Mistfall(Book One of the Mistfall Series)

14. Mags and John, Sitting In a Tree…





I held my breath as John jumped in. The water was pleasantly warm, no post-immersion cold shock to be had. Letting go of John, I swam down to the bottom of the pond to explore. You won’t find mermaids or other exotic aquatic beings in a pond. That doesn’t mean the pond dwellers weren’t interesting in their own right.

Kappas, ugly little mud creatures, were tying the weeds together, like a net, in hopes of trapping some unlucky soul. The Ashrays, usually mistaken for ghosts of the deep, were just waking up. Ashrays liked to frequent sunken ships to scare and play tricks on divers.

When I surfaced, John was talking to the pond’s resident Marid. If you remember, Marids are water dwelling jinn. I swam over to be polite and make an introduction.

I can’t stand my watery cousins. Vapid and vain, they were useless as a life preserver on land. If you’re dinner just so happened to reside in their home, it was necessary to placate them. Marids would boil a lake just to spite a person for not praising them enough.


The woman’s skin was pale, as life in the water did not permit for a tan. Her hair was a bluish-green, like water. She was also naked as the day she was created. Marids tended to believe they were perfection and that there was no need to cover us such exquisite bodies. She was beautiful, yes, but she could do with a little covering up.

“And who is this?” the aquatic airhead asked John.

John put his arm around me proudly. I guess he’s missed me too. “Lady Siobhan, this is Vio…I mean Mags,” he introduced me. “Mags, this is Lady Siobhan, mistress of Galway pond.”

I mustered all my patience, knowing how this conversation would go. “It’s a pleasure Lady Siobhan,” I said, nodding in deference to her. “Your pond is the most beautiful in the entire world.”

Her smile at my flattery quickly faded to a look of pensiveness. “Are you sure of that?” she asked. “I have heard that my sister, Victoria, has a lake much grander than my quaint pond.”

John took hold of my submerged forearm, squeezing it painfully in a reminder to hold it together. I suppressed the urge to roll my eyes, took a calming breath, and laid it on thick.

“Of course I’m sure,” I assured her. “I’ve seen the dwelling of your sister. It smells of industrial waste and sewage. Rotten seaweed coats the beaches in a thick slime that will never wash away. Her lake doesn’t even have a proper beast.”

None of this was true. As a rule, I steer clear of Marids. I didn’t know her sister or where the lake was, let alone know of its condition. I could only hope she didn’t venture far from her watery abode to know the difference.

Siobhan looked forlorn. Her bright and translucent seaweed-green eyes were darkened by something I had said. That is just one of the many problems with Marids. They’ll find fault in any compliment you give them.

“Oh that is true,” Siobhan sighed. “Very well said as well, but I’m afraid my pond too lacks a beast.”

Even with the distance of time between us, John still was able to pick up that I was quickly becoming frustrated. He jumped in, saving me from saying something that would hamper our efforts.

“Lady Siobhan, your home is so magnificent that a beast isn’t necessary,” he placated her.

Once again, her lips formed a smile as she was pleased with John’s explanation.

“Besides,” he added, “where would you put one?”

Siobhan straightened herself up, putting on airs of one hindered by responsibility. “Yes, my responsibilities would only double if I had a beast to look after,” she stated. “I already have my hands full with the residents I already have.” She paused then waiting for another compliment.

John’s shoulders sagged a bit and I put my hand over my face. How much more B.S. would we have to shovel? I’d rather starve than keep this up.

“Lady Siobhan,” I said exhaustedly, “surely one such as you could surely handle the responsibility with your usual poise and grace. I believe you may be underestimating your greatness.”

“You’re right,” she admitted exuberantly in her high and mighty voice. “I don’t need a beast. But if I did, I would handle it spectacularly.” Her naked and voluptuous chest puffed out as her head pointed to the sky while she imagined her fantasy kingdom in which she ruled supreme.

John took her overjoyed manner as his cue. “We should probably be going now Mags.”

He had caught me off guard. “Oh!” I squeaked. “Oh yes, we have taken up too much of Lady Siobhan’s time. Certainly it would be in bad taste to ask her the favor we came here for now.”

I would’ve thanked John but the charade was far from over. Turning towards the pier, we both began to swim away. She was vain enough to fall for John’s bluff. Unfortunately for my patience, it meant more incessant flattery.

“A favor?” she asked, her voice only slightly raised as we had only swam a short distance away from her.

John grinned, pleased with his manipulation of the situation, and turned back to her, with me in tow.

John stood upright upon reaching Siobhan. His chest glistened in the waning light as rivulets of water made their way down his body. I wasn’t too focused on whatever John was saying as I found myself jealous of those drops of water.

“Would we be asking too much, requesting a favor from you?” he asked the Marid.

