Who: Zania and Gabriel Where: The Castell House When: Morning, Saturday, January 21 Warning: NSFW Status: in progress
Zania could tell she still had a mild headache, even before she opened her eyes, and her first inclination was to roll over and go back to sleep. But her body ached, a reminder of last night’s events, and she opened her eyes, deciding that she really did want that shower now. That she’d gone to bed without one was a testament to how much the ritual had taken out of her, but she was ready to move on and put it behind her as soon as possible. She stretched slowly, groaning as she pulled herself up to a sitting position, then twisted to face Gabriel with the intention of telling him she was going to hop in the shower. Instead she just stared, captivated by the aura surrounding him in the morning light. It was so much more vibrant now and she reached out to touch it, curious to see if she could feel anything magically if her fingers passed through it, but it just felt like his skin, soft and warm. If there was a magical property to it, she couldn’t feel it.
It had been a long night, with more emotional involvement than Gabriel had really anticipated. Even after he’d gotten Zania to bed, there was more work to be done. He and Nic had moved the dead doe in her tarp out of their proper yard and closer to the woods. Gabriel had cast a spell to create the hole, one that involved calling on all of the creepy-crawlies in the earth to dig down and move the dirt. It had taken a little while, but not nearly as long as digging would have, and they didn’t have to put their backs into it. By the time he’d stripped and crawled into bed with Zania, he was exhausted, and fell asleep within seconds. Gabriel slept deep, with mostly neutral dreams, which he would definitely appreciate later. Some subconscious part of him was aware of all Zania’s moving around, and he had started to wake up when she touched him. That brought him all the way around, and Gabriel drew in a deeper breath and opened his eyes. “Mmph ... mornin’,” he mumbled.
“Hey,” Zania said, offering him a small smile. He was still there, after everything. It kind of amazed her. It wasn’t that she didn’t have faith in him, but she was pretty certain that every other guy she’d ever dated would have been ready to check out by now. The everyday Point Pleasant crazy was bad enough, but last night had been insane. And yet, he was still there. “Sleep okay?” she asked, watching as his aura seemed to shift around her fingers. Even though she couldn’t feel it, it looked like it could respond to her. Now that she was really paying attention, she noticed she had one of her own, a dim red glow that came and went. Had that been there last night? She felt like she would have noticed.
The night before had been pretty nuts even by Gabriel’s experienced standards, but he wasn’t someone who quit on people. He’d gotten attached to Zania fairly quickly, seeing a kindred wild spirit in her, and fucking off into the wild blue yonder because shit had hit the fan wasn’t his style. He was just glad it was over now and he’d been able to help. Gabriel stretched a bit but didn’t pull away from the touch, rather enjoying waking up to it. “Pretty solid,” he murmured, shifting in a bit closer and gazing up at her. “You?” Gabriel hoped so. She really deserved a good rest after everything. They all did, but Zania had been the center of it all. Gabriel slid his hand closer under the covers to brush his fingers against her leg.
“Same,” Zania answered, and wished she could just enjoy the cuddling and make it a lazy morning in bed. But the headache wasn’t likely to go away on its own and she was still too achey to really enjoy lounging around like she wanted to. “Still got a little bit of a headache, but that should be easy enough to fix,” she said, lightly brushing her fingers along his arm. “So… I didn’t say anything last night, ‘cause I was hoping it would go away, but… I’m seeing auras, or something. Around you and Nic. And me. It’s weird.” She didn’t really know what to make of it. It was curious, and maybe a bit annoying, but it didn’t seem like a huge problem yet.
Gabriel’s brow furrowed a touch as Zania spoke. Anything she’d kept from them on purpose didn’t sound like a good thing. What she actually said definitely wasn’t something he expected to hear. He pushed himself up and scooted back so he could sit up and look at her more directly. “Auras? That’s weird for sure ... what do they look like?” he asked, kind of fascinated along with being worried. Any change that was still hanging around hours after the ritual was over was something to be concerned about, but if her headache was only mild, Gabriel really hoped it wasn’t a terrible thing.
