The Shifter's Salvation

by R. A. Boyd

  Trying to ease the palpable tension rolling through is body, Audra ran her hand up his back and rubbed the space right below his neck. “You didn’t know.”

  “We knew, Audra. We knew.” He took his fork and picked up a piece of beef from her plate and brought it to her lips. Watching her chew he said, “For so long I raged in that cell, we all did. And as my brethren grew quiet I began to collapse into myself, hating everything. But most of all I hated myself. I had done this. Me. And then, instead of blaming everyone, hating everyone, I started to ask for forgiveness. I started to imagine what it would have been like if I would have just stopped and saw what we did, what I did, was wrong.

  “And then, one day a man entered our prison. A fallen angel in the form of a man. He walked right up to my cell and opened it. He didn’t use a key, didn’t break it. He just opened it. He said that my penance had been paid and that my time was up.” Zeke shook his head and then pushed his plate away from him.

  Audra listened in amazement and curiosity. No one knew where they were kept. It was said that it was impossible for any being to find them, let alone get to the fallen Watchers. “Who was he?”

  Zeke snorted and shook his head. “I don’t know. I was so stunned I just followed him out as my brothers screamed and beat against their cells, but I just kept walking. Something inside me kept me going, knowing that if I stopped to help them one of two things would happen: I would be back in that cell rotting, or if I did manage to free them I would take part in unleashing a band of vengeful angels onto this world. So I followed him out and he left me there. I tried to go with him but he became angry. He told me that someone else was coming for me and to start walking until I found her. So, I started walking. I was lost, but so happy to be somewhere else other than the dark. I breathed fresh air and felt the wind on my face. Felt the heat of the sun on my skin. I was weak, but felt renewed. Every gift I had as an angel was gone, except the magic. I was human. I was hungry and thirsty for the first time in my entire existence. And then Willow appeared. She said she could sense me, kept asking me questions about how long had it been since I’d fallen.”

  Audra looked on in awe as he told his story, her eyes wide and her heart beating for his words. He was released. And now they were together. They were made for each other. Only someone as wild and strong as her could tame someone as wild and strong as him. Only someone who knew what a curse from the Creator was like could strengthen and hold her up. This moment had been planned so long ago. Their meeting, their bond had been in the making since the beginning of time.

  Tears fell like raindrops from Audra’s eyes as she gazed at him, and he knew exactly what she felt. Through their link they could share emotions and help keep the other from falling apart.

  He turned in the bench seat and rubbed his hand along her hairline. “Even after I was freed everything seemed so dark. So empty. Until I saw you. You shine so bright, even at your worst.”

  Audra’s heart was filled with gratitude. They had both suffered to be strong for each other. She pushed the table away from them and crawled onto his lap, pulling her nightshirt up around her hips and straddling him. She breathed in his natural scent so that she would always remember. His was that of a warm cup of cider during a spring rain. The earthy undertones were that of a natural witch. He was a fallen angel who’d been gifted with the powers of magic. She would never forget the beautiful scent of her mate.

  With her knees on either side of his thighs, she cupped his face and lowered her lips to his, letting their breaths mingle as she gazed into the eyes of the strongest man she knew.

  Zeke sighed and ran his hands along her thighs, up her torso, and through her hair. His body relaxed under hers but just as she went to kiss him he gripped her arms and pulled her forward. His lips crashed into hers as he kissed her, drank from her with a feral need that was so powerful she wasn’t sure if it was his lust or her own.

  He brushed his tongue against her bottom lip and she opened for him. She parted her lips and allowed him to thrust his tongue into her mouth. Drugging sweeps of his tongue stole her breath as he rocked his hips against her. He pushed her hair back from her face and hooked it behind her ear. She could feel the long bar of his cock pressing along the seam of his pants, straining to get through her panties.

  Touching him was like being immersed in fire and ice, tranquility and passion. This was everything. He slid his hand up her shirt and cupped her breast. He held the small weight of it in his large hand and ran his thumb across the hardened peak of her nipple. She arched her back, urging him on as he touched her. His other hand skimmed down the skin of her waist, and when he reached the curve of her hip he gripped her so hard she called out his name.

  God, she hoped she would bruise where his fingers dug into her skin just so she could look at his mark and think of his touch even when he wasn’t there with her.

  He released her breast and grasped the back of her neck, bringing her kiss so close their teeth clicked together. She wrapped her arms around his neck and brought her breasts against the hard planes of his chest and rolled her hips onto his until she felt the early tingles of an oncoming orgasm. She moaned into his mouth and smiled when he let out a sexy groan deep in his throat.

  Had pants rubbing ever been this fucking erotic? Not for her. Zeke was a snake charmer, and she was a venomous serpent under his spell. His hands were all over her body, pulling her and squeezing her and forcing her to climax.

  His hips danced against her and he let out another desperate sound that let her know he was close to coming as well.

  “No,” he said, standing up and taking her with him.

  “No?” she said, her vision coming back as her orgasm moved farther away.

  He shook his head as he leaned against her, moving the plates and glasses to the side of the table. “I don’t want you to come from dry humping me, Audra. At least not the first time.”

