Ascension: A Witch Hospital Romance (The Witches of White Willow Book 3) Read online

  Ascension

  Angela Addams

  Contents

  About Ascension

  Foreword

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Chapter 23

  Chapter 24

  Chapter 25

  Chapter 26

  Chapter 27

  Chapter 28

  Chapter 29

  Afterword

  Acknowledgments

  A Conversation with Angela Addams

  The Witches of White Willow

  About the Author

  Also by Angela Addams

  Copyright © 2019 by Angela Addams

  Edited by NovelSharp

  All rights reserved.

  No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

  About Ascension

  Free-spirited Mahdyia is too young to be thinking about settling down, especially since she’s hyper-focused on furthering her career as a Healer. The one thing that threatens her resolve is her steady booty call, Croft—a teddy bear of a man who knows how to make her purr in all the right ways. However, everything changes when her father, long believed to be dead, shows up. Everything, including her beliefs about her family, and herself.

  Croft has been in love with Mahdyia since the first magical night they spent together, and even though he has ten years on her, he believes they are meant to be. He knows how much her father’s return means to her, but senses something isn’t right—both with the man’s story and the strange way Mahdyia acts around him.

  Croft knows he’s working against time as he attempts to unravel the mystery that surrounds Mahdyia’s father. But to get to the truth, he must risk alienating the only woman he has ever truly loved, because the more he discovers, the less she wants to hear. And, he fears, the more danger she could be in.

  This book is dedicated to my mom and dad.

  Forever my sounding board, my support, and my cheerleaders.

  Foreword

  Life is complicated, but witch life is like adding kerosene to complicated and blowing the whole thing up until it’s a raging inferno of magic and mayhem. And then, just to make things super chaotic, life tosses in a little bomb I like to call the unexpected twist. And we, being the super witches that we are, seem to always add a dash of denial until BOOM!

  That’s one big ol’ mess you’ve got there.

  As Healers we like to think that we can see things coming—expect the unexpected, temper the storm of chaos and uncomplicate whatever complication life throws our way. We’re that good, or at least, we think we are. What we never account for is how powerful our hearts are at detecting bullshit, and how responsive fate is at calling us out on it and then holding us accountable.

  Mady…I love ya, babe, but you’re about to get an assload of kerosene added to your already smoldering world.

  I’ll be here if you need me. You just might not see it that way.

  Hazel Knight, the best Healer, er, cousin a girl could ask for.

  1

  “And this, overly decadent tomb for books is our final destination.” Mady waved her hand in a grand gesture as she led Croft into the Knight family library. “I think it’s possible that one of the original editions of the Malleus Maleficarum is in here somewhere.” The only person who would probably know for sure was Hazel, seeing as it was likely she’d read every book the eye could see. All two floors of them.

  “This…is…” Croft wandered in, scanning the rows and rows of texts, mouth slightly agape, huge body surprisingly agile as he slowly turned and walked, trying to take it all in.

  “Impressive, right?” Mady laughed. “And it’s all Hazel’s.” She wasn’t bitter—Hazel could have all the books. Mady had spent plenty of time reading things she never wanted to read again. Her aunt, the former Great Mother of Healers, demanded that Mady participate in some kind of education. Not to the same level as what Hazel had endured, but adequate enough for Mady to make her way to White Willow as a Healer.

  Hazel hadn’t just inherited the books though—she’d also gotten the forty-room mansion and the oak-paneled walls and the turn of the century furniture, and every one of the hundred acres. She was the eldest and therefore the next in line for the Knight estate and all its holdings. Even if, technically, Mady’s mother truly fell into that designation, despite the fact that Hazel’s mother had forced Mady’s mother to sign over all her rights to the Knight family fortune on the day that Mady was born, essentially turning both herself and her daughter into nothing better than charity cases. Mady’s mother was not a stupid woman but there were times when she did stupid things. Things that Mady would never understand.

  So when Hazel’s mother had accepted her role in the Circle, committing herself to lifelong service in the name of all Healer-kind, it was Hazel who got it all. And Mady, while happy for her cousin, also felt a tinge of bitterness knowing that her mother’s birthright had been stripped all because of Mady’s status as bastard child.

  It didn’t matter that her father had been killed in a magical battle, fighting for the good of his coven. It didn’t matter that he’d been kind and generous to her mother for more than ten years before Mady had been conceived. It only mattered, to Hazel’s mother at least, that he’d died while her sister had been pregnant and hadn’t thought to leave anything for her to survive on. When Mady’s mother had come back home, she’d faced the condemnation of a disapproving sibling who held a lot of power, wealth, and opinion. Mady’s mother had bowed to the pressure of that. And so, everything that Croft’s eyes fell on in the impromptu tour he was getting belonged to Mady’s cousin.

  No big deal.

  “Is that your family’s grimoire?” Croft was standing over a display cabinet, a look of awe on his face. “Is it…gold leafed?”

  Yep. It was. And Mady had never once been allowed to look at it, let alone practice any of its spells.

  “What a privilege to live in such a place.” He slid her a quick glance. “With so much knowledge at your fingertips. Have you spent days gorging yourself on all of this literature?” But he didn’t wait for her to reply because something caught Croft’s attention and he moved to the other side of the shelves.

  It was a privilege. Hazel was generous with the family wealth. Mady and her mother enjoyed all the perks and amenities that one would expect from a mansion. Chefs cooked their meals, Keepers cleaned their clothes and changed their beds regularly. They each had a bank account and a monthly allowance that was nothing to sneeze at. There was no reason for Mady to be anything but grateful.

  Hazel’s mother had relinquished her worldly possessions when she’d agreed to join the Circle of One a few months ago and since then Hazel had been in secret meetings with lawyers to secure her hold on the Knight family fortune. Not that anyone would really contest it as far as the extended family was concerned—Hazel was the next in line to r
ule over the family.

  And Mady just couldn’t stop thinking about that.

  In times past, Mady and Hazel would have hashed things out. But things had changed since Hazel’s mother left, and especially since Hazel had joined forces with Duke, the love of her life. Hazel was different and Mady just couldn’t get a word in for longer than a few minutes.

  So thoughts went unsaid and time passed and Mady stewed. To the point that she felt the weight of a giant chip on her shoulder every time she looked around the mansion. In fact, she’d been spending more time at the hospital as a way of avoiding coming home. But Croft had really, really wanted a chance to tour the Knight estate and Mady had figured there would be no harm.

  She swept the room with an eye roll, taking all the wealth and extravagance in from Croft’s point of view. Yeah, the place was damn impressive but she hadn’t only brought him here for the eye candy.

  “Hey, big guy.” Mady zeroed in on Croft, her own version of eye candy.

  He had a dusty old leather-bound book open in one giant palm and was trailing his meaty fingers over the inked cursive with the other. He cocked an eyebrow as he looked up at her, then widened his eyes further when he realized what she was doing.

  She swayed her way toward him, fingers moving to part her unbuttoned shirt so he could see the black lacy bra she wore. “You wanna doooo it?”

  His cheeks reddened and he darted his eyes around the room, to the door then back to her. “Here?”

  She nodded, lips curled into a wicked grin. “Anyone could walk in at any moment.” Which wasn’t totally true. While there were a few Keepers here and there at this time of night, the only witches who might walk in were her mother—highly unlikely—or Hazel. “Makes it more exciting, don’t you think?” She pressed her tits against the edge of the book so that his eyes were drawn to her cleavage. “Come on, big guy. Ravage me, I know you want to.”

  He licked his lips, then slid his fingers across the page to where her breasts were plumped and on display. “That bra is practically see-through.” His voice was a deep throaty purr that made her shiver. He ran his thumb along the edge of the material then moved the book away so he could rub his fingers over her budded nipple. “I like it.”

  She grinned as she pushed herself up onto her tiptoes, urging him to cup her breast as she licked his bottom lip and draped her arms over his massive shoulders. “You should see my panties.”

  With a rumbling growl, he lifted her so she could wrap her legs around his hips and bury his face into her breasts. Her nipples ached for his mouth, her body pulsed for his dick. He nuzzled her for a second longer, his hot breath on her flesh making her tingle. When he looked up, his eyes were hooded in the wholly masculine way that made her toes curl with delight.

  He carried her toward the couch but she stopped him with a wave toward the desk. “No, there,” she gasped. “Fuck me there.”

  He didn’t argue, just nodded, and changed direction.

  He laid her down gently, leaning into her, his hips nestled between her legs. The weight of his body felt so damn right, even if her legs were stretched impossibly wide to accommodate his size. Croft was a big dude. Six-four and three hundred pounds to her five-five, one-ten-ish, he was a giant and she just a nymph. But she loved that about him.

  Wait, no. Not loved in that way. Oh no, more like loved in the fuck me hard and make me sore kind of way. In the pound my pussy while you hold me up against the wall kind of way. Big guys were kind of Mady’s thing, but Croft was the biggest she’d ever been with and well, she really couldn’t get enough of his enormous dick.

  He gently lifted her shirt, looking at her like all he wanted to do was eat her alive…which she totally wanted him to do, because like every other part of his massive body, his tongue was thick and strong. He was very damn skilled at licking her just the right way.

  “You’re so beautiful, Mady,” he breathed, fingers working, spreading her shirt so he could run his hands up her sides. “I don’t know why I’m so lucky to—”

  “Whoa there, Croft, don’t go getting all sappy on me,” Mady purred. She reached up and gripped his head, locking eyes with him so he’d get the message. “You know what that does to me.”

  He was soft, she was hard. He was tender, romantic and slow; she wanted fast, furious and every time he started whispering his heart to her…hers melted a little bit more for him, weakening her resistance.

  “Mady.” He rubbed his thumbs over her nipples. “You know how I feel about you.”

  Yes. She did. And his feelings came with a buttload of strings. Strings she was just too young to accept. Not when she had so much life to live still. Marriage, kids… He wanted her to settle down and she just wasn’t there yet.

  She arched her back, her tits jutting, hips flexing to pump against his. The hard press of his cock made her pussy weep with want. Despite her best efforts, Croft’s emotional strings had their perks, and one of the biggest was in his pants. “If you don’t get to the fucking part of this hook up soon, I might have to do it myself.”

  His eyes flashed, the red on his cheeks deepened. “I’d like to see that too. But…” He flicked open her bra clasp and brushed the fabric to the sides. “I’d rather do it this time.” Then he lowered his hot mouth to her nipple and sucked hard.

  So hard that she nearly came just from that alone. Lust consumed her, burning like a fire, desperate need for a flesh-to-flesh connection. She wanted him inside, she wanted to feel the press of his weight on her. But like always, Croft took his time. With his other hand, he unbuttoned her pants and pushed his fingers into her panties.

  She was super wet, dripping for him. He delved his fingers into her pussy and he moaned as he wedged them deep inside, stroking her clit with his meaty palm, and rubbing along her sheath so that she spasmed with anticipation. He could make her come with his touch. She could ride his hand and scream her release, but tonight she really just wanted his dick.

  “Croft…” she moaned, arching her back. “Stop teasing.”

  He nipped her breast, sucking as much as he could into his mouth, his tongue twirling over and over her nipple, flicking that hard little bud in a way that sent jolts straight to her pussy.

  “I’m so close, Croft… So wet for you…”

  He grunted, her words pushing him in the direction she wanted. He sucked his way off her breast and pulled his fingers free from her panties before slipping them into his mouth, his lips closing around them, his eyes flashing with lust.

  Mady grinned as she wiggled her way out of her pants, her tits jiggling, capturing his attention until she had her panties almost to her knees. Then his eyes swept down her body and he snapped back to reality. He had her pants and panties off within seconds and his face pressed into her pussy in a fraction of that time.

  Thank fuck for that!

  His moan this time rumbled over her pussy lips. With his face buried, tongue slurping, and his hands busy working her tits, Mady was already jacking up to an epic explosion.

  Every lick, every nip, sent jolts of pure magic through her body. She couldn’t help the noises that came out of her, loud enough that Croft actually paused to shush her. They were in the Knight mansion, after all, and someone might walk in.

  But his mouth on her pussy was just too much. When he nipped at her clit, she stifled a moan. When he sucked down her slit, and probed with his tongue, she let out a whimper. But her orgasm was lashing at her, rising and rising, twisting inside and she just couldn’t contain the noise of that.

  Well, fuck it.

  “Crrrrrroooooooft,” she cried. Loudly, unapologetically. “Mmmm, it feels so…damn…good!” Her orgasm twisted into a thing of beauty, coiling up through her body so that she had to clench her fingers in his hair, to hold him there so that he kept…on…sucking…until… “Fuck me!”

  She was vibrating something hard when he tore his head away from her grasp, his eyes wild. He didn’t seem to care anymore that she’d just screamed his name twice. He droppe
d his pants, his giant cock springing free in that instant, and sheathed himself with one, thick, powerful thrust. She rocked on the desk, her breath barely there. The length of him alone impaled her, filled her, but his width was massive and her body small. He stretched her out almost to the point of pain. She sucked in a lungful of breath and then adjusted her hips so she could accommodate him better.

  She latched on, legs locked around his hips, arms clenched his shirt. She pulled him closer, so close that his weight nearly crushed her. His dick inside her was almost too big at this angle, wedged in firmly. His size ensured that each thrust not only hit her clit with the most delicious friction but also rode her g-spot with uncanny precision. Jolts of pleasure zapped every nerve in her pussy. Her tits pulsed. This guy and his cock were like magic to her body. His touch was electric.

  “Mady,” he growled and then pulled her up, his hands holding her ass so he could pump her faster, harder, lifting her from the desk, making her back arch and her tits jut. When his lips latched on to her nipple, her orgasm ripped through her, taking her voice and her breath along with it.

  He roared his climax, thrusting so brutally that her orgasm spiraled out of control and her body felt like it was on a continuous loop of pleasure. This is how I die. Stars flashed across her vision; her body shuddered as hot jets of his cum spewed deep inside of her. Endless streams of it, his dick pulsed harder, thicker, and he just didn’t stop pumping until she was full—so full of him that she could feel it deep inside.