Although she probably should have told them last night, Zania didn’t want to worry Gabriel and Nic unnecessarily. It was still possible that this was just a form of backlash related to what she’d had to endure, which was common with spells that knocked you on your ass. “Kind of like a light emitting from your skin, except it’s not actually light and clothing doesn’t seem to restrict it. It’s like… it kind of reminds me of something you’d see in the ocean, like you’ve got transparent green seaweed slowly waving around you,” she said with a little laugh. She didn’t know how to appropriately describe it. If she’d been an artist, she might have tried to draw it, but she was pretty sure a stick figure with squiggles around them wasn’t going to illustrate anything but her lack of artistic ability.
“Oh wow,” Gabriel murmured, glancing down at his own skin like he’d be able to see it suddenly. He couldn’t, of course, but he thought it sounded cool-looking, at least. If his aura was going to look like anything, transparent green seaweed felt pretty accurate. “Did Nic’s look the same?” he asked. It was possible it was just some weird effect on her eyes, but if his and Nic’s were different, Gabriel thought that might be more solid indication that she was actually seeing auras. Zania’s eyes were still mildly bloodshot, but not nearly as bad as they’d been the night before. It just looked like she was tired now, instead of like she’d almost burst her eyeballs.
“No, his was dark blue, almost purple,” Zania said. She wanted a better look at it now, in the daylight, when her head didn’t feel like someone was running a jackhammer inside it. She had some ideas of what the colors meant, but she’d only been around witches so far. If normal humans were the same colors, then it could just be coincidence. “I have one too, but it’s much dimmer, like a soft red glow.” She ran her hands over her face, rubbing her eyes even though she knew that wasn’t going to help anything. If anything, it would probably make them start hurting again. “I mean, it makes sense? The spell allowed me to see a demon. I just hope this doesn’t mean I’m going to start seeing every bizarre thing that’s lurking around this town.”
Gabriel nodded a little -- it definitely sounded like magical logic to him. The last part made him blow some air out through his lips and shake his head, one hand coming up to rub at his face. “Shit, me too,” he said and chuckled faintly. “I mean ... having that early warning would be something, but that shit would drive anybody crazy.” From everything he’d heard about this town, it was chock-full of non-human stuff, and Gabriel wouldn’t want that fact in his face all the time either. He reached out to brush some of Zania’s hair behind her ear and rubbed at her shoulder a little bit. “Ain’t too bad, s’far as backlash goes,” he murmured and gave her a small smile. “Glad mine’s not bad to look at, at least.”
Zania didn’t think she’d mind the auras in small batches, but was a bit worried that a crowd of them would be overwhelming, or at the very least distracting. She wasn’t sure if it was backlash or a permanent thing, but as far as backlash went it wasn’t all that bad. She’d take some strange new ability over death, even if it resulted in her seeing some things she’d rather not. “Yours is lovely,” she smiled. “All green and earthy. I feel like it fits you.” That part made her want to explore and see what everyone else had and if it fit them too. Were all fire witches red? Were all earth witches green? She doubted it was that simplistic, but it could be. “It was a big spell. I just might need a little more time. But if it stays, I can live with it.”
The compliment made Gabriel smile, even if he had absolutely no control over his aura, and hadn’t ever really thought about it existing before now. He felt like green and earthy fit him too, so that was good. He leaned over to kiss the top Zania’s shoulder, then her cheek. He wanted to shower her with a ton more affection, but she’d said she had a headache and he knew she probably wanted to shower as soon as she could. “We should celebrate today,” he said with a little grin. “If you feel up to it. If not like, maybe we can celebrate by spending all damn day in bed. Totally not worried about bugs or snakes or any bullshit.” That sounded pretty heavenly at the moment. Gabriel was immensely relieved that the danger had passed, even if Zania was still feeling some effects.
“I think I could be up for some celebrating, just the two of us,” Zania smiled, then leaned in to kiss him. Any lasting pain she was still experiencing could hopefully be taken care of with tea, a salve, or maybe just some good old fashioned painkillers. She was just ready for it to be gone and for things to get back to normal, or at least as normal as things around there ever got. It felt like a cloud had been lifted and all the stress she’d been feeling over the last few weeks was finally gone. “Mind if I shower first?” What she really wanted was to ask him to shower with her, but she felt like she needed to assess herself first and get a handle on where she was physically. Normally she’d just throw caution to the wind, but after last night she knew she had limits she needed to at least acknowledge.