  Zeke sat her up on the table and pushed her back, keeping his eyes focused on that sweet spot at the apex of her thighs. He sat down and pulled the table with her on top of it closer to him.

  “What are you doing?” she asked, looking down at him as his fingers lightly grazed the skin of her legs.

  He looked up beneath heavy eyelids and smirked. “Eating. That is what people do at kitchen tables, isn’t it?”

  Holy shit. This was happening. Right now.

  With his eyes never leaving hers he took one hand and ran it up her body, urging her to lie back on the table. She rested on her elbows but then jerked her hips upward as he grabbed her panties and ripped them from her body.

  Before she could let out a cry of protest his lips where on her. His fingers dug into her calves as he held her in place, stopping her from escaping. The feel of his mouth on her pussy was too much too soon and she tried to wiggle away from him. His warm tongue stroked up the center of her slit. She closed her eyes and leaned back on her elbows, bracing herself as he ate her like a starved man. This was the highest she’d ever been. Only the feel of the wind caressing her face as she flew in her angel form could top this.

  His lips latched on to her clit and her knees fell wider. He let go of her leg and slipped a finger, and then two, inside of her. Hooking the tip of his fingers, he massaged that blessed spot just inside the entrance of her pussy. Lights flashed behind her eyelids. Just as she was about to shatter he slowed down, gently sucking on her clit. Her body trembled and writhed on the table as his tongue undulated against the responsive bundle of nerves between her legs.

  She was panting and pumping her hips toward his face, urging him on to make her come. Running her hands through his hair, she grabbed a handful and pushed him closer to her core. A low moan made its way from his mouth and vibrated her already overresponsive flesh. He softly bit down on her clit and then ran his tongue over it, soothing it.

  “Please,” she begged. “Please do that—”

  He bit down on her clit again and the pressure splintered her. She moved against his mouth and
said his name over and over as she came, as if it were a reverent prayer and she was his faithful servant. No. That wasn’t right. He was worshiping her body with his lips. With his tongue and teeth.

  Soft, gentle kisses climbed her body and he pulled her nightshirt over her head. She pulled his shirt off as his body covered her and used her feet to work his pants down his hips. Audra glanced down and took in the full size of his dick. The large, mushroom-shaped head glistened as a bead of wetness glided down the length of his thick cock. Shivers raced across her skin as he reached between them and poised the head of his cock against her soaked entrance.

  Audra relaxed so she could take all of him. The lips of her pussy stretched around the wide head of his cock, and her body vibrated with tension as he pushed into her. It felt so good, so right, to have him there inside her. But he was big.

  He rubbed the sensitive skin below her belly button and said, “Can you take me?” His hips moved in small forward and backward motions, coating the length of himself with her juices.

  She nodded. “Fucking take me know.”

  He leaned over and put one hand on either side of her waist. With his eyes still glued to where their bodies met, he slammed into her until their hips touched. They both called out as she absorbed every inch of him. He stilled, allowing her body time to get use to the invasion of his dick. Her thighs shook as her throbbing pussy adjusted to the length of him. She dug her fingers into his forearms and arched her back off the table, loving the feel of every inch of his cock.

  “God-damn,” he said, bringing his body down until his forehead rest against hers. “I was made to be inside you.”

  His breath caressed her cheek as he held himself above her. The change in angle deepened his penetration. Audra lifted her knees and brought them against the sides of his body, loving the feel of him being so close to her, so deep inside her. She lifted her hands and rubbed them along his back, feeling the muscles roll as he breathed and fought to stay still.

  Pulling him closer to her, she urged him to move. He pulled his hips back until just the head of his cock remained inside her, and when he thrust deeply into her wanting channel her back bowed from the table as pleasure danced along every nerve ending in her body.

  He was slow in taking her, letting her absorb the fullness of his cock in her smaller body. She could tell in his hesitance that he was afraid to hurt her. Even though she was immortal and stronger than most people on this planet, he wanted to be careful with her.

  She grabbed a handful of his hair and yanked until they were eye to eye. “You won’t hurt me, and if you do I promise I’ll love every second of it. Fuck me.” She could hear the desperation in her voice.

  Audra wanted him to lose control with her. She could take him. She could tame him. After his revelation of who and what he really was, Audra had no doubt that he could handle her. Lifting her hips and wrapping her legs around his waist, she used the heels of her feet to push him deeper into her.

  He started to pump into her and the sound of their flash smacking against each other was the best love song in the universe. His thrusting movements pushed her further up on the table, but he moved his hands to her back and grasped her shoulders to pull her back down on to his cock.

  The feel of his pubic bone rubbing against her clit was the added friction she needed to shove her over the edge. She screamed out his name as she came. His teeth clamped on to her collarbone as if he were going to mark her as his. Was he going to claim her? Could he claim her even though he wasn’t a shifter? She sure as shit hoped to find out, but just as the pressure from his teeth became painful he let go and called out her name.

