Sunday, December 13, 2015

Blog Hop - A Perfect Man for Christmas - part 12

A Perfect Man for Christmas
An erotic serial in 12 parts
Blog HOP

 12th Day of Christmas
by Brenna Zinn



Morgan, curses, debts, a perfect man, sacrifice…

Morgan, curses, debts, a perfect man, sacrifice…

Try as she might to search for the perfect man, all Wynter’s thoughts focused on Morgan, curses, debts, a perfect man, and sacrifice. Again and again, the mantra replayed in a tireless loop through her mind as though the words themselves held the key to solving her predicament.

If only such a thing were possible.

Wynter rubbed her slim neck, fully appreciating her entire body being in one piece. Michael wouldn’t really cut off her head at the solstice festival if she failed her task, would he? With Morgan, that tricky witch, demanding her dues from him, did he have a choice?

She pondered the second question, not truly knowing the answer.

A cold wind blew down the street, lifting and tossing the red and gold stands of her long hair in the air. Above her, the sun peaked in the brilliant blue sky on this, the shortest day of the year. The winter solstice. Time was running out. In a few short hours, the alignment of the stars, moon, and planets with the solstice festival would take place.

She still needed to find the perfect man.

The sad fact of the matter was, she knew the perfect guy. And, if she were completely honest with herself, she loved him. Tall, handsome, magical and kinky as hell, Michael was the perfect man…for her. He would easily be too much for a normal human woman, but she was none of those things aside from the woman part. As a phoenix shifter, she was as far from being a normal human as Santa Claus. Well, actually more. And although she could be reborn from her ashes, she’d need to wait at least 500 years to be mature enough to fly, let alone have sex again with Michael. Where was the fun in that? Five hundred years was too freaking long to wait.

Why hadn’t she realized she loved him before? She’d picked a hell of a time, or lack thereof, to finally figure that out.

Morgan, curses, debts, a perfect man, sacrifice…

There has to be a way out of this mess.

When did this crazy situation start? How did it start? Where could she find the answers? Not from Michael or Morgan. They’d never tell her. Her family had gone deep into hiding almost a thousand years ago. No way of knowing where they were to ask them. Phoenix shifters tended to stay to themselves, even away from other shifter family members. Hard to catch and hard to hold. That was their way and always had been.

When she arrived home, she stomped the snow from her boots and tossed her coat aside, determined to find some miracle that would keep her head atop her shoulders. After pouring herself a glass of wine, she pulled the heavy Five Golden Rings tome from its place on the shelf and settled in for some serious researching. Page after page, she combed through each spell and the various handwritten notes on the margins, losing herself in the familiar magic. Then she came across a page she’d never noticed before. Not once since she’d been given the tome so many centuries ago had she seen its red and green print or the colorful illustration of an oak mistletoe branch.

Oak mistletoe, she recalled, was sacred. The plant bestowed life and fertility, and was considered a powerful aphrodisiac. The berries and stiff barbed leaves had been regarded as a sexual symbol throughout history.

It was also Michael’s sigil.

She flipped the page back and forth several times, trying to make sense of the extra sheet. The spell on the page before and the notes on the page after were ones she’d read dozens of times. How had she possibly overlooked this particular spell all these years?

She leaned in and read the first paragraph of the unfamiliar page. Then the second, and then the third. Each word caused her heart to beat a fraction harder. By the time she’d finished the page, it thudded deep in her chest as though being pounded by twelve drummers drumming

The hell?

Michael’s beast of a car roared in her driveway, pulling her attention from the book. She glanced at the clock. Exactly four o’clock. He was on time, as always.
Wynter met him at the door, her heart still hammering.

Why didn’t you tell me?” she asked before he stepped into her house. With a shaking finger, she pointed to Five Golden Rings tome on the table. “Why was this-all of this--kept from me?”

His eyebrows knitted, creating a deep valley between his emerald eyes.

