by Sky Winters
“Enjoying the view?” he asked.
How did he know? “Deciding whether I should wind you up or not,” De answered, glancing toward the barn in the hopes that Aspen would be quick.
“It would be a good idea. If someone does show up, I won’t be able to protect you without being able to move.”
“I don’t need you to. I can protect myself.” De stayed behind him because she didn’t feel like looking him in the face. Or worse, accidentally looking down when he might notice.
“That’s right. You’re a witch. I forgot. A good witch, I assume?”
“You hope,” De said, staring at the barn door and willing Aspen to come back out.
“I know who’s been using the farm house,” Brett said. “Neither of you asked, so I thought I should volunteer the information.”
“Who is it then?” De asked.
“Wind me up and I’ll tell you,” he said.
De was about to say the hell with it and follow Aspen into the barn when Brett hushed her.
“Excu—” she started, but he shushed again.
“I think I heard something,” he whispered. “Stay behind me. Stay quiet.”
De ducked back behind him and knelt low in the grass, heart beating hard against her chest.
“Well, if it isn’t the old Gnome,” Brett said loudly.
“Well, if it isn’t the broken toy,” a gravelly voice answered.
“Find any tender young flesh today?” Brett asked lightly.
“Not today, but there are rumors of a newcomer. Wouldn’t know anything about that, would you?”
Brett snorted. “Yeah, someone dropped randomly out of the sky while you were out.”
Silence.
De put a hand on the hilt of her dagger and peered around Brett’s knee. The Gnome was about four and half feet tall and bulky, covered in some sort of makeshift armor. His head was oversized with pointed ears and an enormous nose that twitched as it sniffed the air.
“I smell something delicious,” he said finally.
De ducked back behind Brett’s legs.
“Why, thank you,” Brett said. “It’s a new cologne.”
“Who are you hiding?” the Gnome asked, stepping close to Brett’s face.
“How the hell would I hide someone when I can’t fucking move?” Brett asked, all polite pretense gone from his voice. “Now if I could move, I could defend someone from the likes of you, since I know how.”
De got the message loud and clear. But what if it was a mistake? What if he was on the Gnome’s side?
“Tell me or I’ll dismember you and make a scarecrow out of ya.”
“In the barn,” Brett said quickly.
Bastard! He gave up Aspen so fast he never even paused.
“Sure. You’d love it if I ran off into the food stores while whoever’s here escapes.”
“Okay. Stay here. You know I love the company.” Brett began to whistle.
“If it’s a female, you know what I’ll do?” the Gnome asked.
De peered around Brett’s knees again. Her stomach turned as she watched the Gnome mime lewd hip movements as he spoke.
“I’ll cut off her arms and legs and eat ‘em while I—”
De had enough. She grabbed hold of the winder on Brett’s back and turned with all her might. It resisted at first then slowly creaked into action, becoming easier and easier to turn with each twist.
“Well, well, well,” Gnome said with a chuckle. “She’s just as pretty as they said. And I bet just as tasty. Come over here, girly.”
“Fuck off,” De said, jumping back as he hobbled forward.
“Oh I like ‘em feisty,” he said and wiggled his fingers at her, lust written all over his face.
De’s weapon flew from her belt and into the Gnome’s old hand.
“Next is that dress. Then the boots. Then you!” he shouted with a cackle, wiggling his fingers again.
De’s tunic pulled forward like invisible hands were trying to rip it off of her body, but she held tight to the bottom and screamed.
“Aspen!”
“Oh ho ho!” The Gnome laughed. “You have a friend? Let me guess, he went to the barn to look for food? That’s exactly what I expect greedy little thieves to do. I doubt he made it through my traps.”
De’s face fell as she pictured him caught in a cage or a net of some sort.
Brett turned with an enormous squeak toward De, standing next to the Gnome, who handed him De’s dagger.
