Welcome to Capricious by Julie Cox, a Texan tale of love and magic. NSFW.

A new chapter appears every Tuesday. This week is Chapter Eighteen. Listen to the audio version at Nobilis Erotica here!

Chapter 18

It was a few blessed days of peace before Luke saw Mae again. Orson reassured Luke he would get her out of town as fast as possible. He didn’t have a leash on her, though, so Luke was not surprised when Mae turned up at his work. Luke was bent over a board, planing it with a large electric sander, when he felt a surge of excitement and greasy, sickening, lustful energy pass through him. It was entirely unlike the playful, heartfelt yearning he picked up from Sally or the passionate abandon in Allison. No one else he had ever met could make lust feel as unwholesome and selfish as Mae. Across from him, Brent stood up and took off his safety goggles. Luke turned off the sander and stood also, knowing who would be behind him.

Mae stood at the gate to the construction yard, perfectly coiffed, chatting up the foreman. She touched his elbow in a familiar, affectionate way. He smiled and led her over to where Luke was working.

“Luke,” he said, “this young thing tells me you two are friends. I don’t know where you found this one, but are there more like her?” Mae laughed, pretending to be surprised and flattered.

Luke scowled. “God willing, no. Hi, Mae. What do you want?” As if sensing the chill in the air, the foreman walked a few paces away, though Luke noticed that he kept his eyes on them.

Mae lightly hit his arm. “Oh Luke, c’mon. I just came by because this is the only place I can catch you alone.” She glared at Brent over Luke’s shoulder, and he took the hint and backed away too.

“You mean without Orson.”

“Of course I mean without Orson. You two are joined at the hip, as usual. I was always disappointed I couldn’t get you two in bed at the same time.”

Luke felt a little wave of nausea flutter through his body. “Orson’s not into men. And I don’t find him attractive.”

“Trifling little things to get around. What’s preference compared to pleasure? Everyone’s a little bi in the dark. Now honey”–she held up a hand as Luke started to protest–“I didn’t come all the way from New York to rehash old times. I came to help you.”

Luke clapped his jaw shut, studied her, and said, “Help how?”

She traced her knuckles up and down his chest. “I hear through the grapevine you are having some trouble. That means big magic. Which for you means lots… and lots… of sexual energy. Since you’re not getting that from my ex-husband, clearly, you must be getting it somewhere. Either that, or you’re tapping reserves like crazy.” Her pout widened into a smile. “And we all know what can happen when you get that low, don’t we?”

Magic shoved into him, and he took a step back, rocked by the metaphysical blow. He wasn’t ready for it this time. His body ached with want, his cock straining against his thick work jeans. Mae’s skirt rode especially high on her long thighs, and the faint impression of her nipples showed through her thin, gauzy shirt. Or was it just Luke’s perception, amplified by the lust magic she was pouring down his throat? He knew what she felt like, tasted like. He knew if he took her to his truck, she’d straddle him in the front seat, and she wouldn’t be wearing any panties. He could be inside her in just a few moments, her hot, slick flesh wrapped tight around his cock. And she’d ride him harder than anyone else would, soak him with magic until he was saturated like a wet dish cloth and then wring him out and leave him a limp, strung-out addict, begging for more.

She knew he was thinking it. Her hand slid to his belly.

“Luke! Hey Luke, I gotta talk to you–”

Sally came through the front gate, wearing jeans with little holes starting in the knees and a Harley-Davidson T-shirt, her hair up in an Astros cap. She stopped when she saw Mae. Luke stepped back and breathed in deep; Mae’s magic faltered, and he swept the cobwebs from his mind. Thank goodness for Sally, he thought. Sally ignored the foreman as he approached her and strode toward Luke instead.

“Hi. I gotta talk to you a sex. Sec.” Her face flushed a light pink as she glanced at Mae. “If, ya know, you’re not busy.”

“Glad to be not busy,” Luke said, taking her by the elbow and steering her away from Mae, who smirked at them.

Sally’s brow wrinkled. “Who is that?”

“Orson’s ex-wife. She enjoys tormenting me because she can use me to hurt Orson. Listen, you stay away from her if you can, she’s toxic as hell.”

“I can take care of myself,” Sally said. “Look, I came to find out if you’d seen Glen lately. Sorry to bother you at work.”

Luke paused for a second, as much to switch mental gears as to register surprise. “Glen the goblin? Huh. No, I haven’t. I’ve left messages for him, now that you mention it, that he hasn’t returned. Why didn’t you just call my cell?”

“I did.”

Luke pulled out his cell phone and saw several missed calls. “Dang. I must have had some machinery on, sorry. Is Glen missing or something?”

Sally shrugged. “Cormick asked me to help look for him. His house is empty, and he hasn’t showed up for work this week.”

“Shit. OK, keep me updated, will you?”

Sally nodded. “Yeah. And hey, Luke?” She jerked her thumb at Mae. “If she gives you trouble, just tell her you have chlamydia. Do I interpret right, her being a nymph and you being a satyr, that she troubles you with her sexiness?” Sally rolled her hips in a farce of sexuality.

“Recognized what she is, huh?”

“Kinda hard to miss it. She might as well have her license plate read NMF I69.”

“Great. Hey, I’ll give you a call after work, all right? But I gotta deal with her, get her out of here. Take care, Sal, all right?”

Luke walked back to Mae, and Sally followed him despite his request. Before he could introduce them, Sally lit up with a wide smile.

“Hi! I’m Sally. Luke says you’re new in town, and I think it’s just a shame these boys didn’t think to take off work to accommodate you. Luke says he’s gotta get back to work, but I’d be happy to take you around myself. My girl Allison has this great little restaurant on down the highway. My treat! You must have all kinds of stories about our boys, I’d love to hear them.”

Luke died a little inside as Mae fixed him with a smile that would look more appropriate on a great white. “I’d love to,” she said to Sally, and the two women walked out to the parking lot together.

* * *

Can’t wait a whole week for the next chapter? Skip ahead: download the whole book from Amazon or from Circlet Press!

About the author: Julie Cox is the author of Chasing Tail and numerous short stories in Circlet Press erotica anthologies. She lives in Texas with her husband, children, and ever-expanding menagerie of animals on their farm. She runs a small online yarn business and teaches yarn spinning. She has numerous stories published with Circlet Press and elsewhere.

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