  The heat of his seed poured into her as they both climaxed. Even as he came and her orgasm began to fade he kept moving inside her, working the aftershocks inside her clenching pussy to another orgasm. But this one wasn’t as violent as the first two. This one was just for her.

  Zeke slowly thrust in and out of her until her orgasm rolled over her body like the gentle waves of a pond. When she was spent he stilled inside her, holding her close to him.

  With their bodies still connected, Zeke stood up on shaking legs and walked them to the guest bedroom. This wasn’t her favorite bed to sleep in but it would do. Hell, if she could hold on to Zeke like this she would sleep on a lopsided bed of flat cushions on a rocky beach.

  She laughed at herself and held on to him as he gently laid her on the bed. With caution he pulled his semi-stiff cock from her entrance. She brushed her lips along his jawline and kissed his chin as he lay down on the bed beside her and pulled the covers over her body.

  All was quiet in her head. Zeke did that for her. He quieted the beast inside her and made her feel normal, even though neither of them were anything but normal.

  “Promise me something, Audra.”

  She groaned as she closed her eyes and settled against his body. “Anything.”

  He ran his thumb across the curve of her lips and she smiled into his touch. “Promise me you won’t give up on either one of us, and I’ll do the same.”

  That was easy. She could promise that. It would be hard work on both their parts, but she could hold that promise until the day she died.

  “Promise me,” he whispered against her lips.

  She opened her eyes, eyelashes skating along the skin of his cheek. This was big. This would take so much, but she would work hard to keep that promise to her mate.

  “I promise, Zeke.”

  “Me too, my love. Me too.”

  Chapter 7

  “I am going to fucking eat you, you crazy bastard.” Audra looked way beyond pissed, and if Zeke was only getting a small taste of her emotions then she really was going to eat him.

  Simon scoffed and touched his chest as if Audra had offended him with her harmful words. “Crazy. Me, crazy? Hi, kettle. You must be pot.”

  Without looking up from his stack of pancakes, Zeke reached over and grabbed Audra’s leg a second before she stood from her chair and tried to jump over the table at Simon. Good thing he was strong and she was willing to let him hold her back.

  He had known Simon for less than twenty-four hours but had already built up a tolerance to the pain-in-the-ass asshole. Zeke was a freaking professional at this point in his long life. He’d learned to ignore many of the people who questioned his presence within the coven. So hell yeah he could ignore Simon and his childish antics.

  To Audra’s credit she had managed to let a few of his statements go as he asked Zeke personal questions. As long as Zeke was level Audra was smiling, and when she did the sun shone through her. But when Simon began threatening bodily harm to Zeke, Audra started losing her patience. The final straw hit when Simon said he would hogtie Zeke, put him in a metal coffin, and throw him into the Mariana Trench where he would rot forever if he did anything to hurt his sister.

  Zeke could feel the tension and unease building in Audra as Simon talked. She tried taking a few deep breaths. She massaged the bridge of her nose until a little red mark began to appear in that spot. Hell, she even reached over once and grabbed Zeke’s hand telling him that she would honor her promise. But the moment Simon mentioned being in a dark prison, Zeke’s insides squelched and he had to focus on breathing.

  It only lasted a few seconds but that was enough to set Audra on a fucking rampage. Her beast, who had been fairly quiet since her time in the cell, blasted a snarl through Audra’s lips. Her eyes flashed amber and then black. It was as if Audra had disappeared and her monster had come out to play.

  While he held tight to her leg and asked Jace to pass him the maple syrup, something occurred to him. Shifters were one with their animals. They lived in peace and didn’t seem to think of their animals as a separate entity. Audra and her beast weren’t aligned. The saber-tooth should have been sleeping inside her, letting Audra live her life until it was time for them to live as one again.

  Fuck. There was a dueling entity inside his mate fighting for control. They seemed to hate each other. Onc
e he came and settled her, the beast had gone quiet. Was it just there waiting for the right moment be heard, or was his presence bringing a type of unity to them where they could go back to existing as one?

  Cass’s calm voice pulled Zeke from his thoughts. “No, Simon. I’m not going to do anything. If she viciously attacks you it will be your own fault. Stop antagonizing Zeke and by doing that, there is a great chance she’ll stop threatening to kill you.”

  Zeke watched Simon as he was scolded by Cass. If he didn’t know any better he would think she were an enchantress of some kind. Peace radiated off of her like the life-giving heat from the Sun. There was something about her that he couldn’t quite yet place.

  “She’s just a good person,” Audra said as she poured herself a glass of apple juice.

  She was getting good a picking up on his emotions and his thoughts. None of the other mated one’s in the group seemed to have the connection that he and Audra did. It had to be the gift of telepathy he already possessed. Or maybe it was because they were both angels.

  It didn’t matter. To be able to support each other and quell the rage that burned inside them, they needed a deeper connection. Without it, Audra would probably have been picking her teeth of Simon’s innards with shards of his bones.

  Even without him here to stop Audra, he had the notion that Cass could have put an immediate end to their fight. Though she’d told Simon she would stand back and watch Audra wreck the rest of his day by letting him bleed out, she held an air of something that brought peace to all those in the common hall eating breakfast.