“No, no, no,” she protested. “I’m a busy woman, it’s true, but I’m sure I could find the time to help you out.”

John elbowed me in the side to speak, aware my attention was focused on him. “You are too generous,” I spat out quickly.

John gave me a look out of the corner of his eye that was amused, but said nothing of my train of thought.

“Generous indeed,” he told Siobhan. “We simply ask to fish in your pond for our dinner.”

She frowned. Again it was something we said to cause her displeasure. “No, that won’t do.”

John and I looked at each other in confusion. His hand now tightened its grip on my arm to the point of pain. I winced but said nothing to him about it. He knew me too well, but had forgotten what a weapon my mouth could be.

I parted my lips to tell Siobhan what I thought of her and where she could shove her precious pond, but she beat me to the punch, speaking first.

“I could only imagine what others would say if they learned I was such a terrible hostess. Worry not; I shall not let my good name be besmirched.” She paused a moment and stared at me. “My dear, why are you imitating a fish?” she asked.

My mouth still happened to be open. “My apologies,” I grumbled.

“No need for that, but try not to do that in the future,” she lectured me. “A homely face such as yours does not benefit from a slack jaw.” Siobhan then grinned from ear to ear. “Oh look at me, always helping the less fortunate!”

If John held my arm any tighter he was going to break it. Tears were forming in my eyes from the pain. I wanted to leap across the water that divided us and choke her to death. John, knowing this, gripped my side with his free hand, firmly keeping me in place. I looked up at him scowling, but he was not to be swayed. We would have to see this through if we were to eat. I might not care about starvation, but there were others to think about.

“Your kindness knows no bounds,” I gritted through my teeth.

“You are fortunate you came to my pond,” she replied loftily. “Others would not have been so gracious.” She then dismissed us with a wave. “Go, enjoy your swim. There will be a parcel waiting for you on the pier when you are done.”

“Thank you,” John and I replied.

Siobhan turned to swim away, but not before asking us one last question. “You will sing my praises, won’t you?”

“You have my word, I will tell everyone what I think of you,” I promised.

“Good day madam,” John excused us and dragged me away.

Siobhan returned to the depths of the pond after that. I took her leaving as opportunity to punch John in the shoulder with my free hand.

“What was that for?” he asked, looking at me crossly.

“You’re hurting me.”

“Oh please,” he scoffed. “I know your body well enough to know what it can and can’t handle and how it responds to me.”

My eyes were wide with surprise. “Excuse me?”

“We used to train together Violet,” he said flippantly.


“5 years ago,” I pointed out. “How in Hades would you know what I can and can’t handle now? And while we’re at it, what’s this crap about knowing how I respond to you?”

If I could describe the shade of red that John’s face turned, I would choose tomato. I didn’t understand his embarrassment at first, but then it dawned on me.

“You son of a bitch!” I yelled, yanking my arm out of his grasp. Hands fully free, I splashed him in the face. “The Dreamweavers weren’t the only ones trolling in my mind for information, were they?”

I didn’t wait to hear his answer, just swam away. He called after me, but I ignored his pleadings. I had heard enough. All this time I had fantasized of what would have happened if John and I had stayed together. There’s a reason they call it fantasy. In reality I was just chasing rainbows.

“I can explain,” he offered as he caught up with me.

I turned around, next to the pier and put my finger in his face. “No John. You don’t get to talk your way out of this.” I pointed to my head. “What’s in here is private. You didn’t need that information to find me. What possible reason could you have for mining that out of my head?”

John reached for me and I instinctively threw a punch in return that never landed. He held my wrist firmly in his hand as I tried fighting against him. I was hurt, angry, and unfocused. It made me no match for him. He managed to get both his hands on my shoulders and pushed me against the pier, holding me in place.

“Stop,” he demanded forcefully. “I can hold you to this pier all day if I have to, but you are going to listen to me. If you’re still angry with me after I’m done then you can storm off.”

The fire burning in those neon green eyes told me he was serious. He was right. He could hold me here all day. His take no crap attitude while holding me down had me finding the situation slightly erotic. I was still mad as hell and wouldn’t yield a single inch, but the sex kitten inside me with the raging libido had other ideas. Image after image of John and me in compromising positions sprinted through my head at light speed.

I was starting to wonder what was wrong with me. Twice now a good looking Elf had made me hot and bothered. I did the math and realized that it had been a year since the last relationship I had deemed worthwhile to progress to the bedroom. I shot that sex-crazed kitten awakening in my head. Now was not the time and she had nine lives.

If I wanted to get loose and rid of John, I’d have to calm down and quit struggling. Reluctantly, I quit fighting, for the moment. I shot him a glare that said “proceed but be careful.” I wouldn’t hesitate to knee him in the balls.

