The Witch: Book Two of The Sorceress Saga by Taliesin Govannon (top 10 novels of all time .txt) 📗

                I collapsed back on the bed, exhausted.  A thin sheen of sweat glistened on my bared skin, and I didn't bother reaching for a sheet.  I needed air, thank you very much, modesty be damned.

                Vincent laid beside me, not nearly as winded but with a satisfied grin nonetheless.  He eyed me with amusement as I gulped lung-fulls of air.  “So that was intense.” he understated.

                “I... take it you... liked it.”  I got out between breaths.

                “Oh, I liked it, don't get me wrong.” he continued, the grin staying.  “I'm just not that used to you being so aggressive in bed, is all.”

                “Yeah, well,” I said, feeling more myself again, “maybe my memories of being a guy in a past life have awakened my inner sex-fiend.”

                “That must be it.” he chuckled, and I snuggled up against his body.

                “What was it like when you first remembered a past life where you were a different gender?” I asked, changing gears slightly.

                “Well,” he replied, thinking back, “I remember that it was a life where Angelique and I were both women, and lovers, so it wasn't that big of a paradigm shift.”

                “What about when you had a male lover?”

                “Then… ,” he began again, “That was also Angelique in the other role, so it could have been worse.  I had also done a little experimenting with guys in my vampiric form, so it wasn't my first rodeo in this incarnation.”

                I had almost forgotten about this part of vampiric nature, how they were all functionally pansexual.  Whatever part of human physiology that dictated who we liked to diddle in life didn't survive the transition to being a vampire, so they could, and often did, take lovers of all gender expressions.

                “What about the first time you, you know...” I stammered, not sure of how to phrase it.

                “Had sex with a man?” he finished.

                “Yeah, that.” I exhaled.

                “Well, it was in what I like to call 'the sweaty years', where Angelique and I spent almost a century boning each other like the planet was about to explode.” he replied.  “She was out hunting one night when she ran across a vamp that she had known about a hundred years before, guy by the name of Sebastian.”  Vincent got a far-away look in his eyes as he relived the memory in his mind.

                “Was he hot?” I asked.

                Vincent exhaled.  “More like sex on a stick.  He was French, like me, but thin and waifish, with the graceful lines that formed his body looking like the Gods had wept him into existence.”

                “He sounds special.”

                “He was... oh, he was.  Angelique had enjoyed his company sometime before that, and thought that Sebastian would be a good way of helping me accept this part of my nature."

                “And he was?”

                “Again, oh.. he was.”

                “And you didn't have a problem with it?”

                “Well, you have to remember that I'd been having sex... a twisted and bizarre version of sex-based on power and domination, mind you... but sex, nevertheless, with men all my life.  So the acts were nothing new to me.  However, it actually being something I wanted?  That was a first.  I had experienced quite a few years of gentle, nurturing loving in Angelique’s arms, as well as having exacted my revenge on those who wronged me, so much of my trauma had been healed.”

                I thought about the centuries-long war that Vincent had waged against child predators and thought about challenging Vincent’s assertion about being ‘healed’, but I held my tongue.  Instead, I asked another question that had been on my mind.  “Does it ever bother Angelique?”

                “Me being with guys?”

                “You being with anyone.”

                He shrugged.  “That type of thing never bothers our kind.  We may be possessive over our homes, our belongings, and our collections, but others?  We’ve learned that everyone is temporary.  Humans die, and vampires often feel the need to move on after a time.  Angelique and I staying as companions after four hundred years is an anomaly… most pairings dissolve after the second century.”

                “So no jealousy?”

                “Quite the opposite.  Angelique and I have been together as a team for so long, and we moved beyond an intensely sexual relationship centuries ago, so we actually take great pleasure in seeing those that we love enjoying themselves.”  He stopped and grinned.  “Besides,” he added, “Angelique thinks it’s really hot to see her lover get cranked up by another person, so there’s that as well.”

                I smiled.  I had never seen the point in jealousy and steered clear of anyone who seemed too fond of it.  I liked that there were others, indeed whole species, who felt the same.

                And I was dating one.  The thought of him with a beautiful man started stirring something within me, and I got a wicked grin on my face.  "I feel like exploring my more… aggressive side.” I said as I got up and straddled him.

                “So I should just lay here and let you work?” he asked, a lusty grin on his face as well.

                “Until I say otherwise.”

                                                                                                *                *                *

                I sat at the breakfast table the next morning, barely being able to contain my excitement.  I was the only one who knew of Starr’s return, and this morning was a test of the techniques we had started trying the day before.

                Raina was the last to join us, Jack actually beating her for the first time in, well, ever.  He was on his third cup of coffee by the time she made her entrance, and his leg was stuck in a constant bounce.

                “Morning witchy-poo!” he said animatedly.  “What took you so long?”

                She looked at him warily.  “I couldn’t decide what I wanted to wear.  My clothes were a little more disorganized than I thought.  What’s your deal, discover the alchemical formula for cocaine?”

                “Just some of Vincent’s heavy metal java.”

                “Yeah, well, I