The soft kiss settled Gabriel’s mind even more, and he smiled at Zania when she pulled back. “‘Course not,” he murmured. That had been the first thing she’d wanted to do the night before, and if she was feeling better he wasn’t going to stand in her way now. “You want company? Or need a minute?” he asked, quirking an eyebrow at her. Gabriel would love showering with her, washing her hair and the rest of her, just letting her enjoy the hot water ... but he was also more than fine rolling over and catching a few more winks while she was gone. He needed to do some clean up himself before his boxers came off -- moving a deer carcass was hard work, even with two men -- but he could wait.
Zania sucked her bottom lip into her mouth and considered it again. She could always get some tea, then shower, which might allow her to have everything she wanted. It only took a minute or two to make tea. “How about I have some tea, hop in the shower, then you come join me a few minutes in,” she suggested. “I’d love it if you’d wash my back.” And her hair and the rest of her body. In fact, she couldn’t think of anything that sounded better than being pampered in the shower and then maybe coming back to bed again. Maybe it was super lazy on her account, but she felt like she deserved it.
Gabriel grinned at her changing her mind, and leaned in close again to nuzzle at the side of her neck. “I’ll wash anything you want,” he murmured, and planted a few kisses against her skin. Gabriel pulled away so she could actually get up and do what she wanted to do, and stretched his arms up over his head with a little groan. “I’ll be in there in a few.” It would give him a few minutes to wake up some more himself and check his phone and all that, and not be one of those clingy-ass boyfriends.
Zania grinned and let her hands slide over his back, her eyes fluttering closed as he nuzzled her neck. Even with a headache, she could get into that and her body began to wake up even more with each little kiss he planted. She was tempted to just stay in bed now, but the tea would make everything better. When he pulled away it was her cue to get moving, the sooner the better for both of them. “See you soon,” she said, leaning in for a little kiss before slipping out of bed. She still ached a little, but it was manageable at that point, nothing a little magical healing couldn’t handle. Leaving Gabriel in bed, Zania hurried downstairs to make herself some tea, then returned to the bedroom, giving him a little wave as she disappeared into the bathroom. The nice thing about magic was that it worked so much faster than modern medicine.
Once she vacated the bed, Gabriel stretched out further, going starfish for a minute or two before he rolled onto his side and grabbed his phone to check his messages. He thumbed in a text to the friend from New Orleans who had provided the ritual, to let him know that it worked and they were in the clear now. It was still too early for him to be awake, so Gabriel didn’t expect an answer, but he wanted to get it out of the way since the rest of his day was going to be occupied by his lady. He grinned at her as she passed through, watching her ass as she dipped into the bathroom, then went back to his scrolling, humming to himself in appreciation. The more he woke up, the better he felt. Free and clear and ready to celebrate. He gave her a little over five minutes of the water running before he stood up and stretched, pushed his boxers down to kick aside, and padded into the bathroom to join Zania in the shower.
Two Advil and a cup of tea did wonders for Zania, as did just standing under the warm spray of water. Gabriel had done a decent job of cleaning her off the night before, but it didn’t compare to a shower. She let the water beat down on her, slowly working out the knots in her shoulders from weeks of stress and worry. She’d only just started washing herself off when Gabriel came in and she almost instantly forgot about it, letting the suds run down her body as she watched him through the foggy glass. He was looking fine, as usual, and the second he joined her in the shower she was pressed against him, coaxing him down for a kiss. This was what she’d wanted to do last night, right when she’d kicked the demon’s ass out of their lives, but she hadn’t been feeling up to it. Now she had to make up for lost time.
Gabriel had a hand on her hip before he even finished closing the shower door, and he didn’t hesitate to dip his head down to kiss her. He let out a soft hum at how her body felt against his, hands moving to slowly rub over her slick skin. Being stalked by a demon and swarms of animals was stressful, and he felt like their young sex life had suffered for it. Completely understandable, but he had damn sure missed that feeling of warm arousal that pooled in his stomach. Gabriel was in no rush though, so he pulled back to smile lazily at her. “We’re gonna get you nice and clean,” he murmured, reaching past Zania to grab her shampoo bottle. He planned on doing all the work for her. “You just relax.” Gabriel poured some shampoo into his palm and started to work it into Zania’s hair.
