“Actually, all of that,” I wave my hand around, “interests me.”
Especially the conceiving part, but there’s no point mentioning it since she can hear my thoughts anyway.
“I take it you’ve heard of blood play,” she goes on.
“Yeah,” I say uneasily, thinking back to the pair of handcuffs under the bed that Rebecca gave us. There’s kinky and then there’s…blood play.
“With blood play, you take sex magic to the next level. Blood creates a bond. It binds you. Deeper than anything else. Combined with sex, it’s unbreakable. I take it that you and Dex have been tested for absolutely everything?”
“Yeah…” I’m not sure if I’m going to like where this is going.
“You’re going to need that bond, Perry. And you’re going to need to invite him in.”
“You said this wasn’t sexual.”
Though we have just been talking about sex magic.
“This is about a physical and spiritual act of possession. You need to invite Dex inside you, through sex, through the blood bonds, so that you carry part of him. That is how he’s going to be able to protect you from Samantha, from the demon, from everything.”
I shake my head, unable to wrap my brain around any of this. “Like…forever?”
“Not forever,” she says. “The bond is forever. The possession can be temporary.”
“Then what happens after? Won’t she come back for me?”
“You’ll have bought yourself enough time to get stronger, and if she knows that she can’t get you easily anymore, she won’t come after you. You’re special Perry, but there are others out there who have the same energies.”
“Like you,” I point out.
“Maybe,” she says. “But she wouldn’t dare.”
I tilt my head as I examine her. She looks like the perfect blonde, from her light tan, to her green eyes, warm smile, nice clothes. “You’re a witch too, aren’t you?” I say. “You’re Glinda.”
She watches me for a moment, her eyes sparkling.
“I try,” she eventually says. “Now, back to the blood play.”
“Of course.”
“I’m serious about this, Perry.”
I nod. “I know. I’m making a joke because I’m finding this really hard to deal with.”
And also, I just found out my psychologist is a witch. I guess now I have to trust her in what she’s talking about.
“It’s not a big deal,” she says, and then she stops herself. “No. I take that back. It is a big deal. You’re inviting your husband inside you, not just physically but metaphysically. I have no doubt that you’ll both be able to handle it, but it’s not to be taken lightly. But the actual act of blood play itself doesn’t have to be extreme. You don’t have to hurt each other. You just need to draw blood and mix the blood, while you’re having sex, and that sex needs to be…it needs to be had with intention.”
“Intention?”
“That’s what witchcraft is, Perry. Intention mixed with energy. The most important thing is to make sure you’re focused on what you want from the universe, what you need, and to take your time getting there. This is not a quick roll in the hay. This is prolonged foreplay with both of you brought to the edge in order to build up that energy before release.”
“So, like edging to the extreme?” I have no idea how we’ll survive that. Dex can go all night long, but I also don’t bring him to the brink and then back off either. That seems cruel.
“You’ll be fine.” She glances at the clock on the wall. “I wish we had more time.”
“Do you have another patient after?” I ask, wanting for them to be rescheduled since this is life or death over here.
"I do," she says. “But what I mean is, you don’t have enough time. You need to do this today, tonight at the latest. If you can do it outside, even better.”
“It’s December,” I remind her. I know Dex and I just had sex outside, but if we’re going to be dabbling with blood play, that’s a whole other thing.
“I know. Just do what you can.” She pulls out her business card and hands it to me. “Just in case you don’t have this anymore, that’s my cell number at the bottom. Text me tonight.”
“You want a play-by-play?”
“I want you to stay in touch with me.” She exhales through her nose, lips pressed together in a thin smile. “And when you end up going back to the house with Ada, let me know if you need me to come along.”
I stare at her. “Why?”
“Your sister will be successful with Maximus. She has that power. But I have my doubts that she’ll be able to keep Samantha back if she decides to come along for the ride.”
“And you can stop her?”
She nods. “I can stop her.” She grins to herself, like she’s laughing at an inside joke. “I’ve stopped her before.”
“Wait.” I raise my palm. “You actually know know Samantha? Like before she died?”
“It’s a small community,” she says, getting to her feet. “A little too small, sometimes.”
I’m too befuddled to say anything. I grab my bag and get up, walking toward the door.
She puts her hand on it, ready to open and I say, “Hold on.”
She pauses, looks at me thoughtfully.
“Since you seem to know everything, how do you know Dex will go along with any of this? I know he’s a kinky guy, but blood play?”
She puts her hand on my shoulder. “He’ll do anything for you, Perry. I’m surprised you even have to ask.” She then points at my neck. “Besides, seems like he has no problem with drawing blood on the regular.”
I press my palm there, where Dex has left various bitemarks over the years. Maybe his vampire tendencies were just a warm-up.
“You stay strong, okay?” she says to me opening the door. “And call or text if you need anything. Alright?”
“I will.”
I step out into the waiting room, and aside from her next patient, Dex is also there, waiting for me. I was going to text him when I was done, but he’s obviously not taking his chances.
Lana looks at him and nods. “Hello Dex,” she says.
Something passes between them, something that leaves Dex looking a little confused.
“Hey,” he says uncertainly.
Then Lana invites in the next patient and closes the door.
“What is it?” I ask, going over to him.
“Nothing,” he says frowning. He eyes the receptionist and then grabs my hand and pulls me out of the waiting room and into the hallway where we have privacy. He closes the door and looks to me. “I could have sworn I just heard her thoughts in my head.”
“What did she say?”
“To trust you. What did she mean by that?”
“I’m not sure.”
“You don’t seem surprised that she just put her thoughts in my head?”
“Oh, I never told you about that? Yeah, she’s a witch.”
Dex’s eyes go round as saucers.
“Come on, we need to go home,” I tell him. “I’ll explain on the way.”