“I needed to know how you’d respond to my presence in your dreams,” he defended. “It’s been a long time since I last saw you.”

“That still doesn’t…” I was unable to finish my sentence. John had put his hand over my mouth to silence me.

He shook his head at me and smiled. “You’re so stubborn. Please just let me talk.”

I arched an eyebrow at him, unable to do anything else.

“It’s not like I could control the information I saw,” he pointed out. “You don’t select a file like it’s a computer.”

John looked down and flushed slightly at what he said next. “I do have to admit, I’m happy I’m not the only one who feels this way after all this time?.” He peeked up through his lashes at me, hope in his eyes at my response.

There was a loud meowing in my head as sex kitten number two appeared and overrode my rationality. I pushed his hand away from my mouth. “What exactly is it that you feel?” I asked breathlessly.

My heart had stopped. It was on tenterhooks waiting for John’s response to begin beating again. I didn’t wait long. He wrapped one arm against my waist, pulling me close as his other held my neck.

“I love you Violet, just like I always have.” With that he tilted my head back and kissed me.

His kiss wasn’t soft or sweet. It was five years of pent up love and lust all rolled into one and it was slamming into me like a car crashing into a wall. My legs would have given out if I had been standing on land.

My anger tempered by his proclamation of love, I reached my arms around John’s neck and closed the molecules width of distance between us. Though I didn’t agree to the journey, I was pleased with the destination. I made a mental note to make him promise not to pick through my brain ever again.

Our tongues did a frenzied dance as the kiss intensified. My legs tangled with his as we bobbed up and down in the water. Heat pooled in my stomach as John glided his fingers down my back. Gooseflesh was evidence of what his touch did to me.

John pushed me back against the pier. He ground his hips against mine in a rhythmic motion as he trailed his tongue up the side of my neck. I let out an audible moan that egged him on. John’s fingers were tangled up in my hair when he pulled back from me.

“Are you sure you want to do this?” he inquired.

Good. We’re on the same page, I thought. I raised my eyebrow cockily as I answered him. “I’ll tell you when I’ve had enough of you.”

“Is that so?”

I nodded in return, hoping to return quickly to where we left off.

“Well then,” he grinned,” I should make sure you get your fill of me.”

I hung my head and groaned. “You just ruined it. Do me a favor. Use your lips for anything you want, just no talking,” I laughed.

John said nothing, but grabbed the front of my bikini, ripping it off like a kid opening a Christmas present. He eyed his present greedily before grabbing my breast gently, gliding his thumb over my hard nipple.

He moved his hand away and let it trail slowly down my chest and stomach until he stopped at my bikini bottoms. I closed my eyes as he outlined the skin around the elastic band. My lower stomach, sensitive to his touch, quivered as he ran his fingers across it.

I decided to magic away the rest of our clothes. His erection had been straining against his trunks, threatening to tear through the flimsy material and I had an urgent need to be naked. It had the desired effect on John. I didn’t have to prod him any further along. I loosened my grip on his waist as he adjusts me above him. I could feel the tip of his erect penis against my entrance.

“Look at me,” he softly demanded.

I opened my eyes to see his sparkling emerald ones staring back. “I love you,” he said and kissed me once again.

“I love you too,” I managed once he paused to breathe.

I moaned out in pleasure as he plunged into me. The rough wood of the pier bit into my back as he slowly thrust in and out of me. I was in heaven. Every sensation, every touch, every kiss was better than the last.

As John drove deeper he inadvertently rubbed up against my already swollen and sensitive *oris. It was driving me over the edge.

“Let go,” he whispered as he bit my earlobe.

That was all it took. I held onto him as tightly as the orgasm rippled through me. Wave after wave rushed into me until I couldn’t hold on anymore. I screamed out as he continued thrusting in and out of me, joining me quickly in sexual bliss. I hung my head back hanging onto every drop of orgasmic euphoria as it slowly ebbed away.

When I held my head back up, John was looking at me as if he couldn’t really believe I was there.

“You were amazing,” I whispered, afraid to break the moment’s spell.


He chuckled softly. “Violet, there is only one person in the world that I have ever described as amazing and that is you,” he said and brought his lips to my forehead.

We held each other for a few more minutes neither wanting to break the embrace, but it was John who pulled away first. Darkness had replaced the waning light, the moon now standing sentry over the Earth.

“Melissa’s going to be mad at us,” I laughed. I could only imagine what she’d say if she knew why her dinner was delayed.

“That’s an understatement,” he pointed out. “I’m surprised she didn’t come looking for us though it’s a good thing she didn’t.

I clothed us in similar attire, the less to clue Melissa in on the better. It was once we left the pond that I realized that there had been an audience to our aquatic aerobics. The denizens of the pond must have gotten an eyeful. Honestly, I was too happy to care and tossed that thought away.