Taking a shower with someone wasn’t something Zania had indulged in very often and even when she had it had always been about the sex. Gabriel was the first to offer to wash her hair for her, something that seemed even more personal. “You’re good at that,” she murmured and closed her eyes as he worked the shampoo into her hair, already appreciating the fact that he knew how to handle her dreads. His fingers on her scalp were amazing and she thought she could probably stand there and let him do that all day if it didn’t mean cold water eventually ruining their fun. Zania leaned into him, letting her hands drift over his abs and hips, not quite getting to his cock. She wanted him, but she wanted to take advantage of him pampering her first.
“That’s why they pay me to do it,” Gabriel murmured back with a lazy smile. He had good strong fingers from years of salon work, and he’d always liked to give a good scalp massage as he washed. It was soothing to do it, something familiar made much more intimate than usual by where they were. Zania’s hands on his body felt nice and put pleasant flutters in his stomach. He was half hard just being naked in the shower with her, but Gabriel felt like they had all damn day, and he wanted to make sure she felt relaxed and spoiled before things went anywhere else. He reached up to grab the detachable shower head, nudged her to tilt her head back, and started to rinse out Zania’s hair. “You’re so fuckin’ gorgeous,” he told her softly, like just a mild observation.
“Lucky me, I get you for free,” Zania laughed softly, leaning forward to kiss his chest. Until she’d met him, Zania had given up going to the local salons. They didn’t know what to do with her hair and, worse, tried to talk her into changing it. It would be easy enough for her to do, magic had that power, but she liked the dreads. And so did Gabriel. He liked her the way she was, with her dreadlocks and piercings and a little bit of ink. Zania tipped her head back to let him rinse her hair and hummed happily at the compliment. “Sweet talker,” she smiled, though she didn’t doubt his sincerity. He had no reason to butter her up when he was already in the shower with her.
Professionally, Gabriel was happy to have a niche that hadn’t been filled in this town. He was starting to build some clientele in spite of everything weird that had been going on. Personally, getting to wash Zania’s hair was intimate and nice for him too. Especially when she started looking so relaxed and happy after such an ordeal. “I only speak the truth,” he countered with a warm grin. Once she was rinsed, he grabbed the body wash and the puffy loofah and started to lather it up. Zania had started to wash herself already, but he wanted to do the rest of it. “Turn around, I’ll get your back,” he murmured. Once she had, Gabriel got her nice and soapy, then switched to his hands, massaging over her back and up to her shoulders, taking his time to work out the tension in her muscles.
Zania turned, pulling her hair off to one side so he could soap up her back. It was such a nice, soothing feeling that she wished she could have done that part last night, right before bed. She hummed happily when he began to massage her shoulders, the switch to his hands on her skin waking her body back up. While it was relaxing, she wanted more of those big, strong hands elsewhere. Just thinking about it made her feel warm and fluttery low in her belly and she leaned back against him, wanting more skin on skin contact. With all the stress in their lives lately, it felt like they hadn’t been intimate in weeks. Though she knew that wasn’t the case, she was more than ready to make up for it.
Gabriel shifted forward just a touch as she leaned back against him, his hands sliding down her arms and then around to her chest, taking soap with them. He tilted his head in to press slow kisses against the side of her face as he caressed her breasts. His own body was very aware of how long the dry spell had been, and he couldn’t help the way his erection grew against Zania’s ass. Not that he thought she would mind. Gabriel slid his thumbs over her nipples and nuzzled at the curve of her ear. “How’s your head?” he murmured softly, letting one hand slip further down her body to gently wash between her legs. It was nice to reconnect like this in the shower, where everything was warm and steamy and felt like there was nobody else in the world but the two of them.
There was nothing quite as erotic as being touched slowly all over and as Gabriel worked his hands down her body, Zania’s arousal grew. The attention to her breasts had her nipples perking up into tight little buds, even in the hot spray of the shower, and by the time his hand slipped between her legs she was wet from more than the water. She rubbed her ass back against his cock, aware it wasn’t enough stimulation to do much of anything, but damn did it feel good to know that was for her. “Much better,” she moaned softly, not really thinking of her head, though it was true enough. The pounding had stopped and anything that remained was overpowered by having his hands on her. If her head wanted to keep on hurting, it could do so later. For now, desire was stronger than any pain she continued to endure.
The way she moved her ass against him was a tease, but Gabriel was more than okay with that. He loved the build-up; women weren’t the only ones who enjoyed foreplay. Zania’s body was firm and slick and perfect under his hands, and he would gladly stand there and feel her up for hours. Both of their bodies were obviously more impatient than that. The way she said those two simple words made Gabriel’s cock twitch a bit and he smiled. He teased her with his fingers as he kissed at the side of her neck, then gave her earlobe a nibble. As that sweet tension started to fill him, he rocked his hips slowly for some extra friction, enjoying how the suds made them slide together so deliciously. He rubbed her with a bit more pressure, spreading her own slickness around, his breath at her ear getting steadily heavier with arousal.
If there was one thing Zania loved, it was a man who was good at foreplay. If he’d hopped in the shower and immediately wanted to get it on, she was sure the sex would’ve been good, but she wouldn’t have been near as desperate for him. The time Gabriel took with her had her wet and ready for him, craving more than just his fingers, and yet she let it go on a little longer, up to the point where she was pressing back against his hand. If she kept that up, she’d come and that wasn’t how she wanted to finish. She knew he was aching for her as well, could feel his arousal up against her ass, rubbing with a little more urgency, so she leaned back against him, twisting to catch his lips in a kiss. “Want you inside me,” she murmured, her pussy throbbing in anticipation of more soon.
There wasn’t much that was sexier to hear than that, in Gabriel’s humble opinion. He was dying to get inside of her too, but knowing that Zan wanted him so bad was sexy as hell. He kissed her back, then smiled lazily and drawled, “Yes ma’am.” Gabriel reached around her to cup some water in his hand and get the soap suds off of his cock, then gently pushed on Zania’s back to get her to bend over a little. She was short, so he widened his stance as much as he could, then rubbed the tip of his cock against her pussy, letting out a soft moan at how hot and wet she was. It had definitely been too long. Gabriel leaned back a touch and watched as he started to slide into her body, the visual almost as delicious as the sensation. Nothing ever quite matched that first thrust though.
There were times when Zania wanted slow and sensual love-making in the comfort of her bed, but at the moment nothing could beat being bent over in the shower and fucked by her man. She groaned as he teased her pussy with the head of his cock and braced her hands against the wall, pushing back on his length as he slid into her. He felt so incredibly good that she was tempted to start rubbing her clit, but she wanted this to last long enough for the both of them. Zania cursed as he began to move and pushed up on her toes, the best she could do from that position. Sometimes she liked being in control, but it was also incredibly arousing to be dominated from time to time, especially by a man intent on giving her pleasure.
She made a gorgeous sight, bent over in front of him with her arms outstretched in a way that only emphasized her curves. Gabriel ran his hands over her wet skin, loving how easily everything slid between them. Her body was gripping his cock so deliciously tight, Gabriel felt a deep throb in his balls with every slow roll of his hips. He inhaled through his teeth and licked his lips, gazing down at Zania’s ass as he pushed into her. He couldn’t keep up the languid pace for long, that instinct to really thrust taking over. Gabriel moved his hands to grip Zania’s hips to help keep her balanced as he began to pump into her in earnest, a low breathy groan escaping him. This was exactly what he needed after a night like they’d had, and judging by the way she sounded, it was what Zania had needed too.
The power that had surged through Zania last night had been amazing and if the spell itself hadn’t completely drained her, this was exactly how she’d have wanted to end the night. The slow build had her moaning softly with each thrust of his hips and the warmth in her belly began to spread, bringing her closer to orgasm. Her body was primed for release, her pussy throbbing as his cock filled her again and again, but she continued to hold out, shuddering how close she was. She wanted this to last forever and had to remind herself that they had all day, that they could do this again and again if they felt like it. Maybe not in the shower, but in bed, in any position they could imagine.
It was getting harder and harder to hold back, but Gabriel was doing his best. He usually prided himself on his stamina, but it had been a while since they’d had sex, and Zania felt so fucking good around him. She looked and sounded good too, and all of it was making his balls ache in the sweetest way. He’d definitely thought ahead to all the sex they could have later, and he felt a little better thinking of this as an appetizer. A very hot one, but still not the main course. Gabriel planned to fill Zania with as much pleasure as she could take before the day was out. This seemed like a good start. A few soft curses fell from his lips and he let out a sharper grunt as he thrust with a bit more force, his whole body tingling with pleasure. “Zan, fuck,” he breathed. Gabriel slipped one hand around her hip and between her legs to find her clit himself, pumping in deep for a few strokes. “God, I wanna feel you come,” he murmured as he started to rub her.
She was already on her way there, the force of his thrusts making her body hum with pleasure, but hearing him ask for it as he touched her pushed her over the edge. Zania cried out as she continued to push back on him, riding out her orgasm as she tightened and pulsed around him. She knew he was close himself, could feel it in the way their bodies collided and their magic intertwined, and she wanted to drag him over with her. Zania held on even as her knees began to feel weak, panting through every thrust of his hips. She could live in the moment a while longer, where nothing mattered but them and the pleasure they brought each other.
Gabriel clung to control for as long as he could, wanting to make Zania’s orgasm as fantastic as possible. But the way she sounded mixed with what her body was doing to his cock made it impossible to hold it back any longer. Gabriel fucked her harder and deeper for a handful of panted breaths, letting the pleasure spiral out of control inside of him. His thrusts got unsteady as he shuddered and groaned a few curses, all of that tension releasing while his cock pulsed hard deep in Zania. The dark behind his closed eyelids sparkled wildly and Gabriel had to put a hand on the shower wall for balance. It was blissful.
Nothing felt better at the tail end of her orgasm than feeling Gabriel find his. His loss of control milked her pleasure a moment longer, and then they were both catching their breaths together, lost in that post orgasmic haze that made Zania not want to move a muscle. She loved the feeling of having him thick inside her, the lazy thrusts after he’d come, and wished he could have stayed in there a while longer. But they were standing and maintaining the position she was in was getting harder by the second now that there was no real benefit from it. Zania waited until Gabriel had stilled, then gently pulled away so she could turn in his arms and kiss him. Only then did she notice how his aura had changed, the green flecked with gold and shimmering brightly.
As much as he wished he could stay buried in her for hours on end, this wasn’t really the place or position for that, and Gabriel didn’t mind it at all when she moved. He slipped his arms around her, dipping his face down to kiss her with a soft hum in the back of his throat. He smoothed his hands down the curve of her back until he could give her ass a little squeeze, then broke the kiss off to grin down at her. “Didn’t get you very clean,” he murmured, though he didn’t sound like that bothered him in the slightest. He was sure Zan didn’t mind either. “Wanna finish up and I’ll make you breakfast?”
Zania loved the way he touched her, how his hands slid over her skin, even the way he squeezed her ass. Some girls didn’t like that kind of thing, but so long as it was her man doing it, she enjoyed it. “Didn’t mind getting dirty,” Zania laughed back softly. “That sounds great though. I shouldn’t be long.” He’d washed her hair for her and that was what took the longest. All she really needed to do was soap up a bit more and she could be done, provided she didn’t stand under the spray and just relax for a few minutes. And even if she did, she thought she’d earned it.
Gabriel gave his crotch and pits a quick wash-off -- he hadn’t gotten as filthy as Zania the night before, but he didn’t want to smell like sweat and sex when he got out of the shower, either -- and then kissed her soundly on the mouth. “See you downstairs,” he murmured, giving a smile before he climbed out of the shower. He felt nicely warm and pleasantly lazy as he dried off, and he felt like this was going to be a chill, wonderful day, full of good food and orgasms. They’d done what needed doing and solved the problem, and that deserved a day just to indulge in whatever they wanted.