“What?” she asked. “You’re working with him? But he left you unwound!” She fought to keep her feet on the ground as she was pulled toward them by the same invisible force, sliding across the surface of the ground and kicking up gravel.
“But he pays so well!” Brett said. “And we had an innocent little bet to see if I could talk the next one into winding me up. I believe you won me twenty rubies. Thank you, dear.”
De dug her pointed heels in the dirt and looked for anything she might be able to hold on to.
“Stubborn little thing,” the Gnome grumbled. “I should be sinking my teeth into her tender flesh by now.”
“She’s a witch,” Brett explained, taking a few heavy steps forward to reach her.
De struggled to run, but was forced back an inch or so toward Brett, who grabbed her wrist with his cold, metal hand and held out the dagger.
“You trusted me,” he said.
“I’m an idiot,” she answered.
Brett smiled and threw the knife. De watched in shock as it flew back and slid in the Gnome’s forehead right between his eyes.
Dee leaned over and vomited as Brett waited patiently.
“What the hell?” she finally asked, trying unsuccessfully to tug her hand away from his grip.
An earth-rattling roar made both of them stumble in place and De looked past Brett’s shoulder to find Aspen flying toward them in lion form. She barely ducked in time as his massive jaws closed around Brett’s torso and he was dragged ten feet away from De, who was left rubbing her wrist.
Aspen shook his enormous head and tossed Brett across the field about twenty feet. But Brett was made of metal and though a human would have been chomped in half, Brett stood shakily and ran a hand over the row of indentations on his torso.
“Asshole!” he shouted. “That’ll cost money to get fixed.”
Aspen roared again, nearly causing Brett to fall over.
“In case you didn’t notice, I saved your little girlfriend from the Gnome. The food stores are yours now. You’re welcome,” Brett shouted.
“You had something else in mind,” De shouted back, stalking through the tall grass toward Aspen. The closer she could get, the better. “You weren’t letting go.”
“I didn’t want you to run off to the barn to try and save Kitty here. I was trying to prevent you from falling into a trap.”
De stopped as Aspen finally reached her and nuzzled her outstretched hand. Brett waited in the field, still examining his wounds. One minute he was on her side, the next he was an enemy. What was she supposed to believe?
Aspen morphed back into his human form and pulled her into his side. “There were several traps set. Luckily none anticipated a lion’s strength or agility. Thank you for protecting the little witch, Metal Man.”
Brett snorted. “You’re welcome. Now you can pay for my trouble and my buffing.” He wiggled his fingers.
“We must be on our way. We’ve already wasted too much time here,” Aspen said, tilting De’s chin up to look into his golden eyes.
“You don’t have to tell me twice,” she agreed, anxious to get away from the strange place.
“Oh no, you don’t,” Brett said, hurrying to catch up. His movements were smoother now that he’d begun moving again. “Where do you think you’re going?”
Aspen pulled De over to his other side and puffed out his chest. De noticed he hadn’t changed back into pants yet and wondered if it was because he thought he may have to turn again at any moment or if it was beca
use he was demonstrating his superiority to the other naked man in their company.
“We’re headed to the Emerald City,” De said.
Brett jumped in front of Aspen, bringing them to a halt. “The Resistance?” he asked.
Aspen growled again and held a hand to his cheek.
Brett grinned. “Sorry if I hurt your teeth there, buddy. The one and only plus to being made of metal. Listen, it doesn’t matter. Resistance or not, that’s your business. I’m coming along either way. I can get to a shop at the Emerald City, and I’m not leaving your side until you’ve paid for the damage.”
“That’s reasonable,” De said, setting a hand on Aspen’s arm to calm him down. “We don’t have time to argue and it can’t hurt to have someone else along as protection.”
Brett’s smile was huge. “Excellent.”
Aspen shrugged and shouldered past to lead the way.
It wasn’t that De had decided to trust Brett completely, it was that she had the feeling it would be better to have an eye on him so he couldn’t go blabbing about them.
