Shattered Self Perception

Shattered Self Perception
Standing in front of her vanity, Ericka refused to turn around and face Phil. She couldn’t believe that he was there. So many nights she longed to be in his arms, only to cry in the morning when she realized she wasn’t. “I-I’m sorry I didn’t tell you,” she said. “I was afraid.” Hearing no response, she looked up into the mirror and realized he was staring at her. She looked down again. “Please stop looking at me like that,” she said.

“Like what?” he asked, tilting his head as he took a step towards her. “Like a man who found out yet another thing that makes him wild about his mate? Well I’m sorry, that’s something I can’t help.”

“You ran away from me.”

He smirked. “It was a light jog. You caught me off guard, Eri, yet again. I think your initial response would be the same if the roles were reversed.” He stood behind her and kissed her shoulder.

“I-I—” Her breath caught in her throat as he pressed her closer against him.

Removing her hair from her neck, he planted gentle kisses on it. “I know what you did to help me with my students, just like I know what you did that day to get me to eat,” he said.

She clenched her hands into fists as guilt coursed through her. “I’m sorry. I was just trying to help, but I shouldn’t have used my powers that way. It won’t happen again.”

Phil smiled against her skin. “I’m actually bringing it up as a thank you… and possibly to tease you a bit.”

“Tease me?”

He gently flicked his tongue on the unclaimed skin behind her ear, enjoying the way she shuddered. “Yes, to tease you. You know, Eri, I may not have your powers, but I love how with one touch I can still make your body react the way I want it to,” he said.

“Phil…” she murmured, all her senses on overdrive.

“Yes?” he asked huskily, and he heard a small groan in response. “Well? What is it you want to say, Enchantress? Tell me, I’m all ears.” Her skin prickled, and her eyes shifted to golden purple, causing him to kiss her neck again. “Luna told me your nickname after I heard you mention you picked up one over time.”

“You were there?”

“For every word.”

She bit the side of her lip, replaying the sensual way he’d said the name. “Then she told you how much I despise being called that,” she said, trying her best to regain focus.

“She did,” he said, as he lifted the bottom of her shirt and drew small circles on the exposed flesh. “She also said that you would like it if I was the one who called you it.” Running his tongue against her neck, he felt her stumble slightly into him. “Do you like it?” he murmured against her skin.

Ericka gripped onto the side of the vanity. “Yes,” she replied hoarsely.

Phil smiled and then whipped her around, studying her eyes. She started to close them, but he shook his head. “Stop hiding from me. I see you, and I’m in love with you. Whatever you want me to see, I want to see.”

Lip trembling, she nodded. “I’m in love with you, too.”

He grinned brightly at her before clasping her face. “I know,” he said, wiping a tear from her cheek. “It’s written all over your beautiful face.” Leaning into her, he whispered in her ear, “Will you do something for me?”

“Okay.” Hearing his request, she hesitantly agreed. Invoking an illusion, the surrounding walls slowly turned to mirrors.

Phil pulled her into a hungry kiss, and she moaned against his mouth. Releasing her, he asked her, “Ericka, why does it bother you so much when I call you beautiful?” She tried to look away, but he quickly placed his hand in her hair and craned her neck, forcing her to look at him.

She breathed in deep and grimaced. “Like I mentioned earlier, my magic affected my features. It’s part of the reason they called me Enchantress.”

“So, you think you’re beautiful only because of your magic?”

“Sometimes.”

He let out a sigh. “Ericka, you helped create a place where good rogues could get help. You saved our luna by giving her the treatment she needed. You became a lifelong friend for someone who knew only torment and being alone. You saved Blood Moon” —he pulled her closer—“and you took care of me.” He leaned in and kissed her again. “You’re amazing, and I need you to know that so that you’ll stop flinching when I tell you how beautiful you are because you are, Eri. Inside and out. Not just to me, but to everyone around you.”

Ericka felt as if she couldn’t breathe as she absorbed his words and his actions. Each searing touch to her skin dropped the walls she’d built to keep from getting hurt. The way he made the name that she hated into something she desired desperately to hear him say again, and the intensity of his demand to allow him to love her like she needed to be love, made her wolf call out sinfully for its mate. She tugged at his shirt, reconnecting their lips. “I’ve missed you,” she whispered.

