"It's so hard being away from you for so long," I confided in Hunter, twisting the cord of the phone around my fingers. I was in Scotland, studying. I'd left the U.S over a month ago and Hunter and I hadn't managed to visit each other yet, despite him being just across the way in England.
"I know, love." His voice mirrored my strain. "I feel like I'm going crazy. Are you sure you don't have any free time over the next few weekends?" He asked hopefully, even though he knew the answer.
"I'm sorry. I can't believe how intense the learning is here. You should see how many flash cards I have! I'm practically swimming in them."
Hunter chuckled, and then sighed.
"I want to touch you so badly," he murmured.
I blushed, feeling a bit tingly inside. I pictured his hands on my body, as they had been so often before when we lived in the same town. After our first time on Beltane well over a year ago, our feverish need for each other had only grown. I knew every expression Hunter made during pleasure and could recall them at will. I grinned indulgently.
"I know what you mean. I suppose we could try phone sex," I quipped quietly, glancing around to confirm no one was around me.
"Actually," Hunter said with a note of brilliance, "that's given me a great idea."
"Hunter, I don't want to have phone sex. I can't feel that sexy holding onto a plastic phone, not knowing how many other people have touched the handset. Plus, I told you, this phone is out in the communal hall!"
"No, Morgan." I could tell from his breathing alone that he was excited. "Do you still have that Lapus Lazuli I gave you when your powers were bound?"
I frowned at the uncomfortable memory.
"I think so. Why?" I dimly recalled packing it with a bunch of my other gemstones.
"Go to your room, use it. I'm home alone right now. It's perfect!"
"…For what?" Hunter's point evaded me.
"Morgan…we can 'be together' if you use it," he hinted, his voice growing a tad salacious.
"Oh." It clunked into place. There was a beat of silence while I considered it. "Be in your room in 10 minutes."
I hung up the communal phone and rushed to my dorm, checking twice that I'd locked the door behind me. Luckily we witches like to keep things organised! The Lapis Lazuli was tucked away neatly in my miscellaneous gemstone box. Not knowing if it was even necessary, I nervously applied a thin spray of perfume and brushed my hair and teeth. I was pretty sure the stone wouldn't transmit that strongly, but it made me feel a bit sexier. I quickly added a new spell for communication on the stone since Hunter's had no doubt faded in strength over the year.
I laid down on my bed with the stone in my hand, butterflies churning in my stomach. Don't be silly, I told myself. This is Hunter. I exhaled, calming my mind. I inhaled, drawing in energy. I closed my eyes, placed the stone on my forehead and cast out my senses for Hunter.
'Hello,' Hunter murmured, his presence appearing all around me.
I opened my eyes and saw Hunter's surroundings with brilliant clarity.
Whoa. And then I felt Hunter's amusement at my reaction. It was definitely stronger this time than the first time. I realised my additional spell might have been stronger than Hunter's original ones, and responsible for the fact that I could even feel the sunlight streaming in through the window in Hunter's room, falling across his legs.
'I see it's actually warm in England for once.'
'I know. None of us know just what to do with ourselves."I could hear him breathing. It soothed me. It was like having him right next to me.
"Can you see my room as well? Or is this one way?" I asked curiously.
"Hmm, it's mostly one way. I can feel what you feel, but I can't feel anything around you." Hunter said thoughtfully.
"Aw. I wonder if we can fix this. Two Lapis Lazuli stones, one for me and one for you." I suggested.
"Perhaps we can work on that another time, Morgan." His voice was low, serious. Sensual.
A shiver ran down my spine.
"I felt that," he grinned.
"Now that we're here, I don't know what to do," I laughed. "When I'm with you it's so easy. I want to kiss you, so I kiss you. This is so different."
I paused.
Hunter was touching his face gently. He had some light stubble on his cheek. He glossed over his sharp chin, down his neck. He swallowed nervously, his Adam's apple bobbing up and down. I could feel his heart rate pick up, unfamiliar with this new experience. His hand travelled down. He touched his collarbone and then dragged his fingers through his chest hair.
I felt it all as if I were simultaneously doing it to him and having it done to me.
"Oh my god," I breathed.
"You try."
Boy, he was excited.
I started slow. I placed my left hand on my face, my first two fingers landing on my lips. I parted my lips with my fingers slightly, feeling the supple flesh move languidly. Down my chin and throat. I stopped suddenly at my sweat shirt.
"Are you shirtless?" I asked with a laugh, thinking about how he'd touched his chest. "I've just realised I might actually have to take my clothes off for this. I'm fully clothed. I'm still wearing shoes."