She was starting to believe that in this part of Kansas, the trees really did have ears.
Chapter 5
When the sun began to sink below the horizon, and the sounds of birds and other animals picked up, Aspen decided it was time to make camp for the night. De was eager to rest up. Even in her ruby boots, her feet were starting to hurt. She pictured blisters in her future.
“I need a shower,” she said, sitting on a rock while Aspen unpacked his magic bag to set up.
Aspen grumbled. “There should be a stream to bathe in close by. I will take you.”
“I can accompany the young witch,” Brett said with a low and creaky bow. “You’re busy.”
“This can wait,” Aspen said, glaring at Brett. “You will stay here and keep watch for anything out of the ordinary. If you disappear, so be it. If you take anything with you, I will hunt you down and crush you into scrap metal. So please do.”
“Nice boyfriend you have there,” Brett called after me as I followed Aspen into the forest.
“Humph,” Aspen grunted.
“What?” I asked, trying to keep pace.
“Boyfriend.”
“Oh.” De hadn’t thought much of it. They did have some pretty amazing sex the night before and after all, he’d saved her life now multiple times. But he was an animal, so to speak. Did they have commitment issues? Honestly, how could she even make a commitment to a half-human when she didn’t even know what had happened to her or what she was going to do with her life?
“Here you are, little witch.” Aspen stepped aside and gestured toward a beautiful little pond. Crystal clear water, still and smooth as glass, beckoned her. It was surrounded by dark green shrubs and big leafy plants that dipped toward the water.
De peeled off her belt and tunic and sat on the edge of a boulder to yank at her boots. But they wouldn’t budge. Starting to panic, De searched for a zipper or some other kind of opening mechanism, but found nothing on the glove-tight, thigh-high footwear.
“What’s wrong?” Aspen asked, sounding tired.
“I can’t get them off,” De said, pushing at the heel of one with the toes of the other. “Not even a little bit.”
Aspen lifted her into his strong arms. “You probably can’t. Not without the right spell.”
“What?” De asked, confused, just as he heaved her into the water.
She hit with a squeal, but the water was warm and felt like a hug to her tired body. She sighed and dipped her head beneath the surface for a moment.
When she emerged, smoothing back her hair from her face, Aspen was in mid leap. She threw up an arm to block the splash, but it was minimal as he executed a ten-point dive into the pool, surfacing inches from her face.
“Show off,” she said and splashed him lightly.
He grinned. “I decided I needed a bath as well. Besides, we are likely not going to be left alone by that man you invited along.”
“Invited?” she asked, incredulously. “No. But haven’t you ever heard the saying, keep your friends close and your enemies even closer?”
Aspen moved forward, sending small ripples through the water between them. “Then we must be the worst of enemies.”
De’s throat dried up as he pulled her to him beneath the water.
“I cannot seem to get enough of you,” he murmured, pulling her forward by the back of her neck. He leaned down and kissed her softly, pulling her tight by the waist beneath the surface.
Desire awakened eagerly inside and De kissed back harder, sucking in his bottom lip and biting it lightly. She felt him smile against her mouth before pulling away a few centimeters.
So he wanted her to work for it? She snapped her teeth at his mouth as he pulled further back, keeping just out of reach, even holding her back by the waist.
“You big tease!” she said, splashing him again.
He growled low in his throat and raised his eyebrows in challenge.
“I shouldn’t even let you kiss me,” she said. “If it upset you so much to hear Brett call me your girlfriend.”
Wow. She hadn’t planned on saying that. What was she thinking? She was acting like a teenager.
Aspen tightened his hold as she squirmed, trying to escape the embarrassment of the situation. “I do not have girlfriends. I have a pride. And I would gladly accept you as part of the pride, little witch, if that is what you choose.”
“What does that mean?” she asked and the struggling ceased. “You mean like a lioness? But I’m human – er, I mean a witch.”
“It means you’d have to share me with others,” he said, tipping her chin up to look him in the eyes again.