I’m not sure what you’re talking about. Tell you what?”

I read the spell, Michael, and the notes. I know.”

Spell?”

Don’t play stupid with me.” She swallowed back the strong emotions rising within her. “Not now.”

For a brief moment, he looked as though he might attempt to carry on his charade of confusion, then he shook his head and smiled wanly. “If you’ve seen the page, the time has come for us to talk.” He took her hand and led her to the couch in the living room. “Here. 

Take a seat. You may need it.”

They both sat, still holding hands, she at the edge of the seat. Despite his palm warm against her skin, her insides pricked and shivered as though exposed to frigid gusts of wind.

Do you remember me before I stole the tome?”

His question caught her off guard.

No. What does that matter?”

Everything.” He sucked in a long breath and slowly released it. “Before I stole the Five Golden Rings tome, I was a mortal man. We lived in the same hamlet back in England. I would see you each day when you walked by the fields I worked in. I knew from the moment I first saw you,” he stopped for a moment and stared longingly into her eyes, “that I loved you.”

You love me?

His unexpected confession sent a jolt of electricity down her spine 
that sizzled through her arms and legs, making sitting upright difficult. She braced herself with her free hand, her body swaying slightly. She started to speak, but he placed a finger on her mouth.

Let me finish. There’s much to say.” He cleared his throat. “You never noticed me. So beautiful, wild and free, why would you? I was a simple farmer’s son. But 

I knew I had to have you. That I would die a thousand deaths to make you my own. So, I went to Morgan, the most powerful witch in the country, and asked for her help.”

Wynter felt her eyes widen.

She told me you were a magical being, and that you could never be with a human man. The only way I could have you was to become a magical being too. 

She said she would do this for me under three conditions. I would have to provide a perfect man to sate her appetite each solstice when stars, moon, and planets all aligned. And, the perfect man would have to be selected by you, my chosen love. If you failed your task, I would have to behead you.”
A gasp escaped from her mouth. “That is how this all started?”

He nodded. “There’s more. To complete my transformation, I would need to give her the tome. She needed a spell within it. Once she had the book and the deed was done, she used magic to hide the page. Morgan said that only when you fell in love with me would my debt be paid in full and the page would be revealed.”

Unbidden tears welled and slid down her face.

I’m so sorry, Wynter.” Michel brushed her wet cheek. “I loved you for so long and wanted you with all my heart. At the time, I would have done anything to make you mine. I never meant to cause you any harm, but there was no other way.”

Too choked with emotion to speak, she simply shook her head.

Now that you know the truth, can you ever forgive me?”

He spoke in a voice wracked with concern. Pain and worry filled his eyes. In all their years together, she’d never seen him so wretched. His clear suffering both touched her heart and tore at her soul. At that moment she couldn’t imagine anyone loving someone more than she loved him.

Michael opened his mouth to speak, but this time it was she that quieted him by placing her lips on his. She wrapped her arms around his neck and he drew her in close, deepening their kiss. When they finally parted, she smiled.

Morgan’s going to be pissed,” she said, still finding her breath. 

“She’s not going to be sated with my help tonight or ever again.”

You forgive me?”

Wynter grabbed his hand and stood. “You’ve got a lot of sucking up to do. A lot.” 

She pulled him up and headed to the bedroom. “And I think I know the perfect way to start your penance. This is the longest night of the year, and you won’t be sleeping one second of it. Just be careful of all the feathers when we get in there. 

If you ever buy me another bird for Christmas, I’ll personally make sure you get on your hands and knees cleaning up after it. Then again, having you on your hands and knees doesn’t sound too bad.”

THE END


Check of Brenna's books at http://www.brennazinn.com/ 


Merry Christmas to all and to all a good night...

 
The authors have hoped you enjoyed

 this erotic tale in 12 parts!  

Check out their other amazing

works and thank you to all the blogs

 that participated in the blog hop.



 
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