Lacybourne Manor(68)

It had been only at the last second, when she felt the malevolence, that she used some of her cheapest magic and blinked her eyes to light the headlamps of the car in warning to the couple. If she hadn’t, likely the two, who both seemed deep in thought, would have been mowed down.

Marian herself had no idea of the state of play between Colin and Sibyl. Sibyl had been pretty adamant about her feelings regarding Mr. Morgan a few days before at breakfast (these feelings were that he was a raving madman). Marian was relatively certain that they were still in combat mode from what she saw in her crystal ball. She was pleased as punch that they seemed to be out on a date though Colin’s stony face was a bit unwelcoming, that wasn’t exactly unheard of with Mr. Morgan and Sibyl looked bemused, poor girl.

But that car had been waiting for them and aiming at them with the desire to run at least Sibyl, but likely both of them, down.

Marian was going to have to work faster. She was going to have to get some charms together to protect both Lacybourne and Brightrose. She’d likely have to do something to protect both their cars. And she needed to get to work on some potions that took time to mature, just in case she needed them. On top of all this, she was going to have to be very vigilant.

She really hoped that Mr. Morgan was the charmer that many of the National Trust volunteers gossiped to her that he was. He was going to have to make swift work of it with Sibyl.

Why Colin didn’t tell Sibyl about the ill-fated lovers, Marian could not understand. Sibyl’s kind heart would have melted straight away.

He didn’t though and she was willing to give him his lead, for awhile.

But if this dragged on, and they didn’t realise they were destined for each other, destined to fall in love and then consummate it after that realisation, they were in big trouble.

* * * * *

Sibyl woke up, aroused.

Not just aroused, highly aroused.

And the reason for this was a light touch at the skin of the small of her back, an area always sensitive, an area that no lover had ever truly discovered or, when they did, made appropriate use of.

Until now.

She was on her side, facing the fireplace, away from Colin, and her eyes fluttered open.

She could feel the heat of his body even though only his fingers were touching her, drawing delicate figure eights and zig zags on the small of her back, dipping tantalisingly every once in awhile to her bottom.

This light touch caused waves of glorious sensation to shoot down the insides of her thighs, up her back and zoom straight between her legs.

“Are you awake?” Colin’s husky voice sounded in her ear.

She nodded her head against the pillow and could only say, “Mm hmm.”

She did this because didn’t trust her voice. She was about to whirl and attack him. She clamped her legs together and tried to think unsexy thoughts but the pulsating heat between her legs made this task impossible.

He kissed her shoulder lightly.

“How are you feeling?” he asked.

Oh goddess, he knew, he knew exactly what he was doing to her.

“Fine,” she muttered but the word was shaky.

His body moved closer, his hand at the small of her back flattened, smoothing over her bottom and she felt a sense of relief that he was going to stop. Then it started its distracted figure eights and zig zagging again.

Her body tensed.

“Tell me about it,” Colin encouraged.

“About what?” Sibyl answered quickly, confused and wondering what he meant. Did he want her to explain how it felt, what he was doing to her?

“About your dream,” Colin murmured in her ear, using his stubble-roughened chin to move the heavy hair away from her cheek.

“What dream?” she whispered, her mind not processing anything but the fact that her bones had melted to water and her blood had heated at least one hundred and fifty degrees. Even her br**sts had swelled and were aching for his touch, though he hadn’t even so much as looked at them.

She was beginning to panic.