“Others? You mean you’re already… you have a… a… wife?” De felt a little sick.
“I have two mates so far. You would be my third, but perhaps my favorite.” He pulled her close again, pressing his body to hers so that she felt every slippery ridge of muscle beneath the water. His hands slid down to cup her bottom and lift, pulling her legs up and around his sides.
“Now just a minute,” she said, heart thrumming with a horrible mess of both desire and disgust. “I am not a polygamist or a cheater. I am a one-man kind of girl.”
“Good. I am the jealous type,” Aspen said, covering her protests with his delicious mouth and creeping his fingers down along and underneath her beneath the water.
For a minute, De’s head filled with only the scent and feel of Aspen and everything else was forgotten. Then the picture of a proud lioness appeared in her mind, and she pushed him away.
“I can’t!” she said. “Who are these other women? Are they human?”
Aspen chuckled. “They are both full lions. I have not had a woman in human form in some time. I find the relationship part difficult. But you are irresistible, little witch.”
He stalked forward in the water with such heat in his eyes that she nearly melted on the spot. If he touched her again, she’d never be able to resist him. So De dove beneath the surface of the pond and pushed off toward the other side. She needed some time to cool down and think straight.
As she cut the surface with her hands, she felt something catch her ankles and tug her back down beneath. She flipped around, hair fanned out in suspended tendrils all around her, expecting to find Aspen playing a game. But it wasn’t Aspen who held her ankles, it was a girl with the tail of a fish and the torso of a well-endowed woman. A mermaid, she guessed, only this one had a hideous flat face with circular eyes without lids and scales and gills instead of hair.
De opened her mouth to scream and nearly choked on a lungful of water. She kicked and scrabbled at the mermaid’s grip with her own hands, but the mermaid smiled a horrible smile and dragged her further down toward the bottom of the pool.
De’s lungs burned with desperation for air, and her head felt foggy. She had to get to the surface, but it was so far away now even if she could get away.
She wriggled and writhed. She pu
lled and tugged. She scraped at the bottom, sending a cloud of sediment into the water between them. Finally, she could hold her breath no longer and she let the water in, fighting to find the air that wasn’t there.
If only I had real magic, De thought as her vision turned black at the edges and her chest felt like it was filled with bricks. Air, air, air… Her desperate arms slowed their clawing motions and she floated still in the water. Her last sight was that of Aspen’s frightened face rushing toward her, yet still too far away.
Then she sucked in a full breath, gulping it in like she’d been in the desert for a year with no water. She blinked and her sight came back in time to watch Aspen choke the mermaid from behind with his arm around her neck. His face was ferocious, the muscles in his arm clenched so tight she could see the tendons raised along the length of it.
The mermaid’s eyes bulged and became still. Aspen let go of her and she floated back, no longer moving.
When his eyes met De’s, he shook his head in disbelief. His mouth moved and bubbles shot out with some sort of exclamation as he rushed forward and pulled her into his arms. De let him kick to the surface with his powerful legs until they broke through into the warm night air.
Aspen’s fingers explored De’s face, as he searched to make sure she was truly alive.
“I think it was magic,” De whispered.
There was no stopping Aspen’s kisses as he devoured her mouth with his. “You’re alive,” he said finally, coming up for air.
De nodded, sucking in her swollen lip. “You killed her,” she said.
“I thought she’d killed you. I will protect you, little witch. I’ve bonded with you, like it or not. But I will always respect your decisions.” He pulled her close again, entangling her legs with his and slipping his hands down over her back and bottom.
God help her, she couldn’t resist him either. It wasn’t like he was cheating on a human wife. They were lionesses. They would deal.
She threw her arms around his neck and put a finger on his lips as she let herself slip slowly beneath the water again. She felt her way along every inch of his body from toes on upward until her head broke the surface again.
Aspen’s head was thrown back in ecstasy, his throat bared.
