moment, she was just a human making love with her boyfriend. She sat back on his hips, shuddering as she could very much feel him, and pulled her shirt over her curls.

As the shirt landed on the floor, all the energy that had been building up was sucked out of the room. Hunter's mouth hung open, not at the beauty that was Ivy but at the little burns that littered her body. Ivy completely misread the vibe and bent over to kiss him, as her hand reached underneath his boxers. Hunter groaned as her hand reached him but also as he had to push her away. What he saw trumped this moment. He moved deftly and quicker than she ever could so that he was across the room, his back against the windows. Ivy sat defeated on the bed looking up at him quizzically.

"What's wrong?" She pouted, letting her arms fall to her side. She felt no need to cover herself considering the moment. His eyes racked her body taking in every fresh, still healing burn that covered her arms. To be fair, there were a lot more of that today than usual. Ivy didn't want to bug Aura and have her swing by Anne's Apothecary for the healing ointment she was using.

Hunter's chest rose to speak, but it deflated without a word. He exhaled sharply through his nose, jaw clenching. Ivy knew what he would say before he even said it. Waiting for a comment, she rose from the bed and grabbed her silk robe, tying it around her waist. She left him in the bedroom as she returned to the bottle of wine.

Her boyfriend didn't dawdle and followed hastily behind her. His angry footsteps pounded on the floor and came to a halt as she lazily crossed her legs with a glass of wine in hand on the barstool.

"Burns, why are you covered in them?" He huffed out, crossing his arms over his chest.

"You know why," she retorted taking a sip of her wine. "Training, I'm in the middle of training."

"I thought you had given all of that up." Hunter narrowed his eyes, his lips growing narrower by the second.

"I had." Ivy's usual expressive eyes stayed neutral. "I'm back at it now though."

"Ivy," Hunter breathed, his hands falling to his side, "Magic only brings trouble, especially with you involved."

"No it doesn't," Ivy shot back. "It also brings life and some sense of happiness."

"Oh, does it now?" Hunter stole her glass for a sip.

Her eyes narrowed into slits, rage seething under the surface. In the back of her head, she felt the vines twisting toward, slithering against the wall out of his sight. She knew if he saw them he would use it as evidence against her, pointing out her lack of control of her plants. While still somewhat true, she better controlled them once she sensed them.