“I’ve missed you, too.” Phil ripped her shirt away and smirked when she took off her own jeans. Lifting her onto the vanity, he unclasped her bra and ran his tongue roughly against one of her nipples before taking the other into his mouth. Gripping into his hair, she let her back hit the coolness of the mirror behind her. Lowering himself, he yanked her towards him and drove his tongue between her thighs.

“Ohh…” she gasped, and he kissed her thigh before pressing his tongue against her again. Feeling her climax against his tongue, Phil licked his lips and torturously planted kisses from her stomach to the sensitive spot on her neck. He removed his jeans and pulled her towards him. Connecting their lips again, he entered her, and she dug her nails into his back. He took his time stroking inside of her, driving himself deeper and deeper. He placed his head into the crook of her neck and murmured, “Enchantress…” before thrusting hard inside of her, causing her legs to shake from the passion weaved in both.

Ericka peered at the mirrors around the room, finding herself grow more excited as she watched their lovemaking unfold. She marveled at the sweat that made their bodies glisten and the sensual way they moved. She felt beautiful and desired—not because of her magic, but because of the way he looked at her. “I love you,” she moaned out, kissing him, and Phil increased his pace.

The sounds of her moans adding to the fever around them, he felt her tighten her walls. Watching her facial expression change in the mirrors, he slipped his tongue into her mouth. “I love you, too,” he grunted as they both felt themselves near. Gripping hold of her hair, Phil sank his teeth into the unclaimed skin behind her ear.

A low growl pulled from her, and the surrounding mirrors began to crack. Ericka gripped him closer, feeling his saliva course through her. Her body trembled as her wolf took control. Purple sparks slowly pulsed from her, and as they both reached their orgasmic peak, Phil felt a jolt to his heart. He clenched his teeth, and she gripped him tighter. Her neurotoxin flowing into his veins caused them both to freeze as it left them in a suspended orgasm.

The air in the room seemed to stand still and the cracks of the mirrors ceased. The sound of their blood coursing through their body cut through the deafening silence. Each pump causing the heightening of the shared climax, Ericka’s eyes teared, and she wrapped her legs around him. “Oh my God!” she screamed from the depths of her wolf as every feeling hit her at once. Sinking her teeth deep in the skin behind his ear, the mirrors all shattered at once into thin air, creating soft illuminating dust that dropped around them and they both released, almost collapsing.

“Fucking hell!” Phil shouted breathlessly as he looked around and saw the walls back to normal and the dust gone. He clasped her face. “What the hell was that, Ericka?!”

She shrank. “That has never happened before! I swear! My wolf really digs you … and… what?! What’s the problem?! You said you wanted to see, so I let you see!” she yelled, embarrassed.

“Yeah, Eri, but you don’t make a man’s legs fold under him! I knew claiming was intense, but damn!” he said, his face red. “We would have gone to the bed if I knew that was about to happen! I feel all light, and airy, and shit; like I can climb Mount Everest!”

“That’s not a bad thing!”

“No, it’s a great thing! This will do wonders for me in the morning before work! Coffee is just not what it used to be, and those kids don’t give a damn about me being tired!”

“Then why are you yelling?!”

Phil shrugged his shoulders. “I don’t know! I feel like I’m at a rave, and I just did a shit ton of E! It’s a happy panic, but still a panic!”

Ericka laughed loudly, causing him to grab his chest and laugh. He kissed her, and she looked at him and then reached inside the small drawer of her vanity. Pulling out the diamond ring, she bit the side of her lip. “I don’t know if you still feel the same, but if you do…”

Phil kissed her passionately again. Taking the ring from her, he slipped it on her finger. “These are genuine diamonds, by the way—and on a teacher’s salary—so don’t make your ring disappear into dust when you’re mad at me,” he said. She glared at him, and he laughed. “I’m just kidding.” Picking her up bridal style, he took a running start before racing towards the bed.