Hunter quaked with laughter.
"Yes, I'm only wearing underpants at the moment, my dear." He was being only slightly sardonic.
"Okay, hang on. I need to get undressed. I might drop the stone, but I'll be back."
I wriggled in my clothes, unsuccessfully trying to remove them without knocking the stone. I gave up, putting the stone down for a moment and then ripped off all my clothes except my underwear.
"I'm back," I said unnecessarily as I popped the stone back on my forehead.
"As you were," Hunter prompted.
My hand resumed its travel, starting at my collarbone. Using only my delicate fingertips, I traced my breasts; the light friction was almost ticklish, sending enjoyable waves through my body. I palmed my breast gently, pushing it back and forth, squeezing my nipple between my first and second finger on the way back.
Hunter shuddered slightly.
My hands grabbed at my breasts fully, revelling in the firmness of the skin. From there, I gripped the sides of my torso and felt every rib as I went, felt the slight curve of my waist and my hips.
"This was such a good idea," Hunter whispered.
I stretched my hand out along my inner thigh, the sensitive skin under my knee, and back up to the curve of my bottom. Hesitantly, with a sense of Hunter's baited breath, I delved into my curls and folds already smothered with liquid silk. I rubbed gently in circles, my little bundle of nerves hyper alert, sending gentle waves of enjoyment through me.
Hunter drew in a deep and shaky breath.
"So that's what it feels like," Hunter gasped as I rubbed.
He pushed himself into his bed at the sensation, his head arching back and toes curling. I felt him bite his lip, revelling in the new sensation. With new confidence, I travelled lower, tracing the warm entrance into my body. I dipped my finger into the darkness and Hunter moaned with me.
Hunter's hands touched his firm stomach, traced the subtle bumps of his muscles, and outlined his prominent hip bones. Then, after shucking his underwear, he grasped his firmness in one hand and began to stroke it purposefully. I gasped at the odd sensation, mixing with my own stroking.
"That feels really weird," I whispered, laughing in shock.
I could feel the skin move with his hands, stretching and then returning back to its natural place. I could feel specifically how extended his hand was, to take in his girth. The veins, the shape of the head, I could feel it all; the soft beginnings of pleasure building in his loins.
With synchronised breaths, we both stroked ourselves keenly, sensing our own and the other's pleasure. Joy and elation filled our hearts as we felt joined, just as our souls were destined to be. Two halves of one whole.
"Morgan," he whispered, his hand movements growing more rapid.
I reached down with my other hand, inserting a couple of fingers to stroke my trembling walls, while the other hand continued its assault just an inch or so higher.
"I love you," I breathed, my hips beginning to twitch and shake.
Pulsating energy, not unlike the kind we generated during circles, began to float around us, clutching at us, swirling. I saw it as a pure white light, burning with the intensity of the sun, no, the intensity of our love and passion. It enveloped us in a pleasingly suffocating way. We breathed it in, breathed each other in, tingling sensations vibrating all over us.
We both inched to the precipice of pleasure, stroking and thrusting.
"Hunter, I'm go –" I began breathlessly.
"I know," he cut in. "I feel it."
Don't stop.
Who was thinking that, I couldn't even tell.
Don't stop. Keep going. Oh, Goddess.
I shuddered and gasped as both our orgasms hit each other, Hunter quaked and moaned; the brilliant white light was leeched from us in pulsating clenches, an offering to the Goddess. Smooth serenity overtook our bodies in the seconds afterwards, all tension gone, laid over us like fresh bedsheets. No thoughts trespassed between us in this little interim of eternity we shared; only the fact that we could still feel each other's energy to remind us of our connection.
Hunter and I each took a slow, deliberate breath, like restarting our hearts. Feelings of longing and love reached me, and I was quick to return them.
"Somehow, I miss you more now," I murmured.
"Even when I'm with you, I miss you," Hunter stated.
The intensity of our love filled each other, shimmering and unbelievably resistant, and the knowledge that this connection had to end seeped in like oil.
"I suppose you could tape the stone to your head…" Hunter joked, only half-heartedly. "We could be together all day."
"I'm always with you, Hunter," I said, firm but sweet. "No matter where you are, I'm there."
"Same for you," he acknowledged.
Feelings of departure and sadness crept up like ice.
I love you, we both thought simultaneously.
With unbearable longing, I tipped my head to the side and permitted the Lapis Lazuli to drop on my bedspread – and Hunter's presence was ripped from me. I curled into a ball on my side, and my chest tightened with heartsick. Hunter, Hunter, every fibre of my being whispered. I fought back tears, once again remembering about the thorns on the rose.