Band of Demons (The Sanheim Chronicles, Book Two) by Rob Blackwell

first made love, it was the trigger that caused them to start hearing each other’s thoughts, sharing dreams and, eventually, facing Quinn’s greatest fear—the Headless Horseman. After they lost their powers, they had spent weeks having sex at almost every opportunity in a futile attempt to gain their powers back. It was fun, but it hadn’t worked.
    Like her, he had waited months for this. He thought he remembered what it felt like, but now he knew it was just a pale memory. As he kissed her, every other care in his life just melted away.
    When they had agreed to meet in person, he just thought it would be easier to talk out options, discuss strategies. But he knew now that he just needed to see her, be with her. When they were the Prince of Sanheim, they could hardly stand being apart. And now that they were together, they wanted nothing else but to touch each other.
    Quinn’s hands fumbled with the last of her buttons. Rather than stop to loosen it herself, Kate responded by tearing the button loose and tossing her blouse to the ground. She unclasped her bra and immediately began unbuttoning her jeans. His hands reached to caress her body.
    All Quinn could think about was Kate. How she felt, how she tasted, how she smelled. He kissed her neck and worked his way down to her bellybutton. He wanted nothing in this world as much as her.
    When Kate was finished with her own clothes, she began rushing to take off his. She was almost frantic now. When he went in to kiss her again, he felt her in his mind.
    There’s no time , she said. I need you now.
    They were barely words. All he sensed was her urgent need and his own desire. Neither paused to look around to see if anyone was watching.
    She lay down naked in the grass between two graves and grabbed his hand to pull him down on top of her. As they moved together, they once again felt that pulse between them becoming stronger. Her memories from the past year flooded into him. Images of them making love, talking, watching television, walking together—everything came to him from her point of view.
    She gasped beneath him as they moved together. It felt like an electric field surrounding them—every inch of their bodies tingled like a live wire. The relentless pressure inside of them built to a furious conclusion—and finally was released in a moment when the two were one.
     
    *****
    They lay there on the grass next to each other, panting and out of breath. Quinn was afraid to speak. It felt like some kind of strange, mad spell had descended on them. It only ended when they finally broke apart, but he had the feeling it would capture them again shortly. He didn’t dare look at her, for fear that the sight of Kate’s naked body lying in the grass would start it all over. Instead, he watched the thin wisps of white cloud drift across the bright blue sky and tried to—at least temporarily—recover himself.
    “Well, that was certainly new,” Kate said finally, when the silence between them had grown thicker than the cloud cover overhead.
    “Was it me, or was that more…” he started.
    “Intense? Yes. Definitely. And amazing.”
    Quinn merely nodded and fought not to look at her. It would be so easy to start over. If the first time they had made love had been incredible, this had been like that times 10 or maybe even 100. His hands were still shaking, his heart beating a million times a minute. And if he let his thoughts drift, even for a second, he wouldn’t be able to stop himself from kissing her and letting the spell overtake them again. But even without looking at her, he felt her next to him, breathing rapidly.
    “We can’t start again,” he said.
    “Oh, it’s not a question of ‘if,’” Kate said and her voice was quiet. “It’s just a question of when. If you even try to stand up, you won’t have time to get your pants on.”
    “You don’t seem to be fighting this very hard,” he replied.
    “Why should I?” she said. “This is the best