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Authors: Anne Bishop
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waxed paper. Swallowing her distaste, she unwrapped it and dumped the two pieces into her hand.
“It’s just a fancy, a brown-sugar candy with some love magic added to it,” she said quietly while she studied the horse. “I’ve checked it with every bit of magic I know, and there’s nothing in it that would do harm. Except the love magic if it’s denied, but the magic’s binding on the female, not the male. It won’t hurt you .”
The stallion pricked his ears. He didn’t approach her, but at least he didn’t bolt.
It won’t hurt you.
The thought took root, making her a little dizzy. “I didn’t know what it was when Granny Gwynn dropped it into my hand. By then it was too late because, as soon as I touched it, I was bound to the magic. But Granny Gwynn did say the first male I met on the night of the full moon, not the first man .
Oh, she meant the first man, but that wasn’t what she said .” That was the problem with all of Granny Gwynn’s spells. They were always phrased in a way that something could go wrong. But that might work to her advantage tonight. If she used the fancy based on what Granny Gwynn said rather than what was meant . ... “I don’t suppose sugar is all that good for a horse, but old Ahern gives his horses a lump of sugar as a treat now and then, and this isn’t much bigger.”
Not giving herself time to think about what might happen if she was wrong about the importance of the spell’s wording, Ari stuffed the paper back into her pocket, kept the brown-sugar phallus in her left hand and held out the full-bodied woman in her right. She licked her lips, then took a deep breath. “With this fancy, I promise my affection from the full moon to the dark. This I swear by the Lord of the Sun and the Lady of the Moon. May they never again shine upon me if I do not fulfill my promise.”
The stallion froze.
Ari waited. The air seemed to get thicker, making it hard to breathe, making it hard to think clearly.
There was something about the horse. Something that wasn’t quite right, but . . . He had beautiful gray eyes. And he was so big, so strong. Would he let her pet him, let her feel the ripple of muscles under that warm skin?
She felt strange. Why did she feel so strange? Was the magic in the fancy doing this to her?
Coming forward warily, the horse sniffed the fancy for several long seconds before he took it.
Ari popped the other piece into her mouth and tried not to gag.
It was just a piece of candy, no matter how it was shaped. But it reminded her of Royce’s anger when she’d refused to take him into her mouth as a prelude to the coupling. It reminded her of the way he’d laughed at her when he was done and the cruel things he’d called her before he walked away.
The candy melting on her tongue made her queasy so she chewed a couple of times and swallowed.
Pressing her hand to her stomach, she gulped air and waited for the queasiness to pass.
“Well, that’s done,” Ari sighed a minute later, “and it’s a better bargain than I would have made with any of the men in Ridgeley. So, my handsome lad, if your wanderings bring you to my cottage, you’ll be welcomed. And you won’t even have to wander far since it’s the cottage closest to Ahern’s farm.” She giggled with relief. “The rooms might be bit crowded with you filling them up, and I’ve not the slightest idea how those great legs of yours would fit into my bed, which is where I’m supposed to give you my affection, but a promise is a promise. Not that that would be of much interest to you.”
The stallion snorted delicately.
Ari stroked his cheek. “But that’s only one kind of affection, isn’t it?” she said softly as her hand traveled down the strong neck. She fingercombed the long mane. “There are other kinds, aren’t there? Like friendship. That’s something I could give with a willing heart.”
Oh, she liked petting him. Liked feeling his warmth under her hand. Liked the way
“It’s just a fancy, a brown-sugar candy with some love magic added to it,” she said quietly while she studied the horse. “I’ve checked it with every bit of magic I know, and there’s nothing in it that would do harm. Except the love magic if it’s denied, but the magic’s binding on the female, not the male. It won’t hurt you .”
The stallion pricked his ears. He didn’t approach her, but at least he didn’t bolt.
It won’t hurt you.
The thought took root, making her a little dizzy. “I didn’t know what it was when Granny Gwynn dropped it into my hand. By then it was too late because, as soon as I touched it, I was bound to the magic. But Granny Gwynn did say the first male I met on the night of the full moon, not the first man .
Oh, she meant the first man, but that wasn’t what she said .” That was the problem with all of Granny Gwynn’s spells. They were always phrased in a way that something could go wrong. But that might work to her advantage tonight. If she used the fancy based on what Granny Gwynn said rather than what was meant . ... “I don’t suppose sugar is all that good for a horse, but old Ahern gives his horses a lump of sugar as a treat now and then, and this isn’t much bigger.”
Not giving herself time to think about what might happen if she was wrong about the importance of the spell’s wording, Ari stuffed the paper back into her pocket, kept the brown-sugar phallus in her left hand and held out the full-bodied woman in her right. She licked her lips, then took a deep breath. “With this fancy, I promise my affection from the full moon to the dark. This I swear by the Lord of the Sun and the Lady of the Moon. May they never again shine upon me if I do not fulfill my promise.”
The stallion froze.
Ari waited. The air seemed to get thicker, making it hard to breathe, making it hard to think clearly.
There was something about the horse. Something that wasn’t quite right, but . . . He had beautiful gray eyes. And he was so big, so strong. Would he let her pet him, let her feel the ripple of muscles under that warm skin?
She felt strange. Why did she feel so strange? Was the magic in the fancy doing this to her?
Coming forward warily, the horse sniffed the fancy for several long seconds before he took it.
Ari popped the other piece into her mouth and tried not to gag.
It was just a piece of candy, no matter how it was shaped. But it reminded her of Royce’s anger when she’d refused to take him into her mouth as a prelude to the coupling. It reminded her of the way he’d laughed at her when he was done and the cruel things he’d called her before he walked away.
The candy melting on her tongue made her queasy so she chewed a couple of times and swallowed.
Pressing her hand to her stomach, she gulped air and waited for the queasiness to pass.
“Well, that’s done,” Ari sighed a minute later, “and it’s a better bargain than I would have made with any of the men in Ridgeley. So, my handsome lad, if your wanderings bring you to my cottage, you’ll be welcomed. And you won’t even have to wander far since it’s the cottage closest to Ahern’s farm.” She giggled with relief. “The rooms might be bit crowded with you filling them up, and I’ve not the slightest idea how those great legs of yours would fit into my bed, which is where I’m supposed to give you my affection, but a promise is a promise. Not that that would be of much interest to you.”
The stallion snorted delicately.
Ari stroked his cheek. “But that’s only one kind of affection, isn’t it?” she said softly as her hand traveled down the strong neck. She fingercombed the long mane. “There are other kinds, aren’t there? Like friendship. That’s something I could give with a willing heart.”
Oh, she liked petting him. Liked feeling his warmth under her